Scentzilla!

Maryam from Maryam’s Soap Nook recently sent me a small selection of her handmade products to try, which I am more than happy to talk about. There were two products that really stood out to me:

One is her rich whipped body butter in the Ginger Cardamom scent. The fragrance is sweetly filled with fruity tones of peach, but the fruit is accompanied by a subtle spiciness. The texture is thick and creamy, with these little granule droplets that melt right into the skin. Perfect for those of us who get nasty winter skin, especially those of us who suffer from flakey elbows.

However, by far and away, I was most delighted by her Lemongrass, Lime & Ginger Shea Butter and Dead Sea Salt Glow Scrub. It’s a ginger lover’s dream. It smells of real fresh ginger slices, rather than only vaguely spicy like some “ginger” products. The scrub smoothed my skin as it exfoliated, and didn’t make it all pink and cranky looking (which unfortunately happens all to often with my sensitive skin.) Moreover, the scrub is salt based, so you don’t have to wash down the shower afterwards to keep it from getting scratched. Yes, I am lazy, but that is quite appealing, no? This stuff is awesome, and I am sticking it straight away onto my Christmas wishlist. (It fits in a stocking, “Santa,” hint hint!)

Other products from her line that she sent over included her Camellia Body Oil, a light moisturizing oil that feels silky and non-greasy, her gorgeous handcrafted soaps, and her Exfoliating Body Wash in Gardenia Peach, which was certainly nice, but I was so blown away by her gingeriffic salt scrub that I am recommending that instead!

I was waiting for a stroke of inspiration to hit me for a Thanksgiving-themed post this week, but it hasn’t come yet. The trouble with inspiration seems to be that it usually occurs in the middle of the night, when there’s sleeping to be done, and then I wake up to discover I’ve forgotten the allegedly brilliant thing that I was totally going to remember in the morning because it was so brilliant. So I stuck a pen and notebook on the dresser next to the bed, thinking I’d quick write it down before I’d fall back asleep. Then there’d be fresh, pretty ideas waiting for me to start the day with!

Here’s what I jotted down… In your head, try to imagine this written in line scrawl, with checkmarks before each word, and a single exclamation mark to the right that was five times the size of the words themselves. Underneath this lurked what was I believe was supposed to be a little round smiley face, but I can’t be sure, because it’s actually kind of egg shaped with some chicken scratch lines in the middle:

• brown
• jellybeans
• vintage

Ah. Yes. Apparently my big idea was to dig under the couch cushions to find remnants of old rotting candy hidden back last Easter, which not only addresses the wrong holiday, but is also pretty gross. Where the hell was I going with that? Well, there’s one lesson learned: there are no good ideas in the sleeping darkness, only crazy ones.

I am themeless. Here, in no particular order, are random things I’ve been thinking about…

1.) Balla Powder, Scented Scrotum Talc for Men.

This is a product?

I mean, a real one?

Not some item you see sitting between the remote control fart machine and the “How do you like your boobies” shirt at Spencer’s Gifts? (Both of which, by the way, we are reminded are “hilarious” by Spencer’s. We can all feel grateful they’re explicitly informing us of this fact, since it would have remained otherwise unnoticed.)

I am sure there’s a joke to be found about Balla Powder somewhere, and I’m pretty sure the punchline goes, “Tom Ford.” But I haven’t the steel stomach to go looking for it.

2.) Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue. So perfect. So chic. So popular. It’s the pretty cheerleader that everyone likes! But alas, there’s always that crowd that secretly hates the pretty cheerleader, and even moreso when people keep insisting “she’s so nice.” I am with that crowd. Light Blue is a mix of lemon, bergamot, cedar and white musk, with a green apple twist. Doesn’t that sound so nice? While I’m not sure any perfume can convey irony, Light Blue smells of veiled sarcasm to me. It’s shiny-happy on the surface, but then! Out of nowhere! A sharp metal knife driven into your back, or really, straight at your nostrils, just as soon as you let your guard down. And this, after you’ve already felt a small blast of Lysol up your nose, too.

People keep telling me to “give it another chance, just stick with it, and eventually it’ll work for you, too.” That sounds suspiciously like perfume appeasement, and Neville Chamberlaining with a perfume that insists on antagonizing you is a terrible plan. I shall fight at the counters, I shall fight at the display racks, I shall fight in the aisles and in the streets, I shall fight at Sephora; I shall never surrender.

