Fragrance Review: Vera Wang Princess

Are you surprised that I'm reviewing Princess? I kind of am, as I generally do not go for things that contain "pink frosting accord." However, it's starting to get late and it's the last day before Thanksgiving Break begins, so I'm putzing around, bored. I found this in a bag of samples and thought "What the hell, why not?" since it's not like I have anything better to do. Not to mention, this seems to be really popular - whenever I go into Sephora or Ulta is has a prime position in their fragrance sections.

My first thought after spritzing and inhaling: Hmm. Honestly, it was hard to form any kind of reaction to this, since I feel like I've smelled it so many times before. It is the embodiment of those sugary pink generics that seem to be everywhere. If I was given a blind sniff test with this and Flowerbomb, I don't think I would be able to tell the difference. However, I will say that despite having no desire to wear this, it does have some positive qualities. Marketing materials for Princess suggest that it's supposed to be a sweet tropical scent, so if that was their goal, I would say the perfumer completed his or her mission fairly well. There aren't any juicy tropical fruit or lush flowers that characterize tropical scents, but it does have a cool, watery quality which is nice. I also don't think this is as terrible as it could have been. There's nothing obnoxious or irritating about Princess, so maybe I should be thankful that it isn't more gross seeing how many women wear this. There are so many lovely things out there that I just can't imagine choosing to smell like this. Well, maybe if you're a teenager. I would much rather my kid wear this than Britney Spear's Fantasy.

I think the thing that really gets me with Princess is that it comes from Vera Wang's label, but it's the complete antithesis of Vera Wang's elegant clothing. It's so clearly an attempt to gulp down some of those lucrative cosmetic dollars. Ah! If only designers actually worked on their own frags, we wouldn't have so many noxious candy bomb scents out there. But I totally know that this is a pipe dream.

Notes: Water Lily, Lady Apple, Mandarin Meringue, Golden Apricot Skin, Ripe Pink Guava, Tahitian Flower, Wild Tuberose, Dark Chocolate, Pink Frosting Accord, Precious Amber, Forbidden Woods, Royal Musk Captive, Chiffon Vanilla.

You can buy Princess online at Sephora, Fragrancenet.com, and Beautyencounter.

Fragrance Review: Tauer Perfumes L'Air Du Desert Marocain

I was just inspired by I Smell Therefore I Am's post on Sonoma Scent Studio to order some samples from the company. While doing so, I started thinking about perfumes and branding. We all know that the perfume industry places a lot of emphasis on appearances, and so a lot of people tend to think that good marketing and packaging = good perfume. Now, most perfume fans know this isn't so, but there is a weird amount of snobbery that pops up from time to time against smaller indie companies who are move devoted to their products than PR. There also tends to be an assumption that higher price equals better quality. It seems to make sense, as you would think that a higher price means better ingredients, but when you buy a perfume, you're mostly paying for everything that went into the perfume...except the actual juice: packaging, marketing, exclusivity of the brand (I'm looking at you, Chanel), etc. I'll come out and say that I wear my $35 Ava Luxe fragrances more than my expensive Serge Lutens. Does that make them better fragrances? No, not really. But it doesn't mean they're crap either. Anyway, Tauer Perfumes is one company where you can really tell that most of the production costs go into the product itself. The bottle is plain and not particularly appealing, with a clear, graphic label. Most of Andy Tauer's marketing seems to come from word of mouth and not from any direct efforts of the company. I don't even think they'd have to market L'Air Du Desert Marocain, which has probably reached the status of a "cult fragrance" among amber lovers by now. Heck, Luca Turin loves it. Could you get any better endorsement than that?

So, what makes L'Air Du Desert so special? For one thing, even though I'm not really into masculine scents, there's a scruffiness about this that is addictive. A lot of ambers have reputations for being ornate and almost bloated with glops of vanilla and resin, but Desert is an extremely streamlined amber, not too sweet or heavy. It reminds me a great deal of a plume of smoke, rising from a campfire into the sky. Smoky, linear, spicy, and just a little dangerous. Obviously, the "Marocain" is supposed to associate the scent in your mind with a far off destination, but there's none of the distasteful orientalizing that a lot of perfume companies stoop to when they have an amber scent to promote. I don't think many perfume companies would take the risk of creating something like Desert, though. Despite a lot of people's love for it, I don't think the average consumer would be drawn to it. After all, it smells like smoke. I like it because it paints a beautiful, fully realized picture in my mind, which I think the best scents do. Do I feel a little weird wearing it to class? Yeah, but I like the fact that it's slightly challenging.

