Favorite Summer Fragrances

It's finally reached 90º here in NY. I still have to install the A/C in my room, because it really is starting steaming up. But what better way to liven up the steam with some fresh fragrances to open up a field of flowers before you?

I've picked out my favorite summer scents, ones that will freshen you up and even the people around you. Of them, my all-time favorite summer scent has got to be the Jo Malone "Lemon Tart". Hands down the best. It is really a sharp note of lemon, but mixed with a kind of sweetness that makes it so delicious, fresh, feminine, and unique.

Another Jo Malone summer-best is the "Blackberry and Bay" scent. Something about this makes it the perfect beach fragrance. It has that salty beach-like scent to it but it isn't too muddled with a strong heavy scent. Rather, it is just really fresh and just another really unique scent.

A brand that does wonders with all things fresh is of course Fresh itself. Goodness, their "Hesperides Grapefruit" is seriously the best most abundant smelling grapefruit scent on the market. I've smelt quite a lot of grapefruit scents, but nothing comes as lovely and feminine and truly well rounded as this one. It is perfect for the gals, a truly feminine scent. I often find grapefruit to smell quite masculine, but this particular one really does wonders in creating that well-bodied fresh sweet succulent feminine grapefruit scent!

Diptyque is and will always be my favorite fragrance brand. I think this brand, along with Byredo Parfums is one of a very few brands that still brings out fragrance after fragrance that really develops by the division of notes. I feel other fragrance brands, even though they talk about having certain many notes in their fragrances, the products themselves don't really live up to the descriptions. They rarely develop, and are quite one-dimensional. But the two brands I mentioned, they really score perfect when it comes to dimension in perfumes. You can watch more of my perfume analysis here. (I will leave the video down below as well)

I recently used up all of Byredo Parfums "Pulp", so I haven't got that to show you, but that is another great summer fruit basket scent. From Diptyque I picked "Oyedo" and "Ofresia". "Oyedo" is a fruit basket, but a really sweet kind. It is on the heavier side, but that it because there are just so many different notes of fruits and flowers. I would consider this a citrus scent. It is exploding with notes of fruits so much that you just smell delicious all day long. Again, I see this as a very feminine scent. And people always come up to me telling me they love what I'm wearing.

Lastly, "Ofresia" is an entirely floral based scent. I know most of what I picked were fruit-based, but "Ofresia" is smells of freesia and other floral notes. It is so light and airy, and so lady-like. I call this my "professional" scent -- one where I wear to professional events where I don't want to make a statement but I want to smell prim and proper, feminine and fresh.

Leave a Comment byredo parfums, diptyque, fragrances, Fresh, grapefruit, jo malone, summer, summer scents

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BAG ALERT. Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac in Plum

This is aka "What's in my Bag" post, showing you what I carry around in my bag. It is an edited version, meaning, I've cleaned my bag a little and decided to feature things that were only beauty related. But this Rebecca Minkoff bag only allows a certain amount anyway. It is my first Rebecca Minkoff bag, and I bought this last Fall actually, and it is only now that I'm featuring it on my blog.

I absolutely love this bag, and in my recent trip to Europe, this was the only bag I carried around and it was the perfect size. Although it is a mini mac quite a lot can fit inside this bag. I loved it for chucking essentials in: like the beauty products that I feature, as well as carrying around my iPhone and travel billets and such. I decided to bring this bag to Europe because as a tourist, you want to be careful of picket-pocketting, and the last time I was in France, I was a victim of picket-pocketing and so I wanted to be extra careful.

I like to wear this cross body, and when I'm walking around, I kept it in the front of my body. The zipper is something I love about this bag, because it zips up so well. There are quite a lot of bags, I have to tell you, that just don't zip up well! You actually need your two hands to zip up, but this bag has such a smooth zipper that when you are in a rush and want to zip up, you can do it easily. Small unnecessary fact you say? Not for me, since zippers are something I always check up in a bag!

And with the functionality of this bag, comes the absolutely beautiful style. This color just makes my heart flutter. In some lights it may look a bit dark, and then in some lights, it looks bright plum. I love it! You may know that I have a huge obsession with plum colored things, and when I bought it last Fall, I knew I'd get a lot of wear with this. It is both chic and feminine at the same time!

So, finally here are some handbag essentials that are really do carry. They aren't just placed this way for the blogpost. These are my current handbag necessities that I took out of this bag for this post.

