Fragrance

Add Chanel No. 5 Essential Bath Oils to Your Nordstrom Beauty Exclusives Lust List

June 16th, 2009 by Karen 28 Comments

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It’s always been my master fragrance plan to wear Chanel’s classic No. 5 perfume — a floral aldehyde with notes of neroli, jasmine and vanilla — when I turned 55.

By then, I hope to own a small army of Chanel tweed suits, quilted pocketbooks and “sensible” flats. Of course in this fantasy I’d also live in mansion on Lake Como (complete with a hot pool boy), but I digress.

Right now I’m tempted to abandon the master plan because the No. 5 Essential Bath Oils ($75), one of the Chanel exclusives available at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale next month, look too frickin’ cute.

Forget being all up in the club; I want to be all up in my tub! Scented with Chanel No. 5, the three layers of pink-hued bath oils contain Ylang-Ylang (a small flower native to the Philippines and Indonesia) and almond extract to moisturize and scent the skin. Heavenly!

Bottles of No. 5 Essential Bath Oils are currently available now for pre-order at Nordstrom fragrance counters. If you buy it now you can pick it up when the Nordie’s Anniversary Sale kicks off on July 17.

I love the pink oils and the minimalist packaging, but the $75 price tag hurts. It might be a nice treat if you’ve got some gift cards laying around, though. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Estee Lauder Pure White Linen Pink Coral: White Linen’s Fresh-Faced Li’l Sis

June 11th, 2009 by Karen 17 Comments

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Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, spokesmodel for Estee Lauder’s Pure White Linen Pink Coral fragrance

I’m *so not* an OG Estee Lauder White Linen kinda girl.

I know it’s considered a classic scent and loved by millions of women, but it always seemed too formal and ~~kinda old lady~~ overly mature to me.

That’s why I never expected to like EL’s new interpretation of the fragrance, Pure White Linen Pink Coral ($40).

The Bulgarian rose in the OG White Linen scent makes me think back to being a kid at family parties. My mom would always make me do my rounds, kissing cheeks on all of my aunties and grandmas. I could almost see the air around them. It was thick, and it smelled just like White Linen and fried fish (a fragrance common to Filipino get togethers, LOL!).

But EL lightened up with Pure White Linen Pink Coral. She’s fresher (so fresh!) than her older sister (the original White Linen) and more my cup of tea.

Pure White Linen Pink Coral joins Pure White Linen (a fruity floral with notes of orange and raspberry) and Pure White Linen Light Breeze (a citrus with grapefruit and Italian Bergamot), two other interpretations of the original White Linen fragrance.

The scent

Pure White Linen Pink Coral starts off with a burst of fresh cut green apple slices and crushed jasmine petals.

At first whiff I get a picture of a summer seaside wedding. The bride and her bridesmaids are standing with their bouquets held low, waiting for their cue to walk barefoot down a sandy aisle strewn with flower petals — casual, light and hopeful. 🙂

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A short time later (about 30 minutes), Pure White Linen Pink Coral’s middle notes appear, and the fragrance becomes a joyful, fresh floral mix of honeysuckle, cherry blossom and sweet pea flower.

As the scent dries down over the next few hours, vanilla and sandalwood emerge — sexy but coy, like a little black dress that fits in all the right places without having to show too much skin.
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Bath and Body Works Butterfly Flower: On Sale Now

May 2nd, 2009 by Karen 19 Comments

bath and body works butterfly flower body lotion shower gel fragrance mist

I *wish* I had Mariah Carey on speed dial because I’d ask her if she had something to do with the name Bath & Body Works gave to their new limited edition spring fragrance line.

Doesn’t Butterfly Flower sound like something she would have come up with? 🙂

You know, she has that obsession with butterflies, rainbows, Hello Kitty, glitter and all things fourth grade that makes me wonder (still lovin’ ya, Mimi!). Hmm…

I don’t know about you, but I always look forward to new BBW fragrance releases because I never know what to expect.

