Scrubs -The Body Shop - Moringa Body Scrub
hesterC 1/21/2011 6:27:00 AM
Oh my woooooooord the Moringa range smells fantastic! WHERE IS THE MATCHING EDT, BODY SHOP?!?!? Or better yet, a perfume oil! It is the sweetest, loveliest white floral scent I've (almost) ever encountered. The scrub works great too, pretty much perfect ordinary body scrub, with particles that are rough enough yet not of the scratch-the-skin variety. I would prefer, like the other reviewers, to get this in a tub. A pot in the shower is never a great plan - water gets in, and it's a hassle to open with slippery hands.
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Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Vanilia [DISCONTINUED]
hesterC 1/21/2011 6:16:00 AM
HEAVEN IN A BOTTLE! Why did I only discover it now?! I'm not even a vanilla fan. Thank goodness I was still in time to buy probably the second last bottle left in my country. A dusty, inedible vanilla that is almost equally strongly an amber scent (though a very translucent amber), with an absolutely delightful non-fresh sappiness also (ylang-ylang?), a scent combo I've never, ever come across. So rare to find a not-very-sweet vanilla, and one with added interest that's NOT just random cinnamon-ey spiciness? What a treasure. I would bathe in it and smell of it always if I could. Someone at L'Artisan seriously needs a good head-reading, to discontinue this and give us the very vile Vanille Absolument? For SHAME.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -L'Artisan Fragrances - Havana Vanille 
hesterC 1/21/2011 6:09:00 AM
They replaced the divine Vanilia... with THIS? I weep for L'Artisan. Ok, but drama aside, I can imagine some real vanilla freaks loving this (btw it's been renamed Vanille Absolument), but to me the boozy tobacco opening is just a total abortion of a perfume, it was actually offensive in some sickly sweet way, yuck! My boyfriend recoiled also. It really isn't subtle or interesting, but horribly sweet, cloying and invasive. I can't stand it. Take it back and bring back VANILIA!
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Fragrances -L'Occitane - Fleur Cherie
hesterC 1/11/2011 2:21:00 AM
I adore the packaging on this, such a retro 70's feel. I have the solid perfume and the hand cream, so I'm not reviewing the spray scent. To me it is very, very sharp and sweet orange blossom with a base of jasmine. My boyfriend gets just jasmine and abhors it; I find it cheerful and invigorating, yet a touch too sweet. I'm interested to see how it works as a strengthener (I know, yikes!) to Narciso Rodriguez EDT, as the orange blossom should be really compatible. Maybe for going out only, though! EDIT The hand lotion gives really longlasting scent, two hours for a lotion is great, I think. But I like the scent less and less, it is really quite synthetic.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Cartier - Panthere de Cartier
hesterC 1/11/2011 2:18:00 AM
I'm a touch sad. Some years ago my mother wore the EDT (I checked, it was definitely the EDT, so they made it in that formulation as recently as ten years ago). It was heaven. HEAVEN! I recently found a bottle of the EDP and snatched it up, in spite of an astronomical price tag. It's VERY different to the EDT. the EDP has no diffusion to speak of, creates no sillage, and has no lively topnotes to send you off on your journey. To my nose, it dives right into a melange of heartnotes with no real focus or zing. It's a very adult floral mix, but I wouldn't say sophisticated as it doesn't seem to have an intelligence or wit to it. I feel stodgy wearing it (and I wear MANY allegedly 'old' or mature perfumes and love them). I may donate it to my mother, but then, I'm sure the disparity between this and her previous love would upset her too. Still, it doesn't stink and the bottle is absolutely gorgeous to have and to hold.
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Skincare -Clarins - Clarins Men- Active Hand Care (Soin Ideal Mains)
hesterC 11/18/2010 12:10:00 PM
Yeah, I guess this is a starter hand cream for men, to train them into using something without them complaining that it feels tacky. Because yeah, this sinks in PRONTO, feels like very little on the skin, and is NOT taking care of my post-dishwashing dry skin. Nice fresh 'man product' smell, but get Clarins' absolutely superb ordinary handcream if you want a real treat. Oh and Clarins? How about fliptops on the handcream, huh? These screw-off caps are mucho annoying when hands are slippery, especially.
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Lotions/ Creams -Clarins - Bright Plus HP Brightening Body Veil SPF20
hesterC 11/18/2010 12:07:00 PM
Using this for the very first time, but I came on here to check whether anyone else has the smell problem - and bingo! It's quite fresh and nice just out of the tube, but wham, a minute later? Sour - sorry - vomit! But it's very mild, the smell doesn't radiate at all, so I'll give it a good go seeing as I got it very cheaply. There's a little bit of very very subtle glimmer-glitter in here, I can see. I like the SPF in body lotion concept. It feels good on the skin, not greasy/tacky/slippery in the least. Remains to be seen what it actually does in terms of moisture and brightening.
