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L’Artisan

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Loving Right Now

March 3, 2014

I can’t believe it’s already March. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I wanted to share a few things I’m loving right now. As always, I’d love to hear what is on your favorites list – please share in the comments below. I often discover new favorites through my readers.

White lacquered tray is from West Elm
  1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat – this is the perfect glowy pink-poppy flush (see my swatches from yesterday here)
  2. MAC Cremesheen + Pearl Glass in Floating Lotus – these were released a while ago with the Cremesheen+Pearl collection, I’m so glad MAC made the lipsticks and glosses permanent, there are some really gorgeous classic pinks, Floating Lotus is a lovely sheer natural pink
  3. Giorgio Armani Gloss d’Armani #513 – this is one of the prettiest cool beige shimmers, it has a hint of pink and it doesn’t wash out the complexion (swatches here)
  4. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse – see my review on body oils here, I usually prefer the Caudalie, but right now I keep reaching for the Nuxe
  5. Tom Ford Foundation Sticks in Bisque 04 and Natural 05 – I started with Natural 05 but got a bit of a tan so was in need of one shade darker, it was a good thing I asked the artists at the counter for their help because the odd thing with these is Bisque 04 is actually darker than Natural 05 even though the shades are supposed to be in sequence (lighter shades are supposed to be the lower numbers) I’ll have a more detailed review soon, this is very pricey but it’s an amazing product and worth every penny
  6. L’Artisan Mûre et Musc – a discovery thanks to one of my long time friends, this is a beautiful blend of blackberry and musc, it’s not overly sweet, my review on this from a holiday the trio a few years ago here
  7. MAC Viva Glam IV – this is a classic rose frost, not too red, berry or neutral, just the right mix of pink and rose
  8. Malin + Goetz Lip Moisturizer – this came in last month’s Barneys Love Yourself gift bag, it’s my first time trying anything from the brand, the price seems very reasonable for a lip balm, I’m incredibly impressed, it feels amazing on the lips
  9. Tom Ford Lip Sheer In the Buff – I’ve been wearing this non-stop, some have mentioned it doesn’t show up or is too pale, but for me, it’s my perfect everyday nude (swatches here)
  10. Chanel Glossimer Sonate 179 – from the spring collection, this is a lovely coral gloss from Chanel that actually shows up on my pigmented lips (swatches here)
  11. Tom Ford Eau de Parfum Oud Wood – I don’t wear a fragrance everyday, I’m often rushed in the mornings and this is often last on my list, if I were to have an everyday fragrance this would be it, it’s neutral enough to not be overpowering at the office (review here)

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Fragrance Collection To Date

February 7, 2012

Photographed in one post by request: my fragrance collection. All 15 fragrances I own (minus one from Tocca which I gifted away and not including the little tiny samples I have accumulated). Where reviews are applicable I will link them. All photos were taken with my iPhone 4S Hipstamatic App.

Row 1:
Jo Malone Sakura Cherry Blossom
Row 2:
Row 3:
Row 4:
Row 5:

I rotate my fragrances more frequently than I rotate my foundations. My nose is fickle and tires quickly of the same scent when I wear them. I’ll alternate depending on mood. The longest I’ve worn a single fragrance is 4 days in a row (Jo Malone Wild Bluebell which I consider magical b/c I use it quite liberally and have barely made a dent in usage). I find the Jo Malone fragrances to be the most simple/pure which allows for easy layering. Out of all of these, my Jo Malone Tea Fragrances are my most worn. Have I used up any yet? No … but I’m more than 1/2 way finished with some of my limited edition Jo Malone tea fragrances.
What fragrances do you own? Or have owned/used up? I feel like my fragrance collection grew overnight and I completely blame my friend LJ along with other fragrance bloggers. Can I count some of my Jo Malones as 1/2 a fragrance because of the size? I know my L’Artisan Holiday Trio is getting used up very fast (each are in the miniature sizes which I will count as 1/3 of a full-sized one). I almost always purchase the smaller option for fragrances even though the larger sizes are often a much better buy. I’m curious to know how many fragrances do you own?
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L’Artisan L’Été en Douce Eau de Toilette

February 3, 2012

Continuing my Barneys obsessions with my newest fragrance discovery is a feature on L’Artisan L’Été en Douce Eau de Toilette ($100 for 50 ml/1.7 fl oz). L’Artisan says that L’Été en Douce is “all about purity and light” and I couldn’t agree more. After having fallen in love with the holiday trio (featured here), I was determined to pick up something full-sized from L’Artisan at Barneys. This particular trip was my first experience with the L’Artisan line and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the experience. High-end department stores can sometimes be extremely intimidating and a hit or miss, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I had my fragrance-expert friend with me to help, but luckily we were both assisted by a wonderful specialist named Lily.

I’m still new to fragrance shopping but I’m slowly but surely venturing into more brands. When asked “what do you like?” I still am not exactly sure how to answer. I feel as though it’s more of a “I know it when I smell it” kind of thing. Lily started by asking what other scents we liked and disliked and after a few minutes of questioning was able to pick out some amazing choices. I thought it was incredible that she knew exactly what to select for each of us. I personally narrowed it down to Vert Violette, Navegar (even though it’s for men), Thé Pour un Été, and L’Été en Douce.

