Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies

Happy Belated New Year's! (and some ramblings)

2012-01-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

Whoa, has it been a long time!

Happy belated New Year’s, dearest readers; I sincerely hope that everyone had a joyous and restful holiday season - something I did not have. As you may know, my new job is in retail, and the holidays were beyond hectic for me. The non-existent posting from me (along with my near-disappearance from Twitter) should have been a sign that things were just not going well for me. I made it through most of December on very little sleep, no makeup save for mascara, and only my perfume collection to keep me sane. Times were trying, truly trying. Every aspect of my life went completely on hold.

(See, I wasn't kidding - I really drew a bad picture of a Christmas tree!)

Even now that holiday has passed, we transitioned right into sale period (oh, isn’t retail grand?) and I’m still just as busy as I was pre-Christmas. Ugh. I have been so tired that I actually slept through New Year’s Eve! First time in my life that I’ve ever done that. I haven’t even written my ‘thank you’ cards for Christmas gifts that I received. I’m actually embarrassed at the level to which my life has corroded because of work responsibilities.

My last wakeful hours on New Year’s Eve had me swearing to myself that 2012 would be different: I could no longer neglect myself or my blog. I made a DSH Perfumes order to cement this decision, and then passed out over a heap of french fries. Delicious!

The first day of 2012 ended up being just a beautiful day. With a fully done face of makeup (the first time in nearly a month that had happened) and a healthy spritzing of Guerlain Iris Ganache, I stepped out into a sunny NYC day and things just fell into place. My confidence soared, I was able to respond to texts and emails, and a lovely brunch date with Ilusionisto blossomed into the reconciliation of our relationship - and I looked and smelled fabulous the entire time. At the end of the day, I was able to sleep peacefully for the first time in a month. Truly, truly wonderful.

With this in mind, I wanted to thank each and every one of you for the love, support, and readership you’ve blessed me with this past year. Blogging (and my sick love of makeup and perfume) has brought me friendships that I could have never expected but have always wanted. I love - truly, truly love - each and every one of you. I am sorry I could not say these things sooner, or in a more personal manner.

If I have any resolution for 2012, it is to bring you the little slices of my crazy brain that I had always tried to offer you: I am still buying all of the taupe eyeshadows I can get my hands on, I am still sniffing all of the perfumes I can get my hands on, and I’m still eating all of the bacon I can get my mouth around. Please, bear with me if things get crazy for me again. I do not mean to abandon you, or to disappoint.

Now that I have said what I needed to say, I’d love to hear from you about your holiday season, about your New Year’s resolutions, and about all of the yummy things you have been eating! Let me know in the comments.

...oh, and have a wonderful, lovely day!

The Beauty Spotlight Team 12/25/11

2011-12-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

After all the running around, shopping, cooking, and headaches the holidays are actually here! The Beauty Spotlight Team wishes you a happy and very healthy Christmas, Chanukah and New Year. May 2012 be a beautiful year in all ways.

Joeybunny took part in the O Tannenbaum! perfume blogging project - see what woody perfumes stole her heart over at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies!

If you've looking for the perfect balance between moisture and colour for the cold winter months then check out the tinted balms that Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed has been loving lately!

Beauty Info Zone has a brand new look. We're putting on the Glitz with Tarte for the holidays. Come see what Tarte and Beauty Info Zone have to show you.

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu did the unthinkable and chose her favorites from a year's worth of purchases. Many of these items were not necessarily released as new this year, but they were new to her. Come read about what made Zuzu's best-of list.

Over at Lipstick Musings, Shannon has found a not-quite-red (for a change) that will rock your world in Guerlain Rouge Automatique Lipstick #168, L'Heure Bleue!

London Makeup Girl asks if you are washing your hair properly? She was mortified to find that she wasn't! Read the post and watch her video here.

Modesty Brown has a Butter LONDON Knees Up and shares some perfect twinkly red nail colours for the festive season.

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, talks with MAC MUA Romero Jennings about Daphne Guinness and her upcoming makeup collection with MAC.

Looking for some last minute gifts? Pammy Blogs Beauty continues her Holiday Palette reviews with Too Faced "In Your Dreams" Palette.

Perilously Pale shares a Face of the Day post that will have you hopping running to place an order for some Rouge Bunny Rouge. Come see why this is one of her favourite brands!

Over at Pretty in Dayton, Styrch falls in love with Cult Nails Power Thief.

Prime Beauty reviews Benefit's new Hervana blush; it’s spellbinding and will hypnotize you—she hopes!

Visionary Beauty shares her collection of the delightful Rouge Bunny Rouge loose glitter pigments, including the two new tantalising shades; Caress of Mink and Embrace of Cashmere.

O Tannenbaum! (a joint blogging project)

2011-12-21T06:20:00.001-05:00

I cannot remember the last time I had a Christmas tree; I think I must have still been living at home, and I miss that little plastic piece of green joy. Admittedly, I always wanted a real Christmas tree: I wanted to smell the fresh pine needles throughout my home, all the time - but my mother refused, claiming it would be a fire hazard. Sigh.

(the tree at the Mast Bros. Chocolate Factory)

One day, I’ll have a real Christmas tree: I’ll string it with garland and obnoxious ornaments, and I’ll place presents and cards underneath it. Even if I spend Christmas alone, I’ll get to luxuriate in the sight and smells of such a gorgeous living thing. But for now, I have a hilariously bad drawing of a tree taped to my bedroom wall (in the corner where I have lumped all of my Christmas gifts and cards), and a large collection of woody fragrances with which to assuage my want.

I have always had a soft spot for woody accords in fragrances. I love them for the warmth they give to fragrances, the instant imagery I see in my mind while wearing them - forests, darkness (or light, depending), coziness, expanse, life, and death. Woody accords bring to mind both the divine and the irrefutably human: wood is a material for near-infinite possibilities, and this is evident even in perfume.

With this in mind, I should probably let you all in on why I’m waxing poetic about wood: today is “O Tannenbaum!” Day - many of the lovely perfume bloggers who reside in the blogosphere are getting together today and posting about some of their favorite woody fragrances. Each of us picked three perfumes to do mini-reviews on; I will link all of the participating blogs below.

For my particular post, I decided to focus on three of my favorite Indie perfumers: Laurie Erickson, Mandy Aftel, and Roxana Villa. These women are incredibly talented and have cast a serious spell of magic over my life (and my wallet), and when I had to think about three of my favorite woody fragrances, their creations were the first to ‘pop’ into my head. The following three mini-reviews will take us from the photo-realistic to the purely dreamy, from the severe to the soft: all different interpretations of trees, of wood - a material we all seem to take for granted despite the magic that permeates its very being.

Sonoma Scent Studio’s Winter Woods: Laurie Erickson’s Winter Woods is an ode to every fantasy this citydweller has had about spending a white Christmas in a log cabin. I’ve always had a desire to spend Christmas by a fireplace, the smell of my kindling filling the air with a robust, thick smoke which would mix with my soft, ambered perfume. I would sit there for hours, cuddling someone close and just basking in the warm glow of the fire. Winter Woods smells exactly like this fantasy. At once incredibly soft and almost charred, it straddles a fine line between the masculine and feminine. An incredible combination of guaiacwood, cedar, birch tar, cade, and labdanum lend Winter Woods its irresistible thick and resinous appeal - and a decidedly sexy leather aspect. The fragrance lasts for hours, and as it wears the smoke clears somewhat and makes way for a lovely amber and sandalwood skin scent: just as sexy as the smoked woods at the beginning, but softer, sweeter, and a bit tamed. It is the dying embers in that fireplace, emitting a warm glow as my mystery cuddle partner and I get closer and closer…

Aftelier Perfume’s Oud Luban: Mandy Aftel originally created Oud Luban as part of the Clarimonde Project, an ode to one of the most haunting stories of love and loss I have ever read. The priestly Romuald was cursed to spend his life serving one love (the church) while aching for his other love (Clarimonde). Mandy’s interpretation of the story brings us this fantastic solid perfume, whose smell is both unique and familiar, old and new. Anyone raised in the Catholic Church can still smell the fragrant and heady mix of the wooden pews and the cloying incense burned during services: the frankincense smoke curling from brass censers. Oud Luban recreates the smell of the Church with a blend of frankincense, no less than eight varieties of oud, and an incredible orange note - the combination makes for a deliciously smoky orange lacquer while first applied to the skin. One can almost see Romuald on bended knee, praying for his damned soul. However, Oud Luban is all top and base notes - no middle - and the notes transition from piety to passion, a delicious and deep skin scent emerging. It is night, and Romuald’s head and heart are with his Clarimonde, his mind recreating the warm spiciness of her skin: benzoin and patchouli call to mind his carnal desires. Still, the fragrance never quite loses the austere woodiness: a brutal reminder to Romuald of his reality.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume’s Q: Nobody does dreamy quite like Roxana: her fragrances are a call to an idealized, fairytale version of nature that is not unlike that of my childhood fantasies. Woodland creatures, fairy sprites, and the souls of the ancients live and dance together in the scented scenes that her perfumes create. To try her perfumes (I adore her solids, with their beautiful color-coded seals) is to find one’s ‘happy place’, to reacquaint oneself with the simplicity of the surrounding world. Her gift is to make art out of that which one usually does pay attention to: Q is a perfect example of this - who knew that the oak tree could serve as muse for such a beautiful fragrance? Q is a deep and twirling sort of woody scent, and while smelling it, it is easy to imagine oneself standing amongst the sturdy, tall trees. You pick up a fallen leaf and hold it to your face, feel the trace amount of dew which it has collected, and smell the sunshine and greenness. There is a beautiful hint of citrusy snap to Q that marries well to the fresh green powderiness of the wood accords; I wear it and I feel a deeper sensuality. There is an unmistakeable spice to the fragrance, and as it wears, Q reveals an animalic ambered base, an accord which smells to me of benzoin and labdanum. Bark, leaf, twig, sun: the oak is encapsulated, revered, and made magic. It shares the magic with me, and I revel in it.

