Halloween Make-Up Fun!

This year I had so many social obligations in October it made my head spin.  A lot of them were costume-related affairs -- parties, volunteering, work costume contest, etc.  While I admit it was initially daunting, it was also a great opportunity to stretch myself creative and, in terms of make-up, artistically. I started looking at costumes almost a month in advance and settled on sticking with costumes that used my own clothes and relied more on a little make-up magic to sell them than on buying anything.

In the end I settled on three completely different costumes, each with it's own separate make-up palette and scent profile.  I thought it would be fun to share these with you.

Costume Number One: Pop Art/Lichtenstein Girl


This was my big costume, the one that I wore to a costume party thrown by a coworker, and also the one I wore to work for the work costume contest. It was inspired by the artwork of Roy Lichtenstein, like this piece on the right.

I got the idea from looking at different make-up profiles on Pinterest and once it took root in my brain, it simply would not let go. I liked the bold colors.  I liked that I could wear my own clothes. And I liked that this costume did not require me looking like anyone else -- a celebrity or character -- just myself, but like a comic book version.


The most fun part of this Halloween costume was that instead of spending money on costume clothing that I will never wear again, I had an excuse to spend some money on fancy make-up from Sephora. Since this was going to be an intensive cosmetic effort, I knew it would take a lot of products, especially colors I don't normally wear from day to day.

Since I had a full day before the party, I took my time the first round, making sure I had a pretty good handle on the techniques before moving on.  I knew I'd have significantly less time when I tried again on the morning before work.  The following documents my process the first time through.

The first thing I did was thoroughly clean my face and moisturize.  I know that sounds simple, but if you're going to put on an epic amount of make-up, I wanted to make sure I wasn't all going to be going directly into my pores.  Then I put used MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microperfecting Primer in Mauve to help reduce any potential yellowing in my already pasty skin.  I already owned it for doing Gatsby period make-up earlier in the year, so I had it on hand. Then I put on my normal base, MAKE UP FOR EVER Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation in Ivory.  For me, this creates a pretty flat, pale palette.

Then I started in on the outlines.  I bought a brand new KAT VON D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, then promptly set it aside and pulled out the one I already owned.  I decided I would kill my old pen, and since this is by far my absolute favorite black eyeliner, I wanted to still have one when I was finished.

What do I love about it? It's basically like using a Sharpie on your skin. It's easy to use, waterproof, and yet still comes off quickly with a little eye make-up remover. I actually tried doing this with a cheap liquid liner first, and let me tell you -- it was worth using up an expensive pen to get the lines right. Since the Tattoo Liner dries almost immediately, it helps you avoid the crazy smeary mess of using a real liquid liner. Also if you screw up drawing the lines like I did, it allows you to remove small sections without a lot of weird smearing.

For my eye color, I used MAKE UP FOR EVER Pure Pigments in Yellow. I picked it despite seeing a lot of blues and purples in the photos online because it seemed super cartoonish, and it was a color I would never otherwise wear. The red lip was courtesy MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Intense in Moulin Rouge. I used a pop-up lip brush from Sephora to color in my lips and to leave the white spot, which was filled in with a cheap white eye pencil I had already.

For the white dots, which was by far the most time consuming part of the costume, I used MAKE UP FOR EVER Aquarelle in Pearly White. I chose this instead of white for the slightly reflective quality the pearlized white had.  I found a how-to online that recommended using the end of a brush or pencil to make the dots, and it was a great recommendation. 

This might be the one of the only products of the whole lot that wasn't 100% perfect for my purposes. It doesn't smear once it dries, but it does tend to flake.  This meant it tended to flake away and fade over time, but it was better than any of the smeary other make-up options I had looked at.

The other product that I wasn't thrilled with was ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Hypercolor Brow and Hair Powder in In The Pink. I should have known it wasn't going to go well with the word "hypercolor" involved, but I decided to try.  Part of the reason I chose the teal sweater for the party is that it was a high contrast color for the pinked hair I was sporting.  The problem with the hair powder is that it got just everywhere, even with me using gloves and covering myself with a towel like a cape.  It took several days to get the pink off the back of my neck; it looked like I had a weird sunburn. Also, I did not feel like it made enough of a difference for the time it took to put in and take out, so I skipped it the day I wore this costume to work.

The final results?  I wore the teal sweater on Saturday to the party and the black and white polka dots (below) to work.  I ended up taking third in the company costume party in large part because most people had no idea who Lichtenstein is or what pop art is. This is not a new costume choice phenomenon with me, as I have spent most of my life explaining my costumes to everyone. 

In the end, I was beat out by a group Duck Dynasty costume and a very impressive Star Trek/Zachary Quinto Spock.  But I had a lot of fun doing all my make-up, and that was really the point of it.  Besides, for the people who did get my costumes? I was getting amazingly positive feedback all over the place.

I wore different scents for the two different events.  For the party, I wore the period appropriate Worth Je Reviens, which I really enjoy. It was nice to feel like I'd stepped right out of the pages of a '60's comic book.

For the work day Lichtenstein, I wore Prada Infusion D'Iris. I picked it because I thought it was a fun, light, flirty scent that seemed like an olfactory equivalent of pop art. Given that irises are so often serious, expensive, exquisitely beautiful scents, I felt like Infusion D'Iris was captured the fun equivalent that Pop Art is, and yet manages to be good in its own right.

