Reviews and Other Stuff

Diptyque Mini Holiday Candles 2021 and FORVR Mood Candles Review

December 31, 2021 / HOME & GARDEN / 0 Comments

Hello all! Happy New Year! What a year we’ve had and what a time in our lives! What are you up to this holiday season, and what are your new year resolutions? Before we end this year, let’s end it with a set of holiday candles to review.

I love candles for the holiday season, and I always look for holiday candle releases. For 2021, I have enjoyed two sets of holiday candles from FORVR Mood by Jackie Aina and Diptyque Paris. Here is my review of each candle.

FORVR MOOD:

Grown Folks Business – A complicated scent with a complicated name. What exactly is a “grown folks business?” is it the same as “adulting?” I just can’t even with the terms nowadays :-). I know the two terms are different, and I also know that I need a new dictionary for social media language :-), because my level of comprehension for these words is either 0 or -1. Anyway, this candle smells so lovely, and I can sense a hint of mint, vanilla, patchouli, cedar, something earthy, and lots of sorcery in it! It is indeed a wonderful, complicated scent with a complex meaning for a name. I love it. It’s so me

Hey Big Head – I want to eat this candle. I repeat, I want to eat this candle. LOL. This candle smells like coffee, toffee, hazelnut, Nutella, vanilla, and everything sweet and yummy in this world. Lighting this candle might raise your A1C, but it’s so totally worth it. Just kidding

We Not Linkin – This candle deserves to be in every Lizzo music video :-). The strong scent of pumpkin spice symbolically says “kthanxbye” :-), and the scent can be too heady for some. I would say, this candle is more of an “acquired taste” and will make for a great home décor.

Skinny Dipped – What do you get when you combine coconut, apple, hazelnut, and pistachio in a wax? This candle. I love the subtleness of this candle. It’s like the scent “Hey Big Head”, but it does not have a strong heady scent. The throw is good, and the scent is long-lasting. I like the scent a lot because its subtleness is not dull.

DIPTYQUE:

Sapin – A light pine scent, remiscent of the Diptyque Cyprès candle. I love the glass design of this candle. The combination of green and gold creates a festive Christmas tree look. However, when it comes to the scent, I prefer that Cyprès because the Cyprès candle has a stronger throw than this candle.

Biscuit – A sophisticated yet usual scent that I am pretty sure most of us have sniffed at some random stores during our holiday shopping strolls. I like this scent, especially the packaging, but I am not crazy about it. It is more a “food” type of scent, where I can sense a hint of pumpkin, cinnamon, sugar, spice, and everything nice (go Powerpuff girls!) — ingredients in a candle I tend to skip.

Flocon – I thought this would be my least favorite of the three Diptyque holiday candles, and I am quite surprised by my reaction to the scent. There are complicated notes of different florals, like white musks, mimosa, and possibly lavender in it. It may be a subtle scent, but it is something I have never sniffed before. I could not trace its top notes and base notes in my memory. Therefore, it is a new olfactory experience for me. Which means I had to have it in a large size (heart eyes much!).

Those are the candles I’ve loved this busy holiday season. I am back to solving puzzles in my head and will most likely be very busy as always for the year 2022. Let’s hope for the best!

Happy New Year to all of you, my friends in real life, in the blogosphere, and to all my friends on the dark side :-). Wishing you all a fabulous and prosperous new year!

*Jewelry: Frica Jewelry, South Korea – available HERE

* Nail color: Chanel Rouge Brun, listed below

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Westman Atelier Beauty Review + Swatches

December 13, 2021 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 Comments

Hello from the other side. I am back with a review of a very interesting beauty brand I have wished to try — Westman Atelier.

Something about this brand caught my attention, yet I do not know precisely what it is. Maybe it is the packaging, maybe it is the reviews, or simply maybe because of how the product looks on everybody. So, I finally got my hands on some of the bestsellers from Westman Atelier, and here are my two cents.

Baby Cheeks Blush Stick

These beautiful blush sticks are contained inside heavy tube packagings with magnetic closures. The packaging almost feels very industrial, metallic, and heavy-duty. The kind that seems to come from the RH furniture store, or if RH releases a makeup line, I bet the look will be more like some of these Westman Atelier blush sticks.

Quality-wise, I believe these blushes deliver what they are supposed to deliver. The pigment is really good and they do not irritate my skin. Each shade is beautiful and can fit well with any skintone. There is no need to go ham on these because, most likely, you will only have to use one swipe to get enough of the product on the cheeks.

Chouchette – Nude peach. A light to medium neutral peach. Great as an everyday blush.

Petal – Dusty nude rose. A shade deeper than Chouchette. There is a rosy undertone and is quite pigmented with just one light swipe.

These products contain Jojoba Seed Oil and various fruit extracts. Despite the moisturizing ingredients and the fact that the products are applied directly to the skin like a stick, I am surprised to notice that my foundation was not moved at all. Therefore, there is no need to worry as the blushes do not move any concealers or foundations. Just do not put too much of it on the skin.

