Styling Products -SAMY - Big Curls Curl Defining Creme 
Spell_Me 7/24/2012 9:16:00 AM
I like this product. I have medium-thick color-treated hair with natural curls. Problem: I live in a hot dry desert climate and I frequently swim in heavily chlorinated pools. Both make my hair dry + frizzy, and make my curls just... blah. I bought thei product after the last time I ran out of my 2 Aveda hg's Get Curly and the Humectant pomade which I used together. Those work well for me, but I really can't afford them... and I really can't afford to take a chance on Tigi's products. Yet I was reluctant to try this-it seemed too cheap too be true. It works great. I completely dislike its orang-y smell but it fades quickly. I apply the product to my hair when it is wet and comb through. Sometimes I towel off my hair in case I applied a bit too much. Then I push my hair into place (I have a couple of locks that need to be "told" which direction to curl) and air-dry. My hair ends up soft, with nicely-defined, healthy-looking curls. No frizz.
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Fragrances -Caron - Fleur de Rocaille
Spell_Me 5/25/2007 1:35:00 PM
First things first....the official notes are: violet, lilac, lily of the valley, gardenia, iris, rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, mimosa, sandalwood, cedar, amber. On me, Fleur de Rocaille opens as a lovely rose scent. This rose is quite fresh but not a bit green or sharp, because iris and violet have taken the edge off. It's a very nice beginning! The rose fades gradually and gives other notes a chance to bloom. I enjoy the way that many of the different flowers stand out a bit at different times as the perfume develops and runs its course. Lily of the Valley comes on strong for awhile but--as with the rose--no green edges. Jasmine and gardenia appear, but they are muted and subtle. Lilac has its faintly detectable moments. The softening presence of violets, iris, and mimosa remains important throughout the life of the fragrance but they never turn powdery. On me, the final drydown is a slightly tangy iris/amber. Fleur de Rocaille is not a heavy-hitter. It's a quiet perfume, a blend of softly glowing flowers that stays close to the skin. As others have pointed out, it's not incredibly original. It doesn't have an unpredictably quirky note to get your attention or for juxtaposition. But I ask: Does a well-tended, healthy garden in bloom need to be brilliantly original in its design for you to be able to enjoy it?
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Laura Tonatto - Eleonora Dusé Eau de Parfum
Spell_Me 5/16/2007 1:36:00 PM
I love almost everything Laura Tonatto does, and I love violets, too. The concept of this perfume appeals to me in every way possible; I find the woman who inspired this perfume extremely intriguing! I was poised and fully ready to adore LT's Eleanora Duse for quite a while. When I finally got a sample, I had to struggle with myself to ride it out and not scrub it off prematurely. I do believe it's likely to be a matter of personal chemistry but on me, the amber came on very strongly, too strongly, and mingled with the iris in a most unpleasant way. It stifled the violet, though not completely. The result was dull and flat-smelling. I did screw up my courage to try it a couple more times just to see if it was a weather or hormone issue. No such luck.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Andy Tauer - Lonestar Memories
Spell_Me 12/19/2006 1:25:00 AM
It's going to be love or hate; this is a scent that you will probably not be "on the fence" about. For me, it's love. This scent has completely knocked me over! It is leather that SMOULDERS. I love the way the intensity builds up after I apply it. The other notes in this scent are exceedingly important, for they make it so much more than just another well-done leather scent (as in Etro Gomma, or DSH Erotica, both so very well executed, yet ultimately uncompelling). But though they give great character to this fragrance, and are crucial to the way the fragrance develops on the skin, I do not find myself thinking about them individually. This perfume is so masterfully crafted that it goes far beyond the olfactory, right straight for the heart. Odd notes like birchtar, clary sage and carrot seed become feelings of excitement and discovery-- of discovering a strange new world. Myhrr and sandalwood offer a more familiar enchantment. Tonka and vetivir evoke dusty twilight.All in all, it is a very powerful, dramatic, evocative leather scent that burns with passion! By the way, it is potent and longlasting, and completely unsweet, yet I insist that it still retains a special sort of tenderness. How can a perfume that is so DIRTY be so elegant? Bottom line: Andy Tauer is impressing the hell out of me!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Laura Tonatto Mamo
Spell_Me 12/10/2006 12:48:00 PM
Last year I "discovered" Laura Tonatto's fragrances. I bought this one to wear in the summertime--I live in the desert, and during the long, hot summers many of my favorite fragrances just don't smell right. This odd minty-pear concoction sounded deliciously quirky and refreshing for the most oppressive days in July when the temps stay over 110. When it arrived, I found it nice, but incredibly short-lived. It was a brief (but interesting!) blast of coolness. I had found that many of the LT fragrances work especially well with my chemistry, so I was a bit surprised. Well, here we are in December, and I find that M'amo works much, MUCH better for me in the cool weather! For one thing, the staying power is several hours, which is plenty acceptable. But more importantly: The perfume smells different. The effect of the strange-bedfellow-notes is that of a warm, milky breath rising off my skin. It makes me think of one of my babies. It's a whole different M'amo, and it is very curiously addictive.
