EauMG

Mainstream Monday: Sniffing A Popular Fragrance

I really like the “classic” Burberry EDP that was launched in 1995. This is a great casual fragrance that is warm and a bit “dry”, making it perfect for fall/winter and winter/spring(much like a Burberry scarf). I know that this fragrance contains lots of fruits and vanilla, but on me it wears very dried floral and dried woods and dried fruits. I think of it as my Chanel Cristalle EDP for fall. It smells warm and comforting. I think I love it so much because it smells like an updated classic. It is almost a fruity-floral aldehyde. At first it is stone fruity. It reminds me of the kind of “green” peach found in Chanel Cristalle EDP. It’s an aldehyde peach. A crisp, fall-like green apple appears. It adds crispness to the perfumery peach. There is a tartness from currants. The first “blast” is fruity but not childish. It is very reminiscent of a Chanel or an Annick Goutal type of fruit, a classic French fruit blend. The fruits hang around for about 15 minutes on me. I love this stage but like a bountiful harvest, it doesn’t last. The fruits fade, a bit of the aldehyde peach remains. It is mixed with a faint and almost “dry” jasmine. It is as if the jasmine dried out on a slab of sandalwood. So, I get a woodsy peach that is still fresh and juicy with sweet jasmine. It is very feminine and flirty. This stage lasts for sometime. The dry-down is beautiful and transitions from things living to things dried. I get a mix of rich dried woods, a hint of vanilla (not foody sweet, sweet in a perfume way), and dried fruits such as dehydrated peaches, currants, apples, and dates. It’s cozy and easy to wear. I love to wear this fragrance as my “day” fragrance in fall and spring. This is the classic and timeless Burberry trench of fragrances. It wears on me throughout the work day. And it wears very faintly. Most of the wear is the dried woods stage and this last for 4+ hours on me.

Notes include: black currant, green apple, peach, jasmine, sandalwood, cedar, and vanilla. I would say that you would like this one if you like  Crazylibellue & The Poppies 26 June ile d’Yue, Annick Goutal Quel Amour, Chanel Cristalle EDP, Guerlain Mitsouko EDP, Calvin Klein Escape, White Shoulders, Lancome Tresor, Cereus Pour Femme #12, and/or Parfums de Nicolai Sacrebleu!. The 1.7 ounce goes for $57 and the 3.3 ounce for $74. It is available at sephora.com.* Currently available at fragrancenet.com.

Burberry Perfume for Women Eau De Parfum Spray 3.3 Oz by Burberry
From: BigDiscountFragrances.com

La Maison de la Vanille is a French “vanilla” perfume house that really channels French colonialism, trying to make that aspect of history glamorous. They have a few different blends of vanilla. And with a name like “La Maison de la Vanille”, it’s pretty obvious that they are members of the cult of vanilla.  I’m not a vanilla fan but I am not a vanilla hater. I think vanilla has a time and a place and sometimes I really crave it during cool, wet, gloomy weather. I live in the PNW, so there are 9 months out of the year that I can potentially crave vanilla based scents.

Vanille Noir de Mexique is described as a “mysterious, dark, and seductive” vanilla fragrance. I don’t know if it is all of these things but it is a nice vanilla scent. This fragrance knows how to do vanilla without doing “cupcake” or cheap. Vanilla is sniffed throughout the entire wear of this EDT. Vanilla is always present. I love the top note and first 15-20 minutes wear of this scent. It is a rich and raw vanilla with a heavy dose of bergamot. This makes for an interesting vanilla fragrance. I imagine vanilla as round and smooth and bergamot as a bit rough. These two notes together compliment each other without being too complicated. And it isn’t “orange cream”. It’s bitter and sweet, not desserty. The mid notes are a bit “powdery” vanilla, like an updated and less complicated and “modern” Guerlain Shalimar EDP. It is powdery in an old-fashioned rose and iris way with lots and lots of vanilla making it “new”. The dry-down is “sexy”. It is pretty much just a generic tonka bean, patchouli, woods that is heavy on vanilla. It reminds me of many dry-downs of many mainstream fragrance. From start to finish, this is a vanilla heavy scent. I love to picture myself wearing this and wearing a cashmere sweater dress, sipping rich, dark Mexican hot cocoa in front of our fireplace in the dead of a snowy winter. It’s a comforting vanilla that is interesting enough to purchase.

