Simply Beautiful

Hello, darlings! I figured it was time to make good on my promise to post again, so here I am posting the very next day. I know, I'm proud of myself too!

It feels like a good time to rave about the absolute best beauty purchases I've made lately. Usually I just wash my face with Burt's Bees orange essence facial cleanser, throw on some generic drug store concealer, and call it a day, but there are two new additions to my beauty routine that are so wonderful I feel that it's my duty to share. They'll change your life - err, well, at the very least they'll change your beauty regimen - I promise. Lucky you!

Okay, first thing's first. Has anyone else tried H&M's new lip balm? It is glorious!

I usually wear plain old chapstick, because while lip gloss is more fun, I can't help but associate slickly shimmering lips with my painful middle school years. H&M's lip balm finds a perfect marriage between balm and gloss. It adds a bit of shimmer, but not too much, and it soaks into your lips just enough that you don't feel like your hair's going to stick to your mouth all day. Plus, despite the fact that it's labelled as vanilla-flavored, it pretty much just smells like warm, faint beeswax. Mmm. Doesn't taste bad, either, which is always a plus. And my perpetually chapped lips have never felt so smooth.

Moving on:

A long time ago I wrote that I was not a huge perfume fan. It seemed to me an invasion of other people's noses, one that they may not actually enjoy. However, this was before I stumbled upon The Scent That No One Could Possibly Hate. That's right - such a thing does in fact exist. And it's called Vanille Eau de Toilette by L'Aromarine.

I stumbled upon the cute French vintage-style bottle at Anthropologie the other day, and a little voice inside encouraged me to try spritzing a bit on my wrists. I sniffed hesitantly, then enthusiastically. This was it! The cheap perfume I had been looking for since I realized Serendipitous by Serendipity 3 and Pilar & Lucy's The Exact Friction of Stars were out of my price range. It smells like vanilla - warm, sugary vanilla. It's subtle enough that you could almost convince someone you weren't even wearing perfume, just lotion maybe, but strong enough that it doesn't wear away completely within a few hours. Plus, when the initial sugary scent fades, you're left with a quintessentially vanilla smell (kind of like slightly sweeter vanilla extract) that feels a bit richer and deeper than before. Mmm. It's my new favorite, especially at under $20 a pop.

My next step is to check out the rest of L'Aromarine's scents. The packaging is just too pretty to pass up! See for yourself.

Alright, folks. Have a great 4th of July! I'm off to Montreal for the weekend!

Let's Talk Perfume

I recieved an excerpt from a certain book about perfume in my Victorya Hong goody bag. I'm not allowed to quote from it or anything, because this isn't the final published copy, but I will let you know that the book was called Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. It was extremely informative and fun. Here's a post on things about perfume you've always wanted to know, which I've been able to put together because of the book. A bit of my personal opinions are, of course, included.

First of all, why buy perfume?

Well, because you enjoy it. Buying for the sole purpose of attracting the opposite sex is not such a good idea. Firstly, you're going to be the one smelling the scent all day, so you sure as hell better like it more than your boyfriend does. Secondly, the smell that drives men wild happens to be bacon. Studies have proven it.

What is the best way to shop for perfume?

Know that sales assistants are given to promoting the most recent fragrances, which are not necessarilly the best. If you want to sample something older, ask for the best in the line, or a perfume that is like nothing else. Then you've got a conversation that can prove very helpful.

Most people don't have the stamina to smell more than 5-10 fragrances in a go. Make sure to spray them on little cards to smell, not on your skin. When you find something on a card that you'd like to get to know better, spray it on yourself. Then leave the fragrance part of the store. Go out for lunch, go shopping, do whatever. Pay attention to what the perfume does on your skin. Does it vanish quickly? Does it bore or annoy you? Or does the scent remain wonderful? If you still love it after a few hours, buy it. Fragrances are constantly discontinued and reformulated, so snatch it up while you can.

What should you know about wearing perfume?

There seems to be a common misconception that rubbing a perfume into your skin can "bruise" it. Nope, not the case. It's perfectly okay to spread it gently onto your skin. What you don't want to do is rub the perfume so vigurously that the scent evaporates before its time.

Another thing that I hear mentioned a lot is that perfume smells differently on different people. This isn't hugely noticeable, but there is some truth to the matter. Individual skins mainly seem to affect the top notes, so by the time it's reached the middle notes, the perfume will smell the same on everyone. Of course, the oiliness and temperature of a person's skin will vary from person to person, so the rate at which the scent evaporates will also vary.

