Villainess Body Soap

RRP: $5/£4

--What does the promo say?--
"Absolutely smooth, sheer, silken lather."

--Packaging--
The packaging consists of an olde-worlde paper label wrapped around the soap, encased in a plastic wrapping which is rather difficult to tear open. I'd prefer fully paper packaging myself; even cardboard would work well with this brand. Apart from that, things are all good, with the soap packaging design fitting in consistently with the Villainess brand as a whole.

--Usage--
Lather up over your body during a shower or bath. Rub the bar over arms, legs, chest and stomach area to make bubbles before rinsing off.

--Appearance--
Again, the colour descriptions on the website are slightly out: rather than being a "frothy bog green", I'd say that this was more of a distinguished pale brown, even though the lather that's created is pale white. No visible residue is left on the body after use.

--Lather, texture and consistency--
As described: not as obviously foamy as bath bubbles, but a definite, pleasing, sophisticated sheen of lather. Washes off easily when you want it to, but doesn't slide off the body seconds after application. I found it a real pleasure and treat to use. My fiancé was not so sure: he didn't find it luxurious enough and is more used to using shower gels rather than body bars. Equally, I found that it washed off well, but he said that his skin felt 'sticky' after use.

--Scent--
I have to say that I wasn't keen: the vetiver is quite overpowering and packs a serious masculine punch. This might be a better present for your boyfriend than for you. However, saying that, even my man didn't like it: he found it just too 'soap-smelling' and has preferred other samples that I've stuck into the shower in the past.

--How does your skin feel afterwards?--
Smooth and lovely. No objections.

--Value for money--
This is a great value body bar that I can see lasting me a long time; after a few uses it still looks brand new, and I would definitely choose it over Lush's Buffy in terms of refinement, efficacy and identity. Even though I wasn't too keen on the scent, Villainess luckily offers a really good range of variants so that there's bound to be something that suits me (Ginger Snapped? Yes please!).

perfect partners
Grundy Smooch! Body Scrub, £7/$10
Grundy Whipped! Body Cream, £7/$10
Grundy Mud Face Mask, £7/$12
Grundy Perfume Oil, £10/$16
Grundy Kaboom! Bath Bomb, $8.50 (available only through Villainess website)

Villainess Whipped! Body Lotion

RRP: £7/$10

--What does the promo say?--
"Distinguishing Features: Extra-decadent cherry kernel oil, antioxidant rich grapeseed oil, light coconut oil, and our favourite luxury mango butter.

Characteristic Scent: An intoxicating blend of crisp, regal gardenia, sweet frangipani, verdant tuberose, and soft, beguiling pikaki lani.

Wanted For: Moisture restoration, gentle emollience, and velvety texturising."

--Packaging--
As with the body scrub, all very vintagey and artificially-aged looking. I love screw-top pots - they enable you to get the very last drops of the product rather than leaving loads trapped in a tube at the end.

--Application--
Rub onto clean dry body skin once or twice a day. No problems with this - it soaked in well and quickly.

--Appearance--
Described on the Villainess website as being the colour of soft clotted cream, I'm quick to disagree with them: I spent enough time serving tea and scones to toffs at Henley Regatta to know that clotted cream is a very creamy yellow colour, rather than being white, as this is. Methinks they meant whipped cream, which would be a more accurate assessment (both in terms of colour and in texture). In any case, no visible residue is left on the skin once this white, moussy cream is rubbed in.

--Scent--
I wished I could have smelt more of the oils and mango butter in the Datura version of this body lotion - while the crisp floralness was nice, I felt that being able to smell some of the fruit would have given it more of an unusual lift when combined with the flowers. My fiancé also said that the scent was slightly overpowering. While the smell is perhaps a little strong, it is nevertheless a pleasant scent.

--Texture/consistency--
I absolutely loved the unusual mousse-like consistency of this body lotion. Most body creams are of the runnier lotion type, so a change was definitely good. Luxurious and light without being overbearing.

--Effects on the skin--
Certainly seems to soften skin and do what it says it will.

