A New Favourite | Arran Aromatics 'Velvet Isle' Shea Butter Cream

Arran Aromatics | Shea Body Butter in 'Velvet Isle' | £14.50 (currently £10.88)* | Link

When winter is well and truly in full swing, there's nothing like a bit of pamper time, is there?  You know the drill - hot bath, bubbles galore and a selection of skin treats to delve into whilst you soothe away your winter woes (and by heck have I got a lot of those right now)! Body butters are a key part of my routine all year round - but during the colder months, they're a must.  I've been loving Arran Aromatics just recently - ever since I first tried one of their facial gel washes in a beauty box a few months back (featured in my favourites of 2013 post here), I've really been intrigued by their skin treats and pamper products! As well as an array of skin care goodies and aromatherapy treats (even candles!), they also have little 'collections' which all have their own unique scent and a selection of products to go with it - hand creams, oils, soaps, shampoos and conditioners and body lotions - you name it! After having a jolly good read up on each scent, I settled for their 'Shea body butter' in their 'Velvet Isle' collection.  As soon as I unwrapped it, I fell in love.  Not only with the beautiful simplistic packaging, but also with the stunning fragrance and unique texture of the butter.

The Velvet Isle collection is described as a silky blend of fresh figs, honeyed fruit and coconut. It's honestly the most delicious, luxurious scent I've ever come across in a body butter and it really was love at first whiff! The slight coconut hint gives it a sweet kick, whilst the fresh figs and honeyed fruit combine together to create a completely unique, silky fragrance that really does capture the whole 'relaxing on a desert island at sunset' sort of vibe.  And it doesn't stop there.  The whole 'silky' fragrance and theme continues into the texture of the butter - it's so smooth and buttery and rich - very much like the texture of actual butter cream.  It's much more like a true body butter as opposed to a rich lotion and is incredibly moisturising and soothing on the skin - the added vitamin E makes it even more softening to apply.  The scent lingers on the skin for ages afterwards and has such a calming influence - it really is lovely to apply after a bath before you get all snuggly in bed and it doesn't leave you feeling 'greasy' or 'sticky' in any way. To top all of this off, Arran Aromatics receive extra brownie points from me for boxing their body butters - the little gold box is the perfect finishing touch.

Overall, it's safe to say that I really have discovered a new favourite. Not only in the body butter but also in the Arran Aromatics brand.  I've since made an order on a selection of their products so I'm really excited to share even more of these lovely pamper treats with you! You can find the Arran Aromatics website here, view their scent collections here, and find their 'Velvet Isle Shea Butter Cream' here (it's currently £10.88 - this is usually what I'd spend on a drugstore body butter so bare in mind that Arran Aromatics prices are really amazing for the quality!) I'm so excited to see they do a candle in this fragrance - something I'll probably treat myself to at some stage in the next few months.  It's worth mentioning that you can also find a selection of their products on both the House of Fraser website and also on All Beauty - where I picked up a replacement bottle of their lovely Lavender and Tea Tree facial gel wash for just £5.95!

Have you tried Arran Aromatics? What are your thoughts on the brand?