Lay It On Thick does the trick for extra-dry trouble spots
Written: May 17 '06
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: rich, concentrated spot treatment provides lasting moisture for extra dry skin; great coconut-ty scent
Cons: too greasy for all-over use; expensive at full price; scent smells a bit plastic-y
The Bottom Line: This is an excellent heavy-duty moisturizer for parched trouble spots, but even though it’s called a body cream it's way too thick and greasy for all-over use.
|
|
|
| gates3kj's Full Review: Bath & Body Works True Blue Spa Lay It On Thick Sh... |
It’s funny how we tend to take really good products for granted. Those products that just quietly go about their business and do exactly what they’re supposed to do. That is the case for me with Bath & Body Works True Blue Spa Lay It On Thick Body Cream. Even though this is a product I’ve used, used up, and repurchased several times over the last few years, I’ve only just recently come to really appreciate its greatness.
First things first, here is the product description and ingredients from the 2-oz. tube:
Shea butter is the ultimate drink for dry, thirsty skin. Just a dab of this unthinkably thick spot treatment restores even the roughest skin.
Water (aqua), petrolatum, stearic acid, macadamia ternifolia seed oil, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, propylene glycol, isopropyl palmitate, DEA-cetyl phosphate, glyceryl stearate, myristyl myristate, cetearyl alcohol, polysorbate 60, fragrance (parfum), butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), beeswax (cera alba), dimethicone, glycerin, cassia augustifolia seed polysaccharide, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E acetate), retinyl palmitate (vitamin A palmitate), lineoleic acid, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, hydrolyzed oat protein, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) protein, hydrolyzed jojoba protein, algae extract, spirulina maxima extract, macrocystis pyrifera (kelp) extract, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, hedera helix (ivy) extract, allantoin, oxydodecanol, arachidyl propionate, lecithin, triethanolomine, BHT, disodium EDTA, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, yellow 6 (CI15985), yellow 5 (C19140).
I love shea butter and I think it’s a fantastic moisturizer, so that alone sold me on this product. A quick glance at the ingredients list and I found quite a few other ingredients that I recognize as having good moisturizing properties, so it came as no surprise to me that this was such an effective, heavy-duty moisturizer.
Bath & Body Works True Blue Spa Lay It On Thick Body Cream is available in 3 sizes: 2 oz., 6 oz. and 10 oz. Regardless of size, Lay It On Thick Body Cream comes in a plastic squeeze tube with a flip-top cap. It is designed to stand on its cap. My Lay It On Thick Body Cream comes in a light blue tube with bubble accents in white and various shades of blue, and white lettering. Bath & Body Works recently gave their True Blue Spa line of products a packaging makeover. This product still comes in a blue tube, but with a sleeker, minimalist look (maybe to go along with Bath & Body Works recent shift to a more upscale image).
At first glance it would be easy to mistake this for an all-over body moisturizer, since it is described as a body cream. But reading the back of the tube you will find out this is actually a spot-treatment (with petroleum as it’s second ingredient-that’s not something I’d slather all over my body anyways). The product itself is thick and rich and yellowish in color. It is so thick that it takes a little bit of pressure to squeeze it out of the tube (think the texture of body butter only packaged in a squeeze tube). The next thing I notice is the scent. I really like the scent of Lay It On Thick Body Cream. I think it smells like coconut, but maybe not a completely natural or authentic coconut scent. It’s more like suntan lotion. I can smell an underlying hint of something plastic-y or chemical-ly, but I don’t think it’s bad or overpowering at all. The smell just reminds me of summer, and it’s a warm and pleasing scent, any time of the year.
I don’t have extra dry skin on my body, so I initially got this to use on my feet. I wouldn’t say I have problem skin on my feet, but they are definitely prone to dryness more so than any other part of my body. I usually use this once a day on my feet, either in the morning or at night. I always wear socks after applying, because this does leave my skin a little greasy. I apply a small amount, maybe slightly larger than the size of a pea, and massage it into each foot. This feels like it absorbs into my skin, but not completely, as it leaves a bit of a greasy look and feel as well. My feet instantly feel softer and more moisturized. But amazingly, my skin feels soft and moisturized for at least 12 and up to 24 hours after applying it. I don’t know if this really repairs my skin, because I feel I need to use this on a regular basis to maintain the softness and smoothness. But I really don’t mind using it everyday, in fact I kind of enjoy it, since I’m pleased with the results and enjoy the scent.
Just this past winter I started using this as a hand cream too. I’ve never had particularly dry skin on my hands, and it used to be just any old lotion would do. But this past winter I noticed the skin on my hands became red and dry and chapped. So I started using Lay It On Thick Body Cream on my hands before bed at night, and when I awoke in the morning, my skin was softer and smoother and less irritated. But I think because my hands are constantly exposed to environmental elements (temperature, wind, water, soaps/detergents, etc.) this doesn’t quite provide the long-lasting relief to my hands as it does to my feet. It leaves my skin soft and moisturized for 4-5 hours or so, before I feel the need to reapply. So when Bath & Body Works had a great sale on their trial- and travel-sized bath and body products a few months ago, I picked up a couple of tubes of the 2-oz. Lay It On Thick Body Creams to stash around the house, at work, and in my travel bag (I keep the 6-oz. tube in my bathroom) to use whenever dry skin strikes. When I’m using it throughout the day I am careful to apply it only to the backs of my hands and knuckles, because it leaves my palms and fingers too greasy and slippery if I’m handling things all day, but at night I really do like to lay it on thick.
I have used this on occasion if I experience extra-dry skin anywhere on my body (knees and elbows in particular). I have also tried it on my legs after shaving. Maybe because I wouldn’t consider my skin to be extra-dry, I’ve always found this to be a little too rich and greasy for use over a large area of my body. I suppose if you have extremely dry skin and you are used to richer, heavier moisturizers such as body butters, this would perform similarly, but for me it is just too heavy for all-over use.
I do not have sensitive skin on my body, and I haven’t experienced any irritation from using this product. It does have quite a lengthy ingredient list, so if you have sensitive skin or are sensitive to fragrances, you may want to carefully read over the ingredients, or do a spot-test before investing in a tube of this of your own.
Because I use such a small amount, a tube lasts me quite a long time. A 6-oz. tube lasted me pretty close to a year, even with once- or twice-daily use. Which is a good thing because this is not cheap. Regular price for the 10-oz. tube is $20, the 6-oz. tube is $15, and the 2-oz. tube is $6. I have to admit I have never paid full price for any of the tubes I got (and even though I think this is a fabulous product, I don’t know if I’d pay full price for it-what can I say, I’m cheap). Luckily Bath & Body Works has sales and coupons for free products quite often, so if you’re a savvy shopper you can easily get this for less than the retail price.
This product is not flashy or fancy, and could easily get overlooked among the hundreds of other skin care products from Bath & Body Works, but this is good multi-purpose product that works. Even though this has a couple of cons, it’s one of the rare products that actually does what it claims and smells good doing so, and for that it gets 5 stars.
The True Blue Spa line of products is exclusive to Bath & Body Works, and Lay It On Thick Body Cream is available at Bath & Body Works stores, and online at www.bathandbodyworks.com.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
gates3kj
|
|
Member: Karina
Location: Pennsylvania
Reviews written: 147
Trusted by: 52 members
About Me:
Trying to do what I can, when I can...
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.