Bath and Body Works P.S. I Love You

Normally in the beginning of fall, I go to Bath and Body Works for one reason only and that is fall candles. Normally, their fall body product releases do nothing for me and I usually end up waiting until the holiday products come out in order to go and stock up on items. I'm a floral fragrance kind of girl and so fall spicy scents are just not my cup of tea. However, this year I thought that I was dreaming when I walked past Bath and Body Works right before Labor Day weekend. The store was decorated in all pink and flower decorations were all over the place. Pink? Flowers? Time to investigate...

The store was ready for the new release of their latest fragrance, called P.S. I Love You. I had heard about this fragrance a couple of months ago on the Bath and Body Board of Makeup Alley. However, a date on the release was never provided so with the name of the fragrance and listed notes, I jumped to the conclusion that this was a Valentine's Day or spring release because it was not in the same vein as their previous fall collections. However, I guess the company decided on a change and I am quite happy that they decided to take this road for fall.

This is the description of the fragrance from the company, "Master perfumers have created a modern blend of rose - the universal symbol of love - with sexy golden amber, addicitive White Riesling, and exotic incense". The top notes of the fragrance are - fresh citrus, lychee, peony, yellow rose, sparkling Riesling. The middle notes are - scarlet velvet rose, orchid, purple lilies, jasmine, hypnotic incense. The base notes are - creamy sandalwood, patchouli, golden amber, musk.

This release was quite exicting for me and I ended up purchasing both body products and the perfume. Yes, that is the most shocking part...I actualyl loved the fragrance so much that I bought the perfume. Normally, I only buy the ancillary products and never purchase the fragrance itself. But I couldn't pass up another chance to purchase a rose fragrance and I love the way that it smells, so I am quite happy that I decided to go this route. This fragrance is light enough that I can wear it without overwhelming a crowd in warmer weather but it works equally well in the cooler months.

Hopefully this will not be a limited edition fragrance from Bath and Body Works since I have found one that full bottle perfume worthy.

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Myself Wearing Smashbox Cream Eye Liner

This was my eye of the day the other night. I decided to try out my favorite Smashbox Cream Eye Liner with Urban Decay Primer Potion underneath to anchor it for the whole night. I have experience smearing in the past with this liner and decided to experiment one night.

Result - still a very small bit of smearing (to be fair, my mascara was black to and it may have been my mascara - this has been an issue with Givenchy Phenom'eyes) but my wear was much better. I also found that it prepped my lid much better than trying to apply the liner to bare skin. Much improved with Primer Potion on underneath...I wish I would have thought of that earlier. I am now to going to test it out underneath over eye liners and see if there is improved in wear also.

photo courtesy of Sarah Desch

MAC Paint Pot

One of the last times that I was at the MAC counter, I decided to try out one of their Paint Pot eye shadows. I bought the color Bare Study, which looked like a pale shimmery gold when I swatched it on my hand. I wrote that I was test driving it in June and was all ready to write about it soon after. Well, after the first initial wear, I was rather disappointed. I decided to try it out several more times and I changed my views from disappointed to just unsure about how if I liked the shadow or not. Hence the delay on the review. Well, I decided that I am not a big fan of the product but I don't really hate it...if that makes any sense at all. I will try to fully explain in the review.

First the description of the product from MAC, "A highly pigmented eye colour that goes on creamy but dries to an intense, vibrant finish. Long-wearing, colourfast. Creates seamless coverage without weight or caking. Blends smoothly over the lids. Cream-based, can be mixed with MAC shadows and liners". MAC has a variety of colors available, the only one that I purchased was Bare Study.

The shades...

- Bare Study - soft beige with gold pearl (Frost)

- Soft Ochre - yellow beige (Cream)

- Fresco Rose - pink with matching pearl (Frost)

- Painterly - nude beige (Cream)

- Rubenesque - golden peach with gold pearl (Frost)

- Quite Natural - dirty chocolate brown (Cream)

- Constructivist - metallic brown with red pearl (Frost)

- Groundwork - mid-tone neutral taupe (Satin)

- Indianwood - metallic antique bronze (Frost)

- Artifact - burgundy with red pearl (Frost)

- Delft - deep teal with gold pearl (Frost)

- Blackground - black-grey with multi-colour (Pearl)

So what were my issues with this product? Honestly, my number one complaint was the pigmentation. Now I am well aware that I bought the palest shade that is offered in this line so maybe I shouldn't have expected quite as much as I did. But I really wasn't happy with the lack of pigmentation offered by this product. The first time was awful, the second was improved but I still feel that the color is lacking in impact. I used it both with Urban Decay Primer Potion and without and really didn't notice much of a difference either time. I am beginning to think that maybe I expected too much of the product but I was expecting more a stronger golden beige shade.