So there it is! Costume number one (and three) of four total dress up days this year.  How about you, dear reader? What scents do you think fit the theme of Pop Art girl?

Today you can call me Zelda, because I'm bringing all the Link-age.

Hello dear reader!

Today I'm going to offer you all this list of links of fun and interesting things, perfumey and non, that I have come across on the tubes during my long dark winter of plaguery. I recommend all the items on this list if you've got an hour to kill and want to do a little web exploring with me. This list is lovingly brought to you by me and my beloved elder cat, Terric.

~ First, let's talk about the perfume linkage:

While I was trying to defeat the plague, it appears everyone has released their winter 2013 lists, because there are a group of bloggers one could consider the Five Families of Perfume Blogging, and in case you haven't noticed, they tend to simulcast these things. Instead of rushing to give you mine, I'll give you a list of links to everyone else's and a few words of my own about each. Really nothing like critiquing the critique, is there? Yeah, I'm being lazy. Sorry.

• Angela of Now Smell This! gives us her list of Top 10 Scents for Winter.  I love this list, and would echo two of her choices: Annick Goutal Duel and Aftelier Wild Roses. If you've never read Angela's writing, she's terrific, and her regular posting day is Monday.  

• Grain de Musc also released its Winter Top 10. I can't really comment on this list because I haven't tried any of these scents, but the By Kilian's In the Garden of Good and Evil and Arabian Nights scents are already in my LuckyScent basket, so hopefully I'll get to those soon.

• Here you will find Perfume Posse's Top 10 Winter Scent List written complied from six of PP's fabulous bloggers. Of this list I'd endorse Bvlgari BLV Pour Homme, CB I Hate Perfume Winter 1972, and Le Labo Vanille 44. I still need to try Prada Candy.

• Bois de Jasmin's Favorite Fragrances for Winter Days includes a few personal favorites: Donna Karan Black Cashmere, DSH Perfumes Winter White (Holiday No. 4), and biehl parfumkunstwerke eo01.

• And last but never least, there is a winter scents offering from Tom of Perfume-Smellin' Things. Since Tom is located in So Cal, he admits there hasn't been a lot of call for wintery scents, but the comments mentioned Bal a Versailles, which I think is nice for February for all sorts of reasons (smexy!), and I have to give a winter shout out to this sexy scent, as well as Guerlain Shalimar, which I love in cool weather.

So there you have it. A list of wintery scents I like that are also endorsed by the Dons of perfume blogging. Can't beat that now, can you?

~ And while I'm on excellent perfume pieces, allow me to also recommend the following:

• In a Non-Top 10 Winter Scent list offering, this "Perfume Primer" piece of the "Much Maligned Fruity Floral"  from Perfume Shrine is great.   I myself have written two third of my own version championing those fruity florals I enjoy...and then left to malinger in the dusty corners of my hard drive.  Until I can get my act together, this is a good read. It also includes a lot of history of the development of the fruity floral that I was not previously fully aware of, so give it a gander.

• From Perfume Posse, there's a nice piece about the best perfumes not enough people know about.  I myself haven't found the hidden greatness of Puredistance, but I agree with a few of the others on this list.  In fact, maybe I'll make one of my own...

• Perfume-in-Progress has a brief but interesting piece on the artisanal business model of perfumery, with a link to an interview with Mandy Aftel wherein she reflects on her life as a independent business owner/perfumer.

• Also, I meant to share this super hilarious piece from Parfümieren months ago about the twelve step affirmation of perfume addiction. It is a truly great, and I am sorry I sat on it so long. (Ed. note: Sadly, this blog has gone private recently due to online harassment, so I've removed the link. It is too bad; it is a great site.)

And then there's the perfume SHOPPING! I offer the following:

• The lovely and talented Amanda at Essentual Alchemy wrote in with the following note:

As some of you know, Kevin had a difficult battle with cancer. About a week ago, Kevin caught one of the strains of flu that was going around, in spite of his flu shot. Who knew! While he's recovering I need to put my business into high gear, and generate fast income. 
So I'm here to offer a BOO FLU event - BOO FLU equals more good smells for you! For one week, starting Tuesday, Feb. 5 through Feb. 12. 

Here's a couple of options to play with me:   

~ Buy 4 EdP sprays, get 1 free!

~ I'll have a special coupon – Please use code: BOOFLU at checkout to receive 25% off your total.  

Need Valentine's Day gifts? I love putting together custom perfume packages for people. 

As a victim of this year's dreaded flu season, I feel Amanda's pain.  Also, cancer seems to be touching a lot of people in my life right now, so I have a special place in my heart for Amanda, Kevin, and Kevin's post-cancer health struggles. Hitting the BOO FLU event isn't just shopping; it's a mitzvah, and you get nice perfume as a bonus.

I have reviewed a number of Essentual Alchemy scents, so don't forget to check the review list.  

• Also, from the lovely Dawn Spencer Hurwitz at DSH Perfumes:

Love is in the air at DSH! It's our Valentine's Day Sale.

