I want to smell like Hawaii.
May 4, 2015 6:20 PM Subscribe
I want to smell like Hawaii. To me, this means a coconut fragrance. Bonus question: if you know of a good coconut lotion, I'll gladly take those answers.
I have had difficulty in the past in finding a coconut fragrance that doesn't smell too cloying or too chemically cheap and nasty. So, what are your recs?
I'm not quite certain if I'm after a perfume or a lotion, but I'll take recommendations for both.
Key factor: cannot smell fake/chemically, cannot be too strong and overwhelming. Just a bit o' coconut, please.
I have had difficulty in the past in finding a coconut fragrance that doesn't smell too cloying or too chemically cheap and nasty. So, what are your recs?
I'm not quite certain if I'm after a perfume or a lotion, but I'll take recommendations for both.
Key factor: cannot smell fake/chemically, cannot be too strong and overwhelming. Just a bit o' coconut, please.
Best answer: The Body Shop has a coconut body butter that to me smells edibly coconutty, and the consistency is very lush. A little goes a long way. (Unintended side effect: on my skin it changes over the course of a few hours to smell like chocolate chip cookies. Then I want to eat cookies. LOTS of cookies. YMMV, etc.)
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:29 PM on May 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:29 PM on May 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I really like the slightly coconut scent of Skin Trip. Should be findable at a co-op. From their website, looks like Whole Foods has it and so does Amazon.
posted by jessamyn at 6:32 PM on May 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 6:32 PM on May 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Coconut oil is a good moisturizer for legs and feet (and elsewhere, maybe, depending on your skin). Made from coconuts, so it's completely natural!
posted by three_red_balloons at 6:33 PM on May 4, 2015 [15 favorites]
posted by three_red_balloons at 6:33 PM on May 4, 2015 [15 favorites]
Best answer: I'm really sensitive (read: gaggy) about perfumes, but I fell in love with Demeter fragrances. Most of them are single note and smell exactly like the thing they're supposed to smell like. I love them. Here's the page with Hawaii flavors.
Tropical isn't really my thing, but I'm a big fan of their almond, ginger ale, vanilla cake, and pumpkin pie scents because there's just something about smelling like food that really appeals to me.
Pretty inexpensive, might as well give it a try.
posted by phunniemee at 6:45 PM on May 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Tropical isn't really my thing, but I'm a big fan of their almond, ginger ale, vanilla cake, and pumpkin pie scents because there's just something about smelling like food that really appeals to me.
Pretty inexpensive, might as well give it a try.
posted by phunniemee at 6:45 PM on May 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Seconding coconut oil. You get a lovely sheen and a subtle smell of coconut that most moisturiser formulas cannot replicate. On another related point, if you want to smell like Hawaii, you may also want to consider a monoi oil, a tropical island beauty product (white tiare flowers are soaked in coconut oil, which imparts an amazing tropical floral scent to the oil).
posted by travellingincognito at 6:45 PM on May 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by travellingincognito at 6:45 PM on May 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray smells of coconut in a way that reminds me of Hawaiian Tropic tanning oil from the 70's--which smells sweet to me, not chemically. If you want to layer your scent, you might consider it.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:50 PM on May 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by crush-onastick at 6:50 PM on May 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
I love Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's scent Lovers and a Fan. The description says: "White coconut, thick wildflower honey, and threads of saffron." The lovely coconut smell definitely predominates. It looks as if this scent is waitlisted at the moment, though.
posted by merejane at 6:59 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by merejane at 6:59 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
honestly, I was never a fan of coconut lotion until someone gave me a bottle of coconut lotion from burt's bees. It is really really lovely!
posted by bluesky43 at 7:03 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bluesky43 at 7:03 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess perfume.
posted by yawper at 7:09 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by yawper at 7:09 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have a sample vial of L'Artisan Parfumeur's Batucada and I love it. Basenotes lists coconut as one of the " heart notes." Of the other notes it lists, personally I can smell some light florals, mint, lime, and vanilla. Normally I don't even like coconut, vanilla or other foody scents that smell too sweet or fake in many perfumes, but they're lovely in this one and it doesn't ever turn sickly on me. I'm considering getting a full bottle of it--that's how much I like it. (It's not cheap, so that's saying something.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 7:10 PM on May 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 7:10 PM on May 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'm very sensitive to chemicals (and allergic to perfumes) and just got Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Roll On at Ulta. Looks like they have the fragrance in other form factors as well. It's quite sweet as well as coconuty.
posted by Bunglegirl at 7:13 PM on May 4, 2015
posted by Bunglegirl at 7:13 PM on May 4, 2015
Seconding monoi oil.
posted by celtalitha at 7:31 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by celtalitha at 7:31 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
After shower I love this Alba Botanica Hawaiian Body Oil.
posted by hilaryjade at 7:33 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by hilaryjade at 7:33 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Plumeria flowers, ginger flowers remind me of Hawaii. Thymes Ltd has a ginger scented line of bath products that hit the spot for me.
