Have I ever mentioned how much I love being that person walking through the streets smelling of coconut, mango, or even sweet papaya?
Probably not, but I promise, it's one of the best feelings ever knowing that whenever you walk past someone, you leave a sweet trail for their eager noses to follow. And then comes the question:
What on Earth is that glorious smell??
Well, now I can add the ever evocative chocolate orange scent to my list.
I've been doing a bit of research this past couple of months on smaller businesses to support and stumbled upon this wonderful little Instagram page for Bramble Botanicals, an all-natural, vegan, and cruelty-free product, made right here in the UK.
All. Boxes. Ticked.
It started with a 'Follow', from which a beautiful conversation was born. Yasmine, the owner of the brand, messaged me with a little intro to her products, Bramble Botanicals (and told me how cute my son was, which, biased as I am, I definitely had to agree). I told her how much I loved the sound of them; the all-natural, vegan, and cruelty-free really called out to me as I push myself to lead a cleaner and more sustainable lifestyle on this glorious planet, especially when it comes to skincare. So, of course, me being me, I asked if we could work together on promoting her products. Thankfully, she said yes, and promptly sent me a sample of the cream that sounded most appealing to me, the chocolate orange!
The body butter uses cocoa butter as the base ingredient. Known most commonly for its ultra-moisturising components, it is also good for wrinkles, stretch mark prevention, and skin elasticity. In this particular blend, Yasmine adds coconut oil, hemp seed oil, sweet orange essential oil (which gives it the amazing citrus scent) avocado oil, vitamin E oil, and apricot kernal oil. For a full list of ingredients on Bramble Botanicals' other body butters, check out the website https://www.bramblebotanicals.com.
The package came in a cute little box, complete with crinkle paper padding (yep, all recyclable) and jar itself is made of re-usable, amber glass, non-toxic and free from harmful chemicals.
Now, let me tell you something, when I opened the jar, oh, my goodness, it felt like the Chocolate Orange Gods themselves had kissed my nose with their armpits (I don't know, it sounds a lot more romantic in my head). This was literally me:
It was an honest to God replica of the best smelling chocolate orange I have only ever dreamed of having. Not like the chocolate orange you eat, no, no. That one is full of chemicals suited for sugary consumption. And it may be the all-natural-ness of it, but I was hooked.
When I put it on my skin, the oils glided across my body in one smooth pass. It did take a little while to get it all into the skin properly, but once I had, it felt so good. My hands were sooooo soft, I couldn't stop rubbing them together.
Imagine this: Me, waving my hands in front of my partner, screaming at how happy I was that this product felt so damn good on my hands! Which is a number one priority right since:
a) It's pandemic season, we wash our hands at every opportunity, so keeping them moisturised is a major priority.
b) It's also winter, it's cold, and it's no fun walking around with cracked skin or peeling cuticles.
My only one criticism-which-isn't-actually-a-criticism is that, due to the sweet orange essential oil, it isn't suitable for babies. Oh well, more for me! However, this, as well as the Mint Chocolate butter, are the only ones that aren't recommended for anyone under the age of 2, but the Dark Chocolate is suitable from birth onwards since they are made specifically for sensitive skin!
Since the jar I got was pretty small, I'll be mainly using it as a hand cream, or a butter for special occasions where I want to leave those around me feeling like:
But that's honestly just me being stingy and trying to make the most out of it :P
I think this could easily be used as an everyday moisturiser if the mood strikes you since a little bit really does go a long way!
At this time of year, I'd say it is the perfect gift for a loved one, or even Secret Santa. From £10 per jar, anyone receiving one of Bramble Botanicals' body butters will open their present with a smile on their face - provided, of course, that they're a fan of scented stuff, you can yourself a little gift set here.
If you're reading this blog after Christmas, or after December 18th (the last day for Christmas orders) then have no fear. There is Valentine's Day, Easter, Birthdays, Baby Showers, literally any other celebration happening in 2021 onwards (Heaven permitting), and I definitely, 10000000% recommend getting a jar or two!
So head to https://www.instagram.com/bramblebotanicals/, or https://www.bramblebotanicals.com/ and tell Yasmine I sent you!
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