New Brand: Beauty of Bathing

Beauty of Bathing is a new luxury bath line from Thymes (they of the lovely Red Cherie goodies and Gardener Set that everyone has been abuzz over). The premier collection, Coco Monoi, was inspired by Polynesian bathing rituals, in particular the process of steeping a certain flower in oil to release its scent. Are you guessing gardenia yet?

I was invited to try out this new line at the Bryant Park Hotel a while back, and boy am I glad I went, because it forced me to actually sit still for 5 minutes and relax! I had been eating these damn cacao nibs all week and while they're delicious (and addictive), they gave me a wicked case of the jitters. I was really looking forward to some time to settle down.

The packaging for Beauty of Bathing is upscale and elegant; everything but the shower gel is housed in glass, and the bottles are frosted in a gradient from deep green to pale pink with an overlay of etched botanicals. The boxes are just as pretty, sporting the same colors and botanical motif.

The products I tried perform on par with other high-end, luxury bath brands like Jo Malone. The bath oil is rich, fragrant and moisturizing, the foaming bath produces lots of bubbles and isn't drying, and the eau de parfum is a lovely complement to the line. The soap set, I just couldn't bear to touch. Too pretty!

Now, back to the scent (I know I left you hanging there with the mention of gardenia). Coco Monoi indeed smells of gardenia, but not overpoweringly so...and not only of gardenia. Actually, it's nearly a twin of Serge Lutens Datura Noir, my favorite Serge scent. I have been wishing for years that Lutens would introduce a bath & body line, but now my prayers have been answered in the form of Coco Monoi. These products are absolutely perfect to layer with Datura Noir.

Notes include apricot, lemon, gardenia, white tuberose, rose petal, osmanthus, Madagascar vanilla, tonka bean, and agarwood. The scent is tropical, beachy and feminine, but not overpoweringly floral. For me, it's just an added bonus that it's nearly an analogue of one of my all time favorite fragrances!

I will admit to having a smidge of sticker shock at the prices, but after examining the packaging and testing out the products, I think they're luxe enough to support a high price point. I mentioned earlier that the quality is on par with Jo Malone; so are the prices.

Overall, Beauty of Bathing is a stunning line and I'm looking forward to more excellent collections from the brand. Coco Monoi officially launches this month and will be available at www.beautyofbathing.com and select retailers. Full details on the collection: