Drawing Winners

I have a few winners from last week:

First, for the manufacturer’s sample of the Le Metier Peau Vierge – maggiecat.

The samples of Chantecailles three new fragrances – odonata9 and Junebug.

Just click on the contact us over there on the let, send me your address and remind me what you won, and I’ll get it sent out to you.

Update on the Peau Vierge, it really is that good – so far – on me after six days plus of daily use.  My sister and my niece (51 and 22) also tried it this weekend, and both fell in love with the coverage and how it lasted, looked and felt.  I really don’t know if anything is worth $125, and I think if you find something that costs less and works great you should use that and feel grateful.  The mascara is also great.  I’ve been using it since last Thursday daily, and it doesn’t smudge, it doesn’t move on my eyelashes at all, gives a nice eyelash that’s not clumpy or spidery, two coats gives it plenty of thickness, and I love the light tints in them that take out some of the harshness of the black.  They cleanse off easily with normal cleanser.  So that’s the quick update, I will update again in a month or two, because by then most products tend to lose their initial effect on my skin/lashes/mouth/nails/eyes/hair.  If these hold up, they will be pronounced long-term keepers. if not, the search will continue.

Just to squick you all out, does anyone watch that show on A&E called Hoarders?  I’m trying to figure out how I missed this until this weekend.  They showcase anywhere from mild’ish hoarders -trashy homes, but not quite or only slightly health hazards – to Level 5 Hoarders – the ones you read about in the newspaper.  It’s seriously so gross, but I’m fascinated by the mental illness that manifests in this way that allows it to happen to people who at one time, many were normal.  From this point forward, every time I feel a twinge about a little bit of clutter on my coffee table, I’m going to pick it up quickly, kiss the cleaning staff that comes in every two weeks, give them a bonus, then throw out some things that “I’m sure I’ll use again some day” just as prevention.

Nothing perfumey for me today, I went out of town this weekend to visit family and just got off the perfume train for a weekend. I did get in some new candles, though, the Voluspa White Truffle Cocoa and the sampler box of their new Rouge Collection, none of which I have lit up yet because I’ve been too busy burning the White Truffle Cocoa.  Chocolate candles and perfume normally have something in them that bothers me, but this one smells much more like cocoa, which really works for me.  I think I’ll watch another old episode of Hoarders and go throw out some old candles I don’t burn anymore as well.  Maybe an old perfume bottle too.  Oh, no, I’m not gonna do that!!!

What do you hoard, and what do you throw out?  Perfume?  Are we all perfume hoarders?

  • Tara C says:

    Mostly I hoard books – I do have quite a lot of cosmetics, shoes, purses, jewelry, perfume and clothes too, but have an easier time of letting go of those things than the books. Last night I went through my entire pantry and fridge and threw out expired food. I tend to overbuy, need to stop doing that. I plan to do a big purge in a couple of years when I move, but until them I’m just slowly weeding, giving away a box of stuff here and there.

  • Musette says:

    For your magazine hoarders – GET A BINDER!

    I kept 5 boxes! of Food and Wine mags until it occurred to me that I only wanted 1 or 2 recipes from each. So I clipped those, along with any photos I wanted (this was pre-Internet) and recycled the mags. The one binder holds the actual recipes I wanted, so I now use those recipes….because, guess what? I CAN FIND THEM! LOL!

    When was the last time you were willing to dig through a decade of old mags to find a recipe? If you’re like me, the answer is NEVER!

    So clip, bind (in those sleeve-thingies) and recycle the rest of the mag.

    A Public Service Announcement from The >-)

    • Tommasina says:

      Don’t most recipes eventually turn up on the Intrawebz anyway?

      • Musette says:

        yeah, they do but I can understand the need to clip the ones you want when you want them – I don’t know about the rest of you but I have trouble remembering my name sometime and don’t want to forget what it was I wanted to remember :-D I’ve been unwilling to ‘overpromise’ so I’ve been able to keep it under control.