I shall also remember that taking Benadryl for my allergies makes me very, very loopy. Seriously. It’s like being drunk, but without the fun, the beery deliciousness, or the comparative coherence of thought.

Anyhow, I hereby declare that I am done trying to come around to Light Blue. It’s a remarkably bad fit, and we are just never going to get along. If you and Light Blue are good buddies, congrats. You’re one of the lucky ones. It sure ain’t for me, though.

3.) Madonna’s NBC concert special is set to air this Thanksgiving Eve. Because nothing beats spending the holidays with Grandma. (I’ve no idea where that bit o’ vitriol came from, and no, I don’t really think she’s old. I’ve got nothing against her in particular, I swear. Just a vague annoyance that we’re supposed to find her antics lately at all compelling.)

4.) I finally cracked open a sealed bottle of a vintage fragrance I’ve been sitting on for months now. I’d wanted it for forever, but hadn’t worked up the nerve to unseal it right away. Oh man. I believe I found my Holy Grail perfume. More on that in a coming post, but I want to give another go ’round before I write about it.

5.) The Philosophy Lemonade 3-in-1 shampoo is proving to be a big hit with the menfolk in my house. It’s not really my kind of scent, but it’s quite good. Not too tart, not too sweet, a little pulpy, maybe a wee touch of woodiness. All in all, a really good representation of lemonade. My picky husband swears to me that it works equally as well on hair and on body - I’m taking his word on that and passing it along. My boys have been loving it for their bubble baths, and I must say, it foams up nicely.

6.) While I’m at it I am going to also recommend their Double Rich Hot Cocoa 3-in-1. I bought last winter, too, and it is the best fudgey-chocolately shower gel I’ve ever come across. Sometimes chocolate scented bath/body stuff hits me with a vague whiff of vinyl doggie chew toys, but this one’s fragrance is blessedly plastic-free. I don’t use it for shampoo, so I can’t say one way or the other how that works out. However, it does serve up a rich bubble bath, in addition to feeding a fine dessert to the ol’ shower poof. Hot Cocoa might just be my favorite 3-in-1 from Philosophy.

7.) Has anyone tried their Sugar Plum Fairy one? I should know better, but the name and bottle are so cute and utterly twee that I totally want to try it. Is it any good? Does it smell of plums, or what?

Image of Balla Powder from MenEssentials.com. Images of Philosophy 3-in-1s from Beauty.com. Image of Light Blue from Sephora.

Some fragrances I like, some I loathe, and some I simply admire. But Benefit’s Maybe Baby is one I’ll have to ‘fess up to loving past all rationality.

Its petalled aroma comes across as effervescent and sweet, like apricots infused with champagne instead of juice. Maybe Baby features floral notes that include cyclamen and Himalayan poppy; fruity notes of lychee, apricot, and peach; base notes of extremely subtle musk and wood; and a delightful touch of ginger across the body which gives the fragrance such a sparkling quality. In fact, while writing this, I realize I’ve worn Maybe Baby as my New Year’s Eve fragrance since it came out a few years ago. Something about it compliments well those frequent long-stemmed toasts to everyone and everything.

The eau de toilette has rather fleeting staying power on me, lasting only a couple hours. However, it is the perfect accompaniment to

THE. GREATEST. LOTION. EVER. MADE.

EVER!!!

While Maybe Baby is offered as an ancillary sparkly body lotion (see below), the one to really plunk down the cash for comes from their similarly scented Bathina line: the “Touch me then try to leave…” Cream. I’ve gone through so many tubs of it since it was first introduced that I’ve lost all count how many times I’ve repurchased. The texture is divine. I love dipping my fingertips into that little tub. The fragrance from it lasts much longer than that of the Maybe Baby edt, and in fact, works just fine as a stand-alone product in place of the perfume. In addtion to having the same mouthwater fragrance as the edt, divine texture, and good aromatic staying power, it actually works; With its generous amounts of glycerine, it efficiently helps the skin retain moisture. My mom also adores it, and she has such dry sensitive skin that most scented lotions irritate her skin or worse, break her out in a rash. The “Touch me” cream rings up at $28 a pop, but it’s so rich and thick that it should last you a while. Hmmm…. “thick” is not quite the right word… it’s got a fullness a little like the way meringue will begin to fill up and form stiff peaks as you whip. Yeah, that’s it… no, it’s not. That’s a terrible description. Sigh. Anyhow, my dream is to one day come into possession of a Costco-sized vat of the stuff. Which I will then guard obsessively and refer to as “my precioussssss…” Until that day happens, I shall have to make due with what’s available, and hope ferverently the cream is never discontinued during the course of my lifetime.

