LUSH Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb

I rarely focus on the same brand two days in a row but my latest Lush haul is temporarily changing the way that I like to blog.  I have been digging around in my latest package from this company and thinking about the lovely Twilight Bath Bomb yesterday made me want to take another LUSH bath last night.  Therefore, today we are looking at the Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb and then we are going to move onto a few different brands and products in the next few days.  There are very few LUSH products that I do not love and Tisty Tosty is going to be yet another one of my favorite products from this company.  I wish that we had a store closer to my house as I either have to drive over an hour to visit one of these stores or I have to order all the products online and hope that I like the fragrances that I pick out.

Tisty Tosty is one of the few floral bath bombs that I have found from this company, this is a true floral fragrance and not one that mixes florals with either vanilla or fruit notes.  You will only like this Bath Bomb if you love true floral fragrances and I am sure that this is not a product for everyone.  This will be a favorite of mine but I cannot see this being one of the best selling bath products from LUSH, it does not have much universal appeal but will end of up being one of their products that achieves cult status among its devotees.

"At the heart of the matter, Tisty Tosty is a bathtime love potion that's made to stir passions. Drop it into the tub to luxuriate among the romantic aromas of rose and jasmine absolutes, and watch as whole rosebuds saunter across the softening waters. Invite a friend to share your bath—it'll be love at first sniff with this sensual fizzer!", states the LUSH USA website.  This website also states that this product was created as a limited edition for Valentine's Day several years ago and then ended up being such a crowd-pleaser that the company decided to keep it in the permanent line up.  I do not remember when the product initially released and I can't find this date anywhere in my past posts so this must have been released quite a few years ago.

This Bath Bomb contains a very strong mix of rose and jasmine notes and the fragrance lingered in my bathroom for several hours after my nighttime bath.  The bomb released dried rose petals as soon as the product hit the warm water and began to explode.  One of my favorite pleasures in life is watching any LUSH Bath Bomb explode in the water and seeing all of the assorted treats inside start pouring out.  With my love of floral fragrances and rose petals, this bomb was destined to be a favorite of mine and I will order a few more of these in the next few weeks.

I wish that I had found this Bath Bomb earlier, it was hidden at the bottom of the LUSH Bath Bomb category and I have never seen it displayed well during any of my store visits.  These facts back up my surmises that this will be a cult product but never one with universal appeal.  I have always loved LUSH Bath Bombs and this is yet another one of my favorites and will be repurchased over and over again!

photo courtesy of LUSH

Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose

I feel like I haven't talked about fragrances since the beginning of the month, the holidays are normally one of the best times to go fragrance shopping however this year hasn't been living up to my expectations in that regard.  With the exception of Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black, it seems that next to nothing has been appealing to me lately.  There is one fragrance that I have now tried several times since the end of the summer and I have been waiting to see if it grows on me but I have officially come to the final conclusion that it will not be working for me at all.  Lancôme Tresor Midnight Rose falls into the category of fragrances that I really wanted to love but they didn't love me back...

I have tried a few Lancôme summer fragrances over the years however I have never owned one of their core fragrances, many of these have been best sellers over the years but I have not yet found one that has worked well for me.  I was hoping that Tresor Midnight Rose would be the winner, I get excited whenever I can find a new rose fragrance to try and this bottle would look beautiful on display in my room. 

"Charming. Mischievous. Desirable. It is time for a new love story to begin, when love is still to be conquered, full of smiles, mystery, and charm. It is the game of love. Set in Paris, the playground for a romantic game of hide and seek. A sexy, sweet blend of raspberry, rose, vanilla, and sensual musk for mischievous femininity: catch my heart if you can.", states the Sephora website. 

The notes of Tresor Midnight Rose are: Blackcurrant, Raspberry, Rose Absolute, Jasmine, Vanilla, Cedar, Musk.

The Black Currant and Raspberry notes are the first to come out on my skin and are the ones that kill the fragrance for me.  The fragrance never seems to fully develop on me, the Rose and Jasmine notes are very faint and the top notes never abate and fade.  This is one of the rare fragrances that starts with the top notes and then goes right into the base notes, the Vanilla notes develops before any of the floral notes and then the fragrance becomes a sweet mixture of the berry and the vanilla notes.  At this point, Tresor Midnight Rose becomes a cloying mixture of sweet berries and vanilla.  I found this fragrance to be more of a gourmand fragrance instead of the floral mixture that I was hoping for. 

I first tried this fragrance at the very end of the summer and I was hoping that it was just the heat that was making the perfume develop oddly on my skin.  I tried this fragrance on while I was getting ready to leave Sephora and the humidity outside brought the sweet berry notes on my skin.  I didn't like the fragrance then but I wanted to give it another try in the hopes that the heat was the issue this time.  The last two times that I used Tresor Midnight Rose, it was during cooler and dry weather and the fragrance developed in exactly the same fashion on my skin.  I came to the conclusion that this fragrance was never going to work on my skin in the fashion that I was hoping it to. 

Tresor Midnight Rose will be very appealing to someone who loves sweet gourmand fragrances.  The berry and vanilla notes in this perfume overwhelm the rose notes and turn this fragrance into one that I would have loved but I could not wear on my skin.  Berry notes and I have never gotten along and this perfume is yet another example of this issue...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Dior Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet

I have been playing around with a new fragrance that I received a few samples of on my last Sephora orders, the past two orders that I made I ordered the same perfume samples from since nothing else was interesting to me.  Earlier this spring is the first time that I had seen the newest version of the classic Miss Dior perfume, I believe that I have seen another version of the fragrance when I was graduating college and that version was sweeter instead of the more musky original from Dior.  Blooming Bouquet is the newest version and it is my favorite between the new versions and the original.

I first tried a sample of this fragrance late last month with a Sephora order and then picked it as a sample again when I ordered at the very beginning of this month.  I loved this fragrance when I first wore it but later came to decide that I couldn't make a good purchase decision until I had worn it several times.  Why?  To make a long story very short...this lovely floral fragrance has no lasting power and fades much too quickly for my taste.  Quite a change from the very strong original version of this fragrance and this makes me wonder how much the original was revamped and watered down to create the Blooming Bouquet fragrance.

"Discover Blooming Bouquet, the newest interpretation of Miss Dior. Created for an irresistibly charming and flirtatious woman, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet embodies the couture spirit of Dior in a sparkling and sensual essence. Unfurling a delicate blend of Sicilian orange essence to reveal a tender floral heart, the fragrance unveils notes of pink peony and Damascus rose. As a finishing touch, white musks softly envelop this light and sensual floral bouquet.  The bottle is a true work of art, expertly showcasing Dior’s savoir faire. The houndstooth pattern made famous by Christian Dior is embossed on the base, while a sleek metallic bow adorns the neck.", states the Sephora website.

The Sephora website goes on to further describe the notes that make up this fragrance.  "Sicilian Orange Essence, Pink Peony, Damascus Rose, White Musks.", is what make up this lovely fragrance and the combination is what makes me love it.  I love the mixture of peony and rose and this is the combination that is contained in one of my favorite fragrances (Stella McCartney) and I am very excited to have this combination in a fragrance that I can wear in the spring and summer.  The note combination should have made this fragrance a must buy for me.

