the flutter wars, phase 2 - Yves St Laurent Faux Cils

This was a suggestion by the lovely H at PerfumeShrine, she of the glorious fragrance history. I took her on her word, gritted my teeth, and shelled out for:

YSL Faux Cils

It went a little like this:

*Dip, swoosh*

"Well, oh my, look at that. Doesn't that look lovel--OH blast its all over my eyebrows. Hang on."

*Swirls qtip in a bit of rosehip oil; scrubs*

Thinking: Eyebrows? How did I manage that? Did they really get that long?

"Okay, now let's look at that aga-- oh, oops, I took a little off my lashes there. Let me just do another coat."

*Dip, swoosh*

"Wow, that really looks grea--OH blast it's all under my eye. Let's start over."

*Carefully cleanses face and removes traces of mascara. Dries off. Waits a few minutes. Has some chamomile tea.*

"All right, let's do this again. Slowly this time."

*Dip, sllloooow pass.*

"Yes, that still looks really lovely."

*Touches inner lash gently yet experimentally with pinky.*

"Yep, it's all over. All right, lesson learned. No touchy, no blinky, no pose-y."


It's a wet formula, at first. A VERY wet formula. But once you give it a minute, it dries and you're left with really stunning lashes with no ball at the end, lovely definition, great sweep. The feel goes from overly wet to slightly crisp, but after half an hour the crispness is barely noticeable so I only subtracted a little bit for feel.

Endurance, though, was a problem. It's not half as bad as the DuWop was, but for the price I expected it to last a good long time. I tried experimenting with more coats to increase the endurance, but I'm such a clutz I couldn't keep the stuff off my face if I gave it more than one and a half coats. That also reduces the flutter factor by a miniscule amount; I can't flutter to full effect until the stuff dries. The mascara lasts through a work day, though, and considering the dramatic lashes it creates, it's a kicker of a date look.

YSL Faux Cils gets:

Endurance - 6
Look - 10
Feel - 7
Flutter Factor - 9

This makes Faux Cils the first mascara to get more than 30! Next up - Maybelline Define-A-Lash!

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Maybelline Lash Expansion

Initially I was supposed to test out Maybelline's Lash Discovery, but when I read the ingredients on the package (it pays to double-check) I saw a few things I couldn't wear. Therefore, I read around and chose two other mascaras, one of which was Lash Expansion.

Maybelline Lash Expansion

Oh dear, I should have thought a little more before choosing this one. The packaging itself says "Wraps Thickens Lengthens," and the moment I read the T word I should have left it behind. My eyes became the Great-Wall-o-Lash. Or should it have been the Short-Brick-Wall-o-Lash? The brush is really nice, but the product works on the thickening far too well while not giving any additional length. It was an adventure getting it off my fingers, but it didn't last as long as the Smashbox Bionic on my lashes - and I barely went outside all day. ;)

Maybelline Lash Expansion gets:

Endurance - 7
Look - 4
Feel - 6
Flutter Factor - 4

I can't say it's a pity, since the packaging has the unfortunate luck of reminding me of a product I saw at Toys in Babeland once. *cringe*

Next up - YSL Faux Cils!

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Smashbox Bionic

For those of you who don't remember, I had decided to set out on doing a run of mascara reviews, and then followed up with some pics of my baseline mascaras on my eye, as a base point. The ELFF score (Endurance, Look, Feel, Flutter) can add up to 40, and neither of my two staples add up to more than 30. Therefore, without further ado, I present...

Smashbox Bionic Mascara

Smashbox has a great list of ingredients, and I was pretty excited to try it out. The skin test was a success, and so I tried it out in a variety of circumstances. The lengthening effect was pretty intense, but like my staple MAC LongLash, it left the tiniest of balls on the ends of my lashes. It's a lovely dramatic look if you're after thickening as well as lengthening, though, and it lasts until the end of the day. My lashes were a wee bit crispy when I blinked, so I had to take off extra points for feel, and due to the lack of the nice sweeping point at the end of the lash, the flutter factor was reduced.

