Perfume Posse

Happy Labor Day, folks.  Hecate and Buckethead turned six this weekend.  I can’t believe it. We’re out playing today — visiting grandpa to open more presents, then heading to the zoo.  I asked Hecate what she wanted to visit first at the zoo and she said, the pizza!   Love The rest, please…

Everyone (okay, some of you) is/are heading off for Labor Day. Here’s some random stuff: 1) Diva went fragrance shopping with me last week; I was looking for the new Lolita Lempicka L/Fleur de Corail, but it doesn’t seem to have shown up anywhere. BTW, having retried the Kenzo Peace The rest, please…

Nothing, but nothing is catching my eye enough to write anything more than a sentence or two about it, so it’s time for just a general march of the perfumes: Profumum Neroli — This is a pretty great Neroli perfume.  Light, effervescent on the open with some interesting long-lasting depth, The rest, please…

Before I forget –August 30 is the cutoff date for registering online for the Chi-Cocoa Scentsation. I think we have 35ish people!!! It’s gonna be fun. I think we’re getting a bunch of swag from the stores, plus our bottle swap, plus the afterparty… I can’t wait to meet some The rest, please…

See review Guest Review: Redken Elastic Works 09 Rated a 9 by TotalBeauty.com Editor Sarah Carrillo Redken Elastic Works 09 gives wavy hair well-defined curls that manage to stay bouncy and soft, not crispy or crunchy. I applied it to damp hair and diffused while scrunching. …More .

  Hey, look, I have eyes!!!  And without makeup.  Normally when I would smile, my squinting would make my eyes completely disappear. so that they are still visible, even with some remaining swelling, is just outstanding.  The chin has a funky thing on it.  Some scar tissue normally forms around The rest, please…

See review Guest Review: Nars The Multiple Rated a 7.5 by TotalBeauty.com Editor Kristen Oldham-Giordani Nars The Multiple is a cream-to-powder formula that can be used anywhere (though it leaves lips feeling a little too powdery). The jumbo stick glides on smoothly and feels moist on skin, making it ideal The rest, please…

  First off, several people have asked what those Total Beauty posts are. We are signed up with them and they link to us to help grow our readership, and we run their ads and link to some of their articles. They cover a lot of topics besides fragrance, and The rest, please…

Pedicure how-to Top Do-It-Yourself Pedicure Tips Pros share tips on getting salon results at home With gorgeous sandals hitting the shelves, it’s no time to be shy about baring your toes. Sure, you could splurge on a luxurious pedicure but who has the time and money to keep that up? The rest, please…

See review Guest Review: Chanel Precision Hydramax + Active Serum Active Moisture Boost Rated a 9.5 by TotalBeauty.com Editor Charli Schuler Dry skin types who usually reach for a rich, heavy cream will love this lightweight blue serum. It not only instantly hydrates, but also makes skin a perfectly smooth, The rest, please…

See cuts   Celebrities’ Super Short Hairstyles Stars like Rihanna and Paris Hilton take it all off — their hair that is It’s no surprise that so many stars opt for super short bobs and pixie cuts. Aside from being low-maintenance, a short style puts more focus on the face The rest, please…

I like it. Growing stuff, that is. Today I had a general tidy of the allotment, which meant: Squishing caterpillars. I used to relocate them from my cabbages in some right-on, hippyish vein, but I realised I had to relocate thousands, and got bored of being beardy. I now squeeze The rest, please…

See reviews Best Liners for Your Lips From MAC and Smashbox to Wet n Wild, the pencils that garnered top ratings and glowing product reviews Not too hard or soft, these lip liners appealed to TotalBeauty.com editors and members for a variety of really good reasons. Find out if you The rest, please…

so they only sell Cradle of Light at the CB I Hate perfume store now, not online.  Is some kind New Yorker going to be out on Brooklyn in the next month or so, could I prevail on you to send you money to pick me up a bottle?  I’m The rest, please…

Puredistance I is a perfume built around exclusivity.  Now, before y’all start sighing and rolling your eyes, Puredistance I does have those elements if you get the really spiffy Swarovski crystal bottle for a couple thousand euro, but if you just want the perfume, you can get the refill at a The rest, please…

See reviews Top 23 “As Seen on TV” Skin Products Find out which acne fighters, anti-aging creams and moisturizers are worth the shipping and handling fees Admit it: On nights you can’t sleep you may stay up watching infomercials or checking out what Suzanne Somers is hawking on the Home The rest, please…

Today’s a quickie because all the kids are home underfoot until school starts next week and I have a work project to attend to. The girls and I had a great time smelling some new scents from Demeter: Tootsie Roll. I am the Tootsie Roll Queen. The Tsarina of Tootsie. The rest, please…

