The Body Shop Spa Of The World Firming Ritual – Prepping for The Big Day

Everyone, or at least beauty junkies anyway, loves a good me-time. Whether it’s putting on makeup, walking in the city, going to the movies alone, or just watching Netflix (oh wait, that’s me too). In my case, any skincare routine is my me-time. To put it in simple terms, I pamper myself everyday 😀

Spending the time in taking good care of ourselves, whatever that might be, will do wonderful things for our psyche. Happy mood will increase our productivity during the day. Ensures to have clearer mind and give a more positive vibe to our aura.

As my wedding day approaches, I’m trying to keep my calm and zen as I have throughout the whole preparation. I won’t lie there were a few times where certain situations ticked my nerves. But, all in good fun. There’s a new routine I’ve introduced in the past couple of weeks. Nothing drastic or risky, just a great addition to the existing one I have.

It’s The Body Shop Spa Of The World Firming Ritual*.

I won’t lie that the word “Firming” caught my interest. I mean, as much as I know it’s going to need more than just topical treatment (aka working out), I thought to myself that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go. And I’ve been working out too so it sort of justifies 😀

The Body Shop Spa Of The World Firming Ritual consists of three items that synergistically work together as one cohesive routine to help to tone and firm the skin: Thai Makrut Lime Firming Oil, French Grape Seed Scrub and Ethiopian Green Coffee Cream. After I watched the promotional video (I encourage you to watch it), I was totally sold and wanted to try it. This looks like a refreshing routine!

When I received the products, the first thing I did is have a whiff at the products. They all smell so, so good. Invigorating, that’s how I would say it. With minor differences, they all share the same trait of fruity, zesty with a touch of leafy scent. My sister, who generally dislikes strong scents in skincare products, surprisingly likes it. Mom, too.

The first item is Thai Makrut Lime Firming Oil. This was the product I was most excited of because I can use it as a massage oil when my house-call masseuse (aka “mbak pijat“) comes in. As an oil, it has a thin, fast-absorbing consistency. This is pretty much a dry oil texture with Soybean oil, Grape Seed oil, Marula oil, Wheatgerm oil with Cypress EO, Lemon Peel EO and Kaffir Lime extract. Not sticky with little-to-none greasy feel afterwards, just soft and supple.

I would say I’m not accustomed to this type of thin oil for massaging because it’s not as slippery and it sinks in fairly quickly. It becomes less cost-effective too because I ended up using more oil to compensate the issue. However, in correlation, the masseuse can really massage my limbs for that toning effect.

There’s another video for the massaging technique that I can do by myself. It’s definitely doable but my hands aren’t as agile or have arms as long as Vanda’s. It’s a bit of a learning curve for me. I think of it as an extra exercise, burns more calories perhaps?

By any means, this oil can be used on its own as a body oil to replace the heavier cream. Or, you can layer them both for extra nourishment. I actually don’t mind using this body oil in the morning after shower, thanks to its lightweight consistency. Doesn’t stick to my clothes either. That scent though, wraps my mind to sleep!

Any body care routine will not be efficient without a body scrub. Just like facial skin, exfoliation will remove dead skin cells and any flaky bits hanging to their dear lives for us to slough off. That way, any product we put on afterwards can absorb better. In The Body Shop Spa Of The World Firming Ritual, the product offered is called French Grape Seed Scrub. Enriched with Brazil Nut oil, Grape Seed oil, Evening Primrose Seed, Grape Seed powder and bud extract.

Let’s just gawk at that tub’s size. It is HUGE. 350 ml or 385 gr of product. My hand can barely holding it, which is why it’s important to set this on a flat surface before opening it to prevent any unwanted, catastrophic spill. The consistency of this body scrub is very thick and gooey. Very dense viscosity. Good thing is, it spreads fairly easily over wet skin.

As far as my experience goes, body scrubs usually have bigger or coarser granules and the French Grape Seed Scrub is no different. Upon using, I felt that the more I massage the scrub, the exfoliating effect seemed to tone down. That’s when I noticed that it uses sugar and it melts off gradually due to the heat of the body and friction. I did a taste test as well and it’s sweet. For me though, the only let down of this product is I wished it has more Grape Seed powder as the physical exfoliator instead of sugar granules (Sucrose is second on the ingredient list, right after glycerin). I could barely see the powder to be honest. Sugar, by any means, is used in a lot of body scrubs. It’s efficient and gets the job done. I love Grape Seed because it’s high in antioxidants – so for me, the more the merrier.

The result is pretty much instant though: clean, soft and smooth skin! I let my sister try this and she was impressed by how smooth her skin is afterwards. Both of our skins turned red from the scrubbing, but that’s expected.

Just to be safe, be careful when storing this so ants won’t come and keep it in a cool space. With any body scrub in a tub like this, I always scoop out the product out into a small dish/bowl to prevent contamination. Two spoonfuls should do for the whole body. 2-3 times a week. It’s perfect after a gym session!

