Personal Favorites of 2009 - Part I: Seasonal Delights

One of those things that I love about the cold cold months is the opportunity to use products with soul-warming scents and sensuous textures.  Everything gets suited with an extra oomph that they might have otherwise not gotten if it wasn't for our need for richer and stronger products during this time of the year.

Two of the products that I fell in love with at the end of 2009 (and they are both on my Personal Favorites of 2009 list) are from The Body Shop's Nutmeg and Vanilla line.  (Yes, I do hope to complete this list soon and am crossing my fingers to release this list throughout the month!).  These two products are:  The Nutmeg and Vanilla Lip Balm and the Nutmeg and Vanilla Bath and Shower Gel.  And just so you know, the Nutmeg and Vanilla line is one of three of their festive lines and limited edition for 2009. 

Although both products come from the same scent family, the two of them do not have identical smells (thanks goodness!).  The lip balm has a very spicy and sweet cake scent in that -just stepped into a

bakery which also sells spices kind of way.  Whereas the scent of the bath & shower gel takes on a completely different note.  It has spices and it has sweet (and less vanilla) but it has the added oomph of a kick of candied fruit.  And when added to a tub of hot steamy bath water, it does not smell sweetly sickening like most spicy vanilla concoction usually smell like, this smells divinely sensuous thanks to the added touch of sandalwood.  I mean this is this is the stuff that will spice up your bath and your evening.

Onto the packaging.  I know that most of us are not fans of open lid containers and prefer squeeze tubes for lip balms.  I do have to say that it feels great getting some balm out of a round tin because it makes me feel as if I'm getting a cookie treat out of a cookie jar.  And the bronzy color on the inside of the lid just makes it ever more special.  As to what you do with the leftover balm on your fingers after you've applied balm on your lips; give your cuticles a little treat as well!  The bath & shower gel's packaging is really nothing intriguing until you dial down the lights and light a few candles.  The transparent and amber-tinted bottle looks sumptuously warming and glowy in the candlelight and in the steam of my mostly white bathroom.  Quite a treat for the eyes I must say!


The texture of the lip balm.  This is a rich balm indeed with all of its most conditioning ingredients topping the ingredients list.  Like most of The Body Shop's old school lip balms, this one is also extremely emolient, transparent and have a high sheen finish.  I personally prefer this type of balm (I really loved the older version of TBS' balms) as they simply are longer lasting on the lips and are especially good for wearing to bed.  And you know why this one is especially good for wearing to bed?  It is because the balm has these subtle fine gold shimmers that just makes the lips look so pretty. The added bonus is that the balm has a slight tint that warms up our pouts in a natural kind of way. 

These and other TBS seasonal delights are currently only available in very limited quanitities at their stores in Amsterdam and some of them are on sale at 50% off.  Check them out and leave your thoughts and comments!


Website:  thebodyshop.com
Credit: Grayburn (Terms of Use)
Disclaimer:  Things I had purchased myself.

Short Film - Chanel No. 5

I just melted watching this short film featuring Audrey Tautou for Chanel No. 5. How delicious is the plot, the actors ...

Film can be seen on Chanel's website:
http://www.chaneln5.com/en-gb/#/the-film


Credit: Grayburn (Terms of Use)

Would You Like To Sample Our Perfume?

I have always been fascinated with advertising campaigns surrounding public transit system and airports; especially since I spend quite a lot of my time there. It is quite interesting where advertisers such as Europe's largest outdoor advertising company JCDecaux will choose to display what for best impact.

A well formed and placed ad will give something interesting for the passer-by to look at but JCDecaux now wants more than a few seconds glance from us. On top of having a visual impact, ads might now house a station where a perfume can be spritzed and sampled. These stations will contain perfume which can either be triggered released with a press of a button, at timed intervals, or by sensed motion of a passer-by.

There is a system such as this already in place in Japan where a restaurant uses it to emit the smell of a chosen item on their menu. The smell of teriyaki chicken could probably make me hungry at any time!

What do you think of this? Would you like to sample a perfume without stepping foot into a department store or be spritzed unknowingly by a sensor-triggered perfume station?


Credit: Grayburn (Terms of Use), cosmeticsdesign-europe.com