posted by effluvia at 7:59 PM on May 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by effluvia at 7:59 PM on May 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Boots Extracts Coconut Body Butter. I like the consistency (not as greasy as Body Shop's butters and sinks in well) and the scent is light and not cloying at all. You can find it at Target and Walgreens and there's usually testers out. I actually prefer almond but they're both quite nice.
posted by yeahlikethat at 9:12 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by yeahlikethat at 9:12 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Coqui Coqui makes a nice, fancy coconut scent.
posted by Yoko Ono's Advice Column at 9:55 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Yoko Ono's Advice Column at 9:55 PM on May 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oooo, me too! I've bought coconut oil that smells/tastes like almost nothing, and oil that has a really strong flavour/scent so you might need to test a couple. Not in your country so can't recommend specific brands. Am from Cali though - also like the Skin Trip lotion and Pacific scents mentioned above, both are available at Whole Foods. I also like the scents from Lush.
posted by jrobin276 at 10:17 PM on May 4, 2015
posted by jrobin276 at 10:17 PM on May 4, 2015
Comptoir Sud Pacifique Aloha Tiaré Eau de Parfum was recommended to me as a gift for someone wishing to reminisce about a trip to Hawaii: tiara flower, ylang , monoi, coconut, vanilla and musk.
posted by Svejk at 2:46 AM on May 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Svejk at 2:46 AM on May 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh oh I love coconut smells too. I'm in the UK and am a cheapskate and have yet to plonk down for a bottle of Bronze Goddess or Comptoir Sud Pacifique.
Good: Body Shop Coconut Body Mist, Coconut Beautifying Oil, Coconut Eau De Toilette. I honestly cant tell the difference between the mist and the perfume and end up using the mist most days. The mist and perfume smell very natural and not at all chemical but fair warning are quite strong, use little or a wander through the could technique.
Not so good: Yves Rocher Malaysian Coconut Eau de Toilette. This one smells more like green coconut milk whilst the Body Shop smell is the "proper" coconut flesh smell of a brown coconut.
posted by Ness at 7:48 AM on May 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Good: Body Shop Coconut Body Mist, Coconut Beautifying Oil, Coconut Eau De Toilette. I honestly cant tell the difference between the mist and the perfume and end up using the mist most days. The mist and perfume smell very natural and not at all chemical but fair warning are quite strong, use little or a wander through the could technique.
Not so good: Yves Rocher Malaysian Coconut Eau de Toilette. This one smells more like green coconut milk whilst the Body Shop smell is the "proper" coconut flesh smell of a brown coconut.
posted by Ness at 7:48 AM on May 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I currently smell of Alba's "Coconut Rescue" moisturizer, which I got at Target, and I like it. It isn't too strong -- I have to have my nose right up to my arm to smell it -- and it doesn't smell artificial or cloying. Plus the moisturizer is good. It feels a little odd right after I put it on, but that goes away within a minute.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:59 AM on May 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:59 AM on May 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The Pacifica line is amazing. The body butter lotions are very moisturizing without being overly greasy. They also have fragrances and body washes so you could do a bit of layering. The fragrance is definitely present but it's not cloying or overly sweet. In particular you might like these fragrances:
Waikiki Pikake Body Butter
Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Butter
Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter
Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter
The bigger Whole Foods stores have them in stock so you could go try out the different scents. They also sell some travel-sized tubes so you could pick up a few different ones to try them out, then use the tubes while traveling. Highly recommended, especially in the winter when my skin gets super dry!
posted by barnone at 10:05 AM on May 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Waikiki Pikake Body Butter
Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Butter
Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter
Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter
The bigger Whole Foods stores have them in stock so you could go try out the different scents. They also sell some travel-sized tubes so you could pick up a few different ones to try them out, then use the tubes while traveling. Highly recommended, especially in the winter when my skin gets super dry!
posted by barnone at 10:05 AM on May 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you all for the great pointers!
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:24 AM on May 6, 2015
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:24 AM on May 6, 2015
Creed makes a cologne (but I consider it unisex) called Virgin Island Water that has notes of coconut, rum, and lime. I think a lot of coconut fragrances tend to smell cloying but this just straddles the line. The citrus notes balance it out and make this smell sophisticated.
It is pricey, however.
Tommy Bahama Set Sail to St Barts is often recommended as a cheaper substitute.
posted by rq at 12:06 PM on May 7, 2015
It is pricey, however.
Tommy Bahama Set Sail to St Barts is often recommended as a cheaper substitute.
posted by rq at 12:06 PM on May 7, 2015
Shea Moisture makes a lovely line of bath products that are coconut and hibiscus scented. Their entire brand is fantastic and I use a separate line on my hair. Right now I use their foaming milk body wash in the shower and the body oil right after on damp skin. The oil will keep you moisturized and smelling great without any lotion or perfume (and I have dry skin).
posted by rubster at 12:00 AM on May 11, 2015
posted by rubster at 12:00 AM on May 11, 2015
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