Fragrances -Chanel - No.19 Poudre
waddlecakes 9/7/2012 7:35:00 PM
What on earth is wrong with people on here? Why the obsession with complex, difficult scents? Since when has a perfume been meant to replace your own personality? Poudré seems to have received lots of complaints re 'wallpaper''yness, but this generally appears to be because it is constantly compared to the original 19. If you want something that smells like and reminds you of No.19, I would suggest....buying No. 19. Let's not forget that No. 19 is often disliked by a great many people. And then let's remind ourselves to consider Poudré on its own strengths, as opposed to in comparison with the original. Poudré still has the green, icy elements of No. 19 - the difference here is that rather than have those cold, watery elements (which are quite beautiful, and I am definitely a No. 19 fan) dissipate and drift away in an even colder misty drydown, they instead transform into something warm and lightly powdered. What's not to love? You get the green, the slight acid, the lemon, the sparkle, and are left with a sheer coating of dusted iris that stays with you all day. It feels extremely organic to me - it has that in common with No. 19. I don't feel like this smells synthetic, or knowing. As some have mentioned, it's discreet enough to be worn to work or to school, but equally makes for a very gentle, natural tender scent to wear out in the evenings. Poudré is first and foremost about fragility, to my mind. It's a fickle scent that switches and changes, as opposed to No. 19, which undergoes a fairly reliable transformation. The fragrance is a young one - by which I don't mean it is made to be worn by the young, but rather that it mirrors a young personality. One that isn't quite settled, one that tries to be many things at once. I like it for this erratic aspect.
14 out of 15 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Hermes - Voyage d'Hermes
waddlecakes 9/7/2012 7:22:00 PM
Close your eyes...this fragrance does seem to take you on a journey. Sparkling and fresh at the beginning, dusty and heavy near the end - feelings any traveller can relate to. This perfume is light and easy with a hint of darkness that scuttles away once you start looking for it too closely. It reminds me of the sea, and spices from far away lands, and there's a carefree element here that's extremely attractive. It's a unisex fragrance, and whilst I'm sure there are women who can wear this beautifully, it simply felt a little too masculine on my own skin. Very sexy on a man, and hopefully as I get older my skin might change and I may be able to pull this off. A bit of escapism in a bottle, entrancing, takes me back to my childhood. The price is a shame.
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Fragrances -Givenchy - Organza
waddlecakes 9/7/2012 7:17:00 PM
There's something in this perfume that stabs right at my heart - it reminds me of something, or someone, a place or person from my childhood perhaps, something I've forgotten. This perfume is quite incredible. It manages to be overtly sexual without being trashy, and entirely feminine without being sickly. It's a big, powerful scent that is in no way offensive, and stands out whilst simulatenously melding into your skin. I feel sensual and pretty and powerful when I wear this - and yet something, perhaps the nostalgia, fills me with sadness when I smell it on myself. For that reason, this is probably one I won't wear for a few more years. This perfume probably could be worn by a younger woman/girl, but to me it's one for a woman in her thirties. My mother once told me your thirties are the best time in a woman's life...still young, still learning, but with an inner confidence and calm you didn't have before. That prety much sums up this perfume for me, and I'm not quite there yet.
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Lancome - Poeme
waddlecakes 9/7/2012 7:12:00 PM
Poeme is about simplicity and comfort. It's the perfume I want to wear when everything feels like it's getting a bit much - I want to retract into myself and heal emotionally. Nothing fights for your attention with this perfume, nothing in particular stands out. It's simple and beautiful and smells somewhat nostalgic. A reminder of a more gentle time, it conveys a certain fragility. I doubt I could wear this perfume, and only this perfume as it simply doesn't keep me interested enough. But it's a soothing, natural scent that feels grounding and touching.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chanel - Coco Noir
waddlecakes 9/3/2012 7:57:00 AM
Mind-bogglingly banal. Average, non-descript, half-heared, sad. There is nothing in this perfume that stands out, nothing dark or enigmatic or special about it at all. To make matters worse, it conforms to the latest Chanel trend in creating perfumes that evaporate and disappear off the skin within 2-3 hours. The only possible explanation for someone buying a bottle of this is because it's Chanel and is therefore felt to be shorthand for elegance and sophistication. The bottle is sexy, and I';m sure there are women out there who feel sexy simply knowing that they are wearing Chanel, in whatever form. Give this one a miss. An utter rip-off, and one of the most insipid fragrances to be recently released.
