It has been ages since I did a Face Off post. I wanted to show you two body creams/butters that are my absolute HGs and my winter skincare is incomplete without either one of these. And since I love both of them so much, I realised it would be difficult for me to choose between either one. So I decided to pitch one against the other and do a Face Off with The Body Shop Body Butters on one hand and the Bath and Body Works Triple Moisture Body Cream on the other…..
(Let me first clarify that this face off is between all TBS body butters and all BBW body creams not any particular fragrances. I have shown the Ginger Sparkle and Amber Blush ones because those are the ones I am currently using.)
While currently both brands are equally well known and lusted after, The Body Shop is the senior one having been started in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick in the United Kingdom. In 2006, it came under the huge L’Oreal umbrella. Bath and Body Works was started in 1990 in Ohio, USA and rapidly expanded to a whopping 750 stores by 1996.
Neither of these brands test on animals!
Neither of these brands test on animals!
PRODUCT RANGE
The Body Shop has an exhaustive product range right from skin to hair to bath to fragrances and even makeup and accessories. Bath and Body Works‘s product range is even wider than that of The Body Shop. While their foray into makeup is limited to their Liplicious Lip Gloss, they also have a huge range of home fragrances (candles and portables with really cute animal shaped holders), spa products and, my sons’ favourite, hand sanitizers (the adorable little Pocketbacs).
Both of these also have a lot of fragrance categories in their products, but this is where Bath and Body Works wins hands down. Not only do they have amazing fragrance blends for their products that are beautifully named (Amber Blush, Twilight Woods, Dark Kiss), they also come up with new collections each season!
PACKAGING
Coming back to the products that we are comparing, The Body Shop body butters come in round plastic boxes with a screw on lid. This is, honestly, my pet peeve coz you have to dip your fingers into the pot to get the product. Or use a spatula!. Yes, it is a sturdy, travel-friendly box, but it isn’t hygienic. At the same time, the advantage of the tub is that you can use every last bit of the product. No wastage here.
Bath and Body Works triple moisture body creams come in tubes with a flip top cap which is not only travel friendly, but also very hygienic. The only thing with tubes is that there is product wastage coz you cant really use up every teeny drop of cream inside the tube like you would with a tub. Despite that, I prefer a tube packaging over a tub any day.
INGREDIENTS
Both of these have a mix of some good ingredients (glycerin, vegetable oils, fruit extracts etc) as well as some baddies (PEG, silicones etc). Most of the ingredients are more or less the same with The Body Shop also having shea butter and Cocoa butter in their body butters. Thankfully, no mineral oil or parabens in either.
TEXTURE AND EFFICACITY
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| TBS Body Butter on the left and BBW Body Cream on the right. |
Texture wise, both of these are IDENTICAL and both give 24hour hydration even in the dry desert winters. I had used the TBS Vanilla one last year in Ranthambore and the BBW Amber Blush this year in Rajasthan and in both cases, I did not have to reapply throughout the day. However, I have noticed a slight discrepancy in the textures of some of the The Body Shop body butters. While this ginger one and the other limited edition Vanilla one have a really rich, thick, buttery texture, some of the others like Moringa and Lemon aren’t as thick and hydrating.
The Bath and Body Works creams ALL have the same rich, thick, extremely hydrating texture. Also, the fragrance of the BBW creams lasts much longer than that of the TBS ones. Even at night, there is a faint fragrance of the BBW cream lingering on my skin.
PRICE
The Body Shop body Butters are priced at Rs. 1095 for 200ml for the regular butters and Rs. 1295 for the Limited Edition ones.
The Bath and Body Works body creams are priced at $12.50 (approx Rs. 760) for 226gm! And not only that, BBW periodically has great sales and deals where one can buy these amazing creams for as low as $3-5 each!!! Of course, that’s only if you live in USA or have friends/family there who will hoard up and send them to you. BBW creams are also available here in India on certain websites. Jabong retails them for Rs. 1000-1500 and Flipkart has some on discount at Rs. 975. Though that’s much higher than what they retail for in USA, it is still less than the TBS ones.
WINNER
Both these brands have their fan following but since this is my blog and these are my opinions, here’s my winner….and the winner is……(drumroll)….Bath and Body Works! I simply LOVE their fragrance range and their packaging and both these factors have made it the winner for me.
Which one of these would you pick? TBS or BBW?
Thanks Manasi 🙂
You’ll love the BBW ones 🙂
Yes, they do have body butters and those are insanely thick, far, far richer than TBS so threes no comparison there. All the BBW creams I’ve used over the years (and I’ve used loads) have had a thick buttery texture similar to some of the TBS butters (which duo not have uniformity in texture across the range.)which is why i chose to compare these two.
Actually Bath and Body Works has more of a lotion texture and not a thick cream like the body shop body butters, Bath and Body works also make body butters which in my opinion would be a much better pick for a face off….
Nicely Compiled Post Dear 🙂 .. I’m currently loving TBS Body Butters but would Love to try the Bath & Body Works soon on your recco 😉
Sounds nice 🙂 Nice review dear 🙂
Oops. Sorry Naomi. The auto correct on the ipad is to be blamed :p Will surely check out ur blog.
Thanks Neomi 🙂
I dont think TBS claims to be organic. They dont even mention that in their packaging.
I love the fragrance of BBW creams 🙂
Dollie, it is Naomi. Eheheheh! But never mind, hope you look through my blog too! <3
Bath and Body works is totally winning.
Such a cute tube too!
Nice post Dollie 😀
I would probably pick TBS for their claim of being organic
Nicely compared! Bath and Body Works is a real winner reading ur review!
I will go for BBW…:-)
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