DKNY Be Delicious Heart London

DKNY's best selling fragrance is the crisp scented Be Delicious, I wore this fragrance back in college and is one of the few that I still wear throughout the spring and summer months.  This is one of the few fragrances that I have bought several bottles of and have purchased many variations of it.  DKNY has released many variations of this scent, starting with Red Delicious very soon after the actual release and then all the way to Golden Delicious early last fall, with many in between.  Some of the scents were limited edition, while some of them still remain the DKNY fragrance line-up.  Somehow I missed out on Golden Delicious last fall and have never smelled it, I remember reading that it was a deeper version of the original, designed for the fall and winter months.  To add to the fragrance list, this company has released four new versions of this fragrance for the end of the summer and fall months.  Be Delicious Heart London caught my eye instantly and was the first tester that I reached for the last time that I went to Sephora.  I was unable to try every single version the last time that I was there (there are four and I would have smelled awful had I tried them all!) so I will write about each one as a I try it out.

With all the Olympic coverage, Be Delicious Heart London was in the front of the display and I bet will sell out faster than the others.  We will start by reviewing the description and notes of the original fragrance and then looking how the Heart London version is different from the original.  I haven't pulled my bottle of the original out for a few months so I did go back and smell the original before I even tried to compare the two. 

The new versions seem to only be available at Sephora for the moment so all information and notes will come from this company's website.  The description of the original fragrance is right here, "A modern feast for the senses.  Served in a sleek metal and glass apple bottle, this juicy fragrance combines the scent of apple with a sophisticated blend of exotic flowers and sensual woods.  Like the city that inspired it, Be Delicious celebrates individuality with refreshing spirit."  This fragrance is a combination of crisp apples, light florals, and a light wood base. 

The notes of the original version are: American Apple, Cucumber, Grapefruit, Candid Magnolia, Tuberose, White Muguet, Rose, Violet, Sandalwood, Tender Skin Accord, Blonde Woods, White Amber.  As I stated earlier, this fragrance is mostly apple on my skin, then the florals come out and it settles down into the wood notes.  This fragrance is the perfect crisp scent for the summer or for a professional environment.  Normally, I don't equate best selling scents with having the best fragrance note mixture, but this one is an exception.  This fragrance is a best seller because it smells great and is very versatile.

The Be Delicious Heart London is a floral version of the fragrance, English roses are among the best in world and one of the flowers that the country is known for.  Roses are my favorite flower and everyone knows that I collect and covet every rose fragrance on the market today.  "Get ready to take off on a scent-sational journey.  DKNY's Be Delicious Heart London promises to transport you to the chicest city one spritz at a time.  This ultra-mod fragrance features a delicious apple essence complimented with a blend of sweet rose and delicate white woods - surrounding everything that makes the country-meets-city scene of London unique.  DKNY loves London, rich in history, the most visited city of any in the world."

The notes of the Be Delicious Heart London are: Blackcurrant Buds, Spring Hyacinth, Neroli, Apple, Rose Essence, Honeysuckle, Orange Flower, White Woods, Amber, Vetiver. 

The Heart London version of the fragrance is very similar to the Fresh Blossom version of the fragrance, I would prefer to buy the London version but if I don't get a bottle of it before the limited edition sells out then I would be fine owning the traditional floral version of the fragrance.  The Heart London version of the fragrance is still strong on the apple but the rose and other white florals come out and remain on the skin for about two to three hours.  The wood notes come out the same as in the original and Fresh Blossom version.

I believe that the Heart London will be my favorite version of the new Be Delicious variations, I love the rose notes and the design of the London skyline on the bottle.  I plan to buy a bottle of this to put away for next spring however if I can't get my hands on it in time, then I will use the Fresh Blossom version instead.  Come to think of it...I will soon need a new bottle of the original too!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Nails Inc Best Sellers Nail Polish Collection

The other day when I was at Sephora, I caved and bought my first Nails Inc nail polish, the Nail Bar is fast becoming my first stop every single time that I enter the store.  I have been looking at these polish shades for the past few months now and have mentally picked out about half of the collection, I was afraid to start adding these to my polish collection since I need another line to shop from like I need a hole in the head.  However, I have been stareing at the Bake Street shade every single time that I shopped there and kept admiring it every single time that I saw it in a magazine.  The name attracted me to it first, I love Sherlock Holmes and his appartment in the books is on Baker St.  I would have bought this polish just for the name, the great cobalt blue hue of it is just an added bonus!

