Shampoo -Revlon - Flex Shampoo
hadas 5/12/2010 10:23:00 PM
I LOVE the smell of the Flex products. I couldn't find them anymore at stores and read some people online suggesting that they were discontinued, so I wrote to Revlon. Here is the response that I got:
"Thank you for your recent comments from the Revlon website and your
interest in our products. Sometimes, because of fashion trends and limited consumer demand, it
becomes necessary to discontinue an otherwise excellent product.
Unfortunately, Flex is no longer being manufactured."
So stock up on Ebay girls, as that lovely balsam scent is vanishing forever. Very sad as it is such a gorgeous, spicy, creamy, scent, and very unique. :-(
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -Revlon - Flex Extra Body Triple Action Shampoo
hadas 5/12/2010 10:23:00 PM
I LOVE the smell of the Flex products. I couldn't find them anymore at stores and read some people online suggesting that they were discontinued, so I wrote to Revlon. Here is the response that I got:
"Thank you for your recent comments from the Revlon website and your
interest in our products. Sometimes, because of fashion trends and limited consumer demand, it
becomes necessary to discontinue an otherwise excellent product.
Unfortunately, Flex is no longer being manufactured."
So stock up on Ebay girls, as that lovely balsam scent is vanishing forever. Very sad as it is such a gorgeous, spicy, creamy, scent, and very unique. :-(
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Conditioner -Revlon - Flex Conditioner for Dry Hair
hadas 5/12/2010 10:22:00 PM
I LOVE the smell of the Flex products. I couldn't find them anymore at stores and read some people online suggesting that they were discontinued, so I wrote to Revlon. Here is the response that I got:
"Thank you for your recent comments from the Revlon website and your
interest in our products. Sometimes, because of fashion trends and limited consumer demand, it
becomes necessary to discontinue an otherwise excellent product.
Unfortunately, Flex is no longer being manufactured."
So stock up on Ebay girls, as that lovely balsam scent is vanishing forever. Very sad as it is such a gorgeous, spicy, creamy, scent, and very unique. :-(
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Etat Libre D'Orange - Secretions Magnifiques
hadas 3/22/2010 8:18:00 PM
In describing the scent itself, I would say that when I first applied it from the vial and sniffed, I immediately recoiled and got a momentary feeling like I might wretch, because it smelled sharp and fishy...like fish thats started to go bad. As Secretions Magnifiques dries down, I begin to smell citrus: a high pitched lemon that is also underscored by mildly sweet, creamy smell, almost like yellow cake batter (rather than baby batter. lol!). But lurking in the background is that discordant fish smell.
Slightly anti-climactic: no semen, no BO, no bunghole to speak of, although at times its strange accords might evoke the *association* of any or all of those things. Interestingly, this fragrance does dry down after a while to a very pleasant sweet, slightly masculine musk. I'd totally wear it if I could somehow eliminate the oceanic, fishy component of the first hour or so.
4 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eyeliner -Wet 'n' Wild - Mega Eyes Defining Marker - Blackest Black
hadas 1/20/2010 3:45:00 PM
Boohoo. I love this eyeliner marker but it doesn't last long at all. I got literally only about 4 uses out of it and I honestly do not cake my eyeliner on: I do only a very fine line on upper and lower lid. The marker works great - very fine pointed tip, nice smooth ink (not waterproof btw) but the marker just dries up quickly. Obviously not a lot of ink inside this marker, but what can you expect for such a great price i guess.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chanel - No.19
hadas 11/29/2009 2:14:00 AM
It took me a long time to appreciate classic Chanels; to find sensory pleasure in the high pitched sparkly aldehydes that they used liberally in many of their pre-modern scents...and the jasmine/rose that smells at once powdery and old fashioned. It was really not my scene. To be honest, I had only tried No. 5 and that was a huge turn-off for me [at the time]. I thought it smelled artificial and synthetic, and then when I read somewhere that that was exactly the effect that Coco Chanel herself wanted to achieve, I rolled my eyes skyward and thought "Oh man, I simply do not GET it!" Then I sniffed Chanel No. 19 EDT at a Macy's' store one day. It was one of the first "classic scents" that made me immediately sit up and take notice (Mitsouko had done this to me some 3 years before). The bitter galbanum, the cool and woody iris, the inner floral vortex of rose, jasmine and lily. Hell yeah...And as it dries down and the hours tick by, more facets of the scent are revealed. At times I'll sniff my wrist and smell baking bread...at other times warm beer (not joking!). The various shades of No. 19 are lovely and elusive.
