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Home » Bath & Body » Could 2 be better than 1? We check out The Body Shop Duo Body Butter

Could 2 be better than 1? We check out The Body Shop Duo Body Butter

July 20, 2011 Paris B 36 Comments

You know what? I actually remember when the Body Butters by The Body Shop were first popularized. Yes age is showing and all 😛 I was quite into them. My favourite was the Shea Butter one because of the lovely smell. I used to buy the special mini tubs too and had tubs lying around everywhere – Mango, Shea Butter, Satsuma… you name them, I’ve probably owned them at some point.

But after a while, I got tired of them because while they were lovely in cold dry winters, they were sticky and oily in our hot humid weather, it can really mess with your sheets if you apply before bed. Also, I realized that not every part of my body needed that sort of intensive moisturization that the body butter is made for.

the body shop duo body butter

I guess The Body Shop realized this too when they released their Body Butter Duo – half lotion, half body butter. Not everyone needs or wants to slather thick heavy body butter on their skin because it can feel heavy, sticky and oily. Yet there are parts of the body that could benefit from this e.g. elbows, knees, heels, toes… etc…

There are 4 scents available – Vanilla, Sweet Pea, Macadamia and Floral Acai. The one I was provided with is Floral Acai – not my first choice. I’d have gone for Vanilla because the rest are just too sweet smelling for my taste. Vanilla, while sweet, suits my nose better. So, does this make me more hardworking in applying body lotion then?

Well, not quite 😛

I’m terribly lazy to apply body lotion. I should. My skin is looking a bit dry in areas. The lotion half of the Body Butter Duo is actually quite nice in this regard. Its light, applys smooth and soft, and absorbs quickly into the skin without leaving too much of a sticky feel.

body shop duo body butter

You can see that the lotion half is quite liquid. I stored this on its side for a while <- Do NOT do this!

So the lotion is all pooled at one end. There is a foil cover which I didn’t remove initially, so it didn’t cause a mess, but I now store this flat. The butter side, as you can see, is so thick it doesn’t even move.

I use the thick side on my elbows and on my feet which are drier than the rest of my body. It seems to help. Skin doesn’t look as scaly, but it needs constant application to maintain, which as I’ve noted, I’m lazy about.

The Body Shop Body Butter Duo L-R: Lotion, Body butter

Also the other problem for me, is the scent of the Floral Acai, which is quite strong and quite sweet. The tub and the lotion and body butter is tinted purple and it smells of purple, if you know what I mean. Its not awful, but its just a tad sweet and I’m not very good with sweet especially if I have to sleep in it.

What I sometimes do, is mix the lotion and body butter to get a lighter consistency. It feels nicer on some parts of the body that may not need very thick creams, yet for which lotions may not be sufficient.

In a nutshell

Useful concept to have two different textures of lotion and butter for the body. Lotion is light and nice on the skin. Body butter is thick and works quite well on dry areas. Scent in all 4 tubs are a bit strong and sweet. Packaging could do with a larger portion of lotion vs butter.

Pros: Useful concept, Lotion works well on normal skin

Cons: Strong and sweet scents, Body Butter side can feel sticky and oily until fully absorbed

One more interesting note. I find I use more of the lotion as opposed to the body butter, because the former is lighter and more suitable for my skin. So what I think The Body Shop might have done better was to have included a larger section of lotion with a smaller section of body butter, because most of us will not need or use that much body butter. If we did, we’d just get the full tub as opposed to the Duos – food for thought.

Here is the ingredient list taken off the website:

Aqua (Solvent/Diluent), Butyrospermum Parkii (Skin-Conditioning Agent/Emollient), Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter (Emollient), Glycerin (Humectant), Isododecane (Solvent), Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate (Skin Conditioning Agent – Emollient), Glyceryl Stearate (Emulsifier), Cetearyl Alcohol (Emulsifier), PEG-100 Stearate (Surfactant), Cera Alba (Emulsifier/Emollient), Dimethicone (Skin Conditioning Agent), Glycine Soja Oil (Emollient/Skin Conditioner), Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil (Emollient), Bertholletia Excelsa Seed Oil (Emollient), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), Parfum (Fragrance), Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate/Hexastearate/Hexarosinate (Skin Conditioning Agent), Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Modifier), Phenethyl Alcohol (Fragrance Ingredient), Caprylyl Glycol (Skin Conditioning Agent), Propylene Glycol (Humectant), Linalool (Fragrance Ingredient), Benzyl Alcohol (Preservative), Disodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), Tocopherol (Antioxidant), Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract (Hair Conditioning Agent), PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (Emulsifier), Hydroxycitronellal (Fragrance Ingredient), Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster), Citronellol (Fragrance Ingredient), Citric Acid (pH Adjuster), Limonene (Fragrance Ingredient), Ethylhexylglycerin (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Citral (Fragrance Ingredient). [+/- CI 17200 (Colour), CI 19140 (Colour)].