I could go on and on, but why do so when so many other of my blogging friends have other lovely wood fragrances to share with you! Please check out their blogs - and their contributions to O Tannenbaum! Below - and feel free to share with us your favorite woody fragrances!

All I am....is a redhead

Another Perfume Blog

Beauty on the Outside

EauMG

Eyeliner on a cat

Fragrant Reviews

Muse in Wooden Shoes

Olfactoria's Travels

Parfumieren

Redolent of Spices

Scent of the Day

Suzanne's Perfume Journal

The Candy Perfume Boy

Undina's Looking Glass

A Tour of the Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

I now have something else that I can blame Nathan Branch for: my new love of Mast Brothers Chocolates. Nathan is the ultimate enabler, sending me links of fragrances to try, books to read, and foods to eat. On Friday evening, he sent me a link to an article about the Mast Brothers, Brooklyn residents (and brothers, obvs!) who were among the first in the country to start a chocolate factory that produced “bean to bar” chocolate: the brothers received their beans in their rawest state, and did all of the processing themselves - and packaging, and branding, etc. I Googled their website, fell in love with what I saw, and immediately booked myself a tour of their chocolate factory for the next afternoon.

Nathan, it was the best $10 I’ve spent in a long, long time!

The Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory is located on N.3rd Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; the commute from my job to the factory was quick and easy, and I wondered how I had never heard of it prior to Nathan’s message. Clearly, I don’t spend enough time in Brooklyn! The hour-long tour was scheduled for 4:30pm, but with about twenty minutes to kill, I stopped first at the factory’s Tasting Room + Store (a few doors down from the factory).

The decor and displays in the Tasting Room + Store are gorgeous: chic and minimalistic, and I loved the paper used the wrap the bars. There was a truly stunning display of small cakes, macarons, and truffles, but I went right to the round table where samples of some of the bars were available. The Mast Brothers Brooklyn Blend bar that I tried was quite nice: deep, a teensy bit grainy, and rich.

The tour started in a timely fashion. Derek, our adorable tour guide, provided us with water, aprons, and hairnets. He was affable and quite knowledgeable about the chocolates he helped produce, and he was patient with all of our questions. The tour started with a video of the Mast Brothers discussing their philosophy. I was quite taken with this quote from Rick Mast: “To make great chocolate, one needs two things: the best ingredients and the best execution.” The brothers get their beans from co-ops in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Belize, Madagascar, and Papau New Guinea. They use organic cane sugar or maple sugar, and they strive to “connect consumers to the chocolate, straight from its source.” I really appreciate that, as I’m trying in my own life to shop indie and shop local as much as possible. Also, the reasonable prices ($7 a bar) don’t hurt either!

The physical tour of the factory began after this video presentation. Some pictures of the tour are below!

(ZOMG CHOCOLATE!)

After the tour, we had a (very generous!!) tasting of the Origins line of Mast Brothers Chocolates (the seven bars represent the seven locations they obtain their beans from), and then I went back to the Tasting Room to purchase some bars!

I ended up coming home with two bars of chocolate, the Papau New Guinea and the La Red. All of the Mast Brothers Chocolates are dark, and are around 70% - the darkest is 75%, and it’s phenomenal: bright and sweeter than one would expect. The Papau New Guinea came home with me because it has a smokiness (lent to it by a double roasting) which makes it taste of hickory bacon. The La Red, from the DR, came home with me because it has an irresistibly juicy, fruity flavor.

I hope that if you’re ever in Brooklyn, you get to visit the Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory. It was an hour well-spent (I came home smelling of divine chocolate, and happy as a clam), and part of the $10 fee gets donated to a charity of your choosing on their website! If you’d like to see more pictures from my tour, please click here to be directed to my Flickr account.

Joeybunny's NYC Perfume Shopping Tour, Part Two: Shopping Below 14th Street

2011-12-12T06:00:00.007-05:00

It’s now time to complete my little guide to perfume shopping in NYC! My first installment took us along Fifth Avenue; my darling Kenny and I wore out our noses at Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Sounds like a full day, doesn’t it? It does - but I still had four (!) more places to drag Kenny. This required a train ride downtown to the West Village, and later on some eastbound walking. We purchased Kenny a MetroCard, and off we went to our first stop.

(picture borrowed from NYMag.com)

Every fragonerd must pay his or her respects to the veritable shrine of niche perfumery, Aedes de Venustas, located on the lovely Christopher Street in the West Village. Aedes is a boudoir filled with luxe and hard-to-find niche lines; also, the two cutest dogs in the world live there, so pet them if you get a chance! Kenny and I went straight to the Malle display, both of us agreeing that Musc Ravageur is an essential fragrance to own (although I’m not much of a Malle fan beyond Musc Ravageur!). We poured over every nook and cranny of the store, sniffing everything we could get our hands on. I wanted to bring the Serge Lutens cabinet home with me!

Some of the highlights of our sniffing include: Amouage Gold Woman (I have this and love it; Kenny was wide-eyed over it), Serge Lutens Chergui (a holy grail fragrance for the both of us), L’Artisan Dzing (I need this!) and Tea for Two (Kenny said I need it), and Diptyque Tam Dao (a favorite of mine that I think Kenny needed to sniff; he enjoyed it).

After Aedes, Kenny and I took a gelato and cookie break, and then walked over to MiN New York. MiN is a new store in the East Village, an atelier and apothecary combined. The layout of the store is wonderful and the selection of products made me gasp. I saw Spanish apothecary products my grandmother used on me as a child, and Kenny nearly fainted over the Frapin fragrances. I ran straight to the Miller Harris display, and the two of us squealed over the Keiko Mecheri table. I cannot stress this enough: MiN New York is an absolutely necessary stop for any fragrance enthusiast. Any place where I can buy Amouage, By Kilian, metal bunny paperweights, and get a cup of coffee all at once is a slice of heaven on earth!

Some of the highlights of our sniffing include: Frapin 1270 (Kenny instantly bought a bottle!), Penhaligon’s Amaranthine (I have a decant of this! I need to dig it up and review it), Keiko Mecheri Cuir Cordoba (I love this, and I knew Kenny would too - see Nathan's review here), and Carner Barcelona Tardes (Birgit’s review piqued my curiosity, and both Kenny and I agreed that it was the best of the line).

After MiN, I dragged Kenny around the corner and across the street to the Santa Maria Novella/LAFCO store. The Santa Maria Novella store is great if you’re one of those crazy people who likes to buy your friends housewarming presents, and stuffs their closets and dressers with potpourri. The store is a veritable Candyland for those who like all aspects of their life to be scented. I own their potpourri, their soaps, their skincare...I can go on and on. I also love gifting people with LAFCO candles. I can’t help it! I wanted Kenny to sniff the SMN colognes, and we also had a random woman follow us from MiN to SMN and I was able to help direct her to some lovely home fragrances to give as Christmas gifts! I really need to start charging people for my help.

Some of the highlights of our sniffing include: SMN Calycanthus (see my review here; I need to get a bottle ASAP!), SMN Carnation (I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would), and SMN Vetiver (Kenny preferred Calycanthus; I thought the Vetiver was OK).

Our final stop of the afternoon was at Le Labo, as there was no way I was sending Kenny back to New Jersey without a stop at one of my favorite stores! It’s silly to even include a ‘highlights’ section, as there isn’t a Le Labo fragrance that I don’t like. Rose 31 is a holy grail fragrance for me, as is Santal 33. We both drooled over the Olfactorium, and I decided that I need to buy a bottle of Labdanum 18 as soon as I can. Kenny also pointed out the laundry detergent (oh, to have all of my clothes smell of Rose 31!), and we swooned over the candles.

With our time at Le Labo complete, it was time to take Kenny back to Penn Station and for me to go home! I hope you enjoyed this guide to NYC shopping! I plan on, in the future, elaborating on some of these shops and writing about other stores we didn’t get to visit last weekend! Let me know in the comments what you think about this.

The Beauty Spotlight Team 12/11/11

2011-12-11T11:39:00.000-05:00

The holiday season is upon us. Is your shopping done yet? Take a break, sit by the fire grab a cup of coffee or cocoa and gather some great gift ideas from your favorite beauty bloggers!

Joey is hypnotized by Aroma M's latest potion, Geisha Amber Rouge . Find out why this perfume is as potent as a drug at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies !

Nothing could be finer than a gift from Le Metier. Beauty Info Zone shares two beautiful nail polish sets that would fit into any beauty lovers stocking perfectly.

How's your gift list coming along? Take a look at the first installment of Prime Beauty's Holiday Gift Guide for 2011!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed has skipped right over winter and has moved right on to Spring nail shades - check out Chanel Vernis in May and June and see if you don't agree that this was a good call!

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals found another red lipstick to love. See what's so special about NARS Sheer Lipstick in Flamenco.

London Makeup Girl bought a couple of the new MAC Metal X cream eyeshadows. Are these less crease-prone than the 2007 version? See what she thinks here: MAC Metal X Gold Carbon and Palladium.

Can Quick BlowDry Shampoo by it FACTOR really reduce your blow dry time??? Pammy Blogs Beauty tests it out.