So why did I need two sample bottles of this fragrance to make a decision?  I love the notes of this fragrance and I love the way that it develops on my skin but it has no lasting power.  There seems to be no base to this fragrance and therefore it fades in less than two hours so I need to keep reapplying it throughout the day.  To add insult to injury...Dior doesn't even offer this fragrance in a rollerball format that I could keep it in my bag and quickly apply it throughout the day.  I would have to drag the perfume bottle around with me all throughout the day and this is not what I had in mind.  I drag enough around with me everyday and I don't need to add a bottle of perfume to my massive collection of binders and books.  If this perfume was offered in a rollerball, I would be a bit less irritated but I have to buy the perfume bottles.

This version of Miss Dior is the spring version of Stella for me but I am annoyed with how fast the fragrance fades and I have still not yet decided if I will buy this fragrance or not.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire

We are in that lull period between the end of the summer collections and the beginning of the fall collections, this is the time of the year that I spend most of my time trying new fragrances and skincare items out.  I have all the makeup and nail polish that I could possibly need until after Labor Day and now I will begin to save up my beauty product money for new items for fall.  The fragrances that I will be trying out this time of the year often become ones that I will want to set aside for the fall, I am working my way through my huge fragrance sample collection and looking for fragrances that I will want for the fall and winter.  For beauty product shopping purposes only...I am basically done and over with summer.

Yesterday, I reviewed a new Chloe fragrance and found a fragrance that I could wear all year long.  I have a very hard time finding fragrances that I find work well in all seasons and this one is a new gem.  I have more than one huge samples of that scent so I will revisit once I have actually managed to use both of them up.  But I have a feeling that this one is a winner for me and now we will see if I have another winner today.  Today we are looking at a fragrance from the legendary House of Guerlain and one that will be set aside for the fall and winter months (if it is a winner). 

When buying French perfumes, I tend to head right to the House of Chanel and have not given many of the fragrances from Guerlain the proper test drives.  When I started thinking about why, I stumbled one root cause...many of the famous fragrances from Guerlain are harder to find in my area and would require online ordering without smelling or picking up a new fragrance when I head up to New York City.  I read such lovely reviews about them and The Perfume Guide loves many of their fragrances but they are on harder side to find for me.

Today's fragrance is La Petite Robe Noire, a fragrance that I read about in Vogue or Allure several years ago and never realized that it was only released in Europe.  I remember freaking out that it had a rose note in it and looking high and low for it every time that I went to Sephora.  I eventually forgot about it until I saw it last fall at Sephora (as a "new" release) and I was able to find a sample of it with one of my orders.  I think my expectations may have been too high after how long I waited for this fragrance...

"An absolutely essential and utterly irresistible perfumed creation. The legendary heart-shaped bottle has been boldly reinterpreted with a modern touch. Its crystalline transparency, fading from black to powdery pink, reveals the silhouette of the little, black dress.  Its simple signature enhances and romances several exceptional materials in a bold overdose—black cherry blinks the first wink. It is illustrated by a clever blend that extends exquisite almond and delicious berries. The second wink takes place as rose enters the stage. Finally, the shadowy temptations of licorice and smoky black tea are ever-so-revealing and lead to irresistible seduction. For the ultimate temptation, the entire creation is wrapped in Guerlinade—fresh, enigmatic, and exhilarating, mischievous and captivating.", states the Sephora website.

I like this fragrance very much but it is not the unique creation that it was hyped up to be.  If you like Chanel No.5 or any type of fragrance like this, you will like this scent.  There is a Rose heart note and Tea notes make it muskier as it settles on my skin.  Maybe my skin is unique but I get none of the Cherry top note and the fragrance goes right into the musky floral territory on me.  The Almond scent is also very faint on me and is barely perceptible unless you are smelling it and trying to find it.  The lack of those two notes isn't a issue for me but it makes the fragrance much less unique than if those were in the mix on my skin.  The fragrance lasts all day on my skin and I will enjoy wearing it in the cooler weather months, I will be putting the rest of this sample aside until October and then finish it up.

This fragrance would work well for getting dressed up and going out or for a professional environment, I would wear this fragrance in any circumstance that I would wear Chanel No. 5 or Coco Mademoiselle.  I have a feeling that I will buy this fragrance in the full sized bottle once the cold weather is upon us but I can't say that it is unique enough for me run out and buy right away.  There are very few rose fragrances that I wouldn't buy and I know that I will get use from this fragrance several times a week once the fall starts.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Balenciaga Florabotanica

Many of you know that as soon as I start replacing my skincare products and many several orders from the Sephora website, I then have a brand new crop of fragrance samples to try and review.  The same holds true for all the skincare and primers that I have been ordering so far this month and now we are turning the tide and I am trying out the new fragrances that have been coming with my orders.  I have been trying to get as many different samples as I can and have been using my VIB points to try out larger sizes of fragrances that I really think that would suit me.  I have been looking for a new fragrance (or three) for the beginning of summer and now I am full onto that project!

Today I am looking at the newer fragrance from Balenciaga, Florabotanica.  I have heard very mixed reviews of this fragrance and initially ignored it when it was first released.  I really like the first fragrance from this line but this one left a bad taste in my mouth when I first heard about it.  I think that I was most turned off by the fact that Kristen Stewart was the face of this fragrance, I couldn't stand her when she was in the Twilight series and her overall style and the why that she carries herself does not appeal to me.  Using her as the muse of this fragrance immediately put me off of trying it and I went right by it for several months.  I don't think that I ever would have tried this fragrance had it not been a Sephora free sample and I decided that I really had nothing to lose by trying it for a few days...

I think that I ordered this sample when the choices were not the best and I really had next to nothing to lose with trying something very new and different.  I will admit that this is the first sample that tried when I got my package because I was so curious to see what a fragrance that had Kristen Stewart as the face of it would actually smell like.  This sample came with one of the first orders that I made for new skincare and I put off reviewing it for so long since I was somewhat divided on what my thoughts of it were...I hated it at first but then liked it more and more each and every single time that I used it.  This is one of the few times that I used through an entire sample without coming to a full conclusion as to what my thoughts were on it. 

The stars must have been shining in my favor because soon after this was listed as one of the large VIB samples from Sephora and I have a good sized vial of it and have used it enough to come to a conclusion.  My conclusion - I freaking love this fragrance but have a feeling that my love could turn to hate very quickly.  And then vice versa as soon as I don't use it for a few months.  I have never smelled anything like this before and I find this to be a harder fragrance to wear...so I have a new favorite!

"Florabotanica evokes ambivalent bewitching beauty. Velvety and thorny, flirting with hemp and vetiver roots. The scent is flowery, developed on a rose note with a narcotic hemp twist. The wearer is beautiful but dangerous, like some rare botanical species.  Florabotanica is the fragrance of the Balenciaga botanic garden. It instills the brand with modernity and colors. While Balenciaga Paris paid tribute to the genius of Cristobal, this scent celebrates Nicolas’s futuristic perspective. The various facets of Nicolas’s inspiration are reflected in the bottle and outer box. The rich and surprising mix match of architectural lines, vivid colors, and venomous floral prints recurrent in Balenciaga’s fashion are translated into Florabotanica’s unique packaging.", states the Sephora website.