The Gettin’ Steamy body wash made an excellent addition to the line, and is a huge improvement over the old powdered form of bubble bath they used to sell, which only produced the weakest of bubbles. Gettin’ Steamy smells just as lovely as the edt, and I think works awesomely for both shower gel and bubble bath. I like to give it out as a gift for birthdays and holidays, because other folks seem to enjoy using it just as much as I do.

Sandal Scandal is an exfoliating foot cream packaged with cute leetle bootie socks. If you have feet much larger than mine, women’s 7 US, do not count on being able to wear them. That said, the lotion itself is what you’d be after anyhow. Sandal Scandal is not the best exfoliating foot cream out there, but it sure beats rubbing on yet another mint- or eucalyptus- scented one. God, am I ever sick of those. Sandal Scandal incorporates the Maybe Baby/Bathina fragrance, but it does smell noticeably different. The aroma strikes me as sort of chemically in comparison to the edt or the other Bathina body products. It’s not an exceptional product, yet it’s certainly not a bad one. I’ve bought it a few times, but I don’t think it’s a must-have item particularly.

The Body So Fine balm… oh lordy! It smells vaguely of roses to me in the tin, however, once applied it begins to resemble Maybe Baby again. To my mind, it feels like a terribly luxurious and indulgent product. The balm is applied using a velvety pad to smooth thin layers across the skin. Do watch out when applying to in-between-shaves stubble legs, since the velvet can catch on the stiff hairs and cause little black lint balls to stick into the balm. (It works best on unprickled skin.) I use the balm mostly in the evening before bed, since I find applying it weirdly soothing; It’s a nice way to end the day before clambering into bed with a book or falling asleep with the TV blasting Law & Order: Insert Spin-Off Title Here.

The Maybe Baby body lotion acts as a medium-weight lotion with wee micro-sparkles that give off a luminescent shimmer on the skin. I guess it’s nice, and it’s soft texture is enjoyable, but to me it pales in comparison with THE. GREATEST. LOTION. EVER. MADE. Its fragrance is sort of, I dunno… a little pasty compared to the “Touch me” cream, as well. Not to say that it smells unpleasant, mind you, it’s very pretty… just that in contrast it doesn’t quite hold up to the excellence of the “Touch me” cream. But if you like shimmer, this would be the lotion for you.

In additon to being sold as an edt, Benefit also makes Maybe Baby as a small solid powder compact. The price certainly bites less than even the small bottle of edt, but I really recommend against buying the powder compact in lieu of the edt. The compact does provide for a pleasant pick-me-up and/or a convenient way to refresh your initial edt application. However, it’s not strong enough to carry on its own for more than a half hour. I rarely use mine, it being relegated to sitting neglected in a drawer.

Maybe Baby, and its ancillary products under both the Maybe Baby and Bathina lines, would appear on the face of it to sound more like spring/summer fragrance choices. Yet it’s actually these colder months when I crave that fragrance most. It conveys drops of sunshine on dreary winter days in the Pacific Northwest. It works fine in warms months, too, only it seems that spakling freshness is needed most when the world is grey and soggy.

Some of the above items are available for purchase in smaller travel sizes, and I really recommend them for stocking stuffers or to make up gift baskets with. They are small, but the price is quite reasonable for what you get.

Images all from BenefitCosmetics.com, and all items can be found both online there and at Benefit counters, as well as at Sephora.

My husband is a generally silly man, prone to the odd verbal tangent. For example -

Me: feeling snacky and rooting around in the refrigerator

Him: “Whatcha looking for?”

Me: “Oh… nothing, I guess…”

Him: “Well, that’s the best place to look for it. I never find anything in there either.”

Since I’ve been sick all week long, and haven’t been able to smell much, I thought I’d ask him for some male grooming recommendations, thinking he’d have a lot to say on the subject. Turns out that wasn’t quite right. Here, in no particular order, are products that get Mr. Katie’s thumbs up, with corresponding and laconic reviews. Don’t let the brevity fool you: he’s super picky and acts like kind of a big baby about which products he uses.

