These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...!

A quickie list of the products I'm obsessing over lately:

1. Josie Maran Bare Naked Makeup Removing Wipes: I'm very much an advocate of everyday luxuries and these magical cleansing cloths are the epitome of luxe.  The cloths are thick, smell amazing, take off everything, and are super moisturizing; they contain Josie's signature ingredient, argan oil.  Plus, a portion of sales from each package is donated to help protect polar bears.  What's not to love?

2. Rose scented everything
I'm extremely drawn to rose scents as of late and couldn't resist purchasing this Rose Body Oil from Dr. Hauschka.  It absorbs into your skin much more quickly than lotion, so instead of feeling oiled up and greasy, you just feel soft and moisturized.  It's glorious.  I also couldn't pass up this Persian Rose roll on perfume by Pacifica.  It smells exactly like a rose garden at first, then quietly fades to reveal soft violet and myrrh notes.  It's very elegant and subtle.

3. Glitter manicures
I'm layering Sephora's Only Gold For Me gold glitter topcoat over every single nail polish I own lately.  Even other glitter polishes.  My nails have been looking like a disco party!  The gold topcoat looks especially great over this moody wine shade from Spa Ritual, Spice of Life; I got tons of compliments on it!


Your turn!  What beauty products are you loving and can't get enough of lately?  Spill it!

Diptyque 34 Boulevard Saint Germain

Don't you love a fragrance with significance and meaning behind it?  Diptyque's new 34 Boulevard Saint Germain scent collection is about as storied as it gets.  It was launched to celebrate the legendary company's 50th anniversary and is named after the original boutique's Parisian address.  Perfumers collected fragrance molecules off the floor of the boutique and blended them to create a scent that ideally captures the best of every fragrance Diptyque offers.  It's meant to evoke the scent of the store itself!  Interesting at the very least, no?

Have you had a whiff of 34 Boulevard Saint Germain?  What's your favorite Diptyque scent?  I have yet to own a candle, but a girl can dream!

Coming Soon! Dita Von Teese Fragrance, Femme Totale

Dita Von Teese's brand new fragrance, Femme Totale, will be arriving in stores next month!  Isn't the bottle stunning?  I love the art deco design and the ball atomizer adds extra glamour.  Dita personally put an incredible amount of time into creating the perfume; she visited perfumers in Paris nearly every day for a year!  I just love perfectionism when it comes to creating a product, don't you?  “A scent needs to reflect all the different facets of my personality. It had to be elegant, glamorous, sophisticated, sexy, dark, and mysterious,” she says. 

The resulting fragrance opens with top notes of peonies, bergamot, and spicy Bourbon pepper.  The heart notes include Bulgarian rose, Tahitian Tiare petals, and jasmine, while the base notes feature sandalwood, patchouli, musk, and smoky Gaiac wood.  Pepper, roses, and woods?  I'm sold, you guys.  I can't wait to get my hands on a bottle!  What do you think?

Hamarikyu Gardens Solid Perfume Pencil

Do you guys like solid perfumes?  I've never been a big fan; there's an "ick" factor for me in applying certain products with my fingers, and solid perfumes just happen to be one of them.  That disappears, however, with these lovely solid perfume pencils from Anthropologie.  Each of the six fragrances in the A Rather Novel Collection is inspired by a different flavor of tea found around the world.  There's 1856 Darjeeling, Silk Road Caravan, Cape of Good Hope, Taverns & The Hague, 5 O'Clock at Belvoir Castle, and the one I picked up, Hamarikyu Gardens.

Each scent smelled amazing and as exotic as the locales that inspired them, but Hamarikyu Gardens appealed to me the most.  I have no idea why; I don't usually go for "fresh" scents and I don't care for green tea, but something about it was incredibly familiar and almost comforting.  It's a bright fragrance with notes of lemon and bergamot zest, verbena, and amber for warmth and to counteract all those citrus and tea notes.  I love it.

And I love the pencil applicator!  When the perfume wears down, you just tug the strings to tear the paper and it comes off in a nice twirl that's scented enough to use as a sachet for my car or purse.  Plus the perfume pencils are ridiculously affordable at only $10!  A word of caution, though: it may be tempting to tote this around in your purse, but DON'T.  Mine broke.  Don't let this happen to you!  It's still holding together by the paper coating, but of course I'd much rather it be intact.  Lesson learned.

Have you tried these solid perfumes?  Which is your favorite?  Do you like solid perfumes in general? 