        One of my hardest discards were my shelter mags – oh, for the crying emoticon!!! but I got over it pretty quick. Especially after I saw the dead spiders in the bottom of the basket – used much?

        xo >-)

    • DinaC says:

      Anita,

      I do something similar! I used to save fashion magazines (like InStyle) until I had a big stack that tipped over. Now, my system is this: read the magazine once for pleasure. Scan the magazine a second time after time has elapsed (maybe a couple of weeks to a month) and rip out anything I’m interested in. It could be a pretty dress that I will never be able to afford, a nice makeup face, a pretty shoe, a beautiful interior decorated home, etc. Or it could be a recipe for a cocktail, food, tips on how to clean something. Whatever. I just save all my clippings in a file folder. So far, that works for me. Then the rest of the magazine goes into the paper recycling bin, and I’m guilt free. :-)

  • odonata9 says:

    I can’t watch those shows – it hits a little too close to home. My mom is a hoarder, though not to those levels and I’m starting to see it more in myself. My mother has cupboards full of plastic food containers, a full freezer and fridge and cupboards of food which she will never make since she mostly eats out (much of it expired), 3 closets and several dressers of clothes, almost all from thrift stores and yard sales, and tons of papers, newspaper articles, magazines, books, all that she’ll never read. But the house is navigable (except for the attic!) and she is actually starting to purge now since she is selling the house. I get to go home next month and get rid of all my stuff that has been lingering there and see if there’s anything else I want to keep.

    My problem is also papers, especially magazine articles and recipes I’ve ripped out and scrapbook type stuff – movie tickets, programs, etc. I also have a hard time with clothes that are still in good shape or just a tiny bit too small (and I have a whole lot of those). Those it’s more about the money and a bit of optimism, I think. I spent good money on them and didn’t get my money’s worth out of them and maybe one day I’ll lose 15 pounds and I will have to buy new clothes again if I don’t keep these. It sounds so ridiculous when I write it down! Time for me to drop some stuff at Goodwill!

    • Tommasina says:

      Your mother sounds like my mother-in-law: earlier this year it looked as if she might have to go permanently into a care facility. She’s actually been back home since July; but, back in March or so, I took the precaution of starting to go through her stuff, beginning with the linen closet in the guest bathroom. Amongst other things, I found 17 sets of double sheets. She doesn’t even own a bed that’s the right size for them but refused for a couple of days to let them go, insisting she ‘might need them’. When I asked why, she said first in case she had company. Well, not to be cruel, but her son – my husband – and I are her only overnight guests; when I gently pointed out that they didn’t even fit the bed we slept on, or hers, she said she might need them if she went into a facility where her bed might not fit and she needed to get a double. Of course, I then had to point out that it was unlikely she’d have the storage for 17 sets of sheets. Every other item I suggested throwing out was met with the same fierce resistance – expired food (Orville Redenbacker’s microwave popcorn with an offer for tickets for the 1985 world sthg-or-other sports event); sticky, smelly Tupperware containers at least 30 years old; cardboard boxes (empty) of all shapes and sizes that she was keeping (and still is – she wouldn’t let me touch them) in case she might need to pack something in them of that exact shape and size…

      Oy.

  • DinaC says:

    I’ve always been a neatnic — Felix Ungers of the World unite! — but the other three members of my family prevent me from having a tidy world. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking with it.

    I have a hard time letting go of my kids’ art projects. I’m sentimental about them. I bought huge, flat artists’ portfolios and loaded them up and shoved them under my bed to store some of their stuff. I’ve also learned the trick where you take a photo of an art project so you can feel free to trash the real thing when it starts looking ratty.

    I also have the habit of saving the kind of thing that would be good scrapbook fodder: ticket stubs, play programs, the brochure from a museum etc. Problem is I never put together any scrapbooks! So I just have a pile of memorabilia sitting on my desk waiting to topple over.

    I think the last category of things that I keep far too long are receipts. But there have been times when that has come in handy, so maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

    I can’t really watch more than a minute of “Hoarders.” It’s too upsetting for me. I watch TV for pleasurable escapism, not horrifying realism. My name is Dina C, and I’m a wimp.

