Maybelline FIT ME! Pressed Powder

Over the past spring – technically it is still spring, but you sure wouldn’t think it-I started preferring powder foundations over liquid foundations.  This was mostly laziness and the fact that my skin has been looking pretty good for a while now.  Powder foundations allow for lighter coverage that you can quickly swirl and buff in in a matter of seconds.  Not so with liquid foundations.

In the past, I have overwhelmingly preferred liquid foundations.  This was mostly due to the fact that powder foundations were very thick AND they did not come in shades that matched me.  Liquid foundations were more forgiving and adaptable.  I am pleased that along with the expansion of shades for liquid foundations, powder foundations have also gone through a shade expansion. 

Maybelline’s new FIT ME! foundation line is probably one of the best drugstore foundation lines out there next to Revlon’s.  It was a huge improvement compared to their previous foundation lines and I find that it offers better tone variation than the very peach/orange leaning L’Oreal True Match foundation line or Revlon’s Nearly Naked foundation line, which is what I refer to as blazingly orange.

I picked up Maybelline’s FIT ME! Pressed Powder ($7.99) in Natural Beige (220) and I was able to compare it shade-wise to my oldest sister’s powder match in Natural Buff (230),when she visited for a weekend.  The swatches are below (each window contains both shades in different lighting) and I do think the names are a bit deceptive.  I would assume that Natural Beige (220) would be darker than Natural Buff (230), but it is not.  Even in the powder form, Natural Beige (220) looks darker than Natural Buff (230), but when you swatch it, it is the opposite.  Natural Beige (220) appears lighter and less orangey than Natural Buff (230).  My oldest sister has a neutral, light tan skin tone, compared to mine which is lighter with yellow-green undertones.  However, both powders oxidize significantly.  Initially, Natural Beige (220) looks like a fantastic skin tone match for me, but then it turns considerably darker as it mixes with my skin oils.  It actually doesn’t turn a vibrant orange, like Revlon’s Nearly Naked Pressed Powder, but a beigey, light tan brown color. It’s actually a lovely color.  It is less jarring than an orange face.  However, I look like I have brown face on a light yellow neck.

Aside from this issue, which I try to control by not using as much of the powder,  using a highlighter to tone done how dark the powder will oxidize, or using mineral sunscreens that leave me white, I actually do like this powder.  The powder is blendable and does not appear cakey – like ever.  It provides a natural skin-like finish and it never appears too powdery.  This is a great budget powder, and I believe it is actually my FAVORITE budget pressed powder.  If you are within the light to medium range, this is a great foundation line to check out.  I am also super excited to say that Maybelline seems to have added some new shades to the foundation line.  I am excited about the new shade, Golden Beige (240), which appears lighter than Natural Beige (220) on Maybelline’s website.  I hope they create a matching powder for it.  Also, if you are within the deep range, Maybelline has extended the shades to actually reflect DEEP skin tones, and not the medium shades they try to pass off as Deep.

Ingredients: Talc, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Magnesium Stearate, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Nylon 12, Caprylyl Glycol, May Contain (+/-):, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), CI 77491, CI 77492, Iron Oxides (CI 77499), F.I.L. D43256/1

And Another Thing…

How about other musings in my day to day activities?  Gotta cover up the fact that I’ve been less inclined to beauty blog lately, even though I have tons of other stuff to blog about.

Well here goes…

I still have plenty of magazine subscriptions but they mostly suck.  I spend 10 minutes or less flipping through them.  I’ve even allowed issues to pile up without a glance.  Same ‘ole same ‘ole. 

But now things are starting to irritate me.  Like stupid “tricks” that aren’t tricks but common sense.  Next months tip will be to use a “moisturizing” conditioner if your hair feels dry, or you know, use conditioner if you don’t.