Now that my obsession with this line is beginning, I started looking at some of the sets that contain several shades in it, this should be the best way to grow my polish collection and to start buying all the hues that I love in this line.  One of my favorite aspects about this polish line is that all the shades are named after areas in London and I have been dying to visit this city for years.  At the moment, this polish line and reading books set in this city are going to be the only way that I get to visit the city in my head.  I'm not sure what sets are going to be offered in the Sephora store, the selection of single bottle polishes looks much larger on the website than it did in this store.  I know that only a few shades of the Illamasqua Nail Varnish are offered in the store and it looks like Sephora is doing the same with this line.

Looking through all the sets that are on the Sephora website, one has caught my eye immediately, the Best Sellers Nail Polish Collection.  The set contains two small polishes in two of their best selling hues and the famous top coat from this company.  One of the shades is a muted neutral cream, the other a jewel-toned glitter.  This set will let me try to finishes of polishes from this company, along with their best selling top coat.

"A mini trio of best-selling Nails Inc polishes including the famous Kensington Caviar Top Coat.  This stunning collection features Porchester Square (chic muted mushroom), Chelsea Square (full coverage rose gold glitter), and Kensington Caviar Top Coat (wet look, 45-second touch dry top coat)."
A few more details about the polishes...

Nail Polish - Professionally formulated, catwalk-inspired nail colors.  This formulation has been specially created and developed using the latest professional technologies for instant and exceptional results.  The formulation is long lasting, ultra glossy, and easy to apply so that you get the best possible results every time.  All of Nails Inc polishes and products are named after iconic places in the UK and streets in London in order to celebrate the brand's British heritage.  The range includes shades such as "Piccadilly Circus", "The Mall" (where you will find Buckingham Palace), and "The Thames", the most famous river in the UK.
- Porchester Square - dove gray cream
- Chelsea Square - clear with chunky rose gold glitter
Kensington Caviar Top Coat - A super glossy top coat that leaves nails dry in 45 seconds.  No manicure is complete without a top coat.  Best selling Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Top Coat has been specially formulated for anyone who demands instant results.  The effect on nails is a super glossy, wet look professional finish so nails look like they have been professionally manicured.  This incredible formula will also help to increase the wear of your nail polish adding chip resistance that seals in color.

I love this set and will be looking for it the next time that I head into my local store, I hope that this company has a series of these.  My favorite shade in the set is Porchestor Square, this will be a great neutral for the fall months.  Once I get through the small size that is in this set, I will then be buying a full size bottle of this.  Chelsea Square will work for the fall months but I would be more likely to use this one against a self tan in the summer.  I could use the rose gold glitter shade in the beginning of the fall but I would then put it away until the beginning of next summer.  I also love that I get to try the top coat from this company and see if it something that I would want to add to my collection in a full size.

Nails Inc might end up being my next polish obsession...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Butter London Fall 2012 Collection

With the exception of Chanel and Illamasqua, one of the new collections that I am most excited for is from the British nail polish line Butter London.  I bought my first two Butters at the very end of March and I fell in love with formula after the first try.  The Butter London display at the two Ultas closest to me are almost always empty and I have to really track down the shades that I want the most.  It took my almost a year until the timing was right for me to be at Ulta when All Hail The Queen was finally in stock and I was at the store.  I have come to the conclusion that I am going to have order the shades that I want the most online, however I do believe that I saw that this line will now be available on the Sephora website.  I know that I have not seen it at the store but I am hopeful that it will soon be added to the famous Nail Bar in certain stores. 

