Cave or Save. This is the blog post where I take two items that are marketed to do similar things, one inexpensive and another from the other end of the scale and compare them. I then give my 2 cents and tell you whether you should save and go the inexpensive route or cave and buy the more expensive item.
The first two items I'm comparing are Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner and Nivea In-Shower Rich Body Lotion Skin Conditioner. Both products have the same concept - wash your body as per usual, apply the product to your skin, let it sink in and then wash off. You're meant to be left to softer, moisturised and smooth skin. The Lush body conditioner retails for $32.50 for 225grams while the Nivea body conditioner retails for $7.99 for 400ml. Now let's not get too mathematical here, but that means that the Lush one is 4 times the price for almost half the amount of product. Crazy stuff!
Let's start off with the differences between these products. These products look, feel and smell different. Lush's offering smells of roses, Nivea's smells like a typical Nivea moisturiser. The consistency of Lush's is likened to a body butter and applies quite thickly whereas Nivea's is more like a moisturiser and applies thinly. I find that in order to get the same amount of product on your body as Lush's, you need to apply two to three times more. On the skin, Lush's definitely feels more luxurious and is more of a pampering experience in comparison to Nivea's. So far, you'd think that Lush is winning the battle at this point..
Now let's get onto the effectiveness of each of the products. Now, I've done a little bit of research in my time (one thesis for my Honours and one for my Masters degree), so the researcher in me tried to be more objective rather than subjective and to reduce the confounding variables. So for the first trial I applied Nivea to the right side of my body and the Lush to my left (as opposed to applying one all over and then using the other product another day). For the second trial which I did a week later, I swapped sides i.e., Nivea on the left and Lush on the right. When I washed them off, my skin on both sides felt soft and smooth. In terms of the effectiveness, I felt that the Lush was ever so slightly more moisturising.. slightly. We all know I love Lush's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner. After all, I raved about it here. But is this small difference enough to warrant the huge price gap. I don't think so. I am definitely pleasantly surprised by Nivea's offering.
Overall verdict? I would honestly save and go for the Nivea one in this instance. Lush's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner feels more luxurious (and I'll forever love it); however, the end result is almost identical and you can't deny that price and quantity difference.
Have you tried either of these products? What are your thoughts?
Jess
xoxo
