Now, having said in a previous review about my liking but not loving Ren, there are some Ren products that I do, actually adore, and the Rose Otto range in fact, encompasses all of them.
In fact, I like the Rose Otto range so much that I actually asked for the bath oil for Christmas, and, husbands being husbands (or more specifically, my husband being … my husband) I actually ended up with a bottle of this instead. And now I have two. Not bad for someone who never uses body products! However, taking this into account, these two bottles are probably a life-time supply.
The “Ultra Moisture” body oil (actually, does one have “moisture” in an oil product? Surely, as they say, moisture is the essence of wetness, and oil is greasy rather than damp, isn’t it?) is a really genuinely lovely product .It doesn’t enhance my bathtime in the same way the, you know, bath oil would had I gotten a bottle. Oh well. Ren Rose Otto Ultra Moisture Body Oil smells delicious. It smells divine. It smells of both the idea of rich red rose petals and a hint of the woody stems beneath. It smells rich, and it smells expensive.
Now look, the Morrocan Otto scent is a signature of the Ren line, and I beg you, Unilever (who recently bought Ren), to no matter how much you are tempted, not to screw with the formulas of the Rose Otto line at all – I know several hundred people who will stop buying Ren altogether if you do, and they’re already hacked off at you for buying the brand in the first place. Anyway, I’m digressing, but I need to tell you that the Rose Otto Line contains products that people care about, and if go on to pump them full of mineral oil to save themselves a couple of pence a bottle they will notice, and they won‘t forgive. Just so they know. Oh, and I’ll be one of them.
Anyway, back to the review. I was delighted on trying the oil again recently to discover that roses had “come back” to my nose, as they’ve smelled like burned paper for the last year and a half. Discovering they smell almost normal (in spite of my parosmia) has been great. The Ultra Moisture Oil is a thick, unctuous oil, that nonetheless seems to sink in quite easily, and it definitely does seem to do good things for drier skins. My hands are, I’ve noticed, becoming slightly crepey and my forearms have definitely been drier recently, but this oil definitely feels more nourishing than the spray moisturisers I’d been using recently to combat those conditions. Sprays only seem to moisturise the very top layers of the skin, I've found. A little of this, however, goes a long way, too.
I do also like the redesigned labels for the Rose Otto line, I always think Ren packaging doesn’t quite go far enough in underscoring the price tags of the products – the designs usually just look cheap, or too simplistic compared to what’s inside the packaging, but the design on the Rose Otto line show that you don’t actually need to change much to make something look more expensive, or more thought out, or simply just to draw the eyes in to something. They’re still “clean”, but look infinity more luxe than the other products Ren puts out. Ren straddles a line, and it’s a difficult line, being cheaper than its prestige cousins on the shelf (which is a good thing, good skincare should be available at all price points), but also by looking cheaper than the other lines, even the ones at a similar price point (which I think it does), it won’t appeal to those who like prestige and also like a bargain (like moi). Something is only a bargain if you feel like it’s worth more than you paid for it, cheap-looking packaging just looks cheap.
So yeah, body oil. Two bottles and I'm set for life. How about you?
The Fine Print: PR samples and purchases
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