Saturday, July 30, 2011

Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Breeze

Most people who have followed this blog from the beginning are well aware that I have been obsessed with Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena ever since I started as a part-time associate at the company back in 2003.  Over the years, I have gotten new degrees and new jobs but I have still repurchased products in this fragrance time and time again.  Which is a huge feat for this fragrance, seeing as how my collection consists of ton of body product fragrances.  At the last big Semi-Annual Sale, Bath and Body Works announced that they would be discontinuing the Coconut Lime Verbena and them later on in the summer, they would be replacing it with Coconut Lime Breeze.  I was very disappointed with this move but was told that Coconut Lime Breeze would not be very different than the original and would simply be an update on the original fragrance.  As long as most of the original fragrance remained, I decided that I could deal with this change...

The original version of this fragrance was a mixture of coconut, lime, vanilla, and sandalwood.  Coconut Lime Verbena came out in the beginning of 2003 when the company didn't produce the sophisticated and modern fragrances that have been coming out in the past year or two.  Many of the fragrances from that time have gone to the graveyard of fragrances or have been reworked to fit the newer image of the company.  The original version had very little lime in it and couldn't be considered a citrus fragrance especially since the lime was really only evident in the shower gel and spray forms and could barely be detected in any of the creams and lotions.  So this was great for people who loved coconut but never worked for someone more interested in the lime notes.

The new version can really be called a citrus, the lime is a much more prominent note in Coconut Lime Breeze.  "Our exclusive Coconut Lime Breeze is a fresh blend of coconut water, lime blossom, and bergamot inspired by a tropical breeze of exotic fruits and luscious citrus."  The top notes are: Sparkling Tangerine, Lemon Italy Oprur, Neroli, Bergamot Italia, Oprur, Zesty Lime Juice.  The heart notes are: Watery Melon notes, Sheer Muget, Pineapple Juice, Jasmine Petals, Lime Blossom.  The base notes are: Sheer Coconut Water, Sandalwood, Musk, Madgascar Vanilla. 

It looks like Bath and Body Works took the original fragrance and made those notes the bottom of the new fragrance instead of the heart.  The lime plays a much more prominent note in the new version and the bergamot is also able to easily be picked out.  The new version is very crisp and light, lots of citrus and coconut water.  The new version almost reminds me more of many of the margarita scents available on the market, just a bit on the sweeter side, this is great summer scent.  When applied on my skin, the moisturizers smell almost exactly like the original version and it is just a bit lighter on my skin.  The spray is a bit too citrus and sharp on me, so I prefer the body products in this fragrance.

The new version is currently available in the following forms: the Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Triple Moisture Body Cream, Body Splash, and Body Butter.  This seems like a limited release so I am hoping that more products might be forthcoming.  This fragrance doesn't replace my beloved fragrance (especially in the Body Splash form) but it is so close that I haven't any issues with buying and using these products when my Coconut Lime Verbena products are finished up.

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

5 comments:

Zahra said...

I have fallen in love with this fragrance. The combo is out of this world. By the way great article!

Kastie Pavlik said...

Thank you for the review and back history. I recently fell in love with love with the coconut lime verbena when it was given out as a toiletry at a hotel, but was sad to it not for sale any longer. I noted the change in the citrus notes and chose to buy travel versions of the coconut lime breeze. I agree that the lotion is very similar once it settles on my skin. The spray, on the other hand, smells like a citrus cleaning spray at first. After the initial notes begin to fade and it settles, it's not too bad, though, and compliments the lotion...if used in moderation. Overall, I think they had the formula right the first time and changed it too much.

Kata said...

I've been using coconut lime verbana ever since it was gifted to me one holiday and was very upset when I saw them discontinuing it. It prompted me to buy nearly a dozen of the shower gels & body lotions which were a part of my normal routine, year round. Now amazon is selling them for $30+ each. So I need to go test the moisturizer and see if it has the same scent as you mentioned once settled. Maybe B&BB will bring it back since there seems to be many loyal followers. I'm not out yet and still get compliments whenever I'm wearing this.

Anonymous said...

Please bring back Coconut Lime Breeze,,,,please,,,,thank you
Susan

Anonymous said...

Coconut lime verbena is also THE favorite of mine as I am sitting here in my hotel room( the trial sizes are in my bathroom)smelling this wonderful fragrance I used to be able to purchase. I don't agree that the coconut lime breeze is similar but do agree that it definitely is more citrissy! I found this blog when I did an Internet search to see if I could by it somewhere, only to find the trial sizes that are found in some hotels. I would LOVE to see this fragrance come back. I really haven't found anything at Bath and Body Works that I like as well.