MY BURBERRY

 

 

 

 

The first time I wore My Burberry I felt like a sophisticated lady. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t need a perfume to make me feel sophisticated, beautiful, sexy, etc... but perfumes have that magic about them, they create an illusion that is hard to resist.

The perfumer for My Burberry is French contemporary perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. Francis is a well renown perfumer who has been honored for his work by winning the Prix Francois Coty in 2001. A few of his well-known olfactory masterpieces include; Le Male for Jean Paul Gautier, Narcisso Rodriguez For Her, Aqua Di Palma Iris Nobile and many more beautiful fragrances.

With My Burberry, The iconic Burberry house wanted to capture and I quote " The iconic fragrance inspired by the trench coat. The scent captures the essence of a London garden after the rain." Burberry.com fragrance description.

 

Notes:

- Top: sweet pea, bergamot.

- Middle: geranium, golden quince, freesia.

- Base: patchouli, damask, centifolia roses.

 

At first the scent enveloped me in a bright very floral blanket. It is a strong floral, one you cannot miss, however the beauty of this fragrance is that it manages to stay fresh and clean at the same time. The note that stands out to me is the sweet pea with its floral sweet scent, the bergamot keeps the floral note fresh. The sweetness does not last very long on me, the fragrance very smoothly transcends into the floral notes that geranium can entice you with,  which is the strongest note on me. Freesia takes over for the bergamot and keeps the fragrance clean but at this point gives it that powdery note that balances out the geranium. The golden quince keeps the fragrance light, bright with a hint of fruits, but most importantly it keeps the fragrance modern. The dry down for me was all about roses, soft, and feminine. After about 8-9 hours of wear the perfume was still able to scent my body beautifully and with compliments from my significant other. Any fragrance that can do that after so many hours of wear, is a winner on my book.

After all is said and done, You need to have a light hand with this fragrance, if not, it can be one that can overwhelm you and those around you. That being said, it is still soft and  feminine when applied with a light hand.

I personally love this fragrance. It is one that I feel can be worn both in the office, daytime wear, night time or a special occasion. It would make a great wedding scent if you wanted to capture romance in a bottle, this is it. It will do well in all of those areas and moments in life because it really those transcend and can morph with the woman. My Burberry is a fragrance that is powerful enough to take you back to the days where a perfume wore the woman, but in this case, the woman wears the fragrance beautifully.

 

For me this fragrance is a definite must, if you want to have a perfume that can only enhance the woman you want to be on any given day.

 

Retail Price:

My Burberry Eau De Parfum - 1.0oz - $72.0, 1.6oz - $96.0, 3oz - $125.0 via Sephora.com

THE 2012 FIFI AWARDS WINNERS

THE 2012 FIFI AWARDS WINNERS

The FiFi awards, the most prestigious award a fragrance can receive in the fragrance/perfumery industry. You can say that it’s equivalent to what the Oscars are to the movie industry. It is truly an honor for a perfume to receive a FiFi award. There are many categories, from designer brands to the best in the niche world. The FiFi awards bring you the best that the fragrance world has to offer, and although some perfumistas might not agree with the choices and winners, the awards still give us something to look forward too.


Below are the list of all the winners. Please leave a comment below if you agree, disagree or let me know what you think should have won in those categories.

Fragrance of the Year

Luxe Women
Tom Ford Violet Blonde - Tom Ford Beauty

Luxe Men
Gucci Guilty Pour Homme - P&G Prestige

Nouveau Niche Women

Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge - Private Blend - Tom Ford Beauty

Nouveau Niche Men
Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge - Private Blend - Tom Ford Beauty

Broad Appeal Women
Heidi Klum Shine - Coty Inc.

Broad Appeal Men
Curve Appeal for men - Elizabeth Arden

Specialty Brand Women
Anthropologie 1922 Lily Sanguine Eau de Parfum - Inter Parfums USA

Direct To Consumer Men
Comme une Evidence Green - Yves Rocher North America Inc.

