Random Jots and Tittles

Psst!!! For you Eau de Merveilles Parfum lovers, Imagination Perfumery has the 1 oz refill size back in stock for 99.99. Hurry, I may have got the last one. (Hangs head and looks guilty) Sorry, I went and looked again, and it now says sold out, I DID get the last one, but only because I’ve been bird-dogging that forever. But they do have the .25 refill for $55.99. If you’re wanting the deal of the century on that 1 oz, just keep checking back every day, they tend to get small amounts in, and they disappear fast. And if you’re any fan of Eau de Merveilles, the parfum is just a whole other level — richer, smoother, deeper.

Is it me, or does Coco smell a little bit like Youth Dew Amber Nude early on? I spritzed some in Saks and was driving to Petsmart after and kept smelling YDAN, until I figured out that it must be the Coco. They smell completely different in the drydown, but right in the first hour, they seemed similarish. So odd.

Speaking of Coco, I have to rat myself out. I thought I would try one of those great deals on eBay for Coco 3.4 oz EDP for $29.99 (stop laughing, I should know better, and I don’t know what came over me that allowed me to push the Buy it Now button). Got it, the bottom had a label that peeled off, the Coco label on the front was slightly crooked, plastic cap instead of glass, and it smelled a little like Coco, but my EDT was way stronger than this. Sent it back for a refund. She said they sent me a money order, which is weird since I paid with PayPal, but money all spends the same. The seller had 99.6% positive feedback, so I’m not worried. What shows up today under that item? User is no longer registered. Damnit, they are NARU!!!! Then I look more, and this seller has only been registered since the end of September of this year and somehow amassed 1400 feedbacks. Well, I”m sure they’ll open up shop under another name soon. So… Don’t Buy Chanel Perfumes on the Cheap on Ebay.

Sparkly mascara — Giorgio Armani has one. I tried it on in the store, and with their crappy lighting, couldn’t see sparkle one. Off to the truck, drove into light, and, voila! super-sparkling trashy eyelashes — love ’em!!!! Now I need to call back down and have him send me some. I knew that would happen. You only see the sparkles after you leave the store if you don’t buy it. Also, the sparkly hairspray from Frederic Fekkai is awesome, too.

You know who has a great candle store on the internet? Candledelirium, that’s who. They have free shipping and gift wrapping for orders over $75. I sent in my order this afternoon and had a UPS tracking number within 10 minutes. Now, I have more candles than any sane person should have, but I could not resist the Voluspa Makassar Ebony and Peach candle or the Archipelago Havana candle (bergamot, tobacco leaf and Ylang Ylang) or the True Wheat candle, which sounds super-freaky –“organic garden notes with green tomato leaf, Bibb lettuce and Bradford cucumber, then layers them with grain and grass for an earthy clean blend” — but, hell, I never have been able to lay off the green tomato leaf and grain. I’m hoping for En Passant with tomato leaf tucked behind its ear instead of a sprig of lilac. Anyway, these guys have a great collection of candles. If they would just add Skeem candles to their list, I could shop here for everything candley.

Was I sleeping in class the day that everyone was told Annayake Miyako was a limited edition that was about gone before I bought it? It’s just a stunning incense scent, and I refuse to be addicted to it. It goes on with some freaky note that makes my nose wrinkle up, but in about 15 minutes, the drydown is this warm, enveloping incense smell that almost makes me cry. Hey, you, Miyako, go stand in the corner with the Gobin-Daudes.

Can we talk about Pilates? I finally broke down in my old age, because of the creaky joints and what feels like just a loss of strength, and signed up for private lessons with the most awesome Pilates instructor ever, Chris. I’ve tried these on my own over the years and got nowhere, just bored, didn’t keep it up, but there is a lot to be said by someone personally motivating you — in other words, making you do it. I’ve now switched over to the reformer classes, and I am just loving it, which is saying a lot for me. I got by forever with doing nothing. I grew up on a farm and had muscles layered on muscles, and they saved me a ton of pounds over 40 years because muscles burn so many more calories, so I ate pretty much whatever I wanted and dieted after babies and just didn’t worry about it too much, even if I had an extra 20 pounds, It wore well with that much muscle, and I was always just strong as an ox. Well, something about getting past 40 and then 45 really destroyed that safety net muscly calorie burner. Now I need to rebuild my muscle so I can go back to having ice cream every now and then. Ben & Jerry miss me and think I’m cheating on them. Pilates really does work, I can feel my old natural strength coming back with just a few classes.

