Review: Blackberry Sugar Crunch scrub from Savor Soaps

Blackberry Sugar Crunch is a unique scent available from Savor Soaps. I bought it in the scrub version. This is a purchase from Etsy, the seller is available here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/savor

The scrub has a lovely sugar and blueberry seed base, with mild-moderate foaming action, which is great considering the sulfate-free formulas used by the seller. The scent is a nice rich and fruity blackberry, with a sweet and tangy undertone. It almost smells like a blackberry crumble with a hint of sweet crumble in the background.

The product is quite a harsh scrub, so appropriate for the body rather than the face or sensitive areas. It gives a really nice smooth finish, and the sugar doesn't dissolve too quickly. The blueberry seeds ensure that you can scrub away as long as you wish and the decent lather protects your skin from the scrubbing. A really nice product from Etsy, and I'm a huge fan of all Savor scents so even if this one is not in stock there should be something else available to satisfy.

Review: Carribean Escape Wallflower from Bath and Body Works

Caribbean Escape from Bath and Body Works is a recurring staple in the anti-bac (hand soaps etc) and home fragrance lines. It is available in lots of forms:

- Candles: 1.4 oz / 4 oz / 14.5 oz
- Handsoap: foaming, deep cleansing and moisturizing
- hand sanitizer
- Scentportables
- Wallflowers
- Home spray
- Home Fragrance Oil

The scent is available most commonly in spring and summer and is seasonal but as with everything, can always be bumped for something new. The website describes this as"A sweet, tropical blend of melon, raspberry nectar, and Italian lemon tempered with creamy coconut milk and raw sugarcane."

In the wallflower this is vaguely fruity-floral, a mushy mix of tropical flowers and maybe some tropical fruit, melon isn't particularly prominent. As with many wallflowers from Bath and Body Works, this one dies after about 48 hours (worse than most). You won't smell much (or anything) after a couple of days plugged in and it is a complete waste for the next 6 weeks until the juice is used up. You can smell this if you stick your nose over the top of it.

As with many wallflowers, this is a waste of money, the scent is quite pleasant in other forms.

Review: Vanilla Bliss Moisturizing Hand Soap and wallflower bulb from Bath and Body Works

This is available in foaming, deep cleansing and moisturising soaps from Bath and Body Works. It is only in the soap line at his time, not body care. Vanilla Bliss soaps are almost identical to Frosted Cupcake from the home fragrance line, especially the Frosted Cupcake wallflower. There is a little more musky vanilla than the Frosted Cupcake candle, but it is basically the same as the Frosted Cupcake wallflower bulb. Vanilla Bliss shares the same musky-bakery scent that you may be familiar with from Homemade Cupcakes, as well, I love it personally.

The website describes Vanilla Bliss as “An island blend of vanilla bean, sugarcane and sandalwood.” The sandalwood is giving the deep musky vanilla-ness to the scent, and the vanilla bean in this is quite a bit more rich and sugary than the vanilla in something like Warm Vanilla Sugar from Bath and Body Works or indeed many of the other vanillas on the market. I think this description of the scent is fair, although the word “island” is a bit strange as there isn’t really anything tropical that I am personally detecting. As usual, these words are just marketing and have little to do with the contents of the product. I would describe Vanilla Bliss as a sweet, rich and creamy bakery-vanilla, mixed with milky ice-cream with true vanilla bean notes.

Being a gourmand lover, I really enjoy this hand soap. The moisturizing formula for this is rich, creamy and the scent lasts for a long time on your hands. I believe it is probably at least seasonal, if not for this year only. It came out a couple of months ago and as always with Bath and Body Works, unless it sells well it will probably soon die out.

Review: Fresh Market Apple Wallflower from Bath and Body Works

This is for the wallflower bulb in Fresh Market Apple. It is described on the website as follows: "This clean, sparkling scent of just-picked apples with pear blossoms and a hint of applewood is crisp, refreshing, and bright."

In wallflower bulbs, this smells pretty good when opened up for a cold sniff. There is a rich, floral red apple without much else to compete with the mouth-watering apple. However, as with most Bath and Body Works wallflowers, particularly the fruities, this will stop smelling far before the bulb is depleted. You'll get about 7-10 days out of it, then 4 weeks of nothing.

Review: Peach Bellini Candles and Wallflowers from Bath and Body Works

This one I wanted to love from the moment I saw it. This first came out in the summer of 2010 in a limited capacity in parts of the home fragrance line. It was brought back in 2011 in a more stable release and also was added to the anti-bacterial products. This is a review of only the candles and wallflower bulbs.

