Snow Day Beauty Products

The East Coast is having a major snowstorm at the moment and while we're stuck in the house, all I can think about is tropical island getaways. So I took my favorite coconut-scented products into the shower with me to lift my spirits give me that summer feeling. If you're obsessed with coconut like I am, you'll definitely want to check these products out...GlamGlow's ThirstyCleanse Daily Hydrating Cleanser ($39) is a mud to foam cleanser for normal to dry skin types. It contains coconut milk, rare Brazilian yellow clay, olive milk and plumeria flower blossom to help remineralize the skin and boost hydration. It smells delicious... just like coconut milk and starts out as a creamy tan-colored mud. I like to apply it all over my face when my skin is dry and leave it for a few minutes (it's just like the GlamGlow ThirstyMud mask, but much cheaper and you get a lot more product). Then I add a little bit of water and massage it in, and it foams up and deeply cleanses without leaving my face feeling dry or tight. 

I recently picked up the new You Are Amazing Smooth It Out Exfoliating Body Scrub & Wash at Target and I'm loving it! Every product in the line is only $3.99 and there are body washes, lotions, body mists and scrubs in six different scents. I picked up the Coconut Water scent, but I was thisclose to grabbing the Vanilla Bean as well. This scrub has a really fine grit that's suspended in a shower gel so you can slough away the dead dry skin while you cleanse your body. I love scrubs like this because they don't crumble all over your shower...they stay put nicely on the skin because of the fine texture and nothing goes to waste. Plus, the flip-top cap is way easier than trying to scoop product out of a jar.

The Body Shop's Coconut Beautifying Oil ($14) is one of my favorite body moisturizers for many reasons. First off, the scent is to-die-for...it's a sweet, creamy straight-up coconut scent rather than a suntan lotion-type of scent. It's also perfect for locking moisture into damp skin the second you get out of the shower...since it's an oil, it won't evaporate from the surface of your skin like water-based lotions will. Finally, I can't say for sure if it was this or good genetics, but when I was pregnant, I used this on my belly twice a day and never got one single stretch mark. 

Glossier's Coconut Balm DotCom $12 is a coconut-scented version of their famous universal skin salve. This little tube works wonders on any part of your body...lips, face, cuticles, elbows, you name it. It comes out of the tube thick and rich and melts into the skin on contact for deep hydration. I love to use it on my lips and cuticles before bed and on my lips during the day, and the fact that it smells like the beach is just a bonus!

Finally, my favorite beachy perfume is from the indie brand Smell Bent and it's called St. Tropez Dispenser. It literally smells like being on a tropical island beach with notes of fresh coconut, jasmine absolute, aloe vera, and a light breeze over vintage musk. For me, it brings back memories of the beach in the 80's...there was a suntan oil my parents used to use on us that smelled exactly like this. I don't know what brand it was but I'm pretty sure they don't make it anymore because the sunscreens of today don't smell this good. 

Well, now that I'm officially in vacation mode, what are your favorite scents/products to use when you're in the mood for summer? Are you a coconut fan like I am, or is there another scent that lifts you up in the middle of winter?