The company and the packaging remind me so much of Comptoir Sud Pacifique but I like La Maison de la Vanille much better. Their blends smell more expensive and less foody. Many people complain that this scent isn’t long-lasting. It is an EDT, duh. But, I find that it wears on me all day, at least 12 hours. I think vanilla based scents have a tendency to “stick” on me. Perhaps I am freak, don’t comment. Notes listed include: vanilla, rose, jasmine, iris, tonka bean, and bergamot. I would say that you would like this if you love rich vanilla scents, Guerlain Shalimar EDP, Solange Stoned,  Montale Chypre Vanille, Parfums de Nicolai Vanille Tonka, Profumum Dulcis in Fundo, Creative Scentualizations Perfect Vanilla, and fragrance by Comptoir Sud Pacifique  and LaVanila.  It retails for $60 for 1.7 oz and is available on luckyscent.com.

It’s that time of year again. Mandarins, satsumas, whatever you like to call them, are at market to be purchased by the boxful. Citrus is a nice treat during these cool winter months. I’ve compiled a “collage” of zesty mandarin fragrances with a variety of price points and formulas.

Budget Mandarin Scents (Under $50): Trish McVoy Mandarin & Ginger Lily EDT is a citrus floral blend that is light-wearing. It retails for $48 for .5 oz (not alot of product for the dough). Crazylibellule & The Poppies Les Garçonnes Tamara Charleston is a very interesting humid, green, mandarin blend. This solid Crazystick retails for $18 and is well worth it. My review of it is here. Lush Olive Branch Solid Perfume is a simple and refreshing unisex blend of olive oil and mandarins. I love the solid formula. tIt retails for about $8. Lancome Ô de Lancome EDT is a classic, cool feeling mandarin, floral, and rosemary scent. The 1.7 oz. bottle goes for $38.50.  Voluspa Victoria Collection Pink Fatale is an incredible flirty fruity-floral with citrus and lilies. The .5 oz. roll-on goes for $24. Oh, and I almost forgot the mandarin classic: The Body Shop Satsuma Perfume Oil. It’s all about mandarin and the .5 oil goes for $16. (not pictured)

More Expensive Mandarin Scents: Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin Cologne is a zesty, herbaceous citrus blend that is unisex. It’s a great summer scent. The 3.4 oz bottle goes for $100. It’s a limited edition fragrance but it is still available: L’Artisan Parfumeur Mandarine Tout Simplement. It is what the name implies. It is a sparkling mandarin citrus blend. It is light wearing and the 8.4 oz. spray goes for $135. If you are looking for a creamier mandarin fragrance, the kind that can transition into cooler weather even though it is refreshing, try Antica Farmacista Vanilla Bourbon and Mandarin Perfume. The 1.6 oz. bottle goes for $58. Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Madarine Basilic EDT is a naturally sweet citrus blend with clementine, mandarin, and blood orange. The 1.7 oz bottle goes for $57. Here’s my review. Manuel Canovas Route Mandarine EDP is a mandarin and orange blossom mix, a citrus floral. It retails for $79 for 3.4 oz. Fresh Bergamot Citrus is a light blend of bergamot, citrus, and foresty base notes. The 3.4 oz. retails for $75. Creed Millesime Imperial is a unisex blend of crisp citrus, salt, musk, and woods. It is truly lovely and goes for $250 for 4 oz. (I just ordered one and I’m waiting anxiously for its arrival). Molinard 1849 Vervaine de Molinard is a green, crisp, fresh mandarin. Plus, the bottle is a must have. The 3.3 oz goes for $185.

5 Other Great Mandarin Products: Mistral Black Tea Mandarin Soap is a great scent for cooler weather. A bar goes for under $8. Ahava Body Sorbet in Madarin & Cedarwood is a refreshing and very moisturizing blend. The cedarwood really adds a special something. I love it for cooler weather. It is very foresty. A tub goes for $26. Lush The Big Tease Styling Gel is a hair gel with an orange blossom, mandarin, and lemon scent. It smells heavenly. It goes for under $17. Diptyque Oyedo Candle is a refreshing blend of grapefruit and mandarin. The candle retails for $60. A rich and lush mandarin fragrance for the home is Alora Ambiance Tre Reed Diffuser which goes for $58.

Weekly Cheap Secret:

I love a multi-purpose product. And I love a multi-purpose product that retails for under $2. Africa’s Best Ultimate Herbal Oil is a must have for me. It is a super rich blend of oils and herbs multi-purpose oil. I use it as a cuticle oil, a hot oil hair treatment, and I just use it as a body moisturizer. It is great to have around in the winter when my skin gets ashy and itchy. It’s an oil so yep, it’s greasy. I love oils. Nothing makes my skin feel better. And the oil medium makes me feel like a goddess anointing my body.