Modesty Brown takes us through a new purchase, a couple of old favourites and an item that was good enough for a fussy beauty blogger to re-purchase. She invites you to share your old, new and re-purchased items too.

With Christmas looming and the search for the perfect present upon us, Visionary Beauty has a look at the Trish McEvoy Portable Beauty collection in Romance.

Think a product called Loose Glitter Pigment sounds like something you could never pull off? Don't let the the name scare you. Perilously Pale shows you why the new neutral offerings from Rouge Bunny Rouge are stunning and MUST HAVES!

Over at Pretty in Dayton Styrch discovers what is quite possibly the best scent to wear for the holidays at a visit to Preen Apothecary.

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Don't forget about the BeautyBloggers.org auction to benefit Doctors Without Borders. Participants have donated a treasure trove of the best lotions, potions, products, and gadgets. Donated items range from the hottest items from this year’s holiday collections to hard-to-find exclusives and limited edition cult favorites. When the auction ends, winning bidders make their donations directly to Doctors Without Borders, through the site’s secure giving page.

Hurry, the auction ends Monday, December 12th.

"The Kiss That Rose From The Earth": Aftelier Secret Garden

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

(picture borrowed from this lovely blog)

The sign of a well-composed fragrance often lies in the reactions that wearing it generates. Usually, when I try a new fragrance on, I often will “ooh” and “ahh” or moan inappropriately. Sometimes I visibly recoil and audibly gag. Once in a while, music or poetry will come to mind if I make a tangible and deep connection with what I’m smelling. When this happens, I know that I’ve struck “perfume gold”, and that what I’m wearing needs to come home with me or be purchased in a larger size. The undeniable beauty of the scent is its own symphonic treat, words painted with an olfactory glaze, mobile and living art.

I feel as if it’s no surprise that Mandy Aftel’s latest fragrance, Secret Garden, conjured up such emotions in me. I had excitedly followed the genesis of the fragrance on Nathan Branch’s blog, and his review of the finished product left me thrilled and anxious to get my paws on a sample. From the inspiration behind the name (how I love the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett!) to Nathan’s declaration that the scent was “irresistibly luminous”, Secret Garden seemed to bloom with the promise of sensuality and surprise.

It has been interesting to read other bloggers’ thoughts on the fragrance. My demonic sister Sheila found herself seduced by the fragrant blooms and animalic base of Secret Garden, while the lovely Birgit was enveloped by a very human sense of comfort and warmth exuded by the perfume. Incredible that one small vial of liquid could conjure up such vivid and conflicting emotions and thoughts! Like I’ve said before - and like I will say again - Mandy Aftel’s genius lies in her ability to create perfume as an experience. All of the senses are stirred, the mind struggles to comprehend, and the heart leaps.

When I first applied Secret Garden to my skin, I was instantly reminded of Pablo Neruda. I have been a fan of his for as long as I can remember, and I keep his collected work of poetry by my bedside. I am especially fond of his sonnets, and I know a few by heart. Soneto XLVII (47) in particular jumped out at me; I’m posting the Tapscott translation below for you to read:

I want to look back and see you in the branches.

Little by little you turned into fruit.

It was easy for you to rise from the roots,

singing your syllable of sap.

Here you will be a fragrant flower first,

changed to the statuesque form of a kiss,

till the sun and the earth, blood and the sky, fulfill

their promises of sweetness and pleasure, in you.

There in the branches I will recognize your hair,

your image ripening in the leaves,

bringing the petals nearer my thirst,

and my mouth will fill with the taste of you,

the kiss that rose from the earth

with your blood, the blood of a lover’s fruit.

What is incredible is that this sonnet perfectly embodies the experience of wearing Secret Garden. Secret Garden is flower, fruit, and flesh all at once: the initial application is bright, unfolding, and full of promise but as the fragrance develops it becomes feverish, deeper, and lustier. I am kissed by happy hints of bergamot and blood orange, caressed by an indolic jasmine and a blooming rose, and ravaged by (real!) civet and castoreum. It reminds me of perfumes from another era; Secret Garden could be a long-forgotten vintage and I’d believe it.

Still, this is probably the easiest Aftelier fragrance to wear - and I do think it is Mandy’s best. She managed to create a perfume that is both accessible yet outerworldly: Neruda’s forest lover encapsulated. Secret Garden: it is the kiss that rose from the earth to awaken passions within us all.

Joeybunny's NYC Perfume Shopping Tour, Part One: Shopping on Fifth Avenue

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to take another ‘fumehead from out of town (hello my dear Kenny!) around NYC on my grand perfume shopping tour.

(A John McCracken piece at MoMA called "The Absolutely Naked Fragrance)

In the span of about three and a half hours, we hit up seven - yes, seven! - stores, covering most of the fragrance bases. I thought that it would be nice to offer you all a small NYC shopping guide. I wish that everyone could come visit me and have me act as tour guide, but maybe this post will make you feel as if you’re in NYC with me!

Now, I’m going to split this up into two sections: today will cover my favorite stops along Fifth Avenue. In a day or two, I’ll do my favorite downtown spots. I am admittedly biased, so I’m only focusing on the three stores that I prefer to go to. I’ll make a list of honorable mentions that are perfume-centric, but are places I just choose not to visit.

Joey’s Perfume Shopping Tour: Fifth Avenue

First stop is - ALWAYS! - Bergdorf Goodman. I make everyone meet me here due to its central location and the fact that the store’s beauty level carries all of the perfumed big-shots one can think of, save for Dior. For Dior, I recommend actually visiting the Dior boutique on 57th between Fifth and Madison; their staff is hospitable and eager to let customers explore the fragrances.

At Bergdorf, there are five essential stops that must be made (besides at Le Metier de Beaute and Edward Bess!):

The Chanel counter for the Les Exclusifs - I need a full-bottle of Coromandel ASAP.
The Guerlain counter. I shouldn't have to even explain why this is a necessary stop. Ask for Peggy, and play. You will not be sorry...but you will be broke!
The By Kilian counter, because I find that the Bergdorf sales associates who man the Kilian counter are much nicer and more generous with their time, knowledge, and samples than at other By Kilian counters in the city - look for Samina on the weekends and Eva during the week.
The Annick Goutal counter, because the display is just gorgeous!
The JAR room: This is a serious experience that I don’t want to spoil for anyone. All I can say is that you will find at least one JAR fragrance to fall in love with, and your wallet will suffer a coronary when you hear the price tag on these fragrances. Also, don’t try on the jewelry. You will only suffer more.
An honorable mention to the Diptyque room on the seventh floor. It’s beautifully organized, but not my favorite place to purchase Diptyque.

While at Bergdorf this Sunday, Kenny and I sniffed numerous - at least fifteen - fragrances. Some highlights include: By Kilian Beyond Love (this might be my next Kilian), By Kilian Straight to Heaven (which is exactly where Kenny went after smelling it), Van Cleef and Arpels’ Midnight in Paris EDT (Kenny, send me a decant of the EDP please!), Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri, Par Camille (this confused Kenny; I have a FB and will be reviewing it soon!), and Guerlain Sous le Vent (this managed to distract me from Iris Ganache, so I know this is good).

Walking south along Fifth Avenue, the next stop is Henri Bendel, whose perfume floor is manned by the hilarious and very sweet Albert. Albert reigns supreme over Bendel’s incredible assortment of niche fragrances. Every single line carried here is worth a sniff, and here are some of the gems hidden amongst the displays:

Aftelier Perfumes - Yes! Mandy’s indelible creations are available here. Sniff Cepes et Tuberose and try to pretend like your life hasn’t changed for the better.
Etat Libre d’Orange, whose crazy concoctions make me giggle. I am hoping someone buys me the coffret - or at least a bottle of Jasmin et Cigarettes.
Nasomatto, because everyone needs to smell Duro and Black Afghano (Albert and I had a serious laugh over Kenny’s instant love of Black Afghano. Kenny, I’m sorry, but you need it!).
Histoires de Parfums - I fell head over heels for 1740, Marquis de Sade, and purchased the small bottle immediately. Albert wasn’t surprised, and neither was Kenny. A review will come, I promise. For now, read Sheila’s!
Hype Noses, the BEST candles ever. All of them are extremely edible.

Of course, Albert showed Kenny and me a ton of scents that were new to us. Some of the highlights include: the Blood Concepts fragrances (I really enjoyed O, which surprised me), Jouany Marrakech and St. Barthelemy (Kenny and I both preferred Marrakech), and Nez a Nez Immortelle Marilyn (perfect, plastic, and it needs to be mine immediately).

The last stop along Fifth Avenue is Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks is included only because they carry Cartier and Thierry Mugler. I needed Kenny to smell the new Cartier fragrance, L'Heure Convoitée II. We both agreed that it’s fantastic - but the price point is not! Also, Saks carries Thierry Mugler, and I had somehow yet to sniff the Mugler “Taste of Fragrance” collection. We smelled all four of the fragrances, and pretty much agreed that Taste of Fragrance Womanity is much better than the original (more fig = so much more balanced), and that Taste of Fragrance Alien is just delicious (mmm, salted caramel!).

Now, that’s it for our tour along Fifth Avenue! Moving off of Fifth Avenue and onto Madison Avenue offers more perfume options, such as the aforementioned Dior boutique, the Caron boutique, Barneys NY (whose perfume counters are lovely, but I just choose to not frequent Barneys), the Malle boutique, and the Creed boutique. I’ve yet the visit the Caron, Malle, and Creed boutiques, but I will soon!