This collection for fall was just released on both the Butter London facebook page and the company's website, I have not seen it anywhere else yet.  Fans of this company now have five new shades to choose from this fall, all of which will sell out very quickly and will be great additions to my polish collection.  This polish formula does not contain three of the biggest chemicals that are used in modern nail polish formulas, making it a higher quality formula.  Even without all the chemical additions, this formula nail polish still looks fantastic on the nail and wears almost a full week with very minor chipping.  It often makes me wonder how necessary some of the chemicals that are in many formulas actually are necessary...
These five shades are a range of textures and finishes, three of the shades are deeper-toned and the rest are pale cool tones.  I can't decide which of the groups are my favorite, the darker shades are lovely and unique but I can easily make any of the pale shades one of my everyday neutral looks. 

The lighter of the five shades is where I plan to begin.  The first of the shades is named Trustafarian, "a golden holographic finish gives this delightful sage green a surprising and sophisticated edge".  This shade is a pale sage green with a heavy golden shimmer.  I am on the fence about this polish, I love the pale sage shade and this shade would work very well on my skintone but I really wish that it had a silver shimmer instead of the gold.  It would be more flattering on me if it had a silver shimmer but I still want to see it in person and then I will make my final decision.  As of the pictures on the website, I don't think that I will be buying this polish shade.  The second of the lighter shades is one of my early favorites from the collection, Dodgy Barnett.  "A highly holographic lacquer in a classic shade that blurs the line between gray and silver."  This shade is a light shade of silver/gray with lots of shimmer in the finish.  I love this shade and I know that I would use it all the time, I use silvers all the time during the fall and winter so this one would work very well with the rest of my collection.

Now onto the deeper shades from this new collection.  Lovely Jubbly is my favorite shade of the whole collection and every photo of it that is posted on facebook only makes me want it more and more.  The picture included in this post is this color, it is beautiful and so very unique that I will be hard-pressed to find another shade like it.  "A vibrant magenta flecked with red, blue, and micro-particles.  This sultry glitter channels a distinctly retro, 70's feel.  High impact sparkle for Disco Divas."  This shade is a bright magenta with lots of shimmer in the finish, I have never seen a polish like this before and I am confident in stating that this one will be a top selling shade for the company.  The second of the deeper shades is Gobsmacked, a shade that might be tied with Lovely Jubbly as my favorite of the collection.  This shade is a deep charcoal that I would use as a neutral in the fall and winter months.  "A heavily pigmented charcoal gray glitter with a slightly textured finish.  This shade is unlike anything we've seen before -  a legend in the making!"  The texture looks as though it has a heavy glitter finish, I love this shade so much that I must buy this one as soon as I can find it.  The last of the polishes is my least favorite, it is the warmest of the shades and is designed to resembles that leaves that fall on the ground during this season.  I have always wanted to visit the English countryside during the fall months, I have heard that it is a breath-taking sight to behold.  "A high-shine metallic lacquer in a warm orange-burgundy hue.  Reminiscent of fallen Autumn leaves.  Sigh."  This shade is much too warm for me to pull off so I will be skipping over this one however this company got the shade exactly right, this one looks exactly like falling leaves and will look amazing on someone with a warmer skintone.  I predict another sellout with this shade.

Actually I predict that all three of the deeper-toned shades will be instant sell-outs and then become part of the cult favorites from this company.  If I could only pick one shade to purchase, I think that I would have to go with Gobsmacked, I love the deep charcoal and I will wear it all the time.  Lovely Jubbly would be my second choice even though I would only wear it when going out, it is too much for work or for use in the daytime.  Lastly, Dodgy Barnett will be another great choice for me, silvers are my version of a neutral int eh cold weather months and I love collecting Butter polishes.

photo courtesy of Butter London

MAC Cremesheen and Pearl Collection

MAC has just released the Cremesheen and Pearl lip collection on their website and it should be hitting the stores and counters by August 9th, I love that this company is now releasing their new collections online a week before the counter release, this gives me time to really look at every single shade and product and make a better decision before I make my pre-orders.  I wonder how the pre-orders are growing due to the earlier online releases, when I picked up my Hey, Sailor! pre-order, the counter had piles of pre-orders under the counter.  At this point, I will never wait for the release date if there is something that I really want, I am the queen of the pre-order and most of the associates at my MAC counter know they will see me the weekend before a huge release.  Let's see if I will be paying them a visit over the day or two...

