Givenchy III Perfume

TextI got it from my momma…Literally…I was going through a box from the back of a drawer over Christmas and found this empty bottle of Givenchy III… at first I couldn’t believe she held on to it…but also, it’s totally something I would do, so I’ll hold on to it for her. I can still smell an 80’s floral chypre when I put my nose up to the bottle and it turns out that this is easily found on eBay… very likely this little bottle came as part of a gift set…I’m officially team keep the empty bottle. What team are you on?

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Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady Review

Just can’t let it go…

Spicy rose is what I smell and taste like today. Refreshing and delicious at the same time. I let it go but it came back to me…Maybe for right now, it’s just meant to be… a forever perfume if there ever was one. But Portrait of a Lady needs to stop being on all the top 10 rose perfumes list.

Anyone expecting a fresh garden rose will be disappointed. It’s a dry herbal rose blended with pepper, cinnamon, and clove, at once homely and exotic. The spicy rose blended with patchouli, sandalwood, and a bit of incense the kind of perfume I can never get sick of.

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Fenty Skin Pre-Show Glow Review

Remember those scrubby gloves you used in the shower or that scrubby cloth? Well the new Fenty SkinPre-Show glow comes with that and they recommend you use it once or twice a week gently in your skin.

I don’t know how I feel about that but I will update. I’ve got the mini version.

The update is that this actually didn’t bother my skin as much as I thought it would, but I do like to wash it regularly and so usually use this glycolic acid treatment with my regular reusable cotton wipes.  It has worked at getting rid of some texture on my skin which I really like.

The liquid in this is kind of thick but that means that it doesn’t run off the cloth and stays on.  I do like that.

I think that there are a lot of options out there for a good glycolic acid, and this is one of them!

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Hair Oils I’ve Tried

TextA roundup of all the hair oils I tried in the past few weeks. Honestly, I’m sure I have the same hair as always, but probably more grey than anything else.

A lot of these oils are so expensive – over $50 and when I used them, I really thought that it might be better to get a cheap oil and just put the rest of the money towards a nice perfume.

Of all of these, my least favourite oil was the Balmyard one. I found that it made my hair crispy, even after I washed it off, so I think that blend of oils is film-forming. The Ouai oil has silicone in it, so it’s not really a true oil, but it’s the best for frizz. The Aesop oil is good for a nice head massage. Sahajan – well that’s my favourite. The UMA Oil was good because it washed out clean and that’s a priority for me. The castor oil is from Amazon.

Obviously, I didn’t use any of these long enough to be able to see a real difference in terms of growth or hair health. For that, I would need to use each oil for at least 3 months, and I’d need to develop a consistent way of measuring change. I’m not doing that, and I don’t think any of these oils advertise life-changing hair development. That being said, the ritual of giving your scalp a nice massage cannot be appreciated enough, and if you’re locked down like we all are right now, a little ritual like this one might just be the thing that saves you.

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L’Artisan Parfumeur Coeur de Vetiver Sacre

TextPerfume today is L’Artisan Parfumeur Vetiver Coeur Sacre. Are old bottles > new bottles? I like the old ones… wish I had held on to more of them. Anyway, I needed something chill, I was expecting the worst but it was a completely normal day and I’m so thankful for that.

This perfume is a nice tall glass of unsweetened iced green tea. Normally, I wouldn’t wear it in the winter but I wanted to surprise myself and I need a refresh.

But this is the perfect summer scent because it’s light and you can refresh often, and I kind of like that in the summer. Putting it away for now and pulling it out in a couple of months.

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Dior Eau Noire

An Indian-seeming scent if there ever was one: DiorEau Noire.

TextIt’s a celebration but also super understated and elegant.

When I have such a strong connection from a scent to something I know well, I wonder if the perfumer knew or had any idea. It’s such an intense connection that I can’t shake it, and I love it.

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Zoologist Camel Review

TextCozy vibes with Zoologist Camel. I am going through my 10ml pretty quickly and enjoy this scent so much. Don’t be put off by the name. It doesn’t smell like a camel, more like where the camel is taking you to. Maybe a sunset gathering in the desert, to sit on a blanket, eat date cake with your friends, feel the warmth inside and out.

It’s getting cooler here day by day, but we’ve had the longest fall I’ve ever experienced in all the time I’ve been in Calgary. Still, it’s negative temperatures at night now, so the snow isn’t far away.

How are you staying warm?

You can find Zoologist fragrances on their website.

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Aveeno Restorative Skin Therapy Itch Relief Balm Review

I’m a little windswept, the sunrise, and Aveeno Restorative Skin Therapy Itch Relief Balm (gifted in the past, rebought now). It has a really mild numbing ingredient in it. The numbing is supposed to stop the itching and I find that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The itchiness is sometimes in your own head, right?What keeps me coming back is that the balm is thick but not greasy. You’re not going to feel a heaviness on your skin when you use this. Of course, unscented because that’s what irritated skin needs. The tube is small so maybe you’re just supposed to use this on certain areas but the texture is so nice that it’s tempting to use it all over.

Of course, it also has soothing oat extract in it, so that’s great for anyone who finds that calming to their skin.

I get it online.

 

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Selv Ritual Box for March

TextAnother month, another subscription box from a company called Selv Rituel. So many yummy things in this one but I haven’t had time to delve in properly. Can you see where they were going with this? The body care products in this box have a tropical theme… mango and passionfruit, and I found that even a tiny bit of the body cream scented the whole entire room. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

I love the concept of these boxes – a different theme each month and a mix of skincare and food just blend my favourite things together.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

You can find this box on their website. They are 100% vegan and everything smells really strong but also really amazing.  A tiny big goes a long way, so if you’re interested in the oils or creams that they offer, know that you probably won’t be applying them on your whole body.

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Empties: Amika, Naturally Serious Skin, MooGoo, Revlon. etc.

Wow, it must be Friday because I cannot get myself going today. But I’ve had a productive week, so I’m trying not to be so hard on myself. Here are some things I finished.

Ok, I loved all of these, except for 1, so I’ll talk about that first, and it’s in the second picture.

The little vial of Glam Glow charcoal vitamin C oil. Yep, you read that right, a vitamin C oil with charcoal in it. Like why? It’s awful, because charcoal is, of course, black or grey, and so you’re putting a couple of drops of a greyish oil on your face. At night it’ll get on your pillowcase, and in the daytime, it’ll be on your clothes. Hard pass. This was a free sample.

TextNow on to the things I liked!

MooGoo Natural Skin Milk Udder Cream. Thick and rich, the riches of the ones they offer, and my skin really likes milk protein in a lotion. Loved this. ⠀

Amika Soulfood Mask. Actually, this is just a silicone-rich mask and you could get something like it in the drugstore, so pass on this too.

Naturally Serious Skin Peel Pads and Peptide Cream. The Peptide cream is super rich and not for my skin, but I loved the peel pads. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Revlon eyebrow pencil. Yes! Of course, liked this. And there’s a brow powder in the middle so when I ran out of the pencil, I just used that.

Makeup For Ever Aqua liner in Deep Sea. I will forever prefer navy blue eyeliner because it just makes brown eyes pop. Try it! This one was good – it had a bit of shimmer so it wasn’t flat, and it lasted a really long time.

 

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