Fall 2011 Fragrance Picks

Fall is the perfect time to bid goodbye to sweet fruity floral perfumes and try something different.  This time around I want woody, oriental perfumes with lots of spice and just a hint of flowers.  My top three fall/winter fragrance picks have a lot of warmth, too, making them perfect for when temperatures start dropping!

Bvlgari Omnia
This fragrance is laced with saffron and masala tea, making it extra warm and spicy.  I was surprised to discover white chocolate and mandarin are the other two primary notes in this mysterious, almost shape-shifting, apparently gourmand fragrance.  There aren't any woody notes listed, but I'm definitely detecting an element of wood in this perfume.  My only gripe is that it doesn't last long enough.  Regardless, the combination is heavenly and exotic.

Etat Libre d'Orange Noel au Balcon
LuckyScent.com's magnificent description is what prompted me to test this perfume: "Noël au balcon, Pâques aux tisons”, goes an old French saying, meaning that if it’s warm enough to spend Christmas at the balcony, at Easter you’ll need firebrands. And État Libre d’Orange leaves no doubt as to quite what type of firebrand they have in mind: the kind who prances around the Christmas tree in a red corset, half-unlaced like a present in the process of being unwrapped."

I don't know about you, but prancing around the Christmas tree in a half-unlaced corset has got to be one of my favorite pastimes.  Noel Au Balcon is one of those "serious", highbrow fragrances that doesn't take itself seriously.  It's sexy, playful, and fun, with lots of fiery cinnamon and red pepper.  The spice is rounded out with apricot, amber, and honey, to name just a few notes.  It's glorious and complex.

Tom Ford Black Orchid
Though orchid and jasmine are strong notes in this incredible fragrance, it's hardly a floral.  Any flowery sweetness is tempered with warm notes of sandalwood, ylang ylang, and lotus wood.  I especially love the way it reacts with my skin.  You know how some fragrances have a distinct artificial "perfume" scent?  Black Orchid isn't like that at all.  It's as if my skin was always supposed to smell like orchids and lotus wood and "spicy floral accord."  This fragrance is purely sexy, luxurious, and sophisticated.  The kind of perfume a gentleman friend will want to lean in closer to sniff.  It's definitely my favorite of the three.



Do you switch perfumes when the weather gets cooler?  What are your favorite fall/winter fragrances?

Fall 2011 Trend: Blue Period

NARS Fall 2011 Campaign

 It seems a little strange to start thinking about fall trends already, but if turquoise was a hot color for summer, this fall's color is a deeper blue.  More primary than midnight, this sapphire shade is popping up everywhere!  Only fitting, as sapphire is September's birthstone and the primary blue evokes back-to-school art supplies.  Perhaps it also has a bit to do with Kate's iconic engagement ring?

Wearing blue has benefits: it makes your eyes look brighter and your teeth looker whiter!  Throw on Elvis Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" and check out these true blue picks to stay on-trend this fall!

NARS released the fabulous bright blue shade Outremer for fall 2011; models for the campaign show you how to keep it modern and artistic (see first picture, above).  Other great blue shadows include Sugarpill's Afterparty, a metallic blue, and MAC's frosty Corn Flower pigment.  If blue eyeshadow is a bit much, try Urban Decay's 24/7 Eyeliner pencil in Deviant, a bright electric blue for a hint of color on your eyelids.  For the most subtle eye brightening trick, try a blue mascara like this one called Blue Noir from Buxom Lash!

Another simple way to wear the blue trend?  Nail polish, naturally!  Essie Mesmerize is a gorgeous primary blue and Sephora by OPI Midnight Mambo amps it up with chunky bits of glitter.

The easiest trick of all is Benefit's California Kissin' lip gloss; it has the slightest aqua sheen to make your teeth look extra white! 

Finally, pretty up your vanity with one of these beautifully blue packaged products.  Van Cleef & Arpels's Midnight in Paris perfume is decorated like the night sky and is one of the most gorgeous bottles I've ever seen.  And don;t forget your complexion!  This enzyme mask from Ole Henriksen is loaded with antioxidant rich blue-and-blackberries to keep skin young and glowing. 

So what do you think?  Will you participate in fall's blue makeup trend?  Which product would you most likely wear?  Let me know!

