When a heat wave strikes, and I need to pare down the layers that I usually wear — including scent! — I do one of two things. I might mist myself with a light fragrance tinged with green or citrus notes; Diptyque L'Ombre dans L'Eau has been a summer favorite of mine for years, and a newer contender in this category is Atelier Cologne Grand Néroli. On the other hand, I might choose a body product, such as a dusting powder or a lotion, that carries a hint of the richer and spicier fragrances that I usually enjoy. Yamerra, a small Philadephia-based company, offers several all-natural Hair and Body Butters that are intensely scented as well as functional.
The base of Yamerra's Sensual Bliss Jasmine Sage Hair and Body Butter is a blend of shea butter, jojoba, sweet almond oil, and candelilla wax; the Jasmine Sage fragrance combines essential oils of cedarwood, Peru balsam, dalmatian sage, ylang ylang, and patchouli, plus jasmine absolute. It's an unusual fragrance for a body product, and it should appeal to lovers of spicy-woody perfumes. The Peru balsam gives a wonderfully resinous, earthy-sweet feel to the composition; the patchouli is smooth and more subdued. The pairing of cedar and ylang ylang reminds me of one of my favorite perfumes for autumn/winter wear, Les Parfums de Rosine Poussière de Rose. The sage and the jasmine are actually less noticeable, although they're the notes mentioned in the name. The sage is just a suggestion of leafiness, like plants growing in a shady spot, and the jasmine is wrapped snugly within all the foresty leaves and barks of the fragrance blend.
This product feels particularly luxurious and soothing on the dry skin of elbows, heels, or cuticles, but it can also be applied all over the body (which intensifies the effect of the fragrance, too). Yamerra also recommends using its butters as hair products. If you have thick, coarse, or just summer-frizzed hair, a small dab of this product can be scrunched or brushed through the hair for nourishment. A tiny bit could also be applied to the ends of the hair, like a pomade or a serum, for control on humid days. However you use it, you'll be able to appreciate the scent for a while; it gradually fades, but then it returns at unexpected moments, like a breeze that promises more temperate weather ahead.
Yamerra Sensual Bliss Jasmine Sage Hair and Body Butter sells for $12 for 1/2 ounce on the Yamerra blog (where a sale is currently taking place) or website.
Note: upper left image is Sage [cropped] by psd on flickr; some rights reserved.
This sounds pretty delicious. Thanks for the review!
I wanted to let you know that the Oyin Handmade Black Cedar and Fig body oil is scrumptious! Kinda dark, woody and sultry with a touch of sweetness – very sexy. I want to get more of that scent. I am also enjoying the berries hair stuff.
Tama, Sounds great… I’m glad it worked for you! I’m definitely still enjoying the Juices & Berries that I bought.
I love the sound of this! Is the consistency balm like or cream-like. I am very tempted to get some of this- my skin loves shea..Thanks, J
Hi, Lavanya! It’s more of a waxy balm. It looks fairly solid in the jar, but once you scoop a bit out, it softens with the heat of your fingers so it’s easy to apply.
Jessica, I also love L’Ombre dans L’Eau in the summer – it’s fresh and has enough spine to stand up to heat, humidity and AC.
This sounds interesting – will try to check it out.
Nozknoz, L’Ombre was one of my first “niche” fragrance purchases… in the summer of 2003!! I guess I’ve been pretty loyal to it!
Jessica, thanks for another wonderful review. I swear, I want to try everything you review! (still sudsing my way thru those wonderful Pattern body washes from months ago….but I did try every scent!).
Love shea butter…especially my legs love shea butter…and the scent sounds captivating! “spicy-woody”, “earthy-sweet” , “suggestion of leafiness” ??? Oh my….it’s like you wrote the review just for me. LOL
must look into it. Have a great weekend!
Daisy, Oh no! I am a ruthless temptress when it comes to fragranced body products. lol. But really, I can’t think of any product with a similar fragrance to this one. I also quickly tested the Lemongrass and Honey Vanilla butters in a store; the Lemongrass is very vibrant, and the Honey Vanilla is sweet but not cupcake-y.
*dies*
I have curly, unruly, chronically frizzy hair, and I would figuratively KILL to try both body and hair butters. The scents sound perfect for me, that combined with a salve that might help my hair have left me lemming… *beats back lemmings with a stick, since spraying them with even bad perfume isn’t working anymore*
Ninarapoll, I can sympathize! I’ve tried so many products. Naturallycurly.com is a great resource, in case you haven’t checked it out already. I prefer natural haircare (no silicones, etc.)… which narrows the options.