Starting off 2012 not too impressed: Pacifica Body Butters

I searched high and low for an exciting and thought-provoking interesting new launch to begin 2012 with, but unfortunately there isn't too much out there in the way of new products yet.  So, today we will evaluate a product that caught my eye in Sephora, and one that my wallet appreciated, too, after the expensive holiday season.

Check out this packaging and the variant names:

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter ... Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar.  

They seem to instantly transport you out of the dreary winter weather and off to far-off golden sunset lands.  Or they did me at least.  (Sigh).  So, I thought to myself, if the packaging is making me dream of far away places, I wonder how well the scent will transport me there?  When I got home after my purchase I set myself up and began smelling.

I decided to be swept away to India first with Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter and unfortunately I really regret it.  Talk about a disappointment!  The first whiff out of my evaluation beaker brought me a mix of a lot of shea butter, a tiny bit of coconut and a good amount of base.  And it got worse in use.  It smells of base and cheap shea butter - it's a deep, nutty-plastic-y smell.  It caused me to comment, "God, that smells horrible."  I would suggest that they go back and reformulate.

So, it was with much trepidation that I tested the Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter.  This was a much more pleasant experience, the scent being a soft white floral.  The in-use experience continued to be inoffensive, although the soft floral scent does seem to slightly struggle to cover the unpleasant notes of the base.  But unlike the Coconut, a passer-by would not notice the base scent, nor would you unless you're holding your hands under your nose as I am currently doing.

You know, for the first time I am really disappointed in the products that I have picked up to review here, but maybe that is because I had such high hopes for them.  I loved the packaging, I loved the price point ($5 each for 2.5fl oz/73ml) and the woman at the register did nothing but big up these products.  After checking out the Pacifica website I was even falling in love with the brand itself.

But all that is gone now!  What a depressing disappointment the Indian Coconut Nectar turned out to be (I'm throwing it in the trash, FYI) ... but at least the Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter was decent enough and will probably get thrown in my hand bag for future use, instead of the trash can for never use.