Tag: fragrance

Categories
Beauty

Today’s Scent: Oriflame Cocktails & The City Party Queen.

oriflame cocktails and the city party queen

There was a time in my life in which I have, for whatever reason, decided it a brilliant idea to take pictures of products against a notebook with lined sheets. Let us not speak about this tragic period of my existence in detail.

… Though truth be told, I kinda like it.

Anyway, the scent.

To me, this is pretty much honey and lemon in a bottle, and I bloody love it. Everything about it – from packaging to scent – suggests otherwise, but it’s easily one of the favourites out of my rather vast collection of perfumes.

I know it’s cheap. It probably even smells cheap to many. Most people who sniff it, make a bit of a face.

I know it doesn’t last long.

I know the packaging is nothing to write home about, and the design is more that of a deodorant than an eau de toilette.

But I don’t care.

As with many other Oriflame scents, the top notes disappear pretty quickly, and you’re left with the middle ones – honey in this case. I like honey, but I’d never thought I would enjoy it in a fragrance, probably because my usual fare has always been something ‘milk-and-honey’ themed.

As unsophisticated as Oriflame Cocktails & the City Party Queen is, to me this fragrance is pure happiness in a bottle, much akin to Victoria’s Secret Love Spell. They’re nothing alike scent-wise (Love Spell is all peach), but they both share a lack of complexity and both are equally successful in putting a smile on my face.

Save

Categories
Beauty

Today’s Scent: Love Chloe Eau Florale.

I had a small size of this, and gave it away after a single spritz.

I don’t know what it is with me and this perfume, but it grated on my nerves like nobody’s business. My cousin, who usually loves green tea notes, wasn’t a fan either, and I couldn’t really smell any green tea in there at all.

On the other hand, my opinion of this seems rather unpopular, because my father loved it and said something along the lines of probably gifting bottles to several female acquaintances. And the person I gave the sample to was happy with it as well. For me, though, it totally didn’t work. Odd, because it’s got both powdery and white floral in it, according to Fragrantica, something that I easily fall for.

Read more Today’s Scent posts here.

(Image credit: Fragrantica.)

Categories
Beauty

Today’s Scent: Guy Laroche Fidji.

guy laroche fidji

When I read reviews of Guy Laroche Fidgi on Fragrantica, it’s all summer, beaches, palms, and all other islandy fun. After all, the fragrance is called Fidgi.

For me, however, this is a late autumn to winter scent, and it’s also very grandmotherly. As in, it’s one of my grandmother’s favourite perfumes, so I associate it with her and with long evenings and newspaper reading and family gatherings in the living room.

My use of Guy Laroche’s Fidji is more sentimental rather than pure personal enjoyment. Grandmother wasn’t a huge perfume wearer, so I can pretty much remember all the occasions she used it on. Occasions is a wrong word, though, — sometimes she’d just have a day where she’d decide to wear perfume.

It’s a very homey and grown-up perfume for me. I wear it occasionally, but I don’t think it particularly suits me. The bottle I have is rather weathered – it belonged to my late grandmother, actually. There’s not much left, as you can see. I will use it up and keep the bottle for personal reasons — and also because I’m a hoarder who keeps empty perfume bottles, because they are all pretty, oh so pretty.

Definitely a warm, grown-up scent.

Read other perfume-themed posts here.

Categories
Beauty

Scents I Let Go.

Perfume is a very individual thing. Even if you tried the scent more than once, ergo purchased a sample or spritzed it in the shop countless times, you still risk disliking it later on. Perhaps you switched body lotions, or cut meat from your diet, or changed climates. All these can alter how perfume opens up on your skin, and how you perceive scents overall.

My main problem with perfumes lies in falling for top notes. These evaporate quickly, and what remains doesn’t always open up on the skin as I’d expected it to. That’s basically what happened with these four.

more by demi

MORE by Demi

(Awkward reflection is awks.)