The notes of the fragrance are: Carnation, Wild Mint, Turkish Rose Essence, Hemp Leaves, Vetiver Roots, White Amber.

When this fragrance is initially applied to this skin, it is nose burning strong.  It literally gave me a sharp headache the first time that I used it and my first thought was how fast could I get this fragrance off my skin.  The Mint and Carnation burn my nose and the Hemp notes only add to the effect...thank goodness that this initial effect only lasts for about two minutes and then begins to fade and settle down very quickly.  The initial notes remain and then the Rose and Vetiver notes come out and then fragrance develops in a full and unique floral fragrance.  This is when I fell in love with the fragrance and wanted a bottle of it for myself.  This fragrance took me several tries to fall in love with it and I will be investing a bottle very soon.

As much as I love this fragrance at the moment, I know that I will fall out of love with it very soon and I will find it overwhelming and it will begin to give me headaches.  I will stop using it for a few weeks and then as soon I try it out again...I will be in love all over again!  This is a unique fragrance and I am on the fence as to whether or not it could be used in a professional environment, I am leaning on a "yes" since once it calms down, it is much less strong than the original burst of Mint and Carnation.

I still don't like Kristen Stewart but I do have a new love for the fragrance that she is the face of.  This will be a fragrance that I buy a full bottle of but I still feel that I will buy more than one scent.  The fragrance is best for spring and then the fall and winter, I cannot see myself wearing this fragrance in the heat of the summer as I think that it will get too strong to stand and my love will turn to dislike very quickly.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Bond No. 9 Madison Square Park

As many of you know, I have taken to ordering samples of Bond No 9 fragrances from Amazon, I don't live anywhere close to a store where I could really smell and try the fragrances a few times before I decide to invent in one and I have been craving fragrances from this line all spring.  High Line was the first fragrance that I tried out from this line, it is very green and light and became a great fragrance for to me use as the season's were changing.  I liked the scent a lot and it was quite unique, I was just unhappy about how fast the lovely fragrance faded away on my skin.  I am still on the fence about this fragrance, I love it and I haven't found a green scent like this yet but I plan to try and find a green scent that lasts longer on my skin than this one.  And I have realized that I might not find a long lasting green scent since they are mostly comprised of top notes and these are not the notes that will make a fragrance last all day. 

The second fragrance sample that I ordered is Madison Square Park, the sample that I was the most excited to try out and is one of the top rated fragrances from this perfume line.  I have wanted a bottle of this fragrance since I first saw it several springs ago but have always run into the issue of not begin able to try the fragrance out before I ordered it.  I must admit that I never thought of ordering samples before and I searched it on Amazon with little idea of what would come back at me.  I was so excited to see that I could get my hands on samples and really try them out before deciding what bottles that I must own. 

Madison Square Park is a floral fragrance and contains middle notes of both Rose and Tulip, two favorites of mine.  I knew before trying this fragrance that I would like the blend but I wanted to try this fragrance first to make sure that it was unique enough to order a full bottle of.  I found the product description and the notes from the Nordstrom website and this is the website where I would be most likely to order it from.

"Madison Square Park was the height of fashion in the Gilded Age. Today, it's back in hip-and-cool revival mode. So now is the time for a neighborhood eau de parfum.  The vibrant neon pink and green bottle has a removable, Deco-Modern rose-blossom bracelet which can be used as a bracelet or brooch. Wear its double rows of beads on your wrist or detach the vintage-style rose centerpiece to use as a brooch. Ah, perfume and jewelry! A beloved combination."

The notes are: Grape Hyacinth, Huckleberry, Prairie Dropseed Grass, Red Leaf Rose, Red Hunter Tulips, Teakwood.

This fragrance is a green floral, it is crisper than your traditional pink floral fragrance and more unique than many of the reviews on Makeup Alley gave it credit for.  The Grass note is evident right as I put the fragrance on and only fades away a little bit as the fragrance develops, creating the green floral combination that makes this scent unique.  At this point in the beginning of the development, the fragrance does have a tart berry note to it, I have no idea what a Huckleberry is supposed to smell like but it reminds me of a tart Blackberry note.  This aspect fades quite quickly and its not evident as the middle notes begin to emerge.  After the fragrance begins to develop, the Rose and Tulip notes become very evident and then are present in the fragrance as it fades out. 

The wear time for this fragrance is much better than that of High Line but this fragrance has more power in the middle notes and should last much longer.  I get a good eight to ten hours of wear from this fragrance and it smells mostly floral throughout the whole wear time.  I do believe that this will be one of the first Bond No 9 fragrances that I order this summer.

A note on the bottle - people either love or hate this bottle.  I love the fake rose and the combination of my two favorite colors.  I think this bottle is bright and happy and would be proud to display it on my vanity.  However, the other camp hates this bottle and find it to be an eyesore.  Whatever you think of the bottle, the juice inside is lovely and high quality.

One more Bond No 9 sample to try and review but I think that I have found my early favorite from this fragrance line!

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Escada Especially Escada

As you all know, I have been playing with perfume samples all spring and have not had much luck in finding my newest fragrance love for this season.  Lately that seems to have been changing, I liked how unique the fragrance High Line from Bond No 9 is and my newest sample has been the real winner so far.  I have acquired several samples of Especially Escada from past Sephora orders and I have started wearing it twice or three times a week for the past two and my love affair with this fragrance has begun.  I am so happy that I have found a fragrance that I love in the middle of the Sephora Friends and Family and I have already added the rollerball to my cart.  I guess that the second order will be occurring sooner than I thought that it would...

This fragrance I have seen only at Sephora so far and I have never used a fragrance from this company before so I went in completely open-minded and with no idea of what to expect (quality-wise).  I know that this company has had fragrances out before the release of this one but I have never gotten around to trying any of them and since most of them seemed to be tropical fruit-based fragrances, I was never really interested in this line of products.  It seems like all of the bottles looked very similar when I looked at them on the Sephora website and this one looked very different and I am happy to report that this is a fabulous floral that could worn for many different occasions!

"A luxurious and feminine scent, Especially Escada carries a joyful, spontaneous, and glamorous spirit. Inspired by the glistening scent of morning dew on a sparkling rose, Especially Escada says luxury, but in a modern and light-hearted way.  The fragrance opens with a sparkling top note of pear and combines with the exotic notes of ambrette seeds. A luxurious combination of rose and ylang ylang radiates a fresh and natural aura of floral joy and happiness. Light musky notes complete the scent, adding a subtle touch of femininity."

The notes of this fragrance are: Pear, Rose, Ambrette Seeds, Ylang Ylang, Musky Notes.