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Cleansers -Clarins - Water Purify One Step Cleanser with mint
hesterC 11/3/2010 5:00:00 AM
BRING IT BACK, CLARINS! In South Africa, at least, this is discontinued - just when I'd found it! Perfection in a bottle for my oily combination skin. Sure, if I've been wearing a ton of makeup I'd prefer a foaming cleanser, but this is absolutely spot on for light makeup days and mornings. My skin feels extremely happy afterward. The slightly sticky feeling goes away within minutes. And obviously, people, remove eye makeup first with a real remover, geez, what cleanser removes mascara?! TWO WEEKS LATER: Still going strong, not a single new blemish or blackhead (I was slightly fearing it), not a thing to complain about, perfection, using it twice daily almost religiously. WHY is it discontinued?!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Thierry Mugler - Eau de Star
hesterC 10/18/2010 8:02:00 AM
Oooh fabulous! For my money this is more compelling and original even than Angel - it reads as (I believe I may be stealing Luca Turin's exact wording) toothpaste Angel, it really does! Mintey, watermelon-ey topnotes without ever ignoring the chocolate-patchouli base (who could ignore it). It's divine, and totally unisex I'd say (basenoters agree). I'm dabbing from a mini, I think spraying more than once might be a mistake, it is an Angel-spawn, after all. EDIT: Now I'm spraying from a FB, and no, it's NOT too strong sprayed at all (EDT). I am in love, SO glad I snapped up a 50 ml before the last ones disappeared from our stores. And also, I am noticing a prominent honey note after my boyfriend pointed it out. Only sad thing: it leaves a strong trace of pure Angel on clothes - not my favourite at ALL, so I spray far from clothes when I remember. And pity about the butt ugly bottle, that cap! So tacky.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Calvin Klein - Calvin Klein Beauty
hesterC 10/18/2010 7:56:00 AM
VERY banal, the most boring kind of 'perfumery', a floral mashup designed to please the masses but thrill no-one whatsoever. Truly sad. So yeah, it's floral and mixey and sweet, not candy-sweet but flowers-sweet. It smells dated and thoughtless and not at all elegant.
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Fragrances -Donna Karan - Pure DKNY
hesterC 9/28/2010 5:43:00 AM
A strange one, and it shocks me that I actually find it very pleasant to wear. Because yes, it does seem a touch chemical, it has that fresh watery vibe that is sadly so in fashion, and yet . . . I like smelling myself when I wear it. The topnotes are a touch strident (I guess I understand why people find it alcoholic), but give it 5 minutes and you're left with a lightly floral, sliiiightly soapy vanilla, completely inedible, not gourmand in the slightest, thank GOODNESS, and not too sweet at all. I think the bottle is supremely stylish and luxurious in the hand. The box seems a bit too crafty, but whatever. I cannot possibly agree with the reviewer who finds this the same as Cinema, though I do think anyone who enjoys Cinema won't find this heinous. I deplore the marketing, it cannot possibly be uncynical, but as a consumer product, I cannot see how this won't be absolutely succesfull. Smell it if you like vanilla, smell it if you like light white florals, and smell it if you're a perfumista, because I think this is a very, very good embodiment of current (somewhat deplorable and surely annoying) perfumery trends.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Clarins - Eau de Jardins
hesterC 9/14/2010 4:27:00 AM
I'm sad to bash a Clarins, and to disagree with everyone here. But this is very bad. A whiff of guava (interesting) for two seconds, then the drydown of Body Shop's White Musk Breeze (or whatever the flanker's called). A cheap, extremely faint smell remains after the first minute, you have to huff your skin to get anything, and then what you get is such a disappointment! Any of the other Clarins treatment fragrances are wildly beter than this one. What a shame.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Issey Miyake - a scent by Issey Miyake Florale
hesterC 9/7/2010 4:17:00 AM
To the other reviewer: you've got your hands on a scent florale, a flanker of the original (green/white bottle) a scent. The florale version is not an improvement; they seem to have only added a cheap lily scent to the original. Not to be bought by me, though i ADORE the original.
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Polishes -Essie - Chinchilly
hesterC 9/7/2010 4:13:00 AM
LOVE this lilac-tinged grey! It looks so so chic on my short nails. In many lights it is a solid grey, especially if you do three layers (two can be a touch more transparent and lilac). Some lights bring out the purpley touch. I am in love with the colour. Great quality, no chipping, some tip wear but hey, whatcha gonna do.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lip Treatments -Smith's Rosebud Salve - Brambleberry Rose lip balm
hesterC 3/1/2010 9:04:00 AM
Ok look, if you think you may not like a rosy berry smell, steer clear! This is unbelievably intensely scented, way way more than ordinary rosebud salve. I do like it, does what it says on the tin, you know, nice and naturally glossy pink lips, but I would not purchase (got it as a gift): it's way, way, way overpriced for what it is. I think my mom bought it mostly for the very pretty tin (which I'll keep if I ever use this stuff up – HUGE).
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