Fragrances -Frederic Malle - Noir Epices
shaktigal 8/23/2008 2:37:00 PM
Revolting, loud. Imo best suited as a signature scent for underlining the particular personalities of puffed up, arrogant money bags, who think themselves better than others and who try to obscure the fact that they have no real means of good taste, this by simply relying on buying what's expensive and has a label on it..
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - IUNX No. 9
shaktigal 8/23/2008 2:14:00 PM
IUNX is the nicest and most 'me' perfume-line i have ever tried, and i have tried many many many.The IUNX waters are not straigth into your face overwhelming, or respectively not straight into other peoples noses overwhelming, therefore, if you fancy scents with a sillage power of say Fracas, then you will be disappointed. The IUNX scents are rather of a quality that makes people want to get closer to you and get a whiff. The perfumes of the IUNX line are very often deprecated as being of no staying power. I couldnt disagree more. Even when just sprayed 1 or 2 puffs into the air and walked under it, the scent stays with me for 2 days and even lingers in my room for some days. No 9 is very light and airy, pure, comfy, clean, gentle, unobtrusive but nevertheless noticable, the only note i can clearly distinguish is rosewood. Like a chiffon vail rather than a suffocating brocade. No 9 has never failed to attract compliments of adoration. This scent is pure wellness. Freshly laundered white linen seems a very suitable association with this perfume, since the scent transfers that naturalness and cleanliness as such a fabric would do. Perfect. Sadly the IUNX line has been discontinued. However, lucky me maybe too, since i very much adored other scents from that line too, hence i am prevented from spending a fortune on completing my set. Anyone out there wanting to get rid of her/his IUNX'es? contact me ;-) Olivia Giacobetti, if you read this: thank you for IUNX and please bring IUNX back!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Creed - Angelique Encens [DISCONTINUED]
shaktigal 8/23/2008 11:02:00 AM
with Angelique Encens the same thing has happened for me as did with L' Artisans L' eau d' ambre. Which is, first, after trying it on a few times, i feel very very excited and much certain that i MUST have it, that i will always love it and forever and for that reason i go for the big bottles. Then very suddenly i cannot take it anymore. I guess its something to do with the ambra, it seems that i do like it..well 'it' made me spend quite some money on it, but i have come to think that it just isn’t for me, maybe its too perfumey, or too suffocating or maybe i am just not old enough yet to wear ambra based perfumes and maybe i will never be. So what’s happening to my bottle of AE is the same as did with the L' eau d' ambre bottle, its going to my mother who L O V E S them both and continuously and basically almost bathes herself in it. However, although i don’t like AE on myself anymore, i find it a wonderfully blended, gorgeous perfume that has a heavenly quality to it and one of the nicest cosiest loveliest vanillas ever in its drydown. Maybe what makes it smell somewhat old-fashioned is that true ambergris has been used in it, something we do rarely smell nowadays. My guess is that our noses have been conditioned to synthetically produced smells, which we now might perceive as "modern" smells, versus traditionally used ingrediences as eg. ambregris.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Nasomatto-Narcotic Venus
shaktigal 5/30/2008 8:27:00 AM
Intriguing and promising opening with intense and heavy sweet floral essences most prominently tuberose. Dries down rather soon to a very generic scent, most dominant becomes to me someting i would describe as a synthetic aquatic note which seems somewhat fasionable since i remember it from numerous far less expensive drug store scents and for which i really really dont feel any excitement.
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Fragrances -Penhaligon's - Artemisia
shaktigal 4/28/2008 12:14:00 PM
as a main note i get sandalwood, which i like very much, however i wish the dryness of sandalwood was actually juced up with the nectarine that is mentioned as a note, but which sadly i cannot detect. there is an elegant note in this scent that i dont care for, as it makes the composition old-ish and boring, also, i find it, although very sweet, to be an unisex scent, having a mens-perfume note in it, and this is something i dont like at all, since i favour a scent that is truly feminine and clear and unambiguous in that respect. overall, to my nose this is a nondescript, unexciting scent that i would not purchase nor would i wear it if i had it in my posession as - quite honestly - i would prefer to smell of nothing rather than of this vague, expensive non-statement.