"Consumer's Choice" Award

Women
Victoria's Secret Angel - Victoria's Secret Beauty

Men
Bath & Body Works Signature Collection for Men Classic - Bath & Body Works

Best Packaging of the Year

Luxe Women
Prada Candy Eau de Parfum Spray - PUIG USA

Luxe Men
John Varvatos * USA - Elizabeth Arden

Broad Appeal Women
Victoria's Secret Angel - Victoria's Secret Beauty

Broad Appeal Men
Curve Appeal for men - Elizabeth Arden

Media Campaign of the Year

Women
Coco Mademoiselle – Chanel

Men
Gucci Guilty Pour Homme - P&G Prestige

Bath & Body Line of the Year
Acqua di Gioia - Giorgio Armani Beauty

Interior Scent Collection of the Year
34 boulevard Saint Germain – diptyque

Perfume Extraordinaire of the Year
This category recognizes the actual perfume “the juice” in all its beauty and complexity. It also recognizes the perfumer(s), and the fragrance house to which the perfume belongs too.

International Flavors & Fragrances for New York Oud, Bond No. 9 New York

Fragrance Hall of Fame
This category recognizes fragrances that have been in the market for a very long time and maintain a success. These are known as the “classics” that we never tire of.

Women
24 Faubourg – Hermès, Beauté Prestige International

Men
Acqua di Gio, Giorgio Armani Beauty

I hope you enjoyed reading about the best of 2012. I also hope that this inspires you to go out there and try something new, something different. But most importantly, continue to live an amazing and fragranct life.   Alexandra  

LADY GAGA FAME PERFUME REVIEW

In this day and age celebrities, their image and their brand are pretty much everywhere you go. They are no longer just a singer, actor, they are a brand.


Of course, with every brand comes the need to have products in just about anything you can think of, including a fragrance. Celebrity perfumes over all have not really given us outstanding, amazing and innovative fragrances. They almost always fall under two categories, on the simpler side of the categories. I am talking about the sweet and flirty or fruity floral. Lady Gaga with Fame did not disappoint us. Over all I think Fame is a nice, easy to wear fragrance. It is a non complicated fragrance, one you will get a lot of use of because it can be worn anywhere.

Back when reports came out that Lady Gaga was interested in having her own fragrance it was said that she wanted a fragrance that had notes of blood and semen. Of course when the reports came out people were a bit shocked to say the least, but expected because at this point anything from Lady Gaga was pretty much expected. Of course the perfume does not include notes of blood and semen, instead it includes a medley of notes that can be categorized as very common in celebrity fragrances these days, with a touch of interesting with the belladonna note.

Lady Gaga was quoted saying that she wanted the fragrance to smell like a very expensive hooker. Now, I don’t know what an expensive hooker smells like, but I know that they can do a lot better and wear more interesting notes if they go with something like Lady Vengeance by Juliet has a gun which is a sweet, seductive and sexy with notes of rose, patchouli and vanilla or even the classic Chanel No. 5 which gives us that hint of sophistication, sensuality and clean notes that makes it smell like an expensive boudoir.

Let’s talk Fame by Lady Gaga, the notes include, “"tears of belladonna, crushed heart of tiger orchidea with a black veil of incense, pulverized apricot and the combinative essences of saffron and honey drops”. If it’s one thing, the notes description makes it sounds more interesting than it really is. Fame is a good fruity floral. I would say it’s definitely a step up from the normal fruity floral you get with your main stream celebrity fragrance. Fame really did set out to be a good perfume that can translate in many places and times during the season. And it does this well.

On me fame initially really smells a bit like grape juice. I was quite disappointed with it. Eventually the fragrance starts to get a bit more interesting with the floral sweet, caramel like notes coming in. Its soft yet heady if that makes any sense. I have worn in on warm days and on cool days and it has worked fine on both temperatures. Sometimes the notes change a bit on me and I smell more of the fruity notes, and sometimes the floral sweet notes play at my nose. Coty has expressed that they used innovative technology with Fame “push pull technology” which makes the notes highlight aspects of each other not taking into account which one is more important than the other. It is not a bad fragrance by any means. It’s actually decent. The staying power was what impressed me the most about the fragrance. I smelled it on me pretty much all day. Five hours into a work day and it was still going strong but I felt that it was not offensive for the work place. The fragrance by no means is as innovative as I think Gaga and Coty wanted it to be. The fact that they used black perfume that sprays clear as their marketing gimmick did not make the perfume any more appealing. To me, the interest in the black liquid spraying clear last about as long as it took for the liquid to hit my skin.

