Review | Paula's Choice Clinical Ultra-Rich Soothing Body Butter

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I love spring. Not just because of the pretty trees and flowers, but also because it gives my skin a chance to recover from the hellish dryness of winter. Between the cold air and indoor heating... well... let's just say that my skin isn't at its smoothest. I purchased Paula's Choice Clinical Ultra-Rich Soothing Body Butter back in February with the hopes that it would alleviate some of that painful dryness and restore my skin to a non-lizardy state. Want to know if it worked? Keep reading!

Product description:
"Paula's Choice Clinical Ultra-Rich Soothing Body Butter is the solution for problem dry skin anywhere on the body. This Clinically proven treatment cream immediately softens dry, rough skin and keeps it moisturized for 12 hours. A superior blend of antioxidant-rich plant oils, restorative emollients, soothing anti-irritants, and pure shea butter work together to restore and strengthen skin's protective barrier. Its rich texture is non-greasy and spreads easily helping dry, cracked skin become healthy again, look younger, and feel velvety-smooth. This product is 100% fragrance- and colorant-free."

My legs get inexplicably dry and nasty at times, especially in the winter, so I purchased this specifically to use on that part of my body. But since then I've also found myself experimenting with as a hand and foot cream too.

Ingredients:
Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) (emollient/antioxidant), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (emollient/skin-repairing ingredient), Glyceryl Stearate SE (thickener/emulsifier), Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil (antioxidant), Dimethicone (silicone slip agent), Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate (thickeners), Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter (emollient/antioxidant), Cetyl Alcohol (thickener), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Butter, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil (non-fragrant antioxidant plant oils and skin-repairing ingredients), Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract (anti-irritant), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil (non-fragrant antioxidant plant oils), Tocopherol (vitamin E/antioxidant), Ascorbyl Palmitate (vitamin C/antioxidant), Squalane, Glycerin (skin-repairing ingredients), Beta-Sitosterol (plant fatty acid/skin-repairing ingredient), Panthenol (skin-conditioning agent), Hydrogenated Vegetable Glycerides Citrate (emulsifier), Propylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol (slip agents), Disodium EDTA (stabilizer), Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol (preservatives).

As you can see, this body butter is absolutely loaded with emollient natural butters and plant oils, many of which also have antioxidant. This is great for healing dry skin on the body—but I would be cautious about using it on your face (or body if you're acne-prone there), because a number of those ingredients are also known acne triggers. (Check out this full CosDNA analysis to see the specifics.) But let's be honest here: If you know you're acne-prone, would you rub globs of shea butter on your face to begin with? Probably not.

Pricing:
US $19 for a 4oz/113g tube or $0.80 for a 0.12oz/3.5ml sample. Check out the end of the post for coupon codes.

Paula's Choice described their body butter as "rich", but do you know what I call it? THICK. Seriously, you can squirt a big glob of it out of the tube and it will stand up straight. It's also sort of reminiscent of buttercream cake frosting once spread:

Mmm, cake. Anyway, because Paula's Choice body butter is so ridiculously thick, I recommend (a) using just a teensy bit to start with and (b) applying it while your skin is still damp after your shower/bath if you plan on spreading it over a wide area of your skin. The thick/balm-like texture is great for spot-treating dry patches, but I find that it takes a little while to sink in if I'm using it on my whole leg area while it's still dry, for example. With that said it isn't too difficult to spread—and once it does sink in, it doesn't feel sticky at all. Getting it out of the tube is another matter—you have to squeeze pretty hard to dispense a significant amount. But I think I prefer the squeezy tube packaging over traditional jar packaging despite that... it's a lot more convenient and hygenic.

This body butter smells sort of interesting. There's no added fragrance, but it does have the subtle scent of shea butter and other natural plant oils. It's kind of "earthy", for lack of a better description. I'm not in love with the way it smells, but it's not awful and it seems to fade into the background when I'm wearing perfume or other scented products.

As for results: I thought that Paula's Choice Clinical Ultra-Rich Soothing Body Butter did a fantastic job of softening up my nasty lizardy winter legs with repeated use. It's also great as a foot cream or super-nourishing hand cream (though I wouldn't use it for that purpose during the day time, because it does take a while to settle into the skin). I'm still uncertain if I'll repurchase it though... I feel like I get equally good results from plain old shea butter, which is a lot less expensive. The Paula's Choice body butter does have one huge benefit over raw shea butter though: It's not nearly as greasy, and it does soak in after a few minutes. I tend to only use pure shea butter on my elbows and feet because it feels greasy for quite a while after applying.

Bottom line: If you suffer from dry patches, cracked skin or lizard skin, it's worth a try. If you're acne-prone, stay the hell away (unless you plan on just using it on your feet or something). I probably won't continue using this in the spring/summer as a body lotion because it's so heavy, but I'm keeping it in mind for next winter when my skin gets gross and dry again. Lizard powers activate!

What do you think of Paula's Choice Clinical Ultra-Rich Soothing Body Butter? Do you use thick lotions and body butters year-round or just in the winter?


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