Described on the Bath and Body Works website as "a light blend of white peach, sweet orange peel and yellow mandarin, finished with jasmine and sweet black currant." This scent in a cold candle smells primarily of mandarin and a mix of sweet ripe peaches. There is a certain greenness to the scent (presumably the note they refer to as orange peel in the description) but it is very fruity and surprisingly citrus for a peach. Frankly, disappointingly citrus, as most of the sweet tropical stone fruits get diluted by citrus (or coconut) at Bath and Body Works and never stand on their own.

Regrettably, the candle has extremely poor throw, but if you stick your nose close enough to feel the heat, you'll get a sickly cooked peach with the orangey-mandarin undertone. Pretty pathetic. It doesn't even scent my tiny half-bathroom in the 4oz candle.

This lasts little better in the wallflower bulb, although the scent is slightly more alcoholic here, it is still a vaguely peachy, overly citrus mess. The bulb will give you a couple of days then completely stop smelling entirely (as with many other Bath and Body Works wallflower bulbs).

It is a shame because I love to drink real Peach Bellini's. This scent has no alcoholic tang, no wine note and definitely no sparkle/champagne note either, making it quite a disappointment. A fruity mess with too much citrus. If you do like the smell, just keep a cold candle around, it is the best way to actually enjoy the scent, because if you burn it or plug in a bulb you'll just get a scent of warm half-cooked peach.

Slatkin candle joy!

Just a picture to enjoy!

Review: Bali Mango Scrub from Bath and Body Works

Bali Mango was a spring release from Bath and Body Works in 2011. It is limited edition and will exit at the June Semi Annual Sale. It is part of a set with Hawaii Coconut and Fiji Passionfruit. It is available in their three-step-ritual - lotion, spray and shower gel, but Bath and Body Works have also released these in scrubs. I am reviewing the scrub version here. There are no body creams/triple moisture shower cream/EDT versions of Bali Mango as it is limited release.

Pics to come!

Scent

The website describes this as: "An exotic getaway of juicy mango, sugar cane, pink passionflower and luscious nectarine." This is not a bad description, for once. The scent starts sweet and mangoey, the middle is a bit muddy but the base has the lovely passionflower which adds a really pretty floral to the sweet fruity smell. This sticks around a while on your skin as long as you leave it for a few minutes in the shower, to be absorbed. There is a floral, sweet perfumey air to this which is a nice touch. The mango is nice but it isn't a pure mango scent. You won't get a Sunset Mango dry down from this, if that is what you're looking for you'd be better off with Escada's 2011 perfume release Taj Sunset which is mango-tropical and very linear.

Sweet, pleasant and with a nice floral scent this is quite nice for whatever time of day you happen to shower.

Scrub and product overall

This is an amazing scrub, probably the best I have tried. It has a really great lather (for a scrub) and you don't need to double up with another soap of any kind. I can't believe how much this lathers for a scrub, loving it! The consistency is quite thick and creamy, it is like the St Ives Apricot Scrub but with a proper lather and creaminess.

The scrub is even, consistent and has great exfoliation, it isn't scratchy but it is nicely course, to give your skin a good work out.

As you reach the bottom of the tube you might want to unscrew the cap to let some air back in, mine got a bit sticky when it wasn't getting any airflow back into the empty tube. Make sure you do this while the tube is upside down so product doesn't run out. You should find a very healthy flow right after doing this so take it easy. I also had to clean out the nozzle once as the scrub had accumulated a bit inside the cap. This only took a moment and helped with getting every last bit out of the tube.

Loving this product, don't forget it will be gone in June as stocks dry up so get it while you can.

Review: Spiced Vanilla Scrub from the Body Shop

I am pretty late reviewing a winter-christmas scent, but I don't stop into The Body Shop that often and I only just finished my previous scrub in order to try this one. I bought this on clearance after christmas for a couple of dollars, just the small travel size. I haven't tried the lotion yet, maybe I will review that another day. This is for the scrub only.

Before I describe this, I should put a brief disclaimer: there is something in The Body Shop products that my nose doesn't like and has never liked. This product unfortunately continues the tradition. To me this is an unholy combination of yogurt and cheap sunscreen. There is no real vanilla to my nose, just a yogurty sour base, with some dry spice that is quite stale and uninteresting. Nothing sweet, nothing creamy, and nothing like a holiday scent to my nose. 

There are huge differences in the scrub consistency, varying from giant pieces of nut down to useless, squashy pieces. While some people might find this useful, I prefer a course and consistent scrub. This just seemed to be spreading pieces of dirt around and with no good exfoliating action because it was so varied.

