Tom Ford recently released a series of Oud Fragrances to expand on one of his earlier releases Oud Wood Eau de Parfum. The three scents released in smoky grey-colored packaging include the Oud Wood, Oud Fleur and Tobacco Oud. At the counters I fell in love with the classic Oud Wood. After testing a small sample made at the Tom Ford counter, I went back a week later and purchased the 1.7 oz/50ml version for $210. It’s the most I have ever spent on a perfume, but well worth the price given how much I adore the scent and it’s lasting power.
Small 4ml samples made at the Tom Ford counter:
I’ve tried Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille which is a lovely bold and rich vanilla. I had it on my wishlist for over a year but could never bring myself to purchase a full size bottle. Right when I had decided to buy it, I tried the Oud Wood series and Oud Wood blew me away. I still decided to test for at least a few days before committing to a full size. Oud Wood is described as “Exotic Rose Wood and Cardamom, blended with exuberant Chinese Pepper, envelop the wearer in warmth. Eventually, the center exposes a smokey blend of rare Oud Wood, Sandalwood and Vetiver. Finally, the creamy scents of Tonka Bean, Vanilla and Amber are revealed.”
It’s a strong and bold fragrance without being too overpowering. It does lean more masculine but I still think it’s unisex enough for a woman to wear. It has a lovely mix of vanilla, amber and sandalwood. It is a creamy warm scent. The oud in the scent is noticeable but on the softer side when mixed with the Tonka Bean and Vanilla. It wears very well on the skin and like most Tom Ford fragrances I’ve tried, lasts all day long without fading. I recommend reading the reviews on Fragrantica, Basenotes.net, Kafkaesque and Temptalia.
It usually takes me a long time to decide to purchase a fragrance. Even after careful consideration and time, I don’t always end up choosing ones that work for me (ie Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit, and I really wanted to love this one). After a month of wearing Tom Ford Oud Wood, I’ve found my perfect winter fragrance. It’s proven to be one of my favorites that I’ve tried (my other current favorite is Frederic Malle Carnal Flower). Oud Wood is strong enough to last all day long but mellow enough to not be overpowering and make me self conscious while wearing this to work.
I’m still considering Tobacco Vanille as I’ve read it layers well with Oud Wood. My other favorite by Tom Ford is Santal Blush. For now I’m 100% smitten with Oud Wood. Given the high price tag and number of perfumes I’m still working my way through, I’m going to wait a while before looking into buying another Tom Ford fragrance.
Tom Ford Oud Wood is available at Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Tom Ford Boutiques. The scent is available in a variety of sizes and body products. I bought the Shower Gel for my husband as I found it to be more woody/earthy and more masculine in scent. Oud Wood comes in the following options:
I discovered Caudalie’s Divine Oillast October thanks to a recommendation from one of my long-time BFFs. We were at SpaceNK looking at all the skincare items and when I said I hadn’t tried Caudalie before, she told me, “you need to buy this, it’s amazing.” The $9 price tag of the small travel size seemed affordable enough to try without making a huge dent in the wallet. I had avoided oils for a long time mainly because I tried ones that were too heavy in texture and in fragrance. The Caudalie Divine Oil proved to be very different and I fell in love with it. Since then I’ve wondered how it compared to other cult-status luxury body oils. Thanks to the recommendations of some readers, I was convinced to test the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse and Moroccanoil Dry Body Oil as well. I’ve put the three to the test for a few weeks now. If you’ve tested these I would love your input and thoughts.
The Products: The Caudalie Divine Oil and Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse oils are designed as a multi-purpose product for face, body and hair. I’ve only tested on the body and hair. I found them perfect for the body, mainly legs and arms. I tested a bit on the hair and found them a bit too heavy for my taste. To date I have not tested on the face. Moroccanoil’s Dry Body Oil is designed for the body only. These oils absorb quickly into the skin without leaving a greasy residue.
Pricing and Size Options: The three oils come in a variety of sizes but breaking down the price per ml shows they are all priced similarly within the $0.50-$0.60/ml range. For the individual oils, the prices and sizes are as follows, although do note both Caudalie and Nuxe have some nice value sets you may want to look into:
Caudalie has three sizes: a 0.5 oz for $9, a 1.7 oz for $32 and a 3.4 oz for $49
Nuxe comes in two sizes: 1.7 oz for $29 and 3.3 oz for $45
Moroccanoil has one size: 3.4 oz for $38
Scent: All three oils have a noticeable distinct scent, but each one is light enough to not interfere with your daily perfume. I have a sensitive nose – there are some fragranced oils that induce a migraine for me. Each of these three managed to be soft enough for my sensitive nose.
Caudalie’s Divine Oil has the freshest overall feel. It’s a light spa-like floral. I detect a bit of cucumber (although I am in the minority). I suspect it’s just the fresh feeling I associate with it. I found the scent to be the medium-lasting. It lingers but is still very soft.
Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse has the most floral scent out of the three. The scent does fade the most out of the three. I could still smell at the end of the day, but it did fade nicely. My husband preferred this one on me out of the three options.
