Haus of Gloi Reverie Scents Part 3 (Earl Grey, Mango Sticky Rice)

I got my bottle of Earl Grey and a sample of Mango Sticky Rice in the mail a few days ago and thought I'd do a little review of them. ^^

Even though, I'd warrant that they're no longer selling (ARGH THE TIME SHIPPING TO SG TAKES) but we can always hope they'll make an apperance again, very soon.


Earl Grey

Strong black tea misted over with bergamot.

Working in a perfume company for my internship, I've been given the wonderful chance of smelling all sorts of things, one of them being pure Italian Bergamot oil which is just a golden spell of citrus and floral sunshine.

Although given the price, I obviously wasn't expecting to find it's radiance in this perfume oil and my expectation proved true.

However, this perfume certainly holds it's own place in terms of sunniness and the bergamot present is an extremely well done reconstruction. It's happy, fresh, yet very well controlled (ie. it's not a harsh/sour citrus note) and it's the perfect foil for the fragrant black tea notes.

What I love most about this fragrance is probably it's wearability. Both guys and girls could wear this scent easily.

Also, it deftly and surely recalls the beautiful scent of earl grey tea but it's not an exact replica (ie. you won't smell like the contents of a tea cup).

It's the scent of slightly sweetened (but not overly so) earl grey, fragrant and bright, and the perfect scent to wear when you need a little happiness.



Mango Sticky Rice

Sweet mango, coconut infused rice and toasted sesame.

I requested for a sample of this because I so wanted to try it. x)

On first sniff, it's a sweeter, less sharp version of Lassi, with a very realistic mango note. It's fruity and sweet but there's this tartness, that makes it so delicious.

The scent dries down to a creamy and coconutty base (which also brings Litchi Milk Tea to mind) with the mango still providing this lovely flavor and keeping it from getting too cloying and sickly.

Once again, as in the case of Earl Grey, it's not an exact rendition of the wonderful Thai dessert but it's one that comes pretty close, modified so as to be more wearable, like Earl Grey was.

This is scent paints faraway places, with plates of juicy nectar mangoes and creamy coconut milk sticky rice with a slight sprinkle of sesame to enhance the coconut nuances.

Both Mango Sticky Rice and Litchi Milk Tea have the same scrumptiousness (both are fruity and slightly milky/creamy with gorgeously blended flavors) and they'd make perfect summer holiday island food. Or scents.

Wearing this, you won't smell like the dessert exactly but you'll smell downright yummy and (perhaps even slightly exotic) with this perfume.


Picture of Earl Grey tea from this website and picture of Mango Sticky Rice from here. I own neither.

Wonderful scents, both of them, & I really hope we'll see them again someday.

I didn't try Black Cherry (it didn't sound as interesting as these two did) but those who have, do let me know what you think of it and these scents? ^^

All love,
Alethea

Jo Malone's Nectarine Blossom & Honey

To me, Jo Malone was always the elusive cream coloured shop at the 3rd level of one of the poshest shopping centers there is. Or was.

I used to sneak in when I was about 14 or 15, sniffing the bottles wistfully because I knew I wouldn't be able to get one (My younger self practically ran away from the inflated (from the already expensive) price that these perfumes sell for in Singapore.)


But I persisted. x) Every time I walked past the shop, I would go in, super happy when other people are about so I'd be able to smell smell smell without any sales assistants hanging about.

Though as I came to realize, the Jo Malone sales assistants here are wonderful people. They're so super sweet, don't hang around you and always welcome and bid you goodbye with a smile.

I freaking loved that place, with it's white interior, pretty bottles and fairy shop keepers.


One of the scents I couldn't stop thinking of was Nectarine Blossom and Honey.

Besides the delicious name (that it totally lives up to), it just conjured the perfect picture in my head; warm afternoon sun, a bowl of blushing juicy nectarines and a glass of golden floral honey.

I wanted it so bad.


Flash forward, to my 18th year with an internship at