Chloe See by Chloe

I am currently sampling and trying a fragrance that is intriguing me, See by Chloe is a fragrance that I originally hated the first time that I smelled it but grew to love it over the past few weeks.  I tried this scent for the first time in Sephora at the very end of winter, I put it on and immediately it reminded me of something that I had either owned or smelled many years ago.  I don't know if there was a similar scent that was out when I was in high school and other girls in school wore it or it is how a certain lip gloss used to smell but I have never placed the scent or have been able to narrow it down at all.  I guess this is why our scent of smell is the strongest, it is linked somewhere in my memory and I have yet to remember where I once smelled.  If this rings a bell for anyone else, please comment so I will stop driving myself crazy with this...

I love fragrances by Chloe and I am beginning to collect them the way that I collect Chanel fragrances.  As soon as I hear about a new one being released, I make sure that I stop in at Sephora as soon as I can to smell it and see how it works with my skin chemistry.  Normally I love every fragrance that I try from this company but there was something that I found repellent about See the first time that I tried it.  As much as I thought that I hated it, I tried it again a few weeks later because it was bothering me so much that I couldn't place where I had first smelled the similar scent.  I then jumped at the chance to get a sample of it with a Sephora order and kept using on days that I wasn't going anywhere.  And then in the middle of testing...my feelings changed and I kept liking this fragrance more every single time that I put it on.  Now I want to order a full bottle from Sephora and add it my massive perfume and Chloe fragrance collection.

I have only seen this fragrance at Sephora (at least in the area that I live in), "See By Chloé embodies femininity while blending masculine codes in an urban-chic way. This fragrance captures the audaciousness and strong personality of the Chloé woman.  An addictive floral fruity fragrance, it captures the irresistible and playful personality of a young woman fully embracing life. The fusing top of juicy bergamot and apple translate her energy and her urban edginess. Her natural femininity is conveyed through a beautiful floral bouquet of jasmine and ylang ylang that grows into a sexy veil of vanilla and addictive musks.  A strong and feminine bottle that revisits the Chloé codes combining high-end perfumery with modern details. Its refined faceted glass catches the light to give a real luxury feel. Its uniqueness also comes from its three lovely feet beneath the bottle, elevating it to create the appearance of floating. The shiny silver cap is decorated with a delicate ring to catch the bottle. "

The notes of this fragrance are: Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, Vanilla, Musk.

When I first applied this fragrance, the Apple notes come right out. The top notes of the fragrance are more tart than I thought that they would be and this might have been why I initially hated the fragrance.  Within less than an hour, the apple note calms down and the soft floral notes begin to develop and then this fragrance becomes much easier to wear.  This is a softer floral than I normally wear and it smells like nothing else that I currently own or have owned recently.  It then becomes a mixture of soft florals with the vanilla and musk notes developing and then staying on my skin for the rest of the day.

With the exception of the uniqueness of this fragrance, I am not sure why it pulled me in the way that it did.  I love the floral mixture and how it has creamy undertones that last on the skin.  I first thought that I would wear this fragrance only in the fall and winter months and then I decided that it would be a spring fragrance.  I now think that I would wear this fragrance all year long with the exception of the hottest days of the summer, I think it might be overpowering in the heat of the summer but I will have to test that theory out in a few weeks and make my final decision.

Now I have another love from Chloe and I have found a fragrance that I went from hating to loving in a matter of a few short weeks...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Current Favorites!

Spring came pretty late this year and I have mostly been using products that are suitable for the slowly changing seasons, I have not broken any of my warm weather fragrances out yet and am not yet wearing any type of bright shades.  However spring seems to finally have arrived to stay and I already have some new favorites for the beginning of the season.  My bottle of Chloe perfume has been working overtime lately and I may be adding to my list of favorite fragrances, I will be wearing this one for a long time to come yet and it is one of the best purchases that I have made in a long time.  I have also been in love with a new (to me) formula of MAC Lipstick and I am now excited to buy even more shades from this formula, I know that I have a great few months of beauty product shopping coming up!

Here are my current favorite items!

