Review: Vanilla Noir Radiant Powder Spray

It's hee-eere. My Bath and Body Works Vanilla Noir Radiant Powder Spray took less than a week to arrive.

And I'm back, after a very long few days...I'm back to normal posting.

On to the product.

What the company says:
This Radiant Powder Spray gives skin an indulgent kiss of golden shimmer, leaving it powder soft and luxuriously fragrant.

• Our exclusive Vanilla Noir fragrance is a tantalizing scent that transforms Madagascar vanilla into pure glamour
• Key fragrance notes: Madagascar Vanilla, Dark Vanilla Bean, Black Plum, Bergamot Orange and Warm Musk

Originally $24.50, now $9.75 at BBW.com.

What I think:
I love the concept of the product and the initial application, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't last longer.

I like the scent -- it's a mellow vanilla, a somewhat musky, definitely not a one-note, sugary vanilla that many products have. The shimmer is pretty, though the few larger sparkles (about the size of a pencil tip) make me think this is too glittery for work. It'd probably look nice under candlelight on an evening date or out at a club. (Note, it does not make you look like you fell in a vat of glitter!)

The bottle is worthy of being out on a counter. It's probably more attractive in person than in the photo and, in my mind, would look great beside some attractive atomizers in a glamorous powder room. The bottle and the powder look gorgeous and the brushed-metal for the top feels sturdy.

But if you look up close some of it's charm is peeled away: You see that the textured ring under the pump is pasted on a bit crudely, the pump is a bit rough too. It can be a bit finicky, press it hard.

And as I said at the top, my biggest complaint is that it doesn't last long. The scent faded pretty fast on me, as did the shimmer. Maybe because I was looking at it under florescent lights at work? Could be. I'll try wearing this out at night sometime and see if it works better, since I love the styling of the product and would like it to work.

A Lovely Little Gift for a Little Sis: MJ Daisy

A week or two ago I came across Marc Jacobs Daisy, a fresh, floral scent with notes of strawberry, violet, jasmine, musk and vanilla. It's light, feminine and not too sweet. "Massively pleasant," is how one review put it, and I tend to agree. In fact, I agree so much that I'm willing to take a chance on gifting it.

Daisy is one of the few fragrances I've tried in recent memory that I can remember liking both on initial application and several hours later. Not ready to spend $50 or $60 on a full size bottle, I was ecstatic to come across this solid scent ring for $20 at Marshall's. (It's limited edition and currently out of stock at Sephora online, where it's advertised for $30.)

It was in a sealed anti-theft container so I didn't get to see the actual product until I checked out. I was a bit disappointed by how small the perfumed area is -- about nickel-sized. It makes me feel like I'm going to dip my finger into it three times and use it all up (but that's just because I'm a little paranoid). The scent is just as good, however. And the packaging is admittedly really adorable.

The daisy is top-heavy, probably not something you'd wear on your finger all the time though it's big enough to do so. I think it's more practical to use as a keys or purse charm since it comes with a key chain. Personally, I adore its gold-colored pouch. I'd probably keep it there, tucked safely away till I feel like adding something sweet to brighten my day.

Or rather, my 19-year-old, art student sister's day. She and I are not very similar - she is more interested in ornate, abstract and bold things whereas I like delicate, sweet things - but we both appreciate quality and some similar elements of style. As much as I like this product, I think it'd be a great gift for her because it's classic-looking yet a bit surprising/outside the norm at the same time.

She's leaving for a two-month study abroad project in Barcelona, Spain next week (oooh so jealous! lol), so I think it'd be a nice little thing for her to take on the trip.

The Bottle Rainbow in my Shower

I was inspired to take this photo the other night -- moments after bathing -- to share with you the (crazy?) way in which I ordered all the bottles in my shower by color.

I currently have 14 containers in there, but in all fairness, I only use a maximum of five per shower. Half of the items are spares I brought with me when I moved that I don't have a better place to store. Four of the containers are trial size samples.

The fact that they are such a wide array of colors is pure accident. Seriously. Funny how that worked though. Guess I'm really drawn to vibrant colors.

The products, from left to right:

Gillette regular foam shaving cream -- No prissy shaving gel for me!

Bath and Body Works body wash in Midnight Pomegranate -- I have no idea what makes a 'midnight' pomegranate different than an afternoon one. Or a 3 p.m. one. But I love pomegranate and picked this up on sale a few weeks ago. The scent and lather are great. In fact, I even picked up the same body wash and a hand cream for my friend for her birthday. She liked it too.

Herbal Essences Color Me Happy shampoo -- I don't know who bought this. Probably me, though I'm usually not a big HE fan. I highlighted my hair for about four years years, during which time I almost exclusively used color protecting products from the drugstore. I'm currently in the process of growing it out - wanted a change, also going darker for winter - but I still use color protecting shampoo. I've got no complaints with this bottle, and I like it better than regular HE.

L'Oreal Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Conditioning Treatment -- As the yellow-label indicates, it was on clearance at Duane Reade. This is supposed to be a deep conditioner, however, I'm really not sure what it does. I've had neither especially good nor especially bad results. I've read mixed reviews of this stuff so I'd say you can judge it yourself. I probably won't re-buy because I know I can find something better.

Christophe of Beverly Hills Color Extending Conditioner -- I picked up a a handful of these Christophe 2 oz. trial size bottles in a few different treatment types. Does anyone know how long you should continue using color-treating products after getting your hair done? Until the hair grows out, or no?

Citre Shine conditioner for colored or permed hair -- I love how this smells! I'm almost out and want to find more. It feels light on my hair and isn't tested on animals. Great. I can't speak to its "citrus vita-actives," but fyi some of its top ingredients are cetyl alcohol and amodimethicone.

