Grace Cole Fruit Works Body Butter review

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have noticed ambiguity regarding parabens and animal testing on the labels of The Body Shop body butters and lotion. I have been looking for a cost-effective jar of body butter without parabens - and preferably against animal testing. I have Dirty Works, but of the two jars I have, one contains parabens and one does not. Ditto Soap & Glory.
In February, I came across the Grace Cole Body Butters. I bought just the one jar at first, but went back soon enough and picked up four, and with good reason.
These come in six fragrances - Coconut and Lime, Pineapple and Passionfruit, Peach and Pear, Strawberry and Kiwi, Passionfruit and Guava and Watermelon and Pink Grapefruit.

Here is my review of the Grace Cole Fruit Works Body Butters.Packaging of Grace Cole Body Butters

Grace Cole is a Cheshire-based brand, specialising in British-made (and supplied) bath and body products. The body butters come in generous 250ml jars. The Body Shop Body Butters come in 200ml jars while Soap & Glory and Dirty Works are more generous at 300ml each.

The idea of lack of hygiene doesn't really occur to me with body butter jars - that is because I tend to finish a tub of body butter somewhat quickly. I moisturise all over two times a day, and that is enough to run through a tub in a few weeks.

Formula of Grace Cole Body Butters

Attention - no parabens! No animal testing!

The six fragrances - Coconut and Lime, Pineapple and Passionfruit, Peach and Pear, Strawberry and Kiwi, Passionfruit and Guava and Watermelon and Pink Grapefruit - smell exactly what they sound like. Of these, the first two reek, pretty much, of coconut and pineapple respectively and the fragrance was so strong that I did not buy them. The other four have mild, pleasant fragrance, with Peach and Pear being the best, which is why I picked those up. The fragrance is not overpowering and lasts on the skin for three to four hours. It is fruity and summery and does not smell artificial.

Apart from fragrance, there is no difference between the jars. I am yet to open the Strawberry and Kiwi jar, though I have tried the other three.
The formula is thick and creamy. But when you spread it out, it feels silky and lightweight, and not sticky, greasy or watery. It is absorbed in 10 minutes or so and does not leave any residue.

For the dry months, this is a great body butter for rough skin. For warmer months, they have body lotions in the same fragrances and I am looking forward to trying those out.
I have been using Passionfruit and Guava, and have stocked up on the rest, as you can see. I also picked up a hand wash in Peach and Pear along with these.

Bottom Line
Grace Cole has become my favourite body butter brand. I have a bottle of body lotion waiting for the summer and I know I will love it as much. At £5 for 250ml, Grace Cole Body Butters are more value for money than The Body Shop body butters, which now cost more than £10 here for just 200ml. And Grace Cole products are all paraben-free and carry the "Against Animal Testing" label, whereas we have seen some ambiguity with both in the case of The Body Shop. Plus, Grace Cole products feel better on my skin!
These are available from gracecole.co.uk - they deliver worldwide by tracked postage, charged according to weight - as well as in large supermarkets in more than 60 countries. I picked these up from my local cosmetics store, named "Goodwill" - while it certainly does not carry Urban Decay, Too Faced and Tarte (which is just as well for my bank balance) I do come across the odd Anatomicals product, or Batiste dry shampoo, CHI, or other drugstore skin and hair care brands. I have also seen these in two supermarkets in the city.
Disclaimer: I bought these; not PR samples.
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