And there you have it - a few products from my husband’s regular rotation. If you want to read a really great men’s lifestyle blog, I would suggest checking out the new-ish Dethroner, which bills itself as “the perfect guide for the imperfect man.” Even I’m utterly addicted, and I’m but an imperfect woman.

“Now are come the days of brown leaves. They fall from the trees. They flutter on the ground. When the brown leaves flutter, they are saying little things. They talk with the wind. I hear them tell of their borning days when they did come into the world as leaves. And they whisper of the hoods they wore then.”
~ Opal Whiteley, The Diary of Opal Whiteley

Summer is leaving the Pacific Northwest now; Trees have slowly begun casting off their leaves as if in dance of the hundred-thousand veils. But my roses still persist. It feels almost perverse to walk amongst the deshabille trees, watching them undress in the wind, and then return home to see the rose blossoms gleefully snubbing their noses at the calendar’s reign.

Generally when rose fragrances are discussed, those geared for men are rarely mentioned, if at all. But they exist! One such male rose fragrance that I enjoy is mat; male. I catch myself wondering upon occaision why this particular offering by Masaki Matsushima has not caught on more popularly amongst my fellow perfume-nuts.

While it doen’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to a rose note, mat; male can be described as a lovely example of a spicy floral for men that strays nicely from the well beaten path of citrus this, and marine that.

Mat; male does open with a small burst of grapefruit, but it burns off quickly. Cool roses, and a note smelling of tender and wet bamboo shoots, form the heart of the fragrance. Spicy cardamom and the herbally green pluck of parsley provide a strangely refreshing and sexy lift. This is actually my favorite part of the scent. The way the spice and greenness intertwine happily surprises me everytime I’ve reached for mat; male. As it dries, dark woods cast shadows upon the florals. Yet at all times mat; male retains a floral character, never overly simplified, nor too annoyingly stereotypical.

There are, of course, many spicy rose choices out there. But this particular one makes a great arguement as to why men should not overlook their segregated side of the perfume counters in seek of florals. It’s not necessarily something only men might carry off well either, which should be mentioned.

Sephora recently had a fantastic deal on the mat; male facial lotion several weeks back during a sale. Since both my husband and I already knew and enjoyed the fragrance, I decided why not? It’s not quite to my husband’s taste, since he has dry-ish skin that requires a slightly richer formula. However, it works great for combo to oily skin. The texture is runny, but it speads easily onto the face with a slight mattifying effect. The lotion smells more prominently of roses than the fragrance minus its spicy elements, which makes it a nice consideration for women, too. Well, as long as fragrance doesn’t break out your skin, that is.

More about Opal Whiteley can be uncovered at The Opal Whitely Memorial from Cottage Grove, OR. The full text of The Diary of Opal Whiteley is now available online, thanks to the efforts of the University of Oregon, as well as some additional biographical background. Nepotism alert! If you live in the Oregon area, the PBS affliate station also frequently rebroadcasts an Emmy nominated (Northwest Chapter) film about her life and work entitled “Fairyland: The Story of Opal Whiteley,” which my brother helped produce. The short film is part of the Oregon Documentary Project, but alas, is not currently available online. So watch OPB!

Source image of Opal Whitely from The Opal Whiteley Memorial.

“If you want your man to drown in your lust, you must, you must, increase your bust.” So says the song I sang along with all the other girls, while listening to Lords of Acid play way too loudly when I was a teenager.

The human body is a moveable feast, but one that is meant to be celebrated for any occasion, and as often as possible. The beauty industry capitalizes all too well on this notion by attempting to manipulate folks into thinking there’s a correct size for the feast.

Having no better excuse than a sample on hand, I tried out Pout Bustier, a “bust enhancing cream.” I was thinking I’d show before and after pictures of myself, until I realized that would bring in some traffic I just don’t want. Plus, there’s the creepy email factor. And I’m sick of creepy emails. (Hey creeps, I really look like Bthulhu* in real life. It’s true!) Instead, let’s go with a photo commentary, if that’s all right with you?

Some ladies have these firm little fruits:

Others possess equally juicy but plumper gifts:

Still others, like myself, are cursed with these:

In the produce market of life, we find a variety of selections, and there is room for everything.

