Today’s question is a little on the personal side, but I’d really like to hear what you think.

Do you use feminine wash products? Do you believe in using one? If you do, which brand of feminine wash do you use? Or do you douche instead? Have you had any bad experience with feminine washes and/or douching?

Would really love to hear your opinions in the comments below, as it would help me with an article about feminine washing that I’m currently writing. If you like, you may remain anonymous.

Thanks, and looking forward to reading your comments!

These tests will help you to determine the ratio of oil to water in a moisturising product.

Apply moisturiser to your skin. If the skin under the moisturiser is warm, there is a greater percentage of oil in the product. If the area is cool, there is a greater percentage of water. The science behind this is that evaporation cools, and water evaporates. Oil does not evaporate and therefore traps heat in the body.

Put a small amount of moisturiser on a tissue, and hold it over a lightbulb. Products with higher oil content will melt. The wider the area of melted oil, the greater the percentage of oil in the moisturiser.

I experimented this with Olay’s Complete UV Protection Moisture Lotion SPF15 for combination/oily skin.

So there you go, a useful beauty tip from the expert herself (I meant Bobbi :P).

Another method to check the oil-to-water ratio was a good tip I picked up from Traclyn, who ran an oiliness test of a BB cream on a piece of facial blotter. I think it is another good way to check if the product is going to be too greasy for you, especially if you suffer from oily skin.

Did a bit of a body care haul at L’occitane last Thursday. Bought some shower oil and body oil, both which I’ve never tried before.

In order to qualify for this gift-with-purchase (still valid at time of post),

I had to purchase something from the Shea Butter collection. As I already have a shea butter hand cream and wasn’t keen on getting yet another tub of body butter, the sales assistant recommended the cheapest thing in store – the extra-gentle soap. Since I haven’t used soap bars in ages (and also because I’ve already spent a bomb in store), I was sold.

Description:

Formulated with a 100% vegetable base and enriched with Shea Butter, with nourishing properties. Allows to use daily. Non-irritating; suitable for men, women and children. Available also in the fragrances: Cinnamon – orange, madreselva, milk, lavanda, and verbena.

Ingredients:
Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua/Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Parfum/Fragrance, Glycerin, Palm Kernel Acid, Sodium Chloride, Tocopherol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Linalool, Limonene.

I can’t remember the last time I used a bar of soap in the shower. I rejoiced when shower creams were introduced in the house by my mother many, many years ago. I still remember her words – “Shower creams aren’t cheap, but at least it’s better than having you children ruin good bars of soap by leaving them soaking in water!” 😛

The L’occitane soap does not have an overpowering scent of lavender, but leaves a soft, lingering scent after the shower. It also lathers up well.

Unfortunately, that’s all which is good that I can say about the soap. It just reminded me of what bars of soaps I used to use felt like – it left the skin feeling squeaky clean and really tight. I thought it would be different, seeing that it was described as extra gentle. I left the shower with the skin feeling dry and bleh.

Is it something I’d repurchase? No, definitely not. I’ve got a long way to go with the soap, and once it’s finished, I’d be glad to return to my moisturising shower creams. In fact, I reckon I’ll alternate between this and shower cream. Don’t think I can take a month of squeaky, dry skin, especially in the winter.

L’occitane’s Extra Gentle Soap is available at L’occitane stores and counters at leading departmental stores, and is priced at AU$8.95 for 100g.

What I like about it: Pleasant scent of lavender.

What I do not like about it: Leaves the skin squeaky clean and feeling awfully tight and dry. Not my thing.