October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month…here are a few companies offering “shop for the cure” items:
From Melange Perfumes, the Floral Notes Palette with four solid perfumes to wear alone or layer (Jasmine & Neroli, Casablanca Lily & Tuberose, Japanese Tea Rose & Sakura and Frangipani & Gardenia). $28, with 20% going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation…
A number of years ago, when I still shopped for most of my toiletries at drugstores, I received a gift of some fancy lavender-fragranced body cream in a prettily decorated tube. It was one of the first upscale bath-and-body items that I had ever tried, and it was made by Thymes — or rather, The Thymes, as the company was then called. I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it felt and smelled so different from my usual products, and since that time I’ve had a fond feeling for Thymes (even though the Filigree collection, my eventual favorite, was discontinued last year).
The Ambersweet Orange collection is a fairly recent addition to the Thymes range of body products and fragrance, and its Body Lotion sounded like an appropriate pick for early autumn. According to Thymes, in this lotion “the healing properties of creamy yogurt and the warm blush of honey combine to richly moisturize your skin while the harmonizing aromas of delicate orange blossom, creamy almond milk, tonka bean and vanilla swirl gently in the zest of nutmeg, sandalwood and cardamom for a natural goodness that radiates well-being.” Ambersweet Orange Body Lotion gives off a gently sweet almond scent when it’s first applied…
I’m definitely not an expert in ayurveda, but lately I’ve been gravitating towards body products that incorporate elements of ayurvedic medicine in their ingredients and their usage. Anjolie Ayurveda is one line that I’ve been using with enthusiasm this summer, and Bhaktiveda is another. Bhaktiveda’s products are manufactured in India, using Himalayan-grown herbs and other natural ingredients, and they’re intended for all skin types.
Bhaktiveda Tulsi Body Lotion highlights tulsi — also known as Holy Basil — as a key ingredient with nourishing and purifying benefits; the lotion’s neem oil also promises anti-bacterial properties. On its own, neem can have an unpleasant sulfurous smell, but in this blend, it’s camouflaged by essential oils of anise and lavender. I happen to love the herbal-sweet fragrance of anise (COPA Soaps’ anise-scented Basil soap is still one of my favorite soaps, ever!), so I’ve been enjoying this lotion as part of my morning routine…
When a heat wave strikes, and I need to pare down the layers that I usually wear — including scent! — I do one of two things. I might mist myself with a light fragrance tinged with green or citrus notes; Diptyque L’Ombre dans L’Eau has been a summer favorite of mine for years, and a newer contender in this category is Atelier Cologne Grand Néroli. On the other hand, I might choose a body product, such as a dusting powder or a lotion, that carries a hint of the richer and spicier fragrances that I usually enjoy. Yamerra, a small Philadephia-based company, offers several all-natural Hair and Body Butters that are intensely scented as well as functional.
The base of Yamerra’s Sensual Bliss Jasmine Sage Hair and Body Butter is a blend of shea butter, jojoba, sweet almond oil, and candelilla wax; the Jasmine Sage fragrance combines essential oils of cedarwood, Peru balsam, dalmatian sage, ylang ylang, and patchouli, plus jasmine absolute. It’s an unusual fragrance for a body product, and it should appeal to lovers of spicy-woody perfumes…
Deep Aqua is Bath & Body Works‘ latest addition to its Signature Collection. It’s an aquatic floral scent, described as “the pure and refreshing fragrance of ocean drenched flowers inspired by a beautiful world underwater.” Its composition includes top notes of crisp melon, daffodil, violet leaves, and water blossoms; mid notes of spring daisy, cyclamen, dewy gardenia, and white hydrangeas; and base notes of musk captives and white woods.
Looking at that list of floral notes, you may not imagine anything oceanic at all, and you may wonder which seashore we’re talking about. Violets at the beach? That being said, the fragrance itself is appropriately watery and breezy, with light hints of white flower petals. It also seems to “bloom” differently in each of the products I’ve sampled. The Skin Smoothing Shower Gelée, a limited-edition formula for summer, is a gently exfoliating, sudsy gel. (And doesn’t the word “gelée” deserve to be brought back into wider circulation?). It smells as fresh and blue as it looks, but it also releases a more complex, musky note or two when it foams and mixes with the water and steam of a warm shower.
The Body Lotion was my least favorite of the three variations I tried…