ticket to paradise: lavanila vanilla coconut

While I've resisted the temptation to pull out the flip-flops during this freakishly balmy, summer-in-April weather we've been experiencing (it just seems wrong on so many levels), I've still been dreaming of skipping off work and basking in the sun on sandy beaches, so I decided it was high-time to change up my fragrance to better channel those midday fantasies. My pick: Lavanila Laboratories Vanilla Coconut, which to me, just smells like summer on the beach. The fourth entry and newest scent from Lavanila Labs, known for creating good-for-you, rich vanilla-based natural beauty products, Vanilla Coconut is a yummy mix of Madagascar vanilla bean ("Lavanila" is what the natives in Madagascar call vanilla), young coconut and the white flower Tahitian tiare. That floral note was a great addition, since this scent could have otherwise turned into pina colada territory (which maybe isn't a bad thing?) and tempers the sweetness to give a subtly sophisticated bent. It's surprisingly light, so you won't suffocate yourself (or those around you) in the stifling summer heat. A plus: known as "the healthy fragrance," Lavanila scents contain a mix of good-for-your-skin vitamins and antoxidants like the buzz-worthy Goji berry, while being free of the not-so-pleasant parabens, phthalates and sulfates. Nice.