Live Clean Spa Therapy Review and Photos

Live Clean has turned its attention to your bath with the introduction of Live Clean Spa Therapy, five eco-friendly products that soothe and cleanse to perfection. Spa Therapy's natural plant based ingredients and pure essential oils infuse formulations that wrap around your senses yet never overpower them. 

Beauty Squared was sent the five Spa Therapy products recently to test. At a time of the year when soaking in a warm, relaxing bath and keeping your skin soft and supple is important, these could not have come at a better time. Let's take a look.

Spa Therapy Dead Sea Salts (565 mL, app. $9.97 CDN) is a perfect blend of Epsom and Dead Sea Salts to soothe tired, aching muscles and relax your overworked system. Soothing Dead Sea Salts is enriched with certified organic extracts of Green Tea and Aloe Vera to fight free radicals and leave skin feeling soft and renewed. The fragrance is Live Clean's delightful intermingling of aromatic essential oils of Eucalyptus, Lavender, Lemon and Ginger.

Review: You can use these salts as a foot soak as well as in the bath. They work well for soothing soreness and they leave my skin feeling smooth. The scent is intriguing and definitely soothing and refreshing on the mind. I don't take a lot of baths but I like adding these to a bowl of warm water when I'm doing a pedicure. They're not great on any broken skin though, be warned. If you have broken blisters or cuts or scrapes, you'll feel them!

Spa Therapy Body Butter (120 mL, app. $9.97 CDN) for the ultimate post-bath experience. The skin nourishing capacities of Shea Butter and Coconut Oil are combined in a shamefully rich cream that hydrates deeply and leaves your skin exquisitely soft. Spa Therapy is enriched with certified organic Chamomile, Green Tea, Lemon and Ginger extracts to awaken but never overwhelm your senses.

Review: This is a rich, highly moisturizing body butter, thick in texture. It has the same fragrance as the rest of the Spa Therapy collection - soothing and refreshing. This is a great moisturizer for extra dry skin, like that on the heels, elbows and knees and as an after bath/shower treat. It takes time to work this into your skin but it's a great moisturizer for right before bed. It's very luxurious.

Spa Therapy Body Lotion (227 mL, app. $9.97 CDN) wraps your skin in the natural emollients of coconut oil and soy. Soothing and protecting, Live Clean's ultimate moisture lotion calms dry skin with Certified Organic botanicals of Chamomile and Aloe Vera and delights your senses with essential Lemon and Ginger Oils.

Review: A lighter version of the body butter, this is a good moisturizer when you need something quick to massage in after a shower. It absorbs well and leaves my skin feeling soft and supple and lightly fragranced. I find that my skin feels a little itchy after a few hours after applying this, though. 

Spa Therapy Body Scrub (200 g, $9.97 CDN) is skin renewal. Enriched with Soy Protein and Certified Organic Aloe Vera to soothe and protect, finely ground corn cob meal and walnet shell are blended to gently exfoliate. Spa Therapy Body Scrub keeps your sense in mind as well, of course, with essential essences of fresh Lemon and stimulating Ginger.

Review: I'm a sucker for exfoliating. It's the best thing to do to keep your skin smooth, and it allows moisturizer to penetrate better. This all means your skin will be hydrated and look supple therefore, younger longer. This is an invigorating body scrub with that great stimulating scent. It's a perfect prep for moisturizing. It's easy to overdo it with this scrub though, so it's important to be gentle, especially if your skin is dry. 

Spa Therapy Body Wash (500 mL, $9.97 CDN) gently cleanses and detoxifies and is infused with the hydrating, nourishing and regenerating properties of Coconut Oil, Soy Oil and Jojoba Oil. With certified organic botanicals of Green Tea and Aloe Vera.

Review: I've been using this body wash in the shower in the mornings. I like its emollient properties. My skin feels smoother and softer although it still needs moisturizing after my shower. I wish I had more time to moisturize after every bath and shower but at least this body wash helps to keep it from being insanely itchy!