This collection revolves around the Cremesheen Glass and Lipstick formula, this release will become part of their permanent collection and I am really excited to collect some of these.  I know many people who love the Cremesheen Glass formula and I have been recommended it so many times, I haven't tried it yet since I haven't bought any MAC glosses recently.  I have been buying their lipsticks a lot and now I think that I need to buy more glosses from them on my next few visits.  The Cremesheen Glass is a combination of a lip gloss and a lipstick, it has a pigmented, creamy finish and comes in a variety of hues.  This collection adds a pearl finish to the Cremesheen Glass and Lipstick formula, this will appeal to even more customers and I can see this formula capturing even more fans over the next few weeks.

"A shimmering twist on an instant classic - Cremesheen Lipstick and Cremesheen Glass get infused with crushed pearl.  Rich new colours with creamy texture and an advanced complex that locks in moisture and conditions.  Light reflecting pearls add a high-shine shimmering finish."  As of right now, this collection only contains shades that are on the lighter side of color range, I see lots of pinks and peaches, but no reds or berries.  I am a bit surprised by this as we are going into fall and deeper lip shades are a major trend.  Since this collection is permance, I might buy one or two shades now and purchase more of them next spring and summer...

Here is the pearl twist to the Cremesheen line...

Lipstick - Lipstick that lavishes lips with everything they love and more.  Superior colours with rich creamy texture mold and hold to lips while natural conditioning agents lock in moisture for a soft cushion and comfort.  Light reflecting pearls add amazing high shine and shimmer.
- Japanese Maple - frosted light beige
- Pure Zen - frosted warm nude
- Peach Blossom - frosted cool nude
- Shanghai Spice - frosted neutral pink
- Sunny Seoul - frosted warm pink
- Coral Bliss - frosted light coral
- Pink Pearl Pop - frosted midtonal pink
- Saigon Summer - frosted bright orange

Cremesheen Glass - A lip finish that fuses the creamy, sheen-filled nature of Cremesheen Lipstick with the shine of MAC Lipglass.  Soft, comfortable, non-sticky.  Applies with a doe-foot applicator.  Use as a top layer to its namesake Lipstick or on its own.
- Paper Lantern - frosted soft warm pink
- Double Happiness - frosted light nude
- Imperial Light - frosted light peach
- Dynasty at Dusk - frosted neutral pink
- Pagoda - frosted cool pink
- Floating Lotus - frosted soft rose
- Rising Sun - frosted bright orange

I will definitely be saving the shades from this collection until next spring and summer, I wish that MAc had released this collection last April or May, I would have bought tons of the glosses.  My favorite shade from the Cremesheen Glass will be the only shade that I buy now, Floating Lotus is a frosted soft rose and contains enough pigment for me to use this time of the year and throughout the entire year.  I can see this shade being a great addition to my lip gloss collection and I will use it all the time.  I will buy this shade the next time that I am at the counter.  Paper Lantern is the only other shade that might buy in the first round, this warm pink will work well against a strong eye look and I will be doing a bunch of those types of looks this fall.

Next spring, I will be more interested in the Lipsticks than I am right now.  Pink Pearl Pop will be a great pink for the spring and I hope that pinks are as populatr next spring as they were this spring.  Shanghai Spice is a more neutral pink and I will want to see how this would work in a My-Lips-But-Better look, I will be looking at this shade closer at the counter and see if it is a dupe to Way To Love (how is it that MAC hasn't offered a similar shade since the beginning of 2009?!), I might buy this one right away too. 

