Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Nanette Lepore
Alleyhen 11/16/2009 4:39:00 PM
Nanette Lepore seems to evolve from rose to tart fruity to a powdery essence every time I wear it...the middle point reminds me of Yves Rocher's " Ming Shu" very much. I love the powdery stage at the end because it's quite natural and un-chemically---sort of a vanilla sweet-skin scent. If I wear it to bed, the sheets smell heavenly the next morning. The room smells like rose perfume for a while after I spray it...not roses, unfortunately, but rose room spray. On the skin and clothes, however, the rose scent is soft and delicate, so I enjoy it despite being a staunch sweet/vanilla fan. And Nanette Lepore layers beautifully with other favorite scents of mine--Vaniila Fantasy, BBW Vanilla Bean Noel, Hanae Mori, Pink Buttercream Frosting, and Calgon Mmm Marshmallow (told you I'm a vanilla-sweet lover!)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Jaqua Girls - Pink Buttercream Frosting Body Mist
Alleyhen 10/31/2009 6:53:00 PM
Jaqua Pink Buttercream Frosting Body Mist needs to be produced as a perfume! I agree completely with all the previous positive comments, as well as the fact that this amazing scent fades too quickly. This stuff is DELICIOUS, sweet and ultra feminine but soft and beautiful too...not over-the-top fake foody at ALL. In fact, it's not even that buttercreamy--more like a vanilla-sweet powder, YUMMY. I'm in love with it. Unfortunately the hand lotion was nothing like it, so that won't help with layering and prolonging this delightful fragrance. Sooo glad I bought 2 bottles, to have one on hand at home & another in my purse. You need to constantly reapply, but MMMMMM, it's a whiff of Heaven each time, so it's worth it. This scent is perfection for me.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bath and Body Works - Vanilla Bean Noel Body Splash
Alleyhen 10/28/2009 6:50:00 PM
The reviewer who noted that BBW must have reformulated Vanilla Bean Noel MUST be right--whatever the mix is now smells wonderful! I just tried (and bought) this delectable concoction, and couldn't believe the low ratings I found here when checking it out in the MA reviews....it's scrumptuous! Creamy, caramel-y, rich vanilla. Very similar to Vanille, which I love as well. Vanilla Bean Noel is a bit softer, but just as pure. I will definitely stock up before this is gone after the holidays...maybe it'll be on sale :-) I suggest to all vanilla perfume lovers that you do the same!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Hanae Mori - Hanae Mori parfum
Alleyhen 9/26/2009 5:40:00 PM
Could this be the "grown-up" sweet, vanilla-y perfume that I've been searching for?! I noticed Hanae Mori EDP at Walmart for $35 and after reading all the "sweet" reviews, went back & grabbed it. So far (first wearing) it's heavenly. A more delicious version of the discontinued Avon Vanilla Soft Musk...a perfect blend of the best aspects of that, Aquolina Pink Sugar, and my beloved Vanilla Fantasy. More subtle, unique, & hard to describe, which I appreciate. Since there is reportedly no actual vanilla in the notes, it makes sense that the fragrance is not your predictable vanilla perfume. I've tried all of them, love them, but was in search of a more original, "real" perfume that was a bit more sophisticated-- yet retained the soft, sweet purity of the vanilla ones. Love the powdery dry down too! This could be my top fave, HG signature scent after many expensive years of searching! Fingers crossed! EDIT: I must be the most fickle reviewer ever! Only a few weeks into my love affair with Hanae Mori, and I'm detecting a sharp, citrus-y note that I never used to...do our chemistries change that much?! Or our noses become more sophisticated as they get to know a fragrance? Whatever it may be, I'm wearing simple, lovely BBW Vanilla Bean Noel for a while...just discovered today. Hope this relationship is more long lasting!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Prestige - Avril Lavigne Black Star
Alleyhen 9/5/2009 6:05:00 PM
I sprayed this on at Kohl's and enjoyed its sort of spicey-fruity scent as I shopped, so I bought a bottle on sale. It reminds me of a gentler Armani Code...a little sweeter. Overall, I like it alot! Nothing close to my HG favorites, but I find myself wearing it quite often anyway. My HGs are sweet and soft, and this one is a little sassier.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Vanilla Fantasy Fragrant Body Spray
Alleyhen 9/5/2009 5:58:00 PM
