ProductWhores

Some Lovely Spring Scents!

Now that spring has sprung for the better part of the country (at least it seems according to my Facebook feed filled with people outside enjoying fresh air and sunshine), I thought it appropriate to do a little reviewing of a few new-ish scents just perfect for embracing the warmer weather.

First up is cerisier aux papillons (Spring Cherry), a new fragrance by L'Occitane that I loved so much I ran out to buy the hand cream.  It's super-floral-y (Cherry Blossom and Magnolia) but smells modern-floral if there is such a thing?  I usually don't find myself drawn to a fragrance like this one, but it's so clean and refreshing it's hard not to feel uplifted when I wear it!  It's very delicate and light and even when I wear the fragrance and the hand cream at the same time, it's not overpowering.  Retails for $42.00 and it's limited-edition, so act now or forever regret it!

Another fragrance I have to share is the new Temple Tree Jasmine cologne by Thymes.  While I, myself, am not a Jasmine-perfume-wearing person, this is a definite must-have for any jasmine fan.  It smells actually really pretty and the bottle is stunning!  Aside from jasmine, the fragrance features notes of honeysuckle, ylang ylang and damask rose as well as coconut milk.  The mix is very delicate to wear and I even used it to spritz my bath towels (yeah yeah, not it's intended use) but it was pretty brilliant to do, if I do say so myself!  Retails for $33.00 and would make a fantastic Mothers' Day present - well, if your mom's into florals.  If she's not into florals, than getting her a floral fragrance would probably not be the smart way to go on May 12.

Note:  Samples of the above were sent to me by PR representatives working with L'Occitane and Thymes.

Vanilla Lemon Goodness

Ooh, you guys - I have found my new summer fragrance. Continuing in my tradition of only really becoming obsessed with either fresh or sweet scents, I've totally fallen in love with LAVANILA's new Fresh Vanilla Lemon Fragrance.  It basically smells exactly how it sounds - with notes of juicy lemon, lush watery fruits, fresh bamboo and pure Madagascar vanilla, it's sort of a mix of both fresh AND clean (genius!) and smells sweet without making it seem like you rolled around in cake batter for awhile before you left the house.  It's just really, really pretty, sort of soft and sexy. Perfect for the summer, but you could definitely still wear it in cooler weather if you wanted.  LAVANILA is also known for infusing essential oils with vitamin-rich antioxidants into their fragrances, which, I mean - who knows how much all the chemicals in other fragrances are affecting us, but it's nice to know that they're not in this one since I've been using it every day since I got it.  (And as a bonus, THREE separate people have asked me what perfume I'm wearing and two of them were men, so score!)  It's a limited-edition though, so you know the drill on that - move quickly if you don't want to accidentally miss it.  That would just be tragic.

Aveeno Ultra-Calming

Aveeno's new Ultra-Calming makeup removing wipes are so hydrating I almost don't have to use moisturizer afterwards.  It's seriously insane as usually makeup wipes make my face hurt they're so drying.  They contain something called "Calming Feverfew" which honestly sounded fake to me until I used my googling prowess to discover Feverfew is a medicinal herb known for its anti-inflamatory properties.  Aveeno says it's a cousin (okay, they say "related" but I like to give it a familial connection) to Chamomile and it's great for those sensitive skin sufferers.  I am absolutely taken by these wipes even after just using for a few nights.  They remove all makeup (even mascara) effortlessly, smell fresh and are so moisturizing that my senstitive skin is not red or tight at all.  These are a definite keeper for me!

Note:  A sample of the above product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Aveeno.

Faking It

Concealer is always one of my least favorite makeup items to buy... until I break out or have something I want to hide, and then I'm all about it.  And right now, I'm in dire need of hiding my undereye circles.  Don't ask me why, but they are super dark at the moment, like I'm staying up all night solving the economy instead of, you know, eating potato chips and watching the ID Network.  I can't figure it out.  So I decided to use my 15% Sephora discount to buy Benefit's new Fake Up Concealer to see if I could make myself look... less terrible.  And it worked!  I'm kind of obsessed with it now.