Notes: Coriander, Petitgrain (Bitter Orange), Lemon, Bergamot, Jasmin, Cistus, Bourbon, Geranium, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Vanille, Patchouli, Ambergris.

You can buy L'Air Du Desert Marocain at Luckyscent and Andy Tauer's website.

Not Dead...Yet

Hey! I just wanted to apologize for not posting for a while. November has been the craziest month in school for the past 2 years, so it's not a surprise that I'm super busy now. Luckily, Thanksgiving Break starts next week, so I'll be able to get back on track. You wouldn't believe the cornucopia of goodies I have to show you, so I promise it's worth the wait. :)

Swatches: China Glaze Glitters

Hi, everyone. I promise I'm not dead! Right now is the busiest I've ever been since school started, which means it's hard to update. I'm going to do my best, although the time change (which means it starts to get dark right after my last class) and the shortness of my nails might mean that my pics are less than ideal for a while. But I figured it's better to post something than nothing at all. Today I'm very happy to show you six polishes from the China Glaze glitters collection, which includes 50 new glitter polishes that reside in CG's permanent catalog. I only have one word for this: awesome. When I bought these, the polish e-tailers were releasing them in batches, but I think Trans Design has them all now, so go forth and browse to your hearts' content! I know that I'm lusting for at least half of them.


Bad Kitty. Hot pink jelly with iridescent pieces of glitter. This reminds me of the nail polishes I used to buy from Limited Too or Claire's when I was younger. There's nothing sophisticated about this, but it's fun and eye-catching. My inner ten year old was delighted by this, so I'm sure that if you have an actual ten year old stowed away somewhere they'll love this too.


Carnival Lights. Deep magenta jelly with silver glitter and iridescent sequins. A more mature version of Bad Kitty, I think. This one is actually very sheer, so if you want to wear it opaque you're going to have to seriously layer. However, I think this would be a great topcoat. Try it over a white creme and see what happens.


Cosmos. Inky black creme studded with holographic glitter. Very glam, very rock star. If you can't get your mitts on Sephora By OPI's 212, this makes a decent substitute. I didn't do my nails for Halloween (I know, I know: What?) but if I had I would have chosen this for the job. It looks very magical to me.


Preppy Pink. Sweet candy pink jelly with iridescent sequins. This is along the lines of Bad Kitty, only more subtle. I think it would be cool layered over a French manicure. It reminds me a great deal of Hello Kitty for some reason.


Meteor Shower. Ocean blue smothered with iridescent green glitter. This is so gorgeous, but unfortunately it is also the chunkiest of the six polishes in this post, so it's really hard to build up two or three coats without some serious goopiness. I love the concept of this, but I don't think it actually looks good on the nail. Bummer.


Ginger. Metallic copper with silver glitter and holographic sequins. Oh my God, I love this. It's my favorite polish in this post, as it's almost too good to be true. This is one of the shiniest, most sparkly polishes I've ever seen. I love the fact that the base of this is metallic, meaning that you don't have to build up coats on this to get an opaque finish. I think this will be perfect to wear on Thanksgiving.

Fragrance Review: Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries Bare Skin

I got this as a sample from my Sephora Friends and Family Order. I was pretty intrigued by the notes, especially since many reviews described this is a patchouli-heavy scent. Despite the fact that several popular fragrances are patchouli-based (i.e. Prada, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Dior Miss Dior Cherie) a lot of people have an aversion to it, which is reflected in Bare Skin's reviews. I should note that I didn't really expect this to smell like a skin scent - I don't a lot of perfume consumers would like the idea of a perfume that doesn't really smell like anything in particular. I was thinking this would smell more like the upper echelon of Bath and Body Works fragrances, particularly since it includes Vanilla Orchid and Plumeria, which B&BW seems to love.

Well, not so much. It's a bit worse than a typical Bath and Body Works scent. There's nothing particularly bad about it (although the pepper is a little strong and makes the the whole scent a little more sharp than necessary) but there's nothing really great about it either. It's pleasant, a little deeper than something I could see most women wearing, but it still has a characteristic Sephora sweetness that guarantees it will find a following. I think what makes me dislike this one a little more than it warrants is that it seems to me like it could have been a better, more elegant composition. I would have been really happy to see a mainstream woody scent that resonates with a lot of women, but I guess Leslie Blodgett (or whoever) has to make a profit. I understand, really. And I wouldn't asphyxiate if someone else near me was wearing this.