What did I like? I like that it dried to more of a powder finish and therefore was very effective in reducing creasing. It was relatively long-wearing and better than most cream shadows in that respect. It didn't cake and was very smooth throughout the day. Application was nice, it applies easily and didn't create a cakey mess on the eyelid.

I am still undecided on this product, I may have picked the wrong shade out to get the impact that I wanted. I might go back to MAC and swatch the other shades and see if there is another one that is more on the golden side and less on the beige. This isn't a bad shadow or shade but I think that it will work better as a highlighter than a lid shade.

photo courtesy of MAC

5 Favorite Shower Gels

I love reading lists of people's favorite items so I decided to create a couple of my own.

Philosophy Senorita Margarita 3 in 1 - smells exactly like the real thing, it super bubbly, and never dries my skin out.

Bathed & Infused Green Tea Infused Body Wash - rinses clean, smells fresh, helps me wake up in the morning, creates lots of foam, and rinses super clean.

Jaqua Buttercream Frosting Shower Syrup - smells like rich frosting, hydrates my skin, and produces tons of foam.

Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Shower Gel - rinses clean, creates lots of bubbles, have been using this scent for years now, smells like lime and creamy coconut milk, and this is the shower gel that I have repurchased the most amount of times in my life.

Philosophy Amazing Grace 3 in 1 - very hydrating, rinses clean, fresh scent never interferes with any other fragrances, and I can never get sick of this fragrance.

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Marc Jacobs Lola

This fall, Marc Jacobs has released a follow up scent to the very popular Daisy. Daisy has been dominating the market ever since it was released and has come out in almost every single form possible. However, Marc Jacobs had to release another fragrance at some point soon and one that was similar to Daisy is quite a no brainer. Lola is new for this fall and I have been interested in it ever since I saw a picture of the bottle in an issue of Glamour at least two months ago. Finally, I have found it on the Sephora site and can get my hands on a bottle of it. My initial prediction is that this fragrance will become a top seller whatever it smells like. Jacobs will be able to capitalize on the fame of Daisy with this fragrance. Let's see if it can live up to Daisy...

This fragrance falls into the category of floral. The description of the product is right here, "Lola is Daisy's older sister. This warm floral bouquet conveys the free spirit of today's sexy, modern girl - she is playful, cool, and flirtatious. The long-lasting, day-and-night scent opens with pink peppercorn, pear, and ruby red grapefruit. Blooming midnotes of rose, fuschia peony, and geranium make a feminine statement. Layers of vanilla, warm tonka bean, and creamy musk create a sensous drydown. The bottle's exquisite, multi-layered cap is a bursting bouquet with bright modern colors that pop against a matte black background and rope-inspired, gold metallic neck. The silhouette is inspired by Marc's fashion collection".

I am undecided about the bottle. At first glance, I loved it but sometimes after looking at it for some time, I think that it is cheap and tacky looking. That is honestly that exact same feeling that I have about the Daisy bottle but this is more pronounced. I would really like to try this fragrance out since I don't own very many rose fragrance that are considered to be on the warmer side. Most of my rose fragrances seem to fall under the light and fresh side so I do get excited about a rose fragrance that would take me into the cooler months and is more on the deeper side.

I think this fragrance will be coming home with me on my next trip to the mall.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Laura Mercier Fall 2009 - Fresco Collection

This is the second of the two collections that Laura Mercier has released this season. I really liked Scarlet Passion and hopefully I will like this collection too. This collection is called the Fresco Collection and on first glance this one appears to be much lighter and softer than Scarlet Passion.

The Laura Mercier website gives this as the description of the collection, "Inspired by the nature-like colors found in Italian Fresco paintings, Laura Mercier introduces her Fresco Collection. Eyes are soft and diffused, layered in earth toned shades of Satinee Creme Eye Colour with a pop of teal for accent. Creme Cheek Colour Pots in Sienna Sunset and Soft Apricot enhance the cheeks with a hint of creamy colour and tinted, soft-focus loose powder. Lips complete the look in rich autumnal hues with Laura's perfect artistic palette. Lip Watercolours; containing a prepping lip balm and six pigment saturated stains. Welcome Fall looking ethereal, feminine, imperfectly beautiful".

Here is the collection...

Creme Eye Detail Brush - Laura Mercier Creme Eye Detail Brush is a high quality synthetic brush designed for precise application of creme eye colour products. Specifically designed to allow for intricate eye detail. Pointed tip allows for absolute precision. The Creme Eye Colour Detail Brush is precise enough to highlight specific parts of the lid. Synthetic fibers allow for flattening of bristles in order to have perfect control of creme eye colour.

Flat Eye Liner Brush - Long - Laura Mercier Flat Eye Liner Brush contains synthetic, firm bristles narrowing to a thin, flat line to ensure the most exact placement of Eye Liner. Laura created the technique of lining the eyes by dotting eye colour across the lash line with this synthetic brush: brush upward to soften the line. High quality synthetic fiber. Designed to precisely line the eyes with Eye Liner.