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Fragrances -Molinard - Habanita
shaktigal 1/19/2008 7:10:00 AM
nice enough scent, but for me, wearing resp. trying it once seems enough. veeery powdery, sniffing it on my wrist was as if i had stuck my nose into a box with perfumed powder (the box and powder belonging to my grandma) and sharply inhaled, resulting in a sensation as though the powder clogges up the inside of the nose. old fashioned, bit potpourri-like with a smokey note, too perfumey for my taste. maybe my mum will like it, so the sample goes to her.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Sisley - LYSLAIT Cleansing Milk with White Lily
shaktigal 1/13/2008 4:07:00 PM
Very appealing scented creamy milk cleanser. Sadly 'extortionally' expensive and since in comparison performance-wise not surpassing other cream/milk cleansers like e.g. Avene's, Lyslait will not be something i will purchase on a regular basis. However, the fresh, lovely, natural scent of this product will probably keep me hooked..
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Sisley - Botanical Night Complex
shaktigal 1/13/2008 3:52:00 PM
When first applied creates a slightly tingling, burning sensation on the skin, so beware not to apply it too close to your eyes. The skin Does look firmer and more radiant the morning after! Had no problems with breakouts from this product. The scent may be slightly funny, however, this doesen't bother me since it is a rather faint and quickly fading 'natural' smell which imo is By Far preferable to all these yucky artificial and overpowering scents that are frequently used in other cosmetic products. Update: after using this product for about the 5th time, as adviced once a month for 10 successive days, the positive effects described above have all and completely disappeared, now i have NO effect from this product anymore. Seems the skin is quickly tired-out from these ingrediences and doesnt respond anymore.
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Moisturizers -Avene - skin recovery cream (US name: cream for intolerant skin)
shaktigal 12/9/2007 10:54:00 AM
ingredience list: avene water, paraffinum liquidum, CyclomethiCone..?! ...? this is supposed to be a good cream for hypersensitive skin, however if people experience a tendency to bumps and pimples after using this cream it might be down to the silicone on the 3rd place on the ingredience list, meaning that there is quite a bit of it in this cream. the cream has that false-grease feel to it when rubbed on which i associate with silicones. check it out.. in a sample perferably! then move on in the reassurance that there must be something better out there for sensitive skin.
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Mascara -Sisley - Phyto-Mascara Ultra Facil
shaktigal 12/9/2007 5:43:00 AM
i bought this mascara in black. the colour seemd rather like a very deep-brown-black to me, and this looked colour-matching-wise perfect together with my naturally dark eyebrows which have about the same deep brown, almost black colour. the mascara provides a natural looking enhancement of the lashes, keeping the lashes real soft rather than "stiffening" them. i also liked the natural smell of this mascara, it may seem funny to smell at a mascara, but by smelling them i can tell whether i want to put them on to my lashes at all , since a repulsive chemical smell reveals a rather chemical composition which i wouldn't want to use. so far so good. unfortunately this mascara has a distinct tendency to build little clumps and this right from the start and to shed off tiny little flakes which irritated and stung my eyes. at this price range, absolutely inacceptable, it had to go back.