My favorite. I dabble in every vanilla/sweet fragrance that crosses my path, but this is the one I come back to time after time, year after year. It layers with everything and enhances the scent of any perfume you mix it with. For someone who seeks the soft, sweet, girly, vanilla-y scents, there's simply no reason to look further, at any price...and this one costs next-to-nothing. It's perfect.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -GAP Beauty - Moonwalk
Alleyhen 7/27/2009 4:35:00 PM
Sprayed on multiple GAP scents and wasn't sure which I was loving, but after respraying Moonwalk I was delighted to realize that its soft, gentle fragrance was the one wafting so delicately from my arm! The GAP EDT "Close" is pretty as well, but Moonwalk has more presence...yet somehow stays so beautifully soft at the same time. Glad I bought the big $16 bottle, almost bought the tiny body spray. If the test of time proves this to be my new HG fragrance, I'll buy all the sizes & lotions, etc though! Moonwalk (so far) mixes the ideal balance of sweetness, unique scents (gentle spicy-ness and a soft floral maybe?) and that touch of vanilla I demand in all my favorite fragrances! UPDATE: I find that the smell I loved that first day is achieved by layering this stuff...alone it's out of balance, especially after a few hours. A strong note dominates, not sure what it is. However, layered with other Gap or Vanilla Fantasy, this can become yummy again.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Avon - Vanilla Soft Musk Cologne Spray [DISCONTINUED]
Alleyhen 6/17/2009 4:03:00 PM
Yummy!!!! Now that I know what HG means, I may have found mine! The initial few seconds after spraying Vanilla Soft Musk on left me suspicious that it was a little too sharply sweet and artificial, but within a minute or so I was inhaling my wrist and exclaiming "This is beautiful!" to my cat! Being a fan of GOOD vanilla and GOOD sweet scents, I was in heaven. So many disappoint due to being over the top on either count--foody, burnt, chemical vanilla and/or chemistry lab candy-scented sweet. But this! As someone else mentioned, there is a lovely sweet powdery essence that balances the vanilla to perfection. Oh, PLEASE, Avon, bring this one back!!! I found it on EBay, and pray that I can keep repurchasing. It reminds me of my mom's kitchen when angel food cake was baking, but softer and lighter. Perfection. I gave a 3 for price only because it's hard to get & you pay more now...and 3 for pretty basic packaging. But it's what inside that counts :-) UPDATE: Not my HG fragrance after all (will I ever find it?!), but nonetheless, light and fresh...especially good for layering with with other nice scents.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Avon - Mineral Eyeshadow in Russet Rock
Alleyhen 4/19/2009 1:06:00 PM
This is indeed messy, as shared in the previous review, but the results are worth it! The russet color enhances green eyes and the glitter effect is subtle but fun, and very flattering. It last and lasts..weird, cause it cleans up easily with the dab of a Q-tip or swipe of the sponge. I want to try the other colors too, but I'll definitely be repurchasing this one.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Liquid -Maybelline - Dream Liquid Mousse
Alleyhen 4/19/2009 1:00:00 PM
I've thrown out my other foundations since trying Dream Liquid Mousse. This stuff smooths and covers and lasts a long time. Very natural color to boot, and it practically blends itself into your skin--the lightest touch and it's absorbed and doing its job. If you buy a shade lighter than your natural skintone, it even serves as a concealer for recessed areas around the nose, etc., "plumping" the lines visibly. Great product!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Victoria's Secret - Amber Romance EDT
Alleyhen 3/21/2009 4:37:00 PM
After loving B & BW's Sensuous Amber line on my friend, I ran out and bought it... and promptly bagged it all up and gave it to her a few days later. It was harsh and stale on me after the drydown. Even Walmart's Rich Amber Jewel was much nicer! But it got that chemical-stale way after a while too. All that said, I was certainly not in the market for an amber fragrance when I discovered VS Amber Romance. I sprayed some on just out of curiosity and shopped the new lines of fragrance. Couldn't stop smelling my wrist where I'd spritzed on the AR. Mmmm...what a beautifully balanced sweet/powdery/feminine/warm mix! No artificial undertones, almost a vanilla + sugar + some beautifully unique floral essence. No detectable amber that I could i.d.