Fragrance

From Notting Hill to La-La Land: The Story of Royal Apothic’s 2010 Summer Scents

April 16th, 2010 by Karen 14 Comments

Long, long ago — 10 years, I should say — on an island far, far away — Great Britain, if you really must know — our hero, young Sean O’Mara, was on holiday in the bustling village of London when something wondrous happened. 🙂

Sean, now the creative director for Los Angeles-based Royal Apothic, was browsing a Notting Hill antique stall when he saw the most amazing thing. It was squirreled up high upon a shelf, an Eighteenth Century apothecary manual filled with recipes for scents and other concoctions, many of which had long ago been made for great monarchs of Europe.

“Jackpot!” he must have thought.

Seriously? Dude, the only things I ever get on vacay are tchotchkes and food poisoning.

When Sean returned home to the US, he set to work conjuring the long lost recipes. Et voilÃ , Royal Apothic was born.
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Thanks to Marc Jacobs, Spring Smells Fresh As a Daisy in the Air

April 10th, 2010 by Karen 9 Comments

Oh, Marc, you tricky boy! The blue daisies perched atop each bottle of Daisy in the Air ($57 for 1.7 fl oz) led me to believe that a new version of your Daisy fragrance had arrived, but, alas, it’s the same delicate scent, only dressed in new limited edition attire (with matching blue paper garland!).

A floral eau de toilette, Daisy the fragrance smells more like a violet to me, and she’s been gracing our airwaves for years. Her free spirit takes me back to fun spring breaks and summer vacations, to days way before there were so many things to do or places to be…

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Two Ways to Win a Beautiful Bottle of Balenciaga Paris Perfume

April 7th, 2010 by Karen 371 Comments

The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Jan! Before you go, check the home page for ongoing giveaways.

Good morning, glory. 🙂 I hope you’re ready for hump day, but just in case you aren’t, maybe the light and fresh star of today’s giveaway can help.

Have you been looking for a new scent for the season? If the answer’s “Hell, yes, woman!” then…

The prize

One lucky lady will win a 1.7-oz bottle of Balenciaga Paris Eau de Parfum (a $95 value).

Long-time Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquiere of the Balenciaga fashion house says a wide range of everyday scents, among them wax and flowers, inspired Balenciaga Paris.

Perfumer Oliver Polge, winner of the coveted 2009 International Fragrance Prize and the nose behind Burberry The Beat, Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb and Clinique Happy Heart, infused the fragrance with violet, pepper and mossy wood, dressing it in a beautiful glass bottle with simply elegant, smooth curves.

How to enter…

2ways2enter Entering is easy. There are two different ways, and you can do both of them for two chances to win.

First, you can enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. In it, tell me your favorite thing about spring.

Finally! The longer days! I love that El Hub still has some sunlight left when he gets home from work in the evenings. And then there’s all of the blooming flowers, of course (thank goodness for allergy medicine!).

Second, enter by following me on Twitter and retweeting (RT) the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to win Balenciaga Paris Perfume (a $95 Value) http://bit.ly/dzBdGE

Recap…

Enter by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, and don’t forget to use a valid email address so I can reach you if you win.
Follow me on Twitter and retweet the following message:

RT @karenmbb: RT to win Balenciaga Paris Perfume (a $95 Value) http://bit.ly/dzBdGE

I’ll pick the winner at random from among the people who enter by 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, April 9.

Ð£ÑÐ¿ÐµÑ…!!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. You also have until 11:59 PM tonight to enter the MAC Prep For Colour giveaway, so head over and mention your favorite color if you haven’t already. 🙂

The giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Jan! Before you go, check the home page for ongoing giveaways.

A Rose in the Heart of the City: Meet Chloe Eau de Parfum

March 25th, 2010 by Karen 19 Comments

A friend of mine used to have an apartment in please-don’t-call-it-‘Frisco with the most amazing, magical flower garden. Hidden from the street, it was in the center of the building on the ground floor, and all of the apartments overlooked it. Each time she’d open a window, a rainbow of beautiful floral fragrances would waft up from the garden and blow right into her living room.

Chloe’s floral Eau de Parfum ($85) reminds me a lot of that apartment, to that time in my life when my heart pumped to the beat of the city, and I’ve been wearing it practically nonstop for days!