This is another rose fragrance and it is no wonder that I loved my sample from the moment that I first used it, I wasn't aware of what was in when I used it the first time and I consulted the Sephora IPhone app to determine what notes were in it that was making it work so well for me.  The fragrance does start out with the pear notes, one time it smelled almost citrus on me when I first applied it and then the floral notes begin coming out within the half hour.  The rose note is the strongest on my skin and this note stays on me for the entire wear time of the fragrance.  I get very little of the musk notes at the bottom, this fragrance stays much more of a true rose and the base notes never really develop.  This is fine with me since it keeps it light and fresh enough to wear during any type of weather and many different occasions.  I could wear this fragrance when going out or just as easily for a casual lunch date or the office. 

This fragrance is very similar to Jo Malone's Red Roses and Dior's Dior Addict 2, it is light and fresh and very easy to wear.  I love a good rose scent and this is one of the best that I have tried all spring.  I will order the rollerball first and then I will order the full bottle when I have some more space cleared aside on my dresser, I have a 75% used up bottle of Valentino's Rock and Rose that will not last much past the beginning of the summer and I will have several candidates for a bottle to fill up the space very soon!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Bond No 9 High Line

Bond No 9 is a fragrance brand that I have been curious about for years, this brand is very hard to find so I basically skipped over it for a long time since these fragrances were out of my reach.  Last winter I had been given a bottle of Chinatown from a wonderful Makeup Alley member as a gift and the few times that I used it so far have made me really begin to fall in love with this unique brand.  At the very beginning of the spring season, Sephora began to carry a limited number of their fragrances, I have yet to see them in the stores so I believe they will be online only but this is another avenue for me to order and try this line (Sephora has a great return policy and I could trade a bottle for another fragrance if I ordered one and didn't like it).  Then within the last few weeks, Nordstrom announced that this entire brand would be available on their website and in select stores, opening the brand up to me even more.  I spent some of the time that I was on vacation from work reading about this brand and their fragrances and I then decided to buy several sample from Amazon to start finding a fragrance for me to order.

Yes...I ordered and paid for perfume samples.  There are simply too many fragrances that I thought sounded great for me to try at once when I would actually get to a counter and I couldn't order every fragrance and then return it if I wasn't a fan.  I started with several that I would wear in the spring and summer and will repeat my order with fragrances for the fall months later on this year.  I am using the fragrances one at a time, almost every day, so that I can really try them out and see how the notes react with my skin chemistry.  I already own too much perfume and I can't buy fragrances that I don't love and I love trying the samples out for several days to really live with it and make a solid decision.

I started with High Line for the spring months, I had initially wanted to try the I Love New York; Earth Day fragrance when I saw it on the Sephora website but I couldn't find any reviews and no one on the Makeup alley boards had tried it before.  I visited the Bond No 9 Facebook pages and asked for some thoughts on it and High Line was recommended to me as a more unique and true green fragrance.  I have a lack of good green scents in my collection and I am actively trying to find several to add.  I have been using this fragrance for about a week now and I have started to collect my thoughts and can put a review together.

From the Nordstrom website, "The world's first railroad perfume. Wildflowers, green grasses and urban renewal. The scent starts off with a prairie grazing weed, purple love grass, mixed with citrusy bergamot and zesty Indian rhubarb. The perfume's floral heart is composed of red-leaf rose, Lady Jane tulips and grape hyacinth. Lingering base notes combine bur oak with imported sea moss to evoke the Hudson River's proximity, along with musk and teakwood to ensure Bond No. 9 High Line is a metro-perfume."

The notes of the fragrance are: Bergamot, Purple Love Grass, Indian Rhubarb, Red Leaf Rose, Tulips, Grape Hyacinth, Bur Oak.

This fragrance is a light green floral and I initially fell in love with it and wanted to order a large bottle within the first ten minutes of wear.  I love the initial hit of the grass notes and then the floral heart develops, the rose and tulip notes are the strongest on my skin and this fragrance showed lots of potential to be a new favorite rose scent of mine.  Within about two hours, this fragrance really faded away and I was very disappointed by the lack of lasting power, Chinatown sticks on my through a shower and I have heard that this the norm for the Bond No 9 fragrances.  I did find some reviews of High Line online and everyone commented on the lack of lasting power, so I didn't get a old sample of it by accident. 

I really liked this fragrance and it is a top notch example of a green floral and I have wanted a fragrance like this since last spring.  The big issue that has prevented me from ordering a bottle yet is the lack of lasting power, I would have to order a purse size bottle in this fragrance at the same time and then reapply throughout the day.  This fragrance will remain on my list but I will continue to search for another green fragrance that lasts longer than this formula does.  I don't expect to get the same lasting power from a green fragrance than I would from a musk but I still expected more power from High Line.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Beauty Loves Week Day Five - Chanel No. 5

Stella by Stella McCartney is my biggest perfume love but I do have a second fragrance love that I wanted to talk about this week, Chanel No 5 is a fragrance that I have used and loved for longer than any other in my life.  No 5 is known as the "now and forever fragrance" and has been an icon every since it was first released in the early part of the last century, after reading the biography of Coco Chanel, I have come to love and understand this fragrance more than ever.  Chanel No 5 is the only fragrance other than Stella that I have had to buy more than one bottle of, I wear it often during the fall and winter and I can go through it at a very rapid rate.  I often credit this fragrance as being the perfume that made me want to get dressed up as a child and be like my mother (who has worn this fragrance for many years - in fact she is the only person that I know that goes through a bottle of this faster than I do).  I was first allowed to wear fragrance for my ballet recitals as a little girl and she always sprayed a (very) little bit of this on me before we left for the show.

As a child, I do not remember the exact time when I started loving this fragrance and wanting to own it and be able to get dressed up just like my mother.  This is the fragrance that I have been using for longer than any other and as this is the best selling fragrance for this renowned House, I am not alone in my admiration of Chanel No. 5. 

Chanel states the following as a fragrance description on their website.  "The now and forever fragrance. The ultimate in femininity. An elegant, luxurious spray closest in strength and character to the parfum form. The sleek, portable signature bottle is perfect for the dressing table or travel."

Sephora goes further with the product description and then into the iconic notes of the fragrance.  "The first great abstract perfume, N°5 conjures up no precise floral scent and survives the passing of mere trends because it is beyond them. Coco Chanel wanted "a woman's fragrance that smells like Woman." When perfume designer Ernest Beaux presented her with his 5th composition, the choice seemed simple and obvious. Her perfume would be called N°5. Five was her lucky number". What she mean when she wants a fragrance that smell like "Woman"? It is very simple, Chanel wanted a fragrance that had no instantly recognizable notes and soon after the first aldehydic floral.  At that time in history, perfumes had one or two very recognizable notes and that was what the fragrance smelled like. An example of this would be that if a fragrance boasted lily of the valley as its main note then the fragrance smelled like lily of the valley and nothing else. Chanel wanted a fragrance that was different for every woman and had no notes that jumped out at one. An aldehydic floral is defined as follows, "A bouquet of abstract flowers with an indefinable femininity".

Chanel No.5 is the first fragrance that did not smell strongly of one or two major notes and instead was formulated to be a blend of florals and musks and to smell unique on every single lady that wears it.  ""Launches with bewitching notes of Ylang-Ylang and Neroli, then unfolds with Grasse Jasmine and May Rose. Sandalwood and Vanilla round out the fabled composition with unforgettable woody notes". The notes that I find most evident in the fragrance when I am wearing it is the jasmine and sandalwood. I know that rose is one of the listed notes but I find that with application, the jasmine comes out more and is the heart of the fragrance.   This fragrance wears stronger on me so I only use it in the fall and winter, I would clear out an elevator if I used a fragrance of this power during the warm weather months. 