  • Rappleyea says:

    I’m probably the direct opposite of a hoarder whatever that is. Pretty much anything in my house that doesn’t get used or worn in a year’s time gets thrown out or given away. I had a pretty big book collection at one time (and hated to loan them out as I kept them in pristine condition) until a friend said to me, “Books can’t live on shelves; they die.” That did it! I took nine boxes of books to a library in the mountains of Eastern Ky.

    I worry about even being able to call myself a perfumista anymore as I’ve gotten to the point of having more than I can wear and so I’ve pretty much stopped buying – gasp!

  • Disteza says:

    I was watching the same marathon; I love watching shows like that or Clean House/How Clean is Your House, mostly becuase they serve as an excellent motivational tool for me to get up and start cleaning. Been putting off cleaning out the basement? A ‘lil episode or two of Hoarders is just the ticket! My problem is getting rid of those things you know are valuable, but you don’t have the time to see to them properly. Case in point, the 6 pearl necklaces I’ve been given. I don’t really need more than two, and would be ridiculous to throw them away, but I can’t find time to sell them. Heck, I’m tempted to unstring one so I can sew them to my Renaissance Fair outfit just so I can get the dang thing outta my jewelry box, but that may be a bit drastic.

    • Musette says:

      when my mom passed I took her pearls and mine to my jeweler and had them restrung into one long rope. Worked like a charm for many years -. Now I no longer wear ropes so I’m taking them back to the jeweler to restring into a double strand.

      If you have a jeweler you can always put them on consignment. Stuff I didn’t feel like resetting I put on consignment and it was relatively painless – prolly not as much $$ as I would’ve gotten via private sale but way less drama so it evened out. On a lot of my mom’s jewelry I simply had the stones removed and reset. Worked great with the small stuff.

      Also, if you have daughters/nieces/goddaughters….:-?

      xo >-)

    • Patty says:

      I know! I’ve got my sons hooked on those shows too, which is even more valuable. I noticed they had vacuumed and filled a garbage bag last night after watching a couple of episodes.

      do you have a friend or family member that might like the pearls? A young niece or something? I think if not, I’d do what you’re proposing, just unstring them and put them on something that will make you happy!

  • Elizabeth says:

    As long as my collections do not prevent my from cleaning house or other daily routines, I suppose it isn’t hoarding. Although I will always want and seek out new perfumes, I can only use and store a finite amount. I have a fear of hoarding though–my husband collects all kinds of things “for art projects”. In the 25 years I’ve known him, I have yet to see any art works from him. I do love magazines, and to make it easier to dispose of them, I regularly take big stacks of them to the hospital and scatter them around the waiting rooms where there is little if anything for people to read; they seem to get scooped up by grateful readers.

    • Patty says:

      I’m trying to figure out the magazine thing. I get a lot of travel and cooking magazines, and I want things out of , but don’t need the whole thing. I keep thinking I should tear out a page or just write the information down in a notebook.

      My technique so far has been if I don’t need it in three months, I never will, so I toss it.

  • Sherri M. says:

    I couldn’t have said it more perfectly, Mrs. Honey! Collections do give us joy, and are a whole ‘nother animal! My house is covered in blue-and-white china, but I really do love it. Same with my perfume. I think with the perfume, as with the china, I’m getting much more discerning which I will actually purchase. I have a limited amount of financial resources and space so I’m trying purchase only what I love. I admit to wanting to try everything, and that’s why I’m so grateful to places like TPC! I guess I am always trying to reign in my OCD tendancies..:-)

    Patty, glad to hear you are having luck with the Peau Vierge and mascara! Anyone who hasn’t heard: Today Neiman Marcus’ fall beauty event begins–lots of GWP’s. Sadly, none for Chanel, Armani and YSL, but plenty of others. And, Guerlain is offering free engraving on select L’art et la Matiere and Charnel Elixirs (they do have a GWP also).

    I know this is a perfume board, but has anyone purchased/have any information on the Baby Quasar/Baby Blue IPL devices?

