Fragrances -Coty - Truth or Dare by Madonna
highrise 6/17/2013 4:33:00 PM
I received this as a sample which unfortunately spilled all over the rest of the box's contents. The sheer brute force of tuberose drove me far away from testing on skin for about a year! Feeling brave, I was in a tubey sort of mood and tried it out. It's actually really nice, as the vanilla aspect works well with the white florals and tames the whole thing into a pretty pink cloud. On skin, it's surprisingly less fearsome than on paper (or other objects). Nicely done, a good choice for when you're feeling girly.
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Fragrances -Marilyn Miglin - Pheromone
highrise 4/30/2013 9:56:00 PM
I REALLY like this and came to it via cherryblossomdiva's excellent oil dupe. It's mostly a potent, powerhouse green - strong, dense and certainly of its late-70s time (fine by me). There's rather a lot going on in Pheremone...it brings to mind a complex mosaic of piney greens and dark, earthy resins. I've not tried the one now sold on the shopping channel as I have an older bottle, but if you want to try before buying, CBD's dupe is remarkably close.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
BB Cream -Garnier - BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector - Light/Medium
highrise 4/30/2013 10:36:00 AM
Turned me into a greasy puddle and provided zero coverage. Apparently Garnier has a new formula for oily/combination skins that is getting good reviews, but do I really want to take another $20 chance? No thanks.
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Fragrances -Estee Lauder - White Linen
highrise 4/28/2013 11:51:00 AM
Revisiting White Linen 20+ years after I used to wear it, and it's somehow shot into my top 5, for all time. A beautiful floating bubble of aldehydes and pale greens, this scent grounds me and erases all the messy pencil strokes to reveal the tidy lines underneath. It's modern (in the classic sense), and clean without being ascetic. I'll love it for the feeling it gives me - comfortable, capable, calm.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Bill Blass - Nude
highrise 3/12/2013 3:16:00 PM
A clean, linear pale-green powdery scent that doesn't interrupt or interfere. Absolutely artificial, it brings to mind freshly-laid carpeting in modernist offices - the perfect fit for particular moods.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Gres - Cabaret
highrise 1/30/2013 11:10:00 AM
As a lover of rose-chypres this was an obvious one, but it lingered on my 'someday' list for years. I finally threw it in with another order, and it's a solid like. The structure is lovely, and there is a pleasant, spiky green-woodiness within the blurred rose and patchouli. It has a soft persistence, similar to Prada Infusion d'Iris, which seems to fade but then magically reappear throughout the day. It's a little too ephemeral for me - I like a little more flesh and oomph in this category - but still, very nice.
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Fragrances -Yves Rocher - Voile d'Ambre
highrise 1/29/2013 9:35:00 AM
A beautifully warm, spicy, solid Amber - part of Yves Rocher's more upmarket line of scents. I tried a range of them, and Voile just leaped out in 3D. A gorgeous cashmere wrap for a grey, rainy day.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Krizia Teatro Alla Scala
highrise 1/23/2013 10:09:00 AM
A beautiful 80s dark rose, discontinued and prohibitively priced nowadays. A dense cloud of spices will hit you upon first spray, but I find that for all TaS's sweep and drama, there is a lovely almost-soapiness once settled. Anticipating histrionics, you might find it ultimately a quiet but intense presence - more Myrna Loy than Lana Turner.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chopard - Madness
highrise 1/18/2013 8:12:00 PM
Gorgeous, fat jammy-spicy rose. Bought blind and exactly what I was hoping for: sexy in a retro-femme style. Love it.
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Eye Shadow -Sephora - Outrageous Prisma Chrome Eyeshadow in Taupe
highrise 1/18/2013 10:07:00 AM
These are a new range of eyeshadows that are similar to the Prisma Chromes from last year - but better. A creamy-smooth texture with lovely pigmentation that is easy to work with, these look much more glittery in-store than they do on skin. Since hitting 40 I've been warier of excessive sparkle, but these shadows are extremely soft and flattering, with no fallout. Taupe is a darker neutral that blends like cashmere. Dare I invoke a comparison to Moth Brown...? Not as silvery, but in the same range of beautiful shadowed plummy-brown. Wonderful product - and $20 in Canada ($16US) for a huge pan.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Make Up For Ever - Rouge Artist Intense #8
highrise 12/22/2012 5:53:00 PM
I love it when the universe aligns and deposits your most wished-for item in your lap. On the hunt for the perfect matte red, I Ruby Woo'd, Rouge'd In Love, etc. but there was either too much orange or pink, not matte enough, too dry...I didn't even know there were mattes in the Rouge Intense line and was checking out #44 when this one popped up. It's ideal. The definitive blue-red, lasts hours and hours, and reflects no light whatsoever. Love it.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles
highrise 12/7/2012 11:21:00 AM
Wow. Bal a Versailles is such a kitchen-sink scent, and from reading about it there are many variations between the cologne, toilette, and parfum versions. Some folks get a lot of barnyard-skank, or soap, or bubblegum - or all three and more. I can only attest to the recently-produced edt. Incense buried in piles of orange blossom, nestled in thick fur. I'm trying this for the first time just before Christmas, and it seems so perfect for the season - year's-end warmth and celebration, with a little pagan spirit. It evokes immediate comfort, pleasure and joy. This has been love at first scent.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Dolce & Gabbana - Dolce & Gabbana for Women
highrise 12/4/2012 10:41:00 AM
In the 90s I worked in an office where one woman wore this exclusively and heavily. You could always measure her proximity by the scent. At the time I thought it was interesting, yet slightly repellent - she just oversprayed, so it became tiresome. Years later and after educating my nose a lot more, I thought I'd revisit. Damn, it's good - one of those strident, fulsome scents that is nothing but its own bad self. There is a brief gasoline-like topnote, settling into a solid mass of dark, resinous and slightly bitter beauty. Can be very polarizing, but I love it. It's recently been reformulated and had its sharp little teeth yanked. The new 'Pour Femme' is pink and innocuous. The old red-capped bottle is anything but.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Shadow -Illamasqua - Burst
highrise 11/22/2012 8:56:00 PM
Very special and high quality, Burst is a stunningly pigmented, versatile, gorgeous deep matte teal. With a little water or the brand's own Sealing Gel it's also a beautiful liner. I am amazed at the colour saturation of this eyeshadow, and absolutely love it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Jean Couturier - Coriandre
highrise 11/1/2012 7:58:00 PM
This review is for the reformulated Parfum de Toilette, in the green tin canister. I can't imagine what the vintage/original formulation was like, because I really think this is a wonderful, easily available and cheap dark rose/chypre. Even making room for missing depth and complexity, this is still a gorgeous, deeply dramatic yet soft fragrance that I'll sit next to Agent Provocateur, Knowing, and Diva, but Coriandre is a little friendlier for daytime. Note: Pretty sure that mariella below was referring to the new Chloe L'eau, which shares some of the notes of fresh green rose with a touch of darkness.
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