Let’s meet up this weekend to make holiday cards, put cloves in oranges like when we were little, sip egg nog, and eat cake. We’ll wear our coziest sweaters even though we know that as soon as the sun starts shining, it’ll be too hot to keep them on, our cheeks red from the heat, fingers sore from the crafts. We keep going, remembering – lamenting – that everything is temporary.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Vangelis by Sylvaine Delacourte. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Florals for spring: groundbreaking.
But Santa Maria Novella makes them feel new again. Magnolia, roses, and musk, this is the way you make florals smell new and have better performance. Magnolia was part of the new launch of edp’s that Santa Maria Novella launched in 2023. Yes, making a perfume into an edp improves performance but all of them have a musk base that just sticks to skin. The musks in Magnolia remind me of soapy skin without smelling just like soap. Even if you’re not a fan of florals, approach this one with an open mind and you may be pleasantly surprised. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you were even remotely into skincare during the lockdown in 2020, you were watching Dr. Idriss, better known as Pillow Talk Derm, do a live from her bed every evening. Not only did she talk about whatever was happening in the world at the time but she would also answer skincare questions and dole out advice as a “Board-Certified Dermatologist” which differentiated her from the other influencers (like me) who talked about skincare.
Now she has her own line and it is for a category of patients that’s under-served: women suffering with melasma. Having dealt with pigmentation issues of her own, Dr. Idriss understood the science needed in the skincare but also that it should be elegantly formulated so that it fit seamlessly into people’s lives. So here we are. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I have the Flash Mask, Hyper Serum, and the moisturizer, and I’ve been using them religiously. Yes, they work and that’s because they offer a cocktail of ingredients to tackle melasma and that’s usually what the professionals recommend. The combination of products gives you all the ingredients: glycolic, lactic and Tranexamic acid in the Flash Mask, Kojic Acid, Alpha Arbutin and Niacinamide in the serum, and vitamin C in the moisturizer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
They’re all products and ingredients you could buy separately but all of these work so well together and in concentrations high enough to work on reducing pigmentation. You might even feel like you can skip your retinol when you use these (although I don’t, I just use it on alternate day). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A word of precaution: the Flash Mask is strong, because it has 15% glycolic acid and 3% lactic acid, so use it as directed and follow up with a really lush moisturizer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you’re serious about correcting pigmentation, the only thing missing is sunscreen.
Where can you get the line? On the website but it’s also available at Sephora ! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here it is, Lancôme Lash Idôle Flutter Extension Mascara. Check out that mascara wand. The bristles are so tiny and they seem to grab on to every single lash. It does smudge on me but I think maybe that’s a me problem. I open my eyes really wide and I have oily skin too. But yes, the lashes look so good and the mascara is so pigmented. I do feel that high-end mascaras are more richly pigmented than drugstore mascaras. The evidence is on my washcloth at the end of the night.
It’s been a minute, but I’ve been using one of these YSL blushes every single day.
They are all super smooth and very pigmented.
Starting an early weekend with Bon Parfumeur Iris Cartagena 502. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It’s no surprise that this was a runaway hit from the brand – the perfume community has always been obsessed with Iris as a concept and a raw material, and if nothing else, a perfume with “iris” in the name is going to get a sniff and more than a few blind buys. ⠀⠀
Iris Cartagena is powdery, earthy, and has iris layered cocoa. The final effect is not exactly gourmand, but not floral either, sitting in a space in-between with woods. It feels like thin layers of wood made out of chocolate, stacked with powder in between, but vanishing and turning into air the second you try to hold the structure in your hands. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When I think of Iris and Cocoa I always think of Belle Ame by Les Abstraits but that scent envelops and cushions, Iris Cartagena holds you at arms’ length and doesn’t let you get too close. It’s a satisfying iris that retains a lightness. If you want an Iris perfume but are a gourmand lover – and almost everyone prefers a bit of sweetness nowadays anyway – this one might be for you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Hands up if Aveda Shampure is a core scent memory for you. It is for me, and the refreshing scent of this Aveda Scalp Solutions Hydrating Scalp and Hair mask is taking me back in time to a decade where anything outside of the drugstore was a splurge. Most of the time I used Pantene from the drugstore, but if there was a time to splurge, it was time for Aveda. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This mask is unique in that the directions are for you to massage it onto your scalp. If you’re used to your usual scalp massage at the salon, then this is the same idea. It’s a first for at-home haircare because although we have scalp serums, this is the first product I’ve seen that is an in-shower treatment. Massaging the mask into the scalp is supposed to help with scalp hydration, hopefully helping balance that skin. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Texture-wise it feels like your traditional thick conditioner, leaving hair coated with an anti-tangle, smooth residue while being silicone-free. I use this almost like a traditional conditioner except I do massage it into my scalp and then leave it in for a bit before I rinse it out. Did you know that even just 4 minutes of scalp massage a day can stimulate hair growth? I don’t always manage to get my 4 minutes in but at least in the shower I can fit in a minute or two. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Maybe it’s the freezing temperatures, but I’m not finding this formula to be overly heavy the way that some silicone-free formulae can be. So now I’ve taken care of my hair and a core scent memory is unlocked. It’s my way of beating the winter blues. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What glamping (glam+camping) smells like. Woodsy, powdery, fresh and clean. Pine trees, woods and musk. Like taking a shower in the middle of the woods. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It’s Orpheon by Diptyque. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Violets in the rain. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
My scent of the day on this rainy day is Balenciaga Paris, which basically became a modern classic. For a designer perfume, this felt very old-school and not mainstream at all. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I’m wearing Molinard Ambre on repeat and working my way through as many Elizabeth Strout books as I can find. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Molinard Ambre is a simplistic take on the amber genre, mixing a dry dusty patchouli with minimal amounts of benzoin and vanilla. If you’ve tried other famous ambers like Ambre Sultan then you’ll notice the same type of amber notes but without any of the herbal top notes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I sampled this before I bought it but my sample must have been much older because it smelled so different to this. The jammy labdanum base is gone, and my bottle is patchouli-heavy and doesn’t really sweeten up as I wear it. Having worn so much vanilla recently, I wish that this was a sweeter, more vanillic amber but if you want something that’s not very sweet or strong, this will be the one to reach for. I have grown to really like this version. Having worn so much rose-patchouli scents in my life, wearing a patchouli-centric perfume for the winter makes this the perfect cool-weather easy reach. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Elizabeth Strout books are fun to read if you want something quick for the holidays. They have a colloquial style that lends them a gossipy tone which makes it easy to get to know the characters and immerse yourself into their world. I finished Tell me Everything in two nights, and read I Am Lucy Barton yesterday. I’ve got The Burgess Boys too, and I’ll read that tonight. Each book stands on its own but the characters in all the books are connected. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
