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Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter: A Different Kind of Herbal Essence

April 20th, 2010 by Karen 35 Comments

I smell like parsley.

From head to toe, armpits to booty dimples: parsley. 🙂

Had it been my intention to smell like the herb, I might be looking at this jug of Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter ($15) differently.

I ordered it online with my 15% off Sephora VIB coupon sight un-smelled, assuming I’d like it as much as I liked Pacifica’s Malibu Lemon Blossom last month.

Unfortch, my body chemistry just doesn’t jive with it well. I like the way it starts — a lightly tropical mix of gardenias and baby powder like the fresh leis my mum-in-law gives when we visit her in Hawaii — but within half an hour it changes from tropic to tossed, as in tossed salad, with parsley.

I’ve know other girls who really love Gardenia Body Butter, so I’m guessing the eau de herb action I’m detecting is just a freak of scent-sory science based on my body chemistry — something rare and unusual, like two-headed snakes and Heidi Montag (drop the loser, baby girl!).

I give it two thumbs up for hydration, but the scent just isn’t for me. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: C+

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter Review / Originally published April 20th, 2010

There are 35 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Product Reviews, Skin Care Keywords: pacifica

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Comments

  1. NINA says

    April 20th, 2010 at 8:50 am

    Isnt it frustrating when something just wont work? That happens to me a lot – my body chem is picky I guess. 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 9:35 am

      Yeah… but it also gives me an excuse to try more scents, hee hee!

      Reply
      • NINA says

        April 20th, 2010 at 11:09 am

        True dat. And uber lol @ smelling like parsley …. 😛

        I think im having the same issue w/ a Nivea lotion that someone gave me. It just smells like a hospital on me….

        Reply
      • Karen says

        April 20th, 2010 at 2:56 pm

        Eek! That doesn’t sound good. Can’t say I’m a fan of the clinical scents, either. Gimme something with a hint of flowers or citrus, please. 🙂

        Reply
        • NINA says

          April 21st, 2010 at 6:29 am

          I so agree!

          Reply
  2. Anna says

    April 20th, 2010 at 9:29 am

    Aww that’s disappointing, I just saw this body butter at Whole Foods last week and loved the scent, but I didn’t really keep it on my hands long enough to see if the scent changed after an hour. Will do so next time!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 9:36 am

      I didn’t know Whole Foods carried this line. They are finally opening up a store in my town so I’ll have to hop on over there to check out the beauty section… whee!

      Reply
  3. Indi says

    April 20th, 2010 at 9:47 am

    the lotus garden, waikiki pikake and french lilac are very floral and quite lovely. I believe they have a jasmine one and persian rose as well.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:55 pm

      Hi Indi,

      Waikiki Pikake sounds really pretty. I hope I can find it!

      Reply
  4. Kypris says

    April 20th, 2010 at 10:02 am

    Oh no! I have to admit I laughed when I read the post though – you always write so cheerfully, I can’t help it. My body chemistry seems to be pretty picky about things too, like lotions or perfumes. That just means I have to spend more time … exploring ;).

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:55 pm

      Yes! If you find anything good please let me know. 🙂

      Reply
  5. lexi says

    April 20th, 2010 at 10:04 am

    This is how I feel whenever I wear something with cucumber in it. My sisters always assure me that I do not smell like a salad.

    That’s too bad..

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:55 pm

      Hi Lexi,

      YES! Now all we need is ranch dressing…

      Reply
  6. Amy says

    April 20th, 2010 at 10:35 am

    you need to try tuscan blood orange! omg it smells so delicious

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 7:57 pm

      I’ve heard that’s a good one.

      Reply
  7. Anastasia says

    April 20th, 2010 at 11:40 am

    Luckily Sephora has that generous return policy! Thanks for the review, because I was considering trying it too… I think I’ll go for the lemon one now 🙂

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

      Hi Anastasia,

      I know! Sometimes shopping in-store makes me cranky, but I do have to give them mad props for their awesome return policy.

      Reply
  8. Brittany says

    April 20th, 2010 at 11:41 am

    I love, love, love this scent! It doesn’t make me smell weird, luckily. It’s gorgeous and such a light floral scent. It sucks it didn’t work for you. I love their Hawaiian Ruby Guava scent too. Maybe that would be a winner.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:53 pm

      Hi Brittany,

      You’re so lucky. I really wanted this to work for me (smells so lovely in the jar…). It sounds like a lot of ladies like Hawaiian Ruby Guava, so that’s next on my wish list.

