In Defense of Fruity Perfumes

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Henna

July 28
Too often, the snobby parts of Fragcomm say things like “who would want to smell like a cupcake?” “Why would you want to smell like candy?!” but maybe cupcakes and candy are what some people want wafting around them in their own personal scent bubble, not florals, animalics, or resins. Maybe, they want to feel like they belong to this time, not another, and they’re signalling to others their own age: I am like you. Come be friends with me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Missoni EDT and some NYX Fat Oil Body Oil and Body Mist will do the trick. The Missoni is a Quentin Bisch is a fresh floral that smells like a fruity shampoo, but done in the Bisch way, it’s ultra-strong and fills the room for hours. Is it mouth-wateringly good? No, but it’s easy, and it’s now relegated to the cheapie shelf, so if you want to smell an original from a hyped perfumer, you can. The NYX Fat Oil Body in Juicy Boo smells exactly how you might think: like fresh tart orange juice. If you’re into layering a scented body product with your perfumes (any perfumes), then you’ll love them. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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90’s Frosty Blush via YSL Make Me Blush

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Henna

Who remembers the frosty blushes and lipsticks from the ’90’s?! I sure do, and this blush took me back there. You can see that when I swatched it on the back of my hand, there’s a bit of light silver/white shimmer which meant that there wasn’t a lot of the pretty cool pink pigment in this blush. I wanted to like it, but I’d use it as a highlighter instead of a real blush on myself. There’s also that thing about not being able to do trends if you’re already done them once in your life, and truly, my day with frost are long behind me. I’m sure many of you agree. I need a matte blush for every other day.

YSL Make Me Blush in Shade 10 Stardust Love.

 

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Parfums Dusita at Paris Perfume Week

Posted on July 31, 2026 by Henna

June 18
That’s me right in the middle!

Pissara Umavijani, the self-taught perfumer and creator of Parfums Dusita, hosted a raw material event at Paris Perfume Week, and there’s nothing a perfume lover likes more than smelling raw materials. It’s an opportunity to train your nose, and the capacity to remember smells and place them is one that anyone can build.

Umavijani shared some of the raw materials that she uses herself in her perfumes, and followed up each raw material with the perfume that featured it. I loved the freshness of Jasmine Sambac, the creaminess of the Orris Butter, but what surprised me was how animalic the Sandalwood was. There was a funk to it that I wasn’t expecting.That funk goes away when the sandalwood gets blended into a formula – like the way you can’t taste the eggs when you eat a piece of cake, or a black outline can highlight whatever it’s around without drawing attention to itself.

I had been waiting to smell the latest Dusita creation: Light of Bangkok, a scent made for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. This perfume is the hotel lobby with a twist: it features lemongrass in the opening, which seems to be rare in perfumery. The sharp, zesty Lemongrass is an apt replacement for the usual citrus top notes. It feels surprising and refreshing while reminding us that we are in Thailand. Clary Sage lends a mentholated note, giving way to a gentle jasmine and ylang ylang. At the base, there’s sandalwood, but also fig. That mainstay that reminds us that we are still in a hotel lobby.

What is it about fig that gives us a hotel lobby? In 2026, it feels niche but still familiar. Overall, it might just be my favourite hotel scent that I’ve tried. What I like about Dusita perfumes is that there’s always a strong connection to smells we find in nature, a classical way of using structure, and ultimately beautiful perfumes.

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Hung Vanngo’s New Foundation

Posted on July 30, 2026 by Henna


The algorithm told me I’d want to check out the new Hung Vanngo foundation, so I popped into Sephora to have a look. Hung Vanngo is from Calgary, and has made it as a world-renowned makeup artist. He is celebrities on his calling card, and knows how he wants skin to look in photographs and real life. The foundation’s marketing is all about giving you skin that looks great in person AND online – and what can I say? It does deliver. The finish is a natural matte, and it sets very quickly into a long-wearing finish. It does look like good skin from arm’s length away.