11 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Avene - Ystheal+ emulsion
waddlecakes 1/17/2012 1:28:00 PM
This product is absolutely genius, almost a miracle product for me. I've got the worst skin in the world, coming from the UK and having that deathly pale, really thin skin you only seem to get in the British Isles, where instead of being milky pale and smooth, it's blotchy and dead looking. Aside from being whiter than white, it is also really sensitive and reacts to everything, be it heat, cold, certain products...a red blotch just seems to appear, my face gets itchy, for no apparant reason. It's also quite oily and I can get some under the skin cyst like spots, but any attempts at blitzing it leaves my skin dehydrated. Having stupidly spent some summers trying (and failing) to tan, I also have a faint line across my forehead. So hears what I wanted to do: - Get rid of that line and prevent ageing (I'm 25) - Even out my skin tone - Get rid of redness I wash my face twice a day with Avene Clearance. Before I put on my make-up and leave the house, I use a hardcore moisturizer from Dove, and I do this again, after having washed my face at night. In the evening, once the moisturizer has sunk in, I use 2 pumps of the Ystheal all over my face. I've been following this for about 2 weeks now, and have started seeing a real difference already. No more spots, the line is starting to fade, and my skin has gone from feeling and looking really fragile, blotchy and uneven, to looking luminous and an even white. I cannot recommend this product enough. I've finally been starting to leave the house without any powder/foundation.
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chanel - No.19
waddlecakes 1/7/2012 7:52:00 AM
I have absolutely no idea why some classify this as a harsh, bitch scent, unless they are talking about the EDT, which is effectively quite a sharp, intense experience, and could certainly be a bit of a 'Marmite' fragrance. The EDP however is subtle, beautiful, and a little unusual. The best way I can find to describe it is grassy, aquatic, and powdery. The first thing I think of when I smell it is a lake, roses floating in water. It's soft, possibly a little too soft for my liking - I would prefer it to last longer. It's extremely feminine, and smells very natural and organic. There's nothing synthetic-smelling about it whatsoever, and to be fair, although we may deplore its lack of staying power, it still hovers quietly close to the skin, which is actually a good thing in many ways. It's as if your body naturally smells like this, like this is just the natural scent of your skin, and would be detected by someone leaning in closer - it just doesn't hit people in the face hours after you've put it on. I'm not a fan of perfumes (however nice they smell) that are so loud and present, it's like ''Hai guys!! I'm wearing perfume!'' Pure Poison is an example of a perfume that does that. Smells good, but it's a bit fake. For me, the EDP is a scent to suit all occasions. I don't get 'power woman' from it at all. I get 'confident, smart, sensitive' woman from it. The kind of woman who has enough self-belief to not go around shouting about her many talentss. A sophisticated woman, young or old.
14 out of 14 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chloe - Love, Chloé
waddlecakes 1/2/2012 12:30:00 PM
Absolutely bloody brilliant. First off, the bottle is a rare glimmer of glamour in my otherwise shabby and poverty-stricken existence. A peachy liquid, a delicate but practically shaped bottle, and a lid attached to the main body by a little golden chain. The smell is very 70s, with a modern twist. Violets, powder, lifted out of sickliness by a very faint fruity element and something a little sharper. It smells like a pretty girl in a massive knit on a cold day. I can't imagine it working very well in the hotter months, but as a winter fragrance, it rocks. It's floral without being nauseating, and powdery without smelling old. It's warm without being cloying, and has fab staying power. There's something nostalgic about it, perhaps the 70s vibe. I've never gotten as many compliments from men on my scent than I have wearing this perfume. There must be something in it they really like, perhaps the softness and the fact that it is indisputably 100% feminine, without doing that whole ''I'm a sticky sweet, rolled in rose petals, dipped in honey, covered in vanilla, powdered over with strawberries, and then sold to unicorns!!!'' thing that so many uber-feminine scents do these days, and which so often make my stomach turn. I think I've found my perfect scent.