As a whole, I think all girls carry around a hand cream of some sort in the winter. I have been falling head-over-heels for This Works Deep Sleep Dream Cream lotion for hands and body. I loved it when I first bought it, but decided to give it to my mother to use but when I found she wasn't really using it, I took it back and fell in absolute love! I recently bought another tube of this and it's been loved very much by me! Read here.

Then of course, a lip balm. I featured this balm before but Nuxe Reve de Miel is just a great lip balm for the harshest winters. It has a matte finish, and it is very thick-- almost so thick, it's hard to scoop out of the tube when the weather is cold. But nonetheless, it masks your lips and instantly binds the torn skin on the lips upon application! The small is also lovely. The only downfall is that when you apply this too much, you may end up with residue of the balm on your lips. You want to make sure you are applying it without leaving particles of its content visible on your lips. (Anyone else know what I mean?) Read here.

Then for lip colors, I usually carry two shades. One neutral/nude, and the other, bright. I recently had to go to an interview, and for interviews I always wear this shade by Burberry. It is their lip mist in the shade Copper. Hands down, the best professional lip color, whatever that means. Whenever you want to look proper, read, and professional- go for this one. It always perfects the lips by moistening it, hydrating it, and giving it a color neutral peachy/rosy/pinky nude. The color is just right. Read here.

Then for the bright lip color for a sudden change in look, I have been loving Rimmel Apocalips (Show Off) shade in Big Bang. This is a Marilyn Monroe red, and I love it. But what I really love is the Apocalips formulation in general. Couldn't get better- creamy, moisturizing, and perfectly pigmented. Their lip lacquers are better than the luxe brands that I've tried. Read here.

For face, I always try to carry a face powder around, especially when I want to look my best the whole day. I hate when I see my makeup melt and I have nothing to fix it up! I have been obsessing with the Bourjois Unifying Face Powder. I did a review of this after I brought it from France. This again, is by far, better than most high end brands I've tried. It instantly perfects my makeup anytime during the day. Read here.

Lastly, fragrance. Ah, fragrances! When I was Europe, I was never without this scent. Fresh Hesperides Grapefruit fragrance. I did a whole review of this recently, so you can go read it up here.

1 comment bag, bourjois, burberry, fashion, Fresh, lifestyle, nuxe, plum, rebecca minkoff, rimmel, style, this works

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Vanity Spotlight #1

Just a few of my favorite things on this beautiful mirror tray: 

larsson and jennings watch, fresh beauty fragrance in hesperides grapefruit, tom ford lipstick in violet fatale, catbird rings, earrings from s.korea, butterlondon nail polish in la moss

Leave a Comment butter, butterlondon, catbird, catbirdnyc, fragrance, Fresh, larsson and jennings, larssonjennings, tom ford, topshelf, vanity, vanity spotlight

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Fragrance Alert: FRESH Hesperides Grapefruit

I am a fragrance-philia (a word I made up but hopefully isn't too linguistically incorrect). I discovered this beautiful lovely scent from Fresh called Hesperides Grapefruit and for some strange reason, haven't featured it in a favorites video! It's probably because it's always in my bag, and I forgot about it. But let me just say that I have been enjoying this fragrance ever so much! The problem? It is sold out pretty much everywhere, including their own website.

The sell this fragrance in 3 sizes, and the only one I could find at the time was their rollerball size. After falling head-over-heels for this, I sought to buy the second size, which is a spray version. However, that was all out of stock. The only choice I had was the largest size ($88) and I wasn't too sure I wanted to have that large size. What I would like is the medium sized one, but currently, I can't seem to find it anywhere. I never explored any of the Fresh fragrances, and so was shocked to see how popular this particular one was and understandably so!

The scent is just lovely. It is fresh and so feminine. The grapefruit fragrances I know of are usually a bit musky and masculine, even though it is a fruity scent. Yet, this one is down to the last note, for the ladies. It smells so beautiful and fresh that every time you put it on, you smell like you've just gotten out of the shower. It is a great pick-me-up, and I doubt anyone would find this scent unfavorable because it's just one of those scents that everyone would sniff and say, "wow, that's nice".

I don't recommend the rollerball though. Especially in the winter, when you are wearing scarves and sometimes there a little fluffs of cotton around your neck. Because it's a rollerball, it picks up everything as it is rolling away on your skin and that just isn't a nice thing to see in a perfume bottle-- fuzzes of little things swimming around!

But besides the fact that it is out-of-stock, this has been my go-to-chuck-in-the-bag-always-great-to-put-on kind of fragrance! :)

1 comment fragrance, Fresh, grapefruit, hesperides grapefruit

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Non-makeup Beauty Bag Essentials

These items have been a non-stop hand reach this past month. Even if you're not a beauty girl, I think most girls carry these few items in their handbag somewhere. I chose my favorites that I found in my pouch that aren't makeup.

