Yum … body products in your favorite scent. If they are already available, lucky you. If not, well, we’ll keep hoping. As for me, if I had a dollar for every time I wished there was a Frederic Malle Carnal Flower shower gel, I might already have enough money to get a travel spray of it at least. (BTW, I am so grateful for the CF body butter.) And many’s the time I thought how lovely a thick, rich Le Labo Vanille 44 body cream would be. Slathering on that divine incense vanilla would be heavenly indeed for cold-parched skin, in my book.
Also on my wish list: body products in Diaghilev or Unspoken (although they might already exist in that uber-spendy universe into which I rarely enter). A super-true-to-life gardenia shower gel would be nice, too, and I’m sure I’ll think of some others after I’ve posted this.
Amouage, Byredo and Malle are among the lines that have really done right by us in the realm of body products; very few scents in those lines don’t have at least one ancillary goodie to accompany them.
But I do realize the real-world limitations of such. I’m far from a perfumer/chemistry whiz, but getting a very particular scent to fit into a body product’s parameters is probably no easy feat. I remember reading that it took a bit of doing to rework the Carnal Flower scent into a hair mist.
But difficulties aside, we’ll just wave our Perfume Fairy Godmother wand and make it happen: What scent would you love to see be created into body products (soap, shower gel, lotion, cream, powder) or even a solid perfume?
Speaking of solid perfumes, there’s not one scent that I can think of at the moment that wouldn’t be nice in that adorable portable form. And since they have practically every other scented product in the line, surely a Kai solid perfume can’t be too far behind?
Coromandel body lotion! Wouldn’t that be fantastic!
Oh, wow, Elizabeth! That would be off-the-charts amazing, wouldn’t it? I think Coromandel would lend itself well to the DIY route as it’s strong enough to stand up to the other ingredients in unscented lotions. Let’s give it a whirl, shall we?
Might just try it today!
Sounds great, Elizabeth! Do let us know what you did and how it turned out.
The Hermes fragrances I’m fond of don’t come with body products. And while I know most perfumes go towards shower gels and body lotions, how decadent would it be if the started making leave-in conditioners for hair? Imagine washing that out and drying your hair, and every time you turned you’d get a faint and delicious whiff of your favorite fragrance, In lieu of that, solid perfume accessories like locket necklaces would be kinda awesome. A fashion statement AND a fragrance statement rolled into one.
Last year I found a huge quantity of vintage solid perfume lockets at an estate sale by Estee Lauder and Max Factor. I couldn’t believe how fantastic they all still smelled – the woman had kept them in their original boxes, completely unused. I put all of them except one on eBay and they went like hotcakes! I don’t know if anyone makes things like this today – I know there are solid perfumes, but I don’t know if they’re in lockets. When I Googled it, the first thing that came up was “How to make your own solid perfume locket” – as if I haven’t got enough perfume projects!!
Aria, the leave-in conditioner is a great idea. Now how can we figure out how to do it ourselves? 🙂 And the lockets are wonderful; wish I had some. Sally, I have several old EL figural solid perfumes and when I bought them they had been completely cleaned out but I can still get a slight whiff of the scent that was inside.
It would be great to try the recipe for solid perfumes using vintage EL – then fill up your lockets!
Oh, yes!
I would really love if Perfumista Avenue by Bond No 9 would be available as a shower gel or soap. I have the lotion and it really does wonders for my skin. Not to mention I smell amazing most of the day. If I had the soap, then I think I would smell amazing permanently!
Hi, Kristina! Keep checking the Bond site, as it seems they’re always adding new things. And maybe you could even make your own shower gel, as some commenters above have talked about.
Some of my favorites probably already exist but I would rather spend my money on the perfume itself. If money was no object, it would be awesome to have all perfumes available as luxurious shower gels. I love a good decadent shower gel 🙂
Howdy, dear! Yep, a great shower gel is hard to beat. I don’t have enough moolah to go into the body products either, but they’re nice to sample, if available.
I’d love to have Bombay Bling in a body butter and of course Shanghai Lily. SallyM has me inspired to try to make some cream on my own. Just need to get a couple of small containers.
OOOOOOOHHH! Shanghai Lily in a body cream – divine! Why didn’t I think of that one?? Where’s my whisk….
Great suggestions, Tiara and Sally — you are making my mouth water with both of those, and inspiring me to try my own as well.
I have a small tub of Emeraude body powder that is just a delight to use. I don’t think Coty makes many body products anymore (I’m fairly certain this thing is late 70s/early 80s judging by the packaging).
And I do adore my Christmas-present Amouage Memoir Woman lotion. So so gorgeous. The Carnal Flower body butter is so luxurious! I only have a sample of that but it is truly wonderful.
I would love Alahine lotion or body products, wouldn’t those be nice?
Hiya, Mals! Seconding you on the Memoir Woman, that is nice stuff. And I think I remember having the Emeraude body powder at one time. And yes, Alahine goodies would be a treat!
I have Jubilation 25 in the body creme and body lotion and I love them both as far as the scent goes, but can’t say I am overly impressed from the actual lotion/creme standpoint. It’s probably just that I have a definite preference in the feel of my lotions, and these fall under the “sticky” category in my head. I tend to think of it as a European thing, because Nivea and Eucerin have the same feel for me.
I will be getting the shower gel at some point, but what I really want is a powder.
I love love love powder and wish more companies would make them.
