The things I liked about this lotion:

It’s a nice medium-weight lotion that soaks in within a few minutes.  It has a mild self-tanner odor — not horrifically strong.  It did give me a nice, non-orange, even layer of tan.  This surprised me, because I’ve read a lot of reviews of this lotion, and many people say it did absolutely nothing for them.  However, I suspect those people do not have fish-belly white legs like I do!  Plus I only used it on areas to even out my farmer-tan — legs, neck, and upper arms — I wasn’t looking to enter Dancing With the Stars anytime soon.  So yes, this “light bronzing” color works great if you’re desperately, desperately pale, and you’re just looking to look a bit more alive, perhaps like you spent the afternoon in the sun.  If you already have a healthy glow, or you wish to look like you spent a week on a beach in Mexico, I’d suggest going for the darker bronze formulation.

(I applied a tiny amount to my inner arm and after about fifteen minutes a nice, non-orange tan streak appeared on my inner arm.  I suggest everyone trying out this lotion take this precaution as well.)

The things I did not like about this lotion:

Overall, I think it’s a little too high maintenance for me.  I found it oddly stressful to try to apply it without streaking — I spent five minutes obsessively making sure I was getting the lotion on without leaving any gaps, and then five minutes wandering around in old pajamas I wouldn’t mind getting tanning streaks on before being able to get on with my life.  Whereas it usually takes me about 15 seconds to slap lotion on my legs and dress.  Also, the effects lasted maybe a few days, and I always smelled faintly kind of like self-tanner.  That really just did not work for me.  Other problems — while the pump dispenser is very convenient while the bottle is full, it means a lot of product gets lost when the bottle is almost empty.  I’d prefer some kind of squeeze tube instead — it would be less wasteful.  It was also a little expensive — I think I paid about $12 for 8oz at Whole Foods when I bought it, and I think I got maybe ten applications out of it.  If I’d been thinking of tanning more than my legs and upper arms, I’d have gotten a lot fewer out of it.

Overall: it’s a nice self-tanner lotion that I think would really appeal to people who are more high-maintenance than I am.  If you are very, very pale, don’t mind spending 15 minutes every few days applying this self-tanning lotion, don’t mind spending $12 for 8oz of lotion, and would like to look lightly tanned, this will be a great resource for you.  So I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Alba Botanica Light Bronzing Very Emollient Body Lotion is available at Amazon for $15.07.

(Alba Botanica products are 100%-animal-testing-free, but they are not organic, nor are they vegan.  They are vegetarian, however.)

Ingredients:

Purified Water, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cyclomethicone, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Dimethicone, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Dihydroxyacetone, Erythrulose, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Tocopherol, Isopropyl Palmitate, Retinyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Steareth-20, Xanthan Gum, Lactic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance (1), Amyl Cinnamal(2), Benzyl Benzoate(2), Benzyl Salicylate(2), Citral(2), Citronellol(2), Limonene(2), Eugenol(2), Farnesol(2), Geraniol(2), Linalool(2)

* Certified Organic
1) Natural Fragrance Derived from Essential Oils
2) Component of Natural Essential Oils

This used to be my favorite body lotion — it’s pretty cheap and you can buy it with SPF (well, the “daily shade” version of it has spf). Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an SPF that protects from skin cancer, so I stopped using it. It’s the basic Alba Botanica lotion, and you can buy it in bulk from Whole Foods (or . . . you used to, anyway), which is a real deal. I still use it occasionally because I have a giant bottle of it, but only on days I don’t think I’ll go outside much.

According to AlbaBotanica.com, it has a maximum, therapeutic formula that blends organic aloe vera, green tea and chamomile extracts with natural plant emollients and vitamin antioxidants to soothe, nourish, and revitalize dry sensitive skin. It also has alpha hydroxy acids in it to help exfoliate dull surface cells. It is light textured and non-greasy. Supposedly it’s excellent for all skin types, is good for everyday use, is available in 12oz and 32oz bottles, comes in “unscented,” and “original” scents, and it also comes in a “maximum dry skin” formula for people with really dry skin. It’s hypo-allergenic, has no synthetic colors, has some organic ingredients, is pH balanced, and has 100% vegetarian ingredients (and is, of course, CCIC-approved-cruelty-free).

Overall, I think it’s a great lotion — the price is right, it’s nicely hydrating, it exfoliates, and it has a very mild scent. I only took off one star because it doesn’t protect against skin cancer. It had some other minor drawbacks, such as it doesn’t sink in right away, it’s a little greasy, the unscented version smells sort of gluey — like the Aubrey Organics lotion I reviewed a while ago — while the SPF-containing version smells sunscreeny. The overall rating for the lotion on MakeupAlley is 4.4/5 stars — people seem to like it.

