One of my favorite candle stores is Illuminations. They used to have two Portland locations, but they both closed last year. *pouts* I liked their sophisticated scents, the pretty colors and shapes of their candles, the elegant containers, and the amazing candleholders, sconces, and chandeliers.

Imagine my great pleasure when I found an Illuminations store in Seattle! Happy Days!

I purchased a few votives in my favorite scents, and then explored their new (to me anyway) aromatherapy line. I liked the Passion scent the best, with its bewitching blend of ylang ylang and nutmeg. What is it with me and ylang? I love the stuff. You’d think the Romance scent would be an even bigger winner (it’s jasmine and ylang ylang) but I don’t think they used a good quality jasmine. It didn’t do it for me at all.  There are a few other scents I liked too, but these are the ones I remember.

The new fall stuff looked and smelled pretty too. What I really wanted, though, was this.  It’s just the perfect size for putting over my dining room table and replacing the not-so-pretty light fixture that is currently there. The dining area is built into the kitchen, and there are two other big light fixtures as well, so it wouldn’t really be missed. I’m having serious lust here.

Check out Illuminations in person, if you can. It’s a great store.

Like I mentioned here, I was never a big Lush shopper before I started using their bath bombs. The products had gimmicky names and the packaging looked cheap. I think I make better soap, and having tried samples of their soap, I’m pretty firm in that belief.

Something Lush does very well, at least in the two stores I’ve visited, is customer service. I’ve become a bit of a customer service fanatic since I started working in retail again, being firmly convinced that poor customer service is inexcusable. I don’t require fawning, but I do want to be greeted when I enter a store, and I prefer to be approached at least once to make sure I’m finding what I’m looking for. I’m such a sucker that if a salesperson really goes all out with the demos and assistance, I’m likely to buy more than I intended and be happy about it.

Which brings me to the Lush store in Seattle. I was in Seattle for a training (which included a lengthy segment on customer service), and with a co-worker, decided to shop various bath/body/cosmetic stores in the area. After a particularly bad experience, I brought my co-worker to the Lush store (she’d never been). We were immediately greeted by a friendly young man, who asked if we were familiar with Lush. Upon learning I was, he proceeded to demo some products I hadn’t tried, told us about the specials, added on an additional product and closed the sale. I was a happy camper.

I bought the Creamed Almond & Coconut Smoothie I mentioned here after the nice salesguy demo-ed it for me. It is SERIOUSLY yum. He said you can use it to shave your legs too. I can’t wait to try that.

After learning of this special promotion I decided to give the shower gels another sniff. I picked out a big bottle of Flying Fox after being totally entranced by the Honey Jasmine Ylang scent, and got a free Buffy The Backside Slayer. Woohoo! I tried Buffy in my shower today and it’s pretty good (and I like the scent). I’m not sure I’ll buy it again – it’s a little too scrubby, but I like the bit of oil it leaves on my skin. I can skip the lotion step on days when I use Buffy. I am interested in some of Lush’s other body butters, since the concept is worthy. As for the shower gel, Flying Fox is to die for. This one will be a staple.

I picked up a Mange Too massage bar (having lusted after it for a while now) on a whim, and after Nice Salesguy pointed out the Temple Balms at the register, I picked up the Flying Fox balm to match my shower gel. It makes a nice solid perfume. Nice Salesguy says it’s good for thwarting PMS. I say it’s good for seducing husbands…*wink*

The only product that didn’t move me was Ocean Salt. We tried it on our hands, and while it’s a nice scrub, I can’t imagine using it on my face – it’s MUCH too scrubby in my mind. As a body scrub, I’ve tried ones I like just as much that are less expensive.

I still think the black tubs are less than ideal packaging, but it’s their schtick so I’m okay with it. I wish the massage bar and Buffy came with some kind of container, but I’ll work around that too. I do like that the packaging is recyclable and I really can’t complain because I am a proponent of minimal packaging to reduce waste.

Lush, Lush, Lush. You’ve made a fan out of me.

Stila Cosmetics has a new collection out for summer, and it’s so pretty. The eyeshadows are especially, especially the cool colors. I love baked eyeshadows because you can use them wet or dry, and used wet they have such beautiful radiance.

