Philosophy Amazing Grace Firming Body Emulsion

RRP: £25 for 16 fl.oz

--What does the promo say?--
"Philosophy's Amazing Grace Firming Body Emulsion (473.1g) is a brilliant, body-firming moisturiser! The perfumed, polyphenolic emulsion is a multi-tasking moisturiser that revitalises dry, aged or wrinkled skin with a unique blend of antioxidant vitamins E and C, shea butter, macadamia nuts and olive oils."

--Packaging--
Much like the matching shower gel, it comes in a rounded, hard plastic bottle with a black flip-top cap (though the picture shows a pump-action bottle, so I'm going to assume it's still available in both types of bottle). Nothing difficult about this.

--Application--
Apply liberally to arms, legs, breasts, and stomach...basically anywhere apart from your face that needs it. Rub in to leave a light sheen on skin and leave to sink in.

--Scent--
Slightly cottony; reminiscent of freshly laundered bedsheets. A perfectly acceptable, neutral and pleasant scent that won't interfere with perfume. However, this product presented the same problem that I've had with other Philosophy products: there is no indication anywhere on the packaging of what the scent actually is. Even the ingredients list just says 'fragrance'. Now, don't get me wrong, while the scent does arguably embody the essence of 'grace', that doesn't mean that I don't want to know what the scent actually is. In fact, it concerns me: if Philosophy were using natural scents in their products, surely they would want to say? If this really does contain shea butter, nut oils etc, I'm surprised that they don't want to make more of it on the bottle, rather than just giving it a passing mention in the promotional material.

--Appearance--
A white, smooth lotion.

--Texture/consistency--
Basically perfect: not too runny or thick, definitely not sticky, and seems to sink into the skin quickly.

--How does your skin feel afterwards?--
Pretty smooth, so on the surface of it, it appears to do a good job. However...

--Long-term effects on the skin--
...it apparently doesn't actually work. I've been moisturising my entire body with this stuff for a couple of weeks now and had been thinking that it was doing a fairly good job. But then today I went to have my legs waxed, and the beautician asked me if I used a body lotion on my legs. I said yes, thinking she was going to say that she could tell because my skin was soft, or something. However, she said quite the opposite - that my skin was dry! Great! So at least one skin professional thinks that this stuff does not work...

--Value for money--
Given the above, and given the price of this, I would definitely not buy this again. It's nice enough, but not worth the price tag, and for something that is artificially fragranced (come on, there's really no need for it), doesn't contain an SPF AND apparently doesn't work, I'll be avoiding like the plague. Go for a Lush, Body Shop or Liz Earle body moisturiser instead.

perfect partners
Amazing Grace Shampoo, Bath and Shower Gel, £17.50
Grace Fragrance, £29
Amazing Grace Eau de Parfum, £38
Pure Grace Hot Salt Scrub, £19.50
Pure Grace Shower Cream, £17.50