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)

Retro Lush & Breakups

Lush and I had a fallout a while back but it was mainly my fault. I gave it too much attention and I was at the point of down right infat- uation and obsession. Not healthy at all!

If you have followed Lush's products over time, you know that they have stopped producing some of their gush-worthy items and others that were rumored to have existed but very few of us ever got to experience (you can see some of them here). The Retro Lush items were my drug but more specifically, the drug went by the name of Aqua Mirablis Underwater (the Retro version, pictured above).

My first dab into Lush was a refrigerated tub of their fresh Cupcake facial mask which instantly had my senses tingling with glee and skin bouncing with vitality. And then I met the aforementioned drug which we'll now just call AMU. AMU was a little bar of powdered solid body butter topped with marigold petals. It really was what soft smooth skin's made of. With sandalwood oil, rose absolute and gardenia extract, it was a scent made for dreary days.

I used to have a bathing ritual using AMU. First, I filled my bathtub with warm water. Then I rubbed AMU all over wet skin, as the ground almond shells exfoliated away all unflattering flakes. AMU had a spell over me and made the usually unglamorous job of exfoliation feel luxurious. Final step - I would sit in the warm water until the water started to cool. Heaven I tell you! The combination of exfoliation, heat, water and cocoa butter transformed my skin every time.

When I heard rumors that they were discontinuing production of AMU in that format, I became an addict that feared not having her substance. I began to hoard and bought all displayed bars of AMU at one time, and, even sent friends overseas to collect more for me. I was so frightened of what a disappointment the new Aqua Mirablis was going to be.

As you all know that Lush' products are natural based, they have only a certain amount of shelf-life. Well, my bars of AMU began to turn rancid (after about a year though). It got to the point that I actually had to unwillingly dispose of them. What a horror that was! After that point I never wanted to step into Lush again in fear of experiencing heart-break like that again.

It has been 3 years since then and I finally stepped into a Lush store the other day with BFOG by my side. As I stood inside the store, it all felt somehow familiar but different. I walked by the the hall of the soaps and when I reached the body butters where the new AMU now sits (it used to be in the bath melt section), I only 'eyed' the new AMU (pictured above).

BFOG and I walked out of the store with a bag of goodies and big grins on our faces. With my renewed happy and healthier attitude with Lush, I am happy to say that I will be sharing my thoughts on a few of their products with you shortly.

Any Lush fans out there? Want to share your thoughts on your Lush favs or boos? Please do!
Oh and Happy Halloween!

Credit: Grayburn (Terms of Use), lush.com

Haute Parfumerie - Feerie

It was dark outside. We walked by the perfumery. I glanced over at the shimmering display and my eyes fixated on this bottle.

Van Cleef & Arpels Haute Parfumerie Feerie
Top notes black currant buds, Italian mandarin and violet leaves.
Heart notes violet, Bulgarian rose and Egyptian jasmine.
Dry down notes Haitian vetiver and Florentine orris butter.

I instantly succumbed to its mystical and dreamy powers. As if I was staring into the crystal water where the Lady of the Lake lies.

I made sure BFOG heard my cries for this midnight bottle.

Credit: Grayburn (Terms of Use), Van Cleef & Arpels

Do You Do E-Shopping?

You might find this information from the ShopSmart Magazine (Consumer Reports) handy. It is the result and summary of the screening they had conducted to compare some of the e-tailers out there.

Do any of you shop at these sites? Would you recommend any of these to your friends or to me (do any of them have international shipping)?


Best Overall Selection: Beauty.com

Shipping Free if you spend $49 or more.

Return policy 30 days on unopened products or, for certain items, if you don’t like the color. Returns cost $4.99 unless a product is damaged or incorrect or the color is wrong.

Great for Hard-to-Find Products: Beautyhabit.com

Shipping Free on orders of $100 or more; otherwise $5.95.

Return policy 14 days on most items. No returns on opened or used products.

Great for Trendy Brands: Beautyofasite.com

Shipping Free on orders over $75; otherwise $5.95 to $8.95.

Return policy 30 days. You pay for return shipping unless the product was damaged. All returns are for exchange or store credit only. There are no refunds or returns on color cosmetics.

Best Prices: Buymebeauty.com

Shipping Free on orders of $35 or more; $4.95 on orders of less than $35.

Return policy 30 days. Products must be unused and unopened, unless they are defective. You have to call or e-mail before returning products; you will also have to pay the costs of return shipping.

Great Return Policy: Cosmeticmall.com

Shipping $5.95 plus 93 cents per pound.

Return policy 30 days. You can return most products for any reason, even after they’re opened.

Great Drugstore Makeup Section: Drugstore.com

Shipping Free on your first nonprescription order of $25 or more; free on orders of $49 or more after that.

Return policy 30 days. Returns are free if a product is damaged, defective, or incorrect. Returns are free on certain products if you don’t like the color. Otherwise, products must be unopened and unused.

Great for Freebies: Sephora.com

Shipping Free on orders over $50; otherwise $5.95.

Return policy 60 days. Free return shipping. Store credit after 60 days.

Great for Organic Products: Skinbotanica.com

Shipping Free on orders over $49; otherwise $5.95.

Return policy 60 days.

Best Shipping Deal: Skin-One.com

Shipping Free.

Return policy 30 days. Product must be at least 75 percent full. You have to pay return shipping fees, and no returns are allowed of an opened product if you received a sample of it with your order.

Best Online Version of a Walk-In Store: Walgreens.com

Shipping Many items qualify for free shipping of purchases of $50 or more; otherwise $5.49 for 10 pounds or less.

Return policy 30 days.

Sad Site: BeautyDepot.com

This site didn’t have a wide selection of products. You have to buy $99 worth of stuff to get free shipping; otherwise you could end up paying $7.95 or more for UPS ground. Cosmetics (and many other products) were not returnable, and there’s no toll-free customer-service number.

Credit: Grayburn (Terms of Use), ShopSmart November 2008 issue
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Gorgeous spread from Guerlain and YSL.

Guerlain always manage to produce some of the most stunning looking bottles and packages that just makes me go dreamy-eyed!












"Schoonheid" is Dutch for beauty. YSL's intuition for what is beautiful is elegant and fun.














By the way, don't forget to visit this Friday's special feature!

Photos from http://publishit.netivity.nl/bijenkorf/folder-totaal.asp?strFolder=BijExclusief-december by Bijenkorf

5 Things I also cannot live without.......

1: LOVELY SARAH JESSICA PARKER by Sarah Jessica Parker

2: Elizabeth Arden Pretty Irrestible Duo High Shine Lip Gloss, Sheer Pink & Sheer Peach


3: Gal Pal Everything Tape





4: Hollywood Fashion Tape Cover Ups, Reusable Nipple Concealers


5: theBalm timeBalm Anti-Wrinkle Concealer, Light/Medium



Shop the philosophy Holiday Gift Guide>

See my beauty tip