In the picture you can see the scrub pieces. I think they are far too large to be useful, and a lot of the cream just washes off with no exfoliating action. This product doesn't lather, so its impossible to keep it on your skin for long. I smelled like I spilled some yogurt on myself when I got out of the shower, but the scent was thankfully gone within minutes of towelling off, so it doesn't have much longevity.

Sorry Body Shop, but this one is a fail in my opinon.

Review: Tropical Spice from Bath and Body Works

Tropical Spice is available in Bath and Body Works full home fragrance line. That is, 1.4 oz, 4 oz, 14.5 oz candles, wallflowers, room spray and fragrance oil. This is a spring release, new to 2011. I am confident it will be phased out in the summer, and my personal opinion is that they won't renew this next year, I just don't feel it has been that successful.

The scent is described on the website as “An exotic blend of cinnamon bark, spiced rum and Tahitian vanilla.” The picture on the front is of an exotic colored flower, but this is really not a floral at all.

 

Honestly, this seems like some of the notes used in the christmas candles were left over and combined together into something that could be marketed for the spring. It is a bit unusual but don’t think that I don’t like this scent, I do. Cinnamon is definitely present, as well as a rich blend of the usual nutmegy-cloves that you find in the winter line. They have combined it with a tropical fruity scent (nothing in particular, just the usual mangoey-apple-peachy blend that is called tropical) in order to make this more appropriate for the summer months. The scent is still quite heavy, but the throw on the candle is only average, so they even out to be quite pleasant. There is a certain smokiness to this that I like, and sometimes I even get reminded of apple-pie, although it is by no means an apple pie scent, just a wiff now and then of fruity crust.

The oil is more of the same, average throw, maybe a little fruitier. I haven't tried the wallflower, I am phasing out my use of their wallflowers as they don't last more than a few days.

This is a strange spring choice for Bath and Body Works but it is something different to their tangy and sweet fruit offerings that are basically just alcoholic drinks in a candle (or bottle).

Home Fragrance Basics - Video

Can't decide between candles, plugins, sprays and oils? No idea how to get that stink out of the place?

Check out my video which will help make your home smell awesome.

Elizabeth Taylor's perfume legacy and celebrity fragrances

With the passing of Elizabeth Taylor last week, I took my miniature bottles of her perfumes out of storage to give them their moment in the spotlight, on my dresser.

Perfume is an art form, one that lives on past the creator of the fragrance and the face of the brand. Elizabeth Taylor was the first to have a successful "celebrity fragrance" release, when she put her name on Passion in 1987. I find it inspiring to think that she can live on through her brand and never truly be gone.

Passion is the purple bottle here:

Passion is an 80's "powerhouse" fragrance: bold, strong and will waft around long after you have left the room. It is musky, masculine, and at my age, reminds me of teachers and grandparents. Passion is very inexpensive, partly because the ingredients are synthetic, and because it has been mass produced for a very long time, lowering manufacturing costs. Regardless of the low cost to the consumer, Elizabeth Taylor still made a fortune on this release, due to its popularity.

I also have a miniature of White Diamonds, which is the more popular of the two fragrances. Here's the bottle in focus:

You can see the trademark 'diamond' on the front of the bottle there. Larger bottles have more elaborate toppers, but this one is just a mini. White Diamonds was a 1991 release and remains both widely available and a fan favourite. It is a powdery floral that many will recognize, probably from the older ladies in their lives. Again, it is a strong 80's fragrance that will linger long after you do.

Elizabeth Taylor was not the last celebrity to put her name on a perfume, nor the last success story. Celebrity fragrances have become a definite staple in the perfume industry, and are a lucrative business worth a lot of money. Within the perfume hobby community, though, celebrity fragrances are extremely unpopular, with few exceptions. Enthusiasts of the art of perfumery see celebrity releases as cheap, poor examples of the art with inexpensive, repetitive and synthetic ingredients. Perhaps I might make the comparison with how lovers of fine paintings feel about mass produced cartoon postcards.

I can't bring myself to hate celebrity fragrances, but I also enjoy things at the opposite end of the spectrum. Celebrity frags are designed for mass popularity and sale, and some people feel there is no art in that. Elizabeth Taylor certainly showed us that art or no, there is good business in this design, and as long as people go on enjoying her line, I'm sure she'll go on living in those bottles.

