Grace Notes @ Snarkattack

A while back, I decided to try out yet another beauty e-tailer that specialises in fragrance, and mineral makeup. I didn’t order any of the mineral makeup – just a few fragrance vials, and some bath and body products. Now it’s time for the report.

The three fragrance vials I chose were Orchid Mist, In Yoku (Lust in Japanese, supposedly) and Sweetest Dreams.

Today, I’m wearing Sweetest Dreams – described by the maker Fyrinnae as ‘beautiful freesias with a background of other light flowers, on a bed of sweet cream’. On my skin, though I’ve not been wearing it very long, it is definitely floral and I can smell the beginnings of the freesia and even lilac undertones but initially it reminded me of Fruit Tingle sweets – very sherbet-like, and citrusy. I like it very much but it may be a tad too ‘girlie’ for me.

Orchid Mist, represents ‘the slightly musky and damp scent of wild purple orchids’. This is easily my favourite out of the lot though it’s still not as floral as the name would indicate – it has a lot of fruitiness in it. I prefer this scent in their rich body cream as it’s creamier and the fruitiness is tamed. Nothing about this fragrance is overpowering – it’s very enticing.

In Yoku – where ’sensual fragrances like honey, sandalwood, hyacinth, and rose come together in a captivating, feminine blend’ was dreadfully unsuitable for my body chemistry. It attacked my sense of smell from the moment I put it on and was just too overpowering despite my frugal application. It had to be dowsed down with Kenzo Eau de Parfum. It sounded like it’d be right up my alley but that wasn’t at all the case.

I have still to try the Mayan cocoa bath bombs I got from them, and gave my mother the Gothic Aristocrat soy and shea lotion which made me gag – it was like one of those old lady scents tainted with an insane amount of stale cigarette smoke. Again, not suitable for my body chemistry. Fyrinnae labels it as ‘more sophisticated than the EGL fragrance, this captures the scents of a glass of wine and jasmine flowers with a soft, seductive base’ (no, I don’t know what EGL is, I’m afraid). I do not at all agree with this given description and cannot wait for even my mother to finish this lotion because it really hurts my head and tummy. Ugh, how can a non-fecal scent be so offensive?

I got my first bathtime freebies for reviewing last week after making a pit-stop to my house and grabbing the requisite postage slip and juggling various things at the post office. It was a package from Lush! Some nice treats for review purposes: Black Pearl & Romance In A Stone bath ballistics and Temple of Truth & Marathon bubble bars. Mmm…!

So me and NMD thought this was pretty bloody cool. He’s looking through the Lush catalogue that came with the products and spots a product that might be of use to him. The dialogue that ensued was roughly as follows:

NMD: Hm, I could use that.
me: What? (concentrating, driving)
NMD: Scalp massage stuff. Hmm. (reading product description) Yeah, I get a bit of a flaky scalp now and then [me: not just scalp...haha, try generally speaking!]
me: Oh, well I can always get you some. See, they even have stuff to tempt the lads! Lush has something for everyone. (Approach long stop light) Let’s see, then. (Turns paper towards me) Ohh, hon, that’s just hair conditioner. But still, can’t hurt to try.
NMD: (groans) Uhh…conditioner?!?! Well, there goes that then.

me: Huh?
NMD: Well, I’m not using shampoo at the moment so what need will I have for conditioner?! (exasperated)
me: (big groan) Grr, maybe you should change that policy and start using it again!!! Please?
NMD: (ponders) Nah.
me: Ugh
NMD: (mocking laugh) Heh heh heh…

End of scene.

I don’t get guys. They’re infuriating, but funny. Well, some are. If they’re infuriating and funny it’s cool. Infuriating by itself isn’t so crash-hot.

There’s nothing like a weekend of complete and utter slobbery to cheer a girl up. I haven’t been this regular-person happy to be spending time alone since…I don’t even remember.

I’ve only been waiting 6 years! Anyway…

Managed to try out a few products this week, not as many as I’d like, of course.

Lush ‘Fever’ massage bar – oh my! This has a heavenly scent that you want to get all over your bedsheets! No, you don’t at all need to have someone to massage you. Just rub it on your body as it’s pretty much solid oils that melt with your body heat, and think of it as a moisturiser. It’s extremely floral and a tad powdery and it’s still lingering on my bedsheets! It’s scented with rose, jasmine and sandalwood. Very nice.

