Saturday, September 18, 2010
Julian Rouas Paris
Lush is a bath and cosmetic company that prides itself on making environmentally sound products. Their line of solid perfumes is a great go anywhere product for the person who is always running around.
I got this solid perfume for free. On first sniff I thought "Oh my god, this is cat pee perfume!" I put it away and a few days later bit the bullet and put some on. After a few minutes, I was in love. Some of Lush's products need to sit out and cure before you use them or they smell very different on you than in the package. This was totally the case with this one.
The smell is described on Lush's website as unisex. Organic olive oil and the fresh juice of mandarin oranges are the scents that make up Olive Branch. I definitely smell the oranges but I'm not so sure about the olive oil. It smells like a warm, clean scent to my nose. The scent is very calming to me. Most of the time the scent lasts for 6-8 hours. This is longer than any of my spray perfumes and I keep it in my purse for easy application anywhere.
If you live in a warm climate be careful how you store this product. Some of the ingredients make it very soft when heated. I also wouldn't store it in a pocket because of this. The waxes and coco butter do make your skin soft. The butter can make peple prone to acne break out so use caution if applying to your face. Here is the list of ingredients: Japan Wax, Perfume, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), Carnauba Wax (Copernicia Cerifera), Hydroxycitronellol, Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), *Limonene, Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Dulcis), Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), *Citral, *Geraniol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Linalool, Coumarin,.
The directions for the solid perfumes say to just rub it on your pulse points. An easier way to apply it is to take your fingernail and swipe it across the surface (away from you so the perfume isn't trapped under your nail) and rub on. There are many other solid perfume scents. Try them all and pick one depending on your mood!
energy drink
energy drinks
Julian Rouas Paris
Today, it seems every celebrity has a perfume scent with their name attached to it. From Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, to Britney Spears' and Beyonce Knowles' lines of fragrance to the classics of Chanel and Dior, there are hundreds of bottles to choose from. But how do you find the right one?
First answer, of course, is ignore the brand name or label. Just because Jennifer Lopez says you won't end up smelling like a skunk doesn't mean you won't. Choose a smell based on how it smells on your skin, and your personal tastes.
There are several basic themes which perfume manufacturers stick to: Chypre, citrus, floral, and ambers. Chypre scents have a woody, mossy, floral base to them. Citrus scents incorporate orange, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit, much like Calvin Kline's CK One. Floral smells just as it sounds, like flowers. An example of a floral scent would be Chance by Chanel. Ambers have a delightful mix of musk, vanilla, spice, and animal scents, such as Obsession.
Once you've decided on a category of perfume to try, go to your nearest perfume counter. Try a few scents out on paper before deciding on one to put to the test. Apply to the back of your hand, and then wait an hour. If you do apply the perfume to your wrist, avoid rubbing your wrists together. This can crush the delicate buds of scent and distort the sampling. It isn't how a perfume smells in the bottle or immediately after application, it's how it reacts with your skin chemistry much later that can make or break a scent as one for you.
The reason behind this is perfumes have four layers. The first layer, or top note, is the first scent you get after applying the perfume. It's the most noticeable, but is also the one the fades the quickest. The next layer, or middle note, is the next apparent component to the perfume. It appears several minutes after applying the perfume, and can stay up to an hour before disappearing. The third layer, or base note, appears usually after a half hour and is the layer that stays on your skin throughout the day. And the final layer is one most overlook, the natural scent of your skin. Just like everyone's DNA is different, everyone has a unique skin chemistry that can affect the outcome of a perfume.
Keep this guide in mind next time you are perfume shopping, and you are sure to find a scent that's right for you!
energy drink
energy drinks
Friday, September 17, 2010
Julian Rouas Paris
When I discovered that the perfume I was about to review had a ginormous price tag of $1,500... I nearly had a heart attack. Especially seeing how my mom picked this bottle up for only $1.00. Yep, $1.00 for a $1,500 bottle of perfume.
It pays to shop at thrift stores girls! So nyah to everyone who judged me based on my thrift store purchases.
For $1.00 approximately one week ago my mom walked out of our local thrift store with a pretty bottle of perfume. Today while looking for pricing information and availability of this perfume, I realized what she had found was more than what we could of ever imagined.
A 0.5 ounce bottle of Donna Karan Chaos. It turns out DKNY Chaos is a rare, highly sought after, discontinued, expensive fragrance. Who knew?!
Appearance:
The 0.5 ounce bottle is probably the most unique thing about it, and with momma Dukes being a collector of crystal, she bought it for it's appearance. Who would of thought at the time that her $1.00 find was seriously a down payment on a car?! Woo-Hoo! The 0.5 ounce bottle comes in a perfume bottle made of Falcon Crystal. It is long, and narrow, and quite frankly the most beautiful bottle in her collection.
