I usually keep bath and body product reviews to the midday posts, but we're talking Antica Farmacista here. The body line is not perfumed with whatever is in your Ivory soap. It deserves the full treatment.
Ala Moana means "a path to the sea. The Antica Farmacista scent, though, is not marine or aquatic in any way. This is a big tropical floral, rich with the elements of a tropical paradise. Smelling Ala Moana makes me sigh. Even in this hand wash form Antica Farmacista has managed to create a 3-D fantasy of a tropical paradise, lush, humid and somehow nostalgic. I wash my hands (or my makeup brushes) and dream of places I have yet to visit.
The scent of Ala Moana is quite strong and assertive. Had it been a perfume I would probably hesitate to wear it, because the combination of jasmine, tuberose and gardenia is lethal on m weird skin. I adore each of them by itself, but the power of three makes them into a green carnivorous. However, as a short living hand wash, this is the thing that makes one's day. Thirty seconds by the sink with Ala Moana and vividness of flowers and other vegetation goes straight to my head. I wish the green streak that's woven into this lei was less sharp and a bit more subtle. Still, I can't deny that it belongs there, among the plumeria and tuberose.
As far as performance goes, Antica Farmacista's hand wash is relatively mild. I need to follow it with a lotion, but my hands are extra dry and always in need of pampering creams. The formula contains silk amino acids, chamomile, honey and sweet almond oil, so it is quite gentle and doesn't leave me parched, though I would not call it "moisturizing" by any stretch of the imagination.
Notes: green notes, Night blooming jasmine, plumeria, tuberose and gardenia.
Bottom Line: my shopping list now includes the ones in Green Fig (!), Champagne (I adore this scent, review of the candle coming soon) and Lavender & Lime Blossom.
Antica Farmacista Ala Moana Hand Wash ($25, 10 oz in a bottle w/pump) is available from select stores as well as anticafarmacista.com. A press sample was sent for my consideration.
Art: Tropical Paradise by Albott Bonhomme
I have Ala Moana in the fragrance and in a diffuser. It makes me swoon. Love it!
ReplyDeleteSounds fantastic. Is it only 10ml for $25 though? More than I can afford for hand soap right now. :( Thanks for the lovely review (I'm moving to Hawaii and although it's the name of the big shopping mall, it sounds lovely!)
ReplyDeleteA., I think I need this in a diffuser. It will make my dressing room smell like heaven.
ReplyDeleteJenny, thanks for the correction. I fixed it- it's 10 oz, of course.
ReplyDelete