Product Reviews and Tips

Chai Latte Sink Set. Cute bottles. And the wire holder is nice.

I absolutely love Watkins Chai Latte (and Watkins Chocolate Chai Latte), so I was excited when I saw Watkins was offering Chai Latte Hand Lotion and Hand Soap in last fall's Gift Line. I imagined it would smell as good as the Chai Latte, sort of like oatmeal raisin cookies.

Unfortunately, Chai Latte Hand Lotion and Hand Soap smell nothing like the drinkable Chai Latte. Instead, it's got a spicy scent that reminded me of the Warm Ginger Body Balm from the 2003 Fall Gift Line. (You might want to read that review. See link below.)

I didn't think the Chai Latte Lotion & Soap smelled horrible, though I knew I wouldn't buy it for myself. But as always, I can't rely on my own sense of smell. So I tested the Chai Latte Hand Lotion on my guinea pigs...er..um...I mean my co-workers.

Only one of the gals liked the lotion. More on her in a bit. (As far as I know, none of the guys even tried it.) I thought at first Renee* liked it, but after a bit of prodding, I learned she was just being polite. (She was a new employee and probably didn't want to offend me.)

Lucy and Sharon, on the other hand, are always brutally honest. They summed up the opinion of the gals on their floor: "The consensus is, it stinks."

But the clincher was Jackie, who had politely told me she didn't care for the lotion. However, Lucy spilled the beans on what really happened, so I confronted Jackie, and she sheepishly admitted to fudging the truth. It seems Jackie was in a bit of a hurry when she noticed my little display of Watkins products. She didn't want to pass up something new, so she quickly squirted some Chai Latte Lotion on her hands and went on her way. Huge mistake. Because the smell soon got to her. It was so bad, she confessed to me, that she scrubbed her hands with soap in an effort to wash it off. But the smell just seemed to linger. Hopefully this incident has taught Jackie not to try products without smelling them first.

You, too, should learn from Jackie's horrific experience. Don't buy Chai Latte Hand Lotion (or the Hand Soap) unless you've smelled it first and can honestly admit to liking it. At my office, only one gal truly did. Linda.

Linda absolutely loved the lotion. But then again, for the rest of the day she also went around to everyone saying "Smell my hands. No, really, smell my hands. They smell so good! Smell them. Smell my hands!" I leave you to draw your own conclusions about her abilities as a rational, objective test subject.

*Names are changed to protect the guilty.

Addendum:

Two of my sisters-in-law liked the Chai Latte Lotion, as well as the gals from another office. (Though one of those gals is a sister to Linda, above....)

Chai Latte Sink Set

US Product #05412 $19.99

CDN Product #05412 $28.99

Chai Latte Hand Lotion

US Product #05410 $8.99

CDN Product #05410 $12.99

Chai Latte Hand Soap

US Product #05411 $6.99

CDN Product #05411 $9.99