But the job of the beauty industry is to convince us all that attraction is a sport. They connive to fool every woman into thinking she looks like this,


and brainwash us all into thinking that only with these can a woman hope to be attractive:

Good grief. None of us needs that sort of grief. This sort of thinking is not anywhere near the neighborhood of realistic. Sure, it circles the block a few times, but it never arrives at the actual location.

When a guy is truly attracted to you, I have it on good authority from those in the know (focus group of one: my husband) that no matter the size of your endowment, all he’s gonna see are these:

Okay, so I will concede one thing: there are some men who are not terribly interested in your cookies, and are only out to try to ring your Taco Bell. Those sorts of men can be fun enough when you’re young and stupidish. Of course as you get a little older and stupidish, you eventually realize those are also the men who are the least good at… uh, ringing.

So what does Pout Bustier do, really? Well, it’s got a nice dose of glycerin to moisturize the skin. The texture is thick but easy to spread out. It smells lovely though not terribly compelling, a sort of tart rosy scent with ylang ylang and geranium. It would layer well with a number of perfumes. And it has shimmer, wee little micro-specks of mica that are subtle but not ignorable. The shimmer sticks well, and mostly remains on the skin to which it was first applied. (It has been tested. Let us leave it at that.) In effect, it adds a little extra sumthin’-sumthin’ to catch the eye, so that the right guys will see this:

On a seperate note, I finally got around to also joining the Coutorture community. Please stop by there and visit all the great sites affiliated with them!

*An explaination of whence comes Bthulhu.

Le Couvent Des Minimes ~ Orange Blossom Body Softening Cream

What a gorgeous scent. Victoria was so right about this lotion. This cream has a nice rich texture that absorbs quickly, leaving the most beautiful orange blossom and softly woody scent on me. The heavenly aroma lingers for hours after I apply. It’s a must-try even for hard-core orange blossom addicts. I would swim in giant pools of it, were it economically feasible. I would slather everyone I come into contact with in it, were it socially acceptable. I would spread it on toast, were it not toxic to ingest. I would wear it in a box, with a fox, in a house, and with a mouse. I would wear it here and I would wear it there. Say, I would wear it anywhere! I do so like Orange Blossom Body Softening Cream! Thank you, Victoria-I-Am! (Le Couvent Des Minimes is carred by the Bath and Body Works chain in the US. I don’t know where to find it outside of the States, unfortunately.)

Michel Comte ~ Shared Water pour femme

Shared Water begins as if it’s a floral only scent, and initially gives the impression that it’s going to go nowhere. But top burns off quickly, revealing the warm aroma of jasmine rice cooking in a steamer. To me this is a gourmand scent, since even the thought of jasmine rice makes me embarassingly hungry without olfactory provocation. In actuality there’s a slight salinity in the scent, which would more likely classify Shared Water as belonging to the “marine” family. It’s lovely, if very light, but sadly it’s too far out of my own budget to consider paying for a full bottle of such a discreet fragrance (I’m not really a discreet sort of gal, heh!) The only place that *I* know of to get Shared Water is via First-in-Fragrance. (A word about the spraying mechanism: it’s a little different. Rather than spraying straight at you, it sprays up and out.)

Apivita ~ Euphoria

Two years ago, ULTA (it’s like Sephora, but with drugstore makeup) sold the BEST WHITE CHOCOLATE BATH LINE EVER during a Christmas promotion. Sorry to shout in capitals, but it was sooo good. How good? It’s two years later, and I’m still bitching about it never being offered again. I think I only paid five bucks apiece for the lotion and shower gel, but it was such a rich, almost nutty white chocolate scent. I loved it so much, and was hoping they’d sell it again this last holiday season, but alas they did not. Sigh. So now I’m trying to find something I will love almost as much.

The first suggestion I got was for Apivita’s Euphoria line of bath and body products. I picked up a sampler to try them all out. Euphoria smells strongly bergamot, with a touch of white tea, and vanillic white chocolate underneath. It’s rather nice, and I bet would be wonderful in summer when heavy scents turn rank in the summer heat.

