The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion Review

If you’re not using an essence you should be and if you’re not using The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion ($24) you should be. Because it’s a good place to start on the essence path! It’ll be skincare life changing I promise.

Any good Korean lady or lad can tell you that at the heart of their skincare regime is essence. Now essence isn’t a toner, that’s what everyone automaitcally assumes and I’m hear to tell you it isn’t because typically essence products are thicker, more moisturizing, and have better ingredients than a mere toner such as hyaluronic acid. It’s a product you want to start with, it’s a product that acts as the base of your entire skincare routine. It’s a product that adds moisture, helps moisturizer absorb more easily, and helps skin retain that moisture.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion is a new and unique take on essence.

When the Body Shop introduced their Oils of Life Skincare Collection one of the items that caught my eyes first was the Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion. What sets it apart from other essence products is the formula which is actually a bi–phase formula that’s part oil, part water. As an avid essence users this came as an interesting surprise to me simply because as many essence formulas as I’ve used that have run from thick to thin I have never tried one that was a bi-phase formula before.

The job of Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion is to not only prepare your skin for the next step in your skincare routine but also to leave it smooth, soft, and well hydrated. I did worry about the formula personally because it looked so much like an eye makeup remover to me. Would it feel greasy when I used it? Would it leave behind a gross film? Would it make me shiny? I did wonder about the application.

According to the Body Shop you can swipe this on using a cotton pad. I should say that most Korean essences are meant to be tapped onto your skin. It’s a method that’s very common in the Korean skincare routine and it allows better absorption of skincare so using a cotton pad seemed to take away from the essence experience as the cotton pad was benefiting more from the product versus my skin. I used it with a cotton pad for several weeks before I decided I’d rather just drop a little into my hands and gently press it on. It’s entirely up to you how you use it but I would suggest using Korea’s method for the best results.

I think Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion is a lot like May Coop’s Raw Sauce in the fact that it doesn’t deliver instant hydration to skin. You won’t suddenly feel incredibly hydrated once you apply it. It’s more about long term use. It’s not a product that sits atop your skin and it isn’t a product that will give you an instant moisturizing effect. It is however, a product that with time, will give you smoother, softer skin. You’ll notice within a week or two of use that your skin will look and feel smoother. You’ll notice your moisturizer will absorb more easily. You’ll notice your makeup looks more smoother when you apply it. It’s a product that subtly changes your skin’s surface and ability to retain moisture with daily use. It is not a product that will give you visible results instantly. If you use Hada Labo Rohto Gokujyn Hyaluronic Acid Lotion you’ll understand what it does exactly! That isn’t to say this formula is like Hada Labo but it does deliver the same plumped up effect but over the course of a longer period versus the instant results typically achieved with Hada Labo’s formula.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion is the type of product that requires patience and with patience you’ll get incredible results. I really enjoyed this and I can see myself purchasing it again. I love how heavily Korea has influenced not only our makeup world lately but also our skincare one. If you want softer, smoother skin this is a formula to try.

The Body Shop Oils of Life Intensely Revitalizing Essence Lotion is available in stores now or online at www.thebodyshop-usa.com.

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