(good after my previous disappointments with amber scents!) And it dries down to all that plus a sweet cotton type of fragrance on my skin. I seem to be able to spray on alot and it stays wonderfully soft and intoxicating-never overbearing or "too much". I'll report back after I've worn it out into the world beyond my home borders (fiance has clogged sinuses presently, so no opinions beyond mine yet!) NEXT DAY: My high school students said "Mmmmm" when I spritzed some on right in class, even the pickiest, critical divas. Many asked "What is that?" "Where'd you get it?" One boy said I smelled like cinammon sugar--Cinammon! That's the mystery note I couldn't nail down in the mix of warm vanilla + __.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Avon - Anew Clearly C face serum
Alleyhen 2/15/2009 12:33:00 PM
The first time that I used Anew Clearly C serum I had been experimenting with other products...so when I started getting compliments about how rested I looked and questioned about what I was doing for my skin ("It looks like you got a face lift!") I wasn't sure what to credit. It was during a high-stress time, so something was doing its job! I suspected it was the Clearly C, but due to it staining my pillow cases and then humid weather returning, I stopped using it until recently. When my nighttime treatment ran out, I started using Clearly C again, and happily encountered the same types of compliments as the first time around. I can buy new pillow cases along with continuing to repurchase this great product--one of the little known secrets of skin care, a true fountain of youth! If you apply it as far away from bedtime as possible, it does absorb enough not to cause major oil spills on the pillow every night...but who cares, when your middle-aged skin is tightening and smoothing and maintaining a vibrant glow? I swa a similar product on one of the shoppong networks, so maybe it's the nature of vitamin c products to perform well. But at the price I'm paying for Avon's version, why search any further? I recommend it highly.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Simply Basic Body Mist in Rich Amber Jewel
Alleyhen 2/2/2009 11:16:00 AM
This stuff is beautiful! Dirt cheap, very pretty scent, sweet in a gentle, powdery way. I don't know what "amber" is, but I'm glad I tried Rich Amber Jewel at Walmart despite it not possessing the descriptive vanilla/sweet/girly name that usually attracts me to a fragrance. I detect almost a sweet pear + powder combo in this one, with traces of vanilla. Love it! Nothing cloying about it either. As the others have said, you must keep spraying it on for lasting scent power, but at $1.99 for the purse size, who cares? That is the only reason I gave it a 4 rather than 5. This one will join Body Fantasies Vanilla Fantasy as a staple in my daily spritzing...ironic after the thousands of dollars I have likely spent in search of that perfect perfume! These two outrank the "high-end"others in my opinion!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Liz Claiborne - Mambo
Alleyhen 1/3/2009 7:45:00 PM
Yuck! I bought this for fun today for $5.99 at Marshall's to celebrate my Latin dancing classes that I love and had no clue what it would smell like...hoped for fruity/vanilla/tropical flowers. Instead got chemical-musky, stale freesia or something foulness. That's what I get for being an impulse buyer!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Aquolina - Pink Sugar
Alleyhen 1/1/2009 4:13:00 PM
I kept noticing comparisons to Pink Sugar in many of the reviews of fragrances I was interested in. I'd ordered it about a year ago on sale and was put off by its initial harsh scent, which struck me as very chemical. In order not to waste dresser/counter space, I tossed it into a box of perfume rejects that I keep under my bed. However...after reading many positive references to Pink Sugar's delightful sweetness, I just tried it again and gave it a chance to dry down and do its thing over time. Well! That offensive first blast of screaming fake cotton candy melted away and mingled with my skin to become a wonderful mellow sweetness...like an ice cream parlor or candy shop. Caramel, vanilla, and a sweet-spicy essence are what's left, and I'm loving it. This isn't a fragrance I'd commit to exclusively, but as a hopeless fan of sweet perfumes, I will definitely wear this often now that I gave it a second chance. I probably need to revisit the other hastily rejected perfumes in the box under my bed!
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No