In the midst of the winter chill, we're staying cozy and warm with the delicious kisses of our favorite softly spicy and gourmand scents-- so perfect to celebrate Valentine's Day. St. Valentine, Piment et Chocolat, Vanille Botanique and our fab Les Rouges Collection Box top our fave picks and to make things even sweeter we're giving 15% off site wide through 2.18.13.

Just use coupon code: sweetheart13 for you or your sweetheart this Valentine's Day & share the love! 

I have reviewed a number of DSH Perfumes scents, so again don't forget to check the review list for suggestions. I'm doing a Valentine's recommendations post soonish as well, so keep an eye out for that.

In non-perfume related items, I found these interesting:

~ The Terror Of "Twin Peaks": His Name Is BOB presents a terrific piece on the mystery and terror that is Twin Peaks's accidental boogeyman. Massive spoiler for the initiated.  Massive.  Seriously.  This will ruin the series for you if you haven't seen it all the way through to the bitter end.  If you have, though, read away! Thanks to my friend and reader Anna F. for the link!

~ Dedicated Hunger Games fans found the Quarter Quell’s  arena shooting location on Google Earth. How freaking dedicated do you have to be to search the globe for that kind of image!?! So awesome. My hats off to those District 12 sponsors. I should be so lucky to have such fans some day.

~ A group of friends has spent the past 23 years playing an elaborate game of 'tag.' My favorite part is that the lawyer of the group drafted the "Tag Participation Agreement" and they all signed. Now that's some lawyering I can get behind.

~ This list of bizarre twists on classic fairy tales is at least partly familiar to me (Cinder is on my 'too read' list and El Hubs has collected Fables since it began – we both love it) but there are several I wasn't familiar with. I'm most intrigued by the western Snow White for I love the western motif, and I am definitely going to find a copy of Anne Sexton's Transformations. Poetry + reinterpreted fairy tales? I'm already in love.

~ The lovely Smith sisters, both Audrey and Ashley, sent me this great photo essay showing Former Secretary Hillary Clinton in every country she's visited as Secretary of State. Apparently she set a new record for foreign visits. Are you ready for the count? 112! Incredible. And all over the world, we had this smart, thoughtful, passionate, shrewd woman representing our country. I'm deeply proud she was our SoS.

~ If you like dystopian, paranormal & supernatural YA reads and you aren't already stalking HarperTeen's Pitch Dark Days site and following their twitter, you should be. My favs in this group are: Boundless, the conclusion of Cynthia Hand's Unearthly trilogy; Everbound. the sequel to Brodi Ashton's terrific Everneath; and Requiem the conclusion to Lauren Oliver's dystopian world where love is a disease. But I have to say, I find routinely new authors to love among the Pitch Dark Days collection, so get if you like your YA dark, then get thee to the website and start browsing!

~ Just in time for Valentine's Day, Crave Online brings readers this piece on six loving couples Marvel recently destroyed. I really enjoyed it, both for the couple histories, and for the critique of how hard it is to have a relationship as a hero, particularly if Jason Aaron has anything to do say about it. Reading all the way to the end certainly made me appreciate how easy David and I have it with our random arguments over whose turn it is to do some neglected chore. Also, it underscore that a love that last fifty years or more is bound to encounter big challenges, so be generous with one another and appreciate the time you have.  A good message as we approach the Cupid season, or any time of year, really.

~ Thanks to our lovely friend and reader, Jillian, for the link to this unique fashion tumblr, which provides outfits based on characters from literature. It is a great tumblr! I don't care what you're a fan of – they've got it. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Classic Greeks like Antigone 
• Modern YA favorites like Karou from Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone and District 12's gritty heroine, Katniss Everdeen 
• Harry Potter characters good/bad/ugly, like the loathsome Rita Skeeter 
• Classic literary figures like Street Car Named Desire's Blanche Dubois 
• Long time youthful favorites like Sweet Valley High's famous twinsome, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield 
• And last, but never least, in honor of my deep and unabiding love for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, the wonderful author Jane Austen. (Yes, they have all our Pride and Prejudice favs as well!)

The full character/outfit list is here.

Okay. That's it for me today. Hope this gives you lots to click through, keeping you busy and entertained until I return. Work is busy but good, in a trying-to-keep-my-head-above-water sort of way.

Until then, dear reader, don't forget to read deeply and smell pretty!

What's a man now? What's a man mean?

2011 Perfume Challenge Week 16: Monday, 4/25/11, to Saturday, 4/30/11

This week’s theme is a strange one, I’ll admit. What you have to understand is that I find the idea of policing gender through scent so fascinating. Why would we do this? What purpose does it serve? Are these scents actually connected to biological maleness in any way? Or is it simply that the areas of the world long dominated exclusively by men to maintain power structures (i.e. the “public” sphere) are typically decorated and occupied by items that carry these scents, such that we come to think of them as “masculine” scents when really we mean “scents associated with the trappings of power and influence in the public sphere”? FN1. And if that is the case, shouldn’t every feminist in the world be eschewing gourmands and florals while running straight for vetivers and tobaccos? FN2.

So this week, I’m trying out six stereotypical masculines to see which ones I find wearable because I like them as scents, trappings be damned. And the best part of this little experiment – at least 10ml of each one can be had for less than $20, and in some cases even an entire bottle is available for less.

We got style, baby, and we know how to use it.