My Own Fragrance Library

Since I'm still looking for my own elusive signature scent, I've accumulated quite a little collection of different perfumes.  There's a lot of variety here; I like to switch it up depending on my mood or the seasons.  For example, Prada Infusion d'Iris makes me feel very grown up and proper while Gwen Stefani's L is more fun and relaxed.  Here's a look into my own fragrance collection. (P.S. I made the "tower" myself out of candle holders and cheap aluminum trays! It's pretty much my only successful DIY project and I'm proud.  Please admire.)

Lately Tocca Brigitte, YSL Parisienne, and BPAL Marie are what I wear the most.  Parisienne is the epitome of expensive French florals and makes me feel like a fancy well-to-do lady, while Brigitte is inspired by Ms. Bardot and is sexy and playful.  Marie is violet and tuberose with darker bottom notes so it's not sickeningly sweet, which I LOVE.  In the back is Betsey Johnson's signature perfume, which I no longer wear but still keep around because the bottle is so pretty. 

Prada Infusion d'Iris is way more powdery than I expected.  I didn't like it at first, but now I find something about the scent to be weirdly comforting.  Like I said, it makes me feel grown up and I'll spray it lightly before important meetings.  The pink bottle is an old Cynthia Rowley for Avon fragrance that smells like honeysuckle and Southern summer nights.  Sometimes I'm in the mood for that sort of scent, but it's rare, so I mostly keep it for the bottle too (see a trend here?).  G is the only Harajuku Lovers perfume I own.  Don't laugh.  I couldn't resist the adorable-ness, plus the scent is like a day at the beach.  It's all coconuts and deliciousness and smells especially nice layered with Gwen's signature L fragrance.

I haven't worn Marc Jacobs Lola in a while, actually.  I need to spray it on more often.  Again, it's the bottle that really sells me.  I have a feeling I'll have this for a long time!  The tiny bottle is Bobbi Brown Almost Bare.  It's a cast-off from my mom and I haven't had a chance to wear it yet, but it's very light and clean.  I don't usually go for that in a perfume, but it's worth trying anyway.

Then you see Gwen Stefani's L.  I don't care that it's now available on super discount shelves at stores like TJ Maxx, I still love it and always get compliments when I wear it.  I think I'll head to TJ Maxx and stock up!  In the back is Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue, which I starting wearing when I was sixteen or seventeen and is what I consider my first "real" fragrance (Tommy Girl doesn't count!).  I've outgrown it now but I'll wear it occasionally when I'm feeling a little nostalgic.  It's another fresh clean scent that was perfect for my teenage self!

Now, though, I'm gravitating toward grand, fiery statement perfumes (pink pepper and cinnamon are my two new favorite elements) and "floral with a dark twist" kind of scents.  I'm also seeking out more unique, non-mainstream fragrances.  My signature scent probably won't be available at Sephora!  But you know what?  I'm definitely okay with the search.  I'll keep you all updated as the hunt continues :)

How to Find Your Signature Scent Part 3: Buying Unique Fragrances

Once you start learning what sort of scents you like, it's easier to pick out notes and elements and find different, more unique fragrances than the examples I gave in my last post.  Those scents are great, don't get me wrong, I own several myself, but I think the elusive Signature Scent™ should be something a little more unusual, don't you?

Black Phoenix perfume oil and Imps

One of the greatest resources for unusual, unique fragrances is The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.  I've written about them before and am still loving my Marie perfume oil.  It's violets and tea roses and I get complimented on it all the time!  I'm not sure it's my signature scent (I think I want something a little more in the oriental family), but I'm definitely enjoying it.  Go check out my BPAL article for more information about this fantastic company and the amazing fragrances they offer.  A great way to test their perfumes is to order "Imps", a tiny little sample of the perfume oil for only $3.  You can order up as many as you like and experiment to your heart's content without a real commitment!  Plus they'll also send Imps at random when you order a full size perfume.  Clever!

Lucky Scent samples: Le Labo Rose 31 and Commes de Garcons Daphne

 Another amazing resource for unusual perfume is LuckyScent.com.  I've never even heard of most of the brands and perfumes they offer, so you're guaranteed to find something unusual that no other woman will be wearing.  You can search by fragrance family or notes if you're stumped by the unfamiliar names.  LuckyScent also offers sample sizes of most of the perfumes for $3-5 so you can try before you buy!  It's particularly great because what they offer tends to be on the more expensive side.  I was okay with ordering up a $25 perfume oil from BPAL before I actually tried it, but I definitely wouldn't be cool with dropping $270 on the perfume Daphne Guinness created without trying it first (I did try it, and I think it's for the sort of woman who wears Chanel No. 5, which unfortunately isn't me...yet).