A while back I mentioned that I hit a new/old weight low.  I am not sure if I mentioned I “celebrated”…for a couple of weeks…errr, months.  Apparently, I was so proud of that achievement that I decided hitting it a SECOND time would be so much more FUN!!!  It is fortunate it is the summer because being hot makes me less hungry.  Easiest way to lose weight is to just eat less.  On that note, I’m going to be relying a bit more on those NAKED protein shakes – yes, I know – a lot of sugar – but it’s still better than eating a greasy hamburger or fried cutlet.

Recently started at a new job/company.  Despite the long hours I have been told I will need to work to meet a deadline, I will not let my gym habits slip…um, even though I’ve only been to the gym once in the past two weeks.

Don’t put 12 people in a conference room and expect orderly consensus.  I hate hearing multiple voices going at it, mostly over tangential issues.  The more people speak, the less I am inclined to.  This is probably not a good thing. I think there is some relevant post gold to dig there.  Especially as it pertains to Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, which I have been reading – slowly.  So far, it rings mostly true.  I am considering sending a cease and desist letter for using my deepest darkest feelings and basing a book around it…JUST KIDDING.  Why do so many women feel like this!

There is a good reason I stopped mentioning networking habits…networking into a career you have no tangible connection to other than grad internships and your undying passion SUCKS!  I am going to have to write a post about acceptance, failures, and recalibrating.  Tenacity is wonderful folks.  But even tenacity can cross over into delusion and detriment if you hold on too long!!!

Networking in the form of just being open to meeting new people, engaging them day to day, and building long term relationships, on the otherhand, is the way to go.  You may get a random text from a former co-worker/friend asking if you would be interested in something you never even thought of.  I didn’t have to interview for my new job.  Internal referral.

The KEY is to be open to whomever, whenever, wherever.  This also means extending yourself to individuals you probably don’t have that much in common with outside the job…I am not a fan of happy hour and alcohol, but I guess it’s going to be me and some Ginger Ale.

I was told by my sister that she would NEVER see another movie with me again, after I became one of those obnoxious annoying people in theatres who loudly whispers a key reveal before the rest of the uninitiated figure it out.  “KHAANNN!!!”

Then I realized that I had done it again by revealing a key SPOILER for the movie by blogging about it.

I actually teared up watching The Great Gatsby near the end.  Build a monument to love, delusional or not, invite the world, watch them greedily gobble it up, and have it crumble with nearly no one to remember you or care. 

I’ve become addicted to eating sliced tomatoes marinated in salt, vinegar and olive oil.  I’ve got a four a day habit.  I wonder if all that lycopene can work on my skin from the inside out.

I’ve discovered my foundation situation is actually closer to DEFCON 1.  Forget using up one bottle at a time.   I’ve pulled out SIX bottles from their drawers and lined ’em up front and center (Lancôme and YSL should not have been pulled out!).  They are not going back in the drawer.  They will be thrown out this summer.  Starting with Becca’s Luminous Skin Colour Sheer Foundation in Camel and Olive (reviewed here).  With the exception of the Inglot foundation they are all at 50% or less capacity, which makes it a little easier.   In the meantime, I am making like a BARISTA with the remaining that have not gone bad yet.

The spending beauty ban isn’t that difficult after the first few weeks.  Habits are easy to break or make.  Repetition is key.  The hardest part is actually getting to the decision of setting a spending ban.  The worst moments: The hour before your spending ban goes into effect and the first week after.

Ironically, its not Sephora that I have to be careful of, but Duane Reade because it is where I do my most THOUGHTLESS spending.  I’ll go in for a NAKED drink and come out with a $50+ bag of goods.  I have to constantly remind myself that I am on a beauty spending ban as I pass by aisles or promotional makeup displays.

I was checking out wristlets for work, when I passed by the Chanel makeup counter and decided to get a quick swatch of the shades I was checking out from Chanel’s Double Perfection Lumiere Long-Wear Flawless Sunscreen Powder Makeup the last time I visited and the shade the beauty associate thought I matched, which was B60.  Need a reminder of my musing concerning this event?  I wrote about it here.  Here is a snap. 