Due to it's narrow crystal slim cut, it cannot be placed upright. You can however leave it in the box, or place it down.
The Scent:
Now when I first inhaled DKNY Chaos, I was not very impressed. To me Chaos smelled like pencil shavings, and burnt wood. Chaos apparently is not for me. I love woody outdoor scents, but Chaos is too strong for my likings. It just reminds me of a lumber yard; for some this is a lovely fragrance...but me...meh.
After discovering that Chaos was so pricey, I tried giving it the benefit of the doubt. I mean hell, there has to be a reason it's so costly. After giving Chaos another try, (which was hard to do, seeing how every frigging spray shot cost nearly $70.00 or more per shot, considering 0.5 ounces does not get you far. However I had to try Chaos once more for this reviews sake).
A more elaborate summary of the rare Chaos scent:
For the first 2 hours I smelled like pencil shavings. However Donna Karan Chaos took on another mild scent the longer I wore it. I was now able to smell a more subtle amber scent, which was likable...but not worth $1,500!
As more time progressed the woodsy scent turned into a more subtle cedar mixed with musk. I actually began to like it more and more as the initial scent faded.
As I looked into Chaos even more, I learned that it contains the rare Agarwood as a fragrance note. Agarwood makes Chaos smell so darn woodsy. It comes from the Asian Aquilaria tree. Due to the low number of these trees, Agarwood is more rare, which makes it more expensive...which is why Donna Karan's Chaos is so highly sought after...yet discontinued.
Last:
DKNY Chaos stood with me for the entire day, and was still detectable into the night.
Pricing and Availability:
DKNY Chaos is very expensive, and only serious lovers of the scent would pay such a high price. The 0.5 ounce Falcon Crystal bottle of Chaos goes for around $1,500, or less on ebay. However I learned that larger bottle of Chaos sell for a bit less. I assume it is because the larger bottles are mode of glass, and not crystal. Either way though, Chaos; no matter what size bottle it comes in, asks for a hearty lump of cash.
For those interested in perhaps purchasing Chaos, click here.
Recommendation:
DKNY Chaos is expensive, for some worth the price tag. For me though...moms bottle is landing a spot on ebay. I find that the price is just too ridiculous for what you are actually getting.
Architectural Glass
Alcohol
Julian Rouas Paris
Today, it seems every celebrity has a perfume scent with their name attached to it. From Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely, to Britney Spears' and Beyonce Knowles' lines of fragrance to the classics of Chanel and Dior, there are hundreds of bottles to choose from. But how do you find the right one?
First answer, of course, is ignore the brand name or label. Just because Jennifer Lopez says you won't end up smelling like a skunk doesn't mean you won't. Choose a smell based on how it smells on your skin, and your personal tastes.
There are several basic themes which perfume manufacturers stick to: Chypre, citrus, floral, and ambers. Chypre scents have a woody, mossy, floral base to them. Citrus scents incorporate orange, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit, much like Calvin Kline's CK One. Floral smells just as it sounds, like flowers. An example of a floral scent would be Chance by Chanel. Ambers have a delightful mix of musk, vanilla, spice, and animal scents, such as Obsession.
Once you've decided on a category of perfume to try, go to your nearest perfume counter. Try a few scents out on paper before deciding on one to put to the test. Apply to the back of your hand, and then wait an hour. If you do apply the perfume to your wrist, avoid rubbing your wrists together. This can crush the delicate buds of scent and distort the sampling. It isn't how a perfume smells in the bottle or immediately after application, it's how it reacts with your skin chemistry much later that can make or break a scent as one for you.
The reason behind this is perfumes have four layers. The first layer, or top note, is the first scent you get after applying the perfume. It's the most noticeable, but is also the one the fades the quickest. The next layer, or middle note, is the next apparent component to the perfume. It appears several minutes after applying the perfume, and can stay up to an hour before disappearing. The third layer, or base note, appears usually after a half hour and is the layer that stays on your skin throughout the day. And the final layer is one most overlook, the natural scent of your skin. Just like everyone's DNA is different, everyone has a unique skin chemistry that can affect the outcome of a perfume.
Keep this guide in mind next time you are perfume shopping, and you are sure to find a scent that's right for you!
Architectural Glass
Architectural Glass
Julian Rouas Paris
Lush is a bath and cosmetic company that prides itself on making environmentally sound products. Their line of solid perfumes is a great go anywhere product for the person who is always running around.
I got this solid perfume for free. On first sniff I thought "Oh my god, this is cat pee perfume!" I put it away and a few days later bit the bullet and put some on. After a few minutes, I was in love. Some of Lush's products need to sit out and cure before you use them or they smell very different on you than in the package. This was totally the case with this one.