I was born in '76 so I can faintly remember smelling some of those distinctive, classic 70s scents like No. 19, Aromatics Elixir, Halston, etc. as a young child. When I smelled No. 19, it made me think of a young mother in the 1970s: around thirty, sandy hair, golden skin, rosy cheeks, Mona Lisa smile: a natural, feminine beauty, like Jennifer O'Neill, Jaqueline Bisset, or Cheryl Tiegs. I'm not sure if I ever really encountered such a woman wearing this scent as a kid, but it was very evocative for me. I now own a large bottle of it, and it has evolved for me to be my "business scent." Its green color and cool, bracingly green smell makes it the ideal fragrance for dealing with professional matters, and although it does smell quite old fashioned by today's standards, I feel it exudes the perfect, uplifting smell for being taken seriously while retaining one's femininity. It is soft, but not ditzy. It's old fashioned, but not frumpy. It's cool, but not heartless. It's uniquely mysterious, but not at all dark and depressing. It's dazzling but.....there are no buts. It is dazzling, pure and simple.
15 out of 16 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Demeter - holy smoke pmu
hadas 9/19/2009 2:53:00 AM
Very light patchouli. Nothing more, nothing less. Soft and fleeting to boot. Yawn. I expected more, glad I merely sampled.
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Lotions/ Creams -Burt's Bees - Milk & Honey Body Lotion
hadas 8/2/2009 7:13:00 AM
First of all, the scent: A few days ago I smelled this on a lady and I almost fell over! It was the most beautiful honeyed pipe tobacco smell...When she told me what it was I rushed right out and bought a bottle. The smell really is incredible. I totally agree with the previous reviewer who said pipe tobacco - that's what the sillage smells like to me as well. I think that the scent is primarily vanilla and coconut, but for some reason it smells very tobacco-ish! The scent is divine and luckily it lasts and lasts on me.
As for moisturization, it just can't be beat. The lotion is beige in color, slightly runny in consistency, and leaves my dry skin soft and supple all day - literally hours after applying I touch my skin and it still feels dewey and moisturized. I can't remember any other body lotion that I can say that about. I purchased this at The Vitamin Shoppe for only $6.95, which was a steal because it sells for several dollars more elsewhere. I love this, only positive things to say about it, which is rare for me!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Hermes - Ambre Narguile (Hermesessence series)
hadas 7/14/2009 3:43:00 AM
I put Ambre Narguile on this morning, and a coworker came into the room and said "Woo, it smells like powder in here!" I was like "Wow, is it me?" and proferred my wrist for her to sniff. "Yes that's it...it smells different close up though," she said.
I was surpised that she got "powder" from Ambre Narguile, because what I get from it is a cinnamony, flaky pastry - one that is still a slightly soft and doughy in the middle. The amber in this is noticeable, but tweaked in a very pleasant way. The spicy/medicinal amber that is so common in many ambery niche fragrances is mercifully absent in Ambre Narguile; here it is gourmandized to be doughy and comforting. I do get a little tobacco (narguile = tobacco water-pipe), but I have to kind of "reach" for it with my scent imagination when I sniff.
One last thing. I agree with Luca Turin that this scent smells like a nod to Serge Lutens. There is a certain twist of ingredients here that's reminiscent of something common throughout SL's Chergui, Muscs Koublai Khan, etc. Interesting...and very yummy stuff.
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Fragrances -Demeter - Pipe Tobacco
hadas 7/14/2009 3:19:00 AM
Update March 2011: I was at an antique store today and they had a very old desk-top humidor, used to hold fine cigars. The inside was lined with cork-like wood. I opened the lid and smelled inside, and believe me when I tell you it smelled EXACTLY like Pipe Tobacco by Demeter. Did not smell like other so-called tobacco scents by niche brands, but did smell just like the Demeter one. Amazing that they were able to capture real pipe/cigar tobacco like this. Smelling the inside of the old humidor really confirmed to me that this Demeter scent is THE one to have if you're looking for the real deal - not an ambery, clovey avante garde interpretation.
Original Review: Wow, this sure seems to smell like the real deal. My grandfather smoked a pipe and when I first smelled this, I immediately knew that Demeter had really hit the nail on the head. This is a not-so-sweet, nuanced, pipe-tobacco-in-the-pouch scent. And on me 2-3 squirts lasts a long time. This is my comfort scent, and I'm so glad to have found it. I have tried other so called pipe tobaco scents (CBIHP Pipe Tobacco Accord, Bell'Antonio, Tobacco Vanille, Tabac Aurea, etc) and this is the only one that really hits the nail on the head. It would be nice if it were just a little sweeter, but you can't have everything.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Pipe Tobacco
hadas 7/14/2009 2:53:00 AM
Although it doesn't say it in the review-title, this product is the CB I Hate Perfume "Pipe Tobacco Accord."
