I’ve never referred to myself as a “chocoholic.” I enjoy chocolate, but I’m an equal-opportunity sweets lover, and I’m usually more likely to seek out cookies or ice cream or a really good piece of apple pie than a cocoa-based dessert. Today, however, I rounded off my lunch with a slab of chocolate cake. I think the last long weeks of winter have finally gotten to me. In this spirit of unexpected cravings, I’ve rounded up a handful of chocolate-fragrance body products for your delectation.
I’m fond of Villainess’ vaguely steampunk aesthetic, not to mention its range of unusual scents. Its Dulces en Fuego (“fire candies”) blend mixes cocoa with cinnamon and black pepper and a touch of musk. The dense, sugar-based Smooch! Warming Body Scrub actually does seem to give off heat when it’s first applied to the skin, and the matching Dulces en Fuego soap (shown above) looks dangerously dark before it foams. The scent of Dulces en Fuego reminds me of the tiny cups of rich, spiced “Aztec” chocolate served at Mariebelle in New York, although it probably doesn’t taste as good…
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Posted by Jessica
on
16 January 2010
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…
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Posted by Robin
on
22 November 2009
From Fresh, a limited edition soap trio in Frankincense (“an earthy scent, full of woodsy notes and a hint of exotic incense”), Myrrh (“an uplifting, fruity scent with wild berry notes inspired by the forest”) and Gold (“a warm, soft fragrance that evokes the shimmer of precious metal in sunlight”). Three 250g bars, $45…
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Posted by Jessica
on
26 September 2009
Duross & Langel is a small company based in Philadelphia, where it sells handmade soaps, body products, and haircare in a loft-like shop near the center of the city. When I was living in Philadelphia a few years ago, I made regular trips to Duross & Langel, and I still stop by whenever I’m in town, to stock up on one or two of my favorite products.
For some reason, I’m on the prowl for a good body scrub these days — it must have something to do with the transition from summer to fall. Duross & Langel offers a few solutions for ridding yourself of dry or flaky skin, and many of them happen to be nicely scented.
Some of the company’s hand-crafted soaps, for example, have exfoliating properties. There’s Blueberry Scrub, which is flecked with actual blueberry seeds and smells like the filling of a blueberry pie; Steve’s Seed Scrub, with a fennel scent and poppy seeds swirled into its base of olive oil and shea butter…
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Posted by Jessica
on
5 October 2008
I’ve written before about my love for coffee, both as a beverage and as a fragrance. I’m always surprised that more coffee-scented body products don’t exist. Surely I’m not the only person who loves this smell so much? For anyone who shares my obsession, here’s a summary of a few high-quality toiletries that include actual coffee for its smell as well as its other benefits.
Lush’s Sonic Death Monkey Shower Gel (shown above, middle) looks like something you could drizzle over ice cream, and it smells like a drink that would set you back about $7 at Starbucks: a potent mocha blend of coffee and chocolate, with a shot of orange syrup…
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