First of all, I love the packaging and the way the concealer twists up.  It makes it really easy to apply it exactly where you want.  It's also the first concealer I've ever used that had the concealer part in the middle of a ring of moisturizing ingredients, so it's virtually impossible for the concealer to cake because it's not getting applied over dry skin.  How has no one thought of this before?  It's kind of genius.  The concealer itself is awesome too - it comes in three shades (Light, Medium and Dark) and I bought the lightest shade because I'm so pale and it matches perfectly.  It blends in smoothlessly and really hides the dark circles - it makes me look like I've slept twelve hours instead of, uhm, seven or eight.  Very nice.  I also used it to hide some redness on my chin and it worked well at that too so it seems like a good, all-purpose concealer. Definitely worth picking up.  Fake it 'til you make it!

Stila Festival of Color!

Stila's new Summer 2013 collection is so pretty and shockingly wearable!  When I first saw it I thought it was so bright that I wouldn't be able to wear it without looking like a freak, but I was so wrong.  The color Pigments are my absolute fave of the collection.  Each Countless Color Pigment compact features multiple shadows all swirled together like a beautiful watercolor painting (actually, they look a lot like stuff my kid has made me for me).  The shades are vibrant, work perfectly together and have the staying power of Stila eye shadows.  I love, love Light Show (turquoise, bright green, bright yellow) and Melody (awesome shades of bright plums), but since there are 10 compacts to choose from it's kind of hard to be able to just pick a few, honestly.  The rest of the new collection features After Glow Lipcolor (super bright pencil lipcolor that's not drying!); Smudge Stick in Turquoise (sooooo pretty and my favorite go-to eyeliner formula); Liquid Eyeliner also in turquoise and Color Balm Lipsticks (freakin' amazing, my new obsession).  Stila's Color Balm Lipsticks are super hydrating, have such beautiful shades and are peppermint-y.  I am crazy for all the shades, honestly, and own a few.  I think if you made me pick the one I'm using most right now, I'd pick Gemma - a purple-y pink that's vibrant and so pretty for Spring.  Oh, Stila, I love you so very much!!

Note:  Samples of the above products were sent to me by a PR representative working with Stila.

Guess Girl

Guess Girl, the new fragrance by Guess, really surprised me with how delightfully girly it is!  First of all, the bottle is absolutely adorable with its lovely pink flower top and petal-shaped base (yeah, yeah, I'm a sucker for packaging).  Once I gave it the first spritz, I instantly caught the fruity floral and fell in love with the very clean-smelling, feminine scent. It's perfect for Spring and I'm actually picking one up for my Mom for Mother's Day... you know, because I'm the best daughter ever!  In case you love to know the notes in a fragrance, enjoy:

• Top Notes: Raspberry Nectar, Melon and Bergamot Mist
• Mid Notes: Brazilian Paradise Orchid, Acacia Flower and Lily
• Dry down: Skin Musk, Natural Australian Sandalwood, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla

Note:  A sample of this perfume was sent to me by a PR representative working with Guess

Bring Me Some Gelato

I can never say the word "gelato" without remembering when I was Eurailing around Europe with friends after our semester abroad because when we were in Italy, we ate all the gelato.  Seriously, I'm surprised there was any left in the country by the time we caught a train out because we did nothing but eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the entire time we were there.  It was just so ridiculously good.  We would literally finish a cone, throw the wrapper away, then walk two feet to the next stand and get a whole new cone.  With three scoops.  I ate more gelato in that week than I've probably eaten in all the years since put together.  Which is why when I saw the new Gelato candle from Bath & Body Works (part of their new Italian Piazza collection) I knew I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible.  (Hopefully this week!)  The description says that it's "A creamy, sweet blend of raspberry and strawberry with an effervescent sugar-spun finish form the perfect Italian indulgence."  Uhm, yes please!  Doesn't that sound like it would smell amazing burning in your kitchen?  (Or the living room?  Or your bedroom?)  I only wish that they could've somehow made it in the fabulous Mint Chocolate Chip flavor that I ate the most of because that was some seriously delicious gelato.  I still dream about it sometimes.  Your move, Bath & Body Works... 