The smell is described on Lush's website as unisex. Organic olive oil and the fresh juice of mandarin oranges are the scents that make up Olive Branch. I definitely smell the oranges but I'm not so sure about the olive oil. It smells like a warm, clean scent to my nose. The scent is very calming to me. Most of the time the scent lasts for 6-8 hours. This is longer than any of my spray perfumes and I keep it in my purse for easy application anywhere.
If you live in a warm climate be careful how you store this product. Some of the ingredients make it very soft when heated. I also wouldn't store it in a pocket because of this. The waxes and coco butter do make your skin soft. The butter can make peple prone to acne break out so use caution if applying to your face. Here is the list of ingredients: Japan Wax, Perfume, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), Carnauba Wax (Copernicia Cerifera), Hydroxycitronellol, Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), *Limonene, Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Dulcis), Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), *Citral, *Geraniol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Linalool, Coumarin,.
The directions for the solid perfumes say to just rub it on your pulse points. An easier way to apply it is to take your fingernail and swipe it across the surface (away from you so the perfume isn't trapped under your nail) and rub on. There are many other solid perfume scents. Try them all and pick one depending on your mood!
Architectural Glass
5 Hour energy drink
Julian Rouas Paris
I was at Walmart the week of Mothers day and we were shopping for mom. I was standing in the book section and realized that I was in need of some new perfume. So I scurried out of the book section and went right over to the beauty aisle to see what they had. I was stopped by the new Halle perfume advertisement and was a bit intrigued. I didn't know that she was even coming out with a new fragrance. I had heard that Halle was a work in progress but I wasn't expecting it so soon.
Walmart had a sample bottle out in the open for people to try it out. So I sprayed a little bit on my wrist, aired it out and sniffed. I was in heaven. I wasn't expecting Halle to smell the way it did but it did. So I threw it in my cart and told my husband I wanted Halle for Mother's day.
Now the one thing I wasn't happy about was the fact that Halle was $16 for just a few ounces of perfume. I took a look at my small bottle and was a little skeptical but I figured that I wouldn't have to spray a lot since it was a heavy but sweet fragrance. I was expecting for Halle to stay on me at least half of the day but It didn't. I ended up having to spray myself at least twice a day to keep the fragrance smellable.
Halle smelled extremely good and that wasn't something I could deny but I wasn't too happy with the small bottle or the fact that It didn't stick that well. I'm used to wearing Curve crush, which stays on ALL day.
I personally don't think that Halle is a good buy during the Summer time because it's so sweet. I didn't realized just how sweet it was until I had a barbecue and sprayed it on. The mosquito's ate me alive with no remorse what so ever.
As far as smell is concerned, I loved the way Halle smelled. Even my husband was in love with the smell and he is picky when it comes to perfume and women. I just don't think that it's worth buying all the time. I spend good money on good perfume that sticks to my body with ease and Halle isn't one of those perfumes.
Architectural Glass
Red Bull
Julian Rouas Paris
Delices de Cartier reminds me of cherry pop. When I received a sample of this perfume, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the strongest scent of the fragrance was fresh cherry. This is only the second perfume that I've ever tried that smelled like cherries. The other one was a body spray from Bath and Body Works. The Delices de Cartier is much richer, and in addition to the cherry scent, it has other scents that compliment it. This perfume is very fruity and flower without being too sweet or over bearing.
I was curious to see what other fragrances the Delices de Cartier, so I searched it on Sephora.com to see if they listed the scents. Sure enough, I found that Delices de Cartier has essences of iced cherry, jasmine, pink pepper, freesia, amber, tonka bean, (tonka bean?), bergamot, musk and sandalwood. I love how the fruitiness and sweetness combine with the woodsy hints of sandalwood and musk. The main scents that jump out at me are the cherry, of course, freesia and sandalwood.
I was trying to conserve my sample of Delices de Cartier because I liked it so much, so I was using very wisely and sparingly. I was hoping that the small amounts that I was using would make my sample last for a while. I wore this perfume when I went to a wedding shower. My aunt told me that she loved how it smelled. She was surprised when I told her that I was wearing a perfume by Cartier. She remembers Cartier perfume as smelling very woodsy and rich and not sweet and fruity like the Delices de Cartier smelled.
I reminded her that this was a more contemporary Cartier and maybe geared toward a more youthful customer base. Even though this fragrance is fruity and sweet, I feel that it is appropriate for all age groups, even very mature wearers. Delices de Cartier perfume in my opinion is acceptable to wear during the day or at night. For as light and sweet as it is, it does have staying power. It doesn't fade or change how it smells after I've had it on for a while. This unique perfume stays true to it's original scent all day and I feel it compliments my individual body chemistry.
I would definitely purchase Delices de Cartier perfume when I finish with the sample. In my opinion, I think it is a very versatile perfume that can be worn for any occasion and by any age group. Cartier has been around for years and years and to me, remains very popular with fragrance consumers both young and mature.
Source: Sephora.com
Architectural Glass
Redbull
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