Cargo introduced a new shade to their ever-popular Beach Blush line – Sunset Beach. It’s more delicate than the other colors, with delicate pink, mauve, and light tan colors.

Nyx Cosmetics has new Glitter Pencils that look really cute.  Sadly my local Long’s Drugs closed, so my source of Nyx (without shipping) is gone and I haven’t had a chance to try these pencils in person yet. One of these days I’m hoping somewhere else local will carry the line.

Avon has a preview of their autumn colors available here. The shadows certainly look pretty. The new eyeshadow singles have some pretty shades too, although I’m not a fan of eyeshadow singles in general. I prefer palettes, for storage reasons.

I’m still loving summer but now I can’t wait for fall…

Fragrance, like few other sensory experiences, can evoke strong emotions because of how deeply they are connected to our memory. Scads of research gets conducted each year on our sense of smell and how it relates to behavior, memory, etc.

Many of my perfumes are what I call “comfort scents,” those scents that remind me of a time or place or just create a happy feeling.

One of those scents is The Body Shop’s Ananya. It’s 1996. I’m 17 years old, all the way across the country from my home and parents, set loose in Georgetown with a girl I’ve totally become best friends with in the two weeks we’ve known each other. I go into a Body Shop for the first time and I’m overwhelmed. I sniff the Ananya and know I MUST HAVE THIS. It is utterly unlike anything I’ve experienced, floral, spicy, heady, a little fruity, SO SEXY! I wore it all through my senior year and well into college before I lost the little bottle of perfume oil (moving, I think). When The Body Shop brought it back, I bought another one, and wear it to remind me of that crazy happy time.

Fresh’s Mukki Eau de Parfum is a newer comfort scent. It’s clean, slightly floral, slightly sweet. It reminds me of soap. My mom says it reminds her of muscat grapes. It is a bit wine-y at first, but dries down into something soft and sweet. Sadly it’s been discontinued, but it’s very close to the Milk scent in the bath and body line.

Origins had a scent called GloomAway that was had grapefruit, lemon, and spearmint notes. It is another Claire favorite, and I haven’t found a grapefruit scent I like as much as this one. Why are all my favorites discontinued? The limited edition Citrus Verbena from L’Occitane comes close.

Chopard’s Casmir is also a favorite comfort scent to me. The spicy, fruity, vanilla notes are warm and comforting in the winter time, although it’s a little too heady for this time of the year. But I thought it was worth mentioning.

A while back I finished up my tube of Better Botanicals’ Eye Cream and needed to pick out a new one. I decided to try ShiKai because of all the good things I’ve read about borage in relation to skin. I know that when I use lotions containing borage oil on my rashy skin, it gets better right away.

The ingredients are pretty simple. Water, borage oil, and jojoba oil are the first three ingredients, and it also has shea butter, vitamin e, and cucumber extract. It has a light texture, and absorbs very quickly. It has no discernible scent to it.

The reason I love this product is because it is the first (and only) eye cream I’ve ever used to have an effect on the creases under my eyes. I’ve had them forever, they seem to be genetic rather than age-related. This product seems to be encouraging the skin under my eyes to firm up and tighten and the creases are a lot less deep than they used to be. This is amazing, as far as I’m concerned. I suspect new fine lines don’t stand a chance.

It’s pretty inexpensive, and it’s darned amazing. I’m hooked for life. Now I’m looking for other skin care products with borage oil.

Summertime has got me feeling really lazy, so I haven’t been sitting down to the computer as much. I’d rather be barbecuing, or reading on my back porch.

Summer beauty is one of my favorite seasons, because you can be lazy and minimal and still look perfectly in fashion. My hair is finally long enough for a ponytail, and it’s become my favorite way to wear my hair. Just don’t wear it like that every day, or you can damage your hair where the elastic goes – it crimps the hair. I alternate between headbands, wearing it down and tousled, or up in a ponytail.

