To Eat, or Not to Eat?

Is it a good idea to make your skin care products smell and look like foods so delicious that your customers are tempted to eat them? And if so, should the company display their wares in martini glasses like a decadent mousse dessert? Is this a problem that other people have? Or, am I alone here?

Pure Hapa is the creation of Nadyne Kealaokopono Kim-Orona. Her name alone is illustrative of the meaning of Hapa – Hawaiian for someone of mixed ethnic heritage, especially with some native Hawaiian in the stew. Pure hapa then is an oxymoron, and very Hawaiian.

Nadyne is gorgeous and of no discernable age. This same tendency in her Hawaiian elders made her curious about their beauty secrets. Sure, some of her natural beauty is going be in the genes, but much of it has to do with the Hawaiian and Asian ingredients Nadyne has mixed in her kitchen while concocting recipes from family lore. Using the purest Hawaiian botanicals and fruit, and blending them with healing, antiaging antioxidants from Asia, Nadyne developed her new line of skincare, Pure Hapa.

Can we get back to the likeness to food now? Her Haupia Orange Soufflé Body Cream is so obviously meant to be eaten with a delicate silver spoon. For heaven’s sake, it’s got the word Soufflé in the title”¦and Haupia is a Hawaiian dessert! With a creamy, pearl pink hue, this soufflé scoops out of the jar with the texture of whipped butter. Unlike butter, I was happy to find that it is easily absorbed into the skin, soothing any dry spots. And the aroma? It reminds me of orange blossom candy, which is certainly attributed to the sweet orange essential oil blend, and chamomile and papaya extracts, that it contains.

The Sweet Pineapple Sugar Cream must have been extracted directly from the center of a piña colada buttercream truffle, if such a thing exists. Though decadent and luxurious, it is probably not edible. This cream includes Hawaiian pineapple extracts, shea butter, macadamia nut oil, and Pro-Vitamins B5 and E. Though this cream did not absorb as well into my skin as the Orange Soufflé, it magically transformed my dry skin, leaving it healthy, moisturized, and glistening.

Pure Hapa rounds out their skincare line with the delicious Hanalei Sweet & Sour Sugarcane Body Scrub, Hawaiian Essential Facial Serum, and Sweet Papaya Facial Exfoliant. And for dessert, there are soy wax travel candles in Hapalicious (juicy mango & creamy coconut), Kauai (coconut lemongrass), and Maui (green tea & jasmine). Bon Appetit”¦or whatever they say in Hawaii!

Haupia Orange Soufflé Body Cream: Large, $22; Small, $11; Sample, $8.
Sweet Pineapple Sugar Cream: Large, $23; Small, $12; Sample, $8.
Hanalei Sweet & Sour Sugarcane Body Scrub: Large, $24; Small, $12; Sample, $8.
Hawaiian Essential Facial Serum: Large, $28; Sample, $8.
Sweet Papaya Facial Exfoliant: Small, $21; Sample, $8.
Pure Hapa Travel Candle: $7.

Available at www.purehapa.com.