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

by 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

Reader Interactions

Comments

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

    Reply

  2. 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

    • 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. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

    • 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

  10. 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

  12. 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. 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

    • 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

      • 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. 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

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