Gels/Soaps -Laura Mercier - luxury soap - au lait
kate8 10/17/2004 3:40:00 PM
Wonderful soap. Extremely creamy, very good lather, and exceptionally moisturizing. It's a "4" instead of a "5" because I don't happen to be a big fan of milk scents (a milk fan may love it), and it is awfully expensive...I got my small bar as a wonderful swap extra. I am unlikely to repurchase this specific soap, but it makes me eager to hunt down other LM soaps and body washes in scents more to my preference.
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Candles -Unlisted Brand - Red Flower - Japanese Peony
kate8 10/12/2004 12:23:00 PM
UPDATE 10/16/04: I raised my rating from a 3 to a 4. The throw and strength are greater than I originally thought---my nose must not have been functioning completely for the first few burnings. Still not my favorite Red Flower, but better than my original review indicated. ORIGINAL TEXT: This is my first non-rave review for a Red Flower candle. Japanese Peony smelled just as beautiful unlit as the other Red Flowers we've owned and the cold wax still smells pretty when I sniff, but it lacks the power and throw of every other Red Flower we've burned. It reminds me of some Diptyque scents: great in the box, but disappointing when burning. Like other Red Flowers, it burns nicely and doesn't smoke, so long as you trim the wick once every so often. I'll enjoy burning it to the end, but other scents are so much better that I don't see us repurchasing.
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Fragrances -Shiseido - Feminite du Bois
kate8 10/12/2004 12:15:00 PM
Heaven! For background, I am a cedar and spice fan; I expected to like Feminité du Bois before I tried it, and in fact I love it. "Mellow woods, soft spices, musk, fruit and florals" sounds like a hodgepodgey mess to me, but it works! I've had little success restraining that "cloud nine" feeling from the first time I sniffed the bottle, because my impression is simply reconfirmed every time I wear it. Bless you, kyahgirl, for sending me some after I'd pined over it for so long; it is definitely going on my Christmas and birthday lists, and I'll probably move heaven and earth to snag a bottle in the next few months. (In the meantime, I'm hoarding my mini!)
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Fragrances -Creed - Fleur de The Rose Bulgare
kate8 10/12/2004 12:03:00 PM
An assertive, very green rose. If you like MPG Rose Opulente, you may *love* Creed FdTRB. It's a very bold, deep rose with a strong, tangy green stem, and serious (but not evil) sillage. I love greens, but when it comes to roses, I prefer greens to be paired with a more delicate rose, instead of FdTRB's lush, take-no-prisoners bloom (for stronger roses, I prefer the lemon-pepper hints in Crown Rose or even the wine of Jo Malone Red Roses over a green rose like FdTRB or Rose Opulente). Mr. kate8 *loves* this fragrance on me, so I'm in no hurry to be rid of it, but it's not "me," in the way that Crown Rose is. It lasts 8+ hours on my skin, and never seems to change from first spray to drydown. I recall someone calling it a "cold" rose fragrance, and now I understand---Crown Rose morphs and comes alive on me over the day, when I wear it, weaving in and out, while FdTRB just...stays. In musical terms, I think of Crown Rose as a long, continuous note with a nice vibrato; it observes a number of dynamic markings over its lifespan. In contrast, FdTRB is that same note, no vibrato, no dynamic changes...a very straight tone. It's very dependable, but to me, it feels static---something that sits on my skin, instead of blending into it. If you like full roses with serious green elements, this is *definitely* one you should try.
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Fragrances -Miller Harris - Feuilles de Tabac
kate8 10/11/2004 11:47:00 AM
Verte's word "earthy" is a good one---it's a true tobacco, rather strong, slightly sweet. It's very spicy at the start, but it quickly fades into an earthier tobacco scent. I'm not sure it was a perfect match for me, much as I appreciate it, but Mr. kate8 liked it and I'm eager to have him try it on---I suspect it would smell fabulous on a man. It lasted 7-8+ hours on my skin.
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Fragrances -Cote Bastide - Fleur d'Oranger
kate8 10/9/2004 2:41:00 PM
Fleur d'Oranger is a lovely orange blossom---light, not too heady, with a bit of a "pollen" note to it. You can almost hear the bees buzzing! The down side is that it's very short-lived; it had vanished from my skin after two hours. It's cheap enough (for the amount you get) that you can afford to reapply frequently, but since I don't like carrying perfume with me to work every day, and I can't always stop for "perfume breaks" every two hours, I will not purchase a bottle. Still a lovely fragrance, and reasonably priced.
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Fragrances -Bond No.9 - Eau de Noho
kate8 10/8/2004 9:40:00 AM
I enjoyed trying Eau de Noho, but in the end, I was left shrugging my shoulders. The violet and mandarin definitely come through on my skin, and they're nice, but just...nice. (*shrug*) There's a little amber, and maybe a white floral hint to it...it lasted 4-5 hours on me, which isn't very long. Certainly not offensive, but not remarkable, either, and not long-lasting enough or spectacular enough on me to justify its price.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Star Boutique - Gibson Martini
kate8 10/6/2004 1:27:00 PM
A very vanillic sandalwood. A lovely swapper sent me a sample, and it seems like a lover of vanillic sandalwood (as opposed to woody sandalwood, spicy sandalwood, etc.) might really enjoy it---it was fairly sweet, and lasted at least 7-8 hours on my skin. It reminded me very strongly of Glow Sandalwood products (the now-defunct Los Angeles company Glow, not the J.Lo fragrance...). I *don't* happen to like most vanilla-sandalwood combinations, so it was a bust for me, but vanilla-sandalwood fans and folks who miss Glow Sandalwood might want to check it out.