As a matter of fact, I’m even wearing it to bed. 🙂

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The Gwen Stefani Makeup Challenge! Enter to Win an Autographed Set of Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties Fragrances

March 22nd, 2010 by Karen 36 Comments

You guys probably already know this, but I’m a huge, HUGE Gwen Stefani fan.

The first time I saw her was in the “Just a Girl” video back before No Doubt really hit it big… It was on MTV at about 2 in the morning, and I remember thinking, “Um, this girl’s gonna be a star.”

I grew up listening to a lotta hip hop, but No Doubt’s spin on ska/punk (and Gwen’s style and energy) opened a door to a whole new world of music for me.

So when I got an email from the folks behind Harajuku Lovers offering to give one Makeup and Beauty Blog reader an autographed (by Gwen herself) set of the new Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties fragrances (a $150 value), I (to put it mildly) LOST MY SH*T!

The five limited-edition bottles are almost too cute for words. Love, Angel, Music, Baby and G look like they’re ready for summer in their cutie-pie bikini beach wear (they even got their nails did, aww!).

Making scents…

G: A blend of coconut, apple, mandarin, freesia and sandalwood
Love: A sensual floral with bergamot (a citrus fruit), peach, jasmine and musk
Lil’ Angel: A fruity floral with raspberry, pineapple rose and amber
Music: A delicate floral with clementine, pear, sweet pea and vanilla
Baby: A powdery scent with freesia, rose, musk and violet

And, HOLLA! Gwen will have touched them. 🙂

The MBB Gwen Stefani Makeup Challenge

I hope you’re ready, because today’s prize involves a challenge.
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Do the Seasons Influence Your Fragrance Choices?

March 17th, 2010 by Karen 39 Comments

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya, ladies!

Well, top o’ the late mornin’/early afternoon. 🙂

It’s almost spring, and soon we’ll bid bon voyage to the blizzards still buffeting the Northeast and elsewhere, and the seasons WILL change, which for me means packing away the heavier perfumes like Stella, Coco Mademoiselle and Givenchy Irresistible and busting out some lighter, fresher scents for a time.

A few of my warm weather standbys? — Prescriptives Sheer Calyx Exhileration, Kenzo Eau de Fleur de The Tea and Bath and Body Works Rainkissed Leaves, but I also plan on adding a few new fragrances to the rotation like CK One Summer and Eternity Summer (the pics above).

CK One Summer ($44): A citrusy unisex scent with notes of watermelon, pear, mandarin, lime, violet leaves, marigold, verbena, water lily, musk and vetiver
Eternity Summer for Women ($54): A watery floral with notes of grapefruit, ginger, passion flower, peony, freesia and musk

Do the seasons influence your fragrance choices, and are there any scents you come back to year after year?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Have a wonderfully lucky St. Patrick’s Day, gals. 🙂 Are you wearing green?

5 Random Acts of Beauty to Soothe the Savage Beast

March 1st, 2010 by Karen 102 Comments

For the most part, I think being a woman ROCKS, but the occasional mood swings = not my favorite part of being a girl.

Today I was fine until five, at which time a bit of crankiness crept in (caused by a combination of the weather and my efforts to avoid refined sugar). But instead of unleashing my inner BRAT-A-SAUR, I nipped it in the bud with beauty. 🙂

I started with these NARS blushes, which I’ve had since Christmas but never really played with until now.

NARS Cream Blush in Cactus Flower, $26

Powder Blush in Sin, $26
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Decompressing with the Cargo Pro Picks Collection

February 27th, 2010 by Karen 22 Comments

Hi, ladies. How’s it going tonight? Today was … rough, for lack of a better term. I wasn’t really in the mood for hard core makeup, but I did spend a few minutes with Cargo’s Pro Picks Collection ($39, coming soon to Ulta), a new kit with four full-size Cargo products hand-picked by pro makeup artists.

The price is why it got my attention. Cargo’s kits are usually pretty good deals (check out their 7 by 7 Mini Kit, also $39), and this one’s no exception. Purchased separately, the four Pro Picks pieces would cost a whopping $86.

Cargo Pro Picks

With the kit you get the Los Angeles Cargo Color Palette, the Reverse Lip Liner in Flesh Tone 02 (a creamy medium/fair peach), a Blu_Ray Mascara in Black and their Classic Lip Gloss in Tobago (a sheer, shimmery melon). I didn’t find the official launch date, but I’ll let you know when I do.
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