March Monthly Favorites

I know. I know. I haven't posted in forever. But that's okay. This is the monthly favorites post and one of the only posts a month to even matter. I think I may need to post some recent buys and I will have an empties post coming up soon.

Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner: Oldie but a goodie. This is my favorite toner and I'm already halfway through this bottle. I think because I've been using only this toner that I might start using some others that are almost gone so that I can get rid of some things before we move.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs, and Rosewater: I've had this kicking around for a few months and I've used it off and on. I had been using Fix+, but I like this to take away the powdery look on my face and it's much less expensive than the MAC one. The only thing I don't care for is the strong smell, but it does go away.

Clinique Acne Solutions All-Over Clearing Treatment: I've been mixing this with my Benton Snail Bee Steam Cream that should have probably been in this post, but was forgotten. I think the benzoyl peroxide in this helps keep my skin clearer than salicylic acid.

Skinfood Milk Shake Point Makeup Remover: This is a dual phase makeup remover that I end up using daily. When I ran out of my Missha cleansing oil, I opened a new one that doesn't take off my mascara and also burns my eyes. What I've ended up doing is not even using the cleansing oil and I've just been using one cotton pad of this to take off all my makeup. I'm sadly almost out of this and may have to just try another different cleansing oil. 

Missha Super Aqua Fresh Cleansing Milk: This is not the cleansing oil I was just talking about, but it's the same thing. It doesn't take off my eye makeup at night, but it's a great waterless cleanser for the morning. I used this when my skin was really dry and I didn't want to strip it with soap. I also use this as a hand cleanser when my hands are dry since it is like a lotion.

Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser: I've been using this cleanser off and on since I bought it in the summer, but I really liked it this month. I felt like I had been wearing more makeup and this cleanser really deep cleans and chemically exfoliates. I try not to use it more than 2 or 3 times a week because I don't want my skin to get irritated.

Skin79 Super Plus BB Creams in Green and VIP Gold: I should have included my beautyblender again this month, but I took pictures quickly and forgot. I just want to reiterate that I'm super surprised that these are still around. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when these both run out, so I'm not complaining. I feel like nothing else blends like these BB Creams, but I know I'm going to fall back on my Face & Body foundation in a month or so. I've also been loving the green one under my eyes because it's a lot lighter and blends really nicely under my eyes.

MAC Skin Base Visage: I keep thinking this is also going to run out. I'm waiting for my skin to be ready for a silicon based primer and have been using this for a couple months now. I really like it, so I'm not complaining. I've been putting this on immediately after my moisturizer and then waiting for everything to dry down a bit and I've been pleased with those results. 

L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara: This mascara has been so good to me that I haven't even touched the YSL mascara I received from Influenster. I love the brush and the mascara keeps a curl without being crunchy and isn't too difficult to remove at the end of the night. I know I need to move on once I run out, but I'll definitely repurchase this at some point and see if it contends with the MUFE mascara I also loved.

theBalm Mary Lou-Manizer: I wanted to branch out on highlighters this month because I had only been using this one and the Bobbi Brown for as long as I can remember, but this sits in the front of my organizer. I really like this highlighter for when I'm feeling a strong golden look. I even wish it was a little less pigmented sometimes.

MAC Lightscapade: This is an all time favorite highlighter of mine. I had been using a lot of pink blushes, as you'll see in the next images, and this gives a beautiful pink iridescent glow. I have talked about this before, but I love it. This is the original release of Lightscapade, which gives more of a pink iridescence than the newer releases that come off more beige.

Darac Beauty Sifted Blur Complexion Perfector: I hadn't used this in a couple months and then I used it with my beautyblender to set my under eye concealer. In just a couple weeks, I hit that pan in the middle and now I'm considering purchasing a backup because the brand doesn't exist anymore. I've been setting my entire face with this powder and a damp beauty blender and it is perfection. 

MAC Golden Bronzer: I've been using Golden instead of Aphrodite's Shell because I wanted to branch out a bit and this has more apparent shimmer. You can kind of tell from the pan that the rings are starting to show, so I may end up hitting the pan on this bronzer soon. I've only ever done that with face powder and this is in limited edition packaging, so I don't know how I feel about it.

Vincent Longo La Riviera Sun Face and Body Bronzer in Beauty Sin: I was really enjoying this bronzer this month because I was trying to use other products. I don't know if this is going to be my summer color because of how light it is, but I do like how it blends and I already have a dip in the pan.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Achiote: I really love the color of this blush. It's really effortless and just a dab is all you need. The color blends really nicely into bronzer. I love all of my Tarte blushes, but I actually think this one is my favorite.