--Value for money--
Definitely an affordable treat to help you pamper yourself on these cool autumn evenings (and your friends and family, if you can bear to give any away).

perfect partners
Datura Smooch! Body Scrub, £7/$10
Datura Body Soap, £4/$5
Datura Slick! Cleanser and Makeup Remover*, £7/$10
Datura Perfume Oil, £10/$16

*for dry, mature, sensitive or irritated skins

Villainess Smooch Body Scrub

RRP: £7
retails at: www.poshbrats.com (for UK buyers). The Villainess website, www.villainess.net, also ships worldwide.

--What does the promo say?--
"Teasing touches of revitalising mints - spearmint, cornmint, peppermint - grounded with a rich base note of black tea, and barely sweetened with soft vanilla."

--About the brand--
"Our catchphrase is "redefining bad." We're also taking significant steps to redefine the way skincare is formulated, manufactured and marketed. We love gentle, environmentally conscious, and animal-friendly components as much as anyone. But we're not interested in helping perpetuate false dichotomies or marketing ploys. A few premises:

*Ease of pronunciation is not a quality of a skincare component. We will not condescend to our customers by assuming they lack dictionary access or basic linguistic skills.
*Technically, all substances are chemicals and all materials originate from nature. The word "chemical" has been loaded with connotations that are not necessarily warranted. We refuse to exploit legitimate fears of the unknown by using emotionally charged language.
*Even some "natural" components have been processed and compromised; extracted with solvents, grown with pesticides, over-processed at high temperatures, homogenized, hydrogenated and several-steps removed from the "natural" materials they're derived from. These processes aren't always unnecessary, but they should be acknowledge as such and not sanitized with the "natural" label.
*Companies that do not animal test often use components which were animal tested. Most animal testing takes place long before body-care components are made available to small-formulators. Small-formulators don't usually have the budgets for the "ground-breaking new developments in skincare" where most testing is deemed necessary.

We approach things a little differently at Villainess. Our customers are educated regarding their skincare needs, and informed about the issues. Rather than sell the latest market-trends, we're meeting them on equal ground and frankly discussing the challenges we face."

--Packaging--
Love, love, love. This is old apothecary style meeting Pirates of the Carribean. It's the sort of thing that wouldn't be out of place lying around the sets of Thunder Mountain and the Indiana Jones rides at Disneyland. The body scrub is a simple screw-top plastic pot. It does take in some water, but not much, and the lid and label seem durable.

--Application--
Scrub all over body during your shower or bath, and then rinse off.

--Appearance--
While the website promises a mint green colour in this body scrub (Scintillating!), I found mine to be more of a mucus yellow. However, this can often occur due to natural colour variations that are a normal fallout of using natural ingredients, so I wasn't too bothered by it. The sugar crystals are clearly visible. On the skin, afterwards, it is not detectable by the eye.

--Texture/consistency--
Satisfyingly scrubby - you feel like it's really working. After use, a light and slightly oily sheen is left, but this sinks into skin quickly and is very moisturising. While this part of the proceedings is reminiscent of Lush's Buffy, UNLIKE Buffy it is not gritty and does not leave bits of beach all over your shower floor.

--Scent--
Blindingly correlative with the information given. It's incredibly satisfying when a product ticks all of the boxes that it claims to. Minty freshness? Check. Vanilla? Check. Black tea? It's there too. The resulting fragrance is really unique and is fresh enough to wake you up in the morning while still leaving a sophisticated perfume on your body. Beautiful. Although I do wish that Villainess wouldn't follow Philosophy's path and have 'fragrance' as one of the ingredients on its label. Yes, but WHICH fragrance? Keep your consumers informed.

--Effects on skin--
As well as the surprisingly moisturising element after use, it also does a good job of getting rid of dry skin all over your body, including on my usually persistently dry feet (although the dryness does return if you stop using the product).

--Value for money--
This range strikes me as being an excellent, affordable, unusual Christmas gift - not just for any fan of piratey stuff, but also for anyone who wants something that's just a bit different. Beyond that, it's also effective and pleasant to use. What more could you ask for?

perfect partners
Scintillating Soap, £4 from Posh Brats
Scintillating Whipped! Body Lotion, £7 from Posh Brats
Scintillating Mud Mask, £7 from Posh Brats
Scintillating Perfume Oil, £10 from Posh Brats
Scintillating Kaboom! Bath Bomb, $8.50 from Villainess