The body scrub was the real winner for me in the sampler. The scent in it seemed more vibrant to me than other products in the line, tart but not sour, while never losing its vanillic sweetness. The scrub’s pumice is not so big as to be irritating, but not so small as to be ineffectual. I might buy this again, once my hunt for a new BEST WHITE CHOCOLATE BATH LINE EVER is completed, and whether or not I find a new best one.

The body milk lotion has a nice medium weight density, and feels very cooling to me. I think I might like it better if I owned a complimenting perfume to wear, but it was all right. I just don’t have anything I felt matched it well enough to layer over it.

The milk bath strangely smelled a little plasticky to me. I could smell the “Euphoria” perfume, but I also smelled rubber doggy chew toys. Uh, yeah. So I’ll be skipping this one in the future. I think if you’re one of those folks who doesn’t notice the plasticky smells in the Philosophy line of 3-in-1s then you wouldn’t notice it here either.

Using Euphoria’s shampoo was surprisingly nice. It, too, bore a touch of plastic, but nothing I can’t live with. I did like the smell, which I got to enjoy while I lathered, but I wasn’t stuck it with all day long because it rinsed out completely. Love that. It has very low lather, which is something I normally like, since I find that there’s a direct correlation between high lather and me sporting crispy scarecrow-lady hair usually. However in this case the very low lather made it tricky to work with in my below shoulder length hair - it’s almost too low. I liked it anyhow, and it did not strip or dry out my hair in the least, not even a little and I can count on my hands how few shampoos can accomplish that. I’m on the fence if I’d ever get it again, but I might someday if I’m in the mood for a fun scented one. For now I’ll just stick with my regular stand-by products.

I would strongly recommend if you want to try these to go to b-glowing for the sampler kit ($10), or better yet just a full size bottle of the scrub, and using code instyle06 for 25% off your purchase.

Book Review

I was so excited to find a perfume themed book for kids! The Perfume of Memory is illustrated so beautifully by artist Jean Claverie, but alas the story by Michelle Nikly disappoints a bit. The story is about a kingdom where perfume making is held divine, yet only men are allowed to be perfumers, much to the chagrin of a young girl and her father. The prose itself is lovely enough for adults to enjoy, yet not too difficult for elementary school aged children to get through. Unfortunately, the plot had a big giant hole in it, which I wondered if my own twins would spot. And they did. The “villian” in the story is really a misunderstood man, and he gets thrown into prison for his machinating against the kingdom in a desperate scheme to remind the people of their perfume making heritage. But, what bugged my kids is that he somehow gets out of prison with no explanation given. They didn’t mind that he did escape, mind you, they just got scrunchy-browed over HOW. Moreover, the villain contrived to create a perfume that was supposed to be “wrong,” but it sounded more enticing than any of the “good” perfumes the protagonists offered in the book. I don’t know that I would necessarily drop everything and run out to buy this, but if you spot it on sale or at your library it’s still worth a perusal (especially for its wonderful artwork.) ISBN#0439082064

Fruits & Passion Solstis is one of those scents I’d heard dismissed in the past as a fruity-floral composed in the key of bland. But curiosity got the better of me (per usual) and I decided to give it a whack anyhow, since one of the ancillary products appealed to me.

What a nice surprise! It’s fruity sure, its heart dominated by a melon note that seems “marine”-like to me. The melon itself would be utterly unappealing, were it not for the strong and strangely refreshing accents of fennel. This fennel note smells very much like catching the aroma of a basket of fresh fennel greens at the market. Something wonderfully palate-cleansing happens when I wear this, and indeed, Solstis bears traces of curly parsley. The herbal brightness of the scent I feel elevates it beyond many of the more expensive and widely available fruity scents floating about in department stores. At the base I find something that makes me think of light powdered vanilla. However, this is not at all a powdery scent. I’m suspecting this may make my list of top summer scents this year.

The real hit for me was the deodorant. I can’t believe I’m saying this about something I stick in my armpits, but this is really well done. The deodorant is clear, so you needn’t worry about staining your clothes. Soft and slick, the texture is as well done as my favorite deodorant, Tom’s of Maine unscented, and it’s just as gentle and non-irrritating to the skin as Tom’s. The way the fragrance is handled is *perfect*. It smells when applying, and for shortly after, yet it is not strong enough to interfere with whatever scent I choose for the day (and I’m sure that with me you can guess that changes pretty much daily.) Without delving too deeply into my pits, I will just say that it controls my B.O. just as well as my Tom’s, if not better. I’m going to switch over to this instead of Tom’s as long as they’re selling it. For me? That is saying A LOT. Now I’m wondering if there are other great scented deodorants out there that I’m missing out on, or at least those that aren’t found at the drugstore.

