Three years ago, my (incredibly intense about traveling—don't worry, this part is relevant later) husband and I were in Maui for business. It was a busy time, with precious little lounging on the beach. Between work obligations, we rented a small car and drove along the fabled "Road to Hana," where we met some eccentric local personalities, ate a breakfast of freshly picked starfruit and pineapples on the side of the road, and got the wind knocked out of ourselves by waves on the black sand beach, all before joining a very long, loud party until early the next morning. Our flight was leaving at noon the next day, and I scheduled a massage at the Maui Four Seasons just before we needed to leave for the airport. To say I was tired would be an understatement, but I happily lay in a dream state while the masseuse worked each limb over with this incredible bottle of oil, while recounting her fascinating stories of traveling and living in Goa and Afghanistan during the '70s.
So this oil... it's at once familiar and exciting. The gourmand in me loves the vanilla and citrus notes, but it's not too sweet or pedestrian. Ginger and cardamom gives it an earthy, middle-eastern heft, while powdery and feminine ylang ylang diffuses the incensey-ness. The oil is a blend of apricot oil and sesame oil, so it dries fairly quickly, but leaves the skin feeling nourished throughout the day. I don't do chakras, crystals or anything along those lines, but I love that there's a carnelian stone in the oil. Not that I think it's going to give me any sort of protection, but because Isun is that detailed and thoughtful of a company.
After the massage, I sat in the locker room in my robe, sipping a sweet cup of fresh hot lemon and ginger tea. My cell phone was in my locker, on vibrate, and I could hear my husband repeatedly calling me. I sat there, literally thinking that I felt so wonderful, so healthy—despite so little sleep—that it would be okay if we missed the plane. That a few more hours on this island would warrant the mammoth upheaval of missing our flight. Needless to say, I returned to my senses and ended up on the plane. When we landed back in Seattle, after five hours in a parched airplane cabin, my skin was still glowing and dewy and scented like the spa. Withstanding a cross timezone flight? I can't think of a better testament to the tenacity of a body oil.
Ingredients:
Safflower oil*; sunflower oil*; herb oil (sesame oil*, apricot oil*, ginger root*, cardamom seeds*, licorice root*, orange peel*, sarsaparilla root*, hibiscus flower*, goji berry*); passion fruit oil*; jojoba oil*; rice bran oil*; vitamin E tocopherols; bergamot oil*; clementine oil*; green mandarin oil*; lemon oil*, grapefruit oil*; patchouli oil*; vetiver oil*; sandalwood oil*; ylang ylang oil*; vanilla oil*; jasmine oil*; rosemary oleoresin*; carnelian gemstone.
*Organic or Wildcrafted
$40 / Beautyhabit
