Ever since a 2007 study found that men find lavender and pumpkin pie to be the most seductive scents for a woman, fragrance companies have been trying to find ways to incorporate the aromas into a friendly mixture. Fortunately for us women, there is now a beautifully scented combination of lavender and baked good-esque vanilla (not pumpkin pie, but we’ll take it) in the new Lavanila Body Butter in Lavender Vanilla ($25.00, Lavanila.com). Not only does this mixture smell like soothing comfort, but it also provides a plethora of ingredients that are proven to be beneficial for the skin, including hydrating cocoa butter, shea butter, and cetearyl alcohol (yes, that’s a good alcohol); antioxidants olive oil, Kakadu Plum, and Vitamin E; and Lavanila’s usual policy of being free from drying sulfates, potentially harmful parabens, petro-chemicals, and phytochemicals; and potentially irritating fragrances or dyes.
In short, Lavanila Body Butter has a quality ingredient list, beautiful scent, and a surprisingly smooth texture for a moisturizer containing high concentrations of cocoa and shea butters. One caveat: be aware that lavender is potentially irritating for some people (particularly those with sensitive skin) and teenage boys have been advised in The New England Journal of Medicine not to use lavender for its slight estrogenic effects. I personally like to put it on at nighttime before bed, as lavender has been reported in this study in Chronobiology International to increase the percentage of deep (slow-wave, SWS) sleep in study participants. However, if you are concerned about the safety of lavender, never fear: Lavanila Body Butter is also available in other lavender-free and ultra-beneficial varieties including Vanilla Coconut, Vanilla Grapefruit, Vanilla Blossom, and Pure Vanilla. For more, please visit Lavanila.com. Product Rating: 8.5/10 (High concentration of proven effective ingredients: 3/3. Unique formulation or new technology: 3/3. Value for the money: 2.5/3. Sunscreen: 0/1).
Ingredients
Aqua (Purified Water), Glycerin (Vegetable), Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter (Cocoa), Stearic Acid (Vegetable), Bees Wax, Ceteryl Alcohol (Vegetable), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Coconut Oil), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cetyl Esters, Squalane (Olive Oil), Olea Europaea Leaf Extract (Olive), Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract (Kakadu Plum), Epilobium Angustifolium Extract (Canadian Willowherb), Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract (Chamomile), Oat Amino Acids, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Corylus Avellana, Hazel Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate), Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Steareth 2, Sodium Hydroxide, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Stearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth 20, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Hexylene Glycol (Paraben-Free Preservatives), Botanical Fragrance Blend
I love origins body butter.
I adore everything in this line! The fragrances are the only ones I’ve tried that don’t make me sneeze.