Hey beauties =). I apologize for being so infrequent with my blogging. Recent transitions have me really busy. You know how it is. On the other hand, you know that when I do post, it’s something that’s really special. Enter Malie Organics. This luxury beauty brand from Hawaii offers several lines of all-natural, organic beauty products that are scented with natural oils and hydrosols from Hawaiian botanicals. And you guys, if any of you are into aromatherapy or just love beautiful natural scents, you will fall in love with Malie Organics (pronounced mah-lee-ay). I have honestly never been so wowed by the scents of a beauty brand. I don’t necessarily go for heavily-fragranced brands, but Malie Organics’ scents are so natural, they don’t bother my sensitive nose at all and in fact, I can’t get enough of them!
The folks at Malie Organics generously gifted me with a body sugar scrub, a body balm, a body oil, and a perfume oil, in a variety of different scents so I could try several of the lines. Let’s get into it.
Malie Organics Review
I have a friend who lived in Hawaii for several years, and when I told her I had gotten a package from Malie Organics, she got super excited and was like, “It’s in all the luxury resorts!” And you truly do feel like you’re having a luxury spa experience when you’re using these products. They’re so decadent and luxurious, but in a really fresh way. It was so lovely to experience a bit of a tropical vacation while in the bath, and I honestly felt so relaxed afterwards, I really wonder if the aromatherapy aspect really had an effect on me.
Often with synthetic fragrances, I get a slight headache and if they’re strong enough, they make the inside of my nose hurt. The lovely thing about Malie Organics’ organic, natural fragrances, is that I don’t have any of those reactions.
Malie Organics Body Gloss
The Malie Organics Body Gloss is a rich body butter that feels like whipped coconut oil, and sure enough, coconut oil is the first ingredient, along with mango butter, aloe butter, macadamia nut butter, honey, and more. This is a lovely body balm that can be smoothed over wet or dry skin. I personally like putting it on damp skin as I feel it holds in the moisture better. It doesn’t feel greasy once it sinks in, but it absorbs faster on damp skin than on dry.
This was the coconut-vanilla flavor, which was very pleasant, but was the most “typical” fragrance out of all the products Malie Organics sent me. That said, it is a lovely light coconut-vanilla scent that isn’t overpowering and smells really delicious.
Malie Organics Beauty Oil
I received the Malie Organics Beauty Oil in Plumeria, the iconic Hawaiian flower. This is a fast-absorbing body oil that again can be used on wet or dry skin. You can also pour this in a bath or put in your hair. I found that it was less rich and moisturizing than the body gloss, but it compensated for that in being so fast-absorbing and non-greasy. The scent in the beauty oil comes from organic Hawaiian hydrosols, botanical essences that are captured via a distillation process.
I’m not familiar enough with the scent of Plumeria to be able to tell you whether it smells exactly like it, but my, the Malie Beauty Oil does smell heavenly. The most prominent note to me is jasmine and fresh tropical florals – it’s definitely more complex than a straight jasmine though, and it has a lushness and ripeness to it, with undertones of sandalwood. It is a really lovely, though quite an intense scent. However, it does fade after about half an hour to a much lighter fragrance. ($45 for 75ml)
Malie Organics Perfume Oil
The smaller roller bottle (so convenient for a purse!) contains the Malie Organics Perfume Oil. I got the Pikake flavor, which is Hawaiian Jasmine. I personally LOVE the smell of jasmine. It may be my favorite scent, though rose and neroli are close. This perfume oil smells like a pretty straightforward jasmine but with a little extra richness and sweetness giving it a bit of complexity.
Unfortunately the scent of the Perfume Oil only lasts 1-3 hours. I noticed that by the 2nd hour, it was mostly gone. So I guess if you want a long-lasting fragrance, you’ll have to keep the roller bottle in your purse. This was also the only product that contained added fragrance. I imagine this is because the organic hydrosols and essential oils don’t hold fragrance for very long so some added fragrance is needed for longevity. ($29 for 8ml)
Malie Organics Body Polish
Now this was the most intriguing product and scent. The Malie Organics Body Polish in Koke’e (named after Hawaii’s oldest rainforest). As soon as I opened it up I was immediately caught by how unique the scent is. The main scent is the maile vine, a leafy plant which is only found in Hawaii. It also has floral notes and a base of tonka bean and amber. Having never smelled either a maile leaf or a tonka bean in person, I can only tell you that this body scrub has one of the most unique (and indescribable) scents I’ve ever come across. My first thought was that it smelled of sweet almond. But it has some wild, green, grassy elements to it as well. It’s kind of a tangy, rainforest-y scent.
Either way, this is a beautiful scrub. The sugar particles gently exfoliate (and little leaf particles which are fun) while the oils in this scrub penetrate and moisturize the skin, even while wet. I kid you not, this does a better job of moisturizing my skin in the bath than applying body lotion does after the bath. It just sinks into my skin and forms an emollient protective layer that doesn’t rinse off. I even let my 2-year old use it in the bath because it was so moisturizing (and he was so cute rubbing it on his knee). ($29 for 236g)
The Bottom Line
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed all of the products I received to test from Malie Organics. Of the four products, the one that was the most interesting-smelling (and effective) to me was the Koke’e Body Polish (and it’s also comparatively well-priced at $29 for 8oz, well worth it for such a great product). For a daily scent, the Pikake (Hawaiian jasmine) perfume oil is probably the most doable for me, but I might look into getting the perfume spray for a longer lasting fragrance.
I love that all of these products are crafted from Hawaiian plants and reflect the natural environment of Hawaii. They definitely stand out among a sea of body and skin care products, with their unique fragrances and top quality ingredients.
- Camilla, Gracefulface.com
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