First off. I finally got a jar of coconut oil.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have picked it up at Trader Joe’s and debated this purchase. First of all…..it’s like not cheap. Then it doesn’t help when I have a certain someone sarcastically yipping in my ear about how I plan to use it.
“Plenty of ways!!!” I exclaim
“Oh yeah name one“.
“I mean we can cook with it”.
“Negative”.
“It is used in a lot of beauty regimens, actually I saw some pin about salvaging an old lipstick and making it a lip butter by smashing it into a tub with some coconut oil“………….
So needless to say it always went back. Then of course Trader Joe’s did what any smart business does…..it magically wasn’t there for a solid month. “Sold Out” they tell me. Well now the inner shopper in me needs that dang coconut oil because I can’t have it. So the minute it came back in stock I bought it. Then guess what??
It sat on my shelf for a month.
Then as I was trying to get the Marc Jacobs tar of a mascara off my precious eyelashes a genius thought came to me, “I’ll use the coconut oil!!!” I was so proud of myself y’all. Finding a use for that expensive little hyped up jar. I had remembered Cara’s post of this genius idea.
So I get the jar ply open the top and naturally with my graceful hands half of it spills all over me. Here’s where I have a problem.
Seriously. Why didn’t y’all tell me it smells terrible.
Like I can’t put my finger on what it is a combination of but it’s bad. Now I have it spilled all over me and over my bathroom but I’m still going though with this….I’m committed. So I try to scoop the semi paste/semi liquid mess into my hands and rub it on my lashes.
Okay cool cool it’s breaking off some of that black gel mascara. Oh crap is that an eyelash??? Noooooo stupid mascara. Wait this oil is blurring my vision. Where is my face wash. Why did I leave it in the shower??? Okay I located it with one eye shut and the other one squinting open. Now I drop it because my hands are oiled up. Okay relocated it. Add it to the oil/mascara combination. Now lets rinse. Definitely not looking like a Neutrogena commercial over here.
Phew finally I got it off. My eyes look kinda soft now. Hmmmm maybe this stuff is pretty legit. I think I just needed to prep this whole scenario a little better.
However, I don’t know if I’m going to get over this smell. I mean I have the police on me when I use self tanner how do I put this stuff on my body without the comment chief all over me? Then don’t even get me started on cooking with it because I would probably have to hid it in another container before that would ever fly.
So the whole question of this story is did I just get an off jar of coconut oil or does it really just have an odd smell? Oh and don’t even get me started on the thought of oil pulling.
If I can’t even get the smell out of my thoughts when it comes to putting it on my face I sure as heck am not about to put it in my mouth and swoosh for 20 minutes. No thanks, I’ll just double up on some greens and get an extra hour sleep.
Finally I am going to leave with you this. This is why I work with kids every day. I like the girl at the 0:41 second mark…..back it off sweetie you can’t video bomb this kid he steals the show.
The oil pulling thing is SO WEIRD TO ME!!! But hey if it makes your teeth whiter then I’ll totally try it. My apartment is so f-ing hot that my jar of coconut oil is constantly a liquid and not a solid hahahah! Pathetic! But yeah I cook with it and sometimes (read: rarely) use it on my face or do a hair mask. You may have gotten a bad jar bc mine smells amazing. Ok not amazing, that’s exaggerating, but it smells good. Like coconut should.
I use that very same coconut oil all the time. It doesn’t smell bad. It has a sweet scent. I cook with it. It makes a great base oil for anything, especially cooking vegetables. I sometimes stir a teaspoon of it into my coffee and cream. It naturally sweetens it and it tastes amazing and even be swirled and it foams like a cappuccino. I think you got a bad jar!
I like the smell of TJs cocunut oil. So far I’ve wiped my makeup off with it, wasnt super impressed. I love shaving my legs with it though. Oh and I mix it with lemon juice and sugar for a face scrub and I love that too
Oh no! I love the smell of coconut oil so maybe it was a bad jar. As long as you like the smell of coconut you should like it at least. I keep mine in the fridge to help keep it more solid.
i love the smell of coconut. it will liquify at room temperature but if you place it in cooler temps, it will solidify. i would NEVER do the oil pulling thing…swishing oil in your mouth for 20mins? NO THANKS. but i have heard it works; my friend does it.
with oils, you can’t use it straight out of the jar to remove makeup because it doesn’t break down when it touches liquid (ie. water) – an emulsifier needs to be added to break it down (which is why it gets all over the place and doesn’t come off easily).
i use my coconut oil on my skin – that’s it. i slather that goodness on my face and all over my hands before bed; rubbing it into my cuticles etc. you can also cook with it – so many great vitamins/nutrients in coconut oil when you cook with it :)
thanks for linking up!