The Solstis lip balm came to me as a disappointment. It’s far too waxy in texture to moisturize my lips. Too waxy to even be pleasurable wearing - I’ve worn lip glosses that weren’t this waxy for cryin’ out loud. The flavor emphasizes the melon more than any other note, and I found it enjoyable. But it’s not enough for me. I actually held the most hope for this product, and it’s what compelled me to order the eau de toilette and deordorant since I was at it, because it’s hard to really screw up lip balm. And while this isn’t quite a screw up, it is fairly pointless to buy. I’m sticking with my shea butter and my Anna Sui moisturizing stick, thanks. This one goes into the trash bin.

(Has anyone tried the shower and bath products from this line? I’d love to hear what you think of them.)

Coming either Friday or Monday: Fresh Cannabis Santal. (Haven’t decided which yet, sorry!)

Also, in other beauty-related news, I need mention that Lipgloss and Laptops has released their inaugural podcast. This episode covers, naturally enough, lipgloss, including the history (hee!) of lipgloss, and a very funny little section on “meaty” lipglosses of the past.

Oh golly, this fun little item is a conundrum to review. Let’s start with the bad, and then we’ll go to the good so you can understand why I’d probably buy this again.

The bad:

• I see nothing in the ingredient list that would make this “organic.” Or for that matter, there’s nothing ALL natural about it. Proof positive you must look beyond a label with anything bearing the highly nebulous term “organic.” I don’t feel like typing out the ingredient list, but if you’re curious, it appears drugstore.com has them listed on their site.
• The plastic packaging is a bit too easily prone to cracking, unfortunately.
• “Pomegranate Fig,” my ass. It smells mostly of tea, with just a touch of fruity sweetness.

The good:

• I LIKE the tea smell, even though I was expecting “Pomegranate Fig.”
• This produced a really excellent amount of bubbles, and they were surprisingly long-lasting ones. So many bubble baths dissolve before I’m done with the bath, but these bubbles linger ’til I’m ready to get out. AWESOME.
• A 3 ounce package goes a lot further than it sounds like it would, and it’s not terribly expensive (under ten dollars.) It’s an affordable treat in my opinion
• The method of bubble delivery, the petals, is beautiful and fun. Seriously, don’t these flowers look pretty to you??

So despite my misgivings about the wholly ridiculous use of the word organic, I gave into the sheer prettiness, and despite finding the scent not as advertised, I would still totally pick these up again. Although, I’m thinking what I might do is try one of their tea scents instead, seeing as I may as well have this time around.

As you may have guessed these are available through drugstore.com, but I also found the line at my Fred Meyer store, which a Kroger-owned subsidary, so you should probably be able to find it at any old drugstore or grocery.

While you might think that as a perfume freak I’d be consumed with all things scented, the fact is that I prefer to be judicious in what scents my world. As a consequence, I gravitate towards certain products that, while not without smell, are without a distinct fragrance. I thought I might list some of my favorites:

Hair

Philosopy’s Curly Head hair serum is a nice medium-weight silcone hair serum. Despite the name, the ingredients don’t really do anything special for curly hair, and are completely appropriate for any hair types needing shine or manageability. Two ounces don’t sound like a lot, but one bottle lasts me nearly a year, and I use it every single day. Their Memory hair gel holds nicely without stiffness, and for my below shoulder length hair I only use a pea sized amount to preserve the natural waves in my hair. Beauty Without Cruelty’s Leave-In Conditioner actually does carry a fragrance, but it fades off within a couple minutes, providing me with a nice option for detangling while moisturizing my long hair. It is a silicone free product, so I can use it in conjunction with a serum. However, I know this is also a product of choice for hair product junkies who deliberately try to avoid silicone additives.