Eye Liner - Laura Mercier Eye Liner is an easy-to-use, mistake-proof eye liner that delivers long-lasting, pure colour. Long-wearing, smudge resistant, and colour-true, Eye Liner adds brightness and light to the eye with its light-reflective pigments. Easy-to-use product that can line eyes from the most subtle, natural definition to the most graphic, sexy looks. Use with the Flat Eye Liner Brush to perfect Laura's "tight-line" technique. Apply as a natural, thin line to a thicker, more dramatic look. Used wet, the velvet matte finish and buildable pigments allows you to create inifinite looks.

- Mahogany Brown - deep brown

Satinee Creme Eye Colour - Laura Mercier's new Satinee Creme Eye Colour offers stunning cream eye colour shades that add satiny luminous colour to lids with easy application. Formulated to be long-wearing, crease-proof, and water-resistant. Wear alone for a wash of colour or layer over Eye Basics. Apply a powder Eye Colour to extend wear and build a more dramatic effect. Lush colour and soft-focus pearl leaves a gorgeous sheen. Gentle to the delicate eye area.

- Amber Velvet - warm terra cotta

- Cocoa Velour - deep chocolate brown

- Ecru Silk - soft oyster beige

- Peach Organza - delicate golden peach

- Pink Chiffon - pale ballet pink

- Rum Satin - soft golden bronze brown

- Stone Suede - steely blue grey

- Teal Cashmere - dusty teal

Creme Cheek Colour Pot - Laura Mercier Creme Cheek Colour Pot combines a creamy cheek colour for a fresh, flushed effect who also offering a soft-focus loose cheek powder to add an understated glow. Travel-friendly dual pot saves space while allowing for quick and simple touch-ups. Achieve glowing, radiant cheeks with this limited-edition pocket accessory.

- Sienna Sunset - warm tawny rose

- Soft Apricot - soft peachy apricot

Medium Lip Watercolours - Laura Mercier Limited Edition Lip Watercolours, inspired by a painter's palette, are comprised of universally flattering lip colours that compliment all skin tones. The customizable palette offers highly pigmented colours designed to be applied with the fingertips. Press each colour into the lips for a natural look that ensures long wear. True to Laura's philosophy, each compact contains a hydrating Lip Prep balm that conditions lips and creates a perfect canvas for colour. Each full-bodied, satin-matte shade is easily manipulated by layering and blending with others to achieve multiple, long-lasting, comfortable, and truly one-of-a-kind lip colours. Laura encourages everyone to take control of their look - whether it is timeless and versatile or trendy and ever-changing. Lip Watercolours are a perfect fit for every woman, all occasions, and all season.

Fair Lip Watercolours - Laura Mercier's Limited Edition Lip Watercolours, inspired by a painter's palette, are comprised of universally flattering lip colours that compliment all skin tones. The customizable palette offers highly pigmented colours designed to be applied with the fingertips. Press each colour into the lips for a natural look that ensures long wear. True to Laura's philosophy, each compact contains a hydrating Lip Prep balm that conditions lips and creates a perfect canvas for colour. Each full-bodied, satin-matte shades is easily manipulated by layering and blending with other to achieve multiple, long-lasting, confortable, and truly one-of-a-kind lip colours. Laura encourages everyone to take control of their look - whether it is timeless and versatile or trendy and ever-changing. Lip Watercolours are a perfect fit for every woman, all occasions, and all season.

There are some products that I want in this collection and I bet that I can work them into looks with the other new collection from Laura this fall. I want to ge the eye liner, it looks like it would be a great basic and base for many different eye looks. I also am really curious about the Satinee cream shadows, now that I have been able to make cream shadows work better for me, I want to try them all out. The shades from this product that I want are Amber Velvet, Ecru Silk, and Pink Chiffon. The lat item that I want to pick up is the Fair Lip Watercolours. This collection looks like one that I would use a alot and the shades would end up becoming staples to my makeup collection. Two hits from Laura this season!

photo courtesy of Laura Mercier

Most Wanted September 2009

Fall beauty shopping = one of the best times of the year!

This month, I want to pick up...
- NARS Duo Eye Shadow in Silk Road
- Chanel Eye Gloss Luminous Cream Quadra Eye Shadow
- Marc Jacobs Lola
- Bare Escentuals Tutorials Smoky "V" Eye
- D & G L'Imperatrice
- Urban Decay Lipstick in Naked
- MAC Resolutely Red Lipstick
- MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator
- Lancome Virtuose Black Carat Mascara
- AmorePacific Treatment Enzyme Peel

Oh there will be a very exciting MAC trip this month...