Bath and Body

My sister and nephew recently spent about a week and a half visiting my family.  We had a lovely and memorable visit, but the cold my sister passed along to us all lingered on.  What a fantastic opportunity to sample Essencia Aromatics Bath Salts!  This blend of Rosemary and Eucalyptus essential oils helps provide relief from stuffed sinuses.  I must admit, just smelling it in the jar helped me breathe again!  This product can be found on the Essencia Aromatics website.  A generous 16 oz. jar of these bath salts retails for $16. 

I recently received a fun "personality test" from a friend via email.  This particular test required the reader to select one dessert from a list of luscious treats.  The selection would reveal your personality type.  Too simple a test to possibly be accurate… but I chose Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting.  What could be more delicious?

My inclination toward chocolate treats leads me to write this rave review of Jaqua Beauty Cocoa Buttercream Frosting collection.  Jaqua’s Cocoa Buttercream Frosting Sinfully Rich Cocoa Body Butter ($22) is rich and moisturizing on the skin.  It’s the perfect before-bed ritual to soothe the senses as the weather gets cooler.  The Cocoa Buttercream Shower Creme ($18) is a moisturizing treat to add to your bathing ritual, packed with nourishing ingredients like aloe extracts, and vitamins B5, A and E.  The Hand Creme ($8) is a petite tube of scented lotion perfect to tote with you to keep dry hands at bay. 

As has been my experience in the past with Jaqua Beauty, each bath and body product in this collection is rich, decadent and leaves the skin feeling fantastic.  But the true star of the Cocoa Buttercream Frosting collection is the scent.  Each of these products smells EXACTLY like chocolate icing.  I mean EXACTLY.  I gifted a jar of the Body Butter to a friend, and she confessed that after her husband smelled this delectable treat on her skin, he insisted on dipping his finger into the jar for a taste (he assures Raging Rouge readers that while the product smells like a divine dessert, it does not taste quite so yummy).  The best part about this chocolate indulgence is it spares you the 300 calorie cake-slice.

Looking for the perfect gift?  Head over to Jaqua Beauty and order the Cocoa Buttercream "Guilt-Free Treats" pack for $30.  The entire collection comes in one adorable box!

Essencia Lemongrass Soap is definitely guest-worthy, but you’ll love this moisturizing soap way too much to reserve it for guest-use alone.  This large, chunky soap is oh-so-rustic and provincial, and has been specifically cured to create a long-lasting bar of soap.  Essencia’s essential oil formula is gentle on the skin, qualifying it for daily use with no fear of drying. Olive, coconut, palm and sweet almond oils soften the skin, while the spa-like lemongrass essential oils invigorate and lift the spirits. This is the perfect wake-me-up treat for those dark Fall mornings we will soon be having!

Be sure to check out Essencia Aromatics online to try this product. A 5 oz. bar retails for $8, and a 1 oz bar retails for $3.

The coming Winter months will mean a need for major exfoliation, to ensure dry skin is removed and to keep the body looking rejuvenated.  I’m ordinarily an outspoken fan of L’Occitane product, but the heavy, high-quality glass jar used to house this extremely course scrub is its downfall.  When wet, this jar is nearly impossible to open.  Another user warning: the base of this scrub is indeed SALT, so if you have small cuts from shaving it will leave a stinging sensation!

That aside, this crisp lemon-scented scrub is phenomenal on areas traditionally tough to soften.  L’Occitane Verbena Harvest Body Salt Scrub will quickly become a best friend to your feet, knees and elbows.  At the end of last winter, my hands were looking rough and flaky.  This made my dry hands history in one use alone.  I also love the tiny wooden scoop included in each jar.  It’s perfect to portion out the amount of scrub you need without making a mess.

L’Occitane Verbena Harvest Body Salt Scrub comes in a 17.6 oz jar, and retails for $34 at Sephora.

Are you made of sugar, spice and everything nice?  Then you’ll have a hard time selecting between Joico’s new limited edition Skin Luxe Body Creme and Body Cleansers this holiday season!  These rich bath and body products are formulated for normal-to-dry skin (Sugar Plum) and dry to extra-dry skin (Spiced Ginger).  They utilize plum extract to deliver antioxidants, Vitamin A and Vitamin C directly to the skin.  My favorite part is the delicious, sweet scent these body washes leave behind.

It may be early to be thinking about holiday product, but it’s never too early to prepare your personal battle-plan against villainous winter dry skin!

Retail price will be $11.95.  Joico products are available in salons, and can be found at stores like drugstore.com.  Read more about these body cremes on Joico’s website!