Boot's Body Wash Review Plus A Sneaky-Peek

Hooray for the first product review of 2010 and the first beauty product review I post on my bloggity-blog!

Boot's Body Wash in Lemon

I have to admit that I am a Boot's virgin. Until a few weeks ago, the chemist's at Boot's had never touched my skin. But seeing how vintage lovers everywhere love this brand, I was curious; curious to see if behind it's nostalgic packaging was hype or heaven in a bottle.

Presentation: 5/5

Boot's packaging for their body wash is adorable. Everything, from the font to the shape of the bottle, says vintage. The bottle reminds me of an old-fashion cure-all medicine, and the lavender box it comes in says quality. The bottle that I bought had the labels put on slightly off center which I thought made it look even more charming. I loved seeing this in my shower, made me feel happy.

Fragrance: 2/5

I was a little confused and disappointed with the fragrance. The front of the label says "Lemon", while the back of the label says it contains " zesty lemon, bergamot, and orange and fragrant rose, neroli and geranium". I was expecting to take a whiff and be revived with a bright lemony scent followed by a refreshing floral. Instead, it had a very light citrus scent that I could hardly smell in my steamy shower. The scent was also barely noticeable on my skin after my shower, which may be a good thing, but the fragrance seemed so hyped up that I expected more.

I used it to wash my hands a couple of times and I did notice that the scent lingered more on my hands than it did on my body. I think it may be because I used one whole pump on my hands versus the 3 pumps for my whole body.

Feel: 4/5

Boot's Body Wash creates these tiny, velvety bubbles that makes your skin feel nice and silky as you cleanse. Mama like!

Performance: 2/5

I was so disappointed with the performance of this body wash. It took about 2-3 pumps to get a decent lather and I still had to really work at it for it to foam up on my bath pouf. It felt very silky on my skin as I cleansed, but terrible as I rinsed it off. It left my skin squeaky, a sure sign that the product was too alkaline (healthy skin likes to be lightly acidic). After towel drying, my skin still had that squeaky feel that later turned into a tight, uncomfortable feel.

When I used it to wash my hands couple of times, they felt strangely soft and squeaky. Later the my hands began to feel tight and dry. Looking at the ingredients, I see nothing "harsh" about the detergents they use, so I'm convinced that it's the pH that's out of whack (I really do need to get pH test strips to confirm this).

Total: 13/20 or a "D" in grade school terms

But wait there's more...

Extra Credit: 2+

At just $8 a bottle and readily available, I give Boot's Body Wash some extra credit. I also love that their ingredient's are simple and without cheap detergents, so more extra credit.

Final Grade: 15/20 or "C"

Final Thoughts:

With it's nostalgic packaging and trusted history, I really wanted to like this body wash. But I can't. It just made my skin feel yuck after using it. I don't even think I'll finish the bottle. I hate to throw out such a cute bottle so I'll probably fill it with another body wash. I hope I have better luck with other products from Boot's!

And now for the sneaky-peek:

Next week I'll be posting my interview with Kestrel StJames, pinup model and vintage mama of 3. You won't want to miss it!

I'm Not A Snob, I'm A Connoisseur

Well that's how I justify my preferences in skincare and makeup. You can't really blame me though. I've been involved in so many sides of the beauty biz, it was inevitable. From manufacturing to marketing, professional services to sales, becoming a beauty snob, er...beauty connoisseur, came naturally.

So what kind of of product reviews can you expect from a beauty connoisseur? Honest, thorough and professional of course! No, I won't be reviewing everything under the sun, I'll leave that to the beauty junkies. I'd rather bring you some lovely, vintage beauty goodies, the kind of goodies that real vintage mama's need to be all glam and retro fabulous!

So stay tuned for some exceptional product reviews from a skincare expert and beauty connoisseur!

First up, Boots Original Beauty Formula Body Wash...

Product Review: Hip Slimmer 2000

Yay! My first product review! Now before we get started, I want to disclose that I am not getting paid for this review nor did I receive my Hip Slimmer for free (darn). I actually bought this and used it. Okay on with the show!

Well first, it's not actually called the Hip Slimmer 2000, just Hip Slimmer (I added the 2000 to get your attention. It worked didn't it?). The reason I bought this, as many mamas already know, is because my hips widened after babies. I already had some pretty bodacious hips before my babies, but boy howdy I got some BODACIOUS HIPS after! Sure I like my curves, but mine were almost offensive! (tee hee). So I got to lookin' around to see if anything could be done.

The Hip Slimmer is a corset that claims to encourage the hips to go back together after child birth.

During pregnancy, female hormones such as relaxin and progesterone are released. Relaxin, as its name applies, causes the body’s connective tissue and joints to relax and loosen. In particular, the symphisis pubis and the sacroiliac joints widen which allows your pelvis to accommodate the enlarging uterus and eventual passage of your baby. These hormones do not return to their pre-pregnancy levels until after delivery, leaving your hips malleable. Many women complain that this widening leaves a lasting effect on their hips.

The truth is that the joints, especially the hips, do loosen and widen for child birth. So in theory one could apply gentle, consistent pressure to bring them back together before the joints get set in their position after pregnancy. Sounds reasonable to me, but what about the price?

I bought mine from the company website and paid $64 plus shipping. Not a huge chunk of change, but considering your only gonna use it for a few weeks, it kinda' is. I was willing to pay though because Baby Carlitos is probably (unless God has other plans) gonna be my last baby, which means it's the last time my joints will be loose enough to squeeze them back together. That's the reasoning I told my husband which convinced him I needed it.

It arrived within the week wrapped in pretty tissue paper. As soon as I opened it I knew it meant business. It had very sturdy construction, seams were tight, laces were thick and no fraying whatsoever. The Hip Slimmer was here and it was going to bring those hips together whether you like or not!

It didn't come with the instructions (hmm, that's weird), so I had look them up on their company website. I slipped it on over my yoga pants, tightened those laces like nobodies business and stood back. Aaahhhh! I had the most horrendous muffin top EVER!

I have (french accent)...how you say...junk in the trunk? Oh yes Mama got some junk in the trunk and the Hip Slimmer just pushed it all up! It was hideous, shamful and even vulgar. After I came to, I made peace with my muffin top (that is temporary until I get my sexy back) and vowed only to wear the corset only when I was home alone.

Though I looked awful, it really wasn't that uncomfortable. It just felt really snug. There was no pinching or scratching. The size large just barely fit over my ginormous hips, but once I tightened the laces it fit well. Sitting down was a bit of a challenge, but if I put low enough over my hips (really over my booty) then it didn't slide up when I sat down.

The instructions say to wear it for "several hours for the first couple of months". Honestly I wore mine for about 1-2 hours (sometimes 3), 4-5 days per week for the first 6 weeks, and I tightened the laces as tight as I could (though I still didn't feel uncomfortable). The only uncomfortable time was at night. I noticed that my hips would feel sore at night if I had worn the corset that day. Not from the outside where the corset sat on my hips, but rather from my bones where I assumemy hips were coming back together.

My results were very good. I lost a total of 3 inches off of my hips! Well worth the money I invested. I have since then tucked away my Hip Slimmer in my just-in-case-maternity box just in case there's another plus sign in my future.

Now about this muffin top...