On Massage with Aromatherapy Associates, L'Occitane and Liz Earle

Lippie Underground HQ - soon to be Lippie Towers, but more about that anon - has been the scene of a lot of massage lately.  For a variety of reasons, it's become a slight necessity, prime among them is the fact that for the last few months I've been suffering from a skeleto-muscular problem, which isn't quite as serious as it sounds but has been causing continuous headaches since April.  Even so, this is all way less scary - and stressful - than the brain tumour I thought it was initially.  I don't recommend worry as a beauty aid.

Anyhoo, a decent massage begins with a decent massage oil, and I've found these to be my top contenders (one isn't a massage oil at all actually, so I hope I'll be forgiven for so heinously misusing it!):

Aromatherapy Associates Enrich Massage and Body Oil.  A glorious blend of Geranium and Ylang Ylang in a blend of olive, coconut and macademia oils, this has plenty of slip, and warms delightfully in the hands to provide a nice scented massage oil, that isn't too heavily fragranced.

I've found that it leaves the skin soft, scented, and wonderfully moisturised without being at all sticky, and, for that, I love it.  One downside is that the frosted glass bottle is a little tricky to handle with oily fingers, and it has been dropped once or twice because of that, (luckily the glass is thick and heavy, so no major spillages!) so I tend to decant in order to use this.  This costs £33 for 100mls, and I'd happily purchase another bottle.

Next up is L'Occitane Lavande Body and Massage Gel, which surprised me by arriving in a large, flat, plastic tub.  For some reason, I'd been expecting a tube. But, no matter, it's already more fit for massage purpose than a heavy glass bottle, even when you consider my heebie jeebies about jarred products.  If you like the smell of lavender (and I do, very much so), then you will love this, and even if you don't, then you still might like it, for in use, this has an odd effect that that in the jar, the smell is pungent, and heady, but on the body, it's a rather light and delicate scent.

As this is a gel, I was expecting it to be sticky, and, it is stickier than the two other oil products, but not unpleasantly so, and not so much that you'll notice it really.  It still gives very good slip, and is great in use.  It can, however, be very, very, very cold straight out of the jar, so this is one that you must warm in your hands before applying it your massage victim partner.  It's a fairly reasonable £20 for 200mls too, so is the cheapest option I'll be showing you today.

And now, my controversial choice: Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate.  Probably Definitely the most extravagant oil here, by far (costing £37.50 per 28ml, or £133.93 per 100ml), this has been a pleasure to use for massage.  Now, ordinarily, this is a facial oil, hence the small bottle and the whopping price comparison, and I wouldn't recommend it for this use as a rule, but, personally,  I adore the neroli/lavender/camomile scent, and it makes for a highly fragrant experience if you do use it for anything other than the recommended usage.  Also, I had a bottle handy nearby. Also surprising is that this tiny bottle (easier to handle than a big glass bottle) actually lasted through around a month of massage!  Excellent slip, and it led to pleasantly scented dreams ...

The Fine Print: PR Samples all, and gratefully received, too.  Thank you very much to all the firms who listened to my pleas for massage products.  And sincere apologies to Liz Earle for misusing her fine facial oil ... As always, the links are here for informational purposes only, and are not affilliate links.

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