Alba Botanic Very Emollient Body Lotion (12 fl oz) is available for $8.99 at Amazon.com (or 32oz for $19.42 and free shipping), many local natural drugstores, and Whole Foods.

Ingredients: Certified organic herbal infusion of chamomile (chamomilla recutita), echinacea (echinacea purpurea), green tea (camellia sinensis) and lavender (lavandula officinalis), plant oils of safflower (carthamus tinctorius), jojoba (simmondsia chinensis), sesame (sesamum indicum), grapeseed (vitis vinifera) and avocado (persea gratissima), vegetable glycerin, certified organic aloe barbadensis, glyceryl stearate, isopropyl palmitate, stearic acid, cucumber extract (cucumis sativus), organic sea kelp extract (macrocystis pyrifera), panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), lecithin, silica, methyl/propylparaben, tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol (vitamin E).

Jason Natural Products — actually Jason is spelled with slash marks in between all the letters like this: J/A/S/O/N plus two extra umlauts over the vowels (because it looks unusual?) — makes a number of cruelty-free cosmetic and body products. According to the Jason Natural Products website , Jason Natural Products has been making “pure and natural” products for the past 48 years for skin, body, hair, and oral health for the whole family. Jason products are environmentally-friendly, and contain the finest food-grade, natural, organic, and nutritional ingredients. Jason products are especially cruelty-free — Jason Natural Products has bought the leaping bunny logo.

In particular, Jason Glycerine and Rosewater Hand and Body Lotion is oil-free, 70% organic, and is fortified with vitamin B and herbal extracts. It contains no mineral oil, petrolatum or waxes, no animal by-products, no parabens, and it is 100% vegetarian. Along with the CCIC logo, it also has a “recyclable” logo on the back of the tube.

I’ve used the lotion a few times, and I’d say it’s a nice, medium-weight lotion. The oil-free-ness is a little weird, but I’m getting more used to it. The fragrance is not very rosewater-y — the lotion smells strongly like soap. Overall it’s a good lotion. The only reason I’ve taken off a star is that the lotion does not protect against skin cancer.

Jason Glycerine and Rosewater Hand and Body Lotion (8 oz) is available for $5.49 at Amazon.com, and many natural grocery and drug stores.

Ingredients: Aqua (Purified Water), Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract*, Rosa Damascena (Rosewater) Extract, Calendula Officinalis (Marigold) Flower Extract* and Anthemus Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Gel*, Vegetable Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Dimethicone, Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vit. C), Glyceryl Stearate, Tocopherol (Vit. E), Potassium Carbomer, Panthenol (Vit B5), Tocomin 50% Tocotrienol (Vit. E), Cetyl Alcohol, Retinyl Palmitate (Vit. A), Octinoxate, Benzyl Alcohol, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Natural Color, Fragrance Oil Blend. *Certified Organic.

I picked up a bottle of Aubrey Organics Ultimate Moist Lotion last time I went to the store. I like to support Aubrey organics because it is the trifecta — really cruelty free (bought the CCIC leaping bunny logo cruelty free), vegan (it has a vegan logo), and organic.

Aubrey Organics was one of the first organic skincare lines — it was founded in 1969 and has been producing completely natural products with no synthetics of any kind added since then — all Aubrey Organics products use only herbs, essential oils, and natural vitamins as additives, and citrus seeds, vitamin A, C, and E for preservatives. They are also formulated by Aubrey Hampton and hand-crafted in small batches in the Aubrey Organics Tampa, Florida, manufacturing plant.

So I bought a bottle of the basic unscented Aubrey Organics lotion. So far, I like it, it’s nice. Unfortunately it’s a mediumweight lotion — I’d prefer something a little more moisturizing. It goes on streaky, but fades to clear. The only real problem I had with it was that it’s not liquid enough — once the bottle is mostly empty and the pump stops working, it’s virtually impossible to get the last remaining ounce of lotion out. Also, while it is supposed to be unscented, it has a sort of . . . gluey . . scent. I much prefer the gluey scent to some weird chemical scent, but next time I may opt for a different Aubrey scent — the lotion comes in Green Tea & Rosemary and Passionfruit scents as well.

So far, the only drawback this lotion has (other than the price, which is a little high — $10 for 8oz — but considering the lotion is completely organic, understandable) is that it doesn’t have any UVA protecting sunscreen in it — it does come in a “Morning Meadow SPF 15″ option, but the spf in that lotion is Padimate O — not mexoryl, avobenzone, octocrylene, zinc oxide, or titanium dioxide, so it will not protect against skin cancer. I can sort of see why Aubrey Organics doesn’t use mexoryl or avobenzone — they’re not organic or natural, they’re synthetic (I think), and I can also sort of see why Aubrey Organics doesn’t use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide — they are natural, but they tend to not be transparent, which is very important in a lotion. So I’m taking a star off for lack of UVA-protection, but I understand why the lotion doesn’t have it.