Both my friend and I each left with the 50ml version of L’Été en Douce. (Twinsies!) It’s the perfect skin-perfume that is gentle, soft and subdued. It is clean and refreshing with a slight mixture of floral and green. The notes include orange blossom water, green hay and white muscs. Lasting power is decent on me, I’ve read some reviews that say this one disappears on impact, but I tend to prefer scents that fade nicely. It’s soft and very subtle, perhaps too gentle for some, but perfect for me. I can wear it to the office or anywhere without feeling self conscious. My only regret – that I didn’t purchase the 100ml size instead.

My fragrance collection has been growing! Those wanting to know all the fragrances I own can simply click on the Fragrance Tag below this post. I’ve reviewed all the ones I have that aren’t minis/samples. I plan on doing a comprehensive fragrance summary soon. Many thanks to those who offered wonderful L’artisan recommendations to me a few months ago. If anyone else has more, I’m all ears!
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L’Artisan Holiday Trio: Nuit de Tubéreuse, Mûre et Musc & La Chasse Aux Papillons

December 26, 2011

L’Artisan was on my Christmas wishlist and I was thrilled to be gifted the beautiful Feminine Parfum Set with Nuit de Tubéreuse (EDP), Mûre et Musc and La Chasse Aux Papillons ($98 from ArtisanParfumeur.com). I have always admired the beautiful L’Artisan bottles and frequently stopped by the counter back when the line used to be carried at Saks (years ago). Being overwhelmed by fragrance in general, I never really looked into the line, or any other fragrance line for that matter. In the past couple years I’ve stuck with Jo Malone as a safety finding the line to be clean, simple and classic. It wasn’t until a recent shopping trip to Barneys that I started to look more into L’Artisan, Serge Lutens, Byredo among other beautiful lines (but oh, so hard-to-find, at least for me). I’m slowly but surely expanding my fragrance collection. I couldn’t be more thrilled with this gorgeous little trio as my introduction to L’Artisan. The three scents in beautiful miniature vials 15 ml each:

The exquisite box:

Each bottle is quite small with only 15ml in each vial but they are perfect for testing each fragrance and ideal for travel. For size reference, all three will fit into the palm of my hand. I am hoping they are refillable.

Initial thoughts and reviews on each scent:

Nuit de Tubéreuse is an Eau de Parfum and noticeably more concentrated than the other two. At first spritz this was my least favorite – it opened with an overwhelmingly strong powdery-incense-mixed scent. It reminded me of the smell that surrounds you when you first walk into a Lush Store (which I like, but not in the overwhelming sense). After a few minutes, it dried down and turned less powdery and became a bit more sweet with more noticeable notes of tuberose. It has a romantic feel and although not something I would normally be drawn to, it’s growing on me and smells divine.

The notes: cardamom, clove, pink pepper, black pepper, citrus, green mango, angelica, tuberose, orange blossom, ylang-ylang, rose, broom, musks, vanilla, sandalwood, palisander, benzoin and styrax.

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Mûre et Musc in this trio comes in the Eau de Toilette. This is our favorite pick as the most youthful and light. I normally do not like berry-scented fragrances. I found most variations of Trish No. 9 and Philosophy Falling in Love to be nice on others, but too sweet, cloying and headache-inducing on me. (My mother and sister always hated this when I sprayed it on at counters.) L’Artisan Mûre et Musc is a wearable fruity scent. It’s been on my radar for several months now ever since I smelled it on one of my friends LJ. It smells amazing on her and I am thrilled to find that it works well with my chemistry as well, although it smells sweeter on my skin than hers. It’s clean, bright and fresh. Lasting power is medium but I love the way it smells as it fades. I need a full-sized bottle of this one.


The notes: wild blackberry, musk, citrus

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La Chasse Aux Papillons is another beautiful light and airy floral. It’s the perfect mixture of orange blossom and tuberose with a hint of jasmine. This one turns slightly more floral as it dries on my skin. Right now I think it’s a bit too light for right now but will be perfect in a few months time. It smells like a spring garden, more floral and green compared to Jo Malone’s Wild Bluebell (which is slightly sweeter with a hint of spice).
The notes: Notes of tuberose, orange blossom and spices.

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A few snapshots of my perfumes all lined up … my collection is growing at an exponential rate:

Bottom line: My next trip to Barneys can’t come soon enough. I already want a full bottle of Mûre et Musc. All three are exquisite and given the fact that a 50 ml bottle of the L’Artisan Eau de Toilettes starts at $100, I think the $98 for 45 ml is a reasonable price (even though this was a gift). My husband purchased this set directly from L’Artisan online but the set is also available on Barneys online.
A few resources for L’Artisan reviews that I found extremely helpful: The Non-Blonde, The Notice, Lucky Scent reviews. What are you favorites from L’Artisan? The descriptions and reviews for Mimosa Por Moi sound absolutely delicious but I wonder if it’s too sweet?
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