TBS Mandarin&Tangelo scent

Visited The Body Shop the other day and got myself some more of their body/linen/room sprays. This one smelled ok at the store but was horrible when I tired it at home (after sniffing so many scents I think my nose just could not take it anymore and therefore failed me). I do not recommend this scent, it's too aggressive and banal, too overpowering and only has one (very loud) note.

I've put it up for a swap, hopefully I can swap it for something more likable. TBS Pomegranate and Raspberry scent would be ideal but one can only hope...

Panin Buduaari turule, loodetavasti annab kellegiga mingi muu asja vastu ümber vahetada. See lõhn ajab oksele (vabandage otsekohesust).

Sarah Jessica Parker's Covet

One of my eBay purchases made in August has just reached me, most sellers who only auction 1-2 personal things do not feel comfortable shipping outside their own country so I have to use friends who happen to live or visit there - delivery takes it's time. Thank you, Weesuzie86, for selling me your bottle!

I have been eyeing SJP's Covet for a long time now - the very conflicting reviews that have been written about it (Now Smell This, MakeupAlley, Fragrantica, Basenotes, The Scented Salamander, Blogdorf Goodman) drew my attention to it - and after having it for a while, I'm definitely a "lover" (funniest of the reviews went like this: A woodland elf eats a Hershey's Bliss Dark Chocolate bar and then farts on a fern). I started to pay more attention to this scent when it was labelled as one of the best celebrity scents ever made (for I always thought they're all sickly sweet monstrosities) and good enough to compete with niche fragrances.

I have a problem with most perfumes - most of them turn nauseatingly sweet on me (for instance the insanely popular Versace's Bright Chrystal reacts godawfully with my body chemistry) and some even cause headaches (especially those fresh melony-cucumbery smells). I think it's only smart when I therefore turn to scents, that most people find either controversial or just plain hate.

Covet was released in 2007 and as far as I know, has been discontinued. It was something that SJP herself orchestrated and Coty brought to life. I'll test it some more and if I like it a lot, I'll get one more as backup. It's still possible to get it from eBay and some other discounter-type stores, much cheaper than the original price - mind you.

Perfume is an 50 ml EDP and has been a little used. Color is pleasant woody yellowy green and the bottle looks quite sophisticated if one will just forget about the (plastic floral shaped) cap. To my nose  it resembles more a masculine scent, it's very fresh at first, fresh, a bit bitter and murky. In time it changes into something very warm and natural on my skin, I cannot smell it myself,  it blends with my body's natural scent and seems to become a part of me. So far I really really like it. Very wearable.





PS! The other perfume I have been sniffing a lot lately is D&G's Le Bateleur 1. Seems like a perfect fresh day scent for me. The universally popular and beloved L'Imperatrice 3 is to sweet, again :S. L'Amoureaux 6 the worst, gaggingly saccharine. La Lune 18 was weak and had no character.
All I have to do is look around for a while until Le Bateleur gets discounted :) or, get it as a Christmas present for "him".

PPS! added July 2011: Covet is definitely not my  winter perfume - turned nasty on dry skin. But during the summer's heatwawe it's a different perfume altogether. SJP is told to like "body odor" kind of scents and this one is marvellous when the weather is hot and skin gets moist. This perfume needs sweat, blood and guts to reveal it's full potential!

Pomegranate & Raspberry Home Spray ingredients

From The Body Shop homepage the description:

Redcurrant, pomegranate - Provide the initial scent of the fragrance
Raspberry, blackberry - Are the dominant notes of the fragrance
Guava, coconut - Tend to linger for longer than the other notes

Now the actual ingredients:

Water (Solvent/Diluent), PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (Emulsifier), Dipropylene Glycol (Humectant), Polysorbate 20 (Emulsifier), Trideceth-7 (Emulsifier), Caprylyl Glycol (Skin Conditioning Agent), Fragrance (Fragrance - this should be "nature" cosmetics, what is this fragrance? is it synthetic?), Honey (Natural Additive), p-Anisic Acid (pH Modifier), Hexyl Cinnamal (Fragrance Ingredient), Citric Acid (pH Adjuster), Disodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster), Linalool (Fragrance Ingredient), Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil (Essential Oil), Citronellol (Fragrance Ingredient), Limonene (Fragrance Ingredient), Illicium Verum (Star Anise) Oil ( Skin Conditioning Agent), Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Bud Extract (Skin-Conditioning Agent)

So in effect: honey, lemonpeels, star anise and blackcurrant buds (and the last two as skin conditioning agents?)... hmmm... Where's the pomegranate? Not that I particularily mind, the smell itself is good... Has been in use for a week now, since the scent disappears quickly and needs to be applied and reapplied, the perfume will not last long.

Are perfume makers excused from exactly listing all the ingredients?

PS! It's September 27 now and there's a special offer in my mailbox: all room scents are now discounted, from 188 kr to 144 kr, and if one has client card, that's another 10% off (methinks). Offer's on until October 17th.

Shopping!

I have very important guests coming over so I made a tiny splurge and invested in The Body Shop's Pomegranate and Raspberry home and linen spray. Might be slightly too sweet but I like it :). TBS has a 20% off at the moment. But even still - it's so much cheaper elsewhere, i.e. UK. Goes for £6 in UK but full price in Estonia is almost £10.

Also bought Dr.Hauschka's tester of their light version of the Rose Day Cream. My skin is acting up lately and probably needs little pampering. The small 5 gr tube will last me a month (55 kr) and is a good size for traveling.

The little jar on the left is a liquid foundation from Lumene's Natural Code series that was said to be very light: Vanilla. Since I cant really spot the place on my arm where I swatched it, I guess it's true :). The saleslady got really carried away and I think there's 4-7 uses in the little jar. I only asked for one... Thank you :)

I think I also saw some note there stating that this (seasonal product) is so cheap (109 kr if I remember correctly) only because it's being discontinued :S.

And here's an EOTD too, using TKB's Radiant Gold in inner corners, Grape Parfait in outer corners, Hilite Gold in the middle of the lid, also used for blending the purple outwards from the crease and to cover the eye liner pencil. Foundation was Archetype Cosmetics' Yellow Beige in level 1 (it worked miracles today, trust me on this...). EDM's Pearl Sunlight is under the eyes and on the browbones, very light mascara application because it's rainy today - trying to minimize potential pandaness :D.

 Today I used Dr. Scheller's moisturizer instead of the usual jojoba oil and I did not let it set enough... foundation looks a bit heavy.

The Body Shopil on 20% ale 9.-11. septembrini, meigitoodetele on ale veel isegi 30%, kasutasin juhust ja hankisin endale magusalõhnalise multifuntktsionaalse kodulõhna. Kanepi-kätekreemi austajad peaksid samuti kärmelt sammud poe poole seadma ;).

Nahk on viimasest kuust saati kaunis jube, vaatasin sellele vahelduseks ka midagi kallist ja kompleksset: Hauschka kerge roosikreemi (Hauschka testreid müüakse nii 45-55 kr tk, nt Stockmannis ja Kaubamajas), loodetavasti läheb lööve varsti alla :S.

Kõige vasakpoolsem totsik pildil on täidetud Lumene Natural Code heledaima jumestuskreemiga Vanilla, mis, üllatus-üllatus - ongi hele! Vähemalt oma käel ma küll seda kohta ei erista, kuhu kreemi kandsin :). Müüja läks mulle testrit andes veidi hoogu ja pani päris palju toodet. Ainuke tõrvatilk meepotis tundub olevat asjaolu, et Natural Code sari võib peatselt tootmisest maha minna - jumestuskreem oli 109 kr peale alla hinnatud, halb märk...