      Reply
  9. MLC512 says

    April 20th, 2010 at 11:44 am

    OMG! Hysterical!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:53 pm

      🙂 Hope you’re having a good Tuesday, MLC512!

      Reply
  10. Rachel says

    April 20th, 2010 at 12:06 pm

    buy their candle if you love the scent of gardenia! mine smells goooorgeous, and i don’t have to burn my face to actually smell it!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:53 pm

      That’s a good idea, Rachel, thanks! 🙂

      Reply
  11. Nancy says

    April 20th, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    karen…you crack me up. tho i know it’s not a laughing matter, smelling like parsley and all. 😉

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 2:53 pm

      LOL… nope, not at all. 🙂

      Reply
  12. Catherine says

    April 20th, 2010 at 4:03 pm

    Aww. And Tahitian Gardenia is probably one of my favorite Pacifica scents. I haven’t tried it on my skin though (my skin notoriously eats fragrances that aren’t fixed). I really wanted to love the Fig from this line too but it smells disgustingly plastic on me. =/
    .-= Catherine’s last blog post… NOTD – Royal Purple French =-.

    Reply
  13. Lee says

    April 20th, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    Hey karen, have u tried any of the victorias secret body lotions?
    Mum recently went over 2 Hawaii and she bought back this awesome body wash, body lotion, and a body shimmer lotion in a scent called Juiced Berry, its soooooooooooooooooooo yum sometimes it seriously makes me feel like having a fruit smoothie lol!

    And its also double delicious cos the scent lasts 4 aaagggeeesss 🙂

    I just wish we had them here in aus 🙁

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 7:57 pm

      Hi Lee,

      I used to wear them years (I’m talking 10+) ago, but then I developed a sudden allergy to them. I know lots of women love ’em though.

      Does anybody else here use the VS lotions? What do y’all think?

      Reply
  14. amy says

    April 20th, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Oh too bad this didn’t work for ya, this is one of my favourites of the line. It stays smelling like gardenias and jasmine on me, fortunately it doesn’t change to a parsley scent on me. Though I do like to eat a sprinkling of parsley on foods now and then, I definitely don’t want to smell like a bunch of parsley.
    .-= amy’s last blog post… A LBD for Your Eyes? EOTD Stila Smudge Pot in Little Black Dress =-.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

      I loooove how this smells in the jar… you’re so lucky it stays true on you. I’d be sniffing my skin all day.

      Reply
  15. marisol says

    April 20th, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    That’s too bad. My body chemistry doesn’t work with some of the Phylosophy 3 n 1’s which is a bummer because I really like some of the scents.
    .-= marisol’s last blog post… Europe here I come! =-.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 20th, 2010 at 7:55 pm

      Have you tried any of the Pacifica stuff? If you have dry skin you might really like it.

      Reply
      • marisol says

        April 20th, 2010 at 9:51 pm

        I do have dry skin but haven’t tried those products. Right now I am using the Yes To Carrots C Through the Dry Spell body butter. So thick and nourishing for my skin. Doesn’t have that strong of a scent IMO. I got it for free in a goodie bag last year and just started using it.
        .-= marisol’s last blog post… Europe here I come! =-.

        Reply
  16. Amanda says

    April 21st, 2010 at 11:10 am

    oh, that’s too bad. I’m loving pacifica right now…but must admit this particular scent hasn’t “spoken” to me. I don’t think i”m a gardenia girl. But I really love the guava one, and the orange one too.

    Reply
  17. jennie says

    April 29th, 2010 at 12:39 am

    I have extremely dry skin and i was thinking to buy a Pacifica body butter. Hope it will work.

    Reply

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Hi there! I’m Karen, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, and I’m a Bay Area girl who hoards brown eyeshadow and covets coral lipstick. Every morning, I wake up and say, “I’m going to do something other than a smoky eye today.” Then…I end up doing a smoky eye anyway (most days). When I’m not putting on makeup, taking pictures of makeup or writing about makeup, which I’ve been doing daily since 2007 (!), you’ll find me hanging out with my hubby (“El Hub”), my four-year-old daughter (Connor Claire) and my torbie girl cat (Pretty Girl Rosie, a.k.a. PGR).

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