Moroccanoil’s Dry Body Oil has that signature Moroccanoil scent. It’s difficult for me to describe but it’s a raw type of scent mix of argan, olive and avocado oil. This one lasted the longest for fragrance.
Texture: All three oils absorbed quickly into the skin. I found the Moroccanoil to be the most liquid/fluid and thin in texture. It also dried very quickly to a silky finish. Both Caudalie and Nuxe had more of a slip to the texture which I preferred. They felt a bit thicker and also took slightly longer to dry but did not leave a greasy residue. They both left the legs looking well moisturized with a very soft sheen.
Packaging: I’ve included photos of the oils side by side below for comparison. I purchased the largest size option for the Nuxe for the spritzer at the top (the smaller size is a twist-off cap). All of Caudalie’s options have spritz caps which I find convenient. All the oils come in sturdy heavy-weight bottles. My preference for design and ease of application is the Caudalie – the lid stays on while the others have semi-flimsy caps that can fall off easily. I would not recommend picking up the Moroccanoil or Nuxe by the lid (which I can do sometimes) – you may find the bottle will drop since the lids are a bit loose. The actual spritzer lids are firmly attached to the bottles so if you don’t have a preference for the caps, each of the applicators are similar in size and design.
My thoughts on each one:
Caudalie Divine Oil is my favorite of the three for the packaging and scent. I love the fact that there is a small travel size available with a spritzer on the top. The packaging is sturdy and well designed for easy application. This one has a blend of grape, hibiscus, sesame and
argan oils combined with a patented anti-oxidant. I’m 100% smitten with the way this smells. It’s refreshing and soothing and wears well with any fragrance. I find it strong enough in scent to wear by itself. The small version I carry in my purse is perfect for refreshing mid-day. Ingredients here. Makeupalley reviews here. Additional reviews on Café Makeup, Mostly Sunny and Ghost Parties.
Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse comes in close second. It has a unique combination of 30% Precious Plant Oils and Vitamin E to nourish,
repair and soften your face, body and hair. This felt amazing on the skin with a beautiful floral scent. It smells the most luxurious of the three and it’s my husband’s favorite. I know there are many who are die hard fans of Nuxe – it’s one of the most popular beauty oils I’ve read about. I think preference between the Caudalie and Nuxe will come down to scent preference. Ingredients here. Makeupalley reviews here. Additional thoughts on Café Makeup, Anna Talks Beauty and Essie Button.
Moroccanoil is the most lightweight out of the three. It has that signature Moroccanoil scent that I love in their Hair Oil. It proved to be a nice lightweight oil, but I found it to have the least moisturizing effect. It dried very quickly on the skin and I needed a bit more moisture. However I will say that I’ve found this winter season to be particularly dry. I’ve needed extra help with moisturizers and conditioners for all areas of face, hair and body. I suspect this one will be perfect come summer when one is in need of a lighter-weight moisturizer for the body. It’s a nice product but has no comparison to the Caudalie and Nuxe (at least in my mind). Ingredients here. Additional thoughts on Ommorphia Beauty Bar.
My top two picks are Caudalie and Nuxe, with a slightly stronger preference for the Caudalie. I haven’t tested these on my face yet, at this time I don’t know that I will. I’ve tested a few face oils in the past month and the results were not all that great (I found them much too heavy). I really like these for the body though.
Where to Buy: I found the
Caudalie the easiest to find at multiple locations such as Nordstrom,
Sephora and SpaceNK. The others I had to travel and search a bit to
purchase (or buy online). Some of the items I couldn’t find in store
even if carried online at the same retailer. Many of these can be found
at small boutique-stores that carry specialty items as well.
Moroccanoil is available at Nordstrom and Moroccanoil.com but I’ve also seen this in various boutiques
Have you tried these body oils before? I know I’m late to the party testing these so I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your favorites? Additional thoughts on comparing Caudalie vs Nuxe?
A few previews of spring beauty that I’ve spotted around the web:
Armani Effeto Nudo items for preview online at Giorgio Armani
Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Collection, Bronze Nail Polish, Bronze Glow Finishing Powder, new shimmer eyeshadow quads now at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks
Right now Armani and the Dior nail polishes have caught my eye (review of the polishes soon). I don’t know when the Tom Ford will be out, but the lipsticks look stunning!
Stardust Maxi Shine Lip Gloss comes with a sponge tip applicator. I love the simple and sleek packaging. The applicator applies the gloss perfectly. Stardust is a sheer clear base with subtle sparkles. The sparkles are large enough that you can see them on the lips but the overall effect is very subtle and sheer. If you’re a fan of sheer sparkle glosses you will really like this. If you’re one who craves more impact and color you may want to skip. There is no detectable scent with the Guerlain glosses when applied, at least not that I can tell. There is a soft floral powder scent if you smell them closely, the scent fades quickly though. Lasting power is medium. Texture is smooth and slightly moisturizing. It’s one of the least tacky/sticky feeling glosses I’ve tried.