There are a few articles on this subject you might want to check out for some more information:

Boorstin, J. (2005). THE SCENT OF CELEBRITY: Eau de J. Lo? Beckham in a bottle? Star-powered fragrances are hotter than ever, and Coty has mastered the formula. . Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/11/14/8360679/index.htm

Gross, M. (1987). ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S PASSION, A PERFUME. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7DB1230F936A25752C0A961948260

Nakashima, R. (2011). Taylor endorsed a lucrative line of fragrances expected to live on long after her death. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j3sQbiwbawpc8bGVR7lPFT2wvGIg?docId=6376901

Respers, L. (2011). Obsessions: Elizabeth Taylor, queen of cologne. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/03/25/taylor.celebrity.scents/index.html

Our scent talks about us, and we should talk about scents

Why should anyone care about perfume?

Perfumery has been accused of being no more than a luxury consumer item, frivolous hobby, or even an allergy-inducing irritant. In the last century, this concept was fueled by the fact that perfume was an expensive item, produced primarily by designer houses like Chanel. These days though, perfumery is used in soap, lotion, cosmetics, detergent, laundry products, cleaners, medication, candles, cooking and food production and as a subtle (?) marketing technique to influence our purchase decisions.

Hey you smell like my mom....

It is easy to think that the most our body scent might tell someone is whether we shower regularly. However, subconsciously, and through social norms in culture, perfumes of all kinds can indicate gender, age and even wealth. Deeper in the subconscious, scent and memory are tied closely together, we can accidentally remind someone of their grandmother by wearing her perfume, for example. Many of these interactions can cause someone to feel nostalgic, happy or sad, just via subconscious scent memories. We can't possibly know what perfumes have scent memories for other people, but through education, we can affect our own moods and understand our own reactions.

Controversy

Lets talk about chemicals for a moment. There are a growing number of co-workers claiming "allergic reactions" to "ALL" perfume, and there is panic over parabens in cosmetics, aluminum in anti-perspirants and triclosan in soaps, so it is important to at least have an understanding of what we surround ourselves with and why.

Here's a sample soap that I use with triclosan as the active ingredient. 

This is a popular brand available for a few dollars, something that could be in any home, yet it contains the antibacterial/antifungal agent triclosan. Some people are concerned that this chemical assists with the formation of drug-resistant bacteria (among other possible environmental effects).



What does our scent say about us?

Perfume is a fashion statement, a statement to others subconscious and displays things about us whether we like it or not. Even the absence of perfume is a statement, of some kind. With that in mind, we should all understand at least what messages our body scent and the things we use in our home are sending, and make sure those are consistent with how we want to live. Just like showing up to work in a tracksuit is only appropriate in some jobs, your body odor is part of your wardrobe, too. Make sure it matches the image you want to project!

The secret bottom drawer

To follow up my previous post, I admit that I still indulge when I return to Australia for visits and buy myself some Impulse. It lives secretly in my bottom drawer and I always bring back a little extra for my New Zealander friend. After all, the smell of home for a few dollars and space in a drawer is a real deal.

Why do I love perfumes?

Although make-up and nail polish never appealed to me as a teenager, I did get caught up in the body spray and deodorant craze.

Growing up in the heat of Australia, full of energy and hormones, we were always too hot, and frequently smelly, so scented sprays seemed like a necessary obsession that my parents were happy to pay for. At my school, the fad in body spray was the brand Impulse, which is actually not even an anti-perspirant, (probably for the best considering we sprayed it everywhere; our hair, face and gym bag included). Impulse is responsible for my love of fragrance. In the 90's, the company would frequently bring out new scents in brightly colored cans with mysterious and attractive titles. I had to have every single one and certain scents became synonymous with important events in my teenage life.

Impulse was a cheap indulgence in the world of perfumery, and at the time (in Australia), it was one of the only available ones. The only 'Body Shop' was in the city and everything else was out of my price range as a teenager with a small allowance. All the same, my mom tried to encourage me with some bottles of real, actual perfume. But it seemed like a luxury item, I barely used them for fear of wasting them and many were too mature or floral for my teenage nose. So I stuck with my body spray and at school we exchanged and shared our favorite cans after every sports class.

It wasn't until I was all grown up, across the world, and had money to spend frivolously that I realised how exciting perfume is as a hobby. Our nose and brain work in amazing tandem with emotion and recollection. A whiff of a familiar scent can transport you back to the exact day and time you last wore it, even if you thought the memories long-forgotten. It is exciting to find yourself transported to another place and time just by a sniff, and perfume is inspiring in the same way as any other form of art, in its form and variety.

You will find on this blog a vast collection of my explorations in perfumery. From my love of Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop, that craft popular scents for the mass-audience, to my search for the weird and wonderful in the niche world of perfume. Some days I want to smell like coconut and others I crave smoky firewood or sugary candy, so my perfume travels are always varied and vast. I hope you enjoy the journey with me on this blog!