-kathy
Vodka and Soda
Well now I’m super terrified of trying it!! I wonder if it’s just the trader joe’s one that is like that. When Shenine said she shaved her legs with it – that sounds like a great way to negate the smell…in any case one more try to really solidify your thoughts!!
oh you poor stressed out thing. you need another vacay!
that is so weird that it smells bad – mine has hardly any smell – was yours liquid? mine is like freaking solid – must be the different temps, silly florida ;)
we actually used coconut oil to make some fried rice at home the other day and it was perfect! almost tasted as good as normal fried rice lol.
anywho. I thought about oil pulling but then thought heck no. haha. However – when – ONE DAY – we have a baby, it’s supposed to be great diaper cream but how the hell am I supposed to use it when it’s not liquid? clearly I need to move to florida.
Ps. I got mine from Kroger and it was pretty cheap.
I love coconut oil. I could not live without it. I use it for everything. I use to just purchase whichever brand was on sale, but now I get Nutiva. It has the best scent. I actually really like it. I wrote this coconut oil beauty guide a while back if you want to check it out! http://emilykateg.blogspot.com/2013/10/get-gorgeous-with-coconut-oil.html XO
I’ve been meaning to try coconut oil for my hair. It’s suppose to be excellent for curly hair. :) Oh, and I totally love that kid! He’s too cute.
My thoughts are meh on coconut oil. It’s too greasy to use as a moisturizer. I just read that oil pulling has pretty much no benefits. It’s super sweet to cook with. It’s just not my jam. I’m not the one to convince you…..
OMG you have me petrified of trying coconut oil now! I thought about trying the whole oil pulling thing but now I’m thinking that’s not worth it at all. I don’t know if I’d cook with it but I hear it’s good for so many other beauty related things… Let me know if you change your mind on it!
<3, Pamela
sequinsandseabreezes.blogspot.com
Apparently I watched that video way too many times when I found it last night. Kids. Are. The BEST. And I’m glad to finally read a “honest” review of coconut oil. Now I’m terrified of the supposed smell!
Yours is liquid? Mine is solid. I got the Spectrum brand. I haven’t tried cooking with it because I am afraid all my food will taste like coconuts. As far as the smell goes, it is ok. I don’t like to smell it all over my body….but I made a lip scrub out of it using just the oil and some sugar and it works really good and actually tastes pretty amazing if you “accidentally” eat some. The oil pulling idea freaks me out and I doubt I will try it.
Honestly, I love the smell of coconut oil. I use it as lotion in the winter months. But if it smelled like pumpkin, I’d have the same reaction you do ;)!
Oil pulling…just what the what?!!?
I use coconut oil a lot but usually have the whole foods brand. Just picked up my first TJ jar and did not appreciate the smell! I first used the oil for sunburn and most recently finished the jar when my girls got covered in tar while swimming in a river (somehow, long story). The coconut oil took the otherwise persistent tar off their little bodies with ease.
I’ve been wanting to try it… but I totally forgot to buy it! And as for oil pulling, the thought of swishing anything around for 20 minutes doesnt sound realistic, i KNOW i’d end up swallowing the stuff or spilling it all over myself. ah well, you win some you lose some! xo jillian – cornflake dreams
its funny – i cook with it all the time and haven’t noticed a smell thing. hmm. i even cook eggs in it. :) don’t knock it til you try it. i have used it to make a homemade scrub too. or for baking. i did try oil pulling for like 5 seconds and spit it out. SO GROSS. almost gagged. don’t even do that ever. people say you get used to it but um no.
cheshirekatblog.com
Oh, friend. Mine doesn’t have a scent (I don’t use the trader Joes one. I know. Gasp!). Also? Use a warm washcloth with just water on it to wipe off the mascara/oil after you use it before you wash your face (keep your eyes closed)! I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with it. I can’t stand the smell of coconut so I didn’t get one that smells like it. Also? The one I bought is huge and was only $5. Maybe you’ll give it another go?
I’m with Christina, in STL the jar I had here totally melted! Trader Joe’s is the only place I’ll purchase it because it’s so freaking expensive at grocery stores!
