Treatments (Eye) -Dr. Hauschka - Daily Revitalizing Eye Cream
buleria 7/10/2006 10:35:00 AM
I am very pleased with this eye cream. I have fair, delicate, 40-year-old skin. Nicely moisturizing, sinks in quickly, and seems to smooth my eye area well. Best of all, unlike most eye creams I've used, it has not caused milia. Hooray! On the other hand, I still have the same miserable dark circles I have always had. But in my experience nothing fixes those. A bit pricey, but worth it.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Mandarine Tout Simplement
buleria 5/25/2006 5:10:00 PM
Let us consider the basic criteria for a scent I am likely to fall hard for: Citrus, especially bright, juicy citrus? Check. Light jasmine? Check. Cedar? Check. Acceptable lasting power? Check. (I know you don't believe me about this last, but for some reason all L'Artisans last on me.) In sum, L'Artisan Mandarine Tout Simplement is a lovely, bright, juicy, zingy orange scent, leavened by light summer floral notes and grounded by my favorite wood. I find it absolutely delightful. Tout simplement: Fine and fresh for summer. Nice bottle, too.
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Fragrances -Bond No.9 - Chinatown
buleria 4/5/2006 11:40:00 AM
Remember that cheap, "peach"- and "strawberry"-scented head shop incense you used to be able to get way back in the day? Heck maybe you can still get the stuff. Actually, I'm quite certain you can. In liquid form. For a great deal of money. In a gloriously gorgeous bottle. It's called Bond No. 9 Chinatown. I love peach, I love woods, I like incensey. I tried this one multiple times. Sweet, fake-fruit, and acrid woods every single time. (DH hated it too.) My sincere apologies to the incredibly generous MUAer who sent me a sizeable decant of Chinatown.
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Fragrances -Keiko Mecheri - Peau de Pêche
buleria 2/6/2006 10:39:00 AM
I tend to be fond of peach notes anyway, but Peau de Pêche is quite possibly my very favorite peach-based scent. It has a lot of fruit, but is still sophisticated. As another reviewer mentioned, it's suedey, like the fuzz on a fresh peach rather than the flesh of a ripe peach, slightly sweet, grounded with light wood. Perfect in just about any weather. I rate it 4 1/2.
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Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Youth Dew Amber Nude
buleria 2/5/2006 7:56:00 PM
The bottle: very cute, reminds me of Audrey wearing a Givenchy dress The scent: Opens very bitter and smoky, with a faint thread of sweetness from the amber; dries down very elegantly, more rich and sweet The verdict: So very not me, but oddly compelling The prediction: DH will detest this one, luckily for him it is unlikely that I will suddenly decide to make it my signature scent
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Jalaine Green Tea
buleria 12/21/2005 11:59:00 AM
Revision of a review I wrote last year for Bagutta Life Green Tea. Assessment still stands. I am no longer in the first blush of adoration, rather I can assert that this one is beautiful in the long term. I first became interested in Jalaine (formerly Bagutta Life) because of the glorious crystal bottle, not the scents; so much so that I was seriously considering shelling out hard cash unsniffed. Then a remarkably kind and generous MUAer sent me a sample of Green Tea. It is so lovely, perfectly balanced, well blended, and insanely expensive. To me, there's very little tea involved in Green Tea. It starts out with a citrussy zing and a touch of bitterness. Then as it dries down, the fragrance quickly morphs into a delicate, warm, slightly sweet skin scent with a sophisticated quality I simply cannot articulate. A touch of amber moves to the foreground while retaining a hint of citrus. Only the faintest tea quality around the edges. (Despite the amber, there's no powder here.) Pretty darned close to perfect as far as I'm concerned. And the bottle, that heavy crystal bottle with the iridescent stopper is perfectly beautiful, one of my prized new possessions.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - People of the Labyrinths Luctor et Emergo
buleria 12/14/2005 1:13:00 PM
Last year I tried People of the Labyrinths Luctor et Emergo edt and all I can recall is that it had a nice incensey moment, but overall it wasn't all that thrilling. Recently I gave PotL L et E parfum/edp (whatever they want to call it) a whimsical whirl. And I have to say it is some weird-a$$ mutable sh!#. Every time I sniff my arm it smells like something else. I smell edible; I don't smell edible; I smell like cherry candy; I don't smell like cherry candy; I smell like I've rolled in warm hay & then headed to high mass; I don't smell like I've rolled in warm hay & then headed to high mass... I like the hay & high mass bit best. The more I wear this scent, the more, well, obsessed with it I seem to become. Warning: Retesting PotL is a dangerous thing
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Fragrances -Dawn Spencer Hurwitz - Indochine
buleria 10/11/2005 10:07:00 PM
Honestly, I thought this one couldn't miss. What's not for me to love about fresh ginger, citrus notes galore? This quite complex, smoky scent has ginger threading through it, but not quite enough to counteract the bitter aspect that dominates on my skin. Something about the combination of notes emerges as a fenugreek and curry leaf festival on my skin. Definitely interesting, but I smell like I've been cooking.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - The Pour un Ete
buleria 9/2/2005 2:40:00 PM
Thé pour un Été has been one of my staple fragrances for about a decade now and I have spritzed my way through multiple bottles summer and winter. It is a very, very pretty light, lemony jasmine. The jasmine isn't heady in the least, just subtly sweet and nicely balanced by the citrus tang. Most people complain that it vanishes in minutes, but Thé is remarkably long-lasting on my skin, especially in the hottest of weather, when it will tendril around subtly for the entire day. Added bonus, it is one of the very rare scents that has actually prompted unsolicited compliments from DH (okay, only twice, but still...).
