Product Review: Neolia Olive Oil Lotion

Can I share an odd fact? I have some kind of bizarre fondness for green body products. I am very much NOT one of those 'embrace nature' girls*, and I have no problem with using beauty products will all sorts of 'artificial' and non-vegan ingredients. But I luuuurve me some green lotion. Cucumber, avocado, lime... whatever, I'll take it. There's just something about the colour green that inherently suggests a certain ... lushness. Vibrancy. Invigoration. All sorts of other catchy advertising words.

One of my absolute favourite green products is the Olive Body Butter from The [sort of evil] Body Shop. You've probably all seen it and/or tried it. Of all the Butters, Olive is probably my favourite. Unless it's the Nut Butter. Or Strawberry. Or... Ok, fine, I have a problem. Whatever, you already knew that. Anyway, the Olive Butter's got this wonderful fresh olive scent, and the texture is light and whipped. Of course, it's also got this earthy green and "organic" look to it. It moisturizes well without feeling heavy, and is just great for summer time.

However, possibly because it feels so whipped, I find that I go through this stuff like crazy. If I use it daily, it probably lasts me about 3 weeks. At $18 CAD a pop, I can't afford to use it up so fast! Reason #31 why The [sort of evil] Body Shop is sort of evil!!!

I've tried a few other "olive" moisturizers on the market... I think Fruits & Passions has one, and a few of our favourite discount retail chains have now lemmed** on with their own (rather substandard) versions. While some of these products are ok at what they do, none have captured that oh-so-important-and-delicious smell of Olive Butter.

Enter.... Costco?!?! That's right folks, Costco! No longer just for 2-gallon tubs of mayonnaise and free food samples! I found this Neolia Olive Oil Moisturizing Lotion there, and exclaimed with surprise and delight*** upon trying it: it smells almost exactly like the Olive Body Butter! And a giant pump bottle (700mL!) cost me just $10 CAD. Oh joys!

Neolia's entire product line (there's also a bar soap and body wash) features "100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil" and aloe vera as its star ingredients. I must admit that it doesn't rub in as well or absorb as quickly as the Olive Body Butter, but it feels very moisturizing once you have it rubbed in. It's a medium-thick lotion that I don't find too sticky or anything. And the scent is heavenly of course. It doesn't stay obtrusively on you throughout the day, and it doesn't interfere with perfume, but I can smell it lingering pleasantly on my pajamas sometimes. It's certainly a great way to satiate my Olive Body Butter cravings without breaking the bank.

Sadly, the Neolia lotion is sort of an off-white, not a yummy green. Oh well. They told me that I'd have to make some sacrifices in terms of finances and lifestyle when I became a grad student, and I'm pretty sure this is exactly what they meant. I might buy the Olive Butter again as a treat for myself on occasion, but for every-day use, the Neolia lotion is a worthy substitute.

And now I've got a strange craving for guacamole. Which doesn't even have olive in it. How does that even happen???


As requested, here is the ingredients list for the Neolia Olive Oil Body Lotion:

Aqua, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Cetearyl Acohol, Ceteareth-20, Cetyl Alcohol, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Polyacrylamide, Isoparafin C13-C14, Laureth-7, Glycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Gel, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaen, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben.



[EDIT 09/25/06: I spotted the 236mL tube of the Neolia lotion at Shopper's Drug Mart recently, going for about $8 CAD. So that's good news for us Canadians. I'm afraid this isn't much help for those abroad, although if you do happen to visit our lovely country, SDMs are all over the place, and it should be fairly easy to grab a tube. Or 12.]


* I have nothing against nature, she's a cool mamma. I just don't roll with that crowd, you know?
** Possible new word??? [lemmed -- past tense of 'lemm': To create a faux version of a much hyped item, in accordance with popular opinion. der. 'lemming', ex. "She saw the buzz that the new retro-madras jumper created, and so lemmed up her own from last season's plaid. How very Molly Ringwald of her!"] Yes? No?
*** It probably sounded a bit like "wwhrreeeee!"