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Browsing by tag: cheap thrills

The Monday Mail on Tuesday ~ help Mariclare find a budget perfume

Posted by Robin on 10 May 2011 59 Comments

post box, Melaka, Malaysia

It is not the first time I’ve forgotten to post the Monday Mail on Monday, and it probably won’t be the last. So here it is, a day late but better late than never.

Today we’re helping Mariclare, who is on a stricter budget than most of our participants: she wants to find her perfect casual, everyday scent for $40 or under. Can it be done? Her dream fragrance would be unusual, unconventional and not easily recognizable, but she’d also like it to be pleasant and not overbearing (no major sillage). A perfume she can find at Macy’s is a big plus, but she’s willing to shop online if need be. Here is what we know about Mariclare:

She’s in her late 20s. She works full time, and goes to school (to study painting) part time.

She lives with her boyfriend, and she says they’re both “a little eccentric”.

Mariclare says her personality is bright — “people are always telling me i have the best and most infectious laugh”.

Her style is eclectic: she enjoys combining colors and styles (floral skirts with motorcycle boots, vintage baby doll dresses with moccasins & thrift-store earrings).

Mariclare usually wears perfume oils because they’re inexpensive…

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Sonoma Scent Studio To Dream ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 22 April 2011 42 Comments

James Tissot The Dreamer

To Dream is Sonoma Scent Studio‘s new addition to its Boutique Collection of fragrances, and it was inspired in part by the line’s previous release Lieu de Rêves. I purchased Lieu de Rêves when it was first launched, and I’ve been enjoying it so much — enough to include it on my personal list of favorite fall fragrances — that I was naturally curious about To Dream.

Sonoma Scent Studio describes To Dream as “a comforting, dreamy but sophisticated and complex blend of woods, florals, incense, and gourmand notes,” including violet, rose, heliotrope, cedar, amber, frankincense, oakwood absolute, vetiver, tonka, orris, vanilla, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, suede, cocoa, and aldehydes. At first glance, that list reminded me very much of Lieu de Rêves, but as soon as I applied a bit of this newer fragrance to my skin, I noticed the differences.

To Dream opens with a strong stroke of oakwood…

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Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds ~ perfume review

Posted by Angela on 18 April 2011 122 Comments

Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds

It’s disconcerting to consider Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds, a perfume supposed to represent the actress. After all, which Liz are we talking about? The ingénue of National Velvet? The tempestuous, alcohol-sodden seductress of Butterfield 8 and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The Senator’s wife, depressed and overweight? Or maybe the laid-back Mrs. Fortensky?

I knew White Diamonds was wildly popular, but I expected it earned its sales among soap-opera-watching, chain-smoking elderly ladies. I figured it would smell of sharp aldehydes, cheap white flowers, and rubbing alcohol. Boy was I wrong. White Diamonds Eau de Toilette is a gentle white floral chypre with a soft, clean feel. Spring-sweet and soapy fresh. Classic, really. I’m hooked.

It seems crazy, but when Parfums International launched White Diamonds in the fall of 1991, it was the first time a celebrity had released a second feminine fragrance. Elizabeth Taylor Passion for Women (1987) and Passion for Men had already hit the market…

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Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar & Six Scents Series Three Beau Bow ~ fragrance reviews

Posted by Kevin on 23 March 2011 39 Comments

coconut and orange

I usually prefer to wear “simple” and light fragrances in warm weather; I don’t want lots of notes percolating on my skin and inside my nostrils on a hot day — that’s annoying. I visited Los Angeles in February when the weather there was glorious: sunny, 78 degree days, cool evenings, and skies so clear you could see stars (the celestial type) at night. I packed several new fragrances for the trip, and it was fun to fast-forward to ‘summer’ for a week (it was still 25 degrees at home in Seattle with at least another month of awful weather to come). Two of the new “summery” perfumes I tested in L.A. stood out: Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar and Six Scents Series Three Beau Bow.

Indian Coconut Nectar smells almost exactly how Pinkberry (another “hit” from my L.A. trip) coconut frozen yoghurt tastes, with flavors/scents of cool, yet musky, coconut (slightly “green” and tart-unripe ), combined with creamy vanilla and perhaps a squirt of lime juice. Indian Coconut Nectar perfume is simple, but it smells delicious. I can’t resist the scent of coconut during summer but if you dislike coconut, you’ll hate Indian Coconut Nectar — it’s all about the coconut…

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Kiehl’s Original Musk Blend No. 1 ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 16 March 2011 42 Comments

Kiehl's Original Musk Blend No. 1

Kiehl’s (Since 1851) Original Musk Blend No. 1 has been around a long time if you believe Kiehl’s PR: “Our original musk oil is believed to have been created in the 1920s at the ‘Kiehl Apothecary.’ Discovered there in a vat labeled ‘Love Oil’ in the late 50s, Kiehl’s signature scent was reintroduced to our patrons in 1963.” I recently sniffed Original Musk for the first time, and it reminds me of many higher priced perfumes: inside Original Musk there’s a pinch of Hermès Eau d’ Hermès with its grainy, leather-cumin accord, a hint of Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khan (“tough” musk with flowers), and a ghostly bit of, believe it or not, Chanel No. 5’s floral aldehydes.

Original Musk is, of course, a synthetic musk fragrance; it has “body” but it’s still a light version of musk — not heavy in the least. Kiehl’s lists Original Musk’s fragrance notes as bergamot nectar, orange blossom, lily, rose, ylang-ylang, neroli, tonka bean, white patchouli and musk.

There are no distinct stages of development in Original Musk…

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