Hei Poa Monoi with Tamanu review

I have liked and used Hei Poa Monoi for several years - I used to buy it in Harvey Nichols which was the only stockist when it first arrived in the UK. It's a much cheaper alternative to NARS body glow (and more authentic, as the monoi is not diluted with other oils.) I've bought and liked the original Tiare scent, and the Vanilla scent in the past. This time I decided to go for the variation with Tamanu oil, which is known for its additional healing properties.

This stuff is interesting. It's solid when the temperature is below 24C, and liquid at temperatures above that. You can still use this when the weather is cooler - if you hold the closed bottle under a hot running tap for a few seconds it quickly liquifies. If it's liquid automatically in the morning, I know I should be using it every day as a body moisturiser. Put simply, it puts back what the sun takes out of your skin. I am very careful about using a sunscreen, but it's impossible to avoid the sun completely and even with a sunscreen I find my skin can feel a bit hot and parched at the end of the day. This is perfect as an aftersun for those who do still like to tan (but please, think golden rather than mahogany. If Christian Ronaldo could look like a barbeque chicken on a spit in those dreadful holiday pictures, the rest of us mortals look no better with a too-deep tan.)

Don't be afraid of using an oil to moisturise - it's almost like a dry oil and sinks in very quickly, as long as you don't use too much. I find it much lighter than using a body cream in the hotter month(s?). Hei Poa monoi has a subtle gardenia type of smell, and the tamanu in this variation lends a soft and pleasing slightly nutty undertone. It's also very good to protect the delicate ends of the hair and to defrizz. You only need a tiny amount on dried hair - start with a 5 pence piece sized blob.

I bought mine from Zuneta.com. It's also on HQhair.com, which often has codes for free samples/free shipping - it's worth signing up to receive these. Hei Poa Monoi costs £9 for 100ml.

The ingredients are:

Coconut oil, fragrance, tahitian gardenia extract, tamanu oil, tocopherol, benzyl salicylate, amyl cinnamal, linalool, geraniol, citronellol, benzyl benzonate, limonene, farnesol, benzyl alcohol.