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Mascara -Origins - Fringe Benefits Lash loving mascara
shaktigal 12/9/2007 5:07:00 AM
natural looking enhancement of the lashes. all day long lasting, non-clumping, non-flaking and non-irritating to the eyes. doesn't give a lot of volume - which is exactly what i was looking for -, since i find too volumising mascaras can make me look overdone with the eye-makeup, however this mascara can easily been layered on and on and on to create a fuller look without this causing a sticking together of the lashes or clumping. my favourite mascara!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Sisley - Hydra Global
shaktigal 12/2/2007 1:06:00 PM
Almost all "modern" cosmetic manufacturers use Silicones (recognised by the ending -cone on the ingredient list) in their moisturisers/anti-aging products/foundations etc. and Sisley is no exception. Sisley seems to aim to give an impression of naturalness to their products, all the stuff about "botanical" and "natural essential oils" etc. However, the majority of Sisleys moisturisers contain Dimethicone. Silicones in skincare products cover the skin with a layer of plastic, trapping underneath it moisture (wanted effect) as well as all sorts of bacteria and dirt (unwanted effect), leading to - you may have guessed - ACNE! and any other sign of suffocating skin, like the clogging of pores, blackheads, pimples in all their possible appearances etc. Not to mention the potential health risk factors of these silicones which have not yet been fully researched.. I tried this moisturiser before checking the ingredience list, this merely based on the impression i got from the - to my nose - lovely unobtrusive natural scent of this cream, and found Hydra Global plumped up the skin but didtn actually give any type of comfy skin-feeling, rather making me want to apply something else, something "creamier" on top of it and i dont have particularly dry skin nor any antecedent history of a craving for "creamy creams". Definitely not good for cold temperatures, since containing very little lipids which would be what protects the skin from coldness and wind. Cant comment on the long term effects, but got a few pimples on the second day which caused me to check the ingredience list and which subsequently made me stop using this cream since i do strongly object to using silicone on my skin. Additionally, these silicones are non- biodegradable, leading to negative environmental impacts, both during the manufacturing and the disposal process. This is for me another major reason not to use cosmetics containing silicones.
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Sisley - Restorative Facial Cream - Creme Reparatrice
shaktigal 12/2/2007 10:07:00 AM
Contains Isopropyl Myristate.."which helps cosmetics apply more smoothly and gives them a slicker, sheer feel. However, this particular penetrating oil is so aggressive that if left over night in a bowl, it will actually migrate over the top, down the sides and onto the table top." Isopropyl Myristate is well known for its comedogenic, acne producing properties and should therefore definitely be avoided by people with acne-prone skin, it may however also produce cosmetic induced acne in people who have not had any issues with acne before. There are many chemicals similar to isopropyl myristate in cosmetics. The most common are: isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl isothermal, putty sterate, isostearyl neopentonate, myristyl myristate, decyl oleate, octyl sterate, octyl palmitate and isocetyl stearate and PPG myristyl propionate. All must be avoided, unless one is keen on having outbreaks of acne! The same applies for all types of Silicones in cosmetics, recognised as the ingredients ending with -cone. More about this in my review of Sisleys Hydra Global moisturising cream.
6 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Toners -Sisley - Botanical Floral Toning Lotion
shaktigal 10/30/2007 3:50:00 PM
strange that everybody seems to love love love the scent of this toner..i find it smells real brackish with an additional cheap-perfume note and certainly not the least reminiscent of the organic rosewater which i also occasionally use as a toner. by the way rosewater is much less expensive and feels nicely moisturising on the skin whereas this toner seems to do nothing much, at least as far as i can say after just one application.. got a big sized sample of this toner, but since i find the scent disgusting i wont be using it, i really am most picky with how my skincare products are scented and this one falls trough.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - La Base For Her
shaktigal 9/7/2007 7:43:00 AM
totally agree with ayden 55..very snobbish attitude of the la base company regarding the offering of a sample..which will prevent me from buying this scent, even if i would utterly fall for it. the association of this scent with their arrogance would always remain. otherwise a very appealing, posh floral scent, my nose tells me and appreciates that essences of very good quality have been used for its composition. however, the use of mountain flowers seems rather unlikely, even ridiculous to associate with, as most mountain flowers do not have any scent at all, something to do with higher altitude.. bluebells..? edelweiss..? alpine rose..?! lol they do barely contain any scent, let alone that could be used for perfume industry, the la base company would have to harvest all of these flowers troughout the swiss/french AND austrian alps (and these flowers are legally protected!) to squeeze out the few scent-molecules they contain, which would hardly cover for a single bottle. neither can this perfume be compared in any way to swiss mountain air..no perfume ever could..;-D been visiting the alps regularly, since living in switzerland..and never came across anything resembling the la base perfume anywhere in the alps. so, imo just another well overused marketing attempt at "exploiting" peoples ideas of the 'ideal world' in switzerlands mountains and what this should smell like..still, i do like the scent, in that it is a clean resemblance of fresh flowers, light and clear but still with depth and lasting power and i do like that above mentioned aspect of good quality...as the drydown progresses it increasingly 'dejà vues' my nose somewhat of Chloé..albeit less cloying and with a better prelude..
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No