Seeing this picture reminds me of how reactive my skin is to intense sun.  My skin is already burning a soft red in the direct sun.  I have no red undertones in my skin whatsoever.  This picture was taken with less than a minute of direct sun exposure in the middle of a blazingly hot day.  After a bit, the red will settle into a tan.  Look at the bottom of my arm to compare the skin that is being hit directly with sun.  I am thin-skinned (nastily pointed out by an old dermatologist who pinched my skin repeatedly to show me how thin-skinned I was, and how skin elasticity will decrease over time to wrinkles – I never went to that dermatologist again. But I still think about what she said abut my thin skin).  So seeing this just makes me want to go outside in a burka.  I am not ready for wrinkles.  Maybe in 20 years, if ever.

I’ve gotten really lazy about blogging.  It’s just another lull.  It happens.  I have a bunch of delayed foundation posts, a lipstick inspired post in honor of Carina’s tag from Softly Sometimes and a Versatile Blogger Award post.  I am crossing my fingers and will try to have them up this June.

EcoTools:Favorite Powder Brushes

I used to buy these large powder blushes with the super fat brush heads that dispersed powder EVERYWHERE into the air.  I always felt as if I was being wasteful when I used these powder brushes for my powders.  I still have them, probably because I felt like I should have them, but I don’t really use them unless I am low on my other favorite powder brushes.  I find that full brush heads are best for quickly gliding over the face for setting powder or a sheer wash of color, but not really for applying foundation powders.

My favorite foundation powder brushes are by EcoTools.  The EcoTools Sheer Finish Kabuki Brush ($6.99) is my absolute favorite for home application of foundation powders.  I love the ergonomic handle and the flat bottom of the brush that allows it to stand on any flat surface ready for use.  The brush head is super soft and fine.  I don’t have a problem with application or coverage using this brush.  It also doesn’t kick up a lot powder when you rub against a powder surface, but it still picks up powder.  I can get sheer to light-medium coverage with this brush.  The brush head could be fuller and denser for fuller coverage, but I do not mind.  Also, after a while, the brush head can look a bit ratty/fuzzy after washings.  At that point, just swap it out.  I have paid multiples more for other foundation powder brushes that wasted more powder than applied it to my face, while somehow also managing to make me slightly powdery at the same time.  For around $7.00, this is a steal and I have multiple brand new brushes waiting in the wings when I need to replace my current in-use brush.

My second favorite powder foundation brush is also by EcoTools and it is the EcoTools Retractable Kabuki Brush ($7.99).  The denser, fuller brush head allows for more coverage with foundation powders, but it doesn’t veer into cakey.  I love that it is retractable and that it has a brush.  For around $8.00 it is also a steal.  It’s compactness and portability make it ideal for travel or regular commutes.  One caveat is that I try not to get the metal casing wet.  I am pretty sure the cheap cost of this item does not ensure against rust. 

I have more expensive brushes that sit unused by MAC, Shiseido, Bobbi Brown, and various Sephora Professional brushes.  I prefer these brushes by EcoTools.  They do what I want without being wasteful, making a mess, or costing me extra unnecessarily.  If I do decide to buy a more expensive brush, it will likely be one of those Japanese numbers featured in SweetMakeupTemptations’ blog, following the old adage: less quantity, more quality.

Meh…MAC Pro Long Wear Eye Shadow & Pressed Pigment

MAC releases new collections like every hour, or something like that.  I don’t pay them much mind.  So the fact that I picked these two eye shadows up a while back has nothing to do with the fact that they are new, but more to do with the fact that I wanted to try out mauve and pink-toned eye shadows.  I love mauve as a color and, as mentioned by Coco over at The Beauty Milk in her post featuring mauve-toned makeup, it is ultra flattering on many skin tones, but very much so on the light-medium, warm-toned. 