Sedal Miel y German de Trigo (honey and wheat germ) conditioner -- I bought this on vacation in Mexico in March, since I didn't want to risk getting hair products all over my stuff when I packed. Sedal is the spanish language version of Sunsilk -- both are made by Unilever. This conditioner is aimed toward hydrating dry hair. My hair actually isn't very dry, but again, since it was processed and because it's naturally curly/wavy, I try to give it as much replenishment as possible.

St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Renew & Firm --This will help tone your skin to make it look younger. If it works as it says it does, people will be asking if I'm in middle school soon! but seriously, I bought this hoping it might be a bit more gentle than the regular stuff, which I find a bit rough. Did they change the formula recently? Since the beads in here are a lot finer, but I don't know if that's just this particular type...and by the way, it still works like a charm, just as I expect St. Ives to do. **HG product for me**

Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask -- I've written about this before and will add to the choir who love it for being good and cheap. Definitely a lot of quality bang for your buck in this tube.

Garnier Fructis shampoo for color treated hair -- Another item picked up in Mexico. Does anyone know if South and Latin American products are formulated differently than their American or European counterparts? I browsed the ingredients here and from what I remember, it was the same old stuff at the top - sodium lauryl sulfate, etc. I love the smell and tend to like how Granier works for me.

Christophe trial size bottles in clarifying shampoo and curl-defining shampoo and conditioner -- Just got these, don't have a ruling on how they work.

Bath and Body Works 3-in-1 body wash/bubble bath/shampoo in Twisted Peppermint -- Ha! Also funny that my two body washes are from BBW when I never shop there. This was in a gift pack given to my mom a few years ago. I was using the chocolate scented one at home in N.Y. (it smells like a dream...mmm) but brought this with me in the move. It makes me smell like a candy cane, in a good way. And it makes me excited for the holiday season! Which is why I'm going to look for a more autumn-y scent today, so I can get my fall-wheels in gear. (Pumpkin spice anyone?)

In fact, I might go to BBW for some...my once-a-year visit.

So there you have it, the array of colors in my shower! My shower pouf is powder blue, so it would actually futher complete the spectrum, but I didn't take a pic ;)

Do you have a lot of stuff in your shower too? Do you switch out regularly? Or do you store extra products under the sink?

Dear Neutrogena

The text of my comment form to Neutrogena regarding a recently-purchased bottle of pink grapefruit foaming scrub:

I love the product itself - the scent is great, the texture is great, and it cleans my skin without making it too dry. HOWEVER, shortly after opening the big plastic seal around the product (it was sold with a smaller promo bottle) I noticed that the top corner of the big product was split open about a centimeter. (The very top, where the two edges of the container come together.) I only realized this when I was trying to open the plastic wrap around the two bottles and noticed a puddle of pink face wash leaked onto my bathroom sink.

Did you get all that? Yeah, it sucks. But the scrub smells delicious, just like a grapefruit. It foams, it gently scrubs, it feels great. Just wish the bottle wasn't messed up. Hopefully the face wash itself will continue to be on my good side though.

Picking the Perfect Perfume

Last night made me happy. Aimee is one of my few friends who is remotely interested in makeup and understands the fun of checking out products, so I highly value our occasional late-night trip to a drugstore in search of beauty sales. Yesterday was no exception.

I was happy and smelled vaguely like bad cologne + fresh flowers + cotton candy. Yes, it was a scent-sampling night! (Though most wore out overnight, thank goodness....ugh, but onto my bed.)

Aimee used to work at Sephora and is fairly familiar with perfumes. She first had me whiff "True Star Gold" by Tommy Hilfiger -- a fresh, light-floral scent promoted by Beyonce that Aimee picked up for $8 at Target on clearance and happened to have in her bag. Then, I (foolishly) spritzed myself with Estee Lauder "Mustang" for men....wow, it smelled horrible. A little bit woodsy and spicy, which was nice, but I swear there was also the lingering under note of tire rubber. Fitting. There is probably a real explanation to that smell, but let's face it, if your nose doesn't like a smell it doesn't matter if it's got a fancy name that's not 'tire rubber.' The bottle was cool looking, though.

A few more samples later, Aimee finally turned her attention to Britney Spears' "Fantasy," which has a mild, cotton candy-ish scent. (The linked review describes it with more depth.) Aimee doesn't love it but said she likes it enough -- I tried to convince her to wait for something she totally adores -- but for $13 she felt it was the right decision.

I was surprised what a selection CVS has. Lots of celebrity scents, for sure, but also more high-end products, like Burberry "Brit," Calvin Klein "Eternity" (my mom's staple) and Dolce & Gabbana "Light Blue." Bizarrely, the sticker under the D&G bottle said it cost $49.99 but a promo sticker -- one of the yellow ones CVS puts under the regular tag to highlight an every day bargain -- had the price as $54.99.

I rarely wear perfume. My only real holding in the category are some mini-bottles of Kenzo Flower, which I love, love, love. It was a gift, and a perfect gift for me. It's soft and sweet and fresh but not too sugary-sweet or dowdy.

So my question is, how do you pick the perfect perfume? Do you go to Sephora and sniff everything all at once, or to a department store, or take some different approach? Is one scent good enough or would a few options be ideal -- one for going out, one for daytime, etc.? (That's Aimee's preference.) Can you base if you like it off the initial smell, or do you wait to see how it sits on your skin for a while?

I tend to run into Sephora, sniff a few things until I can't take the intensity of it all and must quickly flee. Maybe you have a better method. I'd love to know you're secrets. And I'll let you know what happens once I get into the market for a new fragrance.