pacifica

There’s no doubt about it: I’m slowly turning into my mother, and there are moments when it hits me, like after I’ve clipped a great coupon (score!) or cleaned the oven and felt an overwhelming sense of joy.

I had one of those moments the other day when I spotted the new Pacifica Magic Carpet Ride body butter set ($28).

Limited edition for the holidays, it comes with three of my favorite Pacifica scents. The first one, Island Vanilla, has a hint of tea and a grown-up twist. The second one, Indian Coconut Nectar, makes me hungry for warm vanilla cake with coconut frosting and dulce de leche drizzled on top (OH, GAWD!). And sniffing the third one, Tuscan Blood Orange, with its fresh, sparkling notes of blood orange, mandarin, strawberry and raspberry, causes my taste buds to tingle.

I’ve been a fan of Pacifica’s Body Butters for years! Not just the three scents that come in this set, but also others in the line; I’ve lost track of how many of the tubes I’ve gone through in that time.

At their regular price, which is $18 each these days, they’re kind of pricey, but I’m such a big fan that I’ll usually overlook the price. They contain a long list of great botanical ingredients that serve to keep the skin on my shins (and elsewhere) from reverting to a scaly reptilian state.

And it’s not just the ol’ marketing trick where the company squirts in a few drops of honeydew so they can call it “natural.” I also like these for what they lack, like parabens, phthalates and propylene glycol, to name just a few of the undesirable frequent fliers we see a lot in products like these.

Tabs would love to see Pacifica release one of these in a seafood scent, but I told him not to hold his breath for that. 🙂 He is happy, though, that the current lineup doesn’t contain any animal ingredients and wasn’t tested on animals.

Considering that this set contains three of Pacifica’s full-size 8-oz. tubes, $28 is a pretty great deal (that is, if you like the scents). They work out to $9.30 each, for a savings of just about 50%. When I did the math in the body care section, I actually pumped my fist Jersey Shore-style, “UH!”

Take that and rewind it back.

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In college I had a lab partner who smelled just like Play-Doh. Bless her heart. She was a cool girl, and we got along well, but whenever she was around, the air was thick with the doughy scent of edible modeling clay; consequently, I couldn’t titrate to save my life.

It wasn’t until later that I put two and two together and figured out the reason why: vanilla body butter. She was wearing some kind of vanilla body butter.

Makes perfect sense, too, because it can be tough to find a vanilla body butter that doesn’t smell anything like cookie dough or plastic. So many of them do, especially to people with very sensitive noses.

I guess that’s why I was so surprised by the new Pacifica Island Vanilla Body Butter ($18 for an 8-oz. tube; $12.50 for a 2.5-oz. tube), a Sephora exclusive scent. It’s made with Tahitian vanilla, and whether that’s responsible for the floral quality Pacifica claims the butter has, I don’t know. I think the product does smell more authentically vanilla than usual, though, and it makes all the difference in the world.

“Something magical happened to vanilla in Tahiti. It changed from its native South American flavor to become sexier, more lush, with floral notes and a little fruit deep in the structure of the scent. Inspired by this beautifully distinct version of the classic fragrance note and many surfing trips to the South Pacific, this is my vision of the perfect vanilla.”

— Pacifica Co-Founder and Lead Perfumer, Brook Harvey-Taylor

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When my eyes lighted upon the Pacifica Island Glow Beautiful Body Kit at Sephora last Sunday, I felt like a tourist browsing shops along a beach-side promenade. I was “just looking around” at the time (haha, we all know how that usually goes), and before I knew it, I was clutching the cute box in my hands!

The $24 kit comes with four of Pacifica’s newest products to buff, moisturize and make summer skin sparkle…

• Kona Coffee & Sugar Detox Whole Body Scrub — I like this one a latte. 🙂 First, the granulated sugar, powdered coffee seed and sea salt buff the skin, before the safflower, soybean and coconut oils moisturize it into blissful submission. I prefer to use it while my skin is dry, so I’ll bring it into the tub with me to exfoliate before turning on the shower. After rinsing, it leaves behind a light but moisturizing film and a heavenly dark chocolate coffee scent. I using this in the morning and then can’t wait to have a cup of coffee when I’m done.
• Coconut Crushed Pearl Luminizing Body Butter — Pacifica was not shy with the shimmery mica in this coco-nutty body butter. It feels a little thinner and less moisturizing than most of their body butters, but I love the scent and how it makes me look like I just stepped out from under a shower of silver shimmer.
• Coconut Crushed Pearl Bronzing Body Butter — Without a tan, I might worry about this leaving light orange streaks on my legs. Like a darker, bronze version of Pacifica’s Luminizing Body Butter, it might not be a perfect fit for lighter lovelies (maybe if you just use a little for a hint of color and shine), but it should sing from the rafters on tanned temptresses and darker divas.
• Coconut Pearls Lip Quench — NOM! This smooth, non-sticky lip balm imparts a subtle sheen while kissing lips with a moisturizing coconut macaroon flavor, and tempting noses with the same yummy scent.

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