I am (and always have been) a sucker for good-quality scented body products. I have become sort of picky with my fragrant choices over the years though: I tend not to like products if they smell sort of artificial, and in the case of lotions and whatnot, they also need to be pretty darn emollient. Call me crazy, but I want my body moisturizers to actually moisturize. Today I'd like to introduce you to some lovely body products by Nubian Heritage that fit the bill in both departments. Insta-pamper session, no reservations required.
For those of you who have never heard of Nubian Heritage, here's a little background: The company was founded in 1992 by two New York street vendors. Their mission? To make awesome natural products using culturally authentic practices and fair-trade ingredients. Nowadays, you can find Nubian Heritage at a variety of retailers or online at affordable prices—check out their website for more info. (I'll also be putting a few shopping links at the end of the post.) Their stuff is also free from animal testing, and in some cases, appears to be vegan-friendly (check individual labels for more info, as some products contain honey, milk, etc.)
Raw Shea Butter Infused with Frankincense & Myrrh (priced around $12.99 for 4oz):
This is pretty much straight-up pure, raw shea butter, with a bit of fragrance added. For those of you who have never used pure shea butter before, it looks a little bit like this:
Nubian Heritage Coconut & Papaya Shea Butter |
It's fairly solid when stored at room temperature, but it melts nicely into the skin when once it's warmed up a bit by your hands. Shea butter is of course used in a TON of moisturizing products—everything from hand creams to body lotions to stretch mark creams and so on. Folks with thicker, drier hair types may even enjoy using it on their hair. As for me, I think it makes an excellent moisturizer for those parts of the body that tend to get extra-scaly ... think elbows and feet. The scent in this particular variety isn't overwhelming, but it's very pleasant. Sort of earthy and herbal.
Shea Butter infused with Coconut & Papaya (priced around $12.99 for 4oz):
I believe this is refined shea butter, which might explain why it has a slightly smoother texture than the Frankincense & Myrrh variety. Or it could be that it's blended with a bit of coconut oil. If you're a huge coconut-lover like me, you'll probably love this—it has a gorgeous, creamy coconut scent with an edge of tropical fruitiness. Very, very appealing.
Lavender & Wildflowers and Vitamin E Hand Cream (priced around $8.99 for 4fl oz):
Oh, hand cream: I have so much of you but I can never get enough of you. Strangely enough, the Lavender & Wildflowers scent doesn't really smell much like lavender to me, but it does have a more generic floral scent that's pleasant. As for the cream, it's very moisturizing. It doesn't sink into the skin instantly, so this is the kind of hand cream you'd probably want to use at night right before you go to bed.
Coconut & Papaya with Vanilla Beans Hand Cream (priced around $8.99 for 4fl oz):
I LOVE YOU, CREAM. Seriously though, this hand cream is rich and hydrating AND has the gorgeous fruity-coconut scent I loved so much in the shea butter. Instant favorite.
Lavender & Wildflowers with Vitamin E Body Wash (priced around $11.99 for 13fl oz):
This is the same floral-but-not-quite-lavender scent as the hand cream, except in body wash form. I think the formula is fairly thick as body washes go ... it does lather, though not as much as some other washes I've tried. The upside is that it doesn't dry out my skin as much as some other body washes do.
Olive & Green Tea Body Lotion (priced around $11.99 for 13fl oz):
You guys, this stuff is THICK. Crazily thick. This might be the thickest body lotion I've ever used. Quick, to the consistency cam:
Left: Hand cream - Center: Body lotion - Right: Shea Butter |
This is fabulous for dry skin types, though if you only want a light "kiss" of moisture this is probably not the lotion you want to choose, haha. Seriously, it's almost as thick as body butter, but in a lotion tube. Speaking of tubes, I wish this came with a pump because getting this crazy thickness out of the bottle takes some effort. The Green Tea & Olive scent is gorgeous though: It smells mostly like tea to me, with a hint of sweetness underneath. So fresh and earthy and wonderful.
Various bar soaps (priced around $4.99 each):
I know bar soaps aren't everybody's thing, but these are actually pretty decent. They're not ridiculously drying, and the bars have little "bits" in them for extra exfoliating power:
Clockwise from top: Honey & Blackseed, Lavender & Wildflowers, Goat's Milk & Chai |
My favorite is the Honey & Blackseed variety (the orange-ish one pictured above). Some honey scents turn weird on me, but this one just smells sweet and earthy and delicious. There are also tons of seeds lodged in the bar, which make for a nice and scrubby bathing experience.
These are just a few of the products Nubian Heritage offers—check out their website for info on their other products, including a range of African Black Soap products.
If I had to pick overall favorites from this batch, I'd probably go for the Coconut & Papaya hand cream, Green Tea & Olive lotion, and either one of the shea body butters. What can I say, I enjoy being moist.
Here are a few R-approved retailers that sell Nubian Heritage online:
- iHerb (international shipping available)
- The Vitamin Shoppe (international shipping available)
- Amazon (of course)
Have you ever tried anything by Nubian Heritage? Which of these products sounds most appealing?
Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided for review purposes, however any opinions expressed above are honest and my own. I did not receive any other form of compensation. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.
I havent tried any products by Nubian Heritage but the coconut and shea butter lotions and body butter sounds great. I too get scaly elbows so this would probably be great.
ReplyDeleteThey're pretty rich! If you want something you can use all over your body easily, I'd recommend the lotion. It's REALLY thick even though it's a lotion.
ReplyDeleteI am the rare person who is a fan of bar soaps! I do have some body wash, but I adore a good 'ol bar of soap. Will definitely check these out. Not a big fan of Frankincense. Do you know if the Vitamin Shoppe sell these in the actual store?
ReplyDeleteIf you go to the Vitamin Shoppe site and go to the specific page for the product(s) you're interested in, there's a little "find in store" button next to where it says "add to cart" that you can use to see if it's available at a store near you. But the short version is yes, some products do seem to be available in select stores!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! Will have a look/see. I am doubtful my local store will have it as we are a smaller market.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to go more natural with my products lately, These seem interesting, I love using Bar Soaps (as long as they don't dry my skin) so those are what attract me the most.
ReplyDeleteThese definitely fall into the "natural" category. If you're cool with bar soaps I recommend these! Especially the honey one if you like a bit of scrubbiness. :)
ReplyDelete