It has a slightly powdery fragrance that reminds me a bit of Egyptian musk or a headshop musk oil blend. The scent doesn’t bother me but I could see it bothering others. It blends nicely with the musk oils that I own, ranging from no-name oil blends that I purchased from some Ethiopians at market and Tom Ford Private Collection Musks. It has that classic “African” hair oil aroma. I personally love that. It’s nostalgic.

Oh, yeah. I do use this an occasional hot oil treatment for my hair by applying a bit to a microwave safe dish and microwaving and the applying to my hair and rinsing it out. And I use it for those beachy, tousled waves. I add about 1/10 of this oil to a spray bottle filled with water. I shake it and spray onto damp hair. I either braid it or do a pin-curl variation and let it air-dry. I then get the perfect beachy waves.

An 8 oz. plastic bottle goes for $1.99 and it can be bought at Walgreen’s. And since it is an oil, a little bit goes a long way so this is an incredible deal. I seriously can’t get over the price and what is in this stuff. Ingredients include: walnut seed oil, sweet almond oil, sesame seed oil, olive oil, carrot seed oil, gingsing, comfrey and tons of other natural ingredients. This stuff would retail for like $50 if Aveda marketed it.

Since being involved with this 30’s home renovation, I have been obsessed with 30’s everything. If I’m not peeling wallpaper, then I am out at the home salvage places looking for the back of my deco speakeasy. I’ve spent more time paying attention to the 30’s and more than just home trends. This includes 30’s hair and makeup. I must brag that my marcel waves are improving. I absolutely adore this look of bleached blonde turned red head Sybille Schmitz of Vampyr fame. (One of my all time favorite movies and you’ll notice many of my “favorites” in this look).

FACE: Skin is matte and perfect. Apply concealer where needed. A stick concealer usually can do it all and I love the packaging of Paul & Joe Stick Concealer. Apply a powder foundation like MAC Studio Fix, one of my all time favorites. Apply a pinching pink blush to the apples of cheeks with a large fluffy brush or a soft fan brush. NARS Powder Blush in Desire is the perfect color for this look. It is one of my all time favorite blushes for light to medium complexions.

EYES: Fill in brows with a brow pencil. 1930’s brows always had a bit of a waxy look. Apply a stiff pencil like Maybelline Expert Eyes Twin Brow Pencil in a shade darker than your hair if you are going for a genuine 30’s look. Apply a subtle champagne shimmer shadow to the entire lid from lash line to brows. I like Clinique Colour Surge Soft Shimmer Eye Shadow in Champagne. A warm brown shadow should be applied to the crease. L’Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Single in Brushed Suede is a nice rich, warm brown. Apply to the crease. Apply more of the champagne to closed lids and apply where the pupil would be if your eyes were open. This will add some light. Take the brown shade and apply to the bottom lash line with a smudger brush. This will make the lashes appear thicker. Apply a soft, dark brown kohl liner to top lash line. Don’t wing out and stay close to the lash line. Apply a shade like MAC Eye Kohl in Costa Riche. Whimsy false lashes are a must for this look. There are many out there with a variety of price points. I like the look of Laura Mercier Full Faux Lashes for this look. Apply mascara to top and bottom lashes.

LIPS: Lips are pink and pretty simple. Try a color like Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Lipstick in Stay Pink. Apply a tiny dab of Smith’s Rosebud Salve (another favorite) to lips to keep them looking healthy and moist. And that’s it. Well, those finger waves, I’m saving that for another day.

I can’t escape the truth that I am a Southern gal. This is only evident for my love of Tyler Perry, mustard greens, and the smell of gardenias. I know that many people out there find gardenias too old-fashioned, too formal, and just too heavy. I love gardenia scents. I love those that come across humid and tropical, those that are sweet and romantic, and even those heavy, old-fashioned blends that remind me of a prim and prudish Southern woman.

Aromatique The Smell of Gardenia isn’t the highest quality gardenia out there. It is something for the home and not the body. The Smell of Gardenia reminds me so much of Sand & Sable or Jovan Island Gardenia (more of the later). It’s a formal and humid gardenia soliflore. There isn’t much more to it. It’s a “strong” gardenia. I love gardenia so I love this.

