Hibiscus Paradise

I also reviewed the Hibiscus Paradise perfume so this review if for the body spray. I enjoy Hibiscus Paradise in all forms: body wash, lotion, cream, body spray, and perfumes. But the cream is is my favorite. It is a soapy white floral dry coconut and not gourmand. Hibiscus Paradise, though it is a beach scent has a vintage vibe going on and is slightly powdery. I get a lot of compliments with it. I myself enjoy Hibiscus Paradise though I remember on the Bath and Body Works website it received polarizing reviews, which shocked me. Gardenia is not a note listed but it reminds me of gardenia perfumes from the 80s. I have seen people compare it to “sand and sable.” As a child and teen, I always sprayed myself with sand and sable when I browsed the perfume testers at the drug store and liked it but my mother did not. I used to own a roller ball oil from Terra Nova (which no longer exists) called “Coco Mango.” It had “tiare flower” as a note and Hibiscus Paradise has that same vibe. The cream itself fills the room. I am happy to be well stocked on hibiscus Paradise in all its forms that I will not need to repurchase for a few years. Hibiscus Paradise is not gourmand. Though it is coconut, it also has a White Dove Bar Soap quality to it and I do layer the cream over Dove soap. Also, when I use Hibiscus Paradise, I usually wash my hair with herbal essence “Hello Hydration” shampoo and conditioner (it is a blue coconut scent.) If I use the fine fragrance mist spray, I typically don’t use the cream with it as it is strong but I will use the body wash or dove bar soap and Dove lotion that comes in a pink tub or Avon “Sweet Honesty” skin softener that also comes in a pink tub because to me, Sweet Honesty has an 80s powdery clean girly vibe and it sets the stage for the Retro feeling that Hibiscus Paradise spray sends. When I say Hibiscus Paraduse has a retro vibe, it is not a “power house” vibe but a perfume people kept around that a young girl could also wear. I wear hibiscus paradise in the spring and summer with pink or yellow sun dresses or my denim shorts and t shirts. In my opinion, it is not sophisticated but I like it.

This is a summertime staple for me and one of my more favorite B&BW scents :) It smells so sweet which I probably attribute to the guava, and very warm and tropical floral with an undercurrent of toasty coconut. It’s definitely not a gourmand scent but still sweet and warm! I’ve heard it reminds people of the smell of suntan lotion... honestly this is a spot on description! I however happen to LOVE the smell of sunscreen/suntan loption and this scent, and can’t get enough of it especially in the summer. It reminds me of all the hot summers I spent growing up on the west coast and in the southwest :) Sweet, warm, lightly floral, suntan-y. I love it!!

A perfect fruity floral scent. Not heavy on the coconut at all. I keep the hand cream in my car and leaves a wonderful aroma.

I would never have guessed there's a guava or a hibiscus note in it without looking at the note pyramid. There is a fruity note in the beginning that mingles with something musky, and it doesn't make me think of fresh guava, but rather of artificial banana flavoring, or more specifically, in my country we have a very cheap kind of candy that is artificially banana-flavored gelly covered in dark chocolate. That kind of banana flavor. This fruity note, however, after drydown sits very close to the skin and the dry oily coconut takes center stage, but thankfully is offset with a little tropical floral lightness. I understand if all of this doesn't sound all too appealing to you, and to be honest, I really don't like how this wears the first 5-10 minutes, but surprisingly I really do like the drydown quite a bit. It's an almost generic artificial tropical sunscreen scent and actually a rather nice one. Everytime I wear it my husband points out how nice I'm smelling. Maybe not my favorite blend, but it really gets across a nice summery mood. Great affordable everyday pick for hot summer days, I'd say.

At first sniff, this fragrance hit me with soft coconut and tropical guava sweetness, wrapped in something powdery and innocent. Last summer when I bought it, I honestly wasn't sure—it struck me as almost too straightforward, maybe even a bit cloying in those first few minutes on my skin. After months of wearing it to the beach, during evening drinks, through those lazy summer afternoons, it grew on me completely. Yes, it still opens with that same bold sweetness, but now I know what's coming next: it settles into this soft, almost nostalgic, tropical baby powder that sits close to the skin. These days, it's my go-to for sunny bike rides and beach days. There's something about how it warms with my body heat that transforms it into this gentle, almost childlike comfort scent. It's become so tied to my summer memories...