20 out of 21 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Chanel - Coco Mademoiselle
waddlecakes 1/2/2012 12:18:00 PM
Really nice fragrance, but boring boring boring. You smell it on absolutely everybody (at least, here in the UK you do. Perhaps it has more cachet in America?). In fact, I didn't even know that I already knew this perfume, until I tested it and went ''Oh yeah. That's what every single 25 year-old girl wears''. Common, in that respect. I think people shell out for this because it's ''Chanel'' and they want to feel expensive, when in fact loads of perfume houses do similarly light, fresh, sweet perfumes like this, at a fraction of the cost.
6 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Nina Ricci - L'Air du Temps
waddlecakes 12/14/2011 7:27:00 AM
I think perfume is one of the most subject things, but really, I just don't understand this one's popularity. I suspect that this fragrance has succeeded based on its reputation for being a ''classic''. Women will buy it, because they figure it's such a classic you can't go wrong with it - it's safe, like buying Chanel no 5. If this was released on the market today, I'm pretty sure it would fail. There's no complexity or interest to the scent. It smells like a nursing mother wearing a lot of deodorant. It's so floral, it's slightly nauseating. Imagine a mix of milk, baby powder, and acid. It's light and smooth enough to be a 'young' scent, but in reality I've smelled it on a lot of 40 year-old Mums, so perhaps that's where my prejudice comes from. This perfume manages to be a total paradox. It's boring whilst being aggressive, should be young but smells old, essentially, it's synthetic baby milk. And pretty bloody over-powering baby milk, by the way. I sprayed l'air du temps on the back of my hand, and Chanel no 19 on my wrist...the Chanel was completely eradicated by l'air du temps - it vanished. If you want the smoothness and prettiness of this scent without the nausea, try Dahlia Noir.
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Lancome - Magie Noire EDT
waddlecakes 12/8/2011 9:15:00 PM
My Mum used to wear this in the 90s. I got a sample the other day, and they've changed the smell beyond recognition. This smells like either an ancient man or an animal fell asleep in my bed and covered my sheets in rank sweat.
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Fragrances -Cacharel - Scarlett edt
waddlecakes 12/8/2011 9:07:00 PM
Not really for the over 25s, as it's fairly unimaginative and weak. However, perfect present for the under 20 crowd. Light, flowery, a nice honey-ish smell. Awful staying power, disappears after 2-3 hours. Completely inoffensive and touching in its naivety.
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Fragrances -Cacharel - Amor Amor
waddlecakes 12/8/2011 9:04:00 PM
Here in Europe this is pretty cheap, and is good value for money. It reminds me a little of Pure Poison in its vibe, and if you're a P. Poison fan and want to switch over to something a little less aggressive, this might be a good call. The vibe is essentially the sweetness of youth with a hint of danger. That girl you knew as a teenager who was skiving school to light up with her older boyfriend. It's light and floral with a hint of pepper and darkness. Good one for the under 30s. Great staying power, yet never heavy smelling. Not much change between initial spray and dry down. What you see is what you get. Summer through winter.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Calvin Klein - Eternity for Women
waddlecakes 12/8/2011 8:57:00 PM
My Mum wears this, so perhaps I am biased. It makes a nice change for the older woman, who usually is restricted to: - The OTT heavy matronly floral scents - The ascetic bitch scents (Opium etc) This is sharp but sweet at the same time. It smells of old school face powders and lipstick, with fresh laundry mixed in. It's gentle, but clear. Soft, without being a pushover. Floral, without having that decaying flowers rotting away in a pot of honey smell. I like this. It's ethereal without being nonsense.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Clinique - Happy
waddlecakes 12/8/2011 8:52:00 PM
What a bland, insipid, drippy perfume. Sporty, light, smells fresh and clean, but so what? If you want to smell clean, have a shower and wear scented deodorant. I can't even smell anything particularly citrus-y in this perfume. Just chemicals. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a uni-sex fragrance, but it feels like a man could definitely wear this. A man called Tim who works in an office and does origami in his spare time.
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