Beauty Bible Loves... The Body Shop's new Body Butters (and their Stratford pop-up!)

Bold move! Because The Body Shop has given its iconic Body Butters a 2026 refresh. But be not afraid: we can hand-on-heart say that we like these formulations more than ever, designed to spread and absorb quickly, without greasy residue or a pale cast on darker skin tones.

We slathered our way through the whole range last week at an excellent pop-up in Westfield Stratford – The Butter Shop, which can be found in the store until 13th October.

Now, first things first. We got hideously lost trying to find the store. Turns out, the ‘Ground Floor’ at Westfield… is actually upstairs from the Tube entrance. Muttering under our breath, ‘We HATE Westfield!’, The Body Shop was eventually located on what any sensible person would describe as… the First Floor. The only store guide to be found is accessed via a QR code (which was less than helpful), and Google’s dot – the one that’s supposed to tell you where you are – bounces all over the place, confused by the glass and stone of the building. So, forewarned is forearmed, we hope.

Hissyfit aside, it was worth the pilgrimage. The two completely charming Body Shop team members, above, offer dips and dabs of all the butters for you to try, and these are merchandised all over the store, for further exploration.

While Shea is still the standout for rough, very dry areas, with a balm-like formula that contains 14% Community Fair Trade shea butter (sourced through the long-standing partnership with the Tungteiya Women’s Shea Butter Association in northern Ghana, hurrah, hurrah!)

Hemp has a great barrier-supporting feel, while Mango, Coconut, British Rose, Strawberry, Satsuma, Almond Milk, Grapefruit, Moringa and Olive all have a deliciously scoopable texture, while being genuinely effortless to apply, leaving skin silky-soft and fragrant. Jo went for Olive, in the end – fresh-scented and a joy to apply, and also took home British Rose, which smells truly rose garden-y and dewy. So pretty.

Once you’ve chosen your own Body Butter, you can have it wrapped at the ‘deli counter’ like a posh cheese, in printed paper that is then sealed with a Body Shop seal. It all feels rather special and fun and really is part of the company’s plan to put the joy back into shopping at The Body Shop once more. (We think our old and much-missed buddy Anita would be thrilled.)

It’s always scary when a brand reformulates a bestseller but… we’d go so far as to say, these Body Butters are better than ever. Spread liberally! (And spread the word. We still encounter people who don’t realise that this iconic brand still exists!)

£19 each for 200ml (from just £7 for 50ml travel size) – buy here