Stay tuned for the next installment of my shopping tour! I’ll be taking you all south of 14th Street. Let me know what you think in the comments; have you sniffed any of the fragrances Kenny and I tried this weekend?

Mystery Makeup Bag - What's Zuzu Hiding in Hers?

2011-12-04T09:13:00.001-05:00

It's time to peek into another Beauty Spotlight Team member's makeup bag, and this week Zuzu's Petals will show just how much she can squeeze into a tiny bag. What minimalist essentials might be hiding inside? Click on the bag to find out!

Memoirs of a Geisha...Fragrance Line (Chapter Four): Aroma M Perfumes Geisha Amber Rouge

2011-11-30T07:00:00.002-05:00

It’s been some time since I’ve featured Aroma M on my blog. In the same vein, it’s been some time since Aroma M launched a new fragrance. Since Maria McElroy did her part and brought to us a new addition to her Aroma M fragrance line, I had to do my part and review it!

Aroma M’s fragrance oils are rich with character. While I’ve only featured my three favorites thus far on the blog (Green, Blue, and Noire), I can safely say that I love the entire line. Maria is a talented perfumer and she knows how to inject an air of sensuality into her creations.

Amber Rouge is a flanker to the pre-existing Geisha Rouge fragrance. Geisha Rouge is a scent reminiscent of strong, mulled wine. There is a near-medicinal start to the scent, which mellows out into a delicious mix of allspice, tonka, and tobacco. The slightest hint of vanilla keeps this fragrance from veering into the heavily masculine. Geisha Rouge reminds me of cold nights by a fireplace, spiked drinks, and Holiday parties stocked with candies and pies. The sillage is decent, and the spiciness lingers on the skin for hours. Still, there is a decided innocence to Geisha Rouge, due to the Christmas-y connotations it brings up for me.

However, there is absolutely no innocence to be found in Amber Rouge, oh no. This scent is, to put it simply, narcotic. Heady, teasing, hypnotic: Amber Rouge drugs you and seduces you slowly but wholly.

(picture from www.trashmenagerie.com)

I find it absolutely amazing that I basically have, in a small roll-on, the olfactory equivalent of listening to The Weeknd. When I first applied Amber Rouge, I was immediately reminded of him, and especially of his song “Wicked Games”. I am transported into a dark room; the smell of hash is strong, and I’m buzzing from drugs and desire. Every sensation is amplified, and the touch of my lover’s hand across my skin is as inviting and luxurious as pulling on a soft cashmere sweater.

That’s the thing: there is an undeniably soft and inviting aspect to Amber Rouge. Still, I choose to ignore it. I can only focus on the pleading, dripping sexuality of the fragrance. The lyrics to “Wicked Games” echo in my mind: Give me all of it, I need all of it to myself.

Sex, drugs, and perfume: decadence in a way I’ve never quite experienced before.

Amber Rouge owes its power to the addition of Japanese incense and resins; Maria was inspired by her travels through the Far East, and it is that smoky depth that I find so irresistible about Amber Rouge. And of course, there is the Moroccan amber which gives this fragrance its name: because of it, the development of the fragrance sees it go from heady heat to a honeyed, sweetly spicy, and fuzzy scent that wears close to the skin. The wearer is faded, the high is coming down, but there’s the cognizance of earlier debauchery.

I cannot get enough of this fragrance. In the couple of weeks that I’ve been testing Amber Rouge (and meaning to post this review!), I’ve made a noticeable dent in my roll-on. Maria, you’ve created an addict - and I don’t want to ever get off of this.

Aroma M fragrances are available on the Aroma M website. Amber Rouge retails for $55 for a 8ml roll-on - trust me, you’ll want to make this purchase.

Joey's Monday Musings

2011-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Post-Thanksgiving and Black Friday Weekend, everyone!

I am so worn out from what was just a very, very lovely weekend (minus the excruciating migraine that struck me down Sunday AM); because of my exhaustion, I can’t offer you a full-on review of anything today. My nose is just as worn out as my body.

However, I thought it would be fun to do a “Monday Musings” post, full of random thoughts and reflections on the things I tested and saw this weekend. So, if you’re interested, read on!

I promise that I have lots of fun reviews coming up. I just need to get used to my new schedule: I work much, much earlier hours at my new job than I did at the yoga studio (and I also don’t have computer access at my new job), so the times at which I blog and swatch and whatnot have to be adjusted. Well, my whole routine needs to be adjusted! Wish me luck.

1) Thanksgiving weekend brought me a lot of blessings in the form of blogger visits to NYC! I spent Friday afternoon and evening with Xiao of Messy Wands, and I spent a lovely Saturday AM with Birgit of Olfactoria's Travels. I’ve met Xiao before, and it was a treat to see her again. She needs to move to NYC already. Birgit was as gorgeous and sweet as she appears on her blog, and she is so knowledgeable about fragrances! I was so pleased that she enjoyed my little tour of the fragrance counters of Fifth Avenue.

2) Can I say how glad I am that Bobbi Brown re-released Black Pearl Shimmer lipgloss? It’s the most bizarre and stunning mix of grey, purple, and mauve; when it was first released in the summer of 2007, I went to work late just so I can stop at Bloomingdales Soho and buy it right away! I kind of forced Xiao to buy it on Friday. I can't wait to see her review.

3) There is nothing better than a good sales associate. If you are ever in the need for anything from Guerlain (makeup, perfume, skincare, advice, etc.), please look up Peggy at Bergdorf Goodman! She is a real gem, and her enthusiasm and generosity was a lovely surprise to both me and Birgit.

4) For the first time, I found a current formulation of a fragrance to be preferable over the vintage formulation. I was shocked. The fragrance?: JAR Golconda. Oh JAR fragrances, you’re so divine and so upsettingly expensive. The vintage formulation was a bit too green for my tastes - like Aftelier Haute Claire but without the delicious nuance of that fragrance. The current formulation was all spicy, divine carnation and clove. I could not stop sniffing myself!

5) Birgit and I tested quite a few fragrances while we were together. Here are some thoughts on some of the ones I remember trying:

Guerlain Iris Ganache: I purchased a small decant today from a fragrance friend, if that shows you what I thought. I blame Carrie for this, as I blame her for most things ;)
Guerlain Jicky parfum: WHOA BABY. WHOA WHOA WHOA. The EDT has nothing on the parfum.
By Kilian Sweet Redemption: Bleh, I’m surprised how much I disliked this fragrance. I’m an orange blossom fan, but there was something upsettingly plasticky about this.
By Kilian Love & Tears (solid perfume): The stunning compact drew me in, and the actual perfume kept me there. Oh, just pretty, soft and feminine!
Creed Royal Oud: Not terribly royal, but lovelier than I expected. I have found that Creed’s male-oriented fragrances are much, much nicer than their feminine counterparts. This one is no exception.
Chanel Jersey: My Downy smells better than this stuff, and lasts longer to boot. What the hell, Chanel!?
Dior Patchouli Impérial: The more ambered, masculine version of Chanel Coromandel; I think I need this, sigh.
Cartier L'Heure Convoitée II: Yum yum yum! I need to get a sample of this to give it a second run, but I quite enjoyed it when Birgit and I sniffed it at Saks.
Serge Lutens Vitriol d'Oeille: Well, I also bought a small decant of this today if that gives you any hints to what I thought about it.

6) Can I repeat how glad I am that I did not go to Target or do any sort of in-store Black Friday shopping? I did do a few Indie orders: I ordered from Shiro Cosmetics, Persephone Minerals, and used an Apothica gift card to order a couple of treats for myself. I am saving everything as Christmas presents to myself! Remember, SHOP INDIE! What did you all end up buying?

Please, share your thoughts/musings/rambles with me! Have a lovely Monday!

The Beauty Spotlight Team 11/27/11

2011-11-27T20:11:00.001-05:00

The holidays are heating up for the Beauty Spotlight Team. We’re all so busy but it doesn’t stop any of us from bringing our love of beauty to you. Most of us have picked out just one of our many posts from the past two weeks to share with you. We invite you to read these and then take a look through our blogs to see what else we have been excited about. Enjoy!

Joey is in awe of perfumer Mandy Aftel's talent, and nowhere is Mandy's genius more evident than in her Shiso perfume - a fragrance that is simultaneously beautiful and disturbing. Read her review over at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed is stuffing your stocking with cute gift ideas - check out what she is hoping to get from Santa this year!

Marcia from Beauty Info Zone has found a skincare system that’s working beautifully for her. Find out why Somme Institute has hit the spot for her.

Modesty Brown attended a MAC Trends workshop and shares the tips she learned as a non-makeup artist. There's also a little look at some of the trends from the the AW11 catwalks.

Are your hands suffering the effects of cold weather and dry heat? Then Lipstick Musings has the cure, courtesy of L'Occitane!

A monthly "giftbox" subscription for nail polish lovers? Pammy Blogs Beauty checks out Julep Maven and the "Sneak Peek Box".

Are you a fragrance lover or looking to finally explore the world scent a little more? Check out this incredible resource on Discovery and Sample Sets on Perilously Pale!

Styrch at Pretty in Dayton gets back into glitter by admiring some Eye Candy.

Cindy from Prime Beauty is a sucker for shiny metallic eyeliners. Check out her newest love from Nars Cosmetics but get out your credit card first!

Visionary Beauty shows us two essential liners from the delightful and whimsical Rouge Bunny Rouge!

Beauty + Charity: The BeautyBloggers.org Auction is Back!

2011-11-25T19:00:00.008-05:00

I just wanted to get a quick word out about the wonderful BeautyBloggers.org auction, pioneered by the Arm of Beauty and Doom, KarlaSugar!