Chloe Chloe - "Capturing the spirit of women, the Chloé vision is not about one singular woman, but rather about the rich and varied personalities of all Chloé women. This fresh, smooth floral fragrance evokes sublime powdery rose. The effect is chic, comfortable, and entirely addictive.  Top notes of pink peony, freesia, and lychee embody subtle freshness. At the heart, midnotes of magnolia flower, lily of the valley, and rose rise to sublimated femininity. A base of velvety elegance comes to fruition through cedarwood, amber, and honey.  Inspired by the details in Chloé's fashion, the flacon's heavy but softly curved and grooved glass reflects femininity and strength. The plated-silver top is embossed with the Chloé mark and adorned with a hand-tied ribbon.  The notes are: Pink Peony, Freesia, Lychee, Magnolia Flower, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Cedarwood, Amber, Honey."  This perfume has been my go to since the beginning of March and I fall more in love with it every time that I use it.  The mixture of the peony, rose, and magnolia notes mix perfectly with the powdery notes and create a lovely floral that I can wear in any environment.  I have worn this fragrance to work, school, and when going out and it just fits perfectly in each time.  I have received many compliments on this fragrance and I have been relying on it for several weeks now.  This one might be up there with Stella McCartney's Stella as an absolute favorite of mine!

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Behave Yourself - "Combining the colour impact of a Lipstick with the shine sheen of a Lipglass, Sheen Supreme creates the perfect hybrid - with no compromise. Lightweight, non-sticky, slick to apply and comfortable to wear. This is a must-have for all those who have craved this kind of fusion."  Behave Yourself is a "light blue pink" that is perfect for both the spring months and my pale skin.  This lipstick formula was one that I had never tried out before but had several people recommend to me, this is one of the most hydrating and softest lipstick formulas that I have ever used, it goes on smoothly and keeps my lips very hydrated without the use of a separate balm.  When I first felt the texture of this lipstick at the counter, I assumed that it would be more of a tinted balm however it is a full pigment lipstick and I love the color payoff so much.  Behave Yourself is a light blue pink that is the perfect pink for me, I get so many ladies walking up to me and complimenting me on this shade whenever I wear it.  I want to try more shades in this formula now!

Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Dab - "A color-rich, water-resistant cream pigment for the lips, cheeks, and eyes that lasts as long as you do.  This versatile cream pigment creates the ultimate in textures on the face, eyes, lips, and anywhere else on the body you fancy. Apply with an Illamasqua brush or simply use your fingers for a buildable and highly pigmented finish that is water-resistant and long-wearing."  Dab is a "pale lilac with a matte finish".  This cream eye shadow is very pigmented and stays all day long (when used with a primer), a little bit of this product goes a very long way.  I pat a bit of this product on in the morning and it is still in place on my eyelids when I go to take off my makeup at night.  Dab is a pretty lilac without a shimmer finish, this is a lovely shade for spring and summer and I have been using it on any warm day that we have gotten so far.  I will be using this shade for the rest of the summer and it is fast becoming a warm weather staple for me.

MAC Archie's Girls Eye Shadow x 4: Caramel Sundae - "An Eye Shadow Quad in four shades: Caramel Sundae, Cheryl Chic, Dreammaker and Showstopper. The highly pigmented powder formula applies evenly, blends and builds beautifully. Limited-edition Archie's Girls packaging.  Shades are: Cheryl Chic (light coral pink with frost finish)/Dreammaker (pale frosty yellow with frost finish)/Caramel Sundae (midtone warm tan with satin finish)/Showstopper (dark cool toned brown with matte finish)."  I have been using this palette very often since I first bought it, the shades mix very well together and then with all the other neutral hues that I already owned.  When I am in a hurry, I know that I can grab this palette and combine three of the shades to get a quick but still polished eye look.  Some people have not been happy with the pigmentation of these shades, I agree that they could have more pigment but this would make them harder to wear and work with.  I can apply and mix these shades with fingers or brushes and they allow me to create a great look in less than three minutes.  I am so glad that I ordered this palette right away!