I suspect what will mess people up is choosing a shade. According to him, there are only neutral shades in the lineup with some leaning slightly peach, or slightly orange, or slightly pink, but many are true neutrals. This made it had to pick a shade, because most of us are used to searching for undertones. I’m usually a neutral or golden, but now I just went with a few medium light shades. The shade range is so close together that it was hard to choose just one. Medium-Light 11 and 13 worked on me, and 12 seemed off. Light was great under my eyes; 13 was good in the store but seemed a bit off in the car. Back home, I looked in the mirror again and again, and maybe 13 was ok after all. I think there are going to be lots of returns with people buying 2 or 3 shades and just keeping the one that works, and the rest going into the trash. This, of course, drives up the price of the product, so before complaining about it ($66 CAN), keep that in mind. Instead of buying online, go try it in store if you can and then choose a shade. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

As for me, I’ll think about it and put it on my wish list. I have lots of foundation to use up, and I’ve been wearing just sunscreen on my skin for the past few weeks, so maybe I don’t want to dive into a medium-to-full coverage foundation just yet. I did really like this one.

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YSL Lovenude Lipstick

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Henna

I am wearing this lipstick nonstop. The colour is Nude Lavaliere Shade 44. It’s a matte blurring formula that’s slightly sheer. On vacation, I apply it directly to my cheeks and blend with my fingers as a blush and then also put it on my lips. It’s very easy to use and the colour is perfect – a bit brighter than neutral, a bit of white in the shade to make it pop. It’s almost like a nude but not very beige.

You can see that my picture has a lipstick that’s very much used because of how loved it is. It’s one that I’ll likely want to replace when it’s done. I have the matching lipliner too but it doesn’t get as much love as the lipstick which is a perfect 10 for me.

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July Perfume Club Recap

Posted on July 28, 2026 by Henna

July 24
Things we smelled at Perfume Club (and some first impressions):⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Mugler Womanity (2025 reissue): This is a salty floral. After smelling everything, it went on skin and were it readily available, I would have bought it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Amouage Ashore, Figment Woman, Bracken – all so good and interesting. Love Tuberose and Ashore are great tuberoses. I tried Figment Man on skin and loved it, although it seems to be a bit of a unicorn. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Oddity Naked Dance: while the opening smelled generically citrusy, this dried down very interestingly, and it’s something I’m trying on skin. The clay note kind of surprised me and was more present on paper. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Andrea Maack Pavilion: super sweet, super strong gourmand. Does not smell like a cashmere blanket under the Aurora Borealis to me.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Hermes Rose Ikebana: peppery rose-water. I can see why it’s part of the Hermessence line. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Amouage Remain: my favourite but only because it reminded me of Coromandel and Musc Ravageur, both of which I already have. Do I need another iteration of them? I likely don’t.

Parfums de Marly Delina and Delina La Rosée. Sweet Fruity florals aren’t my thing but I can see why people love these two so much. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Hormone Paris This is Not Gaba. Passion Fruit and florals. I liked the opening of this for how juicy it smelled and how interesting it was. Apparently, this is going viral in Europe, but the marketing is iffy. While this did not smell relaxing, I’m impressed that at least it doesn’t smell like every other spa-like perfume, or even just lavender.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

I need to take more pictures for next time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Guerlain’s Encens Mythique Perfume Review

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Henna

July 22
I’m reunited with Encens Mythique, one of Guerlain’s gateway into Middle Eastern perfumery from 2012, thanks to its combination of rose, incense and ambergris. Encens Mythique needs to be experienced by anyone who wants to smell some real ambergris in perfume. It’s salty, musky and warm, sometimes a little dirty. The scent can be off-putting but also inviting in the right context, like fresh beads of sweat on skin. Originally, it was added to rose perfumes to make them last longer, but it’s undeniable that ambergris adds its own character to whatever it touches, the same way that salt makes every other flavour pop. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Encens Mythique – a rose-incense-ambergris of epic proportions. Even in 2012, Guerlain knew that its customers wanted a taste of something from a far-away place, so it gave them a rose that was touched with other flavours. It’s soapy and powdery and on skin, (even clean skin), the dirty bits melt into a beguiling sort of jammy rose that’s impossible to ignore. I love all kinds of rose perfumes, but rose-ambergris perfumes have a special place in my perfume wardrobe. They’re not easy to love, almost-offensive to an untrained nose.

