Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter

Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter looks, feels and smells like a sinful indulgence. It might be made of soy milk and honey, but the scent is all yellow cake with thick frosting. The whipped texture and the sweet smell are so dessert-like one hesitates a little before slathering it on parched limbs. Sometimes I enjoy the scent and its cakiness, but it can get a bit too much, especially if all I want is a skin treatment that wouldn't clash with my perfume.

I find that the cream absorbs faster on my arms than on my legs, which can be annoying when in a hurry to get dressed and quickly pull on a pair of opaque black tights, the ubiquitous accessory of the season. Still, this Kiehl's body butter provides hour of relief from dryness, and coat the skin in a thin protective layer. I've noticed that once the layer wears off, there's no long-term improvement in the skin's condition, and that's quite disappointing. Then again, my skin is much more dry than anything normal people experience, so my expectations might be too high. After all, this is a decent body moisturizer, especially if you don't mind smelling like vanilla frosting.

Bottom Line: I prefer L'Occitane or Crabtree & Evelyn.

Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter ($35, 8oz) is available from most decent department stores and kiehls.com.

Photo: elanaspantry.com