This collection looks very promising for me, however that is due mostly to my skintone.  I love pinks and they work wonderfully for my pale skin.  However, the shade range leaves a lot to be desired so I hope that MAC has more shades on the way.  The current shade range leaves a lot of shades totally passed over and someone with a deeper skintone will not find any shades to complement their skin.  I do hope that MAC has more to come with this product line...

photo courtesy of MAC

YSL Fall 2012 Collection - Contemporary Amazon

In addition to working on my fall makeup look, I have been deciding what new clothing and shoes I will be needing to buy over the next few weeks in order to fully round my wardrobe out.  I always want to buy more elegant, tailored clothing in the fall and winter and this year will be no exception.  I have been haunting the Limited's website and checking out all the pencil skirts that have been coming in over the past week or two and am using this look to start my fall shopping.  Naturally as I go after a more sophisticated fall look, I tend to match my makeup style to this more elegant clothing look.  Red lips are one of my favorite looks all year long but every fall I get excited to purchase more shades of lipstick and wear this look more often than I do in the summer.  The picture that I am seeing when I look up the YSL Fall collection will fit right in with the look that I am already craving for fall.
The new collection from YSL is called Contemporary Amazon and it celebrates the sophisticated career women from Paris and all over the world.  The look that is worn by the model for this collection might be one of the best that I have seen all season and I really want to buy all the products and shades to pull it off.  This combination of smoky eyes and red lips might be slightly harder to pull off than my normal look but I want to try it out with shades that I already own and see how well it works in my real life.  This look will not always be appropriate for day and I know that I will need to change it a bit in order to make it work in a professional environment (outside of the Parisian fashion world). 
This collection is up online on the Nordstrom website and this company provides a full collection description and product information.  "She moves through Paris as she would an urban jungle, exuding a tailored take on the basics.  A matte yet luminous complexion, smoky gold eyes, red lips, and garnet lacquers for daring sophistication."  I see that this collection includes the Faux Cils Mascara, a favorite of mine ever since I covered it for this past French Week.

Here is the fall collection from YSL!

Contemporary Amazon Pure Chromatics Eye Shadow - Through the magic of water and a revolutionary new process, Yves Saint Laurent pushes the limits of color with Pure Chromatics, a new generation of eye shadows.  Real makeup artist magic is made easy with six emblematic harmonies that captivate the eyes.  The power of water: Exclusively by Yves Saint Laurent, the new water-process technology is the latest discovery in color, allowing pigments to be more intense and dramatic than every before!  Use wet for a chromatic transformation.  Expect the unexpected.  Water does not dilute but enhances color pigments in Pure Chromatics.  When used wet, the water activates the pigments and gives full intensity to their color.
- No 10 - deep cool bronze shimmer/bright silver shimmer/medium dirty gold shimmer/deep charcoal black shimmer
- No 11 - deep charcoal matte/medium tan matte/deep navy matte/deep brown matte

Contemporary Amazon Volume Effect Faux Cils Mascara - Luxurious mascara for a false lash effect now available in a new limited edition shade, No 19 Graphite Green.  The award-winning, volumizing mascara achieves a dramatic result in a single stroke.  The secret is in the  triple-film complex.  A coating film for intensity, a conditioning film with Pro Vitamin B5 and aloe vera for curves and a fixing film with vinyl polymer for long-lasting effectiveness.  The brush applicator combines nylon fibers of varying diameters for volume enhancement, as never before seen.
- No 19 Graphite Green - deep forest cream

Dare To Glow Illuminator - A silky complexion illuminator, between a highlighter and enhancer, Dare To Glow is essential for women seeking that gorgeous glow.  The melting, ultra-fresh gel texture leaves skin soft and comfortable.  Enriched with optical mother-of-pearl particles, Dare To Glow forms an impalpable veil for natural-looking shimmer on the skin.
- 1 Tempting Gold - pale gold highlighter

Rouge Pur Couture - The Mats Lipstick - Heroic, forbidden, passionate, seductive, scandalous.  Iconic couture colors project theatrical panache in a matte, stretch-leather-like finish that rocks.  The texture espouses and adjusts to the lips, leaving them supple, smooth, and radiant.  Formulated with advanced technology, Rouge Pur Couture The Mats ensures a matte, sensually sleek finish and color fieldity for a full six hours.
- 201 Orange Imagine - deep warm orange matte cream
- 203 Rouge Rock - medium blue red matte cream
- 206 Grenat Satisfaction - deep tan matte cream