Speaking of that, best diet book I’ve read is You on a Diet. I’ve got a ton of these books, especially since I hit 40, and this one is written by doctors, the ones that wrote You, the Owner’s Manual (also excellent), and they explain your body’s reaction to food and appetite and what triggers it in a way that isn’t dumbed down, but is completely understandable. Their explanation for why walking 30 minutes a day is vital really made a believer out of me, and I’ve been on my treadmill faithfully every day for a couple of weeks now (just one more week to make it a habit). Besides, I’m slowly working my way through the Battlestar Galactica series — one episode a day on my video iPod while on the treadmill (I’m flying my geeky freak flag proudly now). So when the Holidays are over, and you are looking at that extra 10 pounds, remember that book. I’m getting a headstart on y’all. 🙂 I’m aiming to get back my much more youthful figger. Never aim too low.

mepingpong

  • IrisLA says:

    Ack! Lemming grows stonger. Ack again. It’s pricey for a makeup item that I can wear only a few times during this holiday season.

  • Patty says:

    Iris, a really nice sparkly, not big chunks. I tried someone else’s sparkly mascara a couple years ago, can’t remember whose, but it just flaked off in my eyes, but I left this one and didn’t get any sparkly dust in my eyes at all, it was awesome!

  • Patty says:

    L — you have a much better read on the post than I had. I think I’ll redo it. 🙂

    Now, get back to work! Speaking of which, I had better as well.

  • Patty says:

    Judith — yeah, no weight loss with the Pilates, but it sure does build back up nice muscle, but in a subtle way. It’s my time on the treadmill that is a calorie killer.

  • Leopoldo says:

    I read this post as saying “Random bots and titties” and I was expecting the confessions of a bisexual rampaging nymphomaniac who was hiding out somewhere in the Rockies.

    Oh well. Loved the post anyways.

  • Judith says:

    Oh, by the way, I do take a Pilates reformer class (and sometimes a mat one) at my gym. I love it, but don’t find it particularly good for losing weight. Cardio and (heavyish) weights for that. . .

  • Patty says:

    Justine, you are just evil…. but I would have done the exact, same thing. 🙂

    I *still* want Coco in parfum, and not in the EDP anymore. I’ll keep hunting down the little darling.

  • Patty says:

    Tom, I’ll be right there with you, but not in the gym, just on my reformer machine. God, I despise exercise with a passion.

  • Patty says:

    Yeah, Judith, you were the little enabler on that Parfum, too. Lord, it is just unbearably beautiful, but I’ll feel better having an ounce, then I can spritz away!

    Yup, eBay is where I got it, and there’s only one seller that is great on them, the other two I saw have horrible feedback, and I’m just not in the mood to deal with them, and the good one doesn’t have any bottles up.

  • Patty says:

    Tigs — yes, that’s me in the pic a lot of years ago, like 30 now. Yuk.

    eBay can be tough, but remember you can always file with your credit card company ir eBay doesn’t resolve it for you, if you used a cc when you paid for it instead of a PayPal balance

  • Patty says:

    Okay, Miss March, I know, I know. I do keep looking at those Fendy spy bags for $400. You mean they’re not real either? 🙂

    Yeah, that’s me on the right. Those were my drinking buddies. The one in the middle was my friend that wore the Stephen B too. We were incredibly drunk in that one.

    So I’m waiting for resolution on my tester problem still — apparently I’ll get a discount, but if it’s not enough, back they go.

  • Patty says:

    E — have fun at the candle place, I want to try some of the Occulatum candles next time.

    Yeah, the feedback system does suck, for both sides. Buyers now expect 99% and above for feedback. Sellers are afraid to get even one, so they hold feedback hostage because there are a few people out there that won’t even attempt to resolve a problem with the seller first. Sucks, but it’s always a few that screw it up.

  • Patty says:

    Chaya, eBay is almost always a great experience. I’ve been burned as many times ordering from websites that just stop shipping, and if you pay with PayPal funds, you can’t get your money back from them at all if they don’t have any money. So now, on all big-ticket items, I transfer all money out of PayPal and then pay for it with a credit card. That way I have recourse through my credit card company if something goes wrong.

  • Patty says:

    Pam, I’m still hopefuly my seller will actually send me the money back. Yeah, I know, they don’t call me Mary Sunshine for nothing, and my husband is such a pessimist, I have to be extra optimistic to make up for him.

    I’m still eyeing this 1 oz bottle of Coco parfum, but it’s been opened, and the seller is legit, and she says the cap is glass/crystal, so I keep thinking I should just get it and hope for the best?