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Nomad - "A vivacious nail varnish.  Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colors that stand out. The formula is long-wearing and chip-resistant and contains individual finishes from matte to high gloss. Apply two coats for high intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish. Make a statement and talk with your hands!"  Nomad is a "bright jade with a glossy finish".  This is a bright jade green that I bought late in the winter when Pantone announced what their new Shade of the Year is.  I started using it as soon as winter ended and have been wearing it at least once a week every since.  This bright green catches the eye and the formula is the top quality one that I have come to expect from Illamaqua.  I will use this one on fingers and toes all the way through the spring and summer months!

I can't wait for the weather to get warmer and then stay warm, I am off to a great start to the spring with my current products and I only look forward to more MAC collections that are on the way and the Sephora Friends and Family so that I can get more goodies for the upcoming seasons!

photo courtesy of Sephora

My Current Favorite Beauty Products!

In the middle of June, I did a Favorites list and I was on the fence about doing another one, I am still loving many of the products that were on the list and I didn't want to write up a list that was exactly the same this month.  I am still into keeping a great fake tan and making sure that I don't fall into the hot weather rut of simply grabbing the same products over and over again.  I have fallen into that trap for a few summers in a row and I refuse to fall into it again this year.  That being said, I still have some of the same favorites but my tastes have been changing over the past few weeks.  My self tan is now fully developed and I have fallen comfortably into that routine and have been choosing shades that complement it.  I stopped summer product shopping well over a month ago and am now beginning to collect shades that I can use both now and in the fall months or products that I am putting away for after Labor Day.

Being that I am really into the self tanning routine now, I am all over bright shades for my tips and lips to complement the bronzed look.  Illamasqua's Collide Nail Varnish was on my last Top Five List and it still tops this one, this neon pink is simply one of the best pinks and a consistent favorite of mine.  I believe that it will remain a favorite hue of mine all through the beginning of fall.

So what am I loving right now?!

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Aquadelic - "China Glaze is a professional-level nail enamel made with a special balance of polymers and resins that combine to create a nail lacquer that is long lasting, chip-resistant and resistant to color and shine fading.  Will not thicken in the bottle, no thinners necessary."  Aquadelic is a shade that came out with the spring Electropop collection, this shade is a bright turquoise cream that pops out against a tan.  I initally tried this shade on my toes and was a bit hesistant to wear it on my hands during the spring months but now that summer is in full swing, I have been rocking it as much as I can.  I never fail to get compliments on this color and I get two to three full days of wear from this shade with very minimal chipping.  I love this shade and this is one of my summer favorites, I am very glad that I left my comfort zone and bought this at Ulta several months ago.

Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Collide - "Leave your mark with bold, rich, vibrant colours that stand out.  The formula is hardwearing and chip resistant and contains individual finishes from matte to high gloss.  Apply two coats for high intensity and use with Illamasqua Nail Base Coat and Illamasqua Nail Top Coat for the perfect finish.  Make a statement and talk with your hands!"  Collide is a "bright neon pink" with a satin finish.  I have been wearing this pink hue for about two months now and it is one of the few polishes that I turn to at least once a week.  This bright pink is very vibrant against my fake tan and simply screams "Summer!" to me.  I just bought a vintage Lilly Pultizer dress and this pink shade is the exact same shade that is used in the dress, yet another reason for me to love this polish!

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Body Vitamin Body Wash - "Our mint-infused body wash provides an invigorating sensation while cleansing and refreshing skin.  Wake-you-up formula deeply nourishes with Vitamins A, C, and E to keep skin extra-healthy and looking its best.  Infused with cooling peppermint for an invigorating experience."  This body wash and matching products are my savior during the hot, humid months of the summer.  The cooling peppermint oil acts like an air conditioner for your body and manages to cool me off even while I am still in the shower.  This wash is perfect for morning or night; in the morning, it helps to wake me up and help me start my day and in the evening, it helps to rinse all the sweat and dirt from the day off.  I also use this after going running and it is the perfect product for an after workout shower.  This product is best in the summer, it is too strong for any other time of the year.  This is one of C.O. Bigelow's best body product blends.

NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in Schiap - "A modern semi-matte lipstick that provides full-bodied, velvety color in a highly pigmented and non-drying formula.  Longwearing, full coverage finish.  Rich, vivid shade range from neutrals to high fashion hues.  Patened blend of conditioners and antioxidants hydrate, nourish, and protect lips."  Schiap is a "shocking matte pink" and works well with a bronzed or pale complexion.  I have been reaching for this shade when dressing up for day or night recently and it has taken the place of my beloved red lips for summertime drama.  I will be wearing it all the way through the fall since bright matte lips will remain a top trend.  This lipstick formula lasts for several hours and stays on well through eating and drinking.  The formula can be slightly drying after an hour or two so I do need a separate lip balm with it.  This is one of my favorite lipstick formulas and I add to my collection of them almost everytime that I head to Sephora.

Chloe L'Eau de Chloe - "L'Eau de Chloe is elegance injected with a modern twist.  It's an utterly innate sense of chic with the fresh feeling of springtime pastels, light dresses, and rose petals.  This smooth and comfortable fragrance is a toally addictive floral mix.  Made with 22 percent natural rosewater, the scent is fresh, carefree, and feminine with a delicate and lively mix of rose, floral notes, and green outdoorsy notes.  The notes of this fragrance are - Grapefruit, Cedrat, Peach, Violet, Rose Petals, Natural Water of Rose, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Amber."  I originally bought and reviewed this perfume earlier in the spring and had no room for it on my dresser.  Having finally used a few body products at the beginning of this summer, I cleared enough room to get it out.  This light floral scent starts out with the grapefruit notes and then goes quickly into the rose notes.  This is one of the few grapefruit scents that I really wear since it contains all the rose notes and rosewater in the  formula.  The fragrance develops into a floral mix of rose notes and the cedarwood that lasts all day on my skin.  I wear the original version of this scent all year but this version is special for the warmer weather months.

I know that we have been looking at the fall collections of the past few weeks but summer is still in full swing and I will be making use of all of my summer beauty products until Labor Day!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Chloe Chloe

With the all hype around the new Chloe L'Eau de Chloe fragrance, I remembered how much I wanted the original version of this fragrance when it came out several years ago.  I know that I really wanted this fragrance but just never got around to purchasing a bottle (for some reason or another) and I jumped at the chance to get a sample of it when I was making one of my many Sephora orders.  I have playing around with the sample over the past few days and I have officially fallen in love with this great rose fragrance and now have yet another fragrance that I want to buy (and still have no room for!).  This is one of those few great floral fragrances that is light enough for the spring and summer months but still complex enough to wear in the fall and winter months.  I love finding scents like this because I wear them all the time!

I found this product's full description on the Sephora website.  "Capturing the spirit of women, the Chloe vision is not about one singular woman, but rather about the rich and varied personalities of all Chloe women.  This fresh, smooth floral fragrance evokes sublime powdery rose.  The effect is chic, comfortable, and entirely addictive.  Top notes of peony, freesia, and lychee embody subtle freshness.  At the heart, midnotes of magnolia flower, lily of the valley, and rose rise to sublimated femininity.  A base of velvety elegance comes to fruition through cedarwood, amber, and honey.  Inspired by the details in Chloe's fashion, the flacon's heavy but softly curved and grooved glass reflects femininity and strength.  The plated-silver top is embossed with the Chloe mark and adorned with a hand-tied ribbon." 

The notes of the fragrance are: Pink Peony, Freesia, Lychee, Magnolia Flower, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Cedarwood, Amber, Honey.  The Pink Peony note comes out on my skin right after application and then within the next few minutes, the Rose and Magnolia notes come out.  The Cedarwood and Magnolia notes are the notes that remain on my skin the longest and make the fragrance last all day on my skin.  This fragrance is more of a subtle, powdery rose than Jo Malone's Red Roses and is lighter than Stella McCartney.  It is a contender to be one of my favorite rose fragrances!

