My husband just treated me to a new line of skin care from Italy:  Bottega Verde, which means “Green Boutique” in Italian.  For a mere $4.99 shipping fee, we received four different products to try.  Here is my take on them:

1.  Crema-Talco Per I Piedi (40 ml tube)

This is the foot cream, which is formulated with talc and peppermint.  Theoretically the talc is supposed to help keep your feet dry.  I thought the cream smelled more like pine, which was just lovely.  The cream went on my heels and feet, and a little went a long way.  However, this product contains several parabens as preservatives, just like all four of the products we tested.

2.  Crema Viso (40 ml tube)

This is a face cream to be used during the day.  It has musk rose oil in it, according to the package.  Since my skin is very sensitive, I use only Clinique products on my face.  However, the day cream felt good on my neck and decolletage, and the scent did not overpower my usual fragrance.

3.  Bagnodoccia Fiori dei Ciliegio (75 ml tube)

This is a bath and shower gel that smells like cherry blossoms.  It is a pleasant scent for any time of day, but it did not lather up a lot of suds despite the presence of sodium laureth sulfate in it.  My skin felt soft after using it.

4.  Burro Corpo (Olive Body Butter) (125 ml plastic jar)

This is a body butter formulated with organic extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany.  It has a rich creamy quality to it and it does not smell like olive oil at all.  Its fresh scent has an evergreen quality but is not overpowering. My husband put the body butter on my back and my skin felt soft and wasn’t itchy at all.

Bottom line:  Despite the “green” name, Bottega Verde products are made with several different parabens, which is a concern if you put these things on younger children.  [Go to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database for more information on why you want to avoid parabens.]  Some also contain SLES, or sodium laureth sulfate.  For those older adults who are not worried about hormonal side effects of parabens, the Bottega Verde products are effective.

The items are shipped from Italy, and we did experience some delays in having our order received and payment processed, due in part to translation issues.  However, the products did finally arrive, packaged in interesting orange tissue paper.

While I do like the foot cream, there are other products made in the US that work just as well.  Having items shipped from Italy does not leave a very green footprint for customers in America.  We do extend the company our best wishes and hope their business flourishes.

Bottega Verde does want you to try out their products, with a very generous offer:
Sample Italian Beauty – Just $4.99 Plus Free Shipping.

If you try something, let us all know how things turned out for you!

Related articles

• BodyVerde Natural Skincare Review (momreviews.net)