Because summer is coming: Colonia Repelente Mosquito Spray from Coqui Coqui. "An ultra-effective, all-natural mosquito spray with a light, fresh scent of citronella, orange blossom, and geranium. Inspired by the work of Franciscan monks in Mexico, who used the Yucatan's exotic plants to create medicines and fragrances. Designed to be carried on the go and reapplied as needed." $25 for 55 ml at Luckyscent.
A set of seven 15 ml miniatures from Coqui Coqui, including four that Kevin reviewed a few years back, when the brand was much harder to find in the US (Orange Blossom, Rosas Frescas, Rosas Secas and Coco Coco) plus three more (Lavman, Menli and Flor de Mayo). $70 at Luckyscent. This is the set "For Her", there's also one "For Him" (Tabaco, Maderas, Menli, Eucaced, Agave, Neroli Negro and Orange Blossom; same price) but it's currently back ordered.
I didn’t realize how much I missed summer bugs (animals, not diseases) till I left Virginia as a teenager. Living on Manhattan, then Los Angeles and now Seattle doesn’t compare to the South when it comes to insect life. My childhood summers were filled with the sounds of crickets and cicadas. Butterflies put on a non-stop show in the flower gardens. Nighttime was when my grandmother and I would sit on the front porch (swatting mosquitoes, one bug I do NOT love) and watch the fireflies as we took in the heady scent of gardenias — whose white blossoms also lit up the darkness. I’d love to see a grasshopper or praying mantis, a big black-and-yellow garden spider shimmering in the sun, or a dragonfly flitting about my yard.
Here in Seattle I do get to see some beautiful moths, living their brief moments on earth holding fast to my deck screens or circling a light bulb. Tiny spiders are everywhere, inside and out, and I would never think to kill one — they work so long and hard to live and make a living. Right now in Seattle it’s the season for ten-lined June beetles (a type of scarab beetle); my cats (to my chagrin) love to chase, torment and kill June beetles, who, as they fight for their lives, raise up their antlers (yes, antlers) and make puffing sounds to ward off attacks. Here’s to bugs! (AND summer perfumes!)
Coqui Coqui Rosas Secas ~ This wonderful rose perfume smells of dried rosebuds mixing with a fresh rose bouquet; there’s also a pinch of tobacco leaf. Rosas Secas is a great rose perfume for men…
Part of the Coqui Coqui Spa & Residence Resorts of the Yucatán (with hotels in Mérida, Tulum, Valladolid, Cobá), the Coqui Coqui Perfumería produces perfumes, massage and bath oils, bath salts, hand soap, shampoo/conditioner, body cream, linen spray, diffuser oils, candles…and mosquito repellant! The Coqui Coqui line of fragrances was inspired by the horticultural work of the Franciscan monks who came to Mexico following the Spanish conquest. These monks, guided by Mayan experts, used the fragrant plants of southern Mexico to create medicines and scented products for domestic use and export to Spain.
Coqui Coqui’s Eaux de Cologne and Eaux de Parfum are “simple;” the fragrances are streamlined (without being boring), and I imagine they would hit the spot in hot and steamy climates (like in Yucatán, where they are used to fragrance Coqui Coqui hotels). Today, I’m reviewing my favorite fragrances in the extensive perfume line-up…