Weekend incense via @santamarianovella1221 . These Armenian papers are a little sweeter than the Papier d’Armenie and I have to say that I like the scent a bit better. The next time I’m at a Santa Maria Novella store, I need to ask them if they have a perfume version of these.
When is it the right time to wear a lush bouquet of white florals, like those in Do Son? I say anytime you want to smell classic, but my favourite time is the summer. Clearly, people wear Do Son year-round because Diptyque always offers it in limited-edition bottles, and this is the 2024 holiday version in the EDP concentration. This year’s holiday bottles feature gold lettering on glass. The EDP bottles still have a black border which is how you can tell them apart from the EDT bottles. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Before getting this bottle, I’d only worn the EDT, but I’m finding the EDP to be bigger and lusher. One spray fills the room, and I get whiffs of it off my sleeve throughout the day. Do Son is a tuberose and jasmine on a humid day, the flowers heavier because of the moisture in the air. I like both versions but this is the one to get if you want a stronger scent although it also feels more linear because it’s missing the creamier coconut lactonic parts of the eau de toilette. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Available for a limited time and then gone forever. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When I heard that Glossier was coming out with new perfumes, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I tried them. I had already been a fan of You. I thought You Doux would be for me – the notes said incense – but one spray of You Reve and I smiled. There it was: the cherry-almond note of my dreams. It reminds me of Bakewell tarts, and if you’ve eaten them, you know that neither the cherry nor the almond resembles anything commonly found in nature, but that’s what makes them perfect. There’s a bit of bitterness paired with a fruit note that keeps this interesting. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If Reve fails, it’s because of the marketing. They’re calling this a “lush, dreamy gourmand” with notes of buttercream and plum butter, and it has none of the above. Reve does smell of Bakewell tarts, which, I guess, makes this a gourmand, but there’s such a tiny amount of sweetness that it pales in comparison to the gourmands of today, which are so sweet that they’ll give you a cavity. I like Reve but that’s because I’m not a gourmand person. I eat dark chocolate and drink my coffee black. I’ve always preferred a moderate amount of sugar in my perfumes, and Reve gives me just that. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I guess that’s the other problem with Reve – it’s a little of this, and a little of that, and not very much of anything, so where does it belong in our world of extremes? It’s You Reve… whatever.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Oh yes, I did buy this, not gifted.
Gorgeous holiday makeup from Canadian brand Watier Official, formerly Lise Watier. 
Katie Jane Hughes launched her own brand KJH Brand, and here are the Soft Smudge Lip and Cheeks sticks on my skin. You can see that they have a unique texture – they go on soft and sheer and you can build to stronger colour. That’s the trademark of a product developed by someone who knows makeup well – it’s easier to add colour than to take it away.
These come in 5 shades:Soft CoralSoft PinkSoft TomatoSoft RaisinSoft BerryThe only one I wouldn’t wear is soft coral but all the others worked well with the makeup I normally do. If you have a medium skin tone (I’m usually medium or medium-warm in every brand) then these will work on you just like they do on me!I’ve been watching Katie do makeup for years and would be inspired by a makeup tutorial first thing in the morning during the pandemic. I’m loving wearing these.
Hopefully, seeing the colour on a real person helps you figure out how it would look on you. Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Stix – these came out in August and I’ve been seeing them everywhere. The formula is glossy but also super moisturizing and cushiony. Honestly, as much as I love an old school lipstick, I love that these are easy to swipe on and have the pigment of a lipstick with the moisturizing of a gloss.
I tried on Keep it Fu$$y and High’Biscus – they’re both easy to wear although I think the first is going to be more popular because it’s such a natural colour.
Drugstore makeup is hit or miss. Either the colours are off, or the formula, yes, even when it’s one big conglomerate that owns all the brands. But these NYX Buttermelt bronzers are good, even though I couldn’t find a perfect match for my Chanel bronzer. They come in so many colours and are highly pigmented. If you work in layers and aren’t used to the pigmentation, this will take a bit of getting used to, but once you figure it out, and see that they last the whole entire day… it’s perfection. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The colours are a little on the pink/red side, but there are lots of options. The naming system makes it easier to choose a colour. The colours go from light – medium – dark, with cool and warm options available. I like 04 (Butta Biscuit, medium rosy warm) but 05, and 03 aren’t bad either. They are giving my Chanel Bronzer a run for its money, but I do prefer a warmer bronzer as opposed to a cool-toned one, so I’m not getting rid of this one just yet. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Filthy Musk is part of the latest launch of three perfumes by the Korean brand BORNTOSHANDOUT. The collection is called Raw Seduction and has the gourmand elements that this brand is known for, but also an overdose of animalic notes. In this case – as the name suggests – a dirty old-school musk that sits under a bright and sweet pineapple. It is the most masculine of the three in the collection, potent but without boring aroma chemicals that overpower the composition.
If you were wondering what happened to the white bottles that the brand is known for, they’re still around, but this picture is of their travel-size bottles which come in a generous 15ml size. The bottles are refillable but still have their own unique aesthetic that makes them worthy of being displayed. Of course, they’re easy enough to throw in your handbag, but I know that I won’t be shoving this into my desk drawer when I’m not using it. And! The bottles are refillable.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I smell like a rich lady on a private plane, but my breath is fresh from the mints in my bag, a small banal thing that connects me to everyone else. The tropical island I’m on is redolent of rich scents – a custardy blend of florals that are warmed by the sun. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you had asked me last week what I thought of Ylang Ylang as a note, and whether I was interested in it, I would have shrugged my shoulders. To me, it always appeared as an accent to other florals, lightening up any richness with its mentholated qualities, cutting through indoles. In Ylang Ylang Nosy Be, the floral shines on its own, being almost bubblegummy, and with a vanillic drydown. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This scent is unabashedly tropical but without even a hint of sunscreen. Remember, we’re not at a beach, we’re on a hot island, and it’s the tropical vibes that makes me keep reaching for it even though we’re officially in “sweater weather”. It doesn’t feel beachy or summery, it just smells sunny, golden, and happy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Perris Monte Carlo Ylang Ylang Nosy Be, named after the island Nosy Be in Madagascar. I’ll be wearing this all winter. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Hima Jomo Loon is still one of my favourite perfume discoveries of the year. On the back of my bottle (and on the website, if you happen to check it out), there are coordinates. I missed them originally but then saw them as I was looking at the pretty bottle in my hand. I put them into maps and saw that they’re the coordinates for the Kewra Salt Mines in Pakistan. Now, I can visualize the area that the Hima Jomo people had in mind when they created Loon. Maybe it’s a romanticization of a concept, but I’ll take it, it’s a nice touch. ⠀⠀
Loon, again, means salt in Punjabi and the scent is inspired by Pink Himalayan Salt. There’s a salt-like accord that runs through the scent from beginning to end. It opens with Cypress which gives it an almost minty freshness. The rose accord is tart, not exactly lush and opulent, almost hinting at the barrenness of the place. Vetiver and cedar in the drydown are cooling and the feeling I get throughout wearing this scent is that of a cool wind in the summer – kind of what you feel when you go to the mountains in the summertime. They’re significantly cooler than the cities, and refreshing. The air is reviving, and that feeling is captured in Loon but combined with a mineral feel that brings you back to the land.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
While I like the contrast of the two, they also go so well together because you can’t have one without the other. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