Perfume Challenge Week 15: Monday, 4/11/11, to Friday, 4/15/11

Post early this week because I am off to Seattle for the weekend to celebrate my friend Becca's birthday. I'm stopping off at the in-laws tonight in Olympia, then heading to the big city tomorrow morning to spend two days eating cake, watching movies, going to Pike's Place market, and generally having a good time. I hope the rain lets up, but I'm not counting on it.

Monday: Kenzo Flower - Notes: Wild Hawthorne, Bulgarian Rose, Parma Violet, Cassia, Hedione, Cyclosal, Opoponax, White Musk, Vanilla. You've heard the expression "hit with the pretty stick"? Imagine the stick is a powder puff the size of your head and coated in cake flour. Being hit with that in the face is what spraying three tiny spritzs of Kenzo Flower felt like to me this morning. Seriously.

It was the perfume equivalent of of that moment from "I Love Lucy" where Lucy is working in a candy factory and gets hit in the face with flour. FN1. This isn't to say that I disliked Flower. In fact, here I sit about an hour later, surprised by how much I like it. It's definitely a powdery rose, and though I haven't tried them next to each other, in my mind I keep thinking it's a lot like Juliette Has a Gun Miss Charming (or should I say, Miss Charming is a lot like Flower, which was released in 2000, seven years before Miss Charming).

Three hours later: Flower has backed off considerably. Either that, of I've grown immune.

FIFTEEN hours later: Okay I have to mention this. I lay down for bed around 10:30. I sprayed three small sprays on Flower in around 7:30 a.m. As I fold my arms beneath my head, I get this gentle puff for flower prettiness and at first I can't remember where it came from. Then I remember -- I'm still smelling Flower! Note of warning: this one will be with you all.day.long.

Talking about Flower, Bois de Jasmin wrote "Flower is a beautiful example displaying that an impressive sillage and tremendous lasting power do not have to conflict with a nuanced and delicate overall impression." I love that assessment because it sums up my feelings exactly. It's a well-made, pretty scent that lasts and lasts. You just have to be comfortable with your perfume arriving five minutes before you and lingering long after you've departed. An unexpected 3.5 - 4 of 5 nods.

Tuesday: Le Prince Jardinier Labyrinthe Libertin - "Notes: bergamot, caraway, mint, artemisia, basil, orange blossom, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, violet, marigold, cedar, vetiver, iris, boxwood, amber and musk." Advertised as a "green floral," Labyrinthe Libertin is is an earthy floral that still has those clean notes you expect from jasmine, which is the dominate note for me. About a half-hour in, if you shove your nose right up against it, to really breath it in, I get the cedar/musk/vetiver lurking beneath. It makes it a surprisingly warm soapy floral in a way that diverges from the usual spin. ("Throw some dirt in there! More patchouli and moss! We need more moss!") FN2. Round the forty-five minute mark I also got some violet. It's layered with a lot of other things, though, so if you don't normally like jasmine, you might like this one if you approach it with an open mind and willing nose. A nice little scent that I see popping up a discount places around the tubes. If you like florals, I saw the 3.4 oz of this one available for $45, which is half the original retail. Try and it and buy it soon -- I don't expect it to be around much longer. 3.5 of 5 nods.

Wednesday: Red Flower Champa - Notes: Champa flowers, mimosa, jasmine, osmanthus, rose geranium, ylang ylang, palmarossa, clove bud. As a perfume oil, I always find Red Flower organics light but long lasting. If I told you it reminded me of the smell of sweet skin, like that great smell babies have, would that put you off? There was a time when that description would have brought a disgusted crinkle to my nose. I barely remember that time now, like it was another woman in another world.

I think the scent is nice and different from a lot of other things I sniff, but I can't decide if I like it. I think I do? It's so light it's hard to get an impression one way or another. One minute I get a smell one would expect if you made a tea exclusively from the skin of barely ripe peaches. In another I moment I get more green and geranium, and it runs toward the dry herbs and plantlike with fruit around the edges. It's solid and pretty, just very gentle.

If you like subtle, non-aggressive scents, this might as well be holding down the other end of the spectrum from Kenzo Flower. I can attest to the long lasting power of the roll-on perfume oils, because I have the Guaiac. I haven't tried the perfume concentrate sprays, so if you have, I'd love to hear from you. 3 of 5.

Hideous!

Thursday: Pilar & Lucy Tiptoeing through the chambers of the moon - Tuberose, amber, other unidentified notes. The opening on me is a whirl of sugar-free grape lollipop and green tea soda. If I were to peg it to a tuberose, I'd have to say it reminded me more of Prada Infusion de Tubereuse than Robert Piguet Fracas. You know what else I get around the ten minute mark? Civet. And while others might turn away from those fertilizer like base notes, I shove my face further into my arm. If only that part lasted! After about an hour, the amber is stronger than anything else, taking up 70% of the space, with 29% remaining for the balance of tuberose and a meager 1% left for anything else. Also, I completely agree with Scentsibility about the packaging on this one. Yick. (I admit to liking the name, though.) 2 of 5 nods.