Are you a fan of body butters? Do you like this concept of a duo lotion/body butter tub? Do share if you have tried this, sniffed this or just have anything to say 🙂

Paris B

The Body Shop Body Butter Duos retail at RM65/200ml at all The Body Shop stores

36 Insightful comments ... Read or JOIN THE DISCUSSION
Disclosure: Featured product was provided by PR for consideration. For posting guidelines please read my disclaimer.

About Paris B

Paris B is a 40-something beauty and skincare enthusiast with a practical and very critical view of beauty products and the world of beauty. Her mission on My Women Stuff is to deliver clear, honest reviews and facilitate discussions about beauty trends and life, tempered with a healthy dose of humour. When not blogging about beauty or life beyond 40 find her talking about feeding dogs real, wholesome food. Connect with us on social media at Instagram.

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36 comments ... Read or JOIN THE DISCUSSION

  1. Marina (Makeup4all) says

    July 20, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    I’ve been wanting to try these for a long time already. Thank you for the review.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 20, 2011 at 4:25 pm

      You’re welcome Marina 🙂 Do give them a go in Winter – I think the scent will be more tolerable and your skin will love it more then 🙂

      Reply
  2. melchewvin says

    July 20, 2011 at 4:23 pm

    I always prefer lotions or creams from Crabtree and Evelyn or from Yves Rocher, they smell more natural and some are organic too. I find Body shop stuff smells synthetic and fake

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 20, 2011 at 4:24 pm

      I’m actually into body oils at this point in time 🙂 They are perfect in terms of texture and scent for me but oh so pricey! I keep forgetting to talk about them 😛 I generally find lotions or creams from most major brands too strong/powdery/sweet in scent

      Reply
      • melchewvin says

        July 20, 2011 at 11:16 pm

        isn’t too oily to use oil in Malaysia cause of the weather?!

        Reply
        • ParisB says

          July 21, 2011 at 10:31 am

          That’s the beauty of it – nope! Oil in fact absorbs much more quickly into my skin without a sticky oily feel. I’ll write about the ones i use some day 🙂

          Reply
          • melchewvin says

            July 21, 2011 at 5:35 pm

            I’ll be waiting for it!!!!

            Reply
  3. rinnah says

    July 20, 2011 at 4:30 pm

    I still have a tub or two of Body Shop body butters lying around at home… the scent was rather strong and got to me after the first few applications. I wish they would come up with an unscented version – I’d be so all over that! 😛

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:26 am

      Yup I do find the scents a little too strong too. And sweet. Perhaps we’re just sensitive 😉

      Reply
  4. Pinkcloud says

    July 20, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    Sounds interesting! My friend gave me a tub of passion fruit body butter, it worked great on elbows and feet and when I travel too cold countries, but otherwise it is sticky, so I still have a huge tub left! I will consider getting this if the duo tub is more travel friendly (because it needs to be stored flat) 🙁

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:27 am

      The passionfruit one smelt quite lovely didn’t it? I didn’t buy it because at that time I had a gazillion of these little tubs lying around 😛 These Duos don’t come in travel sizes unfortunately. They come in just one size – 200ml so no way to take these travelling!

      Reply
  5. Juan says

    July 20, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    hey me too!! I love satsuma, mango and strawberry. never liked shea butter cos the smell I find it too sweet. as i am considered very lazy and inconsistent in moisturising my body, the thick body butter helps a lot during those times when my skin feels the driest and i then become lazy for another 3-4 days or so ;P

    this one looks interesting…

    Reply
    • Juan says

      July 20, 2011 at 9:30 pm

      forgot to add… another body butter worth checking out is from marks & spencer. they absorb really well into the skin leaving no sticky feeling. then again, could be because i only moisturise my skin once a week ;P

      Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:28 am

      Unlike you I found the rest too sweet! Haha… I’m as lazy as you are – or maybe lazier since I sometimes forget to apply body lotion for weeks at a time! :O

      Reply
  6. alene says

    July 20, 2011 at 8:53 pm

    ahhh, i can hear my skin giving dying gasps at the amount of alcohol.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:28 am