Estée Lauder Peach Nuance: I love this blush more and more whenever I use it. I feel like I would use it more if I had just ponied up the extra cash to buy this in a compact and not just a loose pan. I never regret wearing this color and the gradient makes it easier to blend. 

NARS Albatross: I hadn't touched this highlight in so long that I almost forgot what it looked like! I was really digging the yellowish sheen it gave me and it was a nice change from pink or gold.

NARS Hungry Heart: This was another highlight I reached for all month that I didn't use for a bit. I was really into glitter for part of the month and this is a really glittery highlighter. I ended up pairing it with glittery blushes because why not be overkill?

NARS Angelika: This is one of the glittery blushes I wore this month and I've talked about this color before. The color itself is really flattering and the glitter doesn't come off really strong, which is why I like pairing it with a glittery highlighter to amp it up.

NARS Super Orgasm: I haven't talked about this blush before because I've barely touched it. For some reason, I didn't think I would like it because of the chunky glitter. The glitter doesn't translate on the skin as much as it looks like it would and the color is a nice peachy pink. I really loved this blush this month, but I think I'm taking a break from the glitter bomb cheeks.

Prada Candy L'eau: I was skeptical about getting Prada Candy, but I really love the L'eau version, which is the EDT. I wore this scent a ton this month and I only ordered it in the beginning of the month. I'm surprised by how much is gone and this is only a 2.7oz bottle. I may need to cool it on this scent and use others. I've been trying to wear them all evenly, but who am I kidding?

Burberry Brit Sheer: Burberry Brit was another scent I saw everyone raving about, but I didn't care for the notes. The Sheer version, however, was another thing. I really love this scent. It's crisp, clean, and fruity without being overkill on the sweet or smelling like laundry. This was another scent I wore a ton this month.

Marc Jacobs Lola: I'm still on the fence, but I might like Lola more than Oh, Lola! and that's saying something. I originally bought Oh, Lola! in the 3.2oz because I thought I would love it. I do like the scent, but I bought Lola in the smaller 1.7oz bottle because I didn't think I would like her as much if at all. I read reviews saying that if you liked Lola, you wouldn't like Oh, Lola!, so that worried me. I ended up buying this smaller bottle used on eBay, like with Oh, Lola! However, I ended up loving Lola and wore it a ton this month.

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom: I think I may have mentioned it somewhere, but I actually prefer Fresh Blossom to the Red Delicious that I bought a couple months back. I wore this at the end of February and through March. I really like that it has the perfect balance between being sweet and floral and this actually happens to be one of the scents I get complimented on the most at work.

Perfume Wish List

Okay, when I get obsessed with something, I get into this spree of can't stop, won't stop. Do I think I have plenty of perfume to last me through the year? Yes. Are there still bottles that I want? Absolutely. Especially working in food service where I definitely need to look and smell great all the time, there's just not a limit.

I purchased decanted samples of these scents and I want to eventually get a couple of these in full size bottles. I am going to leave a few alone and pass the list on to Shaun, because he was interested in buying perfume for my birthday and Christmas but I never had anything I wanted.

DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom: If I could go back in time, I would have tried Red Delicious before buying it and realize that I like this one a hundred times more. I do still like Red Delicious and I'll definitely continue to wear it, but there's a bottle of this unboxed on Fragrancenet.com for $32.99 and I'm really considering getting this one because it smells great. The notes include Apricot, Cassis, Grapefruit, Smooth Skin Accord, Blond Woods, Jasmine, Rose, Apple, and Muguet. I don't even know what half of those notes smell like on their own, but I like them together.

Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia: I was really bummed when I couldn't find Gucci II anywhere, so I decided I was going to see if there were any other Gucci perfumes I wanted to try. There's an entire Gucci Flora line, but the Gorgeous Gardenia one sounded the best to me. Notes include pear, red berries, gardenia, sugar, frangipani, and patchouli. I really like the smell of this one, but it's pricey. This is $50 on frangrancenet.com, but it's over $100 retail for the 3.3oz bottle. This is one I'll probably save for a later date or get a smaller bottle.

