Tuesday 18 January 2011

Baby Bottom Butter is the creme de la creme of face creams | Mail Online

The creme de la creme of face creams... that's designed for babies' bottoms

By Sean Poulter
Last updated at 1:31 AM on 18th January 2011

It was designed to protect babies bottoms, keeping them smooth, free from infection and sores, but it has become an anti-aging phenomenon.

Baby Bottom Butter, which is priced at just £2.54, has become the top selling skincare product for people of all ages, particularly women, at Waitrose.

The pots now out-sell every skin cream, moisturiser and anti-ageing lotion sold at the chain.

Best seller: Waitrose's Baby Bottom Butter is now being used by women as a face cream and is currently the company's number one skincare product

Best seller: Waitrose's Baby Bottom Butter is now being used by women as a face cream and is currently the company's number one skincare product

This means they are even more popular with the supermarket’s shoppers than beauty brands at four or five times the price, which are sold to help women hold back their wrinkles.

The Baby Bottom Butter’s surprise position as Waitrose’s number one skincare product comes nearly three years after it achieved cult status thanks to glowing reviews on parenting websites. 

Mothers across Britain praised the budget butter for making their own faces feel soft and youthful, triggering a surge in demand that saw Waitrose sell a 14-year supply of the own-brand baby product in the space of just 12 months. 

One contributor to parenting website, mumsnet.com, wrote: 'I can't even remember what made me put it on my face one day but OMG - it is fab.

'I have been using it constantly for two weeks now and my skin now has the smoothest texture, which I don't think it's had since prepubescence.

Praise: Mothers across Britain said the the budget butter made their own faces feel soft and youthful

Praise: Mothers across Britain said the the budget butter made their own faces feel soft and youthful

'And it makes my foundation look super dewy and youthful too. It is SO much better than all the expensive face creams I have tried - including Creme de la Mer.'

A 100ml pot of Creme de La Mer moisturising cream, which contains extracts of sea kelp, can cost as much as £970.

The £2.54 tubs of the Baby Bottom Butter bear the slogan: ‘Naturally pure for relaxed and pampered babies’. 

It is a camomile-scented blend of olive oil and gentle lavender essential oil that is believed to nourish the skin and help protect against irritation. 

Baby Bottom Butter was launched at Waitrose in 2005 following the supermarket’s decision to remove parabens, petrochemicals and colours from its own-label baby toiletries. 

The sales success has continued despite some scepticism from beauty industy experts.

Cosmetic surgery expert Dr Patrick Bowler, who appeared on the TV programme Ten Years Younger, said: 'The women buying this may think it will make their faces as smooth as a baby's bottom, but the truth is that while it's likely to be quite a good moisturiser there's really nothing extraordinary about it.'

Waitrose Babycare Buyer Gemma Wright said: 'This butter for babies’ bottoms has become the top choice for mums who also love using it on their own faces. 

'Its consistent popularity and affordable price tag have proved this product is no fad – in fact it now out-sells every body and face cream that we stock.'

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