    • Patty says:

      I love my fine china too, though I don’t have that much of it at this point. The few pieces I have – mostly tea and espresso cups – I just love using them. They just add a specialness to my tea and espresso drinking, a little bit of luxury that helps me enjoy it more.

      I had to google the BAby Quasar IPL device. It sounds interesting, I hope someone has tried it so I don’t have to. 🙂

  • maggiecat says:

    My husband is fascinated with this show and regards it as a warning. We both tend to save and collect things, although I think we’d have to go a long way down a dark road to approach hoarder status. It does tend to inspire one to clean and purge, however and the show is useful for that aspect alone! BTW, we don’t “hoard” perfume – we “collect” it – right? :)

    • Patty says:

      That’s why I watch it – to inspire me to just do a regular purge. it’s good therapy to throw/give things away regularly/weekly, keeps you from holding onto anything too tightly.

      yes, we are all joyous collectors, so I’m feeling pretty darn good about that now!

  • Mrs.Honey says:

    We collect, not hoard, perfume. Collections give us joy, hoarding does not.

    I have lots of books, but I keep the ones I may read again. I give away, throw out or trade the ones I am sure I won’t read again.

    Also, as a mental health professional, I know that mental illness runs in families. Since my relatives did not/do not have Obessive-Compulsive Disorder, with or without hoarding, I don’t worry about it. Mood disorders are more typical of my family, so I do watch myself for signs of depression.

    • Patty says:

      Good differentiation. Is it just the point where it causes pain to you or others that it becomes potentially a mental illness? Like if you are spending so much that it takes away from household expenses or puts you into debt you can’t afford?

      I know the things I do collect give me joy, so I feel okay on that, but the clutter sometimes bugs me, like it’s something that if I had an illness for a while, it could get out of control. I don’t think it ever would, but I see how people can go off the rails becaues of circumstances and not having the resources or support to keep it together.

  • dinazad says:

    I pick up things on the street: washers, bottle caps, bits of ribbon, sometimes a beer can. They get cleaned and stashed away. Seriously, I had quite a collection of washers for years. Last Christmas, with the help of a collection of embroidery thread, a needle and a handful of silver beads (and a few evenings’ sewing) they became the prettiest necklace for one of my friends. Everything I collect is basically craft material waiting for inspiration to hit. I hope to prep a hoard of plastic bags this winter, so I can weave them into a state-of-fashion tote next spring…
    Also, I hoard perfumes, of course. I force myself to use them instead of just gloating over them.
    Oh, and books. But then, I need and read books. All the time. so it’s not really a hoard, it’s a necessity.

    It seems our earliest forebears were hunters and gatherers. I stopped at the gatherer step of evolution, I’m afraid!

    • Patty says:

      Oh, but you USE that stuff! I think that’s great, repurposing something that has been thrown away into something beautiful.

      Books are a necessity. 🙂

  • Tamara*J says:

    That show is really hard to sit through, I feel disgust and struggle to not judge although I can see obviously that these poor people need help, I’m always left feeling anxious for them at the end of the show. I actually feel stressed -will it stay clean? Can’t someone stay with them to make sure?
    The animal hoarding ones make me cry.

    On the plus side, me and the girlies did some “fall cleaning” and the home is very tidy and organized and smells good.
    Have Henri Bendel’s Fig in my room going and downstairs is Kobu’s Heirloom Vine.

    Even the kittie’s fur smells faintly of Nag Champa incense we’ve been burning.

    It’s cold and rainy in Wa. (big surprise!) and I’m wearing my vintage Miss Dior tonight, and am in love with the old Diors these days.
    Hoping my Diorella comes tomorrow in the mail.

    Here’s to autumn guys.

    <3~ Tamara

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, I have both feelings – I root for them, but just get completely squicked out when they get down to the really disgusting stuff – animal feces, human feces, cat carcassas. And I worry about them as well. I know they did a recap show yesterday, revisiting people they had worked with in the past to see if it had held. I think that made me even sadder when they had relapsed right back into it.

      I love Fall, if we could stay in this period forever, I think I’d choose that – cool nights, occasional rainy days. It’s just lovely and magical.