I will continue to love and wear this fragrance until I am too old to leave my nursing home.  If I ever become a mother or an aunt, this is the fragrance that I will introduce her to when she graduates college and is getting ready to go to grad school or find her first job.  This really is the Now and Forver fragrance and is one of the few true perfume icons.

photo courtesy of Chanel

Beauty Loves Week Day Two - Stella McCartney Stella

My favorite fragrance for the past few years has been Stella McCartney's first and still most popular fragrance, Stella was one of the best selling fragrances for years at Sephora and many limited edition versions of this fragrance have come to make it wearable in every single season.  Stella is one of the new classic rose scents and one that I believe will be one of the iconic rose fragrances in the next decade or two.  I am a rose fragrance lover and I own more roses than anyone that I know and this is the still the best rose fragrance that I have ever used and the only one that I have re-purchased when I finally finished the last drops out of my original bottle.

When did my love affair with this fragrance begin?  That would be the end of the summer in 2005, it was a newer fragrance at that time and I tried it on my first (!) trip to Sephora.  In 2005, Sephora hadn't come around to my area yet and my best friend and I decided to drive down to King of Prussia before the college year began and stock up beauty products and try out new clothing styles.  My first trip to my favorite store resulted in me purchasing my first bottle of my favorite fragrance - if that isn't a match made in heaven then I don't know what is. 

I believe that Stella is only sold at Sephora and on the Stella McCartney website and I have turned to my favorite store and website in order to provide a full description and the notes of this fragrance.  "A fragrance based on the contrast between the freshness and softness of the rose, and the dark sensuality of amber, Stella is a sophisticated scent focused on an intense sense of femininity.  The concept of the Stella McCartney bath line is based on an ecological and organic cosmetology, selecting the best natural raw materials and capitalizing on vegetal extracts based on organic agriculture and on extraction methods that respect and protect the natural life force of the plants."

The notes of this fragrance are: Rose, Peony Flower, Mandarin, Rose Absolute, Amber. 

Stella McCartney is a vegan, as is her whole family and this series of beliefs extended to her entire beauty product line and all of her products (clothing, purses, shoes) and she is one of the first major designers to draw attention to environmental and animal issues that are so prevalent in the world today and then makeup cruelty-free clothing that is coveted by even non-vegans.  Her empire took veganism into the mainstream and made is stylish to care about the environment and the effect that the human race has on the earth.  Stella McCartney has gone from a brand to an entire lifestyle and I can only believe that this company will continue to keep growing over the next decade. 

It still amazes me how many people have never heard of this fragrance and ask who Stella McCartney is when I talk about it.  I get compliments all the time when I wear this fragrance and I tell everyone about how much I love it and all about the formula and notes.  This is one of my signature fragrances and I have only purchased a handful of bottles of it for gifts over the years...I don't want my special scent spoiled by having a whole crew of scent twins. 

As I stated earlier, this fragrance has come out with all kinds of limited edition versions over the years and I have smelled every single one of them and I still hold that the original is the best and cannot be replaced by any of the other version.  The rest of its fans seem to agree with me since none of the other versions have stuck around and the original is still being sold at a pretty high rate.  I don't know that I will ever find another fragrance that I love as much as this one and I cannot even begin to imagine what I will do if the company decided to stop making it...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Fendi Fan di Fendi

Happy New Year!  I hated to start the New Year off a negative note but today we are looking at one of the first fragrances from Fendi, a scent that I had high hopes for.  I had heard some great reviews of this fragrance and therefore I was so excited when the sample was offered with my Nordstrom order.  This fragrance was said to be very Italian, in all the best ways.  Silician oranges and bright summer days were what I had in mind when I decided on this sample, citrus fragrances often do not work well with my skin chemistry, making me even more determined to fine one or two that I can wear in the bright days of summer.  Also, any fragrance that brings back memories of my trip to Italy is tops in my book, I have great memories of Venice and I must go back one day.  Needless to say, this fragrance from Fendi failed on two huge accounts for me.  I wasn't loving the fragrance itself and I was also disappointed with how short of a time that it stayed on my skin. 

This fragrance is one of those that started off great but then quickly faded into blah.  "Fan di Fendi is the fragrance you just adore to adore. Like a hit refrain, it's insistent, addictive, and irresistible. Electrifying you, possessing you, haunting you. Getting under your skin, inhabiting you.  A radiant floral scent resting on a leather base, this wildly exciting eau de parfum pays tribute to Fendi's expertise with materials such as fur and leather—plus the arty, rock and festive spirit that defines Fendi. It diffuses Roman sun and electric nights, leather and roses, luxury and seduction.  A glamorous chunk of gold, the bottle features Fendi's emblematic double F logo—a reference the Forever buckle on the iconic Baguette bag. On top, the cap recalls the black lacquered clasp of the Fendi Peekaboo bag. And with its golden juice inside, the bottle beams with a sun-yellow tone, resonating the House of Fendi's opulent aesthetic, unbridled creativity, and spirited elegance."

Courtest of the Sephora website, the notes of the fragrance are: Pear-blackcurrant Accord, Tangerine from Calabria, Pink Peppercorn from Reunion Island, Damascena Rose, Yellow Jasmine Accord, Patchouli from Indonesia, Soft Leather Accord.

This fragrance starts offf with the Tangerine note and then quickly shifts over to the Rose and Jasmine.  When I first started wearing this fragrance, I was so happy with the mix of the citrus note with the florals, the florals tempered the sharpness of the citrus and the fragrance smelled lovely on me, I really thought that this would be have a great fragrance for me to wear next spring and summer.  Thank goodness that I held out for a few hours before I decided to order the fragrance from Sephora.  As the fragrance develops, the tangering wears off and it goes more floral, the rose note comes out a bit but then fades really quickly.  It didn't bother me at this point, I still liked the florals but wished the the tangerine and floral mix would have stayed on a bit longer.  In about another hours, this fragrance basically falls apart and disappears.  The first time that I used the fragrance, the lack of staying power reallyn took me by surprise.  The second and third times, I was prepared and measured that both of those times, the fragrance lasted less than four hours each time.  I was using the traditional EDT, not a lighter body spray or any type of version that wouldn't be designed to last very long. 

I was really disappointed with this fragrance, the lasting pwoer was awful and it started out so great and then faded away into nothing.  If this fragrance would be remained at the same level and the fragrance blend that it was about half an hour into the wear, then I would have already bought a botlte of this to set aside for the spring and summer months.  The citrus and floral blend worked so well on my skin and the mixture reminded me of my time in Italy.  I was pretty much crushed by the awful lasting power of the fragrance and I even considered purchasing both the EDT and then a rollerball to put in my bag and touch up with throughout the day.  To be real, I will forget to touch up the fragrance until well after it totaly fades.  There is just no point to me buying a bottle of this fragrance and I guess that my search for a great Italian-inspired citrus fragrance will continue into the new year...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb

One of my newest perfume obsessions is one that has been on the market for several years now and has been a consistent best seller at Sephora, Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf.  I remember vaguely when this fragrance was first released, I tried it sometime in the warm weather and passed over it since I then decided it was too strong and spicy for that time of the year.  As it often happens, I wanted to go back and try it again when it is would be more appropriate but I ended up passing over it for all the new fragrances that had been released in the fall months.  I remembered that it was a spicy floral, not a top choice of mine so I often skipped over it for fragrances that were more on the pure floral side.