I picked up a bottle of Carlos Santana for Women , a floral oriental that seems perfect for summer. It has notes of neroli flower, california pear skin, cassis, coconut water, freesia, japanese plum, calla lily accord, iris, chocolate, musk,  and sandalwood. It’s a little fruity, a little sweet, and a lot sexy, in my opinion.

Want some color without the hassle of self-tanners? (Because I know you won’t be tanning in the sun or tanning beds, right?) Try DuWop’s Revolotion for some wash off (but not rub off) color and sparkle. Just get someone to do your back for you, because the lotion needs to be blended in to your skin. I have the medium shade, but I think I might prefer the light. The medium has serious color. It’s fun for a party or night out.

Mmmm, summer. I could use a glass of iced tea right about now.

If you cruise the beauty magazines and the brand websites, it becomes clear that makeup this summer is about lots of bronze, copper, and browns. Lucky for me, I look good in those colors! Here are some of my favorite combos.

On the eyes, I’m loving Urban Decay eyeshadows, particularly the colors Smog, Sin, and Chopper. Smog is a deep coppery bronze, Sin is a light shimmering champagne, and Chopper is a shimmering fawn with sparkles. I pair it with a Stila Smudge Pot in Bronze or Copper, lining across the lid for more drama, or just at the corners for less, and smudging it across.

On the cheeks, nothing beats Cargo cheek colors like the BeachBlushes or the newer SuedeBlushes. I have a BeachBlush in Coral Beach and a SuedeBlush in Gold Coast, and they are both perfect for a sunkissed, slightly bronzed look. You can run your brush just on the lighter stripes of the BeachBlushes to highlight, and the SuedeBlushes have a light iridescence that’s pretty in the sun.

The popular lip colors is a super nude look, which looks terrible on me. If I’m wearing a lot of eyeshadow, I’ll just wear clear gloss or lip balm on my lips. Alba Botanica came out with a line of clear lip glosses in tropical flavors that I’m liking a lot – I have Pineapple. Otherwise, any of my myriad favorite lip balms work – Badger, Honeybee Gardens, Burts, etc. etc.

If I skip the eyeshadow, I’ve been embracing a serious shade of pink for my lips. It’s Lancome’s Juicy Tubes Tropiques in Strawberry Glass, and it rocks. It’s pink enough to be a little wild, but not Barbie or stripper. I love it for summer, for adding just a little fun to an otherwise subdued face. Plus, the texture on those Juicy Tubes is so nice and glossy, not sticky at all, and it tastes like strawberries. I definitely recommend it.

There you have it – Claire’s choices for being perfectly fashionable this summer.

Once upon a time, philosophy had a bubble bath called Message In A Bottle. It was one of my favorite scents ever, a sort of salty sea meets crisp watery greens type of thing. It was a lot like this, only a little lighter on the floral note.

It would appear that philosophy has decided to bring it back, something that has me jumping with joy.

I also have a serious lust for the Coconut Frosting and I left my bottle of Red Velvet Cake a few hundred miles away at my grandma’s house so I think I need a new bottle. It’s ridiculously good.

Not content to be lusting after philosophy alone, how does this sound? It’s Lush’s Creamed Almond and Coconut Smoothie cleanser, and I am seriously dying for a tub. Not that I need more shower gels…

Another cool product for summer is L’Occitane’s Grape Anti-Water Retention Gel. This is a unique product that will help with that puffy ankle problem so many of us get when it starts getting hot outside. I also wake up with slightly swollen feet every day just from standing for eight hours at a stretch for my job, and this has helped a lot with that too. My only complaints are scent and packaging. The scent is merely okay – you can really smell the cypress this contains, it’s a slightly woodsy medicinal-y kind of scent. It’s certainly not unpleasant, but I’d love it even more if the scent was different. I’m not a fan of the big tub – it’s awkward to use. A pump bottle would have been better for the rather runny texture of this product. All caveats aside, it’s rapidly joining my foot and leg care arsenal as a must have.

Last, but not least, if you can get into The Body Shop in the next day or two, try to snag a bottle of the Lemon Tea perfume oil. I can’t link to it, it’s not on their site (but cruise eBay and you’ll see it) . It’s lovely for summer and it’s on sale as part of their big clearance sale.