A hand lotion is a must. I found this travel-friendly version from Bioderma and it's lovely. Although personally I've been loving and preferring This Works Deep Sleep Dream Cream, I chose the Bioderma because the scent of the Dream Cream is that of natural essential oils, and not everyone really gravitates towards it. I absolutely love the scent, but just in case, I like to carry a more mild scented lotion around, such as the Bioderma Repair Hand cream. They are though, both great for the parched hands!

For lips, I've been endlessly using the Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm. It's by the far the thickest consistency I've ever used. it's a honey content that has little beads that I use to exfoliate my lips. I recently went skiing, and this thick balm totally helped my lips stay in supple condition for the whole day! I love it so much, and it lasts forever because of the thickness of the balm. I also love that it's in a glass pot. It feels so luxurious.

For the people who have anxiety, I recommend This Works Deep Sleep Stress Less rollerball. You can dap it (or roll it) on your pulse points, and you can waft it every now and then. The scent is also similar to their Dream Cream, full of essential oils and herbal scents but it really does help relax and refresh yourself. I like to just sniff it when I feel a little anxious, and it clears your mind in the freshest way!

Finally, I have a pretty scent that I like to carry around. Recently, I have fallen head-over-heels for the Fresh Hesperides Grapefruit fragrance. I have since been trying to get a hold of it, but it seems to be sold out each and every time I am at Sephora. I am hoping to catch a VIB sale soon at the same time this is back in stock so I can purchase it with some discount. On one note though, I do NOT recommend a rollerball. I never quite understand the likes of it. It isn't hygienic at all, and times when you are wearing something and some fuzz of your sweater, say, is on your skin, then as you roll this over that, it'll eat up the fuzz as well. Soon or later, you'll have this liquid perfume full of little fuzzes collected from rolling it on your skin throughout the day. Perhaps you're only supposed to apply this after a shower? But then, what's the point of carrying it around! Anyway, next time I'm getting this, I will purchase it as a spray. But by all means, this is the prettiest, freshest, most feminine smelling stuff ever! It truly is light and clean, fresh and ever so pretty. I don't have anything like it, and I am in absolute love with it.

I sometimes chuck them into my bag carelessly, while other times, I'll put them in my Tory Burch makeup pouch. I, however, usually carry more than these four-- makeup bits of course.

Leave a Comment aromatherapy, bioderma, deep sleep, fragrance, Fresh, grapefruit, hand cream, lip balm, makeup bag, nuxe, reve de miel, sephora, this works, tory burch

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The Long Awaited Man-Repeller Glossybox

So THE MAN REPELLER Glossybox is here. If you don't know who she is... well then, you better go check her website out and figure out who she is because I mean... she is THE MAN REPELLER. Anyway, this January Glossybox was a big deal. It was talked about everywhere and I'm sure the orders went up like crazy! I was most excited to get a Tarte red lipstick.

The other day, I finally received my box (a bit too late Glossybox!!) Anyway, unfortunately, I didn't get a Tarte lipstick but instead I got their awesome cream cheek tint! Inside was also an Estee Lauder mascara (sample size), Fresh Umbrian Clay Mattifying Serum (sample), Le Metier de Beaute replenishing daily solution (sample), a Narciso Rodriguez perfume for women (sample), a FULL SIZE OPI in "Can't Let Go", a Sebastian Professional styling cream, and finally a TARTE FULL SIZE CHEEK TINT in Achiote!

The Glossybox is usually baby pink, but this month's box came in a special packaging with a metallic silver box with the man repeller mark imprinted on the box!

The box came with this really cute letter-like postcard thing from Leander, the Man Repeller herself! So cute! x

a close-up!

A nice peachy orange. It'll give a slight flush to your cheeks. It is super sheer though, great if you have pale skin!

extremely sheer and silky.

But please, can we all admire the ridiculously pretty and cute packaging of this Tarte blush?!?!?!

terribly chic ain't it? LOVE THIS THE MOST!

This box definitely rates as one of the highest. But, because they had so many high-end products, the sizes were mostly sample size. But, hey! That's fine. We've got the Tarte, the OPI, and the travel-size hair cream! I'd rate this box a 9.5 :)

Leave a Comment blush, cheek tint, cream blush, estee lauder, Fresh, Glossybox, hair cream, january glossybox, Le Metier de Beaute, mascara, tarte, the man repeller, tint

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