I ended up trying this fragrance out again last fall, a sample was included with an order that I made from Sephora.  I first tried it right after Labor Day and it was still too strong to wear at that point.  In October, I returned to the sample and used it every day for about a week.  Yet I was still undecided on my opinion of it.  Obviously, I loved it enough to keep wearing, if I would have hated it then it would have ended up in the trash can after three wearings (I always try to wear a fragrance three times before I decide if I will purchase a large bottle or not).  After using through the whole sample, I knew that I really liked it and wanted to get my hands on at least another sample or a small bottle of the fragrance.  Right around this time, Sephora offered a good sized bottle of this fragrance as their 100-point BI perk and I jumped at the chance to get more of this fragrance.  I have been using this small bottle for the past month and now I have collected my thoughts and made decisions on this fragrance.

Flowerbomb is the type of fragrance that it took me a longer amount of time than usual to fall in love with, but I fell harder for it than I have had for many fragrances on the market.  The spice notes in this fragrance set it apart from the rest of the florals on the market and make it much harder to wear, this fragrance is on the stronger side and works best at night or in a professional environment.  This is not a floral that I would wear with a sundress on a casual day.  This is fragrance that works best with stilettos...

The Sephora website carries all the sizes of this fragrance and many matching body products.  "This floral explosion releases a profusion of flowers that has the power to make everything seem more positive. Magically evocative notes immediately awaken your deepest senses, giving you the impression of living life in your own secret garden, away from reality. Sambac jasmine, centifolia rose, cattleya orchid, and ballerina freesia bloom on a base of patchouli."

The notes of this fragrance are: Sambac Jasmine, Centifolia Rose, Cattleya Orchid, Ballerina Freesia, Patchouli.

This fragrance starts out soft and floral, the first few sprays of it are very similar to many other floral fragrances and it made me wonder why this one was considered to be so unique.  After the initial drydown, the Jasmine, Rose, and Patchouli notes come out and settle on the skin.  The Rose fades out after several hours and the Jasmine and the Patchouli are left and these are the two notes that I can smell on my skin the rest of the day.  The fragrance becomes much spicier and more unique as the heart notes come out and it dries down. 

This fragrance is a combination of white and pink florals, the pink florals smell the best on my skin but the white florals makes the fragrance last for more than 12 hours on me.  This combination is the best of both floral worlds for me and I love how this fragrance was crafted and came together.  this fragrance will be one that I wear in my current profession and then later on when I graduate with my my masters degree.  I will need to buy a full bottle of this, however once I finish up my large sample of this, we will be heading into spring and I wouldn't be wearing this fragrance at that time of the year.  I am aiming to buy a new bottle of this next July or August and to have the room cleared off on my bureau to start wearing it at the end of September.  I may have found a new fragrance to introduce into my elite list of ten favorite fragrances!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Dior J'Adore

J'Adore is one of the best selling fragrances for the house of Dior and has been one of the most popular fragrances on the market for the past few years.  I know many ladies that wear this fragrance all the time and while it smells very nice on most of them, the fact that everyone owns this fragrance has made me not want to buy or wear it for the longest time.  I hate smelling like everyone else and that is the big reason why I never bought another bottle of Philosophy's Amazing Grace after I finished up my last bottle of it.  If I smell exactly like the person stasnding next to me, I often want to run to the other side of the room and stand somewhere else for the rest of the night.  Nothing personal against the user but I just hate having fragrasnce twins when I go out.

So why and how did I end up trying and wearing this scent?  On my last Sephora order, the sample selection was terrible and I just randomly picked any fragrance on the page that I didn't own or have some type of sample of already.  Realistically, if I try it one and hate it, I can just throw the rest of the sample vial away and it won't bother me at all.  I used it yesterday and today, it pains me to say this but I do understand why it is so very popular.  It is a lovely smelling white floral fragrance that isn't overpowering and won't offend anyone's nose.  Do I like it and how it smells on me?  Yes I do!

"Radiant, sensual, sophisticated, J'adore is a fragrance that celebrates the renaissance of extreme femininity and the power of spontaneous emotion with a brilliant bouquet of orchids, the velvet touch of Damascus plum, and the mellowness of amaranth wood.  For the confident, sensual woman who celebrates her femininity - this is Dior's golden girl."

The notes of the fragrance are: Mandarin, Champaca Flowers, Ivy, African Orchid, Rose, Violet, Damascus Plum, Amaranth Wood, Blackberry Musk.

I see that there is a rose note in the heart of this fragrance but I must say that I do not get any rose on my skin.  This is a rarity in itself, normally rose notes really bloom on my skin and will take the whole fragrance over.  On my skin, this fragrance is a light white floral.  Again this fragrance does not behave on my skin the way that the majority of white florals do, magnolia and tuberose notes normally come out so strong my skin that I really have to control when I wear them and how much of the fragrance I apply to my skin.  The African Orchid and Violet notes should b e very strong on me but they are more subtle and keep this fragrance much lighter than most white florals.

This is not a unique or amazing fragrance, you could very easily find another white floral from any company that would work just as well or even better in many cases.  This fragrance is very popular because it smells pretty and is light enough to not offend anyone around you.  Do I plan to buy a bottle of this?  Maybe but doubtful.  I haven't enough room on my dresser for the fragrances that I already own and don't need to buy anything that I do not really love.  I can't say that I would never buy this fragrance, it is a good choice for an office environment and would well during the spring and summer months since it is much lighter than many other white florals.  I will shelve my thoughts on buying a bottle of this until next spring and I will try it again and make a final decision then.

photo courtesy of Sephora

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

French Week Day 7 - Guerlain Champs Elysees

It is now the last day of this year's French Week and I hope that you have found at least one or two new products and fragrances that you want to try.  Today we are going to look at a fragrance from the House of Guerlain, one of the most iconic French beauty and fragrance houses.  The House of Guerlain introduced the first iconic perfume, Jicky, back in the end of the 19 Century and has come out with a series of best selling, cult fragrances for over 100 years.  The fragrance that I am the most enthralled with from this line is the iconic L'Heure Bleu, created in the beginning of the last century for the French actress Yvonne Printemps.  However, this line has created so many wonderful fragrances that I find it impossible to pick only one of two fragrance to wear.

The Champs Elysee is the major boulevard in Paris, the one that has many of the most famed monuments and shop on.  This is the major area of the city that tourists want to see that most and I consider it one of the most beautiful parts of the City of Lights.  This area is one of the highest rent areas of the city and contains some of the most famous spots in the city.  When walking down this avenue, you will start at the Place de la Concord and continue on past the Arc de Triomphe and then the Grand Palais.  On this street, you will pass the flagship Louis Vuitton and the Guerlain store itself.  Every year on Bastile Day, the city hosts one of the largest militay parades on this avenue. 