Friday: Parfumerie Generale L'eau de Circe - Notes: Damask rose, jasmine, osmanthus, orchid, ylang ylang, white peach leaves, tangerine, patchouli, wood, amber and honey balm Apples, strawberries, peaches and tangerines -- oh my! This is one super sweet fruit cocktail of an opening, sliding within minutes into a powdery presentation of the same. It's so light and sweet I keep thinking it must have been designed for little girls to wear during First Communion and while tossing flower petals at weddings. I know a lot of people love this one, but I just don't see it. It reminds me the disappointment I felt when they made that Nancy Drew movie a few years ago, and Nancy was this wide-eyed innocent, naively placing herself in danger, instead of the intelligent, bold, tough little cookie I loved in the original novels as a girl. Give it a whirl if light, sweet, and innocent floats your boat. If you're looking for Circean  seduction, look elsewhere. 2 of 5 nods.

Winner of the Week: I can't believe it -- Kenzo Flower emerges the winner.  I can tell you I did not expect that on Monday.  I think I'm going to have to pick up a small bottle next time I hit Sephora.

"You and me, we couldn't stand being normal
That's why we, make a good you and me
We both laugh, at the most random situations
That's the key, baby don't you agree?"
~ "You and Me," Plain White T's
___________________________
FN1. While the whining can be grating sometimes, Lucille Ball was a physical comedy genius. Every woman who wants to be funny should watch at least ten episodes of "I Love Lucy." Tell your friends.

FN2. I love dirt/earth notes in scent. LOVE THEM. Probably the easiest way to sell me something is to "throw some dirt in there." That said, it's getting a little played out because it seems like "earthy" or "dirty" is the way to make a complex or 'alternative' model of something otherwise common, like they think they can put a bird on it (see video below) and it suddenly it becomes edgy.

Photos: mtoo, Pilar & Lucy website, and I Love Lucy. Video from IFC

Scheme just for a sight of you...

Monday, 2/7/11, through Friday, 2/11/11

My view on the way out
to work this week,
inspiring my Friday choice...

Monday: Ave Luxe No. 23 - Notes: unique blend of Sandalwood, Hawthorn blossoms, Acacia, Rose, Himalayan Geranium, Lavender, and Musk  

Right from the beginning, the musk is evident. Despite the sandalwood and rose, it's not overly sweet, the bulk of the floral notes coming from the geranium and lavender. Pretty quickly No. 23 moves into the incense and wood category, but those geranium/lavender notes are still hiding underneath there.  The overall effect is not overly powdery. I threw it up against Comme des Garcons x Artek because I was feeling like they were similar from my week old memory. This is sweeter and more feminine where CdG x Artek feels strong and cold. While CdG x Artek is tall and angular and full of sunshine like glass and steel architecture, No. 23 is soft and cozy, like a fleece blanket or your favorite worn t-shirt, soft and stretchy from one hundred washes. While the wood is at the forefront in Artek, with sandalwood is at the fore in No. 23.  I like it.  3.5 of 5.

Tuesday: Prada L'Eau Ambree - What a nice, light amber! L'Eau Ambree is not overly sweet, but instead tempers the traditional sticky sweetness you expect from an amber with a lemony citrus note. It keeps the whole thing very fresh and summery, which I don't find in a lot of ambers. It's not overly feminine, either. I feel like you could easily convince a mildly metrosexual guy to wear this one (say, as a gift?).

Like so many Prada scents, it has good staying power while still being a light scent. I put it on eight hours ago and I can still detect a nice mild waft. Sometimes I think that's the genius of the Prada model. Make it nice and not overly powerful or assertive but long-lasting, then sell it in ginormous volumes for not much money so people will apply liberally. If you're trying to become someone's department store-grade signature scent, this is a good approach, in my opinion.

And while we are on the topic of Prada: Why is it that Prada is so good at doing a moderate to high quality scent unlike so many other comparable lines? Whatever they've got going in their labs, other department store lines should take the hint. I own three different Prada scents (Infusion d'Iris, Infusion de Tubereuse, and Prada Pour Homme) and I like this one enough that if I found it for a reasonable sale price (which isn't unusual for Prada scents), I'd take it. It's not a scent that's going to change the world or stop someone dead in their tracks, but it is going to make the person sitting next to you think, "Hmm, that's a nice smell." 3 of 5.

Wednesday: Bond No. 9 Riverside Drive - Indie-style maleness, with a hint of Hudson River clearwater sloops. A woody-mossy masculine classic, updated with contemporary aqua accords and a hint of exotic fruit for cool crispness. Notes: Basil, pineapple, sandalwood

I'm pretty upfront on my lack of love for aquatics generally, which means I find over half the men's scent market boring at best and kind of offensive at worst. I don't hate them; I even like some on occasion, even enough to own. But generally, it's not a good basic structure for me to start with.

Riverside Drive is your stereotypical masculine aquatic that comes off ho-hum at first but gets interesting because of the inclusion of some sweet fruity middle notes that leave too soon, and then fades back into the stereotype. Because the sweet middle is nice, the overall effect ends up feeling like a missed opportunity.

Eight hours later... Damn. Eight hours later and I have to come back and revise -- the damn thing grew on me, like a fungus.FN2 I caught a whiff f it much later and thought, wow, that's nice, what is that? Then realized it was me. The slightly sweet part appears to have returned! Still not super unique, but nice enough to make me notice when I wasn't paying attention, and that's something, I suppose. For what I'm pretty sure is the first time, I grant thee an UPGRADE: from a 2 to a solid 3 of 5.