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Fragrances -Prada - Prada Beauty Eau de Parfum
kate8 10/6/2004 9:00:00 AM
I only just got around to trying the sample of Angel...oops, I mean PRADA...that a lovely swapper sent me some time ago. ;-) I had *not* read reviews before sampling it, so I wasn't expecting a similarity to any specific fragrance---I'd gathered that it was an oriental, gourmand, or spicy fragrance, rather than some sparkly floral, but that was everything I knew. Its resemblance to Angel is striking; "Angel Lite" was all I could think as I tried to evaluate it yesterday evening. It's a little more subtle than Angel, it doesn't last as long, and it seems just slightly leathery in the drydown. If you've liked elements of Angel, but found it too assertive or heavy a fragrance, then Prada could be wonderful for you. Or maybe you don't like the fact that "everybody wears Angel"...well, if you wear Prada, you'll smell a lot like the Angel-wearers, but you'll have the satisfaction of saying, "No...it's Prada." ;-) I already have a bottle of Angel that I rarely wear as it is, so I'm unlikely to purchase a friend for it.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Timbuktu EDT
kate8 10/6/2004 8:40:00 AM
I expected Timbuktu would be very controversial and unusual, a real love-it-or-hate-it scent, from the stuff I'd read---something like Muscs Koublaï Khan, Eau du Fier, Tubereuse Criminelle, or Angel (some of which I love, and some of which I...don't!). Instead, I'm apathetic, and unable to account for the strong feelings it appears to inspire. I *loved* the opening---I got plenty of spruce-ish wood and myrrh immediately. The fragrance that emerged about 20 minutes later had too much smokiness/lapsang souchong to suit my preference (although I love Tea for Two, which also has some smoky tea in it---it just doesn't emerge much on me, so that TfT smells more like chai on me!), but I'd think that someone who *does* like lapsang souchong/smoky fragrances might enjoy it! It only lasted a few hours on me, so its short lifespan is a problem at its price, but...it's not an evil fragrance! I expected something far more unusual or provocative, instead of this nice-enough-but-not-for-me scent.
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Fragrances -Fresh - Fig Apricot
kate8 10/5/2004 2:32:00 PM
I'd had bad luck with Fresh fragrances, so I was pleasantly surprised by Fig Apricot. It's nice---it's mostly a good, solid apricot-nectariney scent, with just a little fig. As another reviewer remarked, it smells like real, tart-sweet fruit, not just a sickly-sweet, synthetic "fruity" concept. (I think so many of these generically fake-fruity fragrances should have a new category, "froot" or "frût," so we'd be warned!) I deducted one lipstick because (like the other Fresh scents I've tried), it was short-lived; it didn't last more than four hours on my skin, and at its price, I expect a little more endurance. I'm unlikely to purchase, because apricots aren't my thing, but if you *want* an apricot scent, give this this one a shot.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chanel - No.19
kate8 10/4/2004 8:47:00 AM
I've tried, I really have. I've tried for years, and I've tried all concentrations. I love many Chanel fragrances *and* many fragrances that others have called "old-ladyish"...but Chanel No. 19 and I do *not* get along. I love leather, I love greens, and I love florals. Chanel No. 19 has plenty of all three, and I always expect (or hope) to love it, but I don't. I've explained the odd "cigarette smoke" note I get from Cristalle, a fragrance I like, in my Cristalle review. I find this oddity in No. 19 as well, but where I find it quirky and wonderful in Cristalle, it grates on me in No. 19. The whole thing smells discordant on my skin, and not in the "Gee, how interestingly discordant" way that some have mentioned. My chemistry renders it...trashy. Vulgar. Cheap. I release it to its legion of fans, and wish them many better experiences than mine.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Dzing
kate8 10/2/2004 10:36:00 PM
I expected to love Dzing!, and had looked forward to trying it, but it was a terrible letdown. The rubber/motor oil notes at the beginning were actually fun, and yes---zingy!---but after 20-30 minutes, a note combination started to emerge on me that made me extremely queasy---I'm still not sure what it was, but it suddenly smelled "perfumey" to me, in that "reach up and choke you" way. I've read what the notes are, and I can't figure out what was causing the problem---the middle and base notes are all things I wear very happily in other fragrances (some of them my favorites!). The good news for me is that the whole experience only lasted a few hours, and by then it had vanished from my skin---its fans may not see its short lifespan as an attractive feature!
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Lip Liners -Chanel - Precision Lip Definer Nude
kate8 10/1/2004 9:33:00 AM
I was a MAC Spice fan, until I tried Chanel Nude and converted almost a year ago. It's less "orange" than Spice, and maneuvers just slightly better. It blends beautifully, lasts for hours, doesn't dry my lips, and works with nearly every shade I own. It's expensive, but worth it to me.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Shampoo -LUSH - ultimate shine shampoo bar
kate8 10/1/2004 12:31:00 AM
This is our household's third shampoo bar---we've already tried NEW! Hair and Irresistible Bliss. I use them occasionally, and Mr. kate8 uses them often. Ultimate Shine is a nice, simple shampoo with lots of lather, like the other solid shampoos, and it travels just as well. It does *not* leave noticeable glitter in our hair (and as far as we're concerned, that's a very good thing). It's supposed to have ylang ylang and some other nicely fragrant things in it, but so far, it just smells like vinyl or strong plastic to me...it's a scent that doesn't linger in my hair after rinsing, so I really don't mind it. As with the other solid shampoos, I really need to condition my hair after use. Since I condition 95% of the time anyway, it's no problem, but someone who doesn't condition regualrly could experience some dry hair (although if you don't condition regularly, I'm guessing that you might already have this, whatever shampoo you use!).
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