Isle of Eden

I love a quality, handmade scrub. After hearing about Isle of Eden from a couple of my bath and body junkie bloggers, I decided to head over and check them out. The website is a little cluttered for my taste and a tad-bit slow, but it didn’t stop me from ordering. The product descriptions and images are truly enticing.

I placed my first order on July 26. After waiting a few weeks and receiving no communication on its where abouts I emailed customer service. I didn’t receive a response, so I figured the order never went thru and placed a new one. Imagine my surprise when a box from Isle of Eden arrived on my doorstep- exactly a month later. No Click ‘n Ship, no nothing. Now, I consider myself a pretty patient person, but due to the lack of communication, I find this offensive. I’m happy to wait 30 days for an order, just let me know it’s going to be 30 days.

Time frame aside, I anxiously ripped open the box. Everything was packaged nice and neat in individual purple swirl bags and purple shed, all tucked in an inner white carton with a hand written note atop. Going the extra mile with such delightful packaging is rarity these days and provides a really nice, quality touch. Packaged in clear, plastic jars with simple white lids, the handmade tropical i8nspired labels are bright and cheerful, suitable for gifting.

I ordered the Tiramisu Parfait, $11.79, Monoi Coco Vanille, $12.94 and Double Whipped Sugar Scrub, $6.94. Included in the order was a generous, sample size of the Mango Milkshake (sugar scrub, I think) free of charge. Although the pictures online appear really vibrant, juicy and textures light as air, all four scrubs arrived in rather compact, lackluster pale shades of peach and cream.

The Tiramisu Parfait is described as a gourmet body scrub with chocolate, vanilla, almond biscotti and espresso. The description had me drolling, but when I popped the top, the artificial scent caught me off guard. The texture on the other hand is nice, not nearly as fluffy as the whipped cream images online, but it’s still good. It’s soft and scoopable, not at all runny. It’s really moisturizing, but not at all oily.

The Monoi Coco Vanile is an exotic sugar scrub. It’s whipped with Pure Tahitian Monoil Oil and includes a two layers of scrubs: one Monoi Coco, a beautiful creamy coconut blend, the other layer: Monoi Vanille, which is a premium blend of pure coconut oil, delicately scented with fresh Tiare` Tahitian flowers, and the extract of Pure Vanilla Beans, as well as White Vanilla, a touch of Vanilla Sugar, and Dark Vanilla. The middle layer consists of Pure Organic Sugar Cane Crystals. It adds a bit of something extra. My favorite of the bunch, this scrub is a beautiful, exotic blend that instantly transported me to a tropical island.

The Double-Whipped Sugar Scrub is the same sugar type scrub as described above in texture, but you can pick your own scent. I choose White Peach Bomb from the Cocktail-Inspired Collection. It’s light and refreshing. Once the scrub comes into contact with your wet body, the sugar almost dissipates into a creamy lotion, and then rinses clean. At just under $7.00 dollars for 6.5oz, its super affordable to order a round of these in any flavor you crave.

While I enjoyed the products at Isle of Eden, I suggest everyone pick and choose your scents carefully as some seem more artifical than not. I wish I started with the Perfume Shooters, $9.99. A set of six different, 2ml sample scents you pick, which allow you to try before you buy. They seem to add new, seasonal scents and collections quite frequently. Check back if you don't see anything apetizing on your first visit. I also recommend signing up for their mailing list to receive advance sale notices and coupons. Overall, the textures are wonderful. I just don’t like the long wait. I’ve already placed another order. Lets see how long it takes to get to me…

Isle of Eden

*Yeah*, my second order from Isle of Eden arrived in the post today! If you missed it, check out my previous post on Isle of Eden. This order still took awhile to arrive, 20 days, but I did receive a shipping notification this time around. I really wish it didn’t take so long to receive products from this site, but due to the extensive handmade nature of the products, it’s understandable. It should however be mentioned somewhere conspicuous on the site.

I ordered the Whipped Crystal Parfait, Caramel Freeze Choclaccino and a Create-A-Scrub. All arrived in their nice, signature packaging with a tiny “Little Lusting Pot” sample of the new Dream Cream in Poisoned Apple.

The Caramel Freeze Choclaccino, $11.79, 11oz looked absolutly mouth-watering in the picture. Upon arrival, the scrub looked a little less appetizing and sort of well- bland, but my opinion change once I opened the jar. The blend of coffee, caramel, chocolate and ice cream is a wonderfully decadent scent for all of you out there that love foody sniffs.

The Whipped Crystal Parfait, $11.94, 11oz is a generous helping of two luscious layers of Double-Whipped Creamy Sugar Scrub, with a center layer of Hawaiian Turbinado Raw Sugar Crystals. The best part about this is you get to pick both scents. I choose Pumpkin Buttercream and Warm Caramel Sugar. While the scrub itself in nice, you have to use up the top fragrance entirely to get a whiff of the bottom scent.

Critic's Choice: Finally, the best for last: The Create-A-Scrub, $11.70, 8oz is an impressive idea. You get to pick and choose your favorites. I felt like a kid in a candy store! A plethora of choices await those bath and body junkies willing to get creative. For not only do you get to choose what type of scrub you prefer – whipped salt or whipped sugar, but all the extra goodies you could ever imagine. How about: fragrance (Sanguigno Orange & Patchouli, w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l), colorful jojoba spears (yes, red), seeds (light on the blueberry and cranberry, please), an extra kick of moisture, sugar or salt (no) and make it a pretty color (yes, pink). All for under $12, wow! It’s no longer on their site, but last year I paid almost $50 for a customized scrub from Body Systems that didn’t even come close@!

I really like all the products I’ve ordered from Isle of Eden. Choosing is the hardest part, since you never know exactly what the finished result will smell like. I guess that’s half the fun…