Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Body Lotion is a mainstay of my bedside table. It’s the lotion I use every night before I drift off to sleep (and the lotion I reapply every time I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, ha). I don’t think I can fall asleep without slathering it on my hands first…the sleep association is that strong. It’s not an expensive product, but I’ve always been curious about the store-brand dupes I’ve seen at places like Walgreen’s and Target. Recently, I tried the Target version (Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion), and I’ve been quite pleased with it so far. I noticed that the ingredient lists weren’t exactly identical, so I thought I’d check to see what my dad thought about the differences between these two products.

Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion ingredients

Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Body Lotion ingredients

water, glycerin, stearic acid, isopropyl palmitate, glycol stearate, peg-100 stearate, mineral oil, dimethicone, glyceryl stearate, petrolatum, cetyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol, acrylates/c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, methylparaben, triethanolamine, propylparaben, stearamide amp, disodium edta, isopropyl myristate, cedrol

My Dad the Chemist’s review of Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion vs. Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Body Lotion

I sent my dad the ingredient lists for both products, and labeled Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion as Product 1 and Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Body Lotion as Product 2 so he wouldn’t know which one was the name brand. I also asked him what preservatives Product 1 used instead of the parabens spotted in Vaseline’s formula.

My dad actually thought that Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion was the more expensive product of the two. I asked him what made him think that Product 1 (Target) was more expensive. Here’s what he said.

It turns out that Target uses more expensive preservatives, but it’s not like these products make up the bulk of the formula (generally less than 1 percent). He also suspects that Target is willing to accept a lower profit margin in order to compete with Vaseline. So in this case, the generic/store brand version actually uses more expensive preservatives and is cheaper than the name brand. Good to know! Both formulas should offer similar moisturization benefits, according to my dad.

Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion review

Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion is less than half the cost of Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Body Lotion. It’s interesting that the Target version uses more expensive preservatives. I couldn’t tell much difference between the two lotions. Both are very easy to apply and absorb pretty quickly into your skin, without leaving it too greasy. It’s still not heavy-duty enough to treat a really bad case of dry, cracked skin, but it’s a great everyday (or in my case, every night) lotion that can help keep dryness at bay.

If I were to conduct a blind test, I’m not sure I could tell the difference. Both go on very creamy and smooth, and have no detectable odor/fragrance at all. For that reason, I think Target Up & Up Advanced Repair Body Lotion is a great alternative if you’re looking to save some money.

Further reading

• Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Lotion review
• Save or Splurge? Aquaphor Healing Ointment vs. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly
• Best products for hand eczema
• Vaseline Lip Therapy Original Lip Balm vs. plain Vaseline: Which wins out for dry lips?
• Save or Splurge? Aquaphor Healing Ointment vs. Vaseline Petroleum Jelly
• Why I love using Vaseline on extremely dry skin
• Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips Mini Review: Your secret to soft, rosy lips even in the winter