I’ve sniffed (and purchased) a handful  of perfumes lately. Since I don’t want to spend hours typing up reviews, here are my impressions. Some of these may merit a longer review at some point.

Angel Men Pure Coffee from Thierry Mugler. I really, really wanted to love this. With notes of coffee, creamy musk, patchouli, cedar wood, and vetiver, it sounded lovely. I love the smell of coffee, especially that “just opened the bag of fresh roasted beans” scent. That scent is definitely there in the first few minutes of wearing A*Men Pure Coffee. Those few minutes are divine. Then that delicious coffee scent faded away on my skin and I was left with a vaguely sweet yet woodsy scent strongly reminiscent of Blue Sugar - which has crazy staying power on me. I really like Blue Sugar, so I’m not sure I need another scent like it (and yes, Blue Sugar is directly inspired by the original Angel Men, but it costs less).

Angel, Thierry Mugler. I have finally broken down and bought some Angel. The stuff is crazy expensive, but I thought this little bottle was cute, and reasonably affordable. I’ve been dancing around this perfume for years - do I love it or hate it? It’s hard to tell. It’s chocolate and patchouli, yes… but it’s also this crazy floral thing, and it has some fruit going on too. When I smelled it the first time, I couldn’t believe this was the scent responsible for starting the “gourmand” trend, because it smelled much too soapy - must have been the flowers. Anyway, after reading “Perfumes: The Guide” (a full book review to come, on my next day off) I decided I should just jump in with the Angel and admit I like it.

Organza Indecence, by Givenchy. It has notes of jacaranda wood, cinnamon, amber, vanilla and patchouli. I know, I’m starting to sound like a broken record. But I guess if the fragrances I like have anything in common, it’s the patchouli. This one smells like cinnamon on me, and I love it. It’s the alpaca blanket I wrap around myself on a cold day, warm, cuddly, sweet, and comforting.

Believe, Britney Spears. Lord have mercy, did I really buy a Britney Spears fragrance? I did, and here’s why. Drumroll…. it’s the patchouli. It’s not mentioned anywhere in the notes, but I’d swear this has raspberry in it too. Guava Pulp, golden tangerine, honeysuckle, linden blossom, patchouli, amber, and pink pralines are the actual notes. I don’t really get guava or tangerine, but the flowers are nice. Then the whole thing dries down to patchouli and raspberries on me, and I LOVE it. I’m excited to wear this all summer long. I just won’t admit to anyone it’s a Britney fragrance.

I also sniffed M Mariah Carey (not worth mentioning), gave Michael Kors Island Hawaii another try (since it was reissued) and decided I don’t love it anymore - especially since I found Pacifica’s Nerola Orange Blossom and got my neroli fix. Also, I tried Kenzo Amour Indian Holi, a fragrance I’d like to love but just don’t. It gets bonus points for being unusual, but I just can’t seem to like it much.

I love this time of the year. The flowers, the warmer days, the increased sunshine… I get a lot less gloomy. Here are five things for spring - floral scents, pretty colors, stuff to remind you summer is right around the corner.

1. Lolita Lempicka Fleur Défendue - a soft floral scent with some fruity accents. I wants. The yellow bottle is so pretty!

2. Stila Summer Eye Shadow Palette. The colors are awesome!! I am seriously lusting after this.

3. Just about anything Korres.  I particularly want the makeup wipes and any of the makeup. I love the body washes too.

4. The Lime & Coriander Body Wash at Bath & Body Works just hit my wish list.  I love the fresh and savory scent.

5. Speaking of savory scents, Dune Grass at Yankee Candle caught my nose and I had to get a votive or two. Loving this scent! It’s a nice blend of fresh and clean, without that annoying tickle-my-nose sensation that I get from other “clean” scents (anything with cotton in the name offends my nose for sure).

I love Badger Balms. Back when I was in college, I loved the original Badger Balm on my hands - I was a photography major and the developing chemicals in the darkroom dried the heck outta my skin. Then I discovered that the Sore Muscle balm helped with this annoying, tight, sore knot I get around my left shoulder blade pretty frequently.

Next, I acquainted myself with the lip balms, which double nicely as hand balm when needed. This led to an obsession with collecting the lip balm tubes as well…

Today Badger has expanded their product line in some really awesome ways. I really want to try the body oils, and I bet the Baby Balm is fantastic on rashes. I will probably get a tube of the sunscreen for summer gardening. If I was fantastically wealthy, I’d probably have one of everything, really. I mean, foot balm and cuticle balm and joint balm… and it’s all BEAUTIFULLY packaged and full of amazing plant-based oils and butters and essential oils. Be still my beating heart. The Cocoa lip balms rank as some of my favorite all time lip balm, especially the coffee one.

Which brings me to the Yoga & Meditation Balm, the latest to join my collection. Really, I wanted all three - Yoga, the Stress Soother, and the Headache Soother. But I felt like I should pick one (darned budget again!), and the Yoga balm smelled sooooo divine. It has cedarwood and sandalwood, frankincense and myrrh, and litsea cubeba for a little lemony kick too.

Anyway, I smear it on the backs of my hands before bed and breathe it in… and sleep like a baby. I’m in love.

At the beginning of April, I had this brilliant idea that I would do a series of posts about earth-friendly cosmetics and household products - in honor of April 22nd, Earth Day.

But here it is April 23rd, and my series did not materialize. *sigh* Life, it gets in the way sometimes. But not to despair, I am still going to start a new category so I can label posts throughout the year when I write about something earth-friendly.

And on that note, here are a few quick ideas for being more green.

I buy shampoo and conditioner in liter bottles now, and refill smaller bottles to put in the shower. Right now I’m using TIGI Oatmeal & Honey Shampoo and Aveda conditioner. I use less plastic this way, and I save money too, since the bigger bottles are a better value.

I avoid buying cosmetics (and everything else for that matter) that are overly packaged. Does that shower gel really need an outer box? Nope. You can print all the relevant info on the bottle, so the box is redundant. Stuff that’s boxed AND wrapped in plastic really yanks my chain.

When I wore powder foundation, I preferred brands that had refillable compacts - it’s so wasteful throwing away the whole compact every time you run out of foundation. I also like companies that have palette-able products - like mark., Stila, and Aveda.

Something I consider big is cutting down on my use of the hair dryer. I try to plan better so that I can let my hair air-dry mostly dry and then only use the dryer for finishing the style. Otherwise, I wear my hair in a style that doesn’t need the dryer at all (I’m big on octopus clips these days).  It’s better for my hair, my electricity bill, and the environment!