  Guest Review: Marco Pelusi Anti-Frizz Leave-In Conditioner Rated 9.5 by TotalBeauty.com Editor Charli Schuler It’s easy to see why Marco Color Anti-Frizz Leave-In Conditioner with Collagen Color Guard is hairstylist Marco Pelusi’s signature product. Just one or two pumps miraculously detangle knots and tame frizz on all hair types. The rest, please…

I am the most unphotogenic person I know, but with no makeup, 6 days post-surgery, this isn’t the most unfortunate picture I’ve ever taken.  Trust me, we did like four of these, and usually my mouth is open, my eyes are half-closed and I look sad/drunk/tired/irritated.  I’m being very brave The rest, please…

  17 Hairstyles That Take Less Than 10 Minutes Up ‘dos mere mortals like us can actually replicate at home With a few (and only a few) key products and styling tools, you can quickly give yourself a salon-worthy ‘do. And hey, if you hate it, try a different one The rest, please…

Today I threw caution to the wind and, for the first time in almost three months, went for a walk. I know some of you must be getting tired of me harping on my heel injury at this point, but I had no idea how much I would miss walking. The rest, please…

I heard Sufjan Stevens´ song The Dress Looks Nice on You on some teen TV show, and based on how lovely that snippet was, I bought his Seven Swans CD. I´ve added it to my collection of music I listen to in the car that keeps me mellow so I The rest, please…

  Hair Product Challenge: Frizz Fighters These product reviews reveal which formulas tame fine, thick, wavy and curly hair … and which are a waste of money We painstakingly perused your ratings and reviews of anti-frizz products to find out which ones made your repeat purchase list and which fell The rest, please…

The other day, I optimistically went in search of some of the newest department store fragrance offerings. A while back, I wrote about how I found some hidden gems among the Clinique Happy clones and the ever-increasing stable of celebrity scents. This time around, I wasn´t so lucky; what I The rest, please…

  Top 10 Makeup Felonies No one is innocent, not even Paris Hilton. Celebrity makeup artist Fiona Stiles tells which beauty crimes to avoid Before you make up your next face, there are 10 crucial no-nos you need to know. (Chances are you’re guilty of at least one of them.) The rest, please…

First, a plea for some help that a friend sent to me. Nadvirna Baby Orphanage is in Ivano-Frankivska, Ukraine, and is home to approximately 80 children from infants to age 4. Or it was home to those 80 children. The orphanage was completely destroyed by weeks and weeks of torrential The rest, please…

You know what I love about perfume? Among many things, I love the swappage – in my case, mostly free samples in and out based on a guess that the recipient might find them interesting. I opened one envelope recently to find samples of Dominique Ropion´s weird/wonderfest WET, Lothantique Ginger, The rest, please…

MUA member that many of you know, Candice, has started her own perfume line, CJ Scents. Right now she can be found here  and eventually here, on Etsy, once that store is set up.  I think it’s great when a perfume nut does this because they bring their passion for scent to The rest, please…

I am staring at the back page of my New York Times Sunday paper right now, and there is a full-page ad: “Introducing Donna Karan, The Fragrance Collection. A wardrobe of seductive fragrances.” Donna Karan Chaos — squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Donna Karan Signature — ???? Donna Karan Black Cashmere — squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! they The rest, please…

Every now and again, one of you asks, so did you ever find a foundation? For those of you interested in my foundation drama, here´s my final report. I found the search for my “perfect” foundation fascinating. Unlike fragrance, I´m not looking for something quirky and offbeat in my foundation. The rest, please…

Not sure if this will work, but I couldn’t resist trying: here’s a link to a New York magazine article about Sean Combs’ launch of his new fragrance, I Am King. (To be followed later by I Am Queen, natch). According to the link-through to WWD at the bottom of The rest, please…

My summer isn’t yet over (all of August off work), so it’s fair to say I’m being a little previous (as my ma would say) with my title. Still, I’m reminded of those turgid and asinine assignments teachers would set in primary school to fill some time while they got The rest, please…

So about a week or so ago, after Robin at NST announced on her blog that parfum1.com had Balmain Ambre Gris on their website, there was an MUA Lemming stampede to snag a bottle.  I mean, it’s called ambre gris, that just sounds pretty perfect right off the bat.  Did The rest, please…

  Before I forget — have you checked out carmencanada’s fragrance blog, Grain de Musc? She does each post in French and English, and they’re wonderful — and quite informative, including her sneak preview of the new Malle, Dans tes Bras, and news of the reopening of IUNX (yesss!! and The rest, please…

This is me.  I am 48.  I look okay for 48, but with a title of a post like this… y’all know what’s coming. I’ve been asked, why do I talk so publicly about doing anything cosmetic to myself, and my answer is, why not?  I don’t need to give The rest, please…

  Violetnoir emailed me to meet up this weekend (for the first time! yay!) when she was in town, so she, Louise and I started off with a leisurely lunch at the M Café in the Chevy Chase Wall o´ Bling. We followed up with visits to Saks, Bloomies, and The rest, please…