Lit Up Highlight Stick

This is a beautiful stick highlighter that looks so fancy and heavy. The black and gold packaging gives the highlighter a luxe look that can sometimes be mistaken as part of a room décor accent. When it comes to the product itself, I am pretty surprised that the highlighter did not live up to my standards. I find the product to be too oily that it melts quickly upon application. It also did not seem to be visible on my skin. It just seemed to blend into my skintone, which made me think that maybe I should try the highlighter in another shade. Still, the product slides off my skin easily, and the highlight effect is minimal. I almost feel like the product is a great highlighter to use on good skin days or during very sunny days when the sun hits my face. Maybe then I could see all the glow and the glassy skin effect the highlighter promises to offer.

Nectar – glassy golden peach.

Super Loaded Tinted Cream Highlighter

If I had mixed feelings about the Lit Up Stick Highlighter, I can assure you I do not have any mixed feelings about this amazing cream highlighter. This highlighter can sink a thousand ships because it is SO GOOD that I am really in awe of how it looks on my skin. At first glance, the packaging may look unassuming, but touch, hold it, feel it, then open it, and you are in for a surprise. It is art and beauty at the palm of your hands. In other words, the highlighter is utterly gorgeous! And the formula itself is also extremely gorgeous that it will make you feel fabulous! What do I like about it? Everything. Apart from the unique packaging, the product has a creamy texture that does not melt easily, yet is spreadable enough to create a gorgeous holographic look. It gives a beautiful glassy skin finish regardless of your current skin situation. There is no need to use a brush to apply the product, just use your fingertips and dab a bit of it on the skin. It will not move your foundation. I promise :-). Try it. You will love it. I am not kidding

Peau de Peche – Soft pearlized bronze suede. Comes out as a luminous peachy rose bronze.

Eye Pods Eyeshadows

This trio of magnetic pod-packaged eyeshadows is extremely cute and totally unique in its overall presentation. I have seen and tried some eyeshadows before with similar magnetic packagings, but these Westman Atelier ones have a luxurious look. I can tell that a lot of thought is given to the way the packaging of the eyeshadows is made. In terms of the product itself, the formula is quite intriguing because it does not feel very creamy at all, even though it may look creamy at first sight. The feel of the product is somewhat velvety, and it is not very easy to spread around the lids when using the fingertips. A somewhat stiff-bristled eyeshadow brush works betters in terms of application, but a soft-bristled eyeshadow brush will not help much. I think it is because the product is too thick in consistency that it can be challenging to pick it up using just the fingertips or a soft brush. I do find that the shades are really pigmented, and they do not irritate my lids.

The Westman Atelier Eye Pods come in three sets/trios of wearable eyeshadows. Here is my favorite trio.

Les Jours – chocolate/rich chocolate, tabac/warm bronze, neige/iridescent ivory.

Final thoughts. I love this makeup brand, especially the cream highlighter and the eye pods eyeshadows. Westman Atelier does not shy away from creating gorgeous makeup products with luxurious packaging that is truly worth the price tag. I would not mind carrying any of their products in my purse all the time.

Are you also a fan of this makeup brand? DM me.

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Dae Haircare Shampoo and Conditioner Review

November 23, 2021 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 Comments

Hello all. It feels such a long time since I have written here. I miss you all terribly. It also feels like a century ago since I have held a camera in my hands, and I am afraid of losing my love for art and beauty. However, I guess I have not lost that touch after all. I am now slowly back from outer space. I feel like I have missed out on a lot of the latest beauty releases, so I will be reviewing some beauty goodies soon and some of my favorite reads and whatever it is I am up to. But before that, there is one haircare brand I would like to review in this post. It is a brand that fascinated me because I have read some subpar reviews about it. Therefore, my curious brain naturally wanted to investigate whether the Dae haircare products are something I should skip. In this review, I am featuring the Dae shampoo + conditioner.

Shampoo

The scent is amazing and is one of the most well-scented shampoos I have ever tried. There is something nostalgic about the scent, which reminds me of the scent commonly found in most shampoos in the pacific. It is a blend of fresh floral with a tropical island vibe, which makes me think that the shampoo is ideal for summer because of its scent. When it comes to the texture and overall performance of the shampoo, I realize that I have such a different opinion compared to the others who have tried it. Most people say that the shampoo made their hair dry, yet it works the opposite for me. My hair did not feel dry after using it, and in fact, my hair felt a lot cleaner. The texture is very smooth, and it lathers very well with just a minimum amount of the product.

Conditioner

The conditioner is also a very good haircare product, in my opinion. The scent is relatively mild when compared to the shampoo, but I like it that way. The overall feel of the conditioner is not heavy, and there is no need to use a lot of it. A tiny drop can cover most hair strands, and it does not add any residue to the hair. The product is certified clean at Sephora, and it does keep the hair moisturized, especially on these cold, dry days. It can also work for all hair types.

Overall, I am impressed with the shampoo and conditioner by Dae haircare. Not only is the packaging aesthetically pleasing and highly Instagrammable :-), I am amazed by how the products worked well for my hair. I am not quite certain why some folks had an opposite reaction to such haircare products, but my experience with the shampoo and conditioner has been wonderful so far.

What do you all think? Are you also a fan of Dae haircare products? PM me.

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