Image/ Mahalo Skin Care
I really hate when brands boast of having beauty products that are “vacations in a bottle.” No matter how coconut-tropical-fruity smelling a body lotion might smell, it can’t successfully convince me that I’m on a beach in Maui when I’m actually reading a million emails at my desk in the middle of the day, basking under the glow of the office lights.
Mahalo Vacation Glow ($95) gets pretty darn close. Maybe it’s the name and the very cool wooden bottle—even the ingredients and the “how to use” are engraved into the container, which shows an immense level of detail that you cannot stop looking at—that has me believing, but there’s something about this body-hair elixir that’s in a word, “beachy.”
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The brand describes it as “molten sunshine potion”—a phrase that my cynical self would normally roll my eyes at, but in this case, I cannot think of a more dead-on description. It smells like fresh white florals (there’s essential oils of jasmine/Hawaiian pikake), plus something you can’t quite put your finger on (it’s a mix of tuberose, ylang-ylang and geranium)—a fragrant concoction that’s definitely more than enough for someone to stop and ask you what you are wearing.
Then, there are the hard-hitters: vitamin E–rich Kukui, balancing macadamia, does-everything argan oil, skin-repairing sea buckthorn and mega-hydrator avocado. The lineup makes the most perfect oil, a sort of rich serum that works perfectly post-shower—you literally only need a drop—to smooth out hair and perfect the skin on your legs. The best part: The scent and glowing hydration sticks around, so when your midday coffee kick calls, you may actually be able to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and pretend you’re on a lounge chair looking out at the sea somewhere.
