In general, I feel ambivalent about Kiehl’s and its products. The company has managed to sustain an impressive degree of its old-New-York, neighborhood-apothecary image (“Since 1851”) despite having been acquired by L’Oreal in 2000. Since then, however, its ever-expanding product range has started to seem diffuse and inconsistent, and the products themselves are often over-priced and not nearly as nature-based as they sometimes claim to be. Still, I keep going back for Kiehl’s Coriander-scented body products; I’ve been hooked on this fragrance for over five years, and I haven’t found anything to replace it.
Kiehl’s Gently Exfoliating Body Scrub is a relatively recent addition to the line, but it’s one of the newer products that I enjoy; it’s conveniently packaged in a flip-top tube, and it has a lightly-foaming formula with small exfoliating particles that feel pleasantly scrubby, but not scratchy. The Deluxe Hand & Body Lotion with Aloe Vera & Oatmeal is actually fairly lightweight, so if you have seriously dry skin, you’ll need something more concentrated. Both products are packed with the sorts of ingredients that I normally try to avoid when possible: sulfates and plastics in the scrub, silicones and parabens in the lotion, many mysterious multi-syllabic chemicals in both. (The natural ingredients, like aloe vera and chamomile extract, appear low on the ingredients lists.)
Nevertheless, I keep going back to the Kiehl’s counter, because the Coriander scent trumps everything else about these products: it’s fresh and comforting at the same time, and it’s hard to define, not exactly green or fruity or sweet, but a little of each. When we see coriander bottled as a cooking spice, it’s the dried fruit of the plant; is this how it smells when it’s still alive and growing? I’m not a botanist, and I don’t know the answer. I just know that I like this scent for its odd balance of creaminess (it has an almost milky aspect) and doughiness (it reminds me a little bit of fresh almond-filled pastry). There’s also just a hint of herbal leafiness hovering around the edges (after all, cilantro is another part of the coriander plant). I’ve been wearing the lotion under not-quite-gourmand fragrances like Frederic Malle’s L’Eau d’Hiver and L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Bois Farine, which it seems to complement well.
Kiehl’s also sells Coriander “essence oil” in a roll-on dispenser; this oil smells slightly greener and livelier than the body products. I don’t own it, but I’ve tested it in stores, and I’m tempted yet again.
Kiehl’s Gently Exfoliating Body Scrub sells for $25 for 6.8 oz.; Deluxe Hand & Body Lotion sells for $12.50 for 4.2 oz. at the Kiehl’s website.
Note: top middle image is Coriandrum sativum from Franz Eugen Köhler’s Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen, via Wikimedia Commons.
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I may give this a try.I got a bit turned off with Kiehl’s using sulfates and other harsh ingredients.But, I may try this with an open mind.
I do wish they would change their formulas and rule out certain ingredients, substitute gentler or more natural ingredients, etc. … and some of their lines, like the Yerba Mate’ skincare, give the appearance of being more natural than they are. Still, they do have some good-smelling products. The French Rose lotion is another one, although it’s easier to find another rose lotion than another coriander lotion!
Sounds marvellous – thanks – your reviews often prompt me to try new things. I shall look our for it.
I got enthusiastic one year and grew heaps of coriander. I don’t remember smelling the fruit (or are they seeds?) when they were green, but certainly once they were dry and I ground them up the scent was heavenly. Much better than it is once the spice gets to the shops. And because with just two of us (in those days), we couldn’t use all the leaves, I took pulled out entire plants and took them to work for a friend who insisted that he knew how to use the roots.
I get very dry skin on my hands and years ago the doctor recommended urea cream, which is as nasty as it sounds in that it is so strong it can sting sometimes. But it does work. I have not found a scented ‘cosmetic’ style product that works as well, unfortunately.
I admire you gardeners! and I envy your fresh, home-grown herbs.
You’d probably need a more “serious” cream than this one for your hands, but for overall body-skin, in not-too-cold weather, it’s fine!
hey, it’s not too bad. my mom was given some for her dry heels and she gave some to me!!
The leafy part of coriander is cilantro. I do like this fragrance, but I have, for the reasons you mention, been avoiding the body products. Maybe I should give them a shot. Thank you for the review.
Ah, cilantro! I love it. Our favorite tacqueria puts lots and lots of fresh cilantro on its tacos. With lime slices on the side, for fresh lime juice. Mm.
White rice with cilantro is my all time fave, along with cilantro beef tacos… oh yum!
As I understand it, cilantro and coriander are the same thing, just called different things in different parts of the world. That is, if you’re cooking Indian food (which I do frequently), and a recipe says to use “fresh coriander,” I use the green herb that is called “cilantro” in the US. So the leafy coriander smell is in fact cilantro!
I think you’re right! In which case, this scent combines the seed/fruit and the leaf of the same plant.
The Coriander was always my favorite too. Haven’t been using this lotion for a while now since I’ve converted to being mostly green in my products. But if I were to get one again, Coriander would be it!
PS: you described it perfectly!
Thanks, Trish! Most of my usual routine (not including things I test just for NST) is green-ish and/or made by smaller companies… but this is one product that keeps pulling me back in!
Coriander belongs to one of my favorite plant families which includes: carrot, dill, fennel, celery, Queen Anne’s Lace, parsley, parsnips and others. I love to grow fennel especially and have had it reach heights of approx. 6 ft. Gorgeous pants with invigorating, bright scents. I thnik I would love this product and thanks to you I will be trying it!
