Malibu Tan Cucumber

Gone Hemp: Malibu Tan Sweet Scents Hemp Body Moisturizer

Malibu Tan Sweet Scents Hemp Body Moisturizer in Cucumber Jasmine.
About $6 at grocery and big-box stores.

Skincare companies with the “nads” to market and sell moisturizer in Colorado had better bring their A Game. It’s no secret that we live high and dry here. At altitude, the air is thinner and the skin is much, much dryer than in other climates. Eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and various-and sundry-other dry- and sensitive-skin conditions are about as common as a well-worn pair of jeans. And while the worst dry skin conditions generally require a doctor’s visit and medicated treatments, even everyday skincare in Colorado demands highly-emollient moisturizers, of which hemp seed oil can be a powerful ingredient.


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The problem with this new offering from Malibu Tan is it simply don’t moisturize enough. At least, not enough for Colorado.

You may recognize the well-established Malibu Tan brand from tanning salons and beachside convenience stores, which makes sense. This is, after all, the company that backs a variety of Kardashian-branded bronzing products in addition to “Jersey Shore” persona Jenni JWOW’s “One and Done” Bronzing Lotion: “YOLO (You Only Live Once) you might as well look fabulous!”

Malibu Tan’s new Sweet Scents Hemp Body Moisturizer goes on light, making it well-suited for multiple applications throughout a day of sunning and surfing. Its pungent, fruity-burning-candle smell brings to mind itty-bitty bikinis and sun-kissed skin on which any sweaty humanity has been doused by heavily-perfumed lotion applied often and copiously.

Several of the ingredients in this moisturizer are great for dry skin including olive oil, sunflower oil, calendula, green tea extract and yes, hemp seed oil. But the rest of this product’s lengthy ingredient list reads like an A.P. chemistry quiz and includes ultimately-drying, silicone-based, chemical compounds. That could be why instead of experiencing dry skin relief, I immediately felt like I needed to wash and then reapply more and better lotion.