MAC Cosmetics Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in Mauveless, $21.00

I didn’t like this Pro Longwear Eye Shadow in Mauveless.  This shade resembled a dirty, muted brown plum – definitely not mauve.  It is also not very pigmented in the first swipe, although it is buildable.   MAC’s literature for this product says blendable, buildable and creamy.  I can’t say I was wowed with it.  It’s not really that creamy or smoothly blendable.  Seems kind of powdery and patchy to me on first application and becomes denser with most powders as you pack it on.

This color was not flattering on me at all.  There are drugstore eye shadow powders that are on par with this, even if a little less pigmented, but that’s a little less pigmented at a third of the price.  But why bother picking up a slightly crappier eye shadow at a third of the price or less, when you can pick a better one up for a third of the price.  NYX and Prestige Cosmetics’ Total Intensity eye shadow line are better than this particular product.  Save your money.

MAC Cosmetics Pressed Pigment in Sweet Acting, $21.00

I didn’t care for this product either.   MAC literature describes this powder as an intensely pigmented creamy highlighter powder that offers sheer to medium coverage with extreme pearlescence and versatile finishes.  You can use these dry for a glittery and shimmery spectacle of light or add some water for a metallic, watery look.  There was nothing spectacular about this shade or this finish, whether wet or dry. Also, they might as well just call this an eye shadow.  Unless you want to go looking like a Club Kid and apply this elsewhere on your face.  There are tons of other options in the beauty world at various price points, like Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown sparkle/shimmer eye shadows – which give eye/face sparkle extravagant refinement – not Club Kid.  But if you want a cheaper subdued option with a cool duo chrome effect that actually could be used elsewhere on the face – discretely – even though it’s only listed as an eye shadow – I suggest giving Prestige Cosmetics’ Duo Chrome Eye shadow in Spellbound and Crave a whirl for $8.50 a piece.

Here are the swatches. 

On another note, I am so happy I am almost done posting the “Upcoming Posts” posts.  I really slacked off.  I have three more posts connected to that post, two of which are both foundation posts.  I will make it a point to get those soon.  Sheesh.

Mission to Finish & Beat the Expiration Beauty Clock #1

I’ve got a game plan.  I may deviate a bit depending on my skin condition, but these are the first round of products I am focused on using up because they are nearly finished or they are in danger of expiring. 

Origins Stay Tuned Balancing Face Makeup in Warm Beige, $23.00

This is a really good foundation for oily skin.  What’s impressive about this foundation is that despite it being one of my OLDEST foundations it doesn’t appear to be in any danger of expiring.  However, it IS one of my oldest foundations and it’s almost used up.  I figure less than two more weeks of continued use and this will be done.  One thing I did not like about this foundation is that it can appear rather flat/matte on skin, especially under Shiseido Sunscreens.  I solve this by mixing in a luminizer.  This is best on oily, or well moisturized skin. 

MAC Cosmetics Blushcreme in Lilicent (DISCONTINUED)

This cream blush is one of my favorite shades.  It was discontinued, but there are dupes out there, not with the same finish though.  I have already hit pan on this.  This is not one of my oldest MAC blushes.  I believe I purchased this right before they discontinued it.  YAY for me!  I am not exclusively using this.  I have become rather attached to the very powdery matte blushes from Prestige Cosmetics.  I can’t always use a cream blush, but if I can, this is the cream blush I am using until it is completely used up.

Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheers in Golden Beige, Apricot (not shown), Golden Bronze(OLD FORMULA)

I really did go overboard buying these.  Both bottles are almost used up.  But these are very pigmented highlighters and it does not take a lot to get the desired effect.  I try to use these every day.  The travel size bottle can no longer be used with the pump, so I pour it out into my hand which is a good sign it is nearly used up.  The regular size bottle is almost at the pour into hand stage.  Still, it may take several weeks of use to use these up.  I will show more restraint with liquid highlighters.  They do take forever to use up. 