Contemporary Amazon La Laque Couture Nail Lacquer - Indulge the impulse to color your nails.  Flaunt color with pride.  La Laque Couture is composed of a kaleidoscope of iconic shades, inspired by YSL creations and artistic legacies.  Now available in two limited edition shades: No 31 Khaky Arty and No 32 Rouge Expressioniste to complement the Contemporary Amazon look.
- No 31 Khaky Arty - medium neutral khaki cream
- No 32 Rouge Expressioniste - deep blue red cream

I am most excited about the eye shadow palette and the reds for the lips and nails in this collection.  I don't really need to add any more red lipsticks to my collection however I can never resist a new blue red shade.  I have not tried this lipstick formula before so I don't really know very much about how much I would like this ptroduct but I am willing to bet that I will love it if I purchase it.  I like the red nail polish but I think that I can safely skip over it, this shade is not that unique and I know that I could find the exact same shade from China Glaze or OPI.  This shade isn't unique enough for me to chase down or to order.  The eye shadow palette in No 10 is worth me chasing around, the shades are lovely and I am very excited to try them both wet and dry.  I do own almost every single shade in that palette already however I would use them a lot and I don't own any shadows in this formula yet.

If I could only buy one piece from this collection, I would have to choose the eye shadow palette.  The lipstick shade is very nice but I have several shades from MAC that are very similar already.  I love the mascara formula but I would never use the green shade so I will rebuy this product in the deep black shade that I already love.  This collection is nice but I'm not really in love with it and the eye shadow palette is the only product that I must own

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Mango Butter Body Products

I have been a longtime fan of The Body Shop's Mango Body Product line for the past few years.  However, there is no longer a stand alone Body Shop store less than an hour away from me and the products are no longer found at Sephora.  My local Ulta still carries some of the best selling body products, including my favorite Mango and Coconut products, but I am always on the look out for emails and people who will order the products with me.  While I love many of the products from this company and tend to replace them as soon as I am running out, I also keep my eyes open for any type of great, natural-smelling mango body product line.  Mango is one of my favorite fragrances and I will buy almost any product that smells like the natural fruit. To my delight, Bath and Body Works has created a line that is very similar to that of The Body Shop and it is so much easier to find.

The Mango Body line is a new line of four products that was recently released into the True Blue Spa collection, so far I have bought three of the four products and have been loving the products that I have tried so far.  The Bath and Body Works website states that the formulas contain real mango butter, so they are as hydrating and nourishing as the formulas from The Body Shop.  I would love if this line is permanent and Bath and Body Works releases more products with the natural ingredient in them.  This line contains of two cleansers and two moisturizers.  So far, I have bought both cleansers and one of the moisturizers.  This release couldn't have come at a better time for me, I had just finished up a Mango Body Wash from The Body Shop and was looking at heading to Ulta to buy another.  I ended up at the mall before I got to Ulta and decided to try this product line out and see how it performed.

As I stated above, this line consists of four new products and I bought three of them.  I purchased the Bar Soap, the Body Butter, and the Nourishing Shower Smoothie.  There was also another body lotion that I might purchase later on down the line.  I wanted to try the products that appeared to be most like the ones that I currently love from The Body Shop.  Also, I love bar soaps and was excited to see one included with this line since they are getter harder and harder to find at certain major retailers.  So far, I have used the butter and wash so I will look at the those today (along with the lotion that I have yet to purchase) and we will return to the bar soap after I have gotten a chance to open it up and play with it.

First we will start with the Nourishing Shower Smoothie.  "Our smooth and creamy body wash formula contains hydrating-rich ingredients like Mango Butter and Aloe to moisturize, cleanse, and leave skin slightly scented with fruity fragrance.  With richly replenishing and moisturizing Mango Butter for ultra soft skin.  Leaves skin feeling hydrated and ultra-pampered, even after rinsing.  Fresh and juicy mango butter fragrance."  This body wash produces a rich, creamy lather that reminds me more a creamy wash than just a shower gel, this will be a great product when my skin is very dry in the winter months and normal shower gels can be too irritating for my skin.  This product doesn't rinse as cleanly as most shower gels do so this might put some people off the product, if you don't have dry skin then this might be too hydrating for use to use on a regular basis.  A slight bit of mango fragrance was left on my skin after use however it must be layered with the lotion or cream to fully reap the benefits of the fresh mango scent.  My bathroom smelled like a tropical paradise after showering with this product, a favorite aspect of mine.  If you love tropical scents or have dry skin then I really recommend buying this body wash!