This fragrance is getting harder to find in the United States, I pulled all of my information on it from the Guerlain website.  I believe that I have found it only in New York City so far.  Many of the Guerlain fragrances can be found on the Sephora website but only a select few are in the stores.

The Sephora website provides a description of the brand's history.  "Guerlain was founded in 1828, when Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain opened his first boutique in Paris.  Trained as a doctor and chemist, he enjoyed immediate success thanks to his revolutionary work, which lead to many innovative 'firsts'.  Guerlain was the first to create scientifically based skincare and to sell kohl eyeliner and mascara.  Then in 1840, he introduced the very first lipsticks.  Even years later, The house of Guerlain continued this tradition of 'firsts' by introducing Terracotta, the benchmark for all bronzers, and Meteorites, the first product to incorporate colored pearl to create luminosity and even out skin tone.  Add to its oeuvre more than 700 fragrances (several of which are considered to be among the masterpieces of perfumery), the Guerlain name has become internationally recognized as a symbol of artistry, superlative quality, impeccable style, and ultimate grace."

From the Guerlain website itself, "The symbol of prestige and the influence of a city in perpetual motion, Paris' famed avenue is where the world meets - the Champs Elysees is the center of this perfume, and the center of everything.  A thrilling breath of life and the promise of infinite love.  For a chic and avant-garde Parisienne, Champs Elysees is a fragrance of intense seduction.  Life takes on an exciting, improvisational air and becomes a game for this joyful floral fragrance that celebrates the rose and mimosa.  An homage to the female form, the Champs Elysees bottle takes the shape of a strong silhouette.  Crowned with a broad cap, its polished glass extends and embellishes its evocative curves.  Its beautiful and complete fullness is solidly anchored on the triangle of life: It can be evocative of the perspective of the world's most beautiful avenue that stretches from I.M. Pei's pyramid to the Arc de Triomphe."

Instead of simply providing the notes of the fragrance, the Guerlain website provides a full description from the perfumers.  "Fruity floral.  Transparent, luminous, sparkling.  The perfume bursts forth with a crystalline laugh: The transparency of rose with frosted petals softens the rise of tender, crushed mimosa leaves.  In parallel, the light, acidic tempo of cassis berries harmonizes with the subtly of almond tree flowers.  The supremely refined and delicately sensitive heart palpitates with the silky shudder of mimosa flowers.  The minuscule sums catch fire and lend the skin unexpected sensuality, a buoyant dancing light that illuminates Buddleia, that enchanted tree known as the butterfly bush, which each spring welcomes clouds of butterflies that flock toward its spellbinding, lilac-accented scent.  This long caress becomes pure voluptuousness when the dry-down blends carnal accents of hibiscus seed with the softness of almond tree wood."

This fragrance is one of the softer Guerlains, it is one of the easier ones to wear and I have read that it is often a young lady's first fragrance from this company and then they graduate to the stronger fragrances.  The heart of rose in this fragrance makes it one of the ones that I must travel to New York City to purchase.

Anothe French Week has come to a close and I hope that you all have enjoyed learning a bit more about some of the best French beauty lines and that you are deciding to try something new from several of them!

photo courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman

Kenzo FlowerbyKenzo

I have been talking about and reviewing fragrances from my extensive collection of perfume samples from Sephora for the past few weeks.  Over the week, I went through the pile of samples yet again and organized them into jars by fragrance category and made a mental list of the fragrances that I still have not yet tried and reviewed.  I chose a new fragrance to play with and wanted to try something very different than what I have been wearing lately.  The past few weeks, I have been wearing several differnt tropical floral fragrances and I decided to try the FlowerbyKenzo sample because I had read that it is a light, crisp floral. 

FlowerbyKenzo is the first fragrance from this company and I believe that it remains on the consistent bestsellers for them.  This fragrance is often talked about when magazine writers discuss fragrances that changed the industry and ushered in new types of fragrance mixes and is considered by many to be one of the few fragrances that is universally liked.  I didn't think that I had ever smelled this fragrance before I started playing with the sample yesterday and wondered what all I was missing out on.

The Sephora website provides a description of the fragrance and the notes contained in it.  "Originally launched in 2000, this scent marked Kenzo's invention of the poppy fragrance.  At once soft and floral, notes of violet, vanilla, and rose flourish with sly giddiness.  It's a contemporary perfume for urban women who look to nature for inspiration and renewal.  Uniquely packaged in a bottle embossed with a poppy, both the scent and the flacon have become contemporary classics.  As Kenzo's commitment to nature continues to evolve, so has this iconic bottle.  FlowerbyKenzo is now refillable.  Flower by Kenzo.  A flower in the city."

The fragrance notes are: Wild Hawthorne, Bulgarian Rose, Parma Violet, Cassia, Hedione, Cyclosal, Opoponax, White Musk, Vanilla.

I think that a bit more research is needed on the notes before I can discuss my thoughts on this fragrance, I see several notes in this fragrance that I don't recognize and have never seen before.  Hedione is a floral note that is very similar to the scent of jasmine, I have found that jasmine often compliments violet notes in fragrances and I am willing to bet that it plays much the same role in this fragrance.  Cyclosal is a bit more of a mystery to me, when I Googled it all that I got back was a few references to articles in scientific journals (most not in English) and references to this fragrance.  So I don't really have an answer as to what this note it doing in the fragrance.  Opoponax is a flower that grows in the Middle Eastern regions of the world and produces a resin that is similar in fragrance to incense, a note that would seem to compliment the musk notes in the base of this fragrance. 

This is one of the few fragrances that really changes form from the first instant that I apply it to when the heart of the fragrance emerges.  The first application of the fragrance is awful, the musk and violet notes come out.  Initially, I decided that this fragrance smelled like an old woman and I wasn't into this at all.  After about half an hour, the musk note dies out a bit and the violet note really emerges, flanked by the Hedione floral note.  The Rose note never comes out on me, a very odd fact since this note always comes out and flourishes on my skin.  After about an hour, the Violet note tempers down a bit and the musk comes back out and mixes with the white florals.  I liked the fragrance more when the Violet note comes out and then a bit less when the musk note mixed with it.

When the Violet notes came out, I was considering buying a bottle of this fragrance to wear in a more professional environment since it is very light and won't overwhelm anyone.  However, after the final musk note comes out, the fragrance only lasted about three total hours on my skin.  I would need to keep a bottle of this in my bag and reapply it every few hours throughout the day.  I would use this fragrance exactly the same as I would the Bulgari Omni Crystalline (fragrance that I tried a sample of earlier in the month) and between the two, I would purchase the Bulgari scent without a doubt. 