The thing about this oil is that a little bit goes a long way. This is a strong white floral fragrance. Too much of this oil could be headache inducing. I burn this oil. I think it is used to refresh potpourri. I may be 25 going on 50 but I refuse to do the potpourri thing. So, I burn it with a little water in an oil burner. The fragrance lasts a long time afterwards. It leaves my house smelling like I’m being courted by a dapper gentlemen and his gardenia boutonnière  in a courtyard in Savannah.

It retails for $9 and is available at Aromatique’s website. It’s a bit expensive but it really has a lasting fragrance that even covers up house dog odors.

Frangipani is an amazing tropical flower. It naturally has a sweet, almost toasted sugar and vanilla like floral quality. It adds so much to those “tropical” blends that fragrance houses love to flirt with. Here is a guide/collage featuring heavy on the frangipani fragrances in a variety of price points.

Budget Frangipani Scents (Under $50): Lucy B. Pink Frangipani Perfume Roll-On retails for $24. It is lush and tropical. Urban Rituelle Beachcomber Frangipani Perfume Travel Spray is an exotic floral with light staying power that retails for $10. Voluspa Victoria Collection Corsica Petit Roll-On is a warm, slightly spicy frangipani fragrance with orange rind, pink peppercorn, and musk. It retails for $24.

More Expensive Frangipani Scents: Lily Pulitzer Beachy is an aqautic fruity-floral with a heart of frangipani. The 3.4 oz. EDP retails for $68. Annick Goutal Songes EDP is an exotic floral cocktail with frangipani, ylang-ylang, and jasmine grounded by vanilla. The frangipani works so well in this blend. The 1.7 oz. spray goes for $80. Kenzo Amour EDT is a romantic floral containing delicate frangipani. The 1. 7 oz spray goes for $55. Memoire Liquide #400 Fleur des  Tropiques Parfum is a lush, intoxicating exotic floral with frangipani, gardenia, plumeria, and many more tropical florals. It’s a lush, torpical floral arrangement in a bottle. It retails for $65. Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail EDP is a warm, sunny frangipani fragrance in a lovely bottle. The largest goes for $69. Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Desire EDP is a fruity-floral with frangipani. It’s not my favorite frangipani fragrance but it is in there. The largest 4.2 oz goes for $59. Usher for Women EDP contains frangipani with top notes of pink pepper and base notes of woods and vanilla. The 3.4 oz goes for $68. L’Artisan Parfumeur Fluer de Liane EDT is a complex “rain forest” blend. It is humid, green, woodsy, and an intoxicating floral all in one. I really like this one. The 1.7 oz. spray retails for $95.

Songes Perfume for Women Eau De Toilette Spray 1.7 Oz by Annick Goutal
From: BigDiscountFragrances.com

The Mainstream Monday: Sniffing A Popular Fragrance

I actually really like the original White Linen. I remember smelling it as a 5th grader and thinking it was a genius of a creation. It was bold without being White Diamonds, fresh without with being CK1, and most of all I could talk my grandmother into buying it for me if there was a GWP. I did succeed and I did get the tiniest bottle there was. I’m sure it was an odd choice for a 5th grade girl but I like it much more than any cotton candy body spray or Exclamation or some Tommy Hilfiger creation or Secret deodorant spray, whatever the kids where wearing in those days.As an adult I’m not really into White Linen. It’s a nice “memory” fragrance. Did I also mention that I loved Sand & Sable at this time as well?

When Pure White Linen was launched it kept being “sold” to me as a younger, fresher, more modern White Linen. Obviously, the sales person did not know what I was looking for. I wore the original at the age of 10. I associate the “old lady” one with youth. A younger one did not appeal to me. Young fragrances don’t appeal to me anyways. I would so rather be sporting an old-fashioned rose based fragrance, Coco Chanel, or Guerlain Jicky. She would not back off and handed me a sample of this. I gave it a try and actually found it stronger and “older” than the original. Maybe I was just grumpy because I hate being sold to…

