If you follow my tweets, you’ll know I’ve been battling a nasty chest infection. I’ve spent most of the week sweating and shivering in bed, watching back to back episodes of Come Dine With Me (which is brill!) through a cough syrup-addled haze.

I now feel a bit better, having risen up from the duvet o’ death to soak in a tub full of Dermatanical FOAM bubble bath, R79,00 for 250ml. It contains nourishing marula and olive oil and smells absolutely delish. I also liked that I only needed a little to create a mountain of bubbles and that its soft, pretty scent lingered on my skin for a while after climbing out the bath.

Dermatanical, if you didn’t know, is an elegantly packaged, proudly South African range of bath and body products that all make use of marula oil, a great source of antioxidant vitamin C.

Despite the marula content, you won’t end up smelling like a Springbokkie… the collection is available in two different fragrances; White and Black label. (And again… the latter has nothing to do with booze…)

The White label range boasts fresh fruity top notes, with a soft floral heart that rest on a vanilla and woody amber base.

The Black label range has fresh floral top notes that give way to green cardamom and caraway on a bed of vanilla, amber, ceder and sandalwood. 

According to Michelle Watling, Dermatanical’s creator, the White label products, (which to me, smell a lot like Ralph Lauren Ralph EDT), are the most popular. 

My favourite, however, is the Black label line. To me, it doesn’t smell spicy or woody at all and I can’t really put my finger on any particular notes. I reckon it just smells nice and clean. Kinda like hair that’s just been washed, warm towels fresh out the tumbledrier or a grassy meadow after the rain… Yum.

Of all the Dermatanical goodies I used, I most liked the BODY body butter, R89,00, for 250ml. Aside from marula and olive oil, it also makes use of macadamia nut oil. I loved that despite being nice and thick, it literally sinks into your skin in a flash. Unlike other body butter’s I’ve used in the past, it doesn’t leave you feeling greasy in the slightest – or worse yet, feel as though it’s going to ooze back out of your pores the mo the weather heats up.

Another gem? Their LIPS lip balm. It’s got a lovely warm scent thanks to cocoa butter and marula extract, plus an SPF of 15. Unlike plain old vaseline-based lip balms that kinda leave a thick waxy layer over your lips, this has a lovely melting-texture. I feel like it actually moisturises – as opposed to simply act as a physical barrier to keep moisture in.   

Want to give the brand a bash? It’s stocked in selected boutiques and salons across the Western Cape, which you’ll find listed on their blog. Alternatively, you can also shop online via their website.

If you buy just one thing, make it the body butter – it’s delish!

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