The best way to get a truly unique fragrance is to mix scents with wild abandon!  Layer two or three fragrances at once for a fragrance to suit you and only you.  This isn't for beginners and will require even more experimentation, but how fun would it be to have your very own unique blend?  I've loved Demeter's Fragrance Library ever since I read about them when I first started obsessing over magazines (quite a long time ago!).  They have scents for almost anything you can imagine, and are designed to be layered and mixed.  Personally I'm thinking Lava Rock plus Kamikaze would be a winner for me, but you could literally come up with thousands of combinations.


So tell me!  What are your favorite scents?  Have you found a signature yet, or are you still looking, like me?  Do you remember your very first fragrance? (Mine was Tommy Girl.  And some perfume from The Gap! Oh yes!)  Do you relegate scents to certain eras in your life? (Tommy Girl will always smell like 6th grade, while I wore Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue during high school).  What perfume would you never, ever wear again?  I wanna know!

How to Find Your Signature Scent Part 2: All About Fragrance Families

A fragrance counter can be tricky to navigate if you don't know what kind of scents you like.  Perfumes usually fall into one of four major families: floral, woody, oriental, and fresh.  Many fragrances overlap categories, too.  Here's what it all means:

Floral scents are pretty self-explanatory.  These are the most traditionally feminine fragrances, and popular notes include rose, lily pf the valley, peony, orchid, and tuberose.  Other variants are white florals, which typically have notes of jasmine, gardenia, or freesia to create a grand statement; and soft florals, which include elements of iris, vanilla, or citrus to create a fresh or powdery floral fragrance.  Some great floral scents to start testing are Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb, Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne, Michael Kors Very Hollywood, Robert Piquet Fracas, Prada Infusion d'Iris, and anything from Marc Jacobs.

Woody scents have strong, intense fragrance elements like amber, sandalwood, cedarwood, or patchouli.  These scents tend to be bold and spicy.  Dry wood fragrances include tobacco, leather, and a little citrus to keep it fresh and from being too overpowering.  Mossy woods typically evoke forests and include green or citrus notes as well as oak and other wood scents.  Oriental woods tend to be the most sexy, with notes of amber and sandalwood.  If you want to test a woody scent, spray Narciso Rodriguez For Her, Gucci Rush, Donna Karan Cashmere Mist, the original Lolita Lempicka, or Prada Amber to start.
 

Oriental fragrances tend to be exotic and sexy.  The very first oriental scent was Guerlain's Shalimar, which was developed in the 1920s and is still available today.  Fragrance elements mix spices like cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla with heady florals like rose and orchid.  Other elements include sugars, nutmeg, cardamom, and sweet spices.  There's a lot of variation among the scents in this category; "gourmand" is the term given to scents that contain foody elements like sugar and spice (and everything nice!) .  Some great oriental or gourmand fragrances to start testing are Aquolina Pink Sugar, Vera Wang Princess, Gucci Guilty, Burberry Brit, Georgio Armani Code, and Tocca Brigitte.

Finally, fresh scents are clean and energizing.  Common notes are lime, lemon, grapefruit, and mandarin.  Fresh green fragrances will have notes of leaves, herbs, or green tea, while fresh water fragrances will incorporate elements of ocean breezes or fresh dew.  Some will have an added element of amber to give the scent a little sexiness.  Some fresh fragrances you can try out include the DKNY Be Delicious fragrance line, Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue, Issey Miyake Eau d'Issey, and any scent from the aptly named brand Fresh.

These are meant to be general, overall guidelines.  Not every fragrance fits into one distinct category.  Most will have elements from two or even three fragrance families.  One of my favorite perfumes, L by Gwen Stefani (which is also one of the only celebrity fragrances I really like), has elements of both floral and fresh notes.  To see how fragrances blend and fit together, consult the Fragrance Wheel!  It's perfume's answer to the color wheel and was developed in 1983 by Michael Edwards.  It's extremely helpful to have a visual representation of how this all fits together.

Try a few scents from each category to learn what fragrances most appeal to you.  Once you discover a preference for oriental florals or dry woods, selecting a perfume becomes that much easier. 

Part 3 of selecting a fragrance is all about how to find the most unique scents, coming soon!  You don't want to miss it!