More photos and swatches:
Guerlain Stardust has a similar feel to other white-silvery sparkly glosses. Stardust is more of a true silver sparkle while others flash more violet, pink or glitter with the sparkles. Comparisons below to some discontinued Chanel Glossimers and one MAC Dazzleglass. Left to right: Guerlain Stardust, Chanel Aragonite, Chanel Galactic, Chanel Surprise, MAC Sugarrimmed.
The effect is really similar in natural light:
Different view to highlight the sparkles:
Overall a lovely soft shine gloss. You have to see the gloss in person to really see how lovely the shimmer is. I have tried and love both Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Glosses and MAC Dazzleglasses both of which are extremely glittery. If you like the concept of those glosses but want something more subtle, I recommend checking out Stardust by Guerlain.
Guerlain Stardust retails for $30. It’s currently available at Guerlain counters along with the rest of the spring collection, also online now at Nordstrom and Dillards.
Guerlain’s release for spring is called the Météorites Blossom Collection. It’s full of pinks and pastels along with some reformulated météorites pearls. I spotted the collection at a few counters in Beverly Hills last weekend. The two items that caught my eye were the Stardust Nail Lacquer and Lipgloss. After a few swipes of the nail polish on my finger, I decided to purchase the Stardust #862 Nail Lacquer ($25 for 10 ml/.33 fl oz).
Stardust #862 is an iridescent sheer pearl that flashes blue. It covers the nail with three coats with a transparent finish, but the base seems to be milky enough to be more than just a top-coat like YSL’s Premiere Neige (from 2012ish, now discontinued). I tried this as a regular nail polish and also over other colors as a finishing top coat. It applied well over light to medium shades of blue, pink and beige adding a subtle sheen and shimmer. On darker shades the base was too contrasted and ended up looking a bit messy with a coat of the Stardust. I’m still not sure how to wear this one. It works for me as a sheer nail polish. I wish it had more coverage and pigment.
Guerlain Stardust is a lovely sparkling pearly shade. I love that you can layer it for coverage and that the sparkle is visible. I still wish it were a bit more pigmented although perhaps it was designed to be more of a top coat rather than regular nail polish. It’s a pretty fresh light color for spring, but as pretty as it is, I’m still left craving something with more color.
Stardust #862 should be at all Guerlain counters now. I found mine at Nordstrom. Did you check out Guerlain spring yet? What did you think?
Happy New Year to everyone! This time of year is my favorite because of everything I have to look forward to in the new year. It’s like I can to hit the refresh button and get a fresh start on everything. In 2013, I wrote 218 blog posts, started to use Instagram weekly, and finally created a Pinterest account. Many thanks to FabulousK, this blog went through a re-design for a cleaner updated look. One of the top 2013 highlights included having my work credited and featured in Brigitte Magazine (photo featured here). In my non-blogging life, 2013 proved to be one of my most challenging and demanding years in my career as a business analyst. I’m grateful for my mentors who pushed me to grow to new levels with challenging projects and opportunities. One in particular mentor challenged me by telling me, “learn to become comfortable with the uncomfortable and you will be amazed with the results.” Taking risks and working on projects in a wide range of fields while pushing myself to accomplish things I thought I could never accomplish has allowed me to grow in ways I could never imagine. I hope to continue to grow in the next year in my career while at the same time I hope to grow this blog as well.
In 2014 I look forward to trying new things. I would like to focus more on skincare. Time management is always on the list. I need to improve my organization and plan ahead more often. In 2014 I would also like to expand and grow the content, pick up on my lifestyle blog, use Twitter more frequently, connect more with my readers. I’m still making my list of resolutions for the new year, but I am excited about what 2014 will bring. A few special thank you’s to Café Makeup, Temptalia, Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog and Cute and Mundane for their continued support.
Here’s to an amazing 2014! Happy New Year to everyone! I’m incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for your support and inspiration. What are you looking forward to in the new year?
Drybar The Chaser Shine Pomade – my holy grail hair product to add shine, remove frizz, long lasting and smells amazing, my husband also loves this for his hair
Edward Bess Black Sea Mousse Foundations – I’ve mixed Light and Medium to get a good match, I’ve found that this is indeed the perfect full coverage foundation that gives a flawless airbrushed look that still manages to look natural, I truly hope Edward releases this to all his counters and in more shades (it was a QVC exclusive that sold out almost instantly)
Chanel Les Beiges Powders – my favorite is 20 for all over, 30 and 40 work wonders for natural contouring and adding a soft glow of color to the face
Diptyque 10-Piece Set – special release this holiday and the perfect way to try multiple scents at a more affordable price than buying the full sizes of each candle
YSL Rouge Volupte Shines – my favorite lipsticks of the year for and The Beauty Look Book’s most popular post from 2013
I am thankful from the bottom of my heart for each and every one of my readers. You inspire me every week with your thoughtful and insightful comments/e-mails/tweets. I can’t express enough how appreciative I am for those of you who take the time to share your expertise and add your input to my weekly features. Your experiences, tips and tricks help others like myself figure out what works or how to make things work better. Thank you for following my blog and for your support.