Aubrey Organics Ultimate Moist Lotion (8 oz) is available for $8.71 at Amazon.com, as well as most natural drugstores and grocery stores. I’ve seen it at Whole Foods.

Ingredients: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, White Camellia Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

A few weeks ago I was reading some online forum and it mentioned that Trader Joe’s lotion is actually made by Nature’s Gate — which is cruelty free! I was very interested because I love Trader Joe’s and I know the lotions there are very inexpensive, and Nature’s Gate lotions are fairly expensive. So I picked up a bottle the next time I was at Trader Joe’s. Sure enough, on the back there is a very similar logo to the CCIC leaping bunny logo that says it isn’t tested on animals.

I’ve been using the lotion for a few weeks now, and I like it a lot — it’s very thick, it’s very moisturizing, it has a lot of natural ingredients, it’s not greasy, it’s pH balanced, biodegradable, and unscented. Well, the bottle says unscented; it does have a very faint scent of aloe. The only bad things I have found about it are that it does leave white streaks until it sinks in, which takes about five minutes, and it uses methylparaben as a preservative (I’ve heard that parabens are controversial). However, what I’ve taken a star off for is that I’d really like it to have a UVA blocking sunscreen in it — it would save me time in the morning. However, it has one great feature that far outweighs those three drawbacks — it’s $2.99 for 18oz of lotion — it’s incredibly inexpensive.

Trader Joe’s a Midsummer Night’s Cream Moisturizing Lotion is available at any Trader Joe’s for $2.99.

Ingredients: Water, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glyceryl Stearate, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Glycerin, Emulsifying Wax NF, Symphytum Officinale Extract, Cucumis Sativus Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) extract, Viola Tricolor Extract, Commiphora Myrrha Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, Citric Acid, Allantoin, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Methylparaben.

L’Occitane is one of my favorite cruelty-free companies, and of its varied product lines based on typical Provencal fragrances, the Roses des 4 Reines is one of my favorites. I bought the travel sizel jar of the Roses des 4 Reines Rose Velvet Body Cream and I just love it. The packaging is great — it comes in a pretty round jar of heavy plastic with an aluminum lid. The cream is velvety and rich, but not heavy or at all greasy, it sinks in pretty quickly, and it smells wonderful. L’Occitane claims that it will leave your skin “perfumed, soft and satin smooth” — and I would say it does. I especially like the fact that the rose fragrance is very soft, clean-smelling, and long-lasting — not overpowering, harsh or cloying, which some bad rose fragrances tend to be. I’m not the only person who likes it — of the five reviews about it on MakeupAlley.com, everyone gave it 5/5 stars. The reviewers also described it as “decadent,” “pure luxury pampering,” “absolutely amazing,” as having a “very fresh and clean smell,” and as having a contemporary scent — not a “mature” scent that some rose perfumes have.

Unfortunately, it’s been discontinued in the U.S. (but it is still available in the UK), but you can pick it up on eBay sometimes for about $40 (it’s fairly expensive). However, L’Occitane has released a Rose Velvet Hand Cream, which I assume is fairly similar — that is available for $18.00 (2.6oz) at L’Occitane Online.

INGREDIENTS LIST

AQUA/WATER, ISONONYL ISOMONANOATE, CYCLOMETHICONE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, TRIOCTANOIN/TRIETHYLHEXANOIN, BIOSACCHARIDE GUM-1, PARFUM/FRAGRANCE, GLYCERYL POLYMETHACRYLATE, PRUNUS AMYGDALUS DULCIS (SWEET ALMOND) OIL, SQUALENE, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, PHENEXYETHANOL, CETEARYL GLUCOSIDE, CARBOMER, CITRONELLOL, METHYL/ETHYL/BUTYL/PROPYL/ISOBUTYL/PARABEN, BENZYL SALICYLATE, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, O-CYMEN-5-OL, POLYACRYLAMIDE, TRIS (TREMETHULHYDROXYPIPERIDINOL) CITRATE, BUTETH-3, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, ALPHAISOMETHYL IONONE, DISODIUM EDTA, C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN, LINALOOL, GERANIOL, SODIUM BENZOTRIAZOYL BUTYLPHENOL SULFONATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, ALCOHOL DENAT, LAURETH-7, EUGENOL, HYDROSYISOHEXYL 3-CYCLOHEXENE CARBOXALDEHYDE, TRIBUTYL CITRATE, CI 17200/RED 33.