I've always wondered if perfume goes bad. It turns out that it depends on the perfume. A small number seem to take a turn for the worst after a few years, but most seem to have no expiration date. However, if you want your perfumes to last for a long time, keep them away from sunlight, which will cause the scent to evaporate.

I hope you learned a lot. I know I did! I also learned about some perfumes I absolutely have to try, like:

♥ Rue Cambon by Chanel: Apparently floral, amber-y, and wonderful enough to be given 4.5 stars.

♥ Bagdley Mischka: Delicious and very fruity.

♥ Black by Bulgari: An interesting blend of amber, 50's florals, and rubber? Sounds strange, but its supposedly magnificent. I want to try it.

♥ Chinatown by Bond No. 9: To Luca Turin, it smells like the corner of a French grocery at summertime, where the scent of floor wax meets the scent of ripe peaches.

♥ Jicky by Guerlain: The basic idea is lavender and a smoky, creamy vanilla, but it contains a lemon cheescake-y note and french herbs.

♥ Osmanthe Yunnan by Hermes: A mixture of osmanthus flower, which smells like suede and apricots, and and tea, which lends a milky sweetness to the skin.

♥ Tommy Girl by Tommy Hilfiger: It's underated because of its cheap price, but Tommy Girl has a tea base with fresh florals. I love my Tommy Girl 10, so I imagine Tommy Girl smells great.

Is there anything else I should know about perfume? Have you tried any of the perfumes on my "must try" list? What's your favorite perfume? Do you have a signature scent, or do you like to mix it up? Spill!

For more of my thoughts on perfume, check out the rules for wearing perfume that I wrote about here. I was very proud of that post, at the time.

Christian Lacroix for Avon

The news about Cynthia Rowley for Avon was all over the blogosphere. So why is it that Christian Lacroix for Avon has been so under-publicized? I was just browsing the Avon website when I came across Lacroix's new Avon perfume, Rouge:

The perfume is a pretty good deal at only $32. Supposedly the scent is "a burst of citrus and spices" with "a floral heart wrapped in the most sensual cashmere woods." Mmm, sounds lovely, no? Customers gave it rave reviews, using words like "classy," "rich," "sophisticated,""sensual," "romantic," and "fresh." I absolutely adore the bottle - it looks so glamorous and mysterious at the same time. And the name, Rouge, just enforces the mysterious glamour.

The icing on the cake is this Christian Lacroix Parfums for Avon cosmetic bag, which is free with every unit of perfume purchased:

I'll be adding this to my wish list!

Some Beauty Reviews

Believe it or not, it's time for some makeup reviews! Ta-dah! I don't wear much makeup, but I've accumulated a few new items, so I figured I'd let you know what I thought of them. On a strictly non-expert basis, might I add.

Okay, first up is Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Reflect in Organza Pink:

I picked up this gloss at Bloomingdales during Teen Vogue's Fashion U because I was trying to find something to spend my $20 Bloomies gift card on. I'm not much of a lip gloss girl, so I didn't expect to like this. I usually wear tinted lip balms in matte or slightly shimmery red or berry shades. I skeptically picked out this gloss at the sales assistant's suggestion, but I was sure I would hate the shimmery pink, glossy shade. I was wrong. It's very subtle, fresh, and flattering. It's not sticky or goopy like some glosses are, and it has just the right amount of shine. Plus, it's in such a pretty container! Love it!

Okay, now for some mascara reviews. I am so not a mascara girl, just to warn you. I have been blessed with naturally long, dark, and curly lashes, so I've never before bothered with mascara. However, when I recieved Maybelline XXL Curl Power Volume + Length Microfiber Mascara in my Teen Vogue's Fashion U goody bag, I finally had a chance to try out mascara.

I am not a fan of this mascara. I'm aware that I did a really bad job applying it, but it made my eyelashes what Cher from Clueless would have called a total "Monet."

From far away, they looked okay, dark and super-long (long enough to touch my eyebrows):

Up close, on the other hand, you could tell that the mascara came out goopy and lumpy, and that it clumped on my lashes and made them stiff:

I recieved a second mascara in a gift sent to me from Coutorture and Sephora. This mascara was Sephora Volume Mascara. Unlike the Maybelline mascara, I liked this a lot. It made my lashes darker and more noticeable, but not wildly so. It came out smoothly, was easy to apply, and didn't clump or stiffen my lashes:

Aaah, much better! I liked this one a lot, although it might not be worth using for me, since my lashes don't look all that different from usual when covered in subtle mascara.

