Fragrances -Bond No.9 - I Love New York For Earth Day For Her
Melloney 5/18/2013 1:10:00 AM
Tuberose and green base . Smells like a weaker Fracas on spraying - sweet tuberose but light and then quickly morphs into something VERY much like J'Adore EDP and stays there. A lovely perfume in general but not very original .
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Fragrances -Chanel - No. 22
Melloney 5/17/2013 4:19:00 PM
One of my absolute favorite Chanels in both the EDT and the parfum extrait. The Les exclusifs EDT is rich and long lasting with a huge white burst of clean aldehydes. I adore aldehydes having been trained in Chanel No 5 from the age of 19 . Whereas No 5 is sweeter ,muskier and nowadays I think the aldehydes have been toned down and sadly No 5- every concentration appears to have been reformulated . So No. 22 is a great replacement for No 5 if you are loving and looking for intense aldehydes. Though in actuality No 5 and No 22 are quite different - for your money's worth No 22 is worth it. So blindingly clean and white aldehydes - fresh before fresh meant *fruity* and then lily of the valley and white florals ,vanilla and incense in a small amount. This No 22 has personality and once you smell it, you will never forget it or mistake it for anything else. The extrait- 15 mls is $175 USD - worth it ,my friends. It will last you a long time. If the EDT is lasting, the extrait is even more so . It's the EDT concentrated and intensified though more mellow and deeper. The aldehydes are somewhat less in this dab form or so I perceive it as such . It's a bit sweeter, more dense , darker and glorious. A few dabs in all the right places last for hours on my skin.
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Fragrances -Ormonde Jayne - Seraphim 20 Limited
Melloney 5/17/2013 10:55:00 AM
A special limited edition perfume extrait done by Ormonde Jayne for the company 20 Limited in the UK and this was limited to 50 customers .It is a sort of semi bespoke perfume extrait where you can buy the scent and get refills from the boutique when you run out. The bottle used is the same as for all OJ extratis. I believe all the bottles are now bought . This is a very special scent though it would not appeal to everyone. The OJ note of cedar powderiness runs through it and it is an airy scent of ylang and cedar . This is how it performs on my skin. it is beautiful ,elegant and unisex in a classic way and in the Ormonde Jayne style. It is not one I wear very often but it is somewhat otherworldly in smell and I save it for introspective days.
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Fragrances -Ormonde Jayne - Frangipani Absolute parfum
Melloney 5/17/2013 10:43:00 AM
Yes I would buy this again ...if I ever run out because Ormonde Jayne perfumes do last especially in the parfum extrait form . Like the previous reviewer , I have had my bottle for about a year now. Frangipani by OJ ,to me - is the best rendition of the frangipani flower in real life - it captures everything about the living flower. The top note of lime is brilliant and adds to this sense of freshness and the alive frangipani flower. There is no vanilla etc to decorate this flower in OJ's Frangipani . it is just the flower and beautifully done. So a soliflore. If you have smelled a fresh frangipani in bloom ,then you will know the smell of this parfum extrait. There's all there is to it. Gorgeous and a celebration of nature and life. A note about concentrations : There is little difference to me in the smell of the EDP versus the extrait . Both are beautiful and long lasting. If you want to save a bit of money and /or enjoy spraying on your scents, then the EDP is as spectacular . Oj scents are definitely high quality and worth the extra effort to get if you are located outside of UK. Linda Pilkington is a very talented perfumer who does not follow the beaten path .
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Gris Clair
Melloney 5/16/2013 6:29:00 PM
I have always loved Gris Clair- Clear Grey and it really is . It is lavender, incense and vanilla with touches of ash. It's truly a grey type scent in my mind. Like Serge Noire- this is grey silk. It opens with swoonworthy clear sweet lavender note which is delicious and then the incense comes through with some Iso E Super and cedar - woody notes (Iso E Super .... it's what I smell - it's quite distinctive to me ) - clean incense woods taking the fore and the hints of ashes in between . It's at it's most unisex/ masculine at this point. Lavender seems to invoke masculine fragrances and fougeres - or so we are lead to think . Then Gris Clair circles back to lavender and vanilla and the incense recedes. It becomes sweet again. It's very interesting. I love Gris Clair at all times - its entirety- it changes and develops and has a great personality. It depends on whether you want to know that personality and wear it on your skin - male or female.
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Fragrances -Diptyque - Oyedo
Melloney 5/16/2013 6:21:00 PM
First off I will say that so far I have not had much luck with Diptyque which disappoints me greatly . There is some aromachemical they use which seems to run thorugh a lot of their scents which doesn't agree with me and my nose. L'Ombre dans L'eau has it and so does Oyedo . Oyedo is fizzy minty and herbal scent .Be warned that the first half an hour of this scent will either blow you away or blow you off it completely. In that first half hour, the mint is extreme, the citrus and yuzu and God Knows What else is nose and sinus clearing . it is similar to breathing in one of those mentholated lemon mint herbal drops. Then the scent calms down , becomes subtle but it is quite a linear fragrance- always citrussy and minty . I do not like this one aromachemical I can detect in Oyedo - it is close to sickening for me - just like in L'Ombre dans L'eau . If you love mentholated minty herbally citrussy scent- then you will like this but definitely test it out first.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Clair De Musc
Melloney 5/15/2013 9:29:00 PM
Powdery vanilla-ery rosey type of musk - soft ,cleanish though I detect a slight undercurrent of dirtiness - not a lot - just a slight tiny tiny touch of skank . it's very pretty , very wearable . Longevity - average and projection is softish . A good starter Lutens ! If you like this you will love Mona di Orio's Musc which is stronger ,greater longevity and projection, along the same lines as this but with more powder , "body" and almonds. The Mona di Orio Musc is better I am afraid .