I can see why this fragrance holds it's own in the niche market and I know that many fragrance hours have tried to copy this scent over the years and create a light floral fragrance that is easy for many to wear.  However, the combination of notes in this fragrance just do not work with my skin chemistry and lasts way too little on my skin for me to add a bottle to my fragrance collection.

photo courtesy of Sephora

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

Burberry Body

Burberry had one big fragrance release this season, their new fragrance Body.  The company had been hyping this fragrance on Facebook and Twitter for several weeks before it can out, including sending out very generous amounts of sample to friends and followers.  Most of Burberry's fragrances are light and floral, with the new release being the individual of the line.  I have a feeling that is why the fragrance was so hyped, it will bring a completely new fragrance customer to the Burberry line of perfumes.  This fragrance is described as a chypre with fruity notes in it.  I do believe that this is the first time that Burberry has even attempted any type of chypre and therefore I am very interested to see what they did with this fragrance.  I was very happy when Burberry sent me a small bottle of this fragrance to try out and really decide what I thought of it. 

The perfume is available at Sephora and that is the website where I found the best description of the fragrance itself.  "Wrapped around a woman, the iconic Burberry trench evokes sensuality, feminity, and luxury.  In this fragrance, an eclectic composition of fruity-chypre notes envelopes the body, creating a suggestion of effortless seduction.  The fragrance opens with a fresh, green note of absinthe and bright hints of peach and freesia.  Elegance emerges in the heart, where cool notes of natural rose absolute and iris are set against the subtlety and warmth of sandalwood.  In the base, woody cashmeran and creamy vanilla join the sensuality of amber and musk." 
The notes of the fragrance are: Freesia, Green Absinthe, Peach, Rose, Iris, Sandalwood, Cashmeran, Musk, Amber, Vanilla.  Maybe it's just me, but I feel like many of the notes in this new scents are very generic...how many fragrances do you own that contains at minimum three to four of the above notes?!  That isn't saying that they are bad notes to have in a perfume (quite the opposite in fact) but I just don't think that this fragrance shows as much originality as some of their earlier fragrances.  I am happy that I see a rose note in this fragrance however I am not surprised since I feel like many English fragrances contain some type of rose note. 

I have been wearing this fragrance for the past few days and I have finally began to form my thoughts around it.  It isn't one of those fragrances that I fell in love with instantly, it isn't unique enough for me to grab it from my collection more than two or three days in a row.  It is pretty however it reminds me very much of a slightly lighter version of Elizabeth Arden's Mediterrean with a bit more sandalwood in it.  When I first spray it on, the peach and the green notes come out right away but quickly fade into the vanilla, sandalwood, and musk notes.  I also get no rose from this fragrance which is very disappointing for me and a major reason that I wouldn't buy a bottle of this after my current one is finished. 

One of the hardest parts of this fragrance was placing it into a "wear" category.  It took me until last night to decide wear and how I would wear this fragrance.  Let me explain my logic quickly - I have certain fragrances that I wear in professional settings, others that are just for going out, and a few that are very casual and work best on lazy weekend days.  I quickly decided that this fragrance is not a professional fragrance, the sandalwood and vanilla are too sensual to carry off.  This isn't a light and casual fragrance that I would wear when walking down to the farmers market.  This leaves only a going out fragrance, however I found it too light to work with a black dress and heels.  I concluded last night that this fragrance is best worn for small gatherings at casual restaurants or informal dinner parties.  Considering that this is all that I could come up with wear times, my small bottle from the company will last for ages and I won't need a new one any time soon.

One last note on the wear of the fragrance - it doesn't last near as long as I was expecting with the heavy emphasis on the base notes, I only got about three hours from it before I needed to reapply.  If you are looking for a warm, easy fragrance to wear out for relaxed bistro dinners, then this is a great choice for you.  Personally, I liked it but i can skip over buying a new bottle.  My current bottle will last me for quite a bit since I won't be wearing it on a daily basis.  This fragrance is a big change from Burberry's previous scent offerings and I think that it will attract a new customer to the company, however it is very similar to many other scents that are currently being sold and is easily dupable.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Purr by Katy Perry

Katy Perry is one of my favorite celebrities and one of my favorite fashion icons right now.  Her first fragrance, Purr, was released late last fall to Nordstrom only and I was so excited to hear about it that I was considering ordering a bottle totally unsniffed from the company's website (since I live slightly too far from a Nordstrom to drive there just to smell a fragrance, I need to make it a whole day trip to the King of Prussia mall).  I was very hyped over it but I continued to hold off a bit in hopes that Macy*s or Sephora would begin to stock it after the initial Nordstrom launch.  Well, my hopes for those two stores still haven't been granted however I was in Ulta the other day (continuing my obsessive search for China Glaze polishes) and lo and behold, there was a huge display of Purr by Katy Perry.  After grabbing my nail polishes and a Benefit They're Real! mascara (still haven't opened yet but can't wait to review), I stopped by the fragrance display to this perfume out.  Thank god I DIDN'T order this perfume unsniffed!!!

My first thoughts were that the bottle was huge and completely juvenile.  I guess that it just didn't look as childish in the pictures that I saw of it because I initally liked it.  It also didn't help that it was sitting right by the Justin Bieber perfume and nowhere near the other fragrance counters....  The bottle just felt odd in my hands and didn't like that it was plastic and not a heavy glass (I was holding the 3.4 oz size for reference).  I could never put this out next to my Chanel, Creed, and Jo Malone perfumes, fragrances that are half the price of this product have nicer bottles and aren't plastic.

My next issue with the fragrance occured when I sprayed it.  I first tried a bit on a card and really hated it.  I then decided to be open minded and sprayed a bit on my fingertips in hopes that it would smell better on my skin.  Well it most certainly did not work any better when I tried it out on my body, something in my chemistry just threw this whole scent.  So sad since I love Katy Perry and one of the middle notes of the fragrance is Bulgarian Rose...

I will provide the fragrance description and the notes from the Nordstrom website.  "Purr by Katy Perry Eau de Parfum begins with an aroma of peach nectar and forbidden apple, evolves with a distinct floral bouquet of jasmine blossom, Bulgarian rose, and vanilla orchid, and slowly reveals accents of sandalwood and musk.  Like the singer herself, Purr, is playful yet sophisticated.  Katy Perry transcends barriers with her music - so does her new fragrance."

The major issue that I have with this fragrance can be summed up in one statement: it smells cheap.  And the bottle just looks cheap.  This fragrance smells like something a junior high school girl would be all over.  The top notes lingered on me the longest, the apple and peach stayed on and never softened.  They stayed sharp and sour and then the musk came out.  I got no floral from this fragrance which is a shocl for me since my body chemistry works perfectly with florals and I have more problems with fruit and citrus notes.  This leads me to comclude that this fragrance was made on the cheap and the floral notes aren't high enough quality or there isn't enough of the perfume oil in to make the florals pop.  This is one of those few bad fragrances that begin with a top note and then hit the base notes and just remain flat the whole time.

I was so glad that I didn't purchase a bottle of this without smelling it because it would have been heading right back to Nordstrom after one usage.  I love Katy Perry and I was just so hoping that this fragrance would work for me but it was not to be.  If the middle notes would have been more prominent and the top notes less sharp, I think that this fragrance could have been a lovely scent.  Honestly, both the scent and bottle are over the top and need to be toned down...

photo courtesy of Nordstrom