Do I recommend Fame? Yes, if you are looking for an inexpensive fruity floral that is not as main stream as the rest of the bunch, and gives you a bit of some darkness with the belladonna note, give this one a try.

Until next time, continue to live an amazing, beautiful fragrant life!!

Alexandra



Top 10 Body Wash Products

For some people, taking a shower or taking a bath is the only time during the say where they get to reflect and unwind from their busy and hectic day.


For others, this is a time for relaxation no matter how their day went. This is a time where we can use fragrance in a very broad way. We can experiment, try new notes and rinse them right out if we do not like them.

Below is a list of the top 10 body wash products via www.oprah.com.



Dove Go Fresh Revive Body Wash

The scent: Sweet pomegranate and sharp lemon verbena.
Why it's a winner: It deeply hydrates with soybean oil and glycerin.


Olay Total Effects Body Wash Deep Penetrating Moisture

The scent: Fresh and citrusy.
Why it's a winner: A high concentration of vitamin E nourishes skin.


Nivea Touch of Honeydew Hydrating Shower Gel

The scent: Refreshing and sweet.
Why it's a winner: Synthetic beads gently exfoliate before releasing hydrating sunflower oil.

Fruits & Passion Foaming Body Wash Grapefruit Guava

The scent: Tangy, invigorating and tart.
Why it's a winner: The foam formula won't strip your skin of moisture.

Thymes Agave Nectar Body Wash

The scent: Red grapefruit, guava and lemon blossom.
Why it's a winner: It's lightweight but packed with jojoba oil and aloe vera to soothe and moisturize.

L'Occitane Olive Organic Shower Cream

The scent: Woody and slightly green.
Why it's a winner: The ultra hydrating formula is perfect for sensitive skin.

MOR Snow Gardenia Hand & Body Wash

The scent: Juniper berry, ylang-ylang, vanilla—and a hit of gardenia, of course.
Why it's a winner: The delicate fragrance lingers on your skin all day long.

Molton Brown Paradisiac Pink Pepper pod Bath & Shower Gel

The scent: A mix of pink pepper, ginger, and patchouli.
Why it's a winner: It strikes the perfect balance between crisp and musky.

Juara Candlenut Hydrating Shower Gel

The scent: Flowery (freesia, jasmine and rose) with a hint of coconut.
Why it's a winner: It's free of potentially irritating sulfates and parabens.

Balenciaga Paris Shower Gel

The scent: Notes of rich violet, pepper and moss.
Why it's a winner: The silky lather and unique fragrance are utterly luxurious.


Go ahead and try them out and continue to live an amazing fragrant life!!

Alexandra

YouTube video is up. Here I go into more details about the Bath and body, perfume haul.


Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and blog. Thanks for watching and continue to live a beautiful fragrant life.

 

Fall Haul 2012 – Happy fall is around the corner

Today I want to share with you a haul. These items were purchased by me in the last month or so.

Bath and Body Works
Slatkin & Co. 3-wick candles were purchased during the recent 2 for the price of 1($19.50) sale during labor day weekend.
I really like these candles. So far the ones I have tried have had really great projection and scent pay off. The ones I purchased were;

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin – It smells like fall to me. When I smelled this at the store I truly just wanted to dive right in. Its sweet, filled with spices that speak to my love of the fall in every way. Great candle. In B&BW’s website this scent is described as “sweet pumpkin pie, rich vanilla cream and a touch of cinnamon”.
Autumn – this candle spoke to me for the freshness that autumn brings. I love it when the weather first starts to change. The air has only a hint of the cold weather and you are filled with anticipation for the wonderful things autumn and the rest of the year has to bring with all the holidays and the wonderful scents that come with it. This scent is fruity, fresh with a hint of spice and sweet. In B&BW’s website this scent is described as “dark pomegranate, sweet red apple and woodsy fir balsam”.