The BeautyBloggers.org auction is a joint effort combining the generosity of the beautyblogosphere and the brands we all know and obsess over. Last year was a great success (although I’m still bitter I was out-bid on a few items, ha!) and I am happy that Karla brought it back for year two.

There are some seriously incredible items that were donated this year; the must-have products of the season are here along with seriously hard-to-find items, and the cult favorites every self-respecting beauty junkie must own. Just check out some of these pictures!

All proceeds from the auction go directly to Doctors Without Borders, through the site’s secure giving page. So, when you win a product, your money goes straight to the charity.

The auction will be live Monday, November 28th through Monday, December 12th.

Happy shopping!

**Just some notes:

Most of the auction items are now visible online, but no one can bid until November 28th. However, you can still register on the site, browse, and bookmark the items you really want to jump on!
If you registered last year, you have to do it again - and don’t worry, your private info is kept private. Although, it would be kinda cool if Karla showed up at your home! Ha!

Thanksgiving Reflections!

2011-11-24T21:16:00.000-05:00

As I post this tonight, I wanted to take the time to reflect back on today - Thanksgiving, or as I like to call it, Turkey Massacre Day.

I have had a lot of terrible luck lately. Any of you who read this blog, or follow me on Twitter (or are friends with me on Facebook!) know this. For the first time in my life, I spent Thanksgiving alone. The thought of it was actually worse than the reality of it. Being alone today has allowed me to realize that, despite my depression and despite the bad luck streak I’ve been facing, I have so much to be thankful for.

If you don’t mind, I’d like to list just a few of the things I have to be thankful for. Please feel free to share your lists with me, and remember to GOBBLE HAPPY!

**The “Gobble Happy” comes from a text message from Momma Bunny, her first ever! I was so proud of her and her enthusiasm for finally embracing technology.

I am thankful that I am alive, sane enough to function on a day-to-day basis, and in relatively good health. I am also thankful that my senses are all in working order, I can walk without pain, use my hands without pain, and breathe deeply every day.

I am thankful for my new job in a time when many people are unemployed. I am especially thankful that I quite enjoy my new job, that it has steady (and full-time) hours and decent pay, and that there is room for growth in said job. Also, it is beauty-related and I have a sweet discount!

I am thankful that I have a space online to call my own, where I can write about what I want and that people actually care to read it! I am also unbelievably thankful for the friendships and connections that I have made through blogging. I honestly would not be able to wake up and face each day without the love and companionship you all give me, and I truly hope I give the same to you. Honestly, I owe you all more than I can say.

I am thankful for perfume, and for the color taupe.

I am so thankful for bacon, alcohol, butter, carbs, whoever first discovered the possibilities that deep-frying brings to food, and water.

(Thank god for St. Ides and cheap beer - and the friends who drink it with me!)

(Buffalo wings, fries, and deep-fried pickles!)

I am thankful to have a roof over my head, an excellent college education, and an incredible head of hair.

(Me, the day I graduated with honors from NYU's Gallatin School)

(Yeahhh, I love my curls!)

I am thankful that I haven’t broken a bone in a decade...I think. Nope, lied. Fractured my left thumb back in 2007. Scratch this one!

I am thankful for independently-run businesses and the amazing, passionate people that run them. Shop Indie, Shop Indie, SHOP INDIE.

I am thankful for my parents, despite our very rocky relationship. I am thankful for my closest friends, whether they be near or far; I love you all more than words can express. I am thankful for my ex-boyfriend, because without him a lot - ok, most!- of this past year would not have been possible (and I thank him also for forcing a painful but necessary learning experience on me). Everyone who has come into my life - whether for a short time or for the long haul - has helped me to become the insane bunny I am today.

Have I mentioned that I’m thankful for bacon?! And taupe?! And perfume?!

I am thankful that I have spent my entire life in the most dynamic, oxymoronic, and alive city in the whole world. New York is at the very center of my being. I am my shadow city, I am Manhattan, I am the Bronx. I am the nightlife at 3am, the sunrise over skyscrapers, and the intensity that reverberates through the sidewalks.

(Me, at Columbus Circle at 1:00am on a Sunday AM after too many G&Ts)

I am thankful for Target, for allowing me to find storage for my perfumes and this lovely binder for my Indie eyeshadow samples:

(Binder! How pretty, no?)

(Lookie, Linnaeus Cosmetics samples!)

(More samples! The ones on the R are Pollen Cosmetics)

I am thankful for Apple, because my MacBook Pro keeps me sane!

I am thankful for Marvel, candles, patchouli, a good leather accord, carnations, derp-derp animals, Albert Camus, Michel Foucault, and blank notebooks.

I am thankful for music. Well, good music. Special thanks go out to The Weeknd, Fink, OFWGKTA, and the entire Quiet Storm genre for providing the soundtrack to this past year. Oh, and jazz. Must include jazz!

I’m not thankful that the past two predicted Raptures were a bust. Hello, I need Zombie Biggie to come back and reclaim the rap scene!

I am thankful that I get to meet Olfactoria this weekend! I am thankful that I’m off from work this weekend; I had a lot of errands to run and I am happy to have the time to do so.

I am thankful for all of the little things, the big things, the every things, and the some things.

I love you, everyone. Have a lovely, taupey, and fragrant Friday!

Beyond The White Picket Fence: Aftelier Shiso

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have a penchant for the generally disturbing and disconcerting. I’m not sure if it’s the ex-goth in me, or the absurdist in me, or if I’m just a morbid little bunny. I just appreciate the atypical, the things that one would not necessarily call pretty, those things off the beaten path of normalcy.

I’m the same way with fragrances. I made Gaia shriek with horror when, upon smelling Etat Libre d’Orange’s Secretions Magnifique, I declared that I’d wear it in the street. I love smelling funky, sweaty, and generally sort of skanky. Oh, and I adore fragrances that are funereal in nature. I actually have a post about my favorite (indie) funereal scents that I’m planning on posting tomorrow, if I can finish polishing it up.

Today, however, I’m focusing on a fragrance that is neither funereal or skanky, but one I once described as simultaneously serene and unsettling. It’s an oxymoron, I realize, but that’s the only way I can accurately describe how this juice makes me feel.

Of course, I should probably tell you what perfume I’m talking about: Aftelier Shiso.

(Sam Mendes and David Lynch have taught me to be skeptical!)

Mandy Aftel has a gift for the strange, beautiful, and poetic. Her fragrances are liquid paintings, meant as much to make their wearers think as they are made to make their wearers smell wonderful. Shiso unsettles me greatly, stirs in me a sense of multiplicity, and encourages me to delve deep to understand just what I’m smelling.

The initial application is a nearly astringent, chilled blast of geranium and lavender and this unbelievable spicy green note: not the same hyper-real green of Haute Claire (if Pantone 354 C had a smell, it’d smell of Haute Claire), but the green of a fresh salad, or perfect leaves on the stems of flowers. This, of course, comes from the perilla (shiso) and green pepper essence that Mandy magically weaved into her creation. I am reminded of the various herbal tonics my grandmother concocted and bathed me in as a small child. My ills are cured, and my core is shaken. The tiniest hint of clove and acidic grapefruit keeps me on my feet. Attempting to understand what exactly I’m smelling is a serious challenge. I just know that it’s undeniably different and lovely.

As the fragrance develops, there is a decidedly dusty floral aspect that begins to emerge. I see books of old pressed roses, the citrus rind garlands I made as a child to hang in my windows, and I smell a soapy, almost waxy accord reminiscent of gardenias - but there are no gardenias (I believe this is the kewda essence but I’m unfamiliar with its fragrance). Oh, and there’s a fantastic soft powdery facet: all patchouli and sandalwood. At this point, my confused nose is in heaven: Mandy’s patchouli and sandalwood are just stunning, and they remain stunning for hours. It’s a perfume to sleep in, if you don’t mind vivid dreams.

(This is the point where the geisha influence finally strikes me and I am reminded of, in Memoirs of a Geisha, Sayruri’s mention of the agarwood that the geishas wore as perfume: the soft, woody scent that trailed those beautiful creatures. Leave it to Mandy to take a classic composition and make it wildly her own.)

Lavanya called Shiso a 'Thunderstorm scent' - “a perfume with that something disturbing that battles with [her] till [she] submit(s) to its beauty, both comforted and expressed.” Carrie declared it “emotionally challenging and at the same time balancing and recalibrating.” I have decided that Shiso is every surburban dystopia trope (think Blue Velvet and American Beauty) distilled into a little bottle: akin to seeing something so perfect and pristine that you wonder if what you see is secretly hiding something dark and twisted. Just beyond that perfect exterior lies chaos.

Don’t let my review scare you: Shiso is truly wonderful, and is truly unique in its composition. Those of you who enjoy woody, spicy, green fragrances will fall head over heels for it - as will those of you who enjoy a challenge.

An Essay on Temporality - and a review of Ormonde Jayne's Ormonde Woman

2011-11-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Obviously, over the past week I have been thinking a lot about temporality and the fleeting nature of, well, everything. Breakups are wonderful thought exercises in existentialism for sure - a painful yet much needed thing for an ex-philosophy major.

I swear this has a point; this isn’t another pity-fest for me. There’s a perfume review in here, emerging from the wreckage of my emotions and the inner recesses of my ‘fumed-out brain.

The day before the breakup, I decided to test out Ormonde Jayne’s Ormonde Woman. If you remember, my now-ex loved Ormonde Man, but I had been unable to test out Ormonde Woman. This is because my sample of Ormonde Woman didn’t survive its travels from London to NYC.