I’ve been debating trying out coconut oil too! I always assumed it smelled delicious though! Maybe you just have to stir it to get the liquid to dissipate? haha I don’t know what I’m talking about!
I’m SO disappointed to hear that it smells weird! Coconut is one of my favorite scents (well, the delicious and probably fake scent that suncreen has) and this is just no good
I would have thought coconut oil would smell good. I had been wanting to try it but I can’t deal with things that smell bad, like at all. That little boy is too cute. Hope your week is going well.
Omg I think it smells good. Lol. I use it almost every morning to cook my eggs! It does NOT effect the taste. I also use it when baking instead of vegetable oil. $5.99 at TJ’s is actually cheap… I’ve seen it for $12.99 elsewhere. You’ll find that it lasts a while. It turns to liquid when the room it’s in hits a certain temperature. So obviously now in the warmer months, it’ll turn to liquid sometimes. It’s still just as good though!
Apparently, I saw that video last night and that boy is too much!
I like coconut oil for cooking, never tried to use it on my face but did melt it and put it in my hair as mask once. I don’t mind the smell but maybe it’s the brand I got? who knows…hahah.
i died laughing the whole time because i was envisioning everything you said! i’ve never use it. now i’m kinda nervous :)
I’ve been debating buying coconut oil for a while and I’m still not sure but the now “smell” goes on the cons list lol
So not ever getting onto this coconut oil bandwagon. Sorry it just makes me think of tanning oil. Picturing what happened to you along with those gifs made me laugh haha. Just stick with extra virgin olive oil! :-) Have a fab day!!
Oh my this is hilarious! I am guilty of buying a jar and it sitting in my cabinet! I have still not used it! Mine is definitely solid though. I’m not sure what to do with it either! Let us know if your second try is a success. :)
oh my goodness that kid — I can’t handle how cute! scared half to death! also, my coconut oil doesn’t really have a scent, but it also isn’t liquid? I tried the oil pulling, and I don’t think I’d recommend it — that stuff tastes gross and it made my jaw hurt!
hmm mine doesn’t really have a scent that I noticed. But sometimes its liquidy and sometimes solidy, it plays tricks on me. I mostly use it just as a paste I put on my face after I wash it, and then rinse it off. Its supposed to be good for your skin, almost like a moisturizer.
I think you had a VERY bad experience! I bought my jar at the grocery store and I think I only paid like $4 for it. I put it on my eyes at night and love how soft it is (just be careful not to get it IN your eyeballs). I also use it to moisturize my legs. I have done the oil pulling thing a few times and honestly, I like the way my mouth feels afterwards. I don’t know about the whole removing toxins part but my mouth always feels super clean and my teeth are a tad whiter. Also, my jar doesn’t smell so I definitely think you need to just try a different brand and see how the next experience goes.
I don’t care for the smell. The thing I use coconut oil for? I add it to my dog’s food. Seriously.
haha I’m unsure still about coconut oil and the fact that it smells… now i really don’t know. (and I’m also with you on oil pulling!!)
I’ve never heard of coconut oil so I have no advice. But I so understand how much it sucks when you want to buy something and it’s sold out. That drives me crazy!
Bahaha! Love all the details in this story. Really makes me feel like I was a fly on the wall in your place :) I wonder if it’s just that brand or something that smells so bad because I have a jar and I do oil pulling and it doesn’t smell/taste bad what so ever! I guess you probably have to “like” coconuts to begin with. :)
I love cocont oil! But I never had heard of it until my friend started her own company selling it. Her brand is a lot more than TJ’s but I like it better. It’s called Kelapo (and is a Tampa based business…woo!) but I could never do the oil method or whatever it’s called. I fear for my skin! But seriously if you do want to try it again, that brand is better for scent, in my opinion
I use the Carrington Farms brand they sell at Costco. It smells heavenly to me but I love the smell of coconut. It really smells kind of like Hawaiian Tropic! I have only used it for cooking so far. I use it for everything from sauteing veggies, meat, seafood. Also it’s really yummy for pancakes and as an oil replacement in brownies and baked goods. And yes, if your house is warm it will liquefy. Mine stays completely solid in the pantry all winter long, right now it’s about half and half. Certain foods absorb the flavor more than others so you have to do some trial and error and see what you like.
I have a lot of yogi friends who are all ’bout it ’bout it with the coconut oil… But I haven’t gotten on board with it yet. I think it’s a trend that will be around for a few more years, then slowly fade away, off into a sunset of coconuts, where it belongs. Yours ls likely runny because you live in flo-rida. Mine would probably boil here in Texas. Gross.