This fragrance is very “linen”. It has that fresh from the laundry vibe but much more concentrated and feminized. At first spritz I really don’t pick up on all of the fruity notes listed by the company. I definitely get that “fresh air” accord. I am not saying that the crisp fruits aren’t there. I guess I am just overwhelmed by the synthetic piercing air accord. After the alcohol begins to fade. I can still pick up on the “air” but it is much more humid and lush like it is with tropical ferns. I can slightly pick up on berries but it is more of a “fuzzy” cotton candy berry that is buried in a rain forest.  This fragrance seems to be sweeter than the original. I guess this why I don’t like it as well. It smells like the original but with a dash of some drugstore cotton candy body spray and a mix of a floral Victoria’s Secret Garden body spray. Luckily this stage fades pretty quickly. The fresh air accord is always there throughout the wear of this. It lingers around and it smells like a Downy ball has exploded all over a slightly sweet bouquet of freesia and the kind of honeysuckle that mainstream companies love to use. It becomes a fresh laundry-floral blend. It isn’t bad. It just isn’t to my liking. I do like the woodsy fresh dry down. This could possibly “save” the fragrance in my book.  It smells clean and I love it with the white cedarwood. It adds a warmth. I like this fragrance once it loses its tropical humidity. The dry down smells like having a crisp, white beach towel drying on a driftwood on a hot but breezy summer day. I wish I could get it just “as is” for the dry down. So why do I think it is so “old”? I guess because I feel it is trying so darn hard to be young with the fruits and hissy “flirty” florals thrown into the “original” formula. It is like a beautiful lady in her 40’s making herself look cheap and silly by wearing an entire outfit from Forever 21. It isn’t a bad thing. I am sure she looks great if she wears it with confidence but it is just a bit silly. What do I like about the fragrance? I like the dewy greens and I do like the dry down. This is a great fragrance for spring, even that early time of spring when green buds peep out of the dusting of snow.

Estee Lauder says that this fragrance contains: Italian mandarin, cool fresh air accord, raspberry, dewy greens, white freesia, red tulips (totally lacking fragrance in reality), rose, wild honeysuckle, gardenia petals, white cedarwood, patchouli, and white heliotrope.

It’s a very long-lasting fragrance. In attempts to use up the sample I would spray it on at night. I would wake up in the morning and the fragrance did not lose endurance. It still stayed strong. My bed linens would smell of Pure White Linen until a washing. I really wouldn’t mind a bottle to use to freshen up linens and linen closets or to cover up Frink odors. But, if I want a “lighter” original, then I will just go for the White Linen dusting powder. The original dusting powder is heavenly.

I would say to give this a try if you like Issey Miyake, Calvin Klein Eternity, Armani Acqua di Gio for Her, Annick Goutal Eau de Camille, Van Cleef & Arpels Feerie, Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean and/or mark Earth. The fragrance comes in 3 sizes (1, 1.7, 3.4) with prices ranging from $39.50 to $72. And just like back in the day, you can still get a GWP with it if you do your shopping at the right time.

Pure White Linen Perfume for Women Eau De Parfum Spray 1.7 Oz by Estee Lauder
From: BigDiscountFragrances.com

Sometimes I run into a fragrance and wonder “why haven’t I had you in my life sooner”? This is one of those scents. Sometimes I smell something and it is so me. Despite my extensive fragrance collection, I see this (10 Corso Como)  is the kind of scent that I will keep going back to and using again and again and again. I flirt with many, many types of fragrances, but at heart my fragrance personality is “woods”. Especially, dry warm woods.

10 Corso Como doesn’t possess a certain in your face “wow” factor. It isn’t a chameleon. It doesn’t contain a collection of strange  “isn’t it ironic notes”. It’s just really pretty and a must have for the woodsy fragrance lover. It’s for those that love the richness and warmth of sandalwood, musk, oud, frankincense but don’t want to smell like hippies or like they stumbled upon a Grateful Dead tribute band concert when they were just trying to have a romantic picnic in the park. Don’t get me wrong. I adore a “headshop” fragrance oil, but I don’t want that from a $115 perfume. I want it to have some class, some beauty, some refinement.