This Pipe Tobacco Accord does smell like a rather generic, sweet tobacco (it reminds me somewhat of Bell'Antonio by Hilde Soliani which is a very nice coffee and tobacco), but it doesn't smells like a dead ringer for real pipe tobacco. (If you want a pipe tobacco scent that is uncannily like the real thing, I recommend opting for the Demeter Pipe Tobacco PMU - see my review if interested). It is pleasant and wearable, and I do get the tobacco note...but it just doesn't have all the rich flavors of inhaling a pouch of moist pipe tobacco. Also, the sillage that I smell wafting up from my wrist sometimes smells a bit camphorous...very much like Carmex lip balm. Not bad, but there are a couple pipe tobacco scents I would choose over this one, any day.
Update: Okay, every time I apply this now, I pretty much just smell Carmex. Once the association is made, it is very hard to shake, unfortunately. :-(
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Parfum d'Empire Ambre Russe
hadas 7/11/2009 5:56:00 PM
This is a nice amber scent with a rum note seamlessly woven throughout. It is smoother, less harsh than many other perfumes with amber as a key player. But it also is not terribly unique, by which I mean it has the same labdanum + incense + spices thing going on that can be found in DK Black Cashmere, SSS Tabac Aurea, and many other amber fragrances. I am getting weary of smelling this same slightly medicinal labdanum accord constantly so it's hard for me to get really excited about Ambre Russe, although I love the rum note. And deep within that boozy rum thread of Ambre Russe, I might even smell a subtle, lovely caramel-tobacco lurking, which intesifies as the fragrance dries into its heart; this complexity is another redeeming quality. So I give it a thumbs up.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Jovan - Woman
hadas 7/3/2009 5:32:00 AM
My grandmother, Kay (bless you, wherever you are), wore this as her signature scent. As a child in the 1980s, I would visit Grandma in So. California and every time I would come near or give her a hug, I would marvel at her incredible scent. She smelled like soapy yet leathery rosey-spicy-amber-wood. It blended with her chemistry so well that it became more than the sum of its notes; it just smelled like it could be her own lovely natural smell, not really perfumey at all. It smelled sooo delicious. It was one of the only perfumes that made a positive impression on me as a child. I've always remembered that she once told me that perfume was called Woman. So as an adult, after Grandma had passed on, I stumbled upon this perfume at K-Mart and purchased it. I now wear it -- not as my signature scent, as she did, but fairly often nevertheless. It always makes me feel like she's close at hand when I catch of whiff of Jovan Woman wafting up from my wrist, although truly I don't wear it as well as she did. Her chemistry worked magic upon this scent. It is truly a stunner; after the strong opening notes dry down for 30 minutes or so, it evolves into this soft, dry woody-floral that is VERY distinctive and lovely. Although not technically a chypre (there are no citrus topnotes and no oakmoss in the base), Jovan Woman definitely reads as a chypre, with its complex and unique spicy, woody floral accord. Give it a whirl, you may enjoy it and, if you're lucky, might have the chemistry to make it sing as my grandmother did.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Hilde Soliani Bell'Antonio
hadas 6/26/2009 5:51:00 AM
Smells just like black coffee + unlit tobacco: about equal parts of each, seamlessly blended together to create a harmonious accord. Pretty nice, but doesn't necessarily wow me. I can see how it would wow some people though.
Update 7/21/09: I am really starting to realize how unique and pleasant this fragrance is. Bell'Antonio is such a nice, deep, rich, sweet tobacco....and the coffee note buoys it admirably. I'm raising my original rating from a 3 to a 5. too bad the cost of a bottle is prohibitively expensive. :-(
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bond No.9 - West Side
hadas 6/7/2009 3:09:00 AM
Okay, I have to preface this review for West Side by just saying that the first time I smelled this fragrance, it was practically a spiritual experience for me. It was like reconnecting with a scent that I had intercepted momentarily as a child: fleeting, idealized, and, inevitably, lost to memory. Sniffing West Side on my wrist immediately jolted me into an emotional recognition of something long forgotten but now recaptured. Here's a stream-of-consciousness collage of accords that I get from this fragrance: ...mouthwatering caramel...sweet pipe tobacco...red wine...pleasant, light hint of cigarette smoke...and the star of the show: the soft, salty, rose...It's everything I could ever want in a fragrance, precisely because it is every pleasant thing I've ever caught a whiff of on a sunny spring day in the city. I cherish the little candy-wrapped sample that a thoughtful MUAer sent to me a couple years ago. I will definitely be getting a full bottle of this when my finances allow.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No