Clean and Refreshed with Vichy Spa Shower Gels

Why, hello there! A recurring theme here on Cosmetic Proof seems to be that "life is hectic" and though I can't say things have changed, there are a couple of products that make me happy to be home (other than hubby, Hugo and Hemi). I have my showers at night so generally I like to relax and scrub off the stress of the day in order for me to get a good night's sleep. It's also where I brainstorm most of my nail art designs so the shower really is an important place for me!

Even in my pre-blogging days, I always loved buying an insane amount of shower gel. There are so many scents out there and it is something I use every day so I can buy LOTS of it, no? I still have a bit of a problem with hoarding shower gels, but now I am a bit more selective and tend to behave whenever Bath & Body Works has their crazy "Buy 7 for $25"! Lately, I have been focusing on keeping my skin hydrated with some bath and body newness from Vichy! 

The new Vichy Spa Shower Gel-Oil* (200ml/$16.95 CDN) is an in-shower gel-oil body cleanser made with Vichy's Thermal Water along with magnesium, zinc and copper. It also contains jojoba, coriander apricot and macadamia for built-in hydration. 

Firstly, this smells oh so good! Reminds me a lot of sweet almond oil which is odd considering there is none in here. The scent is not overwhelming at all and the fragrance does not last on the skin. I was most curious about the texture of a "gel-oil" and really if it wasn't on the packaging, I probably wouldn't have known there was anything different about the formulation. I still had to use a regular body moisturizer after showering, so the addition of the extra oils did not change that particular aspect of my routine.

The new Vichy Spa Shower Gel-Cream* (200ml/$16.95 CDN) is yes a cream formulation of the above, but with a more subtle, slightly different scent and contains shea butter and white clay to both hydrate and soften tougher areas like elbows and knees.  

I actually liked the consistency of the gel-cream a bit more as it felt more moisturizing while I was in the shower. Upon rinsing, my skin felt about the same as with the gel-oil and I continued with body moisturizer afterwards. Perhaps a little softer, but there wasn't too much of a difference.

Final verdict: Both shower gels smelled wonderful and gave a good lather as I use a shower puff and not having a lather kind of kills me even though I know that too much lather can be drying for the skin. I thought the Spa Shower Gel-Oil would be latherless, but it was pleasantly foamy! While I'm not sure if I would buy these for myself, as they seem like a bit of treat for shower gels, I would totally get these as gifts for others because I don't think an extravagant shower gel is something people would buy for themselves.

The Vichy Spa Shower Gels are available at www.vichy.ca