Review: CVS Essence of Beauty Naturally Indulgent Bath & Body Collection

Press Sample 

These days, a lot of people seem to be moving to more natural options when it comes to bath and body products. So it stands to reason that we're finding more natural beauty options at the drugstores, and I see that as a trend that's here to stay.

I was sent some of the new Essence of Beauty (CVS house brand) Naturally Indulgent products for review a while back, and I've been testing these products extensively ever since. Today I'd like to give you an overview of the entire collection, with my thoughts about each product. This collection is now available at CVS stores nationwide, and you can also purchase these products online. Let's take a look!

Keep reading for more photos, info and my thoughts about this collection...

Let's start with the hand creams:

Essence of Beauty Naturally Indulgent Hand Creams

(retail: $5.99 each, 3.4 oz)

The hand creams come in three fragrances: Eucalyptus with Mint Oil, Lavender with Rosemary Oil and Lemon Verbena with Olive Oil.

Ingredients vary slightly depending on fragrance

Made in the U.S.A.

The tubes come safety-sealed (see silver tab on the right)

The formula of these hand creams is nice, but the consistency isn't quite as thick as what I like to see when it comes to hand cream. They're not super thin or watery, but this formula is not quite a "cream" in the truest sense--it's more of a lotion. These do absorb quickly if that's a concern for you, and they leave a slight protective barrier behind on the skin, which feels a tiny bit powdery. The moisturization level is nice with these and they do last for a few hours, but I wouldn't call this a "heavy-duty" hand cream formula.

Next we have the Body Oils:

Essence of Beauty Naturally Indulgent Body Oils

(retail: $9.99, 6 oz)

These body oils come in three fragrances (I received two for review): Eucalyptus with Mint Oil, Lavender with Rosemary Oil and Lemon Verbena with Olive Oil.

Ingredients vary slightly depending on fragrance
Made in the U.S.A.

You'll notice that these are not called DRY body oils, so they do not absorb instantaneously like dry oils do--they take a little time to work into the skin. They aren't as oily as say, pouring straight oil onto your skin, and they do eventually absorb, however my skin feels a bit oily to the touch the first hour or so after application. I've been using these on my arms and legs a lot and I like how silky smooth they make my skin feel, and I like that my skin looks dewy (not oily or greasy) after they absorb a bit. I also like that the spray nozzle doesn't release a wide mist--the mist is very concentrated in one small area, so these aren't messy to use and they don't leave any residue on the floor. 

And finally, we have the Body Butters:

Essence of Beauty Naturally Indulgent Body Butters

(retail: $9.99, 8 oz)

These body butters come in three fragrances: Eucalyptus with Mint Oil, Lavender with Rosemary Oil and Lemon Verbena with Olive Oil.

Ingredients vary slightly depending on fragrance

Made in the U.S.A.

These are definitely my favorite products of the bunch. I LOVE the consistency of these body butters. They are thick and creamy but once they come in contact with the heat of your skin, they break down into a very easy-to-apply oily type of texture. But they're not greasy and they absorb pretty quickly. My skin just drinks these up, and I love, love, love the way my skin feels after application. So silky! The moisture level of these body butters is fantastic--I can apply to even my roughest areas (elbows and heels) and within minutes my skin is incredibly smooth. I also love that the moisturization lasts all day and night and even into the next day with these. 

Now let's talk about each fragrance:

Eucalyptus with Mint Oil - this is definitely a unisex fragrance and, to me, it's a bit on the masculine end of the spectrum. I was hoping for something a little more minty, but to me this smells like a nice men's body wash, if that makes sense. 

Lavender with Rosemary Oil - if you're a longtime reader of this blog, then you know I'm not big on straight-up lavender scents. I always need my lavender to be mixed with something else, and I'm happy to say that I do get quite a bit of rosemary in this fragrance. In fact, I get so much rosemary in this scent that it seems more like a unisex type of fragrance to me. For the longest time, this reminded me of something but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then I figured it out--it sort of reminds of the original Old Spice fragrance, but with less spiciness, if that make sense. It's nostalgic and a bit masculine, but also clean and refreshing.

Lemon Verbena with Olive Oil - definitely the most "feminine" of the three, I didn't love this fragrance right out of the gate. There's a strong burst of citronella during initial application (I'm not a huge fan of citronella), but once this fragrance develops for a minute or two, it becomes absolutely lovely. The bright citrus notes are there, but there's something else going on that softens the citrus and makes this just heavenly to me. It's tart but not too sour, clean but not too zippy, soft but not too sweet. Definitely my favorite of the bunch. 

I also want to mention that the fragrance level of all of the products featured above is quite high, and the scent of these products lingers on the skin for hours after application. I personally love that these are highly scented, but if you're sensitive to fragrances in your body products, you've been warned!

One more thing: there are other products in the Essence of Beauty Naturally Indulgent range (bar soaps, body washes and sugar scrubs) which you can view here. 

FINAL VERDICT: I think this a nice effort from Essence of Beauty, and I appreciate the formulations (lots of natural, skin-friendly ingredients here) and the fact that these products are scented with natural oils. My favorite product of the three I tried is definitely the Body Butter, which I highly recommend. I think that the Body Oil would be nice if you have extremely dry skin, but just know that it's not a dry oil, so it won't absorb quickly into the skin. The hand cream is more like a lotion to me, but it could be nice if you need a hand cream that absorbs quickly--I wouldn't recommend it if your hands are extremely dry though. Of the three fragrances in this range, two are more herbal, unisex type scents (as I mentioned above) while the Lemon Verbena scent is a bit more feminine--it's my favorite of the three.

Have you seen the Essence of Beauty Naturally Indulgent Bath & Body Collection at your local CVS? Do you already own anything from this collection? Remember that Essence of Beauty goes on sale quite frequently, so if you're thinking about picking something up, there's always a deal right around the corner!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.Blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews. For more information, click here.