Gucci II: I'm lovesick over this stupid perfume and I haven't even smelled it yet. I almost don't want to talk about it. This is probably going to be a blind buy and I think the scent has been discontinued. The notes include a blend of tart, tangy fruits, cassis, blackberry and a mix of red berries, orange, violet, jasmine, freesia and peony. I want this so bad. I am currently bidding on a bottle through eBay, but I know what I'm willing to spend. If someone beats my bid, then I'm definitely not spending more. It's possible that I would settle for a tester bottle without that large glass cap.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh Delight: I got samples of both this and the regular edition of Daisy Eau So Fresh. I ended up not really liking Daisy Eau So Fresh, but I do like this version. This was a limited edition release, so I'm sure this is going to be hard to find. If I decide to buy this perfume, I may end up getting one without a box or a bottle that has been used. I don't see an issue with purchasing perfume that someone didn't like and they used a little bit of it, especially if it ends up being a good price. The original has top notes of grapefruit, pear and raspberry with middle notes of rose, jasmine and apple blossom. The Delight version has notes of sweet, run-ripened apricots and blood oranges and high notes of pink pepper and white tea. 

Admittingly, I did blind buy a limited edition bottle of an Eau So Fresh, but I think it was the Eau So Fresh Sunshine. It was an unboxed bottle, but the picture looked like the sunshine edition with brighter flowers. When it comes in the mail, I'll find out which one to cross off my list. If they end up smelling similar, then I definitely don't need both. 

Hugo Boss Boss Femme: This is just such a random perfume choice. I noticed that a lot of the scents in the pink bottles were what I was looking for, so I clicked on this one. The notes were Tangerine, Apricot, Freesia, Jasmine, Fleur de lys, Blackcurrant, Rose, and Lemon Wood. Now that I know what I like in a scent, I decided to try this one out. As this perfume is a bit heavier and expensive, I'll probably end up filing this one away for a bit. I feel like I have plenty of perfumes to wear in the winter, so I might ask for this for Christmas next year. It's only $35, but that's only for a 2.5oz and many of the other ones are 3.3oz for that price or a little more.

Versace Yellow Diamond: I should have known this was coming. I'm so hooked on Versace Bright Crystal Absolu that I had to try another one of their scents. I really like this and it isn't that expensive. This is an EDT, so not as strong as an Eau De Parfum. It's listed as $42 on fragrancenet.com, which is more than I'd like to spend on perfume now that I have as much as I do. This is also another scent I'll end up saving, but maybe not until next year. I think this would be a nice spring scent, so I might wait until I have a coupon. The notes include lemon, mimose, pear, freesia, bergamot, water lily, neroli, guaiac wood, musk, amber. I think it smells fresh and nice.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream: I'm conflicted on this one, which is why I made sure to leave it at the bottom. It was the first Marc Jacobs perfume that I wanted, but now that I have a bottle of Daisy Eau So Fresh, I don't know if I can warrant purchasing this one. As an Eau De Toilette, it's too expensive. The cheapest I can find it is $55, and that's without a box. I'm still leery about purchasing tester bottles because I like having the fancy caps on my perfume. This is another scent that I will file away, and it I happen to find a bottle on eBay that is half full, I might splurge if the price is right. The notes are blackberry, wisteria, coconut, lychee, pear, and grapefruit, so it is right up my alley. I'm not even sure why it's so expensive.

Perfume Diary #4

DKNY Red Delicious: I'm not knocking this perfume at all. I'm just saying that I'm not sure I should have blindly purchased the largest bottle out there. Red Delicious was discontinued, so I wanted to make sure I could still get it and enjoy it by purchasing the 3.4oz bottle. I really like the scent, and since it is discontinued, I couldn't get a sample from myperfumesamples.com because it wasn't available. That being said, I don't have a little spray bottle sample atomizer like I do with my other perfumes. I did buy a rollerball of this scent on eBay to touch up during the day. I think my biggest gripe with this perfume is that I don't like rollerballs. The ball always seems to get stuck and it takes forever to apply the scent. There is an upside, though. At least everyone else doesn't get assaulted by my perfume when I spray it on because it's only a rollerball. I'm going to continue to wear this one, but I am disappointed that it doesn't last very long, especially the perfume coming from the rollerball.