How to Find Your Signature Scent Part 1: The Basics

MoonBelle Photography

Fragrance is undoubtedly one of the most personal beauty products a person can own.  Scents react to your own body chemistry, so what smells amazing in the bottle or on someone else just may not work for you, and vice versa.  Whether you're looking for a Signature Scent or want to build up a fragrance library of perfumes for different moods and seasons, Applied Glamour steps in to assist and eliminate confusion!  This three part series on perfume will take you through every aspect of fragrance selection, from the initial sniff to exactly what "woody oriental" means to where to find the most unique scents.

First, some terms to decode:  Top notes refer to the fragrance elements you smell immediately after the perfume is sprayed.  They're strong and will be your first impression of the perfume, but they also tend to evaporate fairly quickly.  Middle notes are what you smell after the top notes have faded, usually up to an hour later.  They're the "heart" of the fragrance and the main elements of the perfume.  The base notes are what add depth and complexity to a perfume, since it's the element that lingers long after the top and middle notes have faded.  You can start detecting them as early as thirty minutes after applying the perfume, but they often take much longer to appear.  This will affect how long your fragrance lasts.

If you have no idea where to begin, just pick up a perfume bottle that appeals to you and see how you like the fragrance inside.  Ideally, you want something aesthetically pleasing as well as smelling amazing.  It's completely okay to judge a fragrance by its bottle.  Alternatively, pick a fragrance to test from a fashion house whose clothes or accessories you admire.  If you have a collection of Pucci scarves, try Miss Pucci or Vivara perfumes (the bottles are stunning, too).  If you dream of a Chanel handbag, see how you like Coco Mademoiselle.  It's not completely foolproof, but it's a great place to start.

The best way to find a fragrance you love is to test it on your own skin!  Try one scent on each wrist at a time and wear it around for a while to really get a feel for the top, middle, and base notes, determine how long the scent will last, and most importantly, how it smells on you.  It can be time consuming, yes, but the process is ultimately worthwhile. 

Stay tuned for parts two and three on How to Find Your Signature Scent!  Coming soon: all about fragrance families and secrets for finding truly unique perfumes.

Something A Little Darker: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Artwork: Beresford Egan

The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is home to pretty much the most unique and amazing perfumes in the ENTIRE WORLD.  If you're the discriminating sort who's unhappy with mainstream fragrances and wants something entirely different, this company was made for you.  I've literally spent hours poring over their website, reading all the fantastical descriptions of each scent.  These mini-vignette descriptors are seriously incredible.  A lot of them take cues from literature, with collections of scents inspired by Neil Gaiman (favorite author shoutout!), Alice and Wonderland, Lovecraftian mythology, Shakespeare, and countless others.  The sheer amount of perfumes they offer is mind boggling, not to mention the variety.  Even if you find Lovecraft or Lewis Carroll less than appealing, I guarantee there's at least one scent from Black Phoenix that will make you positively giddy. 

I ordered up Marie from the Diabolus collection, which is described as "a blend of sinuous violet and elegant tea rose: the chosen scent of France's demigoddess of debauch: Marie Antoinette."  Violets and tea roses sounds exactly like a recipe for Eau de Old Lady, but reviews I read about the fragrance kept insisting how complex, dark, and unexpected it is.  I trusted the reviews and am pleasantly thrilled with my purchase!  The scent really is complex, so much more than just violets and roses.  I can't tell what else is in the blend and Black Phoenix doesn't say, but I know that I definitely want to order more from this company.

Luckily, they also sent me two tiny perfume samples at random.  I've got Inferno, "the Dark Side of Fire: cinnamon, bitter almond, and neroli. Heavily spiced, torrid, and possibly conflagrant."  I have no idea what neroli is, but I swear this is like fire in a bottle if only fire smelled like delicious spicy candy.  I'm sure you're thinking, "Who wants to smell like that?!"  It sounds completely weird, but it's surprisingly wearable.  It's sweet then spicy, exotic, mysterious, and downright amazing.  The other sample, Lilium Inter Spinas (literally, lily among thorns) is just as complex but somehow not quite as appealing (though that's really just a matter of personal preference). 

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab now has an actual brick-and-mortar shop in Burbank, CA!  The perfumes are also available for order online and in certain select stores across the U.S.  Although the proprietors warn that shipping will take 14-21 business days, that was simply not the case at all for my order!  I had my Marie perfume within the next week.  Another plus for Black Alchemy: what they sell is actually perfume oil, which is about 70% fragrance.  In comparison, eau de parfums are about 15% fragrance, while eau de toilettes are about 8%.  Not bad for $25 including shipping, hmm?   

Is it just me or do department store perfume counters suddenly seem awfully boring?