Added to review 2/18...

It is very important to note that when you see "Camu Camu" or "Pomegranate" or any other name on these products - these are NOT the names of the scent of the product. These are the names of the APHRODISIAC INGREDIENT that was used in the product. The scent may actually be quite different than the aphrodisiac that is listed. It is important to read several reviews to get a feeling from the reviewer of how the scent smells to them. A good example of this is Camu Camu which is a superfruit with a very high vitamin C content. In the Camu Camu products you would think this means a citrusy/fruity smell but that is not true for most of the reviewers on Eden and on the company's facebook page. Instead, Camu Camu is being described as a vanilla/coconut scent and one person (Cookie Monster Mike) is thinking he smells some pink lemonade in there. Needless to say, this will not be the Camu Camu scent that you would find in other products - like say Scenty's Camu Camu wickless candles. (I used to sell Scentsy and have the samples here).

The company does not give out a description of the scents either because they find them to be "indescribable" and different on each person as they wear them.

So please - as you read about these products, understand that what you might think is the "scent" is actually only the superfruit that is used in the product and not the intended scent description.


Yesterday, I started this five part series with a review of DONA's new Mangosteen Body Wash. Today I want to continue this series with a review of the Mangosteen Body Polish.

For those who do not care to go back to yesterday's review and read about the ritual and scents, etc. - some of that information will be listed below.

The Body Polish is part of the 2nd step in the 5 part ritual. This step is designed to "to purify your body using luxurious lathers, exfoliaters and gels" and it includes the following products:
Body Wash, Body Polish, Bath Foam, Shave Gel, Lingerie Wash.

What's the difference between a body scrub and a body polish?
I forget which review it was that I read that peaked my interest in this, but I decided to go ahead and google this since I'm finding that I prefer body polish over body scrubs. I found several answers.

Yahoo Answers gave the response that a scrub was designed to exfoliate where a polish was designed to be more of a wash.

Makeup Notebook which helps people make their own product stated "The main difference between sugar scrubs and body polish is the use of a liquid soap and the substitution of salt for the sugar".

Lydia Sarfati, a skincare expert had some information that I found extremely interesting. Her article stated:

How do the crystals of salt/sugar break down dead skin?

Both perform physical exfoliation, like an eraser.

What kinds of carrier lotions or oils are needed for each, and why?

The carrier has to be compatible with high solids and with high Sodium Chloride in the case of salt. A good carrier is olive oil.

How do salt and sugar scrubs differ from some other exfoliating products that do not use those ingredients?

Both salt and sugar dissolve completely whereas others, such as walnut shells or apricot shells remain a solid particle that needs to be removed. During the dissolution, the edges become rounder and the particles gradually decrease in size, so the scrub turns into a finer “polish”.

Finally, I decided to go to the source. I contacted DONA with a question about this and she responded with this answer:

Thanks for asking. Though ours is technically a “scrub,” according to our chemist, we chose to call it polish because it is very delicate and is unlike most body scrubs. It contains soja wax and oils that absorb and “soften” some of the Dead Sea salt in it, so it’s not as abrasive or harsh as most body scrubs.

What are the ingredients in this? Anything I might be allergic to?
The ingredients are: Sodium Chloride, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Oil, Glycine Soja Wax, Isopropyl Myristate, Modified Corn Starch, Sodium Lauryl Sarcosinate, Cetyl Palmitate, Sorbitan Palmitate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Olivate, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed, Laminaria Digitata (Algae), Passiflora Edulis (Passion Fruit ), Oriza Sativa, (Rice), , Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu), Euterpe Oleracea (Açaí) oils, Luffa Cylindrica, Garcinia Mangostana (Mangosteen) Fruit , Fragrance

For those with Sensitive Skin
I suggest you read StainedClear's review titled Polish and Burn. I must admit that I accidentally got a tiny bit of this on my genitals and it burned like crazy and I had to get it off. However, it did not burn on the rest of my body at all.

Dealing with the Glycerin Issue
In my review yesterday, I shared how the glycerin in these products is plant-based and not animal-based and therefore should not cause any problems. Once again, StainedClear did some great research and shared these comments in response.

So just for giggles I went looking up info on vegetable glycerin. If you're sensitive to glycerin, you'll be sensitive to both types for the most part. Less sensitive people will be able to use VG over PG but super sensitive people will have problems with both. I tend to get yeast infections if I bathe in products with glycerin. Like, even if I don't use them as a bubble bath. Can't use it in the tub or in lube. As a regular contact ok skin it doesn't seem to cause issues. I'm always sad to see it in there because I'd love to take a bath with some of these products!

Thanks for sharing that StainedClear!

Finally, I would like to add that according to the label this product is natural, paraben free, cruelty free and free from petro deriviatives.

The easiest way to share about the texture is to simply show it to you. So here goes...



As a "bath/body-aholic", I have several scrubs and polishes here so I decided that I would show it to you compared with the other products I have from Eden Fantasys.



Let me share what each product on the back of that Eden Catalog is.

Left: Top is Not Soap Radio's Lounging Poolside at a Beachfront Resort and bottom is Not Soap Radio's Island Hopping. Both are Body Polishes.

Center: Top is Simply Sensual Ginger & Pomegranate sugar scrub and bottom is DONA's Body Polish.

Right: Top is Bella Fiore's Sugar, Sugar Walnut Sugar Scrub which pours out of a jar, and the bottom is CAKE's Milk Made Body Smoothing White Sugar Scrub.

It was hard to get a good view of the scrub on my hands or even on the paper. However it is gritty - not in the same way that a sugar scrub is gritty because there may be fewer "particles" but they are larger and can be felt a bit more.