Vera Wang Princess: I'm not sure why I felt the need to include this scent, but I did pull it out of a drawer the other day to try it on. I only own a very small bottle of this perfume, and it happens to be one that doesn't even spray. The bottle is so small that it's just a dab and go perfume. I think I would have worn this more often if it did spray, because the dabber is just so aggravating. There isn't a way to get this on your skin without it getting everywhere. I've considered purchsing a full bottle of this beause I remember how much I used to like this fragnrace a few years back. I've wondered if it is possible to outgrow a perfume because everywhere I read reviews about how this is a teenage girl's perfume. I don't think this pulls too sweet on my skin, but the notes do include water lily, golden apricot, pink frosting, precious amber, lady apples, pink guava, mandarin meringue, dark chocolate, wild tuberose, vanilla chiffon, Tahitian tiare flower. Both the dark chocolate and pink frosting notes seem a bit much to me, but I can't pick those out when I smell this perfume. If I can find this for a good price and it doesn't end up being a seven year old bottle, it's possible that I will add this to my collection.

Gucci Eau De Parfum II: I just want to get this out of the way. I have not smelled this perfume, yet I'm seriously lusting over it. It's a Gucci perfume, so obviously it is more on the pricey side. I don't want to jump into purchasing this perfume, but the notes sounds like something I would really love. The top notes are orange, black currant, and mandrin. The heart notes are violet, blackberry, and fresh jasmine. The base notes are heliotrope, musk and cedar. Unfortunately, this isn't something I can find a sample of because myperfumesamples.com doesn't carry it. I also don't want to just buy a small bottle in case I love this perfume because then I'm going to need to buy a bigger bottle. I'm not sure what I want to do about it, but I know that I really want this perfume and I think I'm eventually going to end up buying it.

Perfume Diary #1

Okay. This is something I want to do now that I'm starting to get into fragrance. Since I barely have time to blog about things I buy and swatch, this is perfect to actually write down my thoughts on products I've been using.

I recently sprung for my first designer fragrance, Bright Crystal Absolu by Versace, and have started exploring other scents that I might enjoy. I also purchased Red Delicious by DKNY and while I like Bright Crystal Absolu more, I do like the smell of Red Delicious.

Because I've ventured into trying scents, I decided to get a few decants online and order full size bottles of the ones I like the most. I hauled a bunch of 3ml decants from myperfumesamples.com and I've smelled about half of them and worn a couple just around the house.

I've come to realize that I most enjoy fruity floral scents, which I'm sure I knew all along.

In this entry, I want to discuss my initial thoughts on a couple.

Marc Jacobs Honey: I actually thought this would be one of my favorites, but now I'm not so sure. I'm going to wear this out of the house, but I also don't think this is really the most appropriate for winter. It opens as a floral and as it hangs around, never really transforms into the fruity floral that I thought it would be. The honey note turned out to be honeysuckle, which would be nice if there was something else to balance it. As it turns out, I'm not a fan of straight floral scents and this does kind of remind me of grass.

Miss Dior EDT by Dior: The first notes listed on the site was mandarin and tangerine and there was a strawberry sorbet note listed. I was fine with jasmine and violet as floral notes because I do like fruity floral perfumes and this is a popular fragrance. However, I think the patchouli and musk really overpower everything else in the fragrance. I don't know if I'm brave enough to even wear this outside, seeing as I've only sprayed this on my shirt and really didn't care for it. I know scents have to transform with your body chemistry, but this is the only one that I have sprayed on my skin. This just smells too strong for my taste.

Escada Moon Sparkle: I was most excited about this perfume because KathleenLights talked it up in her perfume collection video. I don't think this would have been something I would have selected on my own because I've never heard of Escada. All the other brands of fragrances I've heard of, but I think Escada is smaller and I don't believe their  perfumes are high end. Apparently, they release limited edition scents and then discontinue them. This one is from 2007 and is apparently still circulating. I believe this is supposed to be one of their more popular releases. Anyhow, it was only my list to try because of that video so I did a search for it not expecting it to be available. The fragrance notes listed were strawberry, raspberry, black currant, red apple, citruses, sweet pea, freesia, musk, jasmine, rose.  I really liked the idea of this scent. It was one of the first scents I tried on and I loved it immediately. I definitely leans more fruity than floral, but it's balanced nicely. I had no doubts about this fragrance other than it's an EDT (eau de toilette) and I was worried it wouldn't have staying powder. I was wrong and I loved the scent so much that I found it online and purchased a brand new bottle for $37 to add to my budding collection. I normally wouldn't be so rash about a purchase and I want to try out my new scents more before making another purchase, but I'm worried about the availability. I don't want to shell out an arm and a leg for perfume. My bottle is still on the way, but I'll probably do another post after it arrives.