Spa Therapy Foam Bath's (500 mL, $9.97 CDN) luxurious, frothy bubbles and unique blend of aromatic lemon and ginger will send you mind and soul into deep relaxation. For the best results, soak for 20-30 minutes and escape to your happy place.

Review: I don't have a lot of baths, but I've used this foam bath a few times. It softens the water and my skin and bubbles beautifully and fragrantly. The combination of soaking in the warm water and the fragrance is incredibly soothing.

Overall Review: A

I'm a fan of Live Clean. It's a very reasonably priced line of quality skin care products and available at Wal-Mart and Shoppers Drug Mart, so fairly easy to find. 

See my review of their facial care line here. 

Some more info about the Live Clean products:

All Live Clean products are formulated without many of the still too commonly used chemicals that are damaging to the environment and our well-being. Live Clean is free of Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS),  a common petro-chemical surfactant used in most personal care producs, as well as Diethanolamine (DEA), a common ingredient used for rich lather and viscosity building. Live Clean is also free of parabens (preservatives used to extend the shelf life of personal care products) and other harsh preservatives, as well as phthalates (chemicals commonly used to make fragrances last longer).

Completely vegan with 98% plant ingredients and with no animal products or animal byproducts used in the formulations, Live Clean is also cruelty-free; none of the products or their ingredients have been tested on animals. Im it's sensitivity to the environment, Live clean is also free of phosphates, known contributors to water pollution. Dermatologist-tested, Live Clean products are hypoallergenic.

Packaging has been carefully created to be as earth-friendly as possible. The Live Clean containers are recyclable; they are made from "virgin" materials, making them far easier to recycle than most plastics. Shipping cartons are made from recycled materials and even the inks used on shipping cartons are safe for the environment. And wherever possible, vendors are local, which cuts down on gas consumption and emissions resulting from transportation.

C.

Body Blitz's Blitz on the Go

I have heard whispers about Body Blitz for months now and a friend of mine is absolutely hooked on it. I've never developed that love for spas that seems to come with being a girl - I've never had a facial or a seaweed wrap and only had my first manicures and pedicures about a year ago - so it never intrigued me until I kept hearing girls and women talking about - strangers and coworkers alike. Recently I was invited to a launch for Body Blitz's new product line so I thought, ok finally I'll see what this place is all about. 

It was a cold, drizzly evening when I met up with my friend, the Body Blitz superfan, and we made our way to the spa, located on Adelaide Street West between Spadina and Bathurst. It was a different world when we stepped inside the spa - bright, warm and pleasingly fragrant. We were invited to use the pools at the launch party but only a few brave souls took advantage. Normally, Body Blitz is women-only but for this special occasion men were allowed inside. I hope they considered themselves lucky!

Body Blitz's main space is a large room with one glass wall, wooden beams and lounge chairs and three pools - one large salt water jacuzzi and two smaller pools, one filled with ice water and the other with green tea. Body Blitz offers treatments in addition to the therapeutic waters, such as scrubs, mud masks, scalp treatments and massage. There is also an infared sauna.

It's simple really, Body Blitz is all about relaxation, not trying to sell you on the latest skin treatment or anti-aging wonder product. They do have a product line, newly launched, called Blitz On the Go meant to provide an extension of the spa services.

We were provided with samples of each product to take home and try out. Here are my impressions of each:




The Body Blitz facial line.

 




Balancing Face Toner,  $22

What Body Blitz says: 
Vitamin infused toner helps skin retain its moisture while it balances the skin. The  plant extracts, rich in antioxidants, help revitalize and restore suppleness. Enriched with Moroccan argan oil. Alcohol free. With aloe vera, provitamin B, argan oil and herbal extract of nettle, green tea, saw palmetto and red pepper.

What Beauty Squared says:

I like this toner. It leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth without feeling like it's taken away all the moisture. It smells fresh. It's restored my faith in toner.



Exfoliating Face Wash, $28


What Body Blitz says: 
This gentle exfoliating face wash contains herbal and plant extracts to nourish the skin as it gently cleanses. The apricot seed kernet powder is a very mild, 'skin friendly' natural exfoliate. With sunflower seed oil, shea butter, green tea extract and sea kelp extract.