One thing to add, here. I did a special test with all the mascaras I tried: I slept in them to see exactly how long these babies could endure. Bionic doesn't last through the night, but it also doesn't leave a flaky rim under your eyes. Extra convenient for those evenings when you might need to crash at a friend's place. ;)

Smashbox Bionic gets:

Endurance - 8
Look - 8
Feel - 6
Flutter Factor - 7

It matches with MAC LongLash, but doesn't exceed it. Because the look is better, given only those two I'd choose this over the MAC.

Next up - Maybelline Lash Expansion!

Victorian teahouse - Serge Lutens' Five O' Clock Au Gingembre

First, let me offer you all a "Welcome back!" I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. I must say that having it early has disoriented me a bit, and I'm left wondering what in the world is wrong with the duration of May. I suppose the seesaw temperature in New York, in all its beautiful wet fluctuations, is part of the disorientation.

Because of the weather, the smells and details of Five O' Clock Au Gingembre have been particularly intriguing. When I smelled it on a strip and on my skin a few weeks ago, on a particularly warm day, all I could smell was lemon shortbread dunked in earl grey, with its signature bergamot. On another person, the spiciness of the ginger was more pronounced, but even he had to admit that it was incredibly lemony on the strip. Then, sampling a few days later on a colder, rainy day, I smelled tender firesmoke and ginger tea - no lemon, no bergamot (phew!). Yet again a few days later, the lemon, ginger and shortbread came through clearly, but no smoke and no tea. Now, sitting here slightly flushed and sweaty from the exertion of excessive laundry, it smells very distinctly like what my grandfather used to wear in the 70s - Muelhen's 4711 over Maurer and Wirtz's Tabac Original aftershave.

Whoa.

It's because of this that I cannot offer much of a good review of this scent. What I can do, however, is make an odd parallel. If Lutens and Sheldrake were after something that evoked teatime, it would have to be in an old manor house in the Victorian era, when the people were somewhat unwashed and rubbed lemon on their skin to keep it pale; when the houses always smelled of woodsmoke no matter how many windows were opened; when the English fascination with flavors from around the world was growing and intense. Walk through the manor to the back porch and watch the sunset; everyone will be polite as you sip and enjoy.

Happy pre-June. I wish you all a balmy summer. ;)

chocolate-covered basil - Montale's Red Aoud

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking. "Chocolate covered basil? Ick! Eurgh! Get it off my plate!" When I smelled it, I also thought I was having some sort of strange delusion. It took four tries on skin and paper to believe my nose.

But I'm telling you, lovelies, this scent really makes it work. The note list is ostensibly aoud, red pepper, saffron, cumin, iris, vetiver and Mysore sandalwood. There is no chocolate; there is no basil. However, on both the paper and on my skin, that's the dominant scent to me. The aoud is a really pretty harmony note to the smell of chocolate and basil. I believe the melting of the pepper and the cumin is what causes the basil overtone to me, and saffron plus sandalwood make me think of chocolate. I am starting to grow completely insistent, though, that there is some vanilla in there.

It only takes about an hour for the iris to show up, at which point the whole combination becomes sublime. At that point it's like the darker chocolate basil got the lightest dusting of chocolate talc (chocolate talc having been my other idea for the title of the post). If there is strength in the vetiver, it is subsumed into the smell of chocolate for me - if there is strength in cumin, there is absolutely no dirty smell to it.

The note combination ends up being stunning, in the same way it's amazing to taste chocolate ganache on a just-fried potato chip. (try it!) I believe this is the first aoud that will make it into my top 25.

in the belly of the whale - Escentric's Molecule 02

Molecule 02 is another one of Escentric's single aromachemical fragrances, created by Geza Schoen in what seems to be a fit of "I like this one the best"-ness. Ambroxan (known as 8α,12-Oxido-13,14,15,16-tetranorlabdane by picky chemists), has a very interesting pedigree. The substance was created to be a substitute of ambergris, or whale bile. This particular chemical is synthesized from sclareol¹, which is obtained from the essential oil of Salvia sclarea, or clary sage². Hurrah for vegan sources! The current method of extraction utilizes either gasoline or ethanol as a solvent, though I've read some studies attempting to use funguses, specifically Hyphozyma roseonigra³, to extract it. Even with all that effort, I have a major disconnect trying see this chemical as a substitute for the fragrances touted as amber, but never having smelled the actual substance of ambergris I cannot make any educated commentary as to how close Ambroxan is. It's nice to think of Mr. Jonah living with this for so long, but that could just be me thinking along romantic lines.