Encens Mythique could never have done well at a counter where perfumes need to be immediately pleasing. Instead, it has been quietly discontinued and can be found by anyone still looking for something a little off the beaten path. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

And yes, that’s The Odyssey behind my bottle. I couldn’t resist pulling it out and when I read about Odysseus stuck on Calypso’s island far from home, trapped by her love potion and surrounded by her incense, I imagine the it must have included the salty ambergris that washed up on the shore mixed with fragrant roses… ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Charlotte Tilbury Eyez to Mesmerize

Posted on July 23, 2026 by Henna

In today’s episode of I’m not a makeup artist but…Here’s another option for makeup that doesn’t really look like makeup: Charlotte Tilbury Eyes to Mesmerize Cream Shadow in Amber Gold. As the name suggests, it’s a shimmery gold but dark enough to look smoky. I apply it with my fingers, but you could be more precise and use a brush. My fingers tell me when I’ve blended it in well enough because it dries as you apply it. Be sure to close the lid tightly, because you don’t want air getting in and drying this eyeshadow out. Team pencil or team cream? Pencil seems easier, but the cream seems more blendable. Eyes to Mesmerize in Amber Gold.

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Charlotte Tilbury Oyster Pearl Eyeshadows in Two Formulae

Posted on July 22, 2026 by Henna

This has got to be the most popular cream shadow colour for Charlotte Tilbury because they have it in 2 formulas. I can see why. It’s a very versatile colour that will probably work on many skin tones. It’s a touch smoky but not so much that you can’t wear it during the day. The wear time on both of these is about the same, too. The cream offers easier blending, and one layer went on quite sheerly, so maybe that is the one I prefer. But the stick is super easy to work with when you’re trying to be more precise in your placement. If you want to use it as a liner too, then the stick would obviously be your best bet. Which one do you like better?

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Summer 2026 Sunscreen Update

Posted on July 16, 2026 by Henna

My camera’s smudged with sunscreen for the next few weeks, so here’s what I’ve been using so far and a cottage shelfie, because why not?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Banana Boat Kids’ sunscreen is one that I buy every summer because you can use it on your face and it doesn’t smudge into your eyes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Coppertone Sport because it was on sale, and I just feel like a sports sunscreen is so versatile. It’s water-resistant, so you can just jump into the water and not worry about it lasting. I do notice that it dries as a whitish powder and needs to be rubbed in very well, but if you’re just lounging by the pool or the lake, that might not bother you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Neutrogena UltraSheer – honestly, I’m reading “No More Tears” right now, and I will not buy a Johnson’s and Johnson’s product ever again, including Tylenol. Thank you to the person who recommended that book to me!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Cerave Night Cream is a fantastic all-purpose moisturizer, but they’ve recently brought out their Facial Moisturizing Lotion in SPF 50 (it was SPF 30 before), and it is fantastic. In terms of sun-protecting ingredients, this is a hybrid of chemical and physical sun filters, so it has a tiny bit of a white cast, but that doesn’t bother me. Under makeup or even on its own, I feel like it gives a bit of skin-perfecting coverage.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

The Biore UV Aqua Rich spray sunscreen is one that I picked up in Asia. Honestly, I think I bought it by mistake because I do not trust the coverage of a spray sunscreen. I basically hosed myself down with this so that I could make sure that I didn’t miss a spot, and so I used almost the whole bottle in one day. I don’t recommend any kind of spray sunscreen unless you have money to burn. Half of it flies away into the air, and who knows if the other half is enough protection? I did not get burned, but I tried to stay out of the sun.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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