**An aside: Dear PR people, please always bubble-wrap products that are being sent overseas, especially perfume. Otherwise, there will be heartbroken bloggers all over the place!

**Another aside: Ruth, you’re an angel for sending me a sample of Ormonde Woman - and an angel for being a kind friend. I am lucky to know you.

I was hungover, tired, and slightly crabby because I had to make an impromptu trip downtown to deliver an iPod to a friend who had forgotten he drunkenly gave it to me the night before. I needed to be in my happy bunny place; I remembered Carrie’s gorgeous review of Ormonde Woman and, hoping I’d be transported to a mental locale as lovely as her’s, I sprayed myself and hopped on the train.

The day I experienced with my friend, as I reflect on it, served as the perfect backdrop for experiencing Ormonde Woman. It was a day ripe with beautiful memories and a sweet, simple joy that would not last very long.

Ormonde Woman strikes the same velvety, outdoorsy chord as Ormonde Man, but (thankfully!) was nothing like the soapy, peppered mess I experienced while wearing the latter. Simultaneously full of warmth but shot through with a chilly forest wind, Ormonde Woman is less a perfume and more of an experience, an environment: prone to inevitable change.

(One of my favorite NYC backdrops: the courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art)

This was my initial problem with the fragrance: it has an incredible lack of longevity. I have never experienced this before with a fragrance of this price tag and with the sort of notes Ormonde Woman contains. Woody, deep fragrances typically last all day on me. I get about two hours tops with Ormonde Woman when sprayed directly on my skin; however, when sprayed on my clothes, the fragrance is detectable the next day.

I was surprised, though, at how little this problem bothered me. How could I be mad at something so strikingly beautiful? The fragrance metamorphosized with me and with my day.

That initial spray is a velvety caress of cardamom, violet, and jasmine. Texturally, you can actually feel this fragrance as much as you can smell it. It is the softest caress of the calloused hand of my friend across mine, the crisp fall air as we stand at the Fulton Seaport watching the sunset, the coziness of a warm and filling dinner in Chinatown.

Then - oh! - that gorgeous, indescribably hypnotic hemlock comes to play with a delicious base of vetiver, cedar, and powdery amber. Ormonde Woman becomes the drop in temperature as nighttime creeps upon us, fast legs running down Wall Street. I feel as invincible as the Occupy Wall Street protestors but smell arguably better. We slink down West Broadway, admire the shadowy skyscrapers of Tudor City, and run down Park Avenue and through Central Park. I am constantly on the move. Shadows play along the sidewalks and every couple of hours I refresh my fragrance (thank goodness for portable little samples, no?), and I revel in the beauty of my night and my surroundings.

And I realize: I’ll never have this indescribably lovely moment again. I’ll have other moments, but not this one. I’m strangely ok with this. I am reminded of the final moments of “Six Feet Under”, when Nate whispers in Claire’s ear as she photographs her family one last time: “You can’t take a picture of this, it’s already gone.” Ormonde Woman has faded off of my skin numerous times throughout this long night. I go home, flush with happiness. The next night, while I am wearing the same sweatshirt from yesterday’s adventure, my boyfriend ends our relationship.

After it all, tears abundant, he tells me: “Joey, you smell absolutely wonderful. What is that?”

What can I do but laugh, and smile, and wipe my eyes? Snapshots of the night before, snapshots of my relationship, and snapshots of the bright city lights flash through my mind. I realize that I’ll eventually be ok. Not that night, not the next night, but soon. Pain is as temporally driven as joy. I run into Riverside Park and spray myself again.

Ormonde Woman is the perfect reminder of fleetingness. There is something inarguably special about that which does not last forever. I want to remember this.

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date...

2011-11-21T22:44:00.000-05:00

Of course, in the insanity and confusion that is my life right now, I forgot to post Styrch’s Mystery Makeup Bag this weekend! Here it is below (click on the bag!):

I’ve met Styrch before, and she’s a joy to be around. I had so much fun looking inside her makeup bag!

As for my blog: I’m back on it this week! I’m kind of sick of moping around and not doing reviews. I’ve received SO much fun stuff this past week: tons of samples from dear friends, a huge (HUGE!) Sonoma Scent Studio order, and the newest Aftelier fragrances. Oh, and I do have makeup to review - like the coveted TheBalm Muppets palette, which I’ve actually had since August 31st and never reviewed! Now that it’s impossible to find, I want to review it. I suck!

Oh, and I have to show you all my growing eyeshadow sample binder, inspired by the awesomesauce Ana.

I appreciate everyone’s patience with me. I’ve missed you all, and the love everyone has shown me this past week means more to me than I could possibly ever express. I never realized how strongly forged our friendships are, even if they exist only over the Internet. Love is everywhere, and you all reminded me of this crucial and important fact.

Thank you, thank you, and I’m throwing perfumed kisses your way!

I need a bit of a hiatus, my friends.

2011-11-15T17:43:00.001-05:00

I write this with a sincerely heavy heart. I need a bit of a break from my blog, at least through this week. My relationship - which you all knew about, and knew meant the world to me - ended last night. I'm feeling...well, indescribably crushed. I am lucky enough to have received some new things to play with, which will hopefully distract me and lead to some great reviews when I'm feeling more up to it.

For now, please send me a little bit of love. I need it desperately. Thanks.

The Beauty Spotlight Team 11/12/11

2011-11-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Beauty Spotlight Team always has excitement in store for you. Whether you are in the mood for fragrance, lipsticks, eye products or giveaways there’s something for you. If you want to put in your opinion about Limited Editions (and we all have strong opinions about that!) or learn about Google + we can provide that too. Have fun reading this week’s links.

Joey over at Beauty, Bacon, Bunnies can't believe that she's in love with a celebrity fragrance. Regardless of the name behind the fragrance, there is just no denying how delicious Boyfriend by Kate Walsh smells!

There’s a lot of sassiness going on at Beauty Info Zone. TheBalm Shady Lady Volume 3 has invaded Marcia’s life and she’s inviting others to play too. Come see what these ladies are up to now.

She may not be a Metal Queen - but Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed is embracing the metallic makeup trend! Check out her swatches and see if you might like to go metallic too!

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals found the perfect juicy fall red lip gloss in NARS Bad Education.

Over at Lipstick Musings, Shannon is the victim of a happy mistake when she discovers Dior 5 Couleurs Eye Shadow in Rosy Nude. Stop by to see why she was so pleased to get the wrong item!

London Makeup Girl is having a rant about Limited Editions that have a shorter life than a Mayfly. Do you agree with her? Read her post (and some interesting comments) here: Limited Editions and other foolishness.

Modesty Brown shares her current staples, including swatches of Rouge Bunny Rouge sheer lipstick in Murmurings and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Bonheur.

Are you an early adopter? If so, you’ll love that My Beauty Bunny has compiled a list of beauty bloggers to follow on Google+!

Find out what eyeliner Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, likes so much that she wears it most days of the week.

Is the cold weather making you dry? Well, be sure to enter Pammy Blogs Beauty's Carmex Healing Skincare Giveaway!

Check out Perilously Pale for a chance to win skincare from Yonka Paris!

At Pretty in Dayton Styrch is introduced to a body whip that could very well be her Holy Grail body moisturizer.

Tarte gives more than just Lip Service to their limited edition LipSurgence Collection. One for you and two for Prime Beauty!!

The time-honoured holiday parings of red and gold shades is captured with Les Scintillances de Chanel, Visionary Beauty checks out the eye shadows on offer: classics with a twist.

Ormonde Jayne's Ormonde Man: My Man's In Love With It!

2011-11-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

If you read yesterday’s review, you would know that Kate Walsh Boyfriend was a dismal failure on my boyfriend. Serious scrubber status, to be honest. To make it up to him (and to cover up the saccharine stink emanating off his skin), I decided to take the opportunity to test out another masculine fragrance on him.

I sprayed Ilusionisto’s other arm with Ormonde Jayne’s Ormonde Man, taken from the beautifully presented Discovery Set I had received for reviewing purposes last week.

(photo borrowed from the Ormonde Jayne website)

Ormonde Jayne is a highly-regarded niche fragrance house based in London; perfumer Linda Pilkington aims to create products whose lovely exterior (really, the packaging of the Discovery Set is just so chic and elegant!) house beautiful and unexpected fragrances. The Ormonde Jayne perfume collection consists of thirteen fragrances; Ormonde Man (along with its counterpart Ormonde Woman) falls into the Woody/Signature Scent range. There are also the Florals, The Floral Orientals, and the Colognes - I’ll get to these soon enough!

Over the past few months, I’ve put a hell of a lot of perfumes on my boyfriend. He quite willingly participates in my little experiments, and is really beginning to understand and analyze fragrance. It’s really adorable, and makes it easier for me to review certain fragrances - I like wearing masculines, but sometimes, I just want to see what they smell like on someone with a Y chromosome. I’m thankful I have Ilusionisto for that.

Ormonde Man was love at first sniff for him! As soon as the first spray hit the crook of his elbow, I heard a loud “Oh god, that’s great! What is that?” And it was great on him, better than I expected!

Here is a collection of quotes from my darling boyfriend about Ormonde Man, interspersed with my explanations:

“Oh, it’s...um, what’s that word you taught me? The one about citrus notes? [I remind him that the word he’s looking for is ‘hesperidic’] Hesperdedic? Hesteridic? HESPERIDIC! Yeah, that. It’s hesperidic. Thanks baby!” The juniper berry and bergamot really shined on his skin. The first fifteen minutes of the fragrance was simultaneously bright and spicy. I could smell the fizziness of pink pepper (WHY IS THIS IN EVERYTHING?!) and the deep warmth of cardamom.