Whether we use body scrub beforehand or a simple shower, we need to put back moisture into the skin. This is especially important for those who stay mostly indoors with air conditioning, like I do. I’ll admit that I’m not the most diligent in this particular step. I usually started to pay more attention to the body when the skin becomes a little too dry.

I think we could all somewhat agree that body lotions/creams usually are stereotyped with being thick and sticky on the skin. The slippery feel actually makes us want to wash it off again. Not to mention when we start to sweat. Ugh. Yeah, you get the gist. There are only a few products that I can live with and I’m ecstatic that I may have found another one.

Ethiopian Green Coffee Cream is one unexpected surprise. It says cream but it’s in-line with the current trend of water cream formulations. Basically, upon hitting the skin, the cream melts almost instantly, creating one of the best oddly addictive sensations ever. This pale-green cream feels cooling on the skin and adds to the refreshing feeling after getting out of the shower. Best applied right after to make sure the skin absorbs the cream better and it will leave even less residue. While a little goes a pretty long way, I do like to apply more because I just love how it feels! It slips easy and sinks in fast into the skin and I can feel a shot of hydration right away without the sticky drawbacks. Just silkiness. The tub is huge too so I don’t feel bad when using a lot. This body cream gets my sister’s seal of approval as well – which she only gives once in a blue moon.

Ingredient-wise, the product has Caffeine, Olive oil, Common Poppy extract and Coffee Seed extract. Caffeine is great in aiding circulation and reduces puffiness in the skin. The coffee used here is Green Coffee which is another great source of antioxidants while also improving blood circulation. I kind of expected it to have that familiar coffee scent, but alas this is unroasted. To note, I find this cream has the strongest scent out of the three and lingers a little bit longer.

For daily use, this is more than enough for my own needs. With the lightweight texture, it’s not hard to reach out for it (read: not as lazy) as I barely notice that I have a “layer” on my skin. However, people with more acute drier skin, might have to look for something richer and denser.

Giant tubs, green hues.

The granules of the French Grape Seed Scrub.

Silky, buttery texture of Ethiopian Green Coffee Cream.

The first step of The Body Shop Spa Of The World Firming Ritual is to wet the body, then apply Thai Makrut Lime Firming Oil all over. Don’t be stingy, just coat the body evenly. Take the French Grape Seed Scrub (that I scooped out into a small bowl), start massaging it in circular motion from the feet and work my way up. I take my time with this, making sure I get into the nooks and crannies of the limbs. My rule of thumb, once the sugar granules start to melt off, I’d stop, leave it on while I do other things (cleanse my face or shampoo my hair). Just a little PSA, please turn off the shower while you do this to save water and avoid unnecessary wastage.

The scrub rinsed off fairly easily and the skin will retain some of the oil. If you wish, you can rinse it off again with a body wash. I don’t. I actually like the suppleness from the oil and leave my skin the way it is. I’d pat my body with a towel then went straight for the Ethiopian Green Coffee Cream. Slathering it on, still working from the bottom limbs and up. Lightly massage the skin. No joke, I’d apply this everywhere, including the thighs, abdomen, hips, buttocks even my chest.

My first thought when applying the oil before the body scrub is it seems such a waste for the Thai Makrut Lime Firming Oil to be washed off almost immediately. However, after that very first try, I totally get it. The oil becomes a buffer between the skin and the French Grape Seed Scrub, keeping the skin moisturized despite the scrubbing motion. That way, the skin won’t be left stripped afterwards. Also, by having an oil beforehand, the scrub will glide on even easier. Such an awesome trick!

This is after all a “ritual”, so it’s acceptable to have an unusual step in the treatment session. To make it easy, I’ll do the ritual when it’s time to use the body scrub which is 1-2 times a week. Other days, I’ll just use either the Thai Makrut Lime Firming Oil or Ethiopian Green Coffee Cream after shower.

Admittedly, I’ve only been trying out The Body Shop Spa Of The World Firming Ritual for two weeks. There’s not much to be seen in terms of toning or firming the body just yet. Supposedly, there’s Indian Turtle Massager to compliment this ritual. But it’s not available yet in the country. I’ll try to get it and see if it makes any substantial difference. I’ll probably end up using the massager more often than manually by hands though, just because 😀

Whether I’m using individual products (oil or cream) or the full ritual, I tried to do some kind of massage and I feel it has helped my body to be more “active”, in a sense that I feel better from the inside and my body doesn’t feel as constricted or sore. Massage improves blood circulation and I think these are the results from it. Experience-speaking from facial massaging, long-term and diligent routine does help to firm and tone the face.

I do too, appreciate the soft, supple and hydrated skin I’m currently experiencing. I will keep using these products as a set in the ritual. The three items work well together hand-in-hand. The lightweight formulas are also still suitable with Indonesia’s humid-weather. Having similar scents, each of the product/step brings a continuity within the routine itself. The distinctive scent is a great pick-me-up in the morning and rejuvenates tired minds after a day’s work.

Disclosure: this post is a collaboration between The Fruit Compote and The Body Shop Indonesia. I receive monetary compensation in exchange for this post. However, all opinions and thoughts, good and bad, are 100% mine, as always.