Chocolate. We all know how great it is. For me, the darkest, the better. But what about chocolate in beauty? Skincare almost good enough to eat, that turns the goodness of cocoa into amazing beauty products?
That’s Rabot 1745 Beauty, which is part of Hotel Chocolat. The mix of discovering a new beauty brand with such an amazing connection to a luxury food brand is too exciting for me to contain myself!
In fact, Rabot is the name of the estate in St. Lucia where Hotel Chocolat’s sustainable cocoa is grown and is not only inspired by the cacao itself but also the love for St. Lucia, its people and plants – always harnessing the properties of their high quality natural ingredients and the craft that goes into their products.
It is a beautiful story which bears gorgeous fruits. I was lucky enough to try a great selection of their range and can tell there isn’t one single thing that I do not like.
My favourite? Probably the stunning Cacao & Almond Bath and Body Oil (£18, 200ml). Cocoa seed oil is the hero throughout the range and of course, present here, blended with sweet almond oil to provide vitamins and fatty acids for great hydration.
I have been applying to damp skin after my shower and my skin has been super smooth, most times does not need extra moisturisers. The smell? Divine. It absorbs quickly and has a long lasting effect.
Then, a tough choice between two, but going for the lip butters (£8, 10ml): I have the Coconut Chocolat lip balm, with cocoa seed butter, shea butter and abyssinian seed oil and the Fruited Chocolat lip balm with cacao butter, almond oil, cacao butter and rosemary leaf extract.
They are a little delight in smell and taste, and do their job to keep lips moisturised. It comes in 7 different varieties with yummy ingredients mixes.
Not a secret I am a massive fan of body scrubs and of course I had to try one of them. Mine is the new Salt & Lemongrass Body Scrub (£16, 280ml) and it smells so fresh.
It could have a little more grit to it, but overall, this rich salt, lemongrass oil, sweet almond oil and cocoa seed butter scrub does a great job in exfoliating and also leaving skin soft and deeply moisturised. It comes in 3 other varieties (with a coffee and a sugar base) and is a best seller!
Plus, it comes in a reusable cup that , once you finish the scrub, you can clean and take to any Hotel Chocolat shop in the UK for 50p off your hot drink or a free one at the Rabot 1745 restaurant in Borough Market (London). How amazing is that?
And that’s not all; as a fan of scrubs, I am also loving the Avocado & Sour Orange hand scrub (£9.95, 60ml) which leaves hands so soft and ready so soak in the moisturiser.
Plus their Avocado & Lime Smile Reviver (£9.95, 30ml), a lip scrub with avocado oil, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin A, D, and E, gently exfoliates to leave lips soft and well, more kissable, perhaps!
Also, have you noticed how affordable the products are? Amazing value for money and great for gifting.
This is just a tiny sample of their beautiful range, which you can get the Rabot 1745 website and at Hotel Chocolat shops.
You know the drill, but I’ll say anyway: this post contains PR samples and the product was GIFTED, with no obligation to post. This review, however, is based on my experience with the products and reflects my honest opinion on them.
Makeup is certainly one of the keys to my heart, up there with food and shoes. As a lover of all things pretty, I would obviously fall head over heels for Winky Lux, a gorgeous free from parabens, sulfates, gluten, phthalates, animal testing and any cruelty brand from NY, that lives up to their “addictive beauty” strapline.
It is hard to pick my favourite from the items I brought home, but I will start with one of their best sellers, the only one on this post that is not a launch: the Flower Balm, which is clear on the bullet, and works with your won pH levels to create the perfect-for-you lip stain.
However, as another pH activated product, the base turns into a darker shade of pink just like that. And it not sticky or gritty! I was very surprised at how much I love this gloss!
Finally, a non-lip product, equally pretty: the White Tea Tinted Veil (RRP £19). A very light tinted moisturiser, it is infused with calming white tea and contains pomegranate extract and vitamins A and E which together help protect and nourish skin.
I need to point out that packaging is absolute stunning – I live the lip balm/lipstick bullets, and the outer packaging is a work of art in every product.
So Many Lovely Things 