New for spring, products in the Butterfly Flower fragrance collection of gels, lotions, baths and creams ($5-$30 each) pack notes of freesia, mimosa flower and honeysuckle. Those are what I detect, but here’s the company’s official breakdown of the fragrance:

Butterfly Flower
Top notes: Black tea, tangerine, cyclamen (a flower), banana leaf
Middle notes: Orchid, Asian syringa flower, French mimosa
Base notes: Creamy coconut milk, musk

BBW’s floral blends can sometimes overwhelm my sensitive nose, some even smelling overly synthetic on my skin. I usually prefer their crisp, clean scents like Rainkissed Leaves, but Butterfly Flower is lighter than most of their floral fare.

I’ve been testing three of the items from the 16-piece collection…
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Comment to Win DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom Perfume

May 2nd, 2009 by Karen 276 Comments

This giveaway is closed, and I’ll be contacting the winner shortly. Thanks for entering!

dkny be delicious fresh blossom

As spring blossoms, I find myself reaching for heavy winter fragrances less often than I did a couple months ago. I feel like it’s time for lighter, fresher scents like DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom, a limited edition spring fragrance with notes of grapefruit, French cassis (black currant), apricot, muguet (Lily of the Valley), rose, jasmine and apple.

How about a giveaway?

The prize

One lucky lady will win a 3.4-oz bottle of DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom eau de parfum spray (a $70 value).

The bottle is sure to brighten up your bedroom dresser. 🙂

How to enter…

If you’re a regular reader, you know we do it, girl. There are a couple ways to enter, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me what fragrances you’ve been wearing this spring.

I’ve been wearing Estee Lauder pretty much non-stop! — Pleasures Baie Rose Body Splash and Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia.

Second, you can also enter by subscribing to my updates by email (if you haven’t already). They’re once-a-day emails with my daily posts featuring beauty product reviews, drugstore beauty tips, makeup tutorials and incredibly useful pictures of my cat, LOL!
(Note: if you’re already subscribed, you’re automatically entered to win.)

Recap…

Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
Sign up for my updates by email if you haven’t already. Just enter your email address using the form below, or click this link.

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59PM PST Sunday night.

Bona fortuna!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This giveaway is closed, and I’ll be contacting the winner shortly. Thanks for entering!

Estee Lauder Baie Rose Peony Body Splash Made a Splash with Me

April 20th, 2009 by Karen 10 Comments

estee lauder pleasures baie rose peony splash

If there’s such a thing as a body splash intervention, I think I need one! I’m addicted to Estee Lauder’s Pleasures Baie Rose Peony Splash ($52).

It’s one of three new spring limited edition body splashes (joining Sandlewood Amber Splash and Jasmine Violet Splash) from EL’s long-running Pleasures fragrance line.

Each of the splashes takes the classic Pleasures blend of lilies and jasmine and tweaks it just a little bit.

Body splashes are lighter than perfumes and eau de toilettes, with fragrances typically lasting less time on the skin. That’s why many gals prefer them, particularly in warmer weather, in place of heavy or cloying perfumes.

The original Pleasures scent is an old-school fave of mine (soooo 1997!), and Baie Rose adds a yummy rose to the mix.

I think EL got the balance of rose just right in Baie Rose. It stops way shy of matronly and rests solidly in the Land of Great.

On me Baie Rose smells of lilies, first, and crushed roses on a fresh, dewy spring morning after a night of April showers — clean, crisp, feminine and young. Lurvely!
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My Philosophy? Unconditional Love Is Berry Good

March 21st, 2009 by Karen 15 Comments

philosophy unconditional love

Heya, girls. What’s shakin’? El Hub and I are cruising the mall after finishing lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (can I just have cheesecake for the rest of my life, please?). Now I’m looking at makeup at Nordstrom while El Hub sits patiently on one of those black leather “boy benches” by the escalators. He has his iPhone and a full belly, so he’ll be fine for a while. 🙂

I’m on my way to the MAC counter for Sugarsweet goodies, but first I wanted to mention what I found at Philosophy. It’s a new fragrance called Unconditional Love. Have you caught a whiff yet?