Lastly, I wanted to review Tommy Girl 10 perfume, even though it's not technically makeup, because I recieved it in my Teen Vogue goody bag and liked it very much:

To me it smells very clean and fresh. It's not too strong or too weak, and it seems very down-to-earth. I think it's one of those scents that would be hard to hate. I'm not so good at picking out specific notes or anything, but The Scented Salamander did a wonderful review.

Score!

Teen Vogue has been my friend recently.

First there was my acceptance to Fashion U.

Then there was the email I just found in my inbox: "Congratulations! Based on your recent submission on the It Girls Web site [note: I occasionally sign up to win stuff and then totally forget about it], Teen Vogue and Marc Jacobs have selected you to be one of 20 It girls to try out the latest Marc Jacobs fragrance - Marc Jacobs Daisy."

Score!!!

I have to give feedback, but other than that, I'm pretty sure I get a whole bottle free! This is perfect, since I recently figured out I like some perfumes. Supposedly "The Daisy fragrance, developed by perfumer Alberto Morillas, includes notes of wild strawberry, violet leaves, red grapefruit, gardenia, violet, jasmine, musk, vanilla and white woods. " Mmm. Sounds nice, no?

I'm not trying to brag or anything, I'm just excited. And none of my friends or family are into any of this kind of stuff (although my dad pretends to and is threatening to do a guest post), so I wanted to share my excitement with you all instead.

Delicious Fragrance

I'm not a big perfume person. I tend to loathe the scents hidden in magazine perfume adds. My eyes tear up just from walking through the heavily perfumed section of a department store. In fact, until recently, I would have told you that the only perfume I could tolerate was my best friend's bottle of So Delicious. So that's why I was a little aprehensive when I put in an order for two perfume samples at Lucky Scent. They arrived today in tiny little vials, and I timidly dipped into Serendipity 3's Serendipitous.

Let me just say YUM.

It's a sticky-sweet, but not overpowering scent. I don't smell too much chocolate, but it brings to mind that lovely waffle cone smell that wafts in as you enter Ben & Jerry's. With a touch of melted vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Delicious. I keep wanting to eat my wrists.

My other perfume was Pilar & Lucy's The Exact Friction of Stars. I haven't tried it yet, but we shall see...

In honor of my newly found love for perfume, I thought I'd pick out some fragrances that would be perfect for Rosh Hashona, which starts tonight for us Jews.





What else could I pick besides apples and honey? Above you can see Gathering Apples by CB I Hate Perfume and Honey by Demeter Fragrances.

Gathering Apples supposedly smells like "thousands of ripe red Mackintosh apples and a bit of old weathered wood from the bushel baskets" ... "It's a happy fragrance, a day spent in an apple orchard dancing around the apples trees and sneaking bites of crisp, juicy fruit."

Honey is "Sex in a bottle. Sugary dripping nectar..."

Mmmmm. Tasty, religious, and seasonally appropriate. If you needed an excuse to buy perfume, this is it.

A Complicated Relationship

This week I've been noticing a lot of bloggers writing about perfume, a fact which makes me feel somewhat obligated to voice my thoughts on the subject. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with perfume. I find that most types are too strong or too musky, so the occasion is rare that I will actually enjoy smelling a perfume. Which probably why I am so cynical about it. I find the whole idea of perfume a little invasive. I can no longer count the times I sat next to some woman on the bus, covered my nose from her perfume stench, and thought, "How dare she invade my personal space with her smell?" I mean seriously, by wearing a certain scent, you are forcing all people who come in contact with you to smell it, whether they like it or not. Personal expression (through clothing, perfume, whatever) is definitely important, but it's hard to know when to tone it down, or even if it should be toned down. At what point does personal expression cease to be a right and start being invasive?

Maybe I'm putting a little too much thought into this.

That said, when I do find a perfume I enjoy, I want to keep smelling it all day. Hell, I want to bathe in it! Still, I know that other people may not appreciate having to cope with my scent. So...the question remains...to perfume, or not to perfume? I think that there are a few basic rules that everyone should follow:

1) If you know you are going to be in close quarters with people for a long while (i.e. a plane ride, a long bus ride, going to a class that meets in a crowded room), you should probably lay the perfume aside. If you must smell of something, reach for a scented lotion (much milder).

2) When you are applying the perfume, try not to over-spritz. Once on each wrist and on the back of your neck should do the trick.

3) If you are going to an interview of some sort, it is safest not to wear any scent at all. Trust me on this one.

What do you think? Do you agree/disagree with any of my rules? Do you have any new ones to add? Should there even be any rules?

**Note: I am very much enjoying my rules. They make me feel important. If you add to the list, you can feel important too.