This is one of the more expensive Oriflame perfumes, and I coveted it for the longest time. I loved the sample, and I loved the MORE product line – particularly the hair spray. It was heavily scented, but I really enjoyed this fragrance in my hair. Finally I broke down and bought the bottle… only to find out that it no longer opens up on my skin to my liking. It felt too ‘grown up’, stifling, and dusty. Off to a new home it went.

dancing lady hypnotic night

Dancing Lady Hypnotic Night

I sampled this and totally fell in love. Then I received a full-sized bottle as a gift with purchase, but ended up giving it to my aunt. Every time I’d visit her, though, I’d scent it and feel a bit envious, so eventually I bought another bottle with full intention to wear it and keep it and love it. Sad to report that I’d since then worn it three times max, and every time it annoyed me. This bottle found a new home as well.

oriflame london

London

I feel like the goal of this perfume was to produce something that was both fresh and traditional. The end result, though, was a rather generic soapy scent that did not impress me at all. I bought this with a large discount together with other products. This was a blind purchase, and although it was deeply discounted, I still regret it. Passed it on.

P.S.: My father quite enjoyed the shower gel from this line. 😛

sparkle in paris

Sparkle in Paris

I only tried this in a dry tester on an Oriflame catalogue page. The scent was pleasant, and it was discounted, so I thought it would be a good every day scent for me. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I tried using it once or twice, but it would cause a headache in me, or at the very least annoy me to no end. It stood on my vanity for the longest time, and eventually I passed it on to my flatmate. It opens up very well on her, and doesn’t cause headaches in me at all. Perfume is the oddest thing, isn’t it?

(Credit for Sparkle in Paris product photo.)

(Everything bought with my own money. This is not a sponsored post.)

Categories
Beauty

Lip Monthly January ’15.

lip monthly (1)

OFRA Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Laguna Beach

A lip gloss packaging for a lipstick like product. The doe-foot applicator picks up more product than necessary so it’s important to remove excess lest you end up with a cakey layer of product on your lips. The product takes a bit of time to dry, but retains a bit of tackiness throughout. Not the lip gloss-like tackiness, though, just a bit of presence on the lips.

lip monthly (4)

Longevity-wise, I’d say it lasts longer than Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipsticks. Also, this lipstick is a perfect match for a lip pencil I have previously received via Lip Monthly, and a lip gloss that I own. Rather happy with this item.

lip monthly (5)

Harvey Prince Imperial Gardenia Perfume Sample

Oh this is good. Still can’t talk about scents normally, but this did leave a lasting impression and made me look up the company. I’d call it a head turner, in a good way. It’s a very strong and heady scent, though, so it should be used sparingly.

lip monthly (3)

Eco Lips Ecotints in Rose Quartz

Haven’t opened this product yet as I’ve another tinted balm going on, but if this is as good as the other Eco Lips product I’m using (from Lip Monthly too, by the way), then I’ll be happy with it, because I love my Eco Lips balm.

lip monthly (2)

MICA Beauty Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in Velvet Rose

This one was not at all what I expected. For whatever reason — perhaps because it’s potted and because of its name – I was under the impression that this is a balm-like product, or a very sheer lipstick. This is not the case at all. Even a thin layer of this is rather opaque, and the formula is such that you almost forget it’s on your lips. You can build up coverage to make it fully opaque if you like. I wouldn’t call it matte, but there’s no gloss either. It’s somewhere between creme and matte. The colour is a gorgeous deep red – actually, the title ‘Velvet Rose’ is apt.

lip monthly (6)

Swatches of OFRA Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Laguna Beach (right) and MICA Beauty Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in Velvet Rose (left). Apologies for the washed out photo. It’s still hard to control the amount of light with my phone camera.

lip monthly (7)

(Lip Monthly link is referral link. I will receive a free bag or shop points for people I refer. Subscription paid for with my own money. This is not a sponsored post.)