I think this will sell really well during the holiday season. For some reason, people associate deeper scents with luxury, so I can see a lot of women picking this up as an extra special holiday scent or men buying this for their lovely ladies. Its creaminess assures that it'll have a favorable reception among those who can stand the patchouli.

Notes: Black Pepper, Freesia, Anise, Iris, Vanilla Orchid, Plumeria, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Labdanum, Musk.

You can purchase Bare Skin at Sephora's site. Right now it's for Beauty Insiders only, but it'll probably be open to everyone soon.

Makeup Swatches and Reviews: Chanel Venice Collection

Okay, I totally feel like a hypocrite posting this because I tend to get indignant when things are ridiculously expensive, but I guess I should note that I have a very bad weakness for Chanel makeup. Even though everything relating to the Chanel brand is pricey, I will say that I admire their dedication to quality, which is present in everything branded with the double-Cs, even the makeup. When I saw that Chanel's Fall 2009 collection was focused on Venice, I just couldn't stop myself. I think Venice is the most magical place in the world. I've only been able to go there twice but while I was there I loved every minute of it. And the actual colors are divine - lots of smoky greens going on, which I eat up. So there you have it. The look of Chanel Venice includes green eyes, peach cheeks, and silky pink lipstick:


I just love this - its dramatic and sexy enough for Fall but there's nothing cartoonish or garish about it. Perfection!


Blush Duo Tweed Effect in Tweed Sienna. This gorgeous blush is a combination of coral and gold. I'm almost afraid to use it because it's so pretty! The formula is so thick and soft that it feels like cream blush.


Swatch of the Blush Duo. As you can see, it's fairly light on me. I think it's because this sinks so easily into the skin instead of sitting on top of it.


Quadra Eye Shadow in Murano. A silky, shimmery eyeshadow palette including shades of pink, gray, and green. This is the first Chanel quad I've bought and I think I'm hooked. It's gorgeous.


Swatches of the Quadra Eye Shadow. Sorry the pistachio green didn't show up very well. It's a very light, icy green. As you can see, all the shadows are shimmery. They also glided super smoothly.


Glossimer in Arlequin. I love Chanel Glossimers - they're my favorite lip gloss. They are thick and last forever, not to mention universally flattering. Arlequin is a lovely light gold with peach sparkles.


Swatch of Glossimer. As you can see, it's fairly light and sheer, but gold looks good on almost everyone, not to mention shimmer plumps, so it make your lips look fab. When it catches the light and the peach comes out, it's almost like looking at a sunrise.

You can purchase the Venice collection at Chanel's website.

Fragrance Review: Fresh Sugar Lychee

Today was eerily warm and sunny so I decided to celebrate by wearing one of my brightest, sunniest fragrances. I fell in love with Sugar Lychee while browsing the Fresh section at Sephora this summer. I used to be a huge fan of Fresh scents but they've discontinued my favorites (Cucumber Baie and Violet Moss) so I've been eying them wearily for a while. At least, until I tried Sugar Lychee.

I think Citrus scent get dumped on a lot by people, usually for not being sophisticated enough, which is a shame because Sugar Lychee is a wonderful mixture of tart fruit, laced with something sweet. My family goes to Florida a lot and this is the embodiment of oranges and sunshine, augmented with lemon, lime, and my favorite, grapefruit. I know that I was hesitant to try tart fragrances for a long time, but there's just something about this that makes my mouth water. It's a joyful, energetic scent but not too high-pitched. In fact, I think this is a good choice for wearing when you'll be in close quarters with other people. I often wear it to class because it's got enough throw to be noticed without being a nuisance.

While I almost never recommending giving perfume to someone whose tastes you don't know, I think this would be a good "neutral" perfume present - not too deep or moody or sweet or sexy or immature or...whatever. It reminds me a lot of Clinique's Happy in this regard. This is such a happy scent that not liking it is about the equivalent of not liking puppies, IMO. And, when you think about it, the price is great: $65 for 3.4 ml. Fresh products are usually overpriced but this is a good deal.

You can purchase Sugar Lychee from Sephora and Fresh's website.

Notes: Grapefruit, Italian Lemon and Lime Blossom, Lychee, Mango Flower, Freesia, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Amber