      Even on your body? Wah that’s bad – everything has alcohol in it 😛

      Reply
  7. Stephanie/Yukaeshi says

    July 20, 2011 at 10:28 pm

    Thanks for the review Paris! 😀 This product really piqued my interest as I was left wondering what it was (I never actually stopped by to check it out despite passing by The Body Shop a few times oops :x), and now I know haha! It’s a good idea, really, but like you I see that people would have more use for the lotion (And thus use it more and more often) than the body butter (For certain spots e.g. knees, elbows), unless they’re somewhere in between and mix both parts equally haha 😀

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:30 am

      You’re welcome Stephanie 😀 I do really think TBS should have allocated a bigger section for lotion because by comparison, I use so much more lotion than the butter. So when the lotion finishes, we’d be left with half a tub of butter 😛 Back to square one.

      Reply
  8. Reena says

    July 20, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    I looove body butters!!! I think the lotion would suit my skin better, the butter would work well on suppper dry areas of my skin…

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:31 am

      If you prefer lotions, my suggestion is to get a bottle of lotion because you’d just end up using all the lotion and leaving half a tub of butter lying around LOL!

      Reply
  9. ann says

    July 20, 2011 at 11:25 pm

    hi,
    I used to b body shop fan… i love the shea… the body butter is a bit oily but then the Shea scrub is way too oily.. haven’t try the duo butter yet… herm currently using the soap n glory righteous body butter n body lotion… guess soap n glory also should come out wit some duo butter…the soap n glory smell nicer compared to bodyshop…n not sticky at all… as I havent try the duo butter… wanna ask which is better??? in terms of moisture n also the texture n feeling after applying??? thanks

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:32 am

      I’m not sure which ones you mean in terms of comparison – Soap & Glory vs TBS or Body Butters vs Lotions? I haven’t used the ones by Soap & Glory. I’m not into body butters or lotions very much.

      Reply
  10. Jamilla Camel says

    July 20, 2011 at 11:28 pm

    This is an interesting concept! Myst check it out! Thanks for the review.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:33 am

      Wait for the colder months Jamilla – it’ll probably work better then 😀

      Reply
  11. biianca says

    July 20, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    Nice!! Is it limited edition? The concept is pretty unique too. Maybe I can go check it out tomorrow. Thanks for the review Paris!

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 10:34 am

      I believe its permanent 😀 But for a limited time, you might be able to purchase it at a special promo price (Not sure if its still ongoing) Do let us know which you end up with 😀

      Reply
  12. gio says

    July 21, 2011 at 2:19 pm

    What an interesting concept! I love the Body Butters, they are so moisturizing and perfect for my very dry skin. This, though, seems a better option for summer. I’ll check it out, thanks for the review.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 21, 2011 at 3:24 pm

      Yep! I think this might work well in summer – although by Autumn or Winter you’d only have the body butter side to contend with 😀

      Reply
  13. Issa says

    July 21, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    i am a fan of body butters because it really helps for my dry skin areas. yes, i like this concept because you get 2 in 1 product! i hope this is already available here …. 🙂

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 22, 2011 at 10:50 am

      I hope so too Issa! Do let us know how it works for you if you try it 🙂

      Reply
  14. milktea says

    July 21, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    Your age is definitely not showing. If you can still use Vichy Normaderm gel wash, you, my friend… are young! 🙂

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 22, 2011 at 10:56 am

      Haha! That’s true too isn’t it? 😀

      Reply
  15. Sam says

    July 22, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    I love the body butters, but I don’t like the duo. Too heavy for me and not into the scents.

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      July 25, 2011 at 9:52 am

      The scents are really strong. Pity because the concept is great!

      Reply
  16. Diane says

    August 31, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    thx for the review, it answers a lot of my questions =)
    Paris, can u tell which of these 4 has a lighter smell? unfortunately, there’s no tbs store around where i live but i think one or two of them has a lighter smell (my friend told me that, she tried one when she travelled oversea though she couldnt remember which one was it D=)

    Reply
    • ParisB says

      September 4, 2011 at 2:43 pm

      Hi Diane, I’m sorry I can’t remember which one has a lighter scent. I personally quite liked the Shea butter one but that’s because I like the smell of shea butter. Sorry I’m no help.

      Reply

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Welcome to My Women Stuff, a beauty blog based in Malaysia, written by veteran blogger, Paris B. We now write for women of 40 and above because that's how old I am! What you can expect is honesty, critical views & a healthy dose of shared life lessons sprinkled amongst beauty product reviews. Settle in for a read. Read More about us

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