Laurie Stern from Sweet Pea and Velvet Purrfumery makes The Most AMAZING body frostings I have ever tried. Seriously moisturizing. Highly recommend these! I love the Kashmir Rose, and I see she has a gardenia one now. I bet it’s stunning. (No affiliation, just a happy happy happy customer)
Thanks for the rec, Tammy! Have heard nice things about Sweet Pea but just haven’t gotten around to trying them, although when you mentioned “gardenia,” my little ears really perked up. I wish more scents would come in powders as well.
Right now, I’m wishing that Chanel’s no.5 body/hand cream wouldn’t go bad so quickly. I swear that I got my hand cream 2 months ago and already it smells kind of funky. Chanel has all kinds of money to improve the quality but doesn’t. I’ve tried the manufacture’s sample of Amouage Epic and I’m saving pennies for it.
Oh, no, so sorry to hear that it went bad so fast. Unfortunately, there’s no way that I know of to tell when the product was made and how long it’s been in a store’s inventory. That Epic really nice — I like it, too!
I hadn’t really gotten into the body products until I read about Shalimar hair gel. I ordered a bottle (the bottle alone is exquisite, one to keep after the product is gone) and really enjoy using it to keep my wispy gray hair in line. It smells like, what else, Shalimar. I have usually avoided most hair products because they all seem to be heavily scented and I don’t like them competing with my perfume, but this hair gel is perfect. It isn’t horribly expensive, either.
Hey, Martha! I had never heard of a Shalimar hair product, so thanks for sharing. And not too expensive either, you say? Hmmm … where do you find this lovely? (I can’t actually wear Shalimar as an actual fragrance, but an ancillary product might just work.)
Hi Ann. I bought it off Amazon, $14.99 for 1 oz. Now that I look at it, $14.99 seems high, but a little goes a long way. Let me amend my statement by saying that for a luxury product it isn’t horribly expensive. It isn’t designed for shaping and hold really, it works best for smoothing and shine. It’s officially called Shalimar Beautifying Hair Gel (in English). Just out of curiosity I have to ask why Shalimar doesn’t work for you as a fragrance? I love the smell, but there is an odd leathery phase to it that isn’t my favorite. The hair gel doesn’t have the leathery smell, really.
Great — thanks for the info, Martha. I wish I could wear Shalimar well, but something in it goes all diaper-y on me and I can’t seem to shake it, no matter what. I can do one or two of the flankers OK but they still aren’t great on my skin. But that hair gel does sound nice (and wearable).
If you want to read a great review about it, go to the Black Narcissus blog for Jan. 28. This is where I discovered it.
Will do — thanks so much!!
Yes! Me too. I went straight over to Amazon and ordered a bottle. I really like it – a little goes a very long way and the bottle is exquisite.
Did you buy it after reading the post on Black Narcissus blog? I have no remorse after that particular splurge as it is a very lovely product to use and wear.
I did! In fact I didn’t even finish reading before I hopped over lol
I managed to solve one aspect of this conundrum – I make my own body creams. It’s quite easy – a good unscented moisturizing cream such as Eucerin and a few drops of chosen ‘fume to your particular choice of strength. I bought some little travel containers to hold them in and use a small bamboo tea whisk to mix them. I am currently trying a method for powder that I saw on the Black Narcissus’ blog – vanilla pods in unscented powder – so far so good! I am planning on trying homemade body wash next…
Excellent ideas there, Sally! I had thought of that once or twice, but worried that the chemicals in the unscented lotion/cream would somehow clash with the scent; but now I’ll surely give it a go after hearing that you’ve had good luck with it. Do let us know how the body wash experiment goes!
Good idea, Sally! Thanks for sharing.
We love it when readers share their tips and experiences. You guys are our MVRs (most valuable resources)!
Or MVPs (most valuable perfumistas)!
Sally: I’ve often wondered if this could be done and now I know it can. Cannot wait to try this once I get something to put it in. Thanks!
Yes, I found that the little plastic travel containers with screw lids are excellent for this purpose – I got them at Bimart. I like the idea of your own cream because you can control how strong you want it to smell and also you’re sure that it will smell like the original perfume. I’ve been disappointed with some body creams – Shalimar, I’m looking at you – because I just didn’t think they did the perfume justice. And Eucerin is such a good cream for a base – it’s also targeted for Diabetics who often have a very dry skin, and so I felt that it would be light on the chemicals and more “safe” to use. I’d love to hear how you all get on with your projects – any tips to make the process better would be great! I think Eucerin also make an unscented body wash – I know that Dove and Aveeno do to.
I love that Eli Saab and Jour d’Hermes have body components when I’m in the mood for those! A44 in a lotion would be my wish. Doesn’t Chanel make a neutral body creme specifically for layering on one of their scents?
Hi, Rina! I didn’t realize that ES and J’H had body products — very cool! And I wish, especially for you, that there were gallons and gallons of 44 to be had AND it was so popular that they made a matching body lotion. BTW, I’ve often wondered about that Chanel body cream, but alas, there is not a boutique anywhere near me. 🙁 Maybe another poster has tried it and can fill us in?
The Chanel body cream is supposed to complement the Exclusifs range, it is lovely and soft but not very scented.
Perhaps if you had too much money! But my dollars went elsewhere.
Thanks, Jackie! I was thinking along the same lines, despite not having ever tried it — money better spent on an actual scent that you love.
Jackie – I have longed to try that body cream. Can you tell us any more? Does it remind you of any scent or can you discern any notes? Or give it a category (woodsy / floral/ etc)? Thanks for any info.
Debby
Hmmm, I couldn’t find specific notes from any of the Exclusifs, but would say generic floral.
That makes it sound cheap and nasty though, and it wasn’t like that, I liked it but it was something like 90€ yikes!