As a fragrance, Molecule 02 has the same oddities of Molecule 01, in that from a first-hand experience, it disappears into your skin fairly soon after application. One could blame nose fatigue, but on trials with others, I found that it actually did grow fainter at odd times. I'm not sure what the actual percentage of Ambroxan is in the product; I've heard some nattering about how much people could smell the substance and how much nose fatigue it might or might not cause. I know that given a range of time and body temperature, I could spawn a reliable recurrence of scent. I had to be warm within the first hour; if I was chilly, the scent got flaky on me.

In terms of what the stuff really smells like in this incarnation, Molecule 02 seems to stay in the same vein of scent as Molecule 01, where there's a distinct woodiness to the product and a musky undertone. Molecule 01 is smoother, but I like the more direct, sandalwood-ish nature of Molecule 02, and the nice green vegetal smell underlying it. At this dilution, I can easily detect distinct similarities with another favorite of mine – Mostly Musk. Since MM is discontinued, Molecule 02 is a welcome addition.

I believe I like Molecule 02 better than Molecule 01 for my own sensory purposes, but I'm not sure whether or not it will have the same gorgeous sensual largess for others. Only time will tell.

~ * ~ * ~

1. Ref here
2. Ref here
3. If you look it up online, it's all confusing. It's a yeast found in soil and therefore in worm and insect intestinal tracts. ;)

trailing in her wake - Escentric's Molecule 01

Warning to the unwary: this is not truly a perfume review. This, dear hearts, is a revelation.

About two years ago, I tried Escentric Molecules' Molecule 01. I thought the idea was interesting and the packaging, intriguing. I sniffed it once, said "meh?" and moved on.

Little did I know.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago. I was going about my business when this lovely but otherwise nondescript woman came into the place in which I work. As she passed me I smelled the most incredible, musk-woody, sensual fragrance I'd ever experienced. I couldn't believe my nose. After a few deep breaths, I approached the woman and said "You smell extraordinary; what fragrance are you wearing?"

"Oh! Gosh, I forgot I was wearing anything," she replied. "It's something molecule..."

Shocked, I suggested "Molecule 01?"

She smiled assent. "Yes, that's the one. Thank you for noticing," she giggled. "I can't even smell it anymore!"

Two weeks later, I smell another amazing sensual musk smell, this time with hints of vetiver and oakmoss instead of wood. Cue a repeat of the above exchange, but with a slender model and no sense of self-consciousness on her part. Yet again a third time a week later, with a glorious and friendly redhead, who told me she'd gotten it at Aedes. That was where I had sniffed it, so we exchanged laughter about the pups and then she went on her way... and I was hooked.

They say that third time is the charm, but I truly believe that when I first smelled this concoction of Iso E Super I never got any musk out of it - merely that initial balsamy wood note, which is definitely nice enough but not something I would pursue. I never paid attention to what it smelled like later, to others. The sheer sensuality of the scent on these women told a wholly different tale than the one I had discerned: these were three totally different women, different genetics all told, and I was nearly swooning from the smell. Each of them contained a distinct musk note, with which I was enchanted. It might just be possible that what the (slightly obnoxious) site says is true: "Molecule 01 lends an indefinable radiance to the wearer. In fact, its effect is almost pheromonic."