I love the smell (and taste) of fennel! And I had no idea that these plants were also related to Queen Anne’s Lace. Really interesting!
I’ll have to have a sniff of this at the Kiehl’s counter, Jessica. Sounds like a great scent, and I’m curious about other products available in this scent (maybe just a regular body wash).
I finally tried the Original Musk spray and oil recently and loved the spray a lot more than the oil.
That Original Musk is a down and dirty one! Too much for me, but I respect it and I respect Kiehl’s for keeping it in rotation!
Urea lotion (which is absolutely the best for badly dry skin) now comes in a chemical formula that doesn’t smell like pee or contain it. I don’t remember the chemical name offhand, but I have it written down so I can check the ingredient list. While I love the fragrance of corriander seed (the Kiehl’s stuff smells like the seeds), I have no use for corriander leaf. Tastes like soap to me–vaguely bitter and rank. I’m sure it’s lovely for others and they can have all of mine!
Yeah, urea cream has improved over the years. When I first bought it, it tended to be quite greasy. Although the doctor assured me that the greasier they are the better they work, I hoped not. And indeed the one I get now, put out by Galderma (if that means anything), is non-greasy and fragrance-free.
Sorry to hear coriander leaves are not for you.
I have yet to find a Galderma product that I didn’t love. They really do a great job creating pleasant feeling bases for their active ingredients.
I LOVE Galderma! No smell, works like a charm, light, not greasy. Thanks for reminding me. I need to pick some up.
quinncreative, this is a essential point: the seed smells is light and lemony-resinous – while the leaf I find attractive and repellant at the same time. I do enjoy the leaf in food but find that it has to be freshly cut for the attractive element to be strong and the other element to be pleasantly musky rather than rank.
I love the seed *and* the leaf in food, but I can see how people would like one and not the other… they’re so dissimilar.
Thanks, Jessica, for reviewing this product. I would have overlooked it in the flood of lotions and scrubs. Now I know to give this one a chance.
Thanks Jessica!
I’m a fan of Kiehl’s Ultra facial cream.
I’ll give the lotion a try next time I visit the store-
Na, Do give it a sniff when you’re there!
If Kiehl’s uses coriander oil as an ingredient I don’t see how that could be called “gently exfoliating”. Coriander oil is a potent skin irritant.
Hi Eminere, The coriander oil is listed so far down the label, I doubt it’s enough to have much of an effect!
Kiehl’s is a brand that sells under drugstore/pharmacy and “natural” aspects. They are complete… liars? when you look at the INCI list with more chemistry inside then in your gasoline.
It drives me nuts when people talking to me about organic cosmetic or “natural” ingredients mention this brand. They have spend a lot on good publicity in the VOGUE over here in germnay, I tell’ya!
I would be really curious on what you think on the scent of organic brands like Dr. Hauschka and Weleda – I admit I got used to after several years of usage and everything else smells artificial, but I remember well at the beginning it was… ooomph. Bad.
I remember enjoying the scent of a few Weleda products, and I like the rose scent of the Dr. Hauschka toner. I find that the more natural products (the ones without chemical stabilizers and preservatives) go rancid more quickly, and the scents have a tendency to go funny and funky. Even my bottle of lavender essential oil is smelling pretty rank after only 1 year, stored in a cool dark place.
Come to think of it, I haven’t tried many Dr. Hauschka products… other than the facial cleansing cream (the almondy-scrubby one), which I love. I seem to remember that Trish from ScentHive is a fan of Dr. H’s Floral deodorant, both for its smell and its effectiveness. I do like Weleda’s rose oil and rose lotion for the body, and I think their Iris line smells wonderful.
Mm, now I’m really going to have to test some Weleda iris products. I wonder if the line’s very hard to find in bricks-and-mortar shops. Whole Foods?
I’m pretty sure Whole Foods carries Weleda… and so do many old-school “health food stores,” if you have any near you!
Well, for usual they should last around one and a half year, but pure oils can go rancid in a minute, you are not into it.
You should try Hauschkas rose cream. Everyone got addicted to hauschka fter testing the rose cream
I was cooking with coriander just yesterday and thinking how good it smelled. I especially like the greenness of it.
Now I’m craving some… and I don’t have any in the house! I’m putting it on my grocery list for tomorrow, or else I’ll go out to eat something that incorporates it!
i have the khiels coriander perfume oil and it doesnt’ smell anything like the leaf. In fact, it has a kind of comfort feel to it and i like to wear it with the khiels vanilla oil as well
That oil did seem very pleasing to me, when I tried it in a store! And I agree that Kiehl’s Coriander, overall, is more of a comfort scent than a fresh-clean scent. Which is fine with me.
The best skin care in the world is pure lanolin (from sheep wool?) and I discovered this when nursing my then infant son 26 years ago. Ask your pharmacist.
Isn’t lanolin one of the ingredients in the time-tested “Bag Balm”? That’s supposed to work well on seriously dry skin!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the Coriander oil by Kiehls – in fact about a week ago during that cold spell that attacked Miami, I wore it after an evening shower and got loads of compliments. A little dab’ll do ya too – this stuff is potent. I have the Shower Cleanser (a Christmas gift) and I had no idea they had a shower scrub & lotion. Must get! Thanks for the heads up.
Coriander Fans Of the World Unite!