Inglot AMC Cream Foundation in MW 100, $22.00

It’s awful that I haven’t even posted this yet from my next foundation round up.  What’s the hold up?  Laziness.  I have the pictures, the swatches, thoughts – just can’t seem to write it.  Well, I guess this is a preview.   This is an interesting light-medium olive shade that is not commonly featured in foundations in the U.S.  Someone in a youtube video described it as gray.  No, it is not gray, but I can understand the confusion, since it does not have any strong yellow, pink, beige or orange undertones.  While I liked the shade, this was not a good foundation.  This is supposedly for all skintypes, ESPECIALLY DRY, but I found that you needed to lube up your face with moisture otherwise it highlighted dryness and flakiness.  Even when I did lube up, I still had issues with this foundation.   And, yeah, it is going bad way too soon!

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 55, $35.00 (OLD FORMULA)

The current packaging for this sunscreen now says SPF 50 due to FDA regulation regarding listing SPF’s higher than 50 on sunscreens – you can’t.  This hasn’t gone bad, but it’s almost done.  I can’t squeeze anything out of it now, so I had to cut it in half to get the rest of the product.  I figure about a week’s left usage is in there.  Makes me happy.  Woohoo.

FrankenBalm

FrankenBalm primarily contains my Decleor Ylang Ylang and Rose D’Orient Essential Night Balms, a bit of the Darphin Aromatic Purifying Balm, with a few extra add-ons.  The Decleor balms are more than a few years old, while the Darphin balm is about a year and a half.  I have to be careful with how many balms I collect.  They take a REALLY long time to use up. 

I will be so excited when I start chucking these bottles left and right!

Things You Do On A Beauty Spending Ban

1. Offer to take a makeup newbie friend to Sephora to help them isolate a few key products for their makeup bag.  If you can’t spend the money, it doesn’t mean that someone else can’t!

2.  Become really interested in multi-vitamins and supplements.  The one’s that are known to enhance skincare benefits.  Who said you can’t work from the inside out!

3. Start looking at your most recent last purchases and wonder if you can return it, and if you can, whether exchanging it for another product technically breaks the ban.  WHY, YES.  Yes, it does.

4. Starting looking at food and thinking of ways you can use it in a new beauty related way.  Manuka honey, Tumeric, Yogurt?   I am on my way!  No one said I couldn’t buy foodstuffs that doubles as a hair or skin treatment.  BWWWAAAHHHAAA!

5. Start thinking of birthday gifts that are coming up, and wonder if that relative who has never had an interest in skincare needs a skincare routine STAT!

6. Consider buying a skincare routine, or perfume set, for your mom, who actually does like that stuff, for Mother’s Day.

7. Think about whether Sephora will let you redeem your points without a purchase.

8. Consider whether redeeming those Sephora Beauty Insider Points breaks the ban.  Yes.  Yes, it does.

9.  Start adding items to a shopping cart in a moment of weakness, but close the browser after you have entered your log in information.

10. Start going through your products and rediscover products you have forgotten about and immediately put them into rotation.  It’s (almost) new to you-AGAIN!

11. Rediscover products there was a reason you didn’t use and give yourself an accidental chemical burn…  

12.  Stare at the count down clock daily and ask yourself if you went overboard committing to six months.  Maybe, I did.  Just a little.

13.  Ask yourself, who really needs to know if you break your ban, huh. WHO!  WHO! TELL ME!  WHO NEEDS TO KNOW!  Thaaaaaaaaaaaaat’s riiiight.  NOONEDOES! Actually, yes they do.  How lame would that be.  Lying to internet folks you’ve never even met in person!  🙂

14. Get a little loose hipped about other purchases you probably would have shown more restraint on…Why yes, I need that floral printed leather cosmetic case!  So pretty!

15. Start avoiding those promotional emails from beauty retailers.  Shakes fist at Skincarerx and their 30% off storewide promotion!

