A trip to Tahiti

I cannot help but feeling nostalgic this week end. It definitely has gone cooler and I need to come to terms that Summer, however late coming and never hot enough is over. I can't bear it. As a consequence, there might be a succession of 'summery' posts on my blog, in an attempt to enjoy the last drops of summer and try to combat (using a typical face cream expression here, ha!) its disappearance.



Today, I would like to share with you, a big favourite of mine: it's the iconic after sun body butter from Hawaiian Tropic. You're supposed to use it to soothe and nourish your skin after sun exposure but I like to use in times like this when I feel nostalgic about summer, and in the middle of winter, just to transport myself to the land of summer in minutes. I don't use it too often (as in too many days in row) because the smell is quite strong.







Of course, it does smell of coconut but, to me, most of all it smells of Monoi, the oil they make from the Frangipani flower (also known as the plumeria or tiaré flower). The flower itself, on its own, in its natural state, is very fragrant. I know that because the neighbour opposite our house used to have a whole wall of it. It's a bit like walking next to a bush of jasmine, it's very strong, very recognisable and therefore needs to be enjoyed in small doses, every now and then.







Right now, I want to douse every inch of my body in it. While some of you had the chance to have a little week in the sun at some point this year, I spent most of my 'summer' indoors *and* on a diet, so I feel I have missed out. For many of you, monoi will just be the archetypical fragrance of sun lotions. For me, it's that and memories from my 26 degrees celsius home.







How does Hawaiian Tropic after sun body butter compare to the Body Shop Coconut butter?
They are very different from each other, so different in fact that I don't think they can be compared to one another but I'll try anyway. For starters, the Bodyshop coconut butter doesn't have the monoi dimension to its fragrance, is much more compact and is housed quite neatly in a chocolate brown tub. The Hawaiian Tropic, to me, deserves more its name of butter (look at its yummy buttery colour) and looks a bit more raw and 'authentic' in its massive Polynesian blue sea tub. Despite their differences, both of them have a lovely thick consistency, and give me amazing moisturisation, with no greasy, heavy or sticky feeling. The Hawaiian Tropic, however, to me, wins the 'exotic / holiday abroad / beaches' card hands down and therefore feels more special.







If you too, want to be transported to the sunny islands of the Pacific, please don't buy your tub of Hawaiian Tropic body butter at Boots as they will charge you £10 for the ticket. You should be able to find it around £5. I get mine at Asda.