The Philosophy counter folks tell me it just came in this week. It’s described as a fruity fragrance with notes of blackberry, vanilla and musk, and there are three items in the line: an eau de toilette ($40), a body wash ($22) and body lotion ($34).

I was just walking by the stand when I thought someone nearby was eating berry Life Savers, which I love. I stopped and realized the scent was coming from the Philosophy counter.

Combine the distinct but light blackberry scent with rain-kissed skin and a steaming hot cup of vanilla rooibos tea, and that’s how I think of Unconditional Love.

It has been raining since dawn, and the fragrance fits well with the weather.
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It’s Kenzo Eau de Fleur de The Tea Time

March 19th, 2009 by Karen 10 Comments

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Gals, do ya remember Bath & Body Works’ awesomely clean Rainkissed Leaves (about $10) scent from last summer? If you went ga-ga over it like I did, then catch a whiff of Kenzo’s new Eau de Fleur de The Tea ($55).

It’s one of three Kenzo Eau de Fleur fragrances, the other two being Eau de Fleur de Soie Silk and Eau de Fleur de Magnolia. All three are special edition scents and go for $55 each (1.7oz bottles).

Eau de Fleur de The Tea has a crushed-leaves-in-the-rain vibe that reminds me of B&BW’s Rainkissed Leaves but also carries notes of green tea and musk (like the scent of clean skin). It doesn’t smell overwhelmingly like tea (seriously, who wants to walk around smelling like a tea bag?), which has been a beef I’ve had with other green tea scents I’ve tried in the past, but it does smell just enough like green tea to be appealing.

“A white cowbell with a heart of gold. Sheltered under its leaves, the tea flower diffuses a floral concoction with notes of green tea and a hint of musk. Kenzo flower waters are picked from Japanese trees. Each eau de toilette in the collection evokes a delicate trail of tree blossom. Three new fragrances made of natural, clear and streamlined floral notes. Every year, Kenzo will enrich this collection by picking another flower.”
source

All week long I’ve been layering it on top of Rainkissed Leaves Body Wash and Lotion. The two scents complement each other nicely.
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Makeup and Beauty Blog Confessional

March 13th, 2009 by Karen 44 Comments

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Heya, cuties! I’m feeling the need for some end-of-the-week beauty catharsis. As I sit here typing this sentence, my hair stinks more than sticky pleather pumps in the summertime.

This week several beauty rituals fell by the wayside. There were so many exciting makeup releases to cover (Chanel summer!!), plus I had hella reading and homework to do.

Thank goodness for all the fab beauty remedies we have at our fingertips. Without ’em, I might’ve completely devolved into Pig-Pen territory.

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With the Powers-That-Be as my witness, here are all the beauty violations I’m guilty of this week.

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Beauty Confession: I can’t remember the last time I washed my hair. I think it might’ve been Tuesday? I’m usually very motivated to be clean so I shower every night, but for the past few days I haven’t been washing my hair before bed. Drying five pounds of wet hair at 1 a.m. is no fun.

When my hair smells sketchy in the mornings I reach for Rene Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo ($24). It’s a fine powder mist I spray on my roots. Naturia removes the greasy smell, erases oily shine and boosts volume. While not as refreshing as a real deal shampoo sesh, in a pinch it gets the job done.

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Beauty Confession: All the nails on my left hand are different colors. Avril Lavigne could get away with it during her Sk8er Boi era. On me it just looks plain crazy.

When I’m feeling swamped, eliminating the cotton ball from the nail polish removal equation makes the job a billion times easier.

Sally Hansen has one for busy beauties like us called Kwik Off ($4). It’s a big ole’ sponge soaked with nail polish remover and housed in a jar. I open the jar up, stick my finger into a pre-made hole in the sponge, twist it around a few times, et voila — my nail polish disappears faster than Cuba Gooding Jr.’s film career.

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Beauty Confession: I haven’t showered in two days. Earlier I mentioned that I usually shower every night, but last night I was totally glued to the tube (The Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo, watch it!). Plus, just the thought of squeezing a jar of body wash felt exhausting.
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