16.  Become relieved when you realize the coupon restrictions covers all the brands you want.

17.  Become extra creative with old products courtesy of a good idea from a blog commentator.  #SILKIESTBUTTCHEEKSEVER

18.  Wander out of Sephora wearing a new lipstick shade from STILA’s called Tesoro on the lips.  You know, that thing you said was tacky when you saw OTHER people do it.  #YOUGOTSERVED

19.  Stare listlessly at your makeup and skincare-filled Muji organizers for long stretches of time.

20.  Develop bad case of Jazz Hands when your hands are near each other because you are lost in thought thinking about the beauty spending ban. 

21.  Start obsessively stalking your usual blog haunts and repeatedly clicking the refresh button.  DAMNITWHYISEVERYONENOTGIVINGMETHEGOODS!

🙂

Buying Nearly Expired Products

I have written about how I am afraid my beauty products will expire before I am able to finish using them up.  This has happened to me with some of my products.  However, this post isn’t about products that expired because of my negligence in not using a product within the recommended time.  This post is about buying products that were already on it’s last legs before they were rang up at the counter for purchase.  This IRRITATES me and it has happened to me numerous times.

There are two brands that I keep having this issue with: Revlon and Inglot.  I have purchased multiple products that went bad after only a few months of ownership, or they were bad from the moment they were unboxed.

I know Revlon has a real inventory issue because it took me visiting several drugstores to find a Revlon foundation that had not already separated.  New York City has tons of drugstores that stock Revlon and yet I had to visit almost a half dozen to find a bottle of foundation that had not separated into oil and pigment.  Not that it mattered because within a matter of months my bottle started to separate.  I have never seen other foundation mass market brands with this problem.  I have never seen a Cover Girl, Maybelline, or L’Oreal foundation in stock that had separated but with Revlon it’s the opposite.  Revlon foundations, particularly their ColorStay line, are usually really old and you can tell.

Inglot was another brand I was surprised about.  Inglot was more surprising because I had to return a new foundation that was bad right out of the box.  I exchanged it for another foundation, but it’s been less than a year and it looks suspicious.  Unlike the Revlon foundation, which I poured out the contents of, I am trying to save the Inglot foundation and it is in my current foundation rotation.  It wasn’t just the foundation, I purchased a liquid blush and it was bad.  I returned it for another liquid blush.  This is where I put my dunce cap on because I didn’t bother to check the new liquid blush.  I was rather absentminded about the whole thing actually.  I didn’t put two and two together.  But when I opened the second box and realized it was also bad, I was done with liquids from Inglot.  Now, I don’t even bother.

Many brands already list an expected usage range before the freshness of the product becomes compromised, but I think it should be a standard industry practice to have a production date and shelf life date for highly perishable  liquid products.  How is it good customer service to get stuck buying a product that is on it’s last legs?  Products that are already expired right out of the box are easy to return, but those that expire mere months from purchase, are not so easy to return if you chuck that receipt, and who wants the hassle of trying to explain they are not trying to scam a few bucks, or a new bottle, out of the store or brand?

I don’t.  So into the garbage you go.  But I may not be as forgiving when it comes to my next purchase when I avoid purchasing from that brand for a product I actually do like.

And Then This Happened…

In a prior post I mentioned how I met up with a younger guy who had a crush on me while I was in grad school.  I kept him at arm’s length, while he reached out to me sporadically over the years – mainly on major holidays like Christmas and New Years and my birthday.  Contact was lighthearted and brief.  Occasionally there would be the offer to hang out and catch up in person, but I didn’t want to be annoyed by someone else’s crushing.  Eventually, I agreed to meet up with him mostly because I figured why not, and I thought he should be over any residual crush feelings.  Then I met up with him.  I was sheepishly interested and he was a bit reserved.  The picture of platonic interest.

I couldn’t help but be amused and sheepish about the whole situation.  He had looked like a teenager to me all those years ago, and now all dressed in black, while I looked scruffy in my post gym gear, he looked MUCH older.  A 5’oclock shadow helps….  🙂  After we went our separate ways, we traded a few lighthearted texts for the next couple of days, but then we went silent for about a week and change.  I kind of had to give myself a self-directed inward eye roll.  Ultimately, I decided not to focus on him and went about my business focusing on my professional development and networking.  