There are two moisturizers that are offered in this line.  First we will look at the lotion and then the butter.  The Replenishing Body Lotion is the lighter of the two products and would be the better one to use in the warm weather.  "Transport your skin to the nourishing climates of the tropics with fast-absorbing body lotion containing ultra-moisturizing Mango Butter.  This deeply hydrating formula delivers an island kiss of fresh and fruity fragrance.  With richly replenishing and moisturizing Mango Butter for ultra soft skin.  Non-greasy formula absorbs instantly to nourish skin and deeply hydrate.  Fresh and juicy mango butter fragrance."  This lotion is much lighter than the butter and even though I didn't buy it the first time around, I still plan to soon.  I love the scent of it and found it is absorb quickly and cleanly on my hands.  This would be better for normal to slightly dry skin, so I would use it more in the late spring and summer months.

The butter is the most hydrating of all the products, I have dry skin so this will be a great choice for me in the cold weather.  I have relied on the Mango Butter from The Body Shop for years so I bought this so I could see how similar the formulas really are.  The 24 Hour Moisture Body Butter is closer to the texture of the Signature Collection Body Butters than The Body Shop formula.  "Mango to the rescue!  Supercharged with pure Mango and skin-softening Shea, our body butter is the perfect permanent vacation for even your driest areas!  With richly replenishing and moisturizing Mango Butter for ultra soft skin.  Ultra-conditioning, non-greasy formula leaves skin luxuriously moisturized for 24 hours.  Fresh and juciy mango butter fragrance."  I used this product one night to bring some needed moisture back into my self-tanned skin, however it was a bit too heavy for this time of the year.  I used a very little amount, the amount that came up when I dipped my knuckle into the butter.  That amount was enough for a decent sized area of my body.  It absorbed quickly without leaving residue, this heavy a formula can scare some people so the key is using a very little amount and then adding more as needed.  I can't speak for the 24 hour moisturization since I took a shower and washed it off before the 24 hours was up.  This formula didn't moisturize past a shower and using the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Bar Soap.  I will be putting this product away for the fall and winter months when my skin is really dry.

So far I have have really been liking the wash and butter in this line.  I can see myself using them at lot in the winter months when my skin is so dry that it hurts and the weather is so bleak that the mango scent will bring my mood up in the shower.  Hopeefully, I will be opening up the bar soap and trying it out within the next month or two.  I might save this until fall and see how well it performs when my skin is drier than usual.  I love this line and hope that more and more products like these are on the way!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Most Wanted August 2012

The fall makeup and body products are now almost fully in the stores and I have been craving a good shopping spree for the past week or two now.  The fall clothing is also beginning to cath my eyes and I am so excited to get some new shoes and a tote bag before grad school begins at the very end of this month.  As much as I want to shop this time of year, I know that I can only buy some new items if I use up current products and clean out my closet.  So my goals for this month are as follows: clean out closet and made a Goodwill trip, use up as many summer body products and fragrances as possible, and to start creating my look for the fall months.  This is going to be a very busy four weeks before school begins!

The items that I must buy this month...

- Chanel Les Essentiels de Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Rose Initiale
- Chloe Love Chloe
- China Glaze On Safari Nail Lacquer in I'm Not Lion
- China Glaze On Safari Nail Lacquer in Exotic Encounters
- Too Faced The Return of Sexy Eye Shadow Palette
- NARS Duo Eye Shadow in Vent Glace
- NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Amsterdam
- Bath and Body Works Sweet on Paris Shea Enriched Shower Gel
- Julep Nail Polish in Eloise
- NARS NARSkin Aqua Gel Luminous Oil-Free Moisturizer

It seems that I will need to add cleaning out my nail polish stash this month too...I just can't wait to start my fall shopping and get ready for the new season!