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Fragrances -Andy Tauer - L'Air du Desert Marocain by Andy Tauer
Spell_Me 12/8/2006 10:57:00 PM
This is not the type of scent that I usually look for. The "recipe" sounds like it could be for any number of perfumes: spices, sweet amber, leather, woods, jasmine, rose, vetiver... a pinch of patchouli... then vanilla in the drydown. Sounds like a typical fall/winter fragrance. But I could tell right away, from my initial sniff of the sample vial --before I even had it open--that L'Air du Desert Marocain is exceptional. The second it hit my skin, it came to life, pulsing warm and sweet around me. If it was a typical perfume, this level of sweetness would be a little too much for my taste. However, this scent is so well-balanced, so deftly blended, that I find it very alluring. It develops beautifully, the notes unfolding gracefully. It is a pleasure to wear. On me it provides a warm, soft sillage--not too much, just right, as you might expect from a good quality perfume. It's lovely.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Laura Tonatto Dama
Spell_Me 7/3/2006 11:01:00 PM
Much to my surprise, I have fallen head over heels for Dama. It is exquisitely well-blended, and beautifully balanced. The base is strong enough to be long-lasting, but maintains a feminine delicacy throughout. (Otherwise I would hate this scent instead of loving it so, for I normally dislike sweet, vanillic, oppoponax-based scents). Iris and violet play with and against each other; the iris lending a slight powderiness, and the violet a beautiful clarity. This scent is incredibly womanly!! I love wearing it.
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Fragrances -Montale - Sandalsliver
Spell_Me 5/28/2006 10:40:00 PM
I'm not a great fan of any of the notes in this scent, but baby, sometimes it's not what ya got, it's the way thatcha USE it that counts! For me, the fragrance opens with a beautiful blast of bergamot and a deep, resonant, slightly bitter musk. Very quickly these settle down enough so that a mildly sweet, sort of mallow-y Sandalwood becomes apparent, and remains while the fragrance runs its course. Other notes emerge: a light dusting of peppery spices which are indistinct on me, but blend well with the musk and wood. And there is also a vague and quiet floral presence of some sort. This is a scent that seems to be very reactive to your skin. It changes a bit--becomes a more spicy or less, becomes drier, becomes sweeter, or less sweet, etc. as you wear it. I love this quality. (But I don't doubt that it is masculine on some, as I've seen it turn a bit manly on my own skin for a short time.) The sandal and musk always remain at the center of the fragrance, making a strange harmony of sweet and bitter, as other notes play along. It's wonderful! What is perhaps strangest of all is that it doesn't really work well in winter on me, but rather, in the heat of summer. With its bitter muskiness and spices, this is not the type of scent I would normally choose to turn to in 100 degree weather-- But Sandalsliver loves a hot day!
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