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JUN 23 2016

Ellis Brooklyn Excellent Body Milks

Keu's "Treat Your Shelf" series features effective beauty products that also beautify your vanity shelf.

If your favorite indie fragrance and lightweight body lotion had a baby, her name would be Ellis Brooklyn. And she would look gorgeous on your bathroom shelf.

Ellis Brooklyn is a line of fragrances in the form of body lotions, created by New York Times beauty columnist Bee Shapiro. I was intrigued as soon as I heard about them because the scents were developed with famous “nose” Jerome Epinette - the perfumer behind my all-time favorite Byredo perfumes.

Why they’re Excellent
Just when I thought I couldn’t love a perfume more than Byredo’s Gypsy Water, Ellis Brooklyn came into my life. These body milks are not your average scented body lotions: they’re luxury fragrances combined with a natural, elegant lotion. Infused with organic aloe leaf juice to soothe and calm, and organic oils like sunflower, coconut, and jojoba to nourish and moisturize, they leave your skin soft and hydrated - not to mention smelling divine.

This delivery system is actually genius. As a beauty writer, Shapiro learned that the way to make a fragrance last was to apply body lotion first and then spritz the fragrance over it. This layering made the fragrance long-lasting, and Shapiro had the simple yet innovative idea to cut out the extra step.

Speaking for harried moms everywhere, thank you for cutting out an extra step! I’m sure Shapiro was thinking along the same lines, as she has a young daughter herself whose name “Ellis” inspired the branding.

The Excellent Body Milks come in five different scents:

  • Verb - a bright mix of bergamot and green notes.
  • Pseudonym - a warm, complex combination of fig and earthy sandalwood and tonka bean.
  • Fable - an elegant orange blossom and petitgrain mix.
  • Raven - a sexy patchouli and peony blend.
  • Rrose - a feminine mix of rose, peony and lemon, with an undertone of musk and woods.

Once you experience them you’ll likely wish your entire home could smell like one - or all - of these intriguingly addictive scents. Well it can, thanks to the recent addition of the Terrific Scented Candles in the same fragrances as the Excellent Body Milks.

Green inside and out
The formulas are free of parabens, phthalates, and animal testing. Shapiro crafts her products in small batches in upstate New York and is committed to sustainability. The gorgeous green bottles and candle jars are made from recycled, lead-free glass and FSC-certified, Green Seal certified paper stock. The company also offsets its carbon footprint through carbon-neutral shipping.

In case you need yet another reason to love Ellis Brooklyn: at $55 for an 8 oz. bottle, the Excellent Body Milks are much gentler on your wallet than other luxury fragrances.

Available at ellisbrooklyn.com, netaporter.com, shen-beauty.com and shop.nordstrom.com.