While I’m the kind of girl who won’t shy away from forking out upwards of £20 for one lipstick when it comes to buying lotions and potions for my body I’m a lot more, well, frugal. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than £10-12 on a body moisturiser. Indeed, one of my favourite things to smother all over my body is the incredibly budget friendly Dove Firming Beauty Lotion. As someone who religiously applies body lotion 2x a day I always strive to get as much lotion for my lolly as possible.

With this in mind, it will come as no surprise that I let out an audible gasp when I spied the price tag of Lush’s new creamy offering. A 225g pot of Creme Anglaise will set you back a whopping £25. Yes, £25. That’s double the price of Charity Pot which, until recently, was their most expensive body lotion priced at £12.50 for 240g.

Lush say ‘Creme Anglaise is made with some of the finest ingredients available. We’ve used toning sweet orange oil and moisturising natural butters blended into an almond infusion. An infusion of saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, gives it the authentically golden colour of real Creme Anglaise. This hand and body lotion will lavish a new kind of luxury on your skin and make you proud to be British.’

Personally, for that kind of money, rather than fueling my patriotism, I’d expect a cream to transform my post-baby body in to something that resembles a goddess. At the very least.

So, when I was offered a generous free sample of Creme Anglaise in store recently I jumped at the chance to find out if it could live up to my meager expectations.

The cream itself has a pleasing light texture. Once applied, it feels slightly tacky for all of about 10 seconds and then it disappears into my skin without a trace.

The scent is interesting. At first, the fragrance is spicy and warm (the saffron?). Initially, I felt sure I wouldn’t like it. It reminded me of Lush’s Karma fragrance, of which I’m not really a fan (though I must admit Creme Anglaise doesn’t actually smell that similar, it just seemed to belong to the same ‘scent family’). However, the perfume changed dramatically on my skin. Eventually, I was left with a sophisticated, sweet scent. The only way I can think to describe it is that Creme Anglaise is Vanilla Dee-Lite’s older sister. She’s more elegant and far more worldly-wise. The fragrance really lingers on your skin… I’ve detected a hint of the perfume when I come to undress at the end of the day, which I love.

For the first few days of using this I was really baffled as to what could possibly be considered so special so as to warrant the hefty price tag. Sure, it was nice… but £25 worth of nice? I really didn’t notice any difference at first but after a week of solid use I’m now of the opinion that this cream definitely leaves my skin softer than any other cream I’ve tried. I know, that’s a pretty big assertion! Creme Anglaise seems to give my skin a deep softness, I almost feel that the condition of my skin has been improved from within somehow. I wonder whether this is a cumulative effect, only apparent after a few days use. Either way, I found myself stroking the skin on my stomach today in amazement because it felt so smooth, toned and silky.

So…. is it worth £25? Would I purchase full sized pot?

I just don’t know. Overall, I like how it applies, I like the smell and I love how it makes my skin look and feel.

But there’s something stopping me from running down to my nearest Lush with my money in hand. I think it’s the last claim in Lush’s product spiel, that ‘new kind of luxury’ thing. Maybe in it’s original incarnation as a ‘B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful’ product, cloaked in a weighty glass jar with a gold lid, this suggestion would be easier to take seriously. Right now it’s just a little black pot filled with a truly beautiful product that I can’t quite make my mind up about.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on or experiences of this product. I think I still need convincing.

Loveaudrey xxx