As I mentioned before, Bathed and Infused is more of a summer indie etailer for me — I prefer their lotion to their other moisturizers, so I also tend to gravitate towards their more summery scents. Fortunately, BI has an Anniversary Sale in June every year. This year it is on June 16 — so if you are thinking of trying this etailer, you have two weeks to peruse their extensive scent list. And it is extensive! The sale is usually 20% off. I am plotting an order myself for lotions (paraben-free) and edps. A good source of BI scent reviews is the blog 3 Lemmings and a Cliff. Amongst the LE scents reviewed, there are also several permanent ones.
My summer favorites are Beach Sandals, reviewed here, St. Lucia (a very fresh coconut cucumber), Havana Day Dreamin (brown sugar coconut yumminess), and Plantations (sugary pineapple sugary goodness). I have also tried and liked their Halo Halo and Bali, which are both good vanilla-y coconuts.
P.S. I asked a couple of BI fans to post their scent recommendations as comments, and they obligingly did. Both have very different scent preferences to mine, so that way you get a wide range of scent reviews. Thank you to pinochle and nightwishes!
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorites, at the minute, are some of the Spring LE’s. How unfortunate that I keep falling in love with LE’s! Orange Cream Daiquiri is to die for, so is sherbet punch, and beach sandals, which you seem to already love.
The permanent scents I enjoy, I love Sweet Nothings which is a lemony, strawberry delicious fruity scent. Its really pretty, and not too candy-like.
The Pinup is another favorite, a sultry and sexy gardenia scent that isn’t too heady, it wears well with everything!
Lime sherbet is also a favorite, it takes a little to cure but its to DIE for. Mmm, limey goodness!!
I also love Barrow on my boyfriend, and Velvet Snow layers with everything.
Hope that helps! I really need to update that blog of mine. Just been so… busy….
Oh my goodness–so many favorites! My recommendations tend to be clean/fresh in nature:
* St. Lucia, which you’ve already mentioned. It’s a clean, green, fresh coconut, and it feels exotic without seeming overly beachy or tropical. It’s the most wearable coconut scent I’ve ever tried.
* Mermaid, which is not on the scent list, but is a bath bomb scent that you can request in any other product. I LOVE THIS SCENT. It’s a salt water/floral blend with a hint of that same fresh coconut that I detect in St. Lucia. Lovely scent–not at all heavy or cloying, and perfect for hot weather. It layers well with many other clean, fresh, or floral scents, by the way.
* Clean Sweet Layer, which is a dupe (and not one of the many original blends for which I love Bathed & Infused). It's been my go-to scent for almost 3 years, and it's true to description: Clean fragrance, but with extra citrus and neroli added to it.
* Embrace, which is an original B&I blend. From the scent description, you'd think this was a cold-weather scent (references to snuggling and coziness abound!) But this is a slightly sweet, slightly citrusy floral with a soft and clean musky finish.
* Valencia, an Aveda dupe, that to my nose is like a sophitocated take on a creamsicle. Still sweet, but perhaps with some extra citrus zest thrown in. Very pretty.
* Shedonism, an Origin dupe–and my very favorite scent at the moment. It’s predominently floral, but with a ginger-orange note to it that makes it something extra-special. Beautiful!
* If you like lime scents, I've got two recommendations: Pistachio Lime, which is less of a tart lime than a warm lime. The pistachio adds a complexity (and a certain green note) to the lime that keeps it from being bitter or overly sweet. And Mojito is wonderful, too–order it with a twist of extra lime, actually, so that the balance is really on the lime (and not on the mint & rum). Mojito layers beautifully with St. Lucia, by the way.
* Persimmons and Orchids, which is a soft, soapy floral. Someone (I forget who) says it reminds them of shampoo, and I can see why. I have no idea what a persimmon smells like, but I do detect the fresh orchid note.
* Summer Clothesline, which isn’t nearly as “clean laundry”-ish as the scent name makes it out to be. I used to like laundry scents, but I OD’d on them. This one, however, is different. The rain, grass, and floral notes round out the clean laundry scent and make it MUCH more wearable than any other detergent/laundry scent I’ve tried (and I’ve tried A LOT of those).
* Tarzan and Jane, which are companion scents. Both have green notes and bergamot to them, but Tarzan is heavier on the green & musk while Jane has a black tea note to it.
* The Pinup and The Playwright–another companion scent duo. They layer well together, and while The Pinup is a sweet floral, The Playwright has a woody note to it that still isn’t too heavy for summer.
Also: the In-Between Cream is worth trying for the summer. I like it better than the lotion, and it’s not too heavy.