Thursday: Andrea Maack Craft - Notes: aldehydes, elemi, cold metal, ice, cedarwood and patchouli."FN1 How to describe Craft....well first off, I'm definitely getting the aldehydes, and in that way it's like Chanel No. 5, which anchors the smell of aldehydes in my mind, and by which all over aldehyde scents shall be measured. It's most like the No. 5 EdT because the floral notes are weakest in the EdT in my opinion, and this isn't floral at all. It's also not warm in any way, so I can see the "cold metal" part of the description, but I wouldn't think of it as a summer scent at all.  It's cold for cold; austere.  While marble; an impersonal interaction with an frigid hostess at a five star  restaurant.  It's a nice experience, though, so just like that hostess, the coldness is worth getting over so you can get to the meat of the experience, which is enjoyable.  Craft is pretty uniform through out, from application to dry down, but it has decent staying power and interesting enough that it will keep you sniffing at it even without a lot of movement. 3.5 of 5.

Friday: Guerlain L'Heure Bleue - Pass day. Because I was feeling bleue, I guess. Go here for my full review.


"I've flown around the world in a plane.
I've settled revolutions in Spain.
The North Pole I have charted, 
but can't get started with you..."
~ "I Can't Get Started With You," Ira Gershwin

_________________________
FN1 I am informed elemi is "a resin with scent of spicy citrus." Thanks Annelie.
FN2 This is not an insult. I know a girl whose whole life is dedicated to fungus, and I adore her. When she showed up at my house on Halloween dressed as a mushroom, throwing flour at people to spore them, the costume made her so happy she cried. I liked people who are so open to joy moving them, they cry. She's good people; and I like fungi better for knowing her.

I don't have forever, but I'll live like I do.

Prada Infusion de Tubereuse 

So let's talk tuberose.

I have 15 ml bottle of pure parfum Fracas, which I love and were often.  That said, with pure parfum Fracas, that tiny bottle is likely last me a lifetime of super strong buttery rubbery tuberosey scent.   In fact, it was Fracas that convinced me tuberose could be wonderful when so many previously encountered tuberose scents had left me cold.

So let's fast forward to me killing an hour in Nordstrom while waiting for some friends to meet me for happy hour.  Jo Malone's ridiculously expensive effort to take over the entire internet one banner ad at the time meant all three sales associates were swamped, so I steered clear of the counter completely.  

I wandered past the Hermes collection and after trying Hermes un Jardin sur le Nil (I read Chandler Burr's The Perfect Scent last year and wanted to sniff for myself) knowing that come Spring I'll head back for a bottle. But this is fall, damnit, and despite it being sunny and 80 degrees out yesterday (back down to a blissful rainy 60 today, thankyouverymuch) I wanted a scent for fall.  I wandered past the Annick Goutal sales woman who tried to press a collector's edition bottle unsniffed on me after I mentioned I owned several of the line, then headed over to the Prada shelf because I had not tried the vetiver or tuberose.  I love Infusion de Iris; I hate Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger.  So I was feeling pretty much like this one could go either direction.

Prada describes Infusion de Tubereuse as follows:

A playful tuberose mosaic inspired by an archive Prada print adorns the outer packaging, its charming naivety a reminder of the playfulness within. Instead of green, the leaves appear to have been dipped in a degrade mauve ink. Tuberose from India: Tuberose is a symbol for creation, intoxicating and penetrating. In Infusion de Tubereuse, the flowers are delicate and young, like morning buds not yet touched by the sun. Petitgrain Bigarade: Made from the leaves of the bitter orange tree, petitgrain bigarade is reminiscent of fresh green leaves after the rain. Blood Orange from Italy: Juicy citrus notes of blood orange from Italy are blended with precision to give a sparkling freshness to the tuberose. Dynamone: A rare and luxurious ingredient in perfumery, dynamone brings sensuality to Infusion de Tubereuse. Its woody notes bring the citrus and floral notes into harmony, enabling this fantasy infusion.

So let's talk about the Prada, particularly in comparison with Fracas.  Fracas is a demanding tubereuse.  Sure, it's beautiful.  But it is big.  It's bold.  It's in your face.  Fracas demands you take notice of it, that you live up to it.  Wearing Fracas takes commitment, because you will still smell it hours later, still strong and sultry, still wanting you to be good enough for it.

That's a lot to ask from a perfume wearer, particularly when days get short, the skies get darker, and the flu starts your back muscles aching.  In my opinion,  Infusion de Tubereuse is a really good starter tubereuse, particularly if you stick your nose deep into Fracas pure parfum and all you think is "sour grape koolaid."  The orange blossom in  Infusion de Tubereuse is evident to me, providing a dry crisp edge.  Where Fracas seems like this intense distillation of the beauty of nature,  Infusion de Tubereuse seems like a lighter, modern version of the same, as if someone painted a modern painting of the same field of flowers that you make Fracas from, and you could wear that painting.  

