Bath and Body Works American Grown

As you may have guessed, I'm not just a nail polish addict- I'm a complete beauty addict. Polish, makeup, perfume, bath and body... I love it all. And I have a bit of a Bath and Body Works addiction.

So, when I heard about the new American Grown collection by Bath and Body Works, I had to try it. It's a set of five scents based on great American destinations and they feature botanical extracts that were grown right here in the good old US of A.

The five scents are available in either 24oz Shower Gel for $12.50 or 16oz Hand Soap for $7.50. Ginormous bottles for a reasonable price- awesome!

The scents are:

Washington Apple: In the fertile valleys of Washington State in America’s far west, growers tend orchards that produce the world’s most crisp, ripe apples. Formulated with Apple Extract to help nourish skin, Washington Apple instantly evokes your first bite of a shiny red apple, an unmistakably juicy flavor.

Napa Grape: In the rolling hills of Napa Valley’s wine country, the alluring scent of ripe grapes wafts through the air. Breathe in this irresistible fragrance and experience the intoxicating aroma as grape seed oil conditions and protects skin.

Siesta Key Lemon: Nothing says summer like fresh-cut Meyer lemons from Florida. Sweeter than other lemons, the plump, smooth-skinned citrus produces a sparklingly fresh fragrance. Take an instant vacation to Siesta Key as Lemon Oil refreshes and brightens the skin.

Savannah Mint: A frosty glass of iced tea in a hot Savannah summer is twice as refreshing with a cool sprig of mint. Breathe in this invigorating fragrance and experience the romance of southern charm and gentility while Peppermint Oil energizes your skin and your senses.

Montana Sky: Experience the clear, crisp quality of the mountain air in big sky country with formulas inspired by the vast beauty of an endless blue sky. Bathe your skin in calming spring waters as you inhale a rush of fresh air.

I tried Siesta Key Lemon and Montana Sky. Here are my thoughts:

The first thing you notice is the big, clear, colorful bottle. The bright blue of Montana Sky and the cheerful yellow of Siesta Key Lemon look pretty good next to each other. They look just as good alone- it's almost as much of a decoration as it is soap. The packaging is plain and straightforward. Clear, colored bottles that remind me a little bit of candy and subtle white printed text. Very charming.

The texture is similar in both the hand soap and the shower gel. Very thick. They both produce a ton of fragrant lather. They rinse clean with absolutely no residue (I HATE residue!) and they don't strip my skin. The shower gel seems more moisturizing than the hand soap, but that could just be my imagination. The formulas seem really similar.

The scents are really nice. I really enjoy both the ones I tried and I'm thinking of picking up the rest.

Siesta Key Lemon is a subtle, natural lemon scent. It's not a sugary candy lemon and it's not a strong or bitter/sour 'Lemon Pledge' smell. It smells to me like Lemon oil- the natural kind that you'd use for aromatherapy. Just a hint of sweetness. It's not a strong smell- like I mentioned above, it's quite subtle. I adore lemon scents so this is great to me. I don't like it as much as I love Hello Sugar, but they're very different kinds of lemon scents. Which reminds me, I wish they'd bring back Hello Sugar! That was one of the best things EVER. But, that's another post for another time.

Montana Sky is a crisp, cool, airy aquatic fragrance. It smells like it could be a cross between the old Shore Breeze scent and Dancing Waters. It is slightly more of a 'perfumey' smell. It's fresh and sweet, maybe a little bit like clean laundry. It's pretty good for an energizing pick-me-up, but it's also a little calming because of the blue color and comforting scent. The scent of this one is a lot more powerful than the Siesta Key Lemon and it lingers afterward.

These scents are really very gender-neutral, so they're good for the whole family. Your husband won't complain about smelling like flowers or cookies. They just smell clean and fresh. I think men would actually enjoy using these as much as women do.

In fact, Mr. Scrangie gave me a little review of these products! Here's what he said:

He likes the smell of the Siesta Key Lemon better than the smell of the Montana Sky. The Montana Sky is almost too strong. However, he likes the bright blue color of the Montana Sky bottle better. He thinks it's cool that they're made in the US. He likes the size and appearance of the bottles as well.

I should have him review things more often!

Anyway, I really enjoy these products. I think they're a rather good deal as well. They're a very substantial size, so they'll last a very long time. I have the Montana Sky hand soap by my kitchen sink and there's barely a dent in it, even though I wash my hands a million times a day. You also don't need to use an entire pump with the hand soap- a full pump is too much, but a half-pump is pretty much the perfect amount. The look of the bottles is really clean, colorful and cheerful but they don't look 'cheap' to me.

This is, sadly, a limited edition collection. I believe these are retiring in September, so pick them up while you can. They're available in store and online at BathandBodyWorks.com- $12.50 for the giant shower gel, $7.50 for the huge hand soap.