  • Ninara Poll says:

    Isn’t Hoarders a spinoff of Intervention (another fascinating show… so is Obsessed)? I’ve been watching Hoarders for over a year; normally, it gets me in a cleaning mood and makes me itch to dig out my old psychiatry textbook (med school dropout, I am). Some episodes, though… wow, I sit there and get a little too emotionally involved (I start rooting for the afflicted to overcome their compulsions). I think the only episode that actually made me turn off the TV and cry was the one about the cat hoarders. I do wonder if I have some hoarding tendancies; I tend to collect perfume, cosmetics, jewelry, clothes, and books (don’t even get me started on books!), and find that sometimes I have a *very* hard time disposing of/donating that which I know I can no longer use.

    • Patty says:

      I think everyone tends to hoard something. My gramma used to hoard things because she lived through the depression and couldn’t throw out plastic containers, etc., but she didn’t hoard anything else, and it never got out of control.

      I hoard books and perfume and makeup, though I tend to freely give or throw it away as well, so I don’t worry about myself too much.

      I’m thinking some of these people hit a crisis in their life, and something that is a small mental illness just goes over the edge.

      Books are the things I have to force myself to get rid of – mostly because they are darn heavy! That’s part of the reason I switched to the Kindle, less book hoarding.

      • Musette says:

        P –

        I think you’re right. For some of these people it seems like the crisis just precipitates a gradual layering-on..until it becomes their mode of living. My mother wasn’t a hoarder but she ‘collected’ the weirdest stuff – when I went to clear out the storage room I found 35 Mrs Butterworth’s bottles, all spotlessly washed and sealed in plastic. She was convinced that Mrs B bottles were collector’s items and Every. Single. One. we’d ever used were in that storeroom. Same with folded plastic bags. Bizarre.

        Sometimes I look at my ‘stuff’ and force myself to part with a particularly beloved item, just to know that I can. And no, it’s NEVER a handbag. Not yet.

        xo >-)

        • Patty says:

          Exactly. I force myself to give away or throw away a little bit of everything from time to time, just to test the boundaries and see how flexible they are. When I meet some resistance, I just push through it, and then I feel better. 🙂

          I have thrown out handbags, yes, but not the really good ones. 🙂

  • Musette says:

    So weird! I was just sending an email to La Belle E about that! I bombed our house before we left for the weekend, and used the bombing an excuse to rip the filthy kitchen apart and wash everything (bleaching the moldy cabinets, etc). To keep me on track? A Hoarders Marathon. Like Moochebo, I threw out tons of magazines (yes, 4 can be a TON!) because….well, who knows?

    It is an addictive show. I only watch it whilst doing some unpleasant cleaning task (my big one was the scary ‘under the sink’ stuff) – every time I thought about just bagging it and sitting down some awful visual would come up and I would get back to work.

    The Upside? My kitchen is spotless! And mold-free!

    xoxo >-)

    • Patty says:

      Magazines are next. I tend to keep up on those, only allowing myself two smallish magazine racks, and when those are full, old ones have to go, but then I find things somewhere else. I need a big notebook to put in recipes that I pull out of magazines and print out, too. I NEED organization so I can keep stuff I want, but throw away the bulk. I’m not even that untidy, just a smidge on the cluttery side, but I want that stuff gone too!

  • Moochebo says:

    I was watching an episode of Oprah a while ago about a crazy hoarding cat lady. She was saying that she thought it all started with a pile of magazines she didn’t want to through out. I looked at my coffee table with a pile of about 4 magazines that had been there a while, picked them up and threw them out. I don’t want to turn into a crazy cat lady hoarder!

    • Patty says:

      Exactly! I wound up going through the kitchen today, threw out three trash bags of stuff – some of it useful and some of it not, but stuff I clearly wasn’t going to use. I’m going to go through it again tomorrow. These things have a creeping effect, so you seem to sometimes only get the top layer, the low-hanging junk, but if you go right back over it two days later, you go deeper and get rid of more.

      Scary stuff, but watching that show is a real eye-opener on how some pretty normal people just turned crazy somehow.