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Masks -Clarins - Clarins shaping facial lift wrap
Melloney 5/15/2013 1:11:00 PM
Looks like Clarins and smells like a typical Clarins product.The scent isn't too strong . The feel : This is an opaque gooey type sticky mask which is actually fairly difficult to spread on your face . I believe it is meant to shape your face and drain excess water. You leave it on for 10 minutes and then rinse it off. I see no difference in my face ! I don't know where Clarins is heading with this type of product . Not worth the money.
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Fragrances -Frederic Malle - Une Rose
Melloney 5/14/2013 9:30:00 PM
Une Rose is just fabulous....a real but also fantasy type rose that comes out of the bottle blooming and heaving . It's sultry and definitely all rose on me - a deep dark red red. It really does not get better than this. The wine dregs ,the truffles and earth are all very very subtle on my skin. It's just all about that big fat petalled rose- one that does not wither or die. Wonderful . I am not a huge rose perfume lover but this and Fleurs de Bulgarie by Creed are the exceptions. Longevity is exceptional. One spray and you are done for the day and possible the night till the next morning.
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Lotions/ Creams -Kai - Body Butter
Melloney 5/14/2013 1:16:00 PM
What can I say ? The smell is Kai and it is divine. The quality of the body butter is very good. Moisturizing, creamy, soft and just a lovely treat. The smell lasts for some time too and layered with the roll on of Kai , the scent lasts for hours. Very good.
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Gels/Soaps -Kai - Body Wash
Melloney 5/14/2013 1:12:00 PM
I buy this two at a time because I adore the smell ! Of course it smells like Kai but in the shower it becomes such a treat. This wash foams very well and feels beautiful on skin in the shower. It is a kind of a * thing * with me .I must always have Kai body wash in my shower .A great product though not cheap .
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Serge Noire
Melloney 5/14/2013 1:07:00 PM
Serge Noire- you love it or you hate it .Or... your skin loves it or your skin hates it. For me -Serge Noire ,like its name is a somber scent , dramatic and atmospheric. Mostly Serge Noire is a deep velvet grey silk in my mind's eye - like Thai silk . The cinnamon comes forth most on my skin ,then incense and I love that. No cumin ! Inhaling Serge Noire really is almost refreshing to me because of the cinnamon - . A thinker's scent. So we have a scent that though is somber and serious , it is mind clearing and meditative. Unisex. Love it.
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Fragrances -Monyette Paris - Monyette Paris
Melloney 5/14/2013 1:00:00 PM
Monyette was not a love at first sniff thing. It took me years to come round to it. I loved Kai first. Carnal Flower is probably my *subconsciously* signature scent. I think the problem I had was with the muguet note on the top which didn't seem to *fit* with the creamy gardenia vanilla . The muguet came off as metallic and high pitched. Then I tried Monyette again a year or so later and I finally got what its about. Sometimes a scent is worth the extra effort to try and understand it. I find Monyette to be a fragrance that sometimes changes on my skin . Sometimes I get more lily of the valley / muguet and sometimes I just get a creamy gardenia milk . I hardly ever get nag champa with Monyette. There is a delicious element to the composition for sure. I have a bottle of the roll on and will keep on buying it because that creamy gardenia vanilla milk in Monyette is unique. And.. all these years later I can see how the muguet works to lift the milkiness of the vanilla - gardenia into a different place. It really is quite lovely stuff. Longevity is excellent- truly excellent. I have dry scent consuming skin. A tiny roll on bottle will last for a loooong time I promise you.
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Scrubs -Queen Helene - Apricot Natural Facial Scrub
Melloney 5/12/2013 12:25:00 PM
I cannot count how many tubes of this product I have used over the years. I will say first off that I do not use this on my face . ** I use it as a body scrub. ** For that it is No 1 ,5 stars and fantastic. Nothing comes close for me. It exfoliates perfectly and leaves my entire body smooth .I use it 3 times a week as an all over body scrub. The smell is a wonderful fresh apricotty watery type scent and I love it. My son loves the smell too. If they bottled this into a fragrance mist I would buy it ! Price point is excellent ! Queene Helene products are good and very easy on the budget too so I can use as much as I want without feeling the pinch too much . I buy multiple tubes and hoard them . Love it.
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Mascara -Maybelline - Volum' Express Colossal Cat Eyes
Melloney 5/9/2013 9:17:00 PM
I am a bit of a nut about mascara and I use 3 different types and brands to achieve the look I want and make my mascara stay throughout long sweaty bouts of exercise. It sounds nutty but it works ! I am really into the cat's eye thing going on at the moment and so I bought this plus it was cheaper than Dior etc. 1.The wand - curved to fit your eye and lashes - it works and is an effective wand for applying the product. 2.The product- it's a little on the dry ,brittle side and you do need to build with several coats to get a good solid lash look . 3.The smell - it smells like honey ! The smell is quite strong and if i use this mascara alone - I can sometimes even smell my lashes. Weird but not unpleasant ! 4. This mascara stays on very well throughout exercise and sweatiness but I do prefer to use it as a base coat and layer it with L'oreal and then followed Diorshow ! This way my mascara stays put till I remove it with make up remover for waterproof makeup and I get the solidly great long black eyelashes I want. 5.It comes off fairly easily with an oil based makeup remover. It's a good drug store product but the L'Oreal mascaras are better and top of the range is definitely Diorshow.
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