Posts Tagged lavanilla
Review: Lavanilla Vanilla Grapefruit / Vanilla Coconut
Last month, I ordered the Vanilla Coconut body wash from Lavanilla. The description of the scent sounded right up my alley – I love anything coconut scented, and I’m often drawn to fragrances with notes of vanilla, so – match made in heaven! I read some reviews that said the fragrance wasn’t cloying or fake-smelling, which sounded promising as well. Additionally, the brand touts ‘all-natural’ ingredients and is ‘free of harsh and possibly toxic chemicals,’ using coconut oil to gently cleanse the skin, and cocoa seed & shea butters and olive oil to keep skin hydrated, among a host of other good-for-your-skin ingredients. When my Sephora package came, I eagerly hopped in the shower to try it out. Unfortunately, for all the great reasons to love the product, I was left disappointed with both the scent and the gentleness of the body wash. The scent, while definitely not ‘fake’ smelling, isn’t really all that pleasant either. It’s described as an ‘exotic blend of fresh coconut oil, Tahitian tiare flower, and warm Madagascar vanilla,’ and unfortunately for this non-floral loving gal, I get more flower power than vanilla coconut. Even more disappointing, I had high hopes that due to the natural aspects of the wash, that it wouldn’t irritate my eczema and leave my skin feeling comfortable rather than dry. Sadly, I immediately felt itchy and uncomfortable once I applied it to my skin, and even rinsing thoroughly didn’t help matters – my eczema flares every time I use it. It doesn’t strip my skin of moisture, to be sure, but I think all the botanicals and extracts are too much for my sensitive skin.
When I visited Sephora last week, for some reason I was compelled to smell the Lavanilla fragrances just out of idle curiosity. Instantly I was drawn to the Vanilla Grapefruit scent (notes are: sparkling grapefruit, crisp sandalwood, lime, and Madagascar vanilla), which reminds me strongly of Hanae Mori’s ‘Butterfly’, which I wore all last summer. Since I was on a major spree, I grabbed the rollerball version of the scent and have been enjoying it – the scent at least. The staying power of the fragrance leaves MUCH to be desired; I find it dissipates on me within an hour or two. At least it’s travel-friendly so I can reapply often, but at this rate it will be gone in a couple months.
Price of the body wash is $20USD and the rollerball was $19USD. On Sephora‘s website they no longer carry the body wash…but it’s still available at
http://www.lavanila.com
. Also, it seems you can’t order the fragrance online in Canada…damn restrictions!
I think if you have less sensitive skin than I, you might really enjoy the body washes, if you can get your hands on them. As for the fragrance, I would personally take a pass – unless you find the scent to-die-for, reapplying constantly is kind of a hassle and a terrible waste of money!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! Back to the grind….
Temporary Sephora Insanity
Posted by Latoya in Make Up For Ever, The Lent Experiment on April 24, 2011
I’m fairly certain that when I walked into Sephora yesterday afternoon that I looked like a complete and utter madwoman. I was grabbing products left, right and centre and tossing them into my basket carelessly, already on the hunt for the next product to pounce on. Another $180 later (that seems to be the magic number with me and Sephora), and I am the proud owner of the following products:
1) Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment
2) Lavanilla The Healthy Fragrance Rollerball in Vanilla Grapefruit
3) Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in #10
4) Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Discrete
5) Phyto Phytolactum + Intelligent Shampoo
6) Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15
7) Fresh Soy Face Cleanser (Travel Size)
You’ll notice I have only one color cosmetic purchase…it was a tough call, and there were a few things I would have liked to try, but I have so much of that stuff already I have to limit it to only one per shopping trip. I *sort of* need a new lip gloss so that was my justification. I’ve never used LM products either and the gloss feels really nice so I thought I’d give it a shot.
My list isn’t really that long I guess, but I didn’t really rein myself in, in any way. I picked up what I wanted to buy and bought it without second thought or consideration for price. So, I saved absolutely NO money giving up buying cosmetics for Lent, but I did learn a valuable lesson…………..NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!! Sheesh. Terrible idea. Of course you know when you can’t have something you want it even more? Yea. Totally brutal. Although I’ll say again that the absence of reading blogs was a far more difficult challenge really. I can avoid shopping malls etc but I can’t avoid going on the internet. So that was a bummer. BUT I plan to spend like, 5 hours catching up tonight so what a wonderful evening it will be 
Anyway, back to the products. I’m pretty wiped, having just sat in a car for about 10 hours straight, and I’m a little loopy so forgive me for not making complete sense.
Unfortunately, Illamasqua was not carried at the store in Portland (ME) so I didn’t get to check that line out at all, which is a real disappointment. I also wanted to look at the Hourglass line firsthand but that wasn’t available either – but I’ll get my chance in a couple months when I’m in Toronto for Canada Day, so it’s not so bad. As for Illamasqua, one day I might get really crazy and just order something from their direct website and pay an arm and a leg for shipping. It could happen.
I haven’t had an opportunity to get a true idea about each product’s performance etc. just yet, but I will post my reviews as I am able. My initial thoughts are that the shampoo is terrific and well-suited to my hair needs; the fragrance is lovely and I wish I had bought the body wash I picked up last month (the Vanilla Coconut scent) in the Vanilla Grapefruit instead – I far prefer it; and the concealer is just ‘OK’ and may be a hair too light, although I didn’t exactly get exceptional rest while away (we saw West-Coast musician Dan Mangan in Fredericton on Thursday night – ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SHOW – and then the band CAKE in Portland Saturday night), so I might just have some extra-serious dark circles to contend with at the moment.
On that note, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday / Easter weekend, and be fair-warned that I will be trolling some of your own blogs with ardent fervor and zeal I’ve missed you terribly!!!
Toxin-Free Body Moisturizers?
I have been on the serious hunt for a body moisturizer that does not contain a load of toxins that give me pause every time I apply them. I prefer to use organic and truly natural products if I can, but I am not dedicated enough to stop using my favorite eye shadows or fragrances to go entirely toxin-free. However, my body skin is such a large area that I really feel discomfited at the though of using something that might be laden with chemicals and the like. I am having a difficult time finding something that is safe and still appealing, however. Many of the body lotions and creams that I have come across score very high on the toxic scale on the Skin Deep (
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com
) website, and a lot of the products that have a low or zero score are tough / impossible to find. Jojoba oil is a great standby, and actually treats my ezcema-prone skin quite well, but it’s oh-so-boring! I have been on the fence about ordering the Lavanila body butters, as the $25 price tag is a bit steep, but I think I might have to give in and indulge myself. Any suggestions on other products I might try?
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