I used this with both a pouf and with using my hands to spread it around. I find that the pouf does a good job of getting it to lather up some but then following up by using my hands to really rub it in before rinsing it off seems to bring out the scent a bit more and do a better job of exfoliating the skin.

Of the five DONA products that I own, this is my absolute favorite for the scent. I find it is the strongest in this product and in the body mist lotion - but especially this product.

As I explained in part one, when I first received this product, I tried to place that mangosteen scent. I started by narrowing it down to the fruit family, of course. From there I was able to weed out the berry family because while it was sweet, it wasn't sweet like berries. It wasn't apple or pear scented so those were out. It definitely wasn't banana or coconut or pineapple. There was no hint of citrus in this, it was too sweet. That pretty much left me with the melon family. I didn't smell any cucumber in it so I ruled out the cucumber/melon combination (which I knew it wasn't anyway).

That basically left me with a very sweet melon scent. Fortunately, I love sweet melon scents!

To me, this product starts out with a strong, heavenly fragrance and it fills the shower as you use it. However, after you step out of the shower and dry off, the scent fades away and becomes very light but it leaves you with just a hint of something sweet. You might notice it if a breeze blows over you or you lift your arm to smell it.

I find this scent to be unisex in spite of the fact that it is a warm, sweet fruity smell. I would love to take a shower with my husband with both of us using this product.

I want to discuss the performance of this product in three areas.

First let's talk about its performance as a scrub in the shower. It did a fantastic job of cleaning and exfoliating my skin. There was no greasy feel to it at all and it spread out very well, especially once I started using my hand to rub it around versus using the shower pouf that I use.

Secondly - the scent. I love this scent. There is no chemical after-smell to this at all. What you smell when you open the jar is what you smell when you are using the product and when you are done. Unfortunately, the aroma does dissipate fairly quickly and I don't like that. However, once again, using this product with other mangosteen scented products in the DONA line will help the fragrance to linger with a stronger scent. Of the current products available on Eden, I would recommend the DONA Body Mist Lotion since that has some oil in it which will help the fragrance last longer. I can hardly wait until the day when Eden carries all 20 products and all of the scents.

Finally - the last way that I use this product. I don't yet have the candle and I must admit that I am, sadly, addicted to this scent. So today I opened the jar and left it open on my desk so that I could smell it every time I walked by or sat down. Yes, it dried out the polish a bit, but the fragrance was oh...so worth it.

The body polish is packaged in a opaque jar that holds 9.5 ounces. I have a few pictures to give you a size comparison.





Here is is compared to some other body polishes/scrubs that you can purchase on Eden Fantasys.



While the label does state on the front "an aphrodisiac infused ritual" there are no sexual pictures making this product non-discreet. So many products nowadays claim to have aphrodisiacs added, I do not think that statement would be embarrassing on a product.

This actually would make a nice gift - not so much because of the packaging but because it is a nice size product with a great smell that doesn't have anything written on it that would keep someone from wanting to use it, in my very humble opinion. I'm pretty much a prude and I would not be ashamed to have this sitting out in my main bathroom even if we had guests over, so I would feel comfortable giving this as a gift.

I want to share here the 5 step ritual and some more information for those who might have missed it in my first review.

The five rituals and the products designed for them are:

1. Relax- "slow down and set the sensual tone"
Massage Candle, Bath Salts, Bath Milk, Arousing Herbal Bath Essence, Chromotherapy Bath Treatment (colors the water too)
2. Cleanse - "to purify your body using luxurious lathers, exfoliaters and gels
Body Wash, Body Polish, Bath Foam, Shave Gel, Lingerie Wash
3. Nourish - "to make your skin touchable and kissably soft"
Body Butter, Body Lotion, Body Mist Lotion
4. Illuminate - "to enhance your natural beauty and space"
Shimmer spray, Linen Spray, Lip Balm
5. Engage - "to share the fun with sensual, play products"
Massage Oil, Kissable Body Drizzle, Pheromone perfume gel, Rose Petals (unscented)

The six fragrances that Dona uses for their aphrodisiac properties are:
acai (increase stamina)
blue lotus (said to strengthen the bond between couples)
Camu Camu (energizing, mood-lifting, strengthens immune system)
Goji Berry (increases testosterone levels)
Mangosteen (helps stimulate vitality and mood)
Pomegranate (keeps the skin young and gives you energy and vibrancy).

I have found out that mangosteen is used in two "fragrances" that folks may recognize. I have never heard of the first fragrance and I do not know how easy it is to find these fragrances. However, I want to share them here so that if you recognize them and have smelled them, it might give you an idea of what mangosteen smells like when used in a fragrance.

For men, the product Paradox for Men by Jacomo uses mangosteen as one of the three scents that are part of the middle notes of the fragrance. This fragrance came out in 1999.

For women, With Love by Hilary Duff which came out in 2006, uses mangosteen as the middle note in the fragrance along with Cocobolo wood.

I'm also researching the other scents in the Dona line for future reviews.

I want to take a moment to deal with the topic if aphrodisiacs. Nowadays, companies are claiming to put aphrodisiacs in their products and I can't find proof online one way or another about how effective the ingredients that they use are. I would go by my own experience - but my husband can walk in the door - smell me making coffee - and be drawn to me. Does that suddenly mean coffee is an aphrodisiac?

In addition, we all have different sensations of smell. This was pointed out to me when one person pointed out that one of my favorite scents from Eden (Island Hopping) smelled to them like dead skunk in the road because they picked up on the musk which I barely noticed because the high notes of the pineapple and coconut were what hit me.

For more information on aphrodisiacs, please feel free to read the special features on my part one review for the mangosteen experience and follow the links I give there.

As for me, I'm basing my ratings and comments simply upon how the product performs as a cleanser/body polish and how the scent smells to me as a woman. I am pretty much taking the whole "aphrodisiac" portion out of the equation.