[Twenty minutes in, when the deep, textured mossiness of the heart notes and base notes started to emerge] “Oh, ooh, what is that? It’s so...yeah, I really don’t have the vocabulary or nose you do, but I know I like this. What is that smell? The oud + hemlock accord that comprise the heart of Ormonde Man, translated on Ilusionisto’s skin, expressed themselves as something that’s best described as velvet. Fuzzy, dark, intoxicating. A drug of the highest order. At this point, I was comfortably nestled in his arms with my nose in his elbow. It made it hard for him to eat his pint of Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie, but he managed. I had zero desire to move. There was also an evident hit of vetiver (be still, my rapidly beating heart!) that added to the tangible greenness of this fragrance. I’ve read reviews of Ormonde Man that use forest imagery to describe it, and it’s true: you have soil, bark, decomposing grass, the wind through lush leaves, the midnight sky.

“I see colors when I smell this.” Clearly, so did I. My boyfriend is an artist as well as a musician. I need to remember to ask him to paint what he saw when wearing this. I’m curious to know if our mental images match up.

“Joey, this is the best thing you’ve ever put on me, I think. It keeps getting better.” This was the point when the cedar and sandalwood popped up to say hi. Powdery, cozy, woody and close to the skin; he is so lucky I didn’t eat his arm at this point.

“Baby, I think I need a bottle of this. This is honestly the first time I ever wanted to wear a cologne.” Well, hell. This is going to be one expensive present, but he’s right - he needs this.

I slept very well that night; his natural smell combined with Ormonde Man was just hypnotic. I had to know if it smelled as good on me.

Unfortunately, Ormonde Man isn’t quite as special on me as it was on him. The initial spray was all effervescent, peppery soap - how annoying! I could clearly make out coriander and that pink pepper, and those are the two notes that stuck out for the first three hours of wear. I had none of that magical plushness my boyfriend experienced. Eventually, the bubbles popped and the scent transformed into a cozy, powdery skin scent - all musk and sandalwood. Pleasant, but not quite worth tolerating the earlier soap smell.

I suppose I can’t have all the luck when it comes to fragrances. So, my sample spray will go to Ilusionisto, and I’ll plot to buy him a bottle as a joint graduation/Hanukkah present. What a lucky guy he is, ha.

Ormonde Jayne fragrances are available on the Ormonde Jayne website. I highly recommend ordering the Discovery Set, which retails for £44 with free shipping worldwide (that converts into about $70USD).

Kate Walsh Boyfriend: A Tale of Celeb Juice Love

2011-11-09T08:00:00.003-05:00

(picture from the Sephora website)

My love of Kate Walsh Boyfriend has become a bit of a joke amongst myself and my blogger friends. If you remember, when I visited the Sephora Sensorium with @alyssaharad a couple of weeks ago, I fell in love with the celeb juice while doing a blind sniff test. I couldn’t forgive myself for it - or forget how wonderful the fragrance smelled. I bought the $20USD .4oz Pulse Point Oil the next day, using the $15 gift card I had received in exchange for my entrance free to the exhibition.

(picture from the Sephora website)

I wore it for a good four or five days straight - a new perfume record for me, I think - especially after being complimented by Ilusionisto for how good I smelled.

Still, this caused me some grief. How could I fall in love with a celeb juice?! This brings up an interesting question, one that I feel ‘fumeheads everywhere need to think about: Why do we put so much stock in the name a perfume carries, rather than analyzing the juice for what it is? I remember my initial shock at discovering that the perfumed glass that I kept reaching for was scented with Boyfriend, and the anger I felt for being tricked. I like to think that I have better taste, that I wouldn’t fall for something so...well, cheap and available at Sephora. But I did. I’m not sorry anymore for it, especially after reading glowing reviews of the fragrance on EauMG and The Non-Blonde. If Victoria and Gaia, two noses (and friends) whose opinions I trust wholeheartedly, liked Boyfriend then who the hell was I to turn my nose up at it? I decided to embrace my new love with open nostrils.

I am curious, though, to know what everyone thinks about the question I posed above. I really do want to know why we put so much stock into the supposed superiority of certain perfumes (i.e. Niche over mainstream, Synthetic over natural - or vice versa, Non-celeb juices over celeb juices, etc.). How many wonderful fragrances have I overlooked because of my scented snobbery? How much time and money have I wasted over perfumes that I thought would be good just because of their name, only to find that they stunk? I’m currently reviewing perfumes from a very expensive and very well-regarded fragrance house, and I’ve been horrified by how terrible most of the fragrances smell on my skin. Give me my $20 Boyfriend oil any day!

Anyway, you’re probably curious to know what Boyfriend smells like. Sorry for rambling!

Victoria’s interview with Kate Walsh (yes, she interviewed the star as well as reviewing the fragrance!) informed me that the perfume oil version of Boyfriend contains more vanilla than the EDT version. Boyfriend Pulse Oil is definitely a very vanilla-heavy fragrance. The initial dab on my skin is all plum pudding: a very well-done gourmand. I smell cream, rich (and high quality) vanilla, and the slight, fleshy tartiness of juicy plums. As the fragrance wears on - and it wears quite well, lasting for about 6-7 hours with low sillage - the fragrance takes on a delicious powdery, resinous quality thanks to a lovely amber and benzoin accord. You know I can’t resist a good amber! In its last hour, it becomes a perfect skin scent, ever so lightly musky and salty. Still, the vanilla is never lost on the skin. Lovely, cuddly, and warm: just like a significant other should be!

To be perfectly honest, Kate Walsh Boyfriend smells almost exactly like Prada Candy on my skin. Boyfriend is ever so slightly fruitier and more vanillic, and I think I prefer it over Prada Candy! It’s also much more affordable - a plus since I’ve been so painfully broke lately.

Now, Kate Walsh’s inspiration for Boyfriend was the smell of her boyfriend on her clothes and sheets after he’d left her bed in the morning: an intermingling of his scent with hers, something evocative of skin, warmth, and intimacy. I love this, since I am fascinated by the sexual aspects of fragrance. I often will spend hours luxuriating in my sheets after Ilusionisto has gone home, basking in his scent.

With this in mind, I had to know how Boyfriend smelled on my boyfriend. I had forgotten to do this when he was in town last time - sorry, we were too busy eating ice cream! - so when he came to see me last night, I attacked him with the rollerball. I was expecting us to love how it smelled on his skin. I got quite the different reaction.

Joey: (upon initial application) Oh, that smells great!

Ilusionisto: It smells ok. Better on you, I think.

Joey: Oh hush, let’s see in five minutes.

--FIVE MINUTES LATER--

Ilusionisto: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP, JOEY?! Oh god, get it off me! Ugh! It’s so fake-smelling! Why did you put this on me? Why is there so much coconut!? Fake flowers too? What?! I may not have the vocabulary to accurately describe fragrances, but I know this is bad. It smells a hell of a lot better on you. More masculine, actually. Funny that Boyfriend smells like a girlfriend on me.

On my poor boyfriend, Boyfriend was the epitome of “pink juice”: a sickly sweet coconut and jasmine confection; screechy, loud, and heavily synthetic. The jasmine smelled cheap, and the coconut was reminiscent of that coconut fragrance in shampoos and conditioners for dry hair. How bizarre, huh? He was right: Boyfriend does smell better on me. I don’t smell any coconut (although Gaia did) or jasmine when I wear it. Ilusionisto was fascinated by the difference, but pissed at me nonetheless for putting a scrubber on him.

Of course, I made it up to him by spraying him with something much better - that review will be up tomorrow!

As for me, I’m happy to know that I don’t have to share my Boyfriend with my boyfriend.

Kate Walsh Boyfriend is available in a range of different sizes and products at Sephora and the Sephora website. Apply on your significant other at your own risk.

I'm Pretty in Taupes and Purples, Thanks to Glamour Doll Eyes!

2011-11-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

Over the summer, I received a fun little package from Glamour Doll Eyes of six eyeshadows to review. I had been interested in Glamour Doll Eyes for some time, and I jumped at the chance to pick six colors of my choice to try.

(What a great package to open! I love all the look cards and info!)

Unfortunately, I put the eyeshadows aside and completely forgot to review them! My apologies, GDE! ‘Tis the life of a beauty blogger: we forget what we have sometimes. I should probably invest in better storage...

(I LOVE the labels, especially the Twi-Shadow!)

(Yay for indicating vegan-ness!)

Anyway, here are the six shadows I chose; my color choices should not surprise anyone - they are all purples and taupes! Haha! I had actually built a GDE wish list on my MacBook a few months back based on swatches I had seen online. Note - I find that the product pics on the GDE website are terribly inaccurate. Instead, please click on the swatch pictures they feature and also search online for different swatches on various blogs.

(All of the eyeshadows, in the same order as the labels above indicate)

(Brown Eyed Girl, Boyfriend Sweater, & Undercover - swatched wet and dry)

Brown Eyed Girl - This is a lovely metallic pinky brown shadow whose pink tones are more evident when foiled. I preferred this shade foiled, but it’s just as pretty when applied dry.

Boyfriend Sweater - This an unblended eyeshadow (which from the FAQ on the website, I take to mean that this shade isn’t uniquely made - I appreciate the honesty!) It’s a warm taupey-brown that becomes browner and more shimmery when foiled. This is one shade I preferred unfoiled.

