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DIDARA: Your Source for Luxury Beauty Products in Brooklyn
Everyone has their favorite element of self-care. Some love getting their nails done, while others enjoy doing a face or hand mask. I’m personally a fan of all of the above, but my love of using luxurious soaps & scrubs comes second to none. Living with tragically dry & dull skin, I am always looking for something MORE: more nourishing, more softening, more luxe.
Just this past summer, I came across Didara, a luxury home & skincare brand, on Instagram. Based out of Brooklyn, Didara offers body scrubs, washes, and oils in a variety of scents. They also offer products for the home, including Ankara throw pillows and room & linen sprays. The brand is even starting to venture into cosmetics with hydrating & glow mists, as well as liquid highlighters.
I recently tried some products from them: the Body Polish (Vanila Rosé) and the Liquid Gold (Lemongrass Verbena). They also added an extra Room & Linen Spray (Pomegranate & Pear), and wanted to share my thoughts on them!
This is the product I was most excited to try! Body exfoliation is essential in keeping your skin soft, smooth, and youthful. But while the main goal of exfoliation is to get rid of the dead skin via scrubbing, it’s also extremely important to moisturize during or after the exfoliation process. Didara’s Body Polish is formulated to achieve both: coconut oil, rosehip oil, and honey to nourish and sugar granules to buff.
This scrub is very oily and the sugar very granular, making for a seriously luxe melting-into-the-skin sensation. When opening the jar, don’t be alarmed to see the oil floating above the sugar—it’s simply heavier than the oil, and you can use your fingers to reach in and collect the sugar granules. I love using this scrub on my legs (before shaving!) and hands in particular, and it leaves them extremely smooth. Like I mentioned, I have very dry skin, so I often come out of a shower in dire need of moisturizer to combat the inevitable rough texture & ashyness. Do not misunderstand—you WILL still need a body cleanser after exfoliating and moisturizer after your shower, but ever since I’ve started using the Body Polish, my skin has stayed quenched for much longer than before. I no longer need to apply body lotion several times a day; now, I can just be smooth without all the extra effort.
Two things of note: scent and placement. The Body Polish comes in 5 scents: Vanila Rosé (mine!), Sparkling Grapefruit, Peppermint + Tea Tree, Lemongrass + Verbana, and Toasted Coconut. I personally don’t really mind a strongly scented product, but if you do, definitely keep that in mind when purchasing. I can only speak to the Vanila Rosé scented polishes, but it is quite potent, especially when you first open the jar. Some other Didara products do have an unscented option, so it would be great to see the same for the Body Polish in the future for those with allergies and/or sensitive skin! But in regard to my particular taste & choice of scent, I really enjoy the scent and how it leaves the bathroom smelling lavish.
In regard to placement, the website says that the scrub is suitable for face and lips as well, but I don’t recommend that for several reasons. Generally speaking, your face skin is a lot more sensitive than your body skin. Mechanical exfoliants like sugar can cause micro-abrasions on the face and ultimately lead to breakouts. Plus, coconut oil is recommended NOT to be placed on the face, as it can easily clog your pores. Both of these concerns only came to my knowledge recently, after closely reading up on posts from my favorite skincare source: LA-based esthetician Nai (@LABeautyologist on Twitter & Instragram, The Golden Rx on YouTube). I thought that the polish may still be suitable for the lips, but when I tried it, it left my lips feeling very raw and in need of moisture. I recovered alright after using my lip mask, but the skin of your lips is extremely sensitive and needs an exfoliant with more granular exfoliating agents and even more moisturization. This being said, I still absolutely love the Body Polish, but I think the formulation makes it most suited for use below the décolletage.
Overall, the Body Polish has changed my body skin to being consistently smooth & silky, and I therefore wholeheartedly recommend it. I no longer live in constant fear of ashyness, just in fear of running out of product too soon. It leaves you feeling like a million bucks and for only $12 (8 oz), what are you waiting for?
Because of my dry skin, moisturization is extremely important to me, especially post-shower when it feels especially parched. The Liquid Gold is pure shea oil and fragrance. I really like this product, because it’s very soothing after exfoliating and absorbs very quickly.
As recommended on Didara’s Insta stories, I’ve been applying the Liquid Gold to still wet skin. It absorbs really quickly, doesn’t feel too greasy on the skin, and leaves the skin feeling nourished long after use. Plus, when you apply the product to wet skin, you use way less product than when applying on dry skin—a little bit truly goes a long way! However, when you apply the Liquid Gold to dry skin, you’ll find your skin visibly glistening in the sunlight. I recommend using it on wet skin all-over for deep nourishment and on dry skin for places you’d like to highlight, like legs and chest.
The Liquid Gold is offered in three scents: Lemongrass Verbena (mine!), Vanilla Rose, and Toasted Coconut. I really like the citrus scent and while it’s strong, it’s definitely not as potent as the scrub’s fragrance. Plus, this product has an unscented option for those who want to avoid fragrance altogether.
I do have to say that, even though I liked using the Liquid Gold, I wasn’t sure if I would be repurchasing. This is mainly because I was initially applying it to dry skin until recently, so I didn’t like how much product I needed to achieve that all-over moisture. But since I’ve started using the product on wet skin, I’ve been able to get the same nourishing effects without overloading on product. Plus, instead of using my usual cocktail of post-shower oils & lotions, I can just quickly slather on Didara’s Liquid Gold ($20 for 8 oz) and be good to go. I really think this could be my new go-to moisturizer.
I only ordered the above products, but Didara added a travel-sized Room & Linen Spray in the scent Pomegranate + Pear in my package (thank you!). They also offer Green tea & Lemongrass, Blood Orange, Amber Noir, Woodsy Cranberry, Lush Linen, and Vanilla + Sandalwood. Since it’s not advertised as a body spray, you shouldn’t use it as such, since the formula may be too harsh for direct contact.
I seriously love this spray. Admittedly, I probably wouldn’t have chosen the Pomegranate scent myself, but now that I’ve tried it, I am in love. The scent is really concentrated, so you only need a few strategically placed spritzes to fill the room with fragrance. Even though it’s a small bottle, it’s definitely going to last a while.
As a senior in college, I don’t yet have the need for a home goods like a room spray, but if you do, I definitely recommend Didara’s Room & Linen Spray! The travel size set ($21) comes with 3 2 oz. bottles featuring Pomegranate + Pear, Green tea + Lemongrass, and Vanilla + Sandalwood. If you want to stick to one signature scent, there is also an 8 oz. version ($25) that you can get in any scent. Overall, I’m really happy with the products from Didara. Everything is of high quality and is extremely cost-effective.