Part of the joy of art is being able to change your mind about it. This scent is truly on to something - a smell you don't necessarily benefit from, but which you leave scattered around you like largess. It will be with that in mind that I review Molecule 02, in a few posts from now.

quick Aedes news, while I'm thinking about it

I went to Aedes de Venustas during a run of errands, with the intention of picking up a bottle of Molecule 01 (more conversation about this upcoming). While I was there, Karl let me in on a bit of fun news - and said it would be okay for me to blog it. ;)

Come October, L'Artisan will release the Aedes room spray as a body fragrance, with their traditional bottle shape done in garnet-purple glass. The label will also reflect the Aedes style, though the bottle I saw wasn't labeled yet. The scent was also enchanting, but ever-so-slightly different than the room spray.

October is looking fantastic for L'Artisan; in terms of fragrance, I can't wait for fall!

in the land of the blind

It’s been about two weeks since I’ve written in any of my blogs, and to be honest, I haven’t been reading many either. I’ve been working out a bunch of things, most of which don’t need public viewing, but the one thing I need to tell people is about my dog.

Miss Amelia is now blind in one eye.
She runs the distinct risk of going blind in the other.

Amelia suffers from a disease called pigmentary uveitis, in which pigment is deposited in the eye and causes inflammation. The experts believe it’s a genetic, immune-deficiency disease, and it affects Golden Retrievers most. For Miss Amelia, the pigment was deposited in the back of her lens in a big clump, and the resulting inflammation caused an anterior lens luxation. Steroid drops helped the lens lux go away, but the pigment on the back of the lens capsule prevents any light from getting through to her retina. It’s odd looking at her in certain light conditions and seeing that there is no more saffron glow from her left eye.

It might be an interesting bit of fate that I discovered that my pup was outright blind in one eye on a particular day. May 11th, Mother’s Day, was when the vet thought she had just a straight up lens luxation. I was teary but the vet thought a $3000 surgery could cure it, if done within the next couple of days. At that point my frustration was the lack of funds with which to provide her with this surgery. So I spent much of Mother’s Day feeling like I’d failed my baby girl since I couldn’t afford to give her the emergency surgery. It was on Tuesday the 13th that I discovered that it was too late, and there was no way her sight in that eye would return.

She’s not in pain right now, though she’s run into a number of things (including other dogs) and sometimes trips over small objects. I have the assurance from the dog ophthalmologist, Dr. Vanessa Kuonen of NYC Vet Specialists, that she’ll get used to the lack of sight and will compensate so long as I manage the disease. She needs steroid drops in her eyes every day for the rest of her life now, so she doesn’t develop more inflammation or possibly severe glaucoma. I also have to take her to the ophthalmologist every 4-6 weeks for checkups. It’s something I can do without any worries (other than making sure I have the money), but now kenneling her will be more of an issue since a daily medication is part of the equation.

When I first found out she couldn’t see out of her left eye, the part that hit me hardest was the idea that she couldn’t chase the ball anymore. She’s always been somewhat poorly sighted, and to have an eye that was now completely blind was an additional detriment. However, once she was fully diagnosed, the doctors suggested she now use only squeaky or giggly balls, and when we experimented, she definitely did better with those. She still loses track of the ball at least twice as often as she used to, but she still enjoys herself a lot, and to me that’s all that matters. It’s truly a pity that the jingle rope ball that I used to use with her is no longer being made, since she loved those the best.

As far as how Amelia’s dealing with it? Now that the eye isn’t inflamed and doesn’t hurt anymore, she seems fairly happy, though she gets annoyed when she bumps into things. She hears just fine (*knock wood*), but the lack of sight is making her a lot more prone to ignore my commands when she’s sniffing something. Pup stubbornness, I think, but who knows? I could easily believe that for a dog who’s lost sight and didn’t smell that well to begin with, she’s pretty intent on making sure she catches as much as possible. She certainly refuses to believe she’s an old dog – with the way she acts, it’s hard to believe she’s going to be 11 in December. Projecting a refusal to believe she’s part blind isn’t a stretch at all.

Now that I’ve mostly come to terms with it all, I’m trying to get my writing – and, honestly, myself – back on track. Hopefully everything will be caught up soon.