Lots of people have had not so great things to say about Infusion de Tubereuse (see below).  I really liked it through.  No, it's not perfect.  Infusion de Tubereuse does not last as long as Fracas.  Objectively, it isn't as beautiful as Fracas.  But  Infusion de Tubereuse is a nice starter scent in the tubereuse family, one that can be easily worn, doesn't expect too much, and provides a light accent to your already simple and chic cardigan and skirt set, like the addition of a pair of funky earrings or a vintage brooch.  You wear it, rather than it wearing you or the two of you fighting for attention.  And sometimes that's plenty enough to make you love a nice not overly demanding scent.

You can buy Infusion de Tubereuse in 1.7 OZ for $74.00, 3.4 Oz for $100.00 and 6.75 Oz for $135.00. I got the mine as part of the summer promotional set, which came with a 3.4oz bottle of the scented lotion, for $100.00.

"I don't have a reason, but I live like I do
The sky could crash into the ground, and we like the view
The flood runs through the canyons in New York City
I know when the hurricane comes, it's comin' for me..."

 - "Perfect in my Mind," Gold Motel

Want more? Try

~ a review from Robin at Now Smell This!
~ a review from Perfume Shrine
~ a review from I Smell, Therefore I Am
~ a review from Bois de Jasmin
~ a review from Pere de Pierre

Dragged up from the underworld just like some precious pearl.

Le Labo Iris 39 EDP

According to Le Labo, Iris 39 is as follows:

Iris is one of the most precious essences in the world.

It’s the origin of the creamy and woodsy nobility of this exclusive fragrance. The best of the Patchoulis then waft in, bringing with them sensual depth. The perfume is reinforced by a musky base, our very own secret. The result is remarkable elegance.

Notes: notes as iris, lime, patchouli, rose, ylang ylang, musk, violet, ginger, cardamom, and civet.

Iris 39 is a unique take on a flower that is frequently presented in primarily a soliflore format. When I think of some of the popular irises out there - Prada Infusion d'Iris, Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, or L'Artisan Iris Pallida -- they seem to be more oriented toward adding only enough other notes to bring out the many facets of the beautiful and alluring iris.

Now I love these scents because I love irises and it is possible that I could own 100 slightly different iris soliflores and still want more. What I find notable about Iris 39, though that this is not really a soliflore. On me, the iris is very well-balanced against the violet and rose notes. Almost immediately on application the violet and rose comes in. After about thirty minutes, I get plenty of ginger, cardamon, and patchouli as well. Again, these spice scents are all very well-balanced, so that none of them overpower the others. The floral scents back down as the hours wear on and the spices come up a bit, and on the whole the effect is very nice.

This is a really different kind of iris in my opinion. I think it's one of the few that I think would make an excellent masculine because, despite being floral, it's got a nice sophisticated spicy mixture that makes it one of the few I think translates well to the male wearer. If you've tried some of the aforementioned oft lauded irises before and not really enjoyed them, then you should give this one a try. If you love the more soliflore irises, you should try this one because it will make a alternative to what you normally expect when you think "what a lovely iris!"

You can buy Le Labo Iris 39 EDP in 50 ml bottle for $125. Iris 39 is also available in a balm, lotion, and oil.

"Can you see them?
See right through them?
They have no shield.
No secrets to reveal.
It doesn't matter what they say.
In the jealous games people play,
our lips are sealed."
- "Our Lips Are Sealed," The Go-Gos

Want more reviews? Try...
~ A review from the lovely Angela of Now Smell This!
~ A review from Bois de Jasmin
~ A review from Pere de Pierre
~ A review from the charming Divina at Fragrance Bouquet
~ A review from indieperfumes

Images courtesy of Le Labo and McAllister's Cyberspace Iris Garden.

The best laid plans...

Prada Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger

Last night, for lack of solid plans, a friend and I went to check out the Galleria, one of the bigger malls near my home. On my way through the Nordstrom there, I inquired, belatedly I admit, about the Prada Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger. Spray, spray, and away I went, sniffing my wrists throughout the hour and a half I spent wandering and window shopping.

Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger, according to Women’s Wear Daily, is one of the “Ephemeral Infusion” fragrances, designed to “evoke a light memory of the original ingredient”. The notes are Mandarin, Neroli (Top), Orange Blossom, Tuberose, Jasmine (Middle), Serenolide, Powdery Notes (Bottom). It is supposed to be derivative of Infusion d’Iris and Prada No. 4 Fleur d’Oranger.

Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is Prada’s first entry in the realm of the limited edition (LE) scent. As a collector by nature, I am a huge sucker for the limiteds. I was super excited to try this one. I love Infusion de Iris. I generally love citrus. You cannot imagine how disappointed I was.

I liked the opening bit, which to me was like the taste of biting into an orange rind – a little sweet, moderately citrus, and quite a bit of bitter pith. I imagined the bitterness would back of a bit to balance it out as I wore it. Ten minutes in, it hadn’t. The smell was definitely recognizable. “What is this?” I asked my friend, shoving my wrist under her nose. “It’s so familiar.” She agreed, but couldn’t place it either. So there, I am, wandering through the mall, deeply inhaling off my wrist like a coke addict at a Columbian drug lord's buffet line, while my friend – a non-perfumista – tries not to be embarrassed by this weird tick I’ve apparently developed – when all the sudden it hits me. “Aquanet!” Shoving my wrist in front of her again, I happily yelled, “It’s Aquanet right? Aquanet (Sniff!) and (Sniff! Sniff!) a little bit of orange rind?” She laughed and agreed.