Undercover - This color is a warm grey-taupe with hints of green and visible gold shimmer. When foiled, the color became a deeper version of itself. I liked it both foiled and unfoiled. Very pretty!

(Graves in May, Typical Girl, and Premonition, swatched wet and dry)

Graves in May - This is one of those colors I have become obsessed with over the past few months: that sort of grey-pink-purple duochrome that is just so cool. When foiled, it becomes a cool toned pink! Eek! This is definitely one shadow that I will apply unfoiled.

Typical Girl - This is a medium-toned pink purple with gold shimmer. It appears much more purple-y when foiled. I think I prefer it foiled.

Premonition (a Twi-Shadow) - This is a slightly deeper purple than Typical Girl, with visible red tones and red shimmer. When wet, it becomes a near-black shade with purple tones and red shimmer. It was so dark when foiled that it was impossible to photograph!

Upon further reflection, I regret getting both Typical Girl and Premonition because I don’t find them terribly different from each other when dry. Premonition will end up becoming a liner shade for me, only because it’s so dark - it requires a bit too much work to apply any other way.

The winners for me are Brown Eyed Girl, Graves in May, and Undercover. I will absolutely repurchase these when I use up my sample jars.

Now, my thoughts on the more boring (but necessary) tidbits of information about Glamour Doll Eyes:

I don’t find the pricing to be bad at all - $6 for a 5g jar is standard for an Indie company.
I love that the company offers two different types of sample sizes - $1.25 for a .5g baggie or $2.50 for 1g of product in a 5g jar. Again, brilliant. I’ve recently become a baggie convert after running out of room to store sample jars, so I love this.
YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER YOU WANT A SIFTER OR NOT WITH YOUR JARS! GENIUS! I personally hate sifters. I can never get any product out of jars with sifters unless I remove the sifters - which leads to massive spillage when I finally pry out the damned thing.
The website is honest about which shades are unblended and which are not. I like that.
The company is very involved with blogs, YouTube, and Twitter. Yay for social media smarts!

So, would I order from Glamour Doll Eyes? Hell yes. Next time, I’ll get brighter colors though!

Let Me Warm You Up with Alima's Warm Inside Holiday 2011 Color Collection

2011-11-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday, everybody! Today’s post brings you the continuation of my reviews on the Alima Pure Holiday 2011 Limited Edition Collections. Two weeks ago, I brought you my glowing review of the Cold Outside kit, which I loved: the bright jewel-toned colors are so me!

Today, I bring you the other kit, the (obviously warm-toned, duh) Warm Inside collection, which contains three full-sized eyeshadows and a shimmer powder. Like the previous kit, Warm Inside retails for $36 and $2 from the sale of this kit will be donated to the Global Fund for Women. It’s one-stop holiday shopping, really: you get to buy something lovely and donate to a deserving charity! Win-win!

(With flash - how great does Hot Toddy look in the upper R? Candlelight e/s, bottom R, is SO reflective!)

(Without flash)

So, what are the colors in Warm Inside like? Let’s see:

(The shimmer powder is that large swatch across the bottom, obviously)

Candlelight eye shadow, which Alima describes as “a pale gold shimmer”: Well, that’s a pretty apt description. This is a yellow-gold, not a true gold, and is very shimmery. A wash of this color across the lids deposits more shimmer than actual pigmentation, but it does build up quite nicely. Candlelight would work well as both a lid shade or a highlight shade. I am looking forward to trying this wet as eyeliner, because I feel that it is a bit too yellow for me to wear opaquely on my eyelids.

Mulled Cider eye shadow, which Alima describes as “a medium rose-gold sparkle”: On my olive-tan skintone, this color is more orangey than rose-gold. This disappointed me somewhat, as I have some trouble with pumpkin-y oranges. I love orange shadows, but the orange has to be a true orange or have some sort of cool duochrome effect to break up the warmth of the color. Otherwise, the color just clashes with my skin tone. I have to apply this color lightly, but I imagine it working well on someone who is warmer-toned than I.

Hot Toddy eye shadow, which Alima describes as “a deep, shimmering bronze”: Again, a great description! This is a very warm bronze, almost too brown to be considered bronze. The color is nearly metallic, and applies with less obvious shimmer than the other two shadows. This color is the most wearable for me, and the most versatile; it makes a lovely crease or liner shade, but when applied lightly it works on the lids as well. By the way, I love the name: I am a Hot Toddy fanatic!

Firelight Shimmer Powder, which Alima describes as “a warm gold shimmer”: Now THIS is a rose gold! Firelight is a very light, fine rose-gold shimmer that isn’t garish or obvious on the skin. What appears to be visible shimmer in my swatch is actually the flash’s reflection of the gleam and color of the powder. When applied, the skin just has a lovely warm glow. In the FOTD pictures below, I included one with flash so that Firelight’s gleam would be more apparent to you all.

My FOTD is pretty similar to the included face chart, pictured below.

The only difference was that I used a brown Bourjois liquid eyeliner to line my upper lashes instead of using Hot Toddy. My bottom lashline was lined with Jordana Easyliner eyeliner pencil in Eggplant.

(Good lord, I look scary with the Flash!! Eep!!)

(Prettiest cheek shine ever!)

Here, though, is my problem with this kit: when worn all together, the overall effect is one that is too warm-toned for my skin. I am not sure if it translates on camera, but the shadows made my skin tone seem very yellowed. Despite being Latina and having tanned skin, my skin is actually not warm-toned. I have very obvious pink undertones and look best in neutral-to-cool colors. That’s not to say that I can’t pull of the eyeshadows in this kit; I just can’t wear them together. I have to do some experimenting with the colors.

(Without flash, you can see how yellowed the colors are. I also look less scary this way!)

However, if you are a person who enjoys warm colors, this kit cannot be beat. The colors are seasonally appropriate (warm golds scream Thanksgiving and Christmas to me!) but are classic enough to be used year-round - imagine these colors with tanned summer skin!

What do you think? Will you be picking up Warm Inside?

This Week, Older Girl Beauty Brings Us Her Mystery Makeup Bag!

2011-11-05T13:00:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone! It's time for a look inside another Beauty Spotlight Team member's makeup bag! This week it is Older Girl Beauty's turn to pull back the zipper and see what she keeps close at hand. By the looks of it, it seems like she might just have the kitchen sink in there - let's look and see what Paula has in her makeup bag...

(You can click on the bag to see what's inside!)

An Apology, Some Happy News, and My New Perfume Storage Solution!

2011-11-04T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone!

I apologize for not posting this week. The beginning of this week was very difficult for me, emotionally. As some of you may know, I’ve been out of work due to renovations at my job since September 1st. The beginning of this month marked two whole months that I’ve been, for lack of a better term, unemployed. The stress of being financially strained and the stress of the yoga studio still not being finished has made for a truly debilitating period of depression. I was pretty much unable to do much besides check my email on Monday and Tuesday.

However, Wednesday brought me some truly joyous news: I was hired by L’Occitane for a part-time retail job! I’m going to have the softest hands in the blogosphere. Later that day, still on my high from being hired, I had lunch with the owner of the yoga studio I manage and was told that the studio should be reopening next weekend! So, in one day I went from having nothing to do to realizing that I’ll be working 12 hour days, six days a week! I am overjoyed and grateful. I can’t even begin to explain it. I bounced all over the place.

With this in mind, I spent Thursday taking care of errands I should have run earlier in the week but was too drained to do. While at Target (or Tar-jay, as I say), I bought myself a present to congratulate myself. This $7.99 purchase was inspired by a truly ingenious storage solution for perfume decants and sample vials shown to me by @alyssaharad after our Sensorium date last week.

Allow me to present to you the RE Room Essentials (a Target brand) 3 Layer Organizer, size medium - or, as I like to say, my new home for my little fragrant friends! Here it is on top of one of my Sterilite drawers for makeup, on my vanity.

(LOL at a lipstick drawer that's so overstuffed it can't close!)

Note the cute lovenotes from Mandy Aftel, Kedra Hart, and my boyfriend. Oh, and can you pinpoint the other perfume goodies?

On top of the storage unit is a vintage Guerlain coffret that my mother gave me (it’s been dated at 1989/1990) and the Ormonde Jayne Discovery Set, which I received this week (review upcoming, no worries!).

The first drawer holds two removable trays, each divided into three sections. Most of my (opened, unboxed) sample vials and decants are here. There was a method to the way I organized them, I swear. Note all of the Bond No.9 and Serge Lutens samples!

The second drawer has all of my Opus Oils samples, my Aroma M samples (in the velvet pouches), unopened Bond No.9 mini Bon-Bons, boxed Serge Lutens and Ineke samples, and some other decants (Amouage Gold Woman in the red atomizer, a cherished vintage Dior Addict decant from Carrie, my DSH Pandora decant, etc.), as well as some brand-new sample vials.

The third drawer holds all of my solid One Hand Washes The Other scents, all of my solid Roxana Villa scents (the liquids are in the first drawer), two Aftelier tins full of samples, two Andy Tauer Discovery sets (each holds five mini atomizers), and my Penhaligons Discovery Set (a gift from Jellyminx).

Awesome, right?! I thought so.

Now, here’s my problem: It was only after I showed earlier pictures of this to other blogger buddies that I realized that I had forgotten to add my Liz Zorn decants and vials, as well as my rollerballs, small dram bottles/other decants, and my other solid perfumes (Tocca and L’Occitane). Oops. I also realized that the second and third drawers are a bit cramped. Basically, I need another one of these organizers! Luckily, at $7.99 I can easily afford one, even before I get my first paycheck after two months!

How do you store your perfume samples?