Diptyque has collaborated with Minä Perhonen to release new special-edition candles inspired by poems written by Akira Minagawa. There are three scents each encased in a beautifully designed white brushed glass jar. The three Diptyque Minä candles are Joie, Ciel and Infini ($65 each). The scents are lighter than most Diptyque candles are. I wasn’t quite sure how these would burn since I’m not typically a fan of airy florals when it comes to home fragrance but am happy to report they burn quite beautifully – both individually, or all three at the same time.
____________________________
Joie is a floral described as “a fresh floral fragrance, bucolic and delicate, with dewy and aromatic notes.” It’s a lovely fresh soft floral, not overpowering. It almost has that baby-skin feeling to the scent due to the delicate nature. It’s both refreshing and soothing.
Ciel is classified as an herbal scent described as “ice vapor, iris powder, sweet dew, an enveloping and nostalgic fragrance.” To me this doesn’t quite fit the herbal category. It’s a soft airy fragrance with a hint of licorice. This one is calming.
____________________________
Infini is described as woody, “recalls an association of woods, incense, and spices, for a mystic fragrance.” There is a green-ness to this scent. It reminds me of GAP’s heaven and dream scents (from the 90s) mixed together. It has an earthy but fresh linen-like feel.
Some decor and desktop photos of each candle, they make lovely accent pieces for the home. I love re-using the jars for brush or pen holders after they finish burning.
I found mine at Nordstrom (gift with purchase going on online) and also spotted them at Barneys NY in Beverly Hills. I love each one, although my favorite is Joie. These are limited-edition, if you can get to your local Diptyque store or counter soon to smell in person I recommend it.
Here’s November’s List of Ten Things I’m Loving Right Now. As always, I want to hear your lists too! And they don’t have to be beauty/makeup related.
1) Henri Bendel Candles from Bath & Body Works $26 – these are the best candles I’ve tried with so many feel-good scents. My favorites are Vanilla Bean, Fig, Quince, Pomegranate – and my husband loves these too.
2) L’Occitane Holiday Sets – Still loving the scented hand creams, in particular the Shea Vanilla and Frangipani scented ones! I wish they weren’t limited edition. Also love the Shower Celebration set – wish all the scents came in larger sizes (I believe the only one available individually right now is the Almond Shower Gel).
3) Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers $20 – You’ve seen these in my look features earlier in the month and my regular readers know that I bought practically every color. They are absolutely fabulous and I hope these are here to stay. They are great alone or over a liner/lipstick. I can’t rave enough about them. Cute packaging, nice pigment, non-sticky texture, very wearable colors. I’ve purchased my Paul & Joe items from Bergdorf Goodman, The Primping Parleur’s Online Boutique, Beautyhabit.com and Dermstore.com – but check the Paul & Joe Beauty website for locations around the world.
4) PhytoSpecific Integral Hair Care – this is a spray hair treatment which is supposed to “restore moisture, smooth, redefine curls, detangle, make setting easier, and protect hair from heat damage.” I have thick slightly wavy hair which I cannot air dry because it poofs up into a huge frizz ball. Up until a year ago when I started using this, I religiously blow dried and straightened my hair daily. I tried a number of no-frizz serums and straightening sprays, but I still had to go through the daily ritual of blow dry/straighten. This spray is incredible for me and once I spray and comb through, it allows my hair to air dry without turning into a huge frizz ball. I haven’t tried any of the other PhytoSpecific products, but I do love the shampoos in the regular Phyto line.
5) Dolce & Gabbana Caramel Blush $44 – I love nude blushes and this one is pretty without looking muddy on my skin. You can buy D&G online at saks.com, but I highly recommend ordering through the Saks NY or Beverly Hills counters because you get excellent customer service and the makeup artists who run the counter are very good at recommending colors. If you have any questions about other products, you can ask me too! I’ve accumulated quite a few things from them since they launched the line.
6) Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer $48 – By far my favorite powder bronzer of the moment. Wasn’t so thrilled with the hefty price tag, but I have to say that it gives that natural tanned glow. My skintone is on the pale side right now, I’m the equivalent of what’s in between MAC NC30-35. Normally I’m more of a NC35-40ish. You can purchase Edward Bess at Bergdorf Goodman or online at EdwardBess.com. Compared to some other bronzers:
7) Le Metier Eye Brightening & Setting Powder $36 – I’ve always been skeptical of brightening powders mainly because I usually don’t see a difference when using them. This, however, is every bit as great as Ellyn (from Neimans King of Prussia) and Lisa (my fellow Le Metier fan) have both raved. I use the shade Revive which is good for medium-tanned skintones. The next shade down Refresh is quite a bit paler. Seems like they need a shade in between. I use it after I apply my foundation in place of concealer under the eyes and it is an instant-brightener/evener all in one. (FYI – Neimanmarcus.com has free shipping with code and a promotional Peche Lip Creme with any Le Metier purchase, good as long as supplies last.)
8) MAC Pigments: Naked, Fairylite, Your Ladyship, Shimmertime – I like light/neutral pink shimmers for a natural barely-there all over eye color. I believe all of them have been discontinued except Naked, but you can get a full sized Shimmertime Pigment in one of the MAC holiday sets and Naked is also available as a mini in one of the holiday pigment sets.
The swatch picture couldn’t capture the real color, so I’ll try my best to describe the differences:
Naked is the most neutral
Fairylite has the most pink and most visible silver sparkle/micro glitter
Your Ladyship has a golden sheen to it
Shimmertime is the most pink/frosty throughout
9) MAC Style Black Mineralize Eyeshadows: Gilt by Association, Cinderfella, Young Punk $19.50 each – Yes, I do like MAC products even though I don’t write much about the line! I was afraid these would be too glittery, but they work well when applied with a damp brush or over a gel liner for a pretty smoky eye. It appears they are sold out online, but most MAC stores usually still carry seasonal stock so check your local store.
10) Hot Chocolate – I know many of you prefer I stay on the beauty topic, but I really love this time of year because it’s the perfect time for hot chocolate, apple cider, and warm teas. A classic favorite is the Williams Sonoma Hot Chocolate that they only carry during the holidays. I’ve seen a few at Godiva and Crate & Barrel that I’m dying to try out. I know Trader Joes has a lot of holiday ciders and goodies, so I’m hoping they have a hot chocolate too. Do you have a favorite hot chocolate?
Picked up some good non-beauty items today. Stopped by J.Crew and found some really cute patent-leather belts that will go well with some of my shirt-dresses. Might go back for the black patent one.
I absolutely adore Tommy Bahama’s Scented Candles in Pineapple Cilantro & Crackled Coconut. Looks like they redesigned the packaging on their Home Fragrance Collection and added a few more scents! These classic tins were $14 each. They also have larger tins, pillars, and glass poured candles.
And I’ve saved the best for last. I went crazy looking for these Limited Edition Coconut M&Ms after my friend posted a comment about these! Apparently they were released in select stores in early August. So . . . 5 large retail grocery chains, 6 gas stations/liquor stores, and one 7-Eleven later, I finally found these at Circle K and stocked up (yes, I know it’s quite crazy that I would spend that much time and effort just for candy). The Strawberry Peanut Butter M&Ms I found at Walmart.