Kitchen

Seventh Generation Free & Clear Dish Liquid doesn’t produce as many suds as a regular dishwashing liquid, but it cleans just as well. Moreover, it thankfully doesn’t dry out my hands as much as those regular liquids, and rinses much more easily. Trader Joe’s Automatic Dishwashing Detergent costs me all of three bucks, and works better than the heavily scented and dye-bearing detergents you normally encounter at the grocery for the dishwashing machine. Unfortunately there is no way to obtain it online, and can only be purchased through brick and mortar stores. But if I’m unable to make the trip all the way down to my Trader Joe’s, I go to Fred Meyer and pick up Seventh Generation’s Dishwashing Powder, which costs a bit more, and doesn’t work quite as well as the Trader Joe’s brand, but still gets the job done. I’ve found that despite my chronic perfume use I rarely cause my husband to sneeze, but running the dishwasher with things like Cascade brand detergent does, and how. Neither the Trader Joe’s nor the Seventh Generation induces this reaction in him, and as a consequence, we use them at our house exclusively now. He got sick of sneezing, and I got sick of saying Gesundheit a million times in a row. For cleaning countertops and my table I use plain old white vinegar and water. I know it sounds like it won’t work as well as the more impressive sounding commercial sprays available, but really, it works just fine. Commercial sprays contain surfactants that do aid in wiping away messes, but I don’t mind putting some rather minimal efforts into cleaning up these smooth surfaces. On the rare occasion I do want scent, I like to add a couple drops of Sunshine Spa’s Omar oil, which lends a floral-pine like scent to the spray.

Body

Unrefined shea butter works wonders on dry skin. It’s not precisely scentless, bearing a faint odor reminiscent of pale anise and cardboard, but it’s nothing that interferes in the least with a daily perfume, and the scent is nothing anyone else will pick up. I strongly recommend this eBay seller’s product. Her product arrives in a simple baggie, but it is easily transfered to a Tupperware or disposable Ziploc container. And it’s emminently more affordable than the more popular refined versions sold at much higher prices in far lesser quantity. It’s lovely stuff to use, and spreads just as nicely as the more expensive stuff loaded into overpriced tins. However, I do like carrying around a small tin of shea butter to use on my lips, and for that I turn to Pre de Provence. Their wee 7 ounce tins of refined shea butter moisturize nicely, make a fairly good treatment to put under lipstick/gloss to keep it from slipping off, and never come unscrewed or pop open in my purse. L’Occitane Hand Cream has a cult following, and for good reason. It is awesome. It mostly just smells pleasantly soapy to me, and as long as you’re not slathering it on everywhere, the scent fades soon enough. For lighter lotions, Lubriderm doesn’t have the sexy glam edge of high end brands, but it does the job, and that’s what counts. If you get really desperate, and have nothing else on hand, I’d also suggest Crisco for sore, chapped skin - feel free to laugh at me if you must. I can honestly say it protects and relieves really icky dry skin surprisingly nicely. It does cause some greasiness, however, which shocks exactly no one. Pre de Provence’s Milk soap bar is not precisely unscented either, but I find that the smell is minimal and washes thouroughly from my skin. Escential Lotion and Oils also makes an excellent shower gel, which they do sell unscented (for online shoppers, select “none” in the drop down menu.)

Laundry

My hands down favorite is All Free and Clear. I won’t even bother mention others I’ve tried that are nice enough, but not nearly as good. The powder works well, but we generally choose the liquid. I’m not sure one can buy this online at all, but it’s easily found at most stores here in the US. My skin is impossibly sensitive to clothing detergents for some reason, and this is one of the very very few that has never caused a rash on me. And it blessedly doesn’t impart a scent to my clothing to interfere with my perfume habit. I refuse to use fabric softener or dryer sheets: These products contain chemicals that can yellow your clothing and break down fabrics much quicker than if you simply do without them. So if anyone here does use them and has suggestions, please take a moment to share your recommendations for ones that are not scented, as I’m sure that not everyone feels the same as I do and others will appreciate hearing your ideas. For stain remover, nothing beats using plain old Ivory soap or Dreft baby detergent. Specifically, it’s awesome with organically based stains. I’ve even gotten PRUNE JUICE out of white baby onesies with those. I rinse the item in water, rub a bar of Ivory or use water with Dreft to make a paste to apply to the affected area, let the item set overnight, and then toss it into a load of wash the next day. I’ve yet to find a stain-remover that erradicates discolorations as efficiently.

Have any of your own personal favorites you choose for unscented products? Please share them!

Philosophy and Seventh Generation products can be purchased online at drugstore.com, and the other items hyperlinked are already tied to an etailing shopping source.