What Beauty Squared says:

This is a very creamy and luxurious exfoliator that feels gorgeous on my skin. It smells fresh and the apricot seed kernel powder is extremely gentle yet gives and effective exfoliation. This is not a great cleanser for the end of the day however, since it does not remove make-up well. Save it for morning or simply as an exfoliator.

Green Clay Face Mask,  $28


What Body Blitz says: 
This gentle, yet effective mask draws out toxins and environmental pollutants to help revitalize dull, tired complections while giving your face a nice lift and glow. With green clay, sea kelp, green tea and castor oil.

What Beauty Squared says:

This clay mask had an amazingly smooth and creamy texture, not in the least bit gritty or thick. It didn't feel heavy on and had a gentle scent. It was a treat to have on. Afterwards, my skin felt smooth, moisturized and clean and looked fresh.

Replenishing Face Moisturizer,  $45



What Body Blitz says: 
Combining the best of nature and science, this mega-moisturizing, lightweight face cream helps fight all signs of aging. With Moroccan argan oil and RenovageTM, two super-star anti-aging ingredients. With organic argan oil, jojoba oil, shea butter, olive oil, provitamin B and RenovageTM.


What Beauty Squared says:

 Very light and non-greasy, but very moisturizing. A beautiful face moisturizer. A bit too light for me as a night cream in the winter and I would never use this as a daily moisturizer because there's no SPF or sun protection.

Body Blitz Argan Oil Face Serum, $65

What Body Blitz says: 
This high quality Moroccan oil is the world's richest natural source of vitamin E and has remarkable anti-aging properties. At Body Blitz, we only use extra virgin cold-pressed argan oil for our face serum. With 75% organic argan oil, organic olive oil, organic aloe vera and organic rose hip. 


What Beauty Squared says:
I'm a big fan of argan oil. I mix it into my hair product every day, but I've never tried it on my skin. 


This face serum can be used in the hair as well as on the face. I tried it on my cheeks when my skin decided to freak out on me recently, breaking out and getting dry and flaky. The face serum was extremely soothing and gave my skin some moisture without overpowering it.

Mint-Lime Body Wash, $18



What Body Blitz says: 
A gentle wash that soothes and calms skin while the argan oil moisturizes and hydrates the body. Enriched with Moroccan argan oil. With argan oil, aloe vera and provitamin B.


What Beauty Squared says: 
This is a great body wash, very fragrant, however I don't find it all that moisturizing or hydrating. It certainly doesn't dry out my skin, and it effectively lather and cleans but I still need to apply lotion or moisturizer after I shower using this. The scent is wonderfully stimulating and makes it the perfect body wash for summertime. 


Mint-Lime Body Lotion, $22



What Body Blitz says: 
Light body moisturizer that deeply hydrates and nourishes the skin without a hint of greasiness. Enriched with Moroccan argan oil. With argan oil, jojoba oil, aloe vera, caffeine and shea butter.


What Beauty Squared says:
The Mint-Lime Body Lotion has the same scent as the Body Wash - fresh and lively. I had only a small amount as a sample, so I chose to use it on one of my lower legs after shaving. It's winter, so my skin is dry and I anticipated only having enough in the sample for one leg. I was wrong though, the consistency and moisturizing properties of this lotion allowed me to use it on both legs and still have half of my sample left over! It's light, completely non-greasy and probably better suited for more moderate temperatures (or less dehydrated skin) but I was impressed by the silkiness of my skin after using it.



Cute little samples of the new line.

Overview: This is a spa line, so as you might expect, the Blitz On the Go products are luxurious. They did what they said they would and I would recommend each of these products.

So warmed by the humid air, bubbly pools and soothing atmosphere of Body Blitz and refreshed by Mojitos and hand, foot and back massages using the moisturizers of the new line, we headed back out into the yucky weather, wanting to return very soon and get into those healing waters.

.

C.