I hope everyone is having a productive Thursday. I’m happy it’s almost Friday and looking forward to the beach and sunshine this weekend (see my weekend beach picks). Currently working on summer reviews for Tom Ford and Armani. I’ve been testing the gorgeous white palette this week and hope to have my review up this afternoon. Stay tuned for a couple more essentials posts coming up as well.
Diptyque recently opened another boutique in Los Angeles on Larchmont. The store has an intimate cozy design with a similar vibe to the boutique in Costa Mesa. The store reps were incredibly friendly to everyone even with the store packed with customers. I learned more about the new skincare line and received a few samples with a purchase (still haven’t tested them yet but eager to). I also left with a long wishlist of new candles to try but managed to leave with only two new ones. I love that the boutiques carry some exclusive scents and more accessories – it makes the visit fun with new things to discover and learn about.
I always love visiting a new boutique. Diptyque always manages to style their home candles and fragrances so beautifully in stores. You can find more coverage from The Beauty Look Book visits on Diptyque Boutiques located in San Francisco and South Coast Plaza. Have you visited one of the boutiques?
I’ve been trying to find a new way to store my mini perfumes and samples. I had been putting them all into a small Jo Malone box but this made it difficult to see what was inside after items started to stack up. I had seen a few pretty small round glass bowls on Pinterest to store them but all the ones I found for sale online were either too shallow or too large in circumference for my needs. I had been storing my longer roller perfumes in Diptyque jars already and it just hit me that I could also use the jars for the mini samples as well.
The minis and samples I’ve been accumulating for a while and three empty Diptyque candles in Noisetier (my new favorite, hazelnut), Musc and Figuier. Silver lacquered rectangle tray shown below is from West Elm.
The emptied and cleaned candle jars:
Minis inside the candle jars:
Previous articles and posts I’ve written that you may find helpful for how-to’s or storage and decor ideas with Diptyque candles:
Diptyque has re-released their candle Rosa Mundi ($65, limited-edition) along with a new hand cream Eau Rose Hand Lotion ($28 for 50 ml/1.7 fl oz). Fun fact: Rosa Mundi was my very first Diptyque candle several years ago. I never finished burning it – for some reason it was stored in one of my cabinets hidden behind boxes. I burned it again this past month and the scent is the exact same as this year’s version although the glass is a bit different (brushed with the older release versus a gloss finish with this year’s) and the wax this year is pink (my original candle is white).
The Rosa Mundi candle is a lovely sweet rose scent. It’s has a strong and sweet mix of rose and honey with a slight hint of a powdery perfume-like scent compared to the regular Roses candle. It’s described as a rose with a “soothing, sparkling scent that features notes of blackcurrant, lychee, damask rose, centifolia rose and honey.” It’s quite a mix of scents combined into one candle. I find this one to be quite feminine and girly.
Here is the original Rosa Mundi candle from several years ago. The Rosa Mundi released today smells exactly the same. The differences are in the floral design of the vase and the wax this year is pink. Many have asked for my thoughts on Rosa Mundi versus Roses. Rosa Mundi is stronger and sweeter with a more complex blend of scents while Roses is more of a pure rose floral scent. Both are really lovely. If you want something more neutral, go with Roses. If you don’t mind stronger girly scents you can’t go wrong with Rosa Mundi.
Eau Rose Hand Lotion is a beautifully packaged hand lotion. It comes in a small white squeeze tube with a beautiful floral design on the front. It seems a bit small for a $28 hand cream but the scent is really lovely, texture nicely moisturizing and it’s compact enough to fit into your purse. Similar to Rosa Mundi candle, the Eau Rose hand lotion has a mix of many different scents. It has bergamot, blackcurrant, musk, cedar and honey. It’s a lightweight liquid lotion that absorbs quickly into the skin and leaves the hands feeling fresh but well hydrated. It contains a blend of macadamia oil and aloe vera. The scent is quite strong for a lotion but not overpowering.
Compared to the Aerin Rose Hand and Body Cream (another favorite), the Diptyque is slightly sharper in scent. The bergamot, blackcurrant, and cedar give it an extra kick making it different from your traditional rose scent. Aerin’s Rose Hand and Body is thicker in texture but feels like it blends all over better for a body and hand cream. The Aerin cream has a softer sweeter candy-like scent compared to Diptyque. I can’t pick between the two – they are both amazing in their own unique way.
Overall both beautifully designed luxurious scented items that are well worth the splurge. I always thought I didn’t like rose scents – this was until I smelled Diptyque Roses which has opened my mind to not rule out roses as soon as I see the name or it listed in a description. Rosa Mundi and Eau Rose are beautiful additions that are strong florals but not so overpowered with powdery-ness like some rose scents are.
You can find the Diptyque Rosa Mundi and Eau Rose at all Diptyque locations now, although my local Nordstrom sold out of the hand lotion by the time I got to the counter (which was the week before Valentine’s Day). They kindly ordered it for me with free shipping – I bought four of the hand creams as gifts and everyone was smitten with the beautiful packaging.
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.
I recently ordered Diptyque Eau Duelle Solid Perfume ($48 for 4.05 g/0.14 oz). It’s a very soft earthy vanilla. I had tested this a few months ago at the San Francisco Boutique and South Coast Plaza stores. I found it less intense and not quite as sweet as the Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum versions. Vanillas can be difficult for me to tolerate so I usually have to do sampling on various occasions by spritzing at the counter and wearing the scent for a few hours. My sensitive nose tends to react very strongly to sweet vanilla scents (in a bad way). It took me several months of thinking about Eau Duelle before I decided to buy. By the time I decided to purchase, all the counters and stores near me were sold out. I could only find it online at Neiman Marcus. Although the Diptyque reps have assured me it’s only temporarily sold out, a couple readers have told me that the solid version is being discontinued. At this time I’m not sure which is true.
I was lucky to get a few samples of the different versions of Eau Duelle. The liquid sprays are significantly stronger and sweeter in scent. The Eau de Parfum has an almost incense-like smell to it. The Eau de Toilette is lighter and sweeter. I prefer the Solid Perfume by far as it’s the softest, however I feel I may be in the minority in my preference. The lasting power is medium. Since I prefer softer vanillas I don’t mind that this one fades within a few hours.
I’m still on the hunt for the perfect vanilla fragrance. I love Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille on others. It’s a bit too dark for me. Others are too sweet or strong. For now the sweeter round scents I like are Tom Ford’s Oud Wood and Jo Malone’s Dark Amber and Ginger Lily. Not exactly vanilla-like, but there is a slight vanilla-ish undertone to each one (review on these soon).
I’m happy I purchased Diptyque’s Solid Perfume version of Eau Duelle, but I’m still on the hunt for my perfect vanilla scent. If you have one you love I’m all ears for your recommendations.