First of all, this post gave me the laugh that I needed. So thank you! Secondly, my sister bought coconut oil to try the whole oil pulling thing, and she said it was so disgusting that she could puke. So, needless to say, I forewent any type of experiment I was planning with that. Oh, and that kid is the greatest thing! I mean seriously, he should be a reporter like now.
Pulling makes me want to puke too so there’s no way in hell that’s happening (extra hour of sleep, extra greens or not). That little kid is a rock star haha I want to put him in my pocket.
Thanks for reading my mind girlfriend- the cost at TJs has had me pick it up and put it right back because just like you said what am I gonna use it for? I have really considered using it for cooking purposes so maybe I’ll start small with that? I know a lot of people are nuts about it. I wonder if it would be a good moisturizer for super dry summer feet?
xoxo
Meghan
SouthernBelleSecrets.com
I bought a jar of coconut oil specifically to use for taking off my eye makeup and it messed up my eyes!! After about a week of using it, they were puffy and I had to use eye drops like 20 times a day. I went back to regular remover and it all went away. Mine didn’t have a weird smell and I was contemplating using it for cooking but actually just threw it away last night! Moving is making me throw everything out!
OMG! I have done the SAME EXACT THING so many times! I see it at Trader Joes. I pick it up and put it in the cart. My hubby asks what I plan to do with it. I have no idea. I put it back. Rinse and repeat. I am going to buy it now and I will let you know about the smell. :)
You must have gotten a weird jar. Mine never really smells.
I’ve used it for eye make up removal, for dry skin, for hair conditioning – we just used it this weekend for a bug bite.
& no – oil pulling is stupid. Don’t bother.
I confess…I have a jar of coconut oil that has sat on my shelf for about two months now. I fully intended to use it for “oil pulling” although, after hearing your comment about the smell I am 10 x more terrified than I initially was hahaha.
xoxo, Jen
I wont be oil pulling anytime soon but other than that I dont mind the smell etc and Its really good for hair!
I know absolutely nothing about coconut oil other than I heard if you keep it in the refrigerator it should stay more solid.
I opened my coconut oil once. I tried the pulling and gagged immediately. First and last time.
I actually love my coconut oil! It’s not the trader joes kind though…. Maybe it was a bad one! Love using it to remove makeup, moisturize and even as lip balm ;)
I loathe coconut oil. The smell, the taste, all of it! I am with you on this girl, that stuff is foul!
I love that video of the little kid… apparently he is so adorable! I have never tried the coconut oil… not sure I ever will…
I use coconut oil when cooking instead of olive oil or butter, and I use it as a hair mask once a week! :) I haven’t tried oil pulling yet, and I don’t think I will any time soon! ;)
Jessie
jessieholmesspringer.com
I love coconut oil, it’s never smelled bad to me! I find the thing is you shouldn’t overdo it. I separate a tiny bit into a travel container and keep that in the bathroom – that will still probably last me months. It might help with the mess factor if you keep it in a cool place. It will solidify but all it takes is a little bit of heat from your skin and it’s still good to go. But oil pulling? The thought of it kind of makes me gag, I’ll pass.
i don’t mind the smell of my coconut oil. i put a tiiiiny bit on my face after work in the winter to help with dryness and it works great. i put a little bit in my mouth the other day to try oil pulling and i gagged and spit i out. ha.
hahaha I don’t mind the smell of it, but my husband can’t stand it so when I use it in my hair I try and do it when he’s not around. I’m not brave enough to try it on my face yet!
I used coconut oil as my lotion for like 2 solid months this winter and had to stop because my dogs kelp licking me. Like anywhere they could reach. Gross.
This is perfect!! I so have had those same thoughts/ doubts about coconut oil. However, I have purchased it and have barely made a dent in the bottle. I hear ya, on the slippery mess. I don’t even know where to begin to describe that consistancy. I have only used it for my hair as a deep conditioning treatment, so to say. Cooking with it… ummm, I haven’t mustered up the confidence to pull that one off. My husband notices if I put an extra grain of salt in anything.. so we won’t even go there. At least for now. As for the smell. Mine smells like, well coconut. But I bought mine at the store. No TJ’s close to me. I just love your writing and story telling. The video at the end is to die for… apparently. LOL! oxox, Amanda