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Browsing by tag: cheap thrills

Ava Luxe Ultra Rich Body Lotion ~ scented body products review

Posted by Anjali on 25 March 2007 6 Comments

Ava Luxe Ultra Rich Body LotionSerena Ava Franco has quickly cultivated a reputation as one of the best perfume e-tailers out there with her line Ava Luxe, which features a wide range of creative, thoughtful, elegant and affordable scents. Along with perfumes, she offers a selection of bath and body products that can be ordered unscented or to match any fragrance in her line. I recently sampled her Ultra Rich Body Lotion in two of my favorite Ava Luxe scents, Sweet Almond and Red Carnation, and found that the quality of her body line is just as high as that of her fragrances.

The quality of the lotion itself is amazing — shea butter, Vitamin E, sage, honey and yarrow provide excellent moisture — and it carries the fragrance very well for up to five or six hours. Sweet Almond has a luscious doughy, sugary scent, with a hint of cherry-almond or amaretto sweetness in the background, perfect for layering with almond fragrances like L’Artisan Jour de Fete and Etro Heliotrope (in fact, this is far better than Etro’s own matching lotion, which I personally feel bears an unfortunate resemblance to wet dog food on my skin), and of course, the original Ava Luxe Sweet Almond perfume…

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Voluspa Japonica Aroma Room/Body Spray in Champaca Bloom & Fern

Posted by Kevin on 24 March 2007 7 Comments

Voluspa Champaca Bloom & Fern Room Spray

The champaca tree (Michelia champaca) is native to India and Southeast Asia and it produces heavily scented flowers in profusion. When a large champaca tree is covered with flowers, whole neighborhoods can enjoy the blossoms’ strange, intoxicating (and naturally fruity-floral) scent — reminiscent of jasmine, quince, banana and magnolia (a relative of the champaca). Champaca trees are often planted on temple grounds and champaca blossoms are placed on Buddhist and Hindu altars as offerings. The scent of champaca can also be found in perfumes: Ormonde Jayne’s Champaca, Christian Dior’s J’Adore and Comme des Garçons’ Series 8: Guerrilla 1 all contain champaca…

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Crazylibellule and The Poppies Vanilla Moka, Vanilla Macarons & Vanilla Pralines ~ fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 23 March 2007 10 Comments

Crazylibellule and The Poppies Poule de Luxe perfume solids

The Poule de Luxe collection from Crazylibellule & The Poppies is a series of solid twist-up perfumes centering on vanilla notes. The line, as a whole, is easy to like: the packaging is adorable and convenient, and best of all, they are reasonably priced at $16 for 5 gr. Their Encens Mystic easily qualifies as my best bargain find of 2006.

The Poule de Luxe collection does not have anything that will displace Encens Mystic as my particular favorite, but it is high on the “fun” factor and bound to find fans with vanilla freaks. My favorite of the bunch is the Vanilla Moka (shown), which features notes of dark chocolate, cocoa bean, sandalwood, mocha, coffee liqueur and musk. Years ago, I used to love a particular kind of coffee hard candy, and I’ve been going crazy the last few days trying to remember what it was called, but at any rate, Vanilla Moka smells exactly like it: dark coffee with just a touch of chocolate, sweet but not overly so. The dry down gets woodier, paler and creamier, and has a nice comfort scent vibe, assuming you love the smell of coffee. The lasting power is not quite so good as the Encens Mystic, but at the price, it is hard to complain, and insofar as you can just throw the tube in your purse or pocket, touch ups are not a problem…

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ElizabethW Magnolia Bath Gel ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 17 March 2007 4 Comments

ElizabethW Magnolia Bath GelAs I write this review for elizabethW Magnolia Bath Gel, snow is falling again on New York City. I have the late-winter blues, and I’m starting to look forward to my own personal rites of spring. In April and early May, for example, I take pleasure in the days when I can eat my lunch under the magnolia trees in Central Park.

The Magnolia products from elizabethW aptly capture the scent of a real magnolia flower, with its creamy sweetness and its bright, lemony edge. Magnolia is a softly flirtatious floral, and elizabethW accentuates it with light notes of gardenia and mimosa, creating a feminine bouquet that would suit Scarlett O’Hara in one of her more tranquil moods. (And who could ever forget Rhett Butler saying, “You can drop the moonlight and magnolias, Scarlett,” when he saw through her sweet talk?)

elizabethW’s Magnolia is one of the brand’s Signature Collection fragrances…

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Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse (Champagne) ~ perfume review

Posted by Angela on 16 March 2007 27 Comments

Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse fragrance

1n 1993, when Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse was launched, it was named Champagne. It wasn’t long before the Champagne lobby noticed and strong-armed YSL into renaming its new perfume. Whether Yvresse smells to you like Champagne or a bellini or a tropical fruit-scented viognier, you probably agree that its new name — a play on “ivresse”, the French word for intoxication — is a perfect fit.

Sophia Grojsman created Yvresse, and she embedded in it the warm, womanly peach-rose combination that she introduced in Lancôme Trésor and then tucked into YSL Paris and Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars, among others. Yvresse is a fruity chypre with topnotes of nectarine, anise, mint, violet, and a grain of cumin; a middle of otto rose, blue rose, and lychee; and a base of oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver, and vanilla…

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