10 Corso Como is one of those fragrances that you love or you hate. If you love sandalwood or oud, then you will most likely this one. In fact, you won’t find this very strong at all. You may find it too “weak” and “pretty”. The wearer that doesn’t reach for a woodsy scent may find this one too strong, too animalic, too smoky. I find it woodsy in a feminine way. It smells almost of a wood carved jewelry box where one would store their dainty perfume oils and aromatic elixirs. I can barely pick up the rosy elements. I get more a fresh, balsmy wood at first. It is a little strange. It’s very woodsy and balmsy. It smells like a clean, tidy recreation of an evergreen forest. When I say “clean”, I mean there isn’t any grit, moss, dirt, moisture. It’s the foresty perfume equivalent of those unadulterated “aquatic” based perfumes. It’s pure but it is not a synthetic forest scent that would remind someone of Irish Spring soap or a men’s cologne. I pick up on smooth woods and vetiver. It is very resinous and slightly “green”, but green like a mustard green or chicory (this I think is porcini raised in their pine needle beds, this aroma takes me on a mushroom hunt. I am an amateur mycologist, this does smell mushroomy). That’s the weird part of the fragrance. The strange forest, pine/vetiver, mushroom-ness. This stage quickly passes, about 5-15 minutes. It then becomes a turpentine-ish woodsy fragrance. It still smells like lady-like sweet woods such as sandalwood but with a bit of evergreen/turpentine edge. It really reminds me of the sap from an evergreen, mainly pine. A buttery sweetness is present among the woods and slight turpentine-ness (most likely the reason that I love it). This woodsy blend wears for some time. So to sum it up at this stage: Buttery sandalwood sap next to a a dried out piece of smooth evergreen wood. It’s much prettier than it sounds. I don’t really get the “smokiness” of this fragrance. I get an incense like aroma but no smoke. Frankincense provides an incense sans the smoke aroma. It smells rich and exotic but I feel it is there but in moderation. This is definitely more of a balsamy wood scent than it is a resiny oriental scent. The frankincense and musk is more apparent as the evergreen/porcini a.k.a turpentine fades. It becomes a sensual mix of sandalwood, frankincense, and musk. It becomes very elegant and almost too pretty. This happens after about 45 minutes of wear. It smells like a classic dry woods perfume. But, there is something a bit “off”, a certain strangeness that doesn’t scream at you but makes you realize that this isn’t your regular sandalwood obsessed fragrance. I think it is the oud wood/agarwood, one of my favorite notes in fragrance ever. I didn’t realize that I loved oud as much as do until about 2 years ago. It is such a weird note. It can smell like pretty dry woods, oil, floral, and even like porcini. Of course I love this wood for the fungal factor alone. It’s mesmerizing. I think why I like this fragrance so much is because the prized oud wood is there. In the beginning, I think this is what is making the top notes so strange. That spicy mustard/chicory must be the porcini like aroma of oud wood, it then gets a sandalwood warmth and really rounds out the sweetness of the buttery sandalwood present in this mix. It adds a bit of an unusual character that makes this scent glamorous and in my opinion worth the price.

Some people complain that this fragrance doesn’t last long. Yesterday when I wore it, it wore for 16 hours. Today it wore for over 14. It is the kind of fragrance that lasts a long time but just very closely to the skin. That is typical of woods heavy fragrances. They are there, you may not notice it, but others will. Woods make a fragrance last.

Notes listed include: rose, geranium, vetiver, frankincense, musk, sandalwood, and Malay oud-wood. Prices range from $85 to the 1.7 to $115 for the $3.4. Bath products are available in this line as well, oh, and a solid perfume. Have I mentioned that I love the 30’s vintage feel of this bottle? Since I have been renovating our 30’s home, I have been all about that era’s design. This bottle is right on and based on a flea-market find antique perfume bottle. It is available at beautyhabit.com.

Here’s another Rita Hayworth look that I love. It’s a clean, fresh, glowing look that is all about the lips. There was a reason why this woman was once voted to have the best lips in the world by the Artists League of America. I feel it’s the kind of look that will work with all complexions/hair/eye colors if they are going for a vintage look.

FACE: I say go for a glowing, satin complexion. Even out skin with NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in your shade. Apply concealer where needed. L’Oreal Visible Lift Concealer is nice for the under the eye area. Apply a sheer and not too matte loose powder like Sue Devitt Hydrating Marine Minerals Loose Powder. It has SPF 30 to keep skin looking beautiful. Cover Girl TruCheeks Blush in #1 is perfect for this look. Take a big blush and run it all over the three colors and apply to the apples of cheeks. There is enough shimmer in the blush to make skin look flawless but not “glittery”.

EYES: Rita’s brows are penciled and thin. If you must, draw brows in with a thin pencil such as Prescriptives Groom Stick for Brows in your shade. Apply a matte antique white shade such as Revlon Matte Eyeshadow in Vintage Lace all over eyes from lash line to brow. Take a sheer greenish/brownish/gray shade like Bare Escentuals Glimpse Eyeshadow in Moss and lightly apply from lash line to crease. Blend for a “natural” look. Apply a soft liner to the top lash line, something like Bobbi Brown Creamy Eye Pencil in Mahogany. Apply a few coats of mascara to top lashes (after curling) and one coat to bottom lashes.

LIPS: Apply a deep pink lip liner like Avon Ultra Luxury Lip Liner in Rosebud. Apply one of my all time favorite lip colors to the lips: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Cherries in the Snow. Apply MAC Clear Lipglass over the lipstick with a lip brush for added shine.