Bronze, Baby

I use bronzer pretty much year round because, well, I live in Los Angeles and yet am about as pasty white as a person can be without fading into the wall.  It's pretty amazing how pale my skin can be naturally, so even in the dead of winter I swipe on some bronzer every morning, but it's especially important once it starts getting hotter here in L.A. because otherwise I'd stand out like a sore thumb. (Which incidentally is a really weird expression, if you think about it).  

The newest bronzers I've added to my collection are Buxom's Hot Escapes Bronzers ($28), which are available in two shades - Tahiti (Golden Bronze) and Maldives (Rustic Bronze) exclusively at Sephora.  I've been using Tahiti because it's slightly lighter and looks a little more natural on me, but for anyone but the palest of people, I think Maldives would also work too.  The bronzers themselves have a buildable coverage, which is nice because sometimes I want to look naturally sun-kissed and other times, I want to go full on tropical island vacay, so it's good to have options in a product.  The bronzers come with a cool wave pattern etched on them, but my very favorite part about them is that they're laced with a light coconut scent.  How genius is that?!  And how have other bronzers not done this before?  It's subtle, but when you open the compact and brush it on, you can definitely smell it and it puts me in a good mood every time.  It's scientifically impossible to be in bad mood while putting on coconut scented bronzer!  I kind of wish all my face products were scented now.  Imagine it - creme brulee scented eyeshadow!  Someone needs to get on that STAT. 

Note:  Samples of this product were sent to me by a PR representative working with Buxom 

Pixie Dust by Zoya!

Zoya is my favorite nail polish brand and it's not just that they're free of all the nasty, toxic chemicals but they also always have the most amazing collections!  I have been alternating recently between Blu from the Lovely collection (Spring 13) and Chyna from the PixieDust collection (Fall 12).  Both colors (and collections for that matter) are spectacular and get me tons of compliments - even though it's recently come to my attention that I'm terrible at painting my own nails - looks like my toddler did it.  Actually, he'd probably do a better job as I look at my nails again right now.  Anyway, Blu is a stunning light blue color (robin's egg blue) and Chyna is a deep glittery red.  When I went onto the Zoya site to check out the spelling of the Chyna color, I came across the new upcoming PixieDust Summer collection and squealed with delight. First of all, if you haven't checked out their PixieDust nail polishes you are missing out!  PixieDust is a textured nail polish which leaves nails looking like you've applied specs of glitter to them, but it's matte which really surprised me.  The colors look amazing (I like to use the lighter ones as top coats over darker colors) and the darker PixieDust colors look beautiful with two coats (vibrant, deep colors).  The new Summer PixieDust collection is available for pre-order now and will start shipping as soon as April 15.  The collection features Solange, Beatrix, Destiny, Miranda, Stevie and Liberty.   I need to have the whole set (yeah, I know, I need more nail polishes about as much as I need eyeshadow palettes... or hand lotions... and the list goes on and on...)

Calm Down

I am totally obsessed with Dermalogica's UltraCalming Relief Masque right now.  First of all, I've had the WORST cold for a week, which has made my already sensitive skin even more sensitive.  (I swear, my nose is Rudolph red from blowing it oh, every THIRTY SECONDS!)  So I've been using the masque to calm my skin down a little while also giving me a brief few moments of relaxation while I put it on and forget that I have the plague and can't really leave my house.  The masque itself is super gentle and calming and totally calms my skin down - a nice change from a lot of the masques I have that are meant to slough off dead skin or clear up blemishes.  This one just soothes and rejuvenates your skin - perfect after the long, stressful days we all have sometimes.  Love this one!  

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Dermalogica