Reviewed by Tiffany
I was very excited to receive my full-size sample of Red Flower Plum Blossom Silk Cream ($54 for 5.8 oz). I’d heard about Red Flower prior to my review and was intrigued but never had a chance to try any of the brand’s products. This body cream, which is described as the sixth and final step in Red Flower’s “Japan” collection, based on the Japanese bathing ritual, is designed to “hydrate, protect, and soften.”
First off, I have to give a shout-out to the Red Flower customer service team. The day my package arrived from Truth In Aging, I accidentally knocked the box off the table and snapped the lid in half; miraculously, the glass jar and product were unharmed. I emailed Red Flower and explained what I’d done to see if they would allow me to purchase a replacement lid (the packaging is divine, so I didn’t want to move the product to a less elegant container). Instead, they sent me one for free, and it arrived the next day! That kind of service alone would be a reason for me to repeatedly deal with a company.
The product itself also impressed me. I have very dry skin that craves moisture, I love things that smell good, and I don’t like products that are too thick and feel like they haven’t absorbed into my skin. This product satisfied all of my requirements. The cream is fairly thick but not so much that it stays on top of skin. It does require some work to be spread around, though, due to the texture, but my skin immediately felt (deeply) moisturized and comfortable afterward. The scent is a very classic floral scent that is faint and pleasant (I can detect the rose, jasmine, and gardenia oils in it – I don’t know what plum blossom smells like, so I cannot attest to that).
To those who enjoy a bit of slip to their lotion (or that feel on their legs post-application), this may not be the cream for you. If you like thicker moisturizers that leave a matte, yet very hydrated finish, this is a good choice. The one downside about this cream is that, since it is pretty thick and not the easiest to spread, the product didn't last as long as I would’ve liked. I needed to use a significant amount of it in just one application to cover my entire body. It helps a great deal to apply the cream after exfoliating and just after getting out of the shower, so skin is extra smooth and still moist.
As for the ingredients, no nasties jump out at me as a reason to avoid this product. I could do without the squalene, as I prefer not to have animal ingredients in my products but there’s nothing physically harmful.
Because of the price and the time it took me to apply to my entire body (as a college student, time and money are always of the essence), I doubt I would repurchase the large tub; however, my positive impression of the product has interested me in Red Flower’s Sento Set, which goes for $42 on its website. The Sento Set contains small sizes of each of the six products in the “Japan” ritual and I’m guessing that I could get at several uses out of them. Just enough for a luxurious at-home spa treatment for, only $14.
Ingredients: Soft-Water, Hydrolyzed Silk, Sea Algae Extract, Monoi (Cocos Nucifera), Gardenia (Gardenia Tahitensis), Glycerin, Apricot Extract (Prunus Armenicica), Alcohol, White Wine, Japanese Plum Extract (Prunus Salicina), Squalane, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Gel, Rose (Rosa Damascena) Oil, Jasmine (Jasminum Sambac) Oil, Tocopherol Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Safflower Oil (Carthamus Tinctoria), Vegetable Derived Emulsifying Wax, Milk and Sugar Enzymes, Lactoperoxidase, Glucose Oxidase