At first, I was just thrilled to have placed it. Of course, a beat later I turned to her and said, “Who would pay so much to smell like a Southern girl’s head of big hair?” And it smelled big, too. It’s been three hours and the sillage is still hanging on. It’s less soap and hairspray now, and more musky, like the way a Southern girl’s big hair smells to her date at the end of the senior dance as opposed to the scent he catches at the beginning when they pose for a picture and he inconspicuously leans in to smell her, a smell familiar and exotic to the wild thump of a fifteen y.o. male heart. It’s not a bad smell, exactly, but not one I’d particularly seek out for the experience. There many be many people who love it; certain the myriad of reviews (see below) indicate mixed results. And about three hours later it got a little nicer as the soap backed off and the citrus came in more, but I, for one, do not wish to wait three-four hours to like something I'm wearing.

I recognize that LEs are a great marketing technique to catch suckers just like me. At the same time, just because everybody else is doing it, does not mean everybody should. Infusion d’Iris is just so lovely. I like to think that if Prada had taken the time to tinker with this one until they got it right, rather than march it out for the four month blip it’s bound to be, it might have turned out a very nice fragrance, since the concept is an unusual treat. Great idea, but in this instance it really falls flat on execution.

Want more review? Try...
~ Robin's review at Now Smell This!
~ review by Fragrance Bouquet
~ review by Nioi
~ review by Pere de Pierre
~ review by Perfume Shrine
~ review by I Smell Therefore I Am

Scent and Memory

Nava’s piece about the chaos in her personal life and its impact on her sniffer has gotten me thinking about the impact that our emotional state has on our sense of smell. Nava talks at length about how her emotional state is impacted by her shifted world view, which has expressed itself, among other ways, by changing her tolerance for certain fragrances. It got me to thinking about how our feelings and experiences are constantly causing us to reevaluate not just the present moment, but also the past. We look at what has gone before differently as we encounter new experiences. Hindsight, as it were. The past not only project forward, informing the now, but the now is constantly shifting our view of the past, like sand dunes in the wind, revealing new things to us, burying others. I wonder what, in time, I will think of the scents I wear now. I hope they will bring back fond memories, though I am sure that some of them, like certain songs, will remind me of sad moments or finished relationships. I wonder if Prada Infusion d'Iris will, like Catherine Wheel’s “I Want to Touch You,” make me nostalgic, or sad like Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” or make me blush even years after the blushable events, like Morphine’s “Buena.”

I always thought the way you talked was neat.
And I dreamed that when you speak, you speak to me.
But you're always out of reach
and I can't control my speech.
And I'm scared that when we meet, I'll want to touch you...

A Summer of Irises: Prada Infusion d’Iris

For several weeks I've been swapping back and forth between three irises. The first, L'Artisan's Iris Pallida, I wrote about almost a month ago now. (Sidebar: Work has kept me so busy!) The second, and far more readily available, is Prada's Infusion d’Iris.

Prada describes Infusion d’Iris as follows:

As elusive and unique as the precious ingredient from which it takes its name, Infusion d’Iris fuses tradition with idealism, heritage moulded to modernity, classicism reinterpreted through originality.

Infusion d’Iris is like a dream, an Italian voyage, an ambiance, the smell of soap, the clean scent of crisp linen sheets, and naked skin. It combines classic, exceptional quality ingredients from Italy such as the Iris Pallida from Florence and the warm top note glow of Sicilian mandarin. It expresses itself through its contrast between a great freshness and apparent lightness and a type of tender veil, sensual, and strong, that envelops the body and the clothing of the woman who wears the fragrance.

Infusion d’Iris evokes an ultra feminine experience set within a world of luxury and Possibility—quintessential Prada universe.

The notes of Prada Infusion d’Iris include mandarin, orange blossom, galbanum, iris, incense, benzoin, cedar, lentisc and vetiver. The Eau de Parfum can be found at Neiman Marcus.

On me, Infusion d’Iris begins with a little bit of a back of the throat twinge, but one different from Iris Pallida. This is a tickle, as if, upon thrusting one's face into a bouquet of irises, one breathed in a little pollen and suddenly found themselves powdered as well. It is a tiny bit peppery, rooty, and even a little waxy.

On dry down, this saucy number softens a bit on me to about half its original umph. Still a little spiced, it becomes less rooty and earthy, and more sweet. It reminds me a little of the taste of candied ginger or spiced candied nuts.

Infusion d’Iris is not the indulgent, tragic super-sophisticate that is Iris Pallida, but that does not seem to matter. This effort is so entirely different it almost seems a different flower, related but nonetheless singular. To me, it is like the difference between the bored way a young woman, full of life and ignorant of her own mortality, mentally drifts away to more pleasant pursuits at a Spring funeral, while the elder widow looks at her spouse and finds herself rooted to the receding vistas of her own invincible youth. Where Iris Pallida demands gravitas, Infusion d’Iris is vivacious and lively. Certainly, everyone has room in life for both kinds of moments.

But don't take my word for it -- here's Robin's review from Now Smell This! and a review from Bois de Jasmin. Prada Infusion d’Iris is available at Neiman Marcus and also from discounters (I'd check the discounters first).