After the texting silence (seriously everything is done over text now), he popped back up again, and after an easy breezy current events-filled conversation, he mentioned a movie he wanted to see but couldn’t find anyone to go with.  At no point did I entertain the idea of going with him or even offering after he told the movie was Les Miserables.  I go to movies I WANT to watch.  It just looked like an awfully long, tone deaf movie.  Plus, I have weird feelings about being stuck at events I do not want to go to and do not think I will enjoy.  I start to feel like a trapped animal – a psychological claustrophobia.  I love history.  I love stories.  I don’t love them when they are combined.  With song.

Anyways, I REALLY DID NOT want to see this movie.  But he kept on about not being able to find someone to go with so I grudgingly offered to go if he really couldn’t find anyone to watch it with.  I did not hide my absolute disinterest and he did not hide his acknowledgement that I really did not want to see this movie.  He said he would let me know if he absolutely could not find someone else to see it with.  I was not anxious.

A week or so later, his girlfriend dumped him right before the camping trip he did not invite his girlfriend to with his friends. 

It was two of my friends who mentioned the oddity of this.  Why didn’t he go with his girlfriend?   I can pretty much honestly say, I wasn’t even thinking.  His explanation was that none of his friends were interested in seeing this movie and he did not want to go alone.  It never occurred to me to ask why he did not ask his girlfriend to go with him.  But men are funny creatures.  One of my former supervisors told me that he hides the fact that he looks through his VP fashion retailer wife’s high end fashion magazines.  He knows AS MUCH AS SHE does about the who’s who of the fashion industry, but he did not want her to know this.  It was his dirty little secret.  Anyways, I was surprised the guy wanted to see this super-sappy, melodramatic, former broadway show-inspired, novel-based musical movie.  I sure as hell didn’t want to see it. 

Oh well.

I will never know what would have been different had the guy’s girlfriend not dumped him some time before we went to see the movie.  We eventually went to see the movie, after he returned from a camping trip, and I was right.  The movie was HORRIBLE and I did feel like a CAGED animal in a room full of teary eyed Les Miserables enthusiasts.  After the movie he quietly admitted he did not think it was going to be so bad – or so long.  I, of course, could not be gracious and raged like an escaped beast recounting my former imprisonment for like 15 minutes.  I could not stop talking about how awful it was and how awful I felt having seen it during the walk to the restaurant or during the first few minutes at the table.  Had this been a date – it would have been a bust.  Maybe, I would have put my best gracious self on!  Oh well.  To this day, I have never experienced such a horrific movie experience.

I can’t say that dinner conversation was the most natural or easy going because marked throughout there was an underlying awkwardness that would emerge between the casual  chatter.  It wasn’t a bad awkwardness, just a “I don’t know where the hell this is going” awkwardness.  Throughout the dinner, I took an external eye and looked upon us and our surroundings to realize that this looked like a date, sounded like a date, and felt like a date.  A good one.  I mean, we were practically out of hour seats, leaning in talking to each other on opposite sides of what was already a small table.

Two hours later, we closed down the restaurant – or more like we realized they were putting the chairs on the tables around us and we needed to exit. 

I went home that night realizing that I had some how ended up on what felt like a date – a good one, and I didn’t mind one bit. 

I mean it wasn’t a date.  But it was the best non-date I’ve been to.  🙂

🙂

Les Parfums Chloe Rollerball Trio

Les Parfums Chloe Rollerball Trio, $55.00

Eons ago, ok, more like last fall, I was sniffing a bunch of scents looking for a nice springy scent to remind me of spring while I hunkered down in winter.  I dislike committing to perfumes and prefer to make smaller investments to figure out if I really like a scent.  Surprisingly, it takes me a while to realize whether or not I really like a scent a lot.  Rollerball perfumes are the best way to make a small investment which allows you to figure out if a scent is for you or not.

