Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Santal Majuscule
martika 1/19/2013 7:18:00 AM
Instant love!!! I think I have tried every single Lutens released until 2011; but then I stopped chasing new releases as all of the latest ones until 2011 were a major disappointment (such as Five O Clock au Gingembre, Vitriol d’œillet, Nuit de Cellophane to mention a few). The other day, a colleague had a bottle of Santal Majuscule on her office desk -imagine my surprise! it is so rare to come across a Lutens lover in my every day life- that, out of curiosity, I asked her if I could test it. Well, it has been years since a Lutens achieved to create me an emotion to the extend that Santal Majuscule did. It is certainly not the best Lutens ever released but, at last, he finally seems to be getting back to the creation of fragrances that have made his reputation. I am certainly going to be purchasing a bottle.
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Moisturizers -Estee Lauder - Revitalizing Supreme Global Anti-Aging Cream
martika 5/17/2012 5:16:00 AM
This is a good product but not an exceptional one. It does help my skin a great deal (more bright and luminous, moisturised without being greasy), however, as with most Estee Lauder products, I do not like its cosmetic smell. At this price tag, I do not think that I will be re-purchasing.
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Mascara -Essence - All eyes on me - multi-effect mascara
martika 5/17/2012 5:03:00 AM
I am not loyal to a product when it comes to mascara and have been using low-end and high-end mascaras for years. Sometimes, nice surprises come with cheap products but, other times, I get what I pay for. The latter is the case with this Essence mascara. It is certainly dirt cheap (less than 2 euros) but you get a product that does nothing of what it claims to do (quoting "multi-effect mascara which gives extra volume, length, curl, thickness and separation") and, instead, makes me have to deal with clumps.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Eye Primer -Essence - I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base
martika 3/14/2012 10:48:00 AM
I do not agree with the other reviewers. For years, I have been using the UD Primer Potion (a holy grail for many incl. me) so I know how the product works and could easily compare with the Essence e/s base. I Love Stage holds my e/s in place creaseless all day long (12+ hours), just like UD, and it also does not alternate the e/s colors. Well, I can tell you that I now have a new love which does the job for a friction of UD's price!!! I am totally satisfied with this product and would certainly be buying again.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - hors la monde shiloh x
martika 11/16/2011 2:53:00 PM
This is an aromatic fruity to my nose. Would be nice to wear with warm weather. The tangerine note is very predominant. I was hoping it would evolve to something warmer but I did not get beyond the fresh citruses stage and therefore never got the patchouli, oak moss, amber, vetiver, cedar and benzoin notes unfortunately. Nice but not something I would purchase.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum
martika 11/6/2011 2:06:00 AM
Not having been so far able to find Bottega Veneta in my country and, after reading all the raves on the fragrance board, Bottega Veneta was one of these perfumes I had to try while in Paris the other day. I was reading that the inspiration behind this perfume was "a room with old wood floors, library walls and leather-bound books with the windows open wide, the breeze coming in and cut grass, hay, moss, garden flowers, growing through the room and everything mixing up" but I hardly got the leather, let alone transposed in an old house of the Italian countryside!!! For someone like me who likes perfumes with a "caracter", Bottega Veneta is what I would call a perfume on "diet". Or to say it more blatantly: strategic marketing for appealing to the mass.
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Fragrances -Cartier - Eau de Cartier Essence d’Orange
martika 8/31/2011 11:57:00 AM
Fresh citrus turning chemical. There are much more interesting fresh orange scents in the market, I will pass on this one.
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Fragrances -Diptyque - Tarocco eau de toilette
martika 2/27/2011 10:30:00 AM
L'eau de Tarocco took me by surprise. It is not the type of scent I usually fall for but this one won me over. It is a fresh, clean yet spicy scent, a perfect scent to wear during the hot summer months.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Jeux de Peau
martika 2/3/2011 7:11:00 PM
Based on the reviews I had read, I had high expectations for this but it smells nothing like toasted buttery bread or out of the oven bread on me. I believe bread was the inspiration behind the perfume but not what the perfume is about. I actually find no milky notes but maybe it's just my nose. Instead, I get much sandalwood and there is certainly the Lutens touch in this but, unfortunately, the perfume itself didn't go me go "wow". Still it is a lovely scent which I find better and more "Lutensque" that some other previous recent releases.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Indult - Tihota
martika 2/24/2010 4:22:00 PM
Tihota, due to all the fuss there has been around it, has become a must-have for every vanilla lover. However, the price tag is simply unacceptable for such a rather basic vanilla, especially if it ends up being used for layering. At least an effort could have been made on the packaging. I admit being horrified by the fake wooden box the bottle comes with.... I purchased my bottle for 20 EUR (around $30) on this January's sales in Paris (bought at Sephora Champs-Elysées) and, in all honesty, I don't think it's worth much more than that.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Clinique - Aromatics Elixir
martika 12/24/2009 4:00:00 PM
Along with 24 Faubourg, this has got to be the 2nd stinkiest perfume I ever got to smell. I know it is considered as a masterpiece by many perfumistas, I personally don't get it....
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Fragrances -Hermes - 24 Faubourg
martika 12/24/2009 3:56:00 PM
Although I know this is meant to be a modern classic, for me, it is one of the nastiest perfumes I ever got to smell. I don't wear it myself but I have a friend who occasionally does and, every time, I suffocate. This stuff is so overwhelming, in a bad bad way.
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Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Louve
martika 8/12/2007 11:19:00 AM
I was lucky to get a bottle of this new Lutens export a month ago, well before its official release. Louve is a fragrance I was really looking forward to as I am a major almond lover. I was slightly disappointed to see that it is a softer, less sweet, version of Rahat Loukoum. it is actually much more of a skin scent. I was really hoping for something unusual and new. Having said that, the scent is not bad and I am sure it will have a lot of success. Given that for many Rahat is so hard to obtain, Louve might be a good alternative.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Serge Lutens - Sarrasins
martika 8/12/2007 11:13:00 AM
I was lucky to get a bottle of this Lutens exlusive a month ago, well before its official release. First of all, let me point out that you have to like jasmin to appreciate its beauty. It is indeed a warm, lush, jasmin. When I am sniffing it, it brings back many childhood memories of summers spent in the south of Europe. The most striking aspect about this perfume is the color of the juice which is dark purple! So beautiful!
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrance -Acqua di Parma - Colonia Intensa
martika 8/11/2007 9:46:00 AM
Colonia Intensa is marketed as a male fragrance. I personally find it unisex and would have no problem wearing it. It is quite a surprising fragrance as to my mind when I see the word "colonia", I immediately associate the scent with something fresh, aquatic or citrus. Colonia Intensa is nothing like this. It is woody, slightly leathery, ambery and resinious. A very nice surprise from Acqua di Parma, well done!
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No