I love the anti-bacterial hand soaps from B&BW’s. I always have one in my bathroom and kitchen with a scent that goes with that season. With that in mind I purchased the, sweet cinnamon pumpkin scent to go in my kitchen and bathroom. I was not that impressed with the scents. I purchase the one with the moisturizing beads for the kitchen and the creamy formula for my bathroom. The formula with the beads does not smell like sweet cinnamon pumpkin at all. It is more fruity and sweet with a hint of spice. The creamy formula is a bit more like what I expected but it still falls short in the “fall” department.

I purchased for one dollar a sample lotion for an upcoming new fragrance line at B&BW’s, Cashmere Glow. I really liked this lotion. It actually reminds me a bit of twilight woods. Really yummy.

Perfumes:
I acquired two new perfumes. One I purchased through Groupon for a discounted price and the other I purchased at ROSS department stores for a very affordable price. Both were blind buys but I am very happy that I purchased them as I am very happy with the fragrances.

Bvlgari – Omnia – This fragrance is spicy, dark, woody yet it holds a nurturing and sensual feel to it. It’s very inviting. The fragrance is described as a modern oriental, a few of the scent notes are mandarin, saffron, masala tea, and white chocolate.

Elizabeth Arden – Green Tea, Exotic – I already own the regular Green Tea version of this perfume and I really enjoy wearing it. Green Tea is light and fresh, perfect to wear during hot summer days. Green Tea Exotic has the basic same components with the addition of floral notes. It remains very fresh and clean but now has that hint of femininity that the original was lacking. Great scent and buy, especially for the price. Some of the notes are, tea, citrus, spearmint, in addition to exotic florals. The dry down mixes with woods and light musk.

I also picked up a few items at a store called Lot Less, you can get items here at a very very affordable price. I picked up three items from a natural beauty company called Ecotools.


Ecotools sustainable softness body lotion – very light and fresh.

Ecotools blooming planet body mist – Soft, clean and floral.

Ecotools love heels all, intensive heel cream - Its very creamy and minty.


These were the items I purchased for this haul. Let me know if you would like for me to review any of these items.

I hope you are enjoying the weather and I hope that you are just as excited as me for the upcoming fall season.



Till next time, and I hope you continue to live a beautiful and fragrant life.

Today, September 4, 2012, back at work after a long labor day weekend. I hope everyone had an amazing weekend with family and friends. I hope the fragrant scents of the last lazy days at the beach, barbecues and fun days at the park were part of your summer. For me this summer was more about the pool than the beach, and I didn’t get to enjoy the park as much. I have to say that I am looking forward to the fall more than I thought I would. I am usually all about the summer. But right now I just can’t wait to see the leaves change, the nice cool breeze that lets us know that the cooler weather is right around the corner, and the amazing scents that identify the fall and the holidays. For me, the fall truly is the most amazing time of the year.


Since summer is still with us, I did want to squeeze the last bit of it. This weekend I changed the hand soap that I am using in my bathroom and kitchen. I have Bath and Body Works, Papaya Melon Scoop in my bathroom, sweet and fruity, and in my kitchen I change to Bath and Body Works Dancing Waters fresh and aquatic.

For home fragrance, I am still burning the same candle that I have been burning all summer, Slatkin & CO Seaside Escape. Really awesome, fresh and yummy scent.

BATH AND BODY WORKS, PAPAYA MELON SCOOP

Bath and Body works describes the scent as a blend of honey, coconut milk, olive fruit extracts, and Mango Fruit extract. Lightly scented with iced papaya, melon and juicy watermelon.


For me it is very sweet, very fruity.












BATH AND BODY WORKS, DANCING WATERS

Light fragrance of cool water flowing through a field of fresh flowers.

For me its very clean and aquatic. Very light fragrance.


                                 

SLATKIN & CO, SEASIDE ESCAPE

Bath and Body Works describes it as a luscious guava and passion fruit, infused with juicy watermelon and rich tonka bean.

These are just things I use to remind me that although the last couple of days the weather seems to be cooler and beach time is technically over, summer is still here with us.

I am very much looking forward to the fall, but I also don’t want to rush it, as anticipation is also part of the allure.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and I hope it continues to be a fragrant time.