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Bois et Fruits
buleria 4/2/2005 7:57:00 PM
Sigh. Swoon. Soooo perfect. So exactly what I was hoping it would be like. I want to drown in it. A somewhat sweet cedar and dried fruit combination that reminds me a bit of Parfums delRae Bois de Paradis (which I like but only when verry lightly applied). I get relatively little wood from BdP, whereas with the Bois et Fruit the wood/fruit relationship is much more evenly balanced, which is its great strength. The fruits are dense and intense. Wearing Bois et Fruits I smell both sophisticated and entirely approachable. And I can't stop smelling my own wrist. Massive props to the kind MUAer who sent me a decant.
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Fragrances -Lothantique - Ginger
buleria 1/16/2005 10:32:00 AM
This review is for the Lothantique Ginger EDT. A while back I broke my cardinal rule not to buy anything unsniffed and picked up a bottle of the EDT for a ridiculously low price. I love ginger & figured I'd live dangerously for once. Lothantique did not disappoint. This is such a pretty scent--light, refreshing, and decidedly gingery. On me this fragrance has a bright, peachy apect, along with a touch of light floral, all dominated by a just enough gingery zing. Lasting power is remarkably good.
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Fragrances -Strange Invisible Perfumes - Black Rosette
buleria 1/16/2005 10:27:00 AM
Strange indeed. Black Rosette's name suits it well. Dark, bitter, rose, that develops a notable medicinal quality as it unfolds. It opens with a bitterness I can't fully identify and a sourness that's all too familiar to me: rose. (Rose and I do not always get along very well, so take that into consideration as you read this review.) I did not adore my Black Rosette experience, but it was certainly interesting. Two-and-a-half lipstick for complexity and novelty.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Scharffen Berger CACAO
buleria 11/28/2004 1:58:00 PM
I received a sample of Cacao as a Halloween "trick." Given its reputation, I held off opening the vial for quite some time. I finally succumbed to curiousity and gave it a whirl. I have to admit I didn't exactly fall madly in love with this scent. Nonetheless, my experience was obviously highly unusual. As far as I'm concerned Cacao is fine. It's innocuous. I smell lots of sweet jasmine. A bit of cocoa, but mostly jasmine. That's all. Nothing to write home about, but no poo to speak of. Maybe it's my weird chemistry? I dunno. I give it two-and-a-half lipsticks.
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Fragrances -Loewe - DINNER by bobo
buleria 11/28/2004 1:50:00 PM
It may just be my natural perversity, but I really like this bobo stuff. Like many lately, I had the luck (in my case good luck) to score a 1/2 oz dropper bottle in my local discount store for only a few dollars. I bought it unsniffed, figuring it was worth it just for the experience. Well, guess what? On first application I experience Dinner by bobo as a sweet, fruity, spicey poupourri. It then morphs through a powder and violet phase--my least favorite part. Finally it settles down into a very pretty, not-too-sweet, incensey vanilla. Feel free to send me your rejected Dinner leftovers.
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Fragrances -Cote Bastide - Peche de Vigne
buleria 11/20/2004 10:07:00 AM
Not that long ago, I received a bottle of Pêche de Vigne in the mail. I opened the package and announced excitedly to my husband, “Look what I just got!!!!” His response, “A bottle of gin?” Pêche comes in an enormous clear glass splash bottle that really wouldn’t look out of place in our liquor cabinet. Why so large? Well, this is floral water—a very light, refreshing formulation that lasts, oh, about three seconds. Splash it on with alacrity, though. This stuff smells delicious. Just like a freshly cut, ripe peach. I love it. I recommend saturating a cotton pad with Pêche de Vigne and wiping it on wherever you like. It’s a wonderful pick-me-up and perfect for a hot summer day. Nice in winter, too.
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