In the Spotlight: Vanilla&Company 50% Cocoa Butter

Is your skin dull? Does it look scaly (hopefully not flaky)? Is the skin on your elbows, knees and ankles hard? Can you draw on your skin?

If you answered yes to these questions, then it’s about time you rescue your skin from dehydration.

How do you rescue your skin from dehydration?

1. Drink lots of water. Haven’t we been told time and again to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water daily? If you think 8 is too much, then try 6. This is best and most natural way to hydrate your skin. If you consume more coffee, tea or any flavoured beverage more than water, your skin’s bound to look dull and lifeless and will likely be drier than the skin normally would.

2. Keep a good and balanced diet. Avoid stuff that will make your skin dry and dull. If you’re one to skip meals in order to keep a pin-thin figure, think again. Starving yourself will only make your skin lackluster.

3. Have at least 5servings of fruit and vegetables daily. These plants not only contain essential nutrients and vitamins needed by our body. They also nourish the skin, making it glow with health. They likewise contain lots of water that help hydrate the skin in some way. Munch on watermelons, turnips, radishes, honeydews, etc. and bid bye bye to the junk you fuel your body with. Rescue your skin from dryness with some of these delectable and healthful treats.

4. If the first three are not enough to rescue your skin, have a good moisturizer within reach at all times. A good moisturizer will rescue your skin from dryness, dullness and scales. Tip: Apply your moisturizer right after bathing. Towel dry the excess water and slather on some good moisturizer to help lock in the moisture.

Now what’s a good moisturizer and where do you find one? There sure are a bazillion moisturizers out there in the market that promise intense moisturizing benefits for the skin. The branded and well-known ones sure are good, but they will more than certain rob you off your last payslip. But not only that. Commercialized products do contain a vast amount of additives and chemicals that will (read: WILL, not MIGHT) eventually do more damage than good to your skin and health. Some additives in our skin care products and even cosmetics have actually been linked to some form of cancer. Now I sure don’t want to want cancer to have anything to do with me. All I want is a skin that’s healthy. Knowing that these big companies fill their products with additives and chemicals led me to find other alternatives that are safer and less expensive but still highly effective to replace all my traditional skin care products.

And so my quest for all natural products began. I was thrilled with my first few discoveries. The feedback of the customers were so tempting and convincing. I was ready to place an order until I looked at the price. It was a total rip off! This was one problem I had with all natural products until I tapped the local little giants: Venus&Mars, Skin Hour, Ilog Maria, Vanilla&Company, Embodyment, All Organics, Brook&Ivy, Leyende, By Nature Handmade Soaps, and Human Nature. Don’t these companies make you a proud Filipina?

In this post, I’ll feature one of my favourite moisturizers of all time: Vanilla&Company’s 50% Cocoa Butter.

Vanilla&Company is the only skin care line that I know that sells the most delectable smelling skin treats. Imagine smelling like vanilla, tropical fruits, coffee, chocolate and whatever dessert you fancy. Their products are made of all natural ingredients that only bring out the best in your skin. Their packaging isn’t something you’d be fond to look at, but the products speak for themselves. The price? Nothing that harms my wallet.

Read on for my review on Vanilla&Company’s 50% Cocoa Butter.

Product Blurb:

“Its name speaks for itself – a whopping 50% cocoa butter to lighten stretch marks and also prevent future occurrences of stretch marks for teens and mothers-to-be! Cocoa butters are also ideal in soothing parched skin. This good ol’ cocoa butter naturally smells like dark chocolate, its actually a moisturizing chocolate for the skin!”

What I love about it:

· The scent! Who wouldn’t want to smell delicious? Their 50% Cocoa Butter does smell like dark chocolate, more chocolatey than The Body Shop’s Cocoa Body Butter (TBS’ Cocoa Body Butter doesn’t smell anything close to dark chocolate). Not only is the scent scrumptious, it lasts all day.

· The price. I got mine at Php299 during their month(s)-long sale. The company goes on sale every once in a while, so when they do, be sure you place an order.

· The product delivers! It’s intensely moisturizing. I apply it all over my body during the late morning, specifically targeting my knees, elbows, ankles and heels. These areas remain soft until midnight; and I only apply the product once. Not only that, I think my stretchmarks have also lightened. Yes, I have stretchmarks on my knees. I’ve had them since I was 10. Ugh. Beats me why I have them.

· It’s non-greasy and non-sticky. This is in fact the reason why I never used moisturizers. A lot are greasy and sticky and feel heavy on the skin. Vanilla&Company’s moisturizers don’t.

What I hate about it:

· I love the scent, but sometimes I find it to be too strong that it competes with some of my favourite perfumes. I don’t know. Either my sense of smell is poor or the scent is just too strong.

· I don’t really hate the consistency of the product, but I find it runny for a moisturizer. Quite unusual, should I say? Nevertheless, the product delivers.

The Final Verdict:

I am in love with Vanilla&Company’s 50% Cocoa Butter not only because of the scent but because it exceeded my expectations of body butters. Other body butters tend to be sticky and heavy. I wasn’t too thrilled to use it when I saw the consistency, but then I thought, “hey, I’ll give it a shot. Who knows, it just might work;” and true enough, it did. My sister, whose skin I liken to a snake when it’s molting, is rather amazed with the effectiveness of this body butter. She even asked me, “why are you still looking at [TBS’s] body butters when you have one at home that’s much cheaper and more effective? Just get your body butters from them [Vanilla&Co].” If you’re not convinced at how effective this product is, I’m not sure what will. I will surely buy this one from them once I run out of it, or maybe try other variants. FYI, they’re famous whipped buttercreams won awards from Meg Magazine.