Pop Beauty Bee stung lip stain in ‘Velvet Sting’ – not another lip plumper! I’ve got pretty full lips, so any such product is going to make me look like I’ve been smacked in the mouth. But I loved the colour, medium-dark rose-pink or wine, really flattering colour for autumn. Unlike another lip plumping gloss I’ve tried, this one doesn’t sting or tingle like almighty… Not to mention, it works, makes your lips fuller without pain or surgery. But the brand is a tad expensive here. I do want the shade ‘Ruby Stain’ – a warm tomato-type red with slight gold shimmer.

Little Shop of Beauty Hula girl body souffle in Powder Puff – a light, silky body moisturiser that contains virgin coco de creme so I prefer this for summer, but it took a while to reach me. The scent, as the name suggests is like baby powder, but a bit more perfumish. I love this brand – there is next to no preservatives in their products so you’ve got to use them up quickly, and your order is custom-made when received. A tad expensive, but well worth it, especially if you have sensitive skin!

Pretty small list, I should have jotted down other things I used as I can’t recall them all now. Whoops. There’s the week coming though!

A lonely Friday evening, what blissful delights can one conjure for solace?

Let’s tuck into the bath stash box and see, eh? But not without help from a lovely lady who sent an unexpected gift.

Yes, I have this box, and it houses my bath melts, sachets of additives and such. It was time for one of those pampering baths, and so I rummaged through it. Aha! Some Japanese bath salts scented with rose, that dyed the bathwater a vibrant pink. I looked at my body as it lay in the water – it seemed not my own, limbs rosy like the water.

The soap smelled edible – it was a piece of Lush’s ‘Emperor of Ice Cream’ buttercream (the name coming from a Wallace Stevens poem, which I’ve not read), and then after to make my skin soft, and the water milky I surrendered to yet another Japanese-style treatment: a small bag of muslin holds finely ground rice bran which is an excellent treatment for the skin, or can be added to the bathwater. This one was scented with fringed pink and had some adzuki. The fragrance is gentle, and complements the rose well. I don’t have very many floral-type lotions, but luckily have recently acquired Little Shop of Beauty’s hula girl body souffle (yes, the name is rather fanciful, but it’s lovely) in the scent ‘Powder Puff’. Needless to say, I retired smelling nice, and being extremely relaxed indeed.

But what of the present I received? I empty a padded envelope that bears a fair few objects, but two are of interest: a letter, encased in a handmade paper envelope and sealed…with wax! It seems of another world. It’s a beautiful sentiment. After I read that, I examine a paper tube which contains The Body Shop’s Magnolia EDP, the notes are as follows: ‘a classic sparkling floral fragrance that combines magnolia flowers and leaves from China with muguet, lemon blossom and white lily’.

Sadly, the citrus notes (which I imagine are the top notes) don’t die away enough for the heart and base ones to come through – but I’ll try it again in the summertime, when its warmer, floral notes are more likely to come through.

And what of the silly pink glittery puff in the attached image? They’re actually a pair of ear muffs, but I thought it might be fun to put them in the picture because they remind me of puffs that one uses for powder, or fluffy pink marshmallows. Mmm.

(well duh the photo’s mine…)

…for the sensory pleasures.

Man, rough week. I decided to haul some of my neglected girlie stuff out to cheer my spirits.

Yesterday’s shower was a foody one, I used Philosophy’s Vanilla cupcake 3-in-1 as my shampoo (so it smelled cakey) and Philosophy’s Hot cocoa 3-in-1 as my shower gel – this stuff really smells like cocoa! It reminds me of Ovalteenies. I wonder if they still sell those in the foldable foil packets? They were delicious! Then I applied my MOR Pistachio body butter which is delightful. It has something else in it scent-wise that isn’t pistachio – perhaps it’s more accurate to say it smells of pistachio gelati, mmm…conjures up trips to Brunetti’s in Carlton. Yum.

A friend sent me a sample of a fragrance I was dying to try – Fresh’s ‘Pink Jasmine’. Damn, I don’t have the card with the fragrance notes.

Guess I’d better get back to deleting stupid spam comments and hoping my admin will let me know what hours have been set aside for me, sigh.