Oribe Cote d'Azur body wash and body cream

I love a good, luxurious body wash, and Oribe's Cote d'Azur Refreshing Body Wash did not disappoint.

It formed a light and creamy full lather on my shower pouf, and a moderate amount was sufficient to do a full shower, as well as a leg and underarm shave, without relathering the pouf. The lather also was creamy enough to give me a nice, smooth shave.

The scent was spicy and warm, reminding me of Shalimar (remember that?).

My skin felt clean and smooth afterward, with a light touch of the scent remaining and no dry, taut feeling. 

I followed the shower with the Oribe Cote d'Azur Restorative Body Cream, and this one threw me a bit.

Mainly, the scent was not exactly like the body wash had been. Where the body wash had a warm, amber, musky sort of scent, the body cream was much "greener" in its scent.The body cream was still spicy, but it was not as complex a sort of spicy blend. In fact, it was very unusual (for a body cream) in that it seemed to have a very powerful scent of black pepper. I'm not opposed to black pepper scent. I quite like it, in fact. But I swear, it actually made me sneeze. I'm still not entirely sure what I think of that.

As far as the performance of the body cream, that was very nice indeed. It absorbed very well, with a good solid moisturizing effect, leaving a soft sheen on the skin without a greasy feeling. My skin was left silky smooth, and I was able to dress within just a couple of minutes of slathering it on. 

Overall, I definitely preferred the body wash over the body cream. The texture and aroma of the lather were rich and lovely. The body cream has left my legs feeling great, but my arms feel a bit "coated" - and I smell like I rubbed black pepper all over my body. Which is fine, if you're into that sort of thing.

I received a sample of this product as part of a promotional box, for which I paid full price. I was not compensated in any way for this review, and the opinions expressed within it are mine and mine alone.