  • IrisLA says:

    Lemming born: sparkly mascara. Please tell us more about the Armani mascara! Do chunks get into your eyes? (contact lens wearer here)

  • Patty says:

    St. V. — You know, I’ve gotten so many great deals on eBay, authentic, great stuff, one bad transaction is just a blip. Well, I’ve got that German hairspray transaction that’s looking to go bad soon, but I remain hopeful!

    Are you making age jokes? 🙂 Listen, I can get an AARP card in three years, I’m stoked!

  • violetnoir says:

    Is that you in that picture, P? Well get down, mama! You are foxy! 😉

    AM is great, isn’t it? I managed to snag a couple of bottles in October for myself and a very sweet perfume friend. I love the bottle and the presentation!

    Hugs!

  • Justine says:

    Wow, it appears I’m one of the few who’s bought a Chanel on Ebay and had it turn out alright. More than alright, fantastic.

    Snagged a half ounce of No.5 parfum for 34 bucks. With shipping, it still came out to less than forty. It was someone unloading a gift and I felt slightly guilty…I figured she had no idea what she was selling and half wanted to write her and say, look, give this one a little time if you’re not ready yet. Someone out there thinks you are, since they gave it to you. Its the mother of all classics. It’s *parfum* don’t sell it for cheap!

    But, I held back and it became mine all mine, bwahahahah.

  • tmp00 says:

    Good for you with the Pilates!

    I used to be in the same boat- I was a buyer for a bookstore in LA for years, so I lugged crates of books all day. Plus I walked to and from work and took yoga. Then the store closed and I got my present job downtown, where the most exercise I get is CTRL/ALT/Delete, and I dropped the gum membership when my fave yoga instructor quit and moved to Arizona. I caught sight of me yesterday in a mirror at a department store and nearly plotzed.

    My Christmas present to me? Re-up at the gym.

  • Judith says:

    I am so glad that you got the Parfum de Merveilles! I love it! Of course you can’t buy Coco on Ebay (although I have bought cuir de russie, new and vintage, with some success–but even there you need to be careful). You can, however, buy Miyako. If Rosa in France is still selling any, she is very reliable and reasonably priced. There are other sellers, too, but they are somewhat less reasonably priced (and I can’t speak to reliability).

  • Tigs says:

    I got burned on a *huge* perfume transaction in September and I’m still fighting PayPal and eBay to get some of the money back. In the meantime, I paid nice safe retail price for my vat of Eau Noire in a store. Ah well, we live and learn. That you in the pic? (This could be my ignorance shining through….) Nice bum, anyway!

  • March says:

    Dumb*ss.

    :d

    All that other Chanel stuff? It’s fake too. Oh, and those Balenciaga Le Dix motorcycle bags selling for $400? I don’t want one of those for Christmas either, because if it gets wet it will probably dissolve.

    BTW, nice rack! And which one of those girls is you in the mesuecindy photo? I’m guessing all the way to the right — your hair is PERFECT.

    Um, YDAN doesn’t smell anything like Coco to me. But now you have me curious, and I think I still have samples of both…

  • Elle says:

    I’m a confirmed candle sl*t, so am definitely on my way to check out that store.
    I didn’t buy a Chanel, but I did buy a d/ced scent a while back from a seller in Germany who had only been on ebay a few months, but had over 2,000 glowing feedback. They wrote and asked me for $20 extra for shipping (said I’d miscalculated). I thought maybe I had and sent it. The next day they were NARU. Ugh! The feedback system is good, but I think the problem is that a lot of people will leave positives just to avoid a negative in return. I understand that since I have a relatively low number of total feedback, so one negative would wreck my percentage.

  • chayaruchama says:

    Good on you, Patty one !
    We all need goals, and exercise helps exorcise as well…

    Sorry about getting burned !
    Who knows, I never ebayed until this week- I might be right up there w/ you [praying secretly that my seller is not a cad, fingers crossed]…

  • Pam says:

    Patty, I’ve been in the dunce corner myself. Won a bottle of Chanel No 19 for 20 bucks back in the spring. Got it three days later; the cap was an old plastic cap, and the juice was colored water with a cheap and weird floral-fruity smell. Some of it even leaked out in transit and had the strangest smell. The seller seemed (genuinely?) shocked when I contacted him, and he did give me a refund immediately. He’s another one of those NARU; he had about a half dozen bottles of the 19 on auction starting at 20 dollars. All but two left him ++feedback. ???

    I’m sorry your seller is such a bum. That stinks.

  • St. Veronica says:

    My eBay experience is just the opposite. My winning bid on a Chanel was cancelled because the perfume was reported as having been damaged or stolen – despite the fact the seller listed a dozen more in her eBay store!

    Patty – Do you get discounts on perfume with your AARP card? That information may come in handy in twenty-three years.