Happy V-Day to Me!

So today is Valentine’s Day. In between the launch of Hello Kitty and my large group project for class, I actually somehow forgot about this holiday. But, really, I hate Valentine’s Day and my thoughts on love and marriage can be summed up with these quotes from my favorite show.

- “Who needs a wife when you have a life?” - Richard Wright

- “Marriage doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. Just an ending.” - Samantha Jones

- “You're engaged!” - Charlotte York

“I threw up. I saw the ring and I threw up. That can't be normal.” - Carrie Bradshaw

“That's my reaction to marriage.” Samantha Jones

- “All married couples stop having sex eventually.” - Samantha Jones

“That's not true, you've had sex with plenty of married people.” - Miranda Hobbes

“That's how I know!” - Samantha Jones

- “Did they actually use the term ‘soul mates’. Then I give them three months” - Mr. Big

In the tradition of the holiday, I woke up in the morning to find a beautifully wrapped gift addressed to myself. I opened it up to discover a little gift from me to me. I received the Dylan’s Candy Bar Strawberry Licorice Soda Pop Shower Gel, Strawberry Licorice Body Smoothie Lotion, and the Philosophy Frosted Pink Layer Cake 3 in 1.

I had raved about the Dylan’s Candy Bar line when it first came out and came to love the Chocolate Cupcake products. I was so in love with that scent and I was really excited to try the Strawberry Licorice products to use in the warmer weather.

The shower gel description is right here, “It's time to indulge in a delicious shower with Dylan's Candy Bar's Strawberry Licorice Soda Pop Shower Gel. This skin-moisturizing, super-lathering Re-Treat Body Wash combines Soapwort Extract with an ultra-moisturizing blend of Aloe Vera, Vitamin E, and Jojoba Seed Oil to create the ultimate cleansing experience.” The body lotion description is right here, “Re-Treat Body Lotion is rich in vitamins A and E, as well as hydrating herbal extracts of Aloe Vera and Chamomile to moisturize and soften your skin.”
Gifts like this make this icky holiday very bearable…

photo courtesy of Sephora

Dylan's Candy Bar

Anyone who knows me well knows about my obsession with foody smelling perfumes and body products. If it smells like cotton candy, marshmallow fluff, cupcakes, or any other assorted treats, I will buy it without a second thought. When Bath and Body Works had their fantastic Tutti Dolci line in stock, I could satisfy this whim anytime that I went to the mall. However, this line was tragically discontinued and now I am at the mercy of etailers to find my sweet scents. I have nothing against any etailer (in fact, I have gotten fantastic products from them!) but I really like to be able to apply the scent to my skin before I buy it. Several months ago, on Makeup Alley, I read that Dylan’s Candy Bar was releasing a line of bath and body products for Sephora. Immediately, I started a countdown to the day that it would be available (online only unfortunately).

Dylan’s Candy Bar was founded by Dylan Lauren (daughter of designer Ralph Lauren) and quickly became a huge hit in New York. The first time that I read about the candy store was in a Lucky several years ago when Bobbi Brown decided to debut her new collection by throwing a party at Dylan’s Candy Bar. Makeup, cotton candy, and bright pink bubble gum martinis?! I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I first read about this place.

Dylan Lauren is a self confessed beauty junkie and wanted to combine her love of sweets and high quality beauty products (I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!). She hooked up with a group of chemists so that she could learn to create high quality, great smelling products that were still good for the skin. Her products do not contain parabens, propylene glycol, SLSs, and are not tested on animals.
The November Issue of Allure did a write up on this new line. They interviewed Lauren about her scents and how they were created. She picked the scents based on some of her best selling products in the candy store and by what scents she thought would translate well into body products. Her biggest challenge was getting the products to smell exactly like their food counterpart. To overcome this hurdle, she brought the chemists the real sweets and when through many rounds and samples to pick the high quality scents.

There are four scents in this collection. They are as follows: Birthday Cake Batter, Chocolate Cupcake, Strawberry Licorice, and Coconut Bon Bon. The scents are all available in a body wash, body lotion, sugar scrub, and a heavier body butter.

The only thing that is making me unhappy about this line is that so far, it is not in the stores yet. A Sales Associate at my local Sephora told me that it would be in stores before the holiday season. Ummmm…which begins, like right now. Hopefully this means that it will be out within the next few weeks. My hardest choice with this line will be deciding what scent to get first but at the moment, Chocolate Cupcake is coming out as the clear winner.

photo courtesy of Sephora