I was only interested in the L’Eau de Chloé Eau de Toilette Rollerball.  At the time that I purchased this scent, the rollerball was not available for purchase and only came in this set.  I was not pleased by this because I did not really care for the other two scents: Love, Chloe Rollerball and Chloé Eau de Parfum Rollerball.

L’Eau de Chloé appealed to me because it reminded me of a light green spring without the cloying scent of heavy or sweet florals.  The brand describes this scent as “free, carefree, and feminine with a delicate and lively mix of roses, floral notes and green outdoorsy notes” and I completely agree.  This scent which is comprised of 22 percent natural rose water, combines the following notes:  Grapefruit, Cedrat, Peach, Violet, Rose Petals, Cedarwood, Patchouli and Amber.  Surprise, surprise violet and cedarwood are combined in this scent.  These two notes seem to find their way in many of my favorite scents.  These notes must have balanced the grapefruit and peach notes I am not particularly fond of when they are distinct.

The opposite of a light green spring to me is the rather suffocating magnolia scent, Chloé Eau de Parfum.  I intensely dislike magnolia scents.  They smell oppressive to me.  The kind of scent little ole ladies douse themselves in.  It’s not the kind of scent that my nose recoils from immediately, particularly when they are initially masked by notes of pink peony, freesia and lychee.  But when that magnolia settles in, I just want to stick a peppermint up my nose to immediately clear the air.  I can’t distinguish anything else, despite the supposed presence of lily of the valley and rose midnotes.  The base notes are comprised of cedarwood, amber and honey, which the literature described as a velvety base.  This definitely adds to the heaviness of the scent along with the magnolia.  I had to give this rollerball away to my mom who loves ALL SCENTS.

I initially liked Love, Chloe, which I tend to do with powdery scents, but then it made me sick because it eventually settles into a synthetic watered down sweetness.  Another powdery scent I initially liked was Prada’s Infusion d’Iris, which gave me a watered down, powdery synthetic headache.  When it settles, it feels like stale powdered bath water.  While Prada’s Infusion d’Iris reminded me of a powdery soapy bath, Love, Chloe reminded me of a sweet, powdery warm bath with bubbles.  This perfume contains notes of Orange Blossom, Pink Pepper, Iris, Lilac, Hyacinth, Wisteria Blossom, Powdery Musks, Talc, Rice Powder.  This rollerball also ended up in my mother’s bag.
Why mention this set despite it being a bust for me, especially because the individual rollerball for L’Eau de Chloe is now sold separately?  It’s well into spring, summer is approaching soon, and Mother’s Day is near.  Whether for yourself, as a birthday gift, or a Mother’s Day gift, this is worth checking out.  It’s a great value ($55.00 for three, as opposed to $25.00 each individually) and it’s a gift that could potentially keep on giving as the receiver may decide to share the unloved spoils with others, while keeping her favorite rollerball to herself. 

The Gorgeous Floral Leather Collection from MZ Wallace

Image from https://MZWallace.com

I hate giving out my email address to retailer websites.  However, there are a few that are totally worth it mostly because they don’t spam the heck out of my account and the promotional images used in their marketing emails are so visually appealing.  And I love their products.  🙂

I received an email from MZ Wallace introducing their new limited edition custom print floral leather accessories.  I fell in love immediately.  Distinctive, one of a kind, colorful, artfy and destined to only get better with age.

Image from https://MZWallace.com

Funnily enough, when I received an earlier promotional marketing email from MZ Wallace containing a photo of one of their core collection items with a floral arrangement in the bag, I was immediately attracted to the florals in the bag, rather than the bag.  I thought to myself, isn’t that a beautiful floral image. I wish I could own something reminiscent of it. 

Image from https://MZWallace.com

I am pleased that MZ Wallace was on the same page!  Love their new limited edition!   If you are looking for a small special treat for someone, or yourself, they are also selling a small cosmetic bag for under a $100.