This fragrance is available in a full range of sizes in the EDP and a rollerball.  The rollerball is the most practical for me right now since space is at a minimum on my bureau.  I will most likely buy a rollerball now and then later on buy a full bottle of the EDP.  This fragrance is also available in a full range of fragranced body products.  It comes in a Perfumed Deodorant Spray, Perfumed Body Cream, Perfumed Body Lotion, Perfumed Shower Gel, and Body Cream Scrub.  Personally, I can skip over the Perfumed Deodorant Spray but I want the rest of the body products, with the Perfumed Body Cream being my first choice from the collection.

The last thing that I needed to add to my shopping list is yet another perfume but this one is just so special to me that I must at least purchase the rollerball now and then the rest full size perfume and the rest of the body products a months down the line.  This is a rare fragrance in that I can wear all year round and in many different places.  I could easily pull this fragrance off at work and it is still lovely to wear when going out at night, it is a rare fragrance that is as versatile as this one and I can see myself going through many bottles of it in the next few years.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Chloe L'Eau de Chloe

I have been very silent regarding perfumes and fragrances lately, in fact I haven't purchased a new fragrance this spring up until last week.  The reason behind this fact is that I have so many half-used bottles of perfume and I have been trying to use them up and clear more room on my dresser.  You could accurately state that I don't even have room for one more bottle in my collection.  I was determined to get through the spring and use up at least one entire bottle and begin to make a dent in my pile of samples before I bought anything new.  That resolution went well for a few months, I tried a few different fragrances on when I was at Sephore but nothing was really catching my eye and I was working through my sample pile without being tempted to order any of the fragrances in their full-sized bottles.  I did well until I smelled the new Chloe scent, L'Eau de Chloe in a beauty magazine.

I really liked it on the page in the magazine and decided that this would be the fragrance that I tried on my wrist the next time that I went to Sephora.  This fragrance has a prominent rose note in it so I knew that I would love it before I even put it on.  And I did love it from the moment that it began to dry down, knowing that eventually I would be adding to my collection this spring.  I held out for a month but that Sephora VIB 15% coupon killed me (there was another trip after the first...) and I bought a bottle of this about a week ago.

"L'Eau de Chloe is elegance injected with a modern twist.  It's an utterly innate sense of chic with the fresh feeling of springtime pastels, light dresses, and rose petals.  This smooth and comfortable fragrance is a totally addictive floral mix.  Made with 22 percent natural rose water, the scent is fresh, carefree, and totally feminine with a delicate and lively mix of rose, floral notes, and green outdoorsy notes." 

The notes of the fragrance are: Grapefruit, Cedrat, Peach, Violet, Rose Petals, Natural Water of Rose, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Amber.  The strongest note when I first spray it on is the grapefruit note.  The fragrance then dries down into a strong rose and violet fragrance, the base being rounded out by the cedarwood note.  I barely smell the peach and patchouli notes of this fragrance on my skin, a good thing since I haven't been really liking some of the peach notes that I have been smelling in many of the new fragrances for the spring.  The rose note is the strongest, making this a great fragrance for me.

This was marketed as a lighter, more springy version of the traditional Chloe fragrance.  I don't own the original fragrance but I remember it to be a rose fragrance that was still light enough for the warm weather.  I think the addition of the grapefruit was what set this fragrance apart from the original.  Grapefruit notes don't always work well with my skin chemistry but the rose notes in this fragrance temper it enough that it works well on my skin. 

This is one of the lighter fragrances that I own and the lasting power is fair.  Several sprays last about four or five hours on my skin, not great but longer than some other fragrances last.  So far I have only found this fragrance in an EDT form, perhaps it would last longer in an EDP form.  The lasting power is my least favorite aspect of this product, I wish that Sephora would bring it out in rollerball form so that I could throw it in my purse for touch-ups.

I still need to keep working on using up some of the perfumes that I have open on my dresser already, I only opened this product to try it out and to test out the wear of the product and then I put it back into the box since I still have no room for the bottle.  My goal is to find the room for this product by the end of the month of May, this fragrance is great for spring and will work very well all the way through the summer months.  Last note - the Chloe scarf on the bottle just makes me feel lovely and I just love the simplicity of the square bottle design.

photo courtesy of Sephora