Coco Monoi is the debut fragrance collection from Beauty of Bathing, an upscale offshoot of The Thymes. The collection includes Eau de Parfum and a range of bath & body products.
Coco Monoi is inspired by an age-old Polynesian tradition. In an island ceremony of languid beauty, heady white blossoms of intoxicating gardenia scent the humid night air. Gathered by moonlight, these most voluptuous and feminine of flowers are steeped in sumptuous oil to release their sensual fragrance and energy…
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is the brainchild of Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder’s granddaughter and the Creative Director of the Estee Lauder line. It borrows its name from Private Collection, the 1973 release that was said to be based on a scent that Estee Lauder originally created for her own use. The new fragrance features neroli, lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, orange flower, jasmine, white lily, carnation and vanilla bourbon.
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia opens sweet and bright, and seems to move rapidly from the mild touch of citrus in the opening into the white floral notes in the heart. The lilac softens the more exuberant floral notes in the early stages, but it is lush and full-bodied almost from the start, and it is almost linear after the first 20 minutes or so have passed. The tuberose and gardenia are the main players — you will catch glimpses of the other notes, especially the jasmine, but it starts out smelling like mostly tuberose and gardenia and hours later, it still does. The base is milky-creamy woods with a touch of vanilla, and is neither heady nor overly sweet…
Once in a while, a certain ingredient attains sudden, widespread popularity, appearing in so many products that it seems to go from obscure to ubiquitous in a matter of minutes. The common ingredient in Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Soins de Plaisir line of scented body products is tiaré, the fragrant Tahitian gardenia (“gardenia tahitensis”). More specifically, the three products in the line all include monoï, a liquid produced by tiaré flowers slowly macerated in coconut oil.
Tiaré is traditionally woven into floral garlands and crowns, and as a single bud worn behind the ear it declares the wearer’s romantic status (single if it appears behind the right ear, and attached if it is worn on the left). Monoï has been used as a beauty aid by women in the South Pacific for centuries, to soften and nourish the hair and skin. Even recently, both tiaré and monoi were still unfamiliar to North American or European consumers, but companies ranging from Christian Dior to Bath and Body Works, Yves Rocher, and The Body Shop have all launched monoï-themed products within the past year. Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Soins de Plaisir may be the most sophisticated collection of the batch…
As long as we’re on the subject of tropical beach-y scents, I thought I’d give Ensoleille Moi another try. Ensoleille Moi launched last year as the debut fragrance release from French jeweller André Gas, and like yesterday’s Azuree Soleil, it is composed around coconut and tiare (also known as Tahitian gardenia). It was created by perfumer Mathilde Laurent, and additional notes include ylang ylang, vanilla and white musk…
Be was launched late last year by Becker.eshaya, a joint collaboration between John Eshaya and Kristin Becker. The notes are mandarin, rose, pink peony, lily of the valley and white musk.
Be is a soapy-clean floral musk fragrance. The peony is predominant in the early stages, but none of the floral notes really stand out, and the fragrance stays both fresh and close to the skin…