SMACK! Reviews: Ecco Bella Herbal Body Lotion, Lavender scent

I simply cannot believe that it's been nearly EIGHT WEEKS since our last product review. I love writing them, and you guys love reading them, so wha???????

No matter. We're back on the horse, so to speak, heading straight to a local health food store where I scored an 8 oz pump bottle of Ecco Bella's Herbal Body Lotion in Lavender in the bargain basket. I forget how much I paid for it, but it definitely wasn't the original retail price of $15.95. Remember, I'm a cheap b*tch really frugal.

I need another lotion like
 I need new shoes

In general I like lavender-scented products. Real, natural lavender. Not that chemical perfume-y crap that Bath & Body Works tries to pass off as lavender. So, I decided to buy it and try it out.

Full disclosure: this purchase was a shoot-from-the-hip decision. I have about a dozen bottles/pumps/tubes of lotion under my bathroom sink, but I got caught up in the patchouli hazy happiness of the health food store and next thing you know, I'm buying a bunch of things I don't need.

Here are the label claims: 100% water free, 70% organic, "ultra rich formula" that "hydrates and revives" with a "long lasting scent." There's also some fine print at the bottom of the back label that states no animal testing and no animal ingredients, and that the product is made in the USA.

I don't really understand why the socially conscious stuff is totally buried; after all, the very first line in the "about us" section of the Ecco Bella website reads: 

"I started Ecco Bella out of protest to the use of animals for testing cosmetics..."

                                                                            -- Sally Malange, President of Ecco Bella

I know, I'm confused, too.

So vegans and ethically-mind consumers and localvores in the NJ area can feel good about using Ecco Bella products. But I really don't know about the '100% water-free' business, though. Is this a thing? I didn't realize water was an outlaw ingredient in lotions.

The lotion is rated a '3' in the Skin Deep database, and would probably get an even better rating if not for the inclusion of tocopherol, or Vitamin E, in the formula.

It's a really nice lotion, not too thin and not greasy at all. Absorbs smoothly. The scent is light and floral and feminine without being heady or chokingly perfume-y. Downtown Abbey comes to mind. Not the Dowager, but those scenes when the windows are open and the sun's shining and you want to be there, strolling through the breeze of the estate...sorry, got a little caught up there.

It's pretty long-lasting, in both scent and effectiveness, even after repeated hand washings.

So...I really want to recommend this product, but I'm not going to tell anyone to go pay $16 for a medium-size pump bottle of lotion. It's even more expensive if you order directly from Ecco Bella. Maybe that's not an issue for you, and if not, then have at it. But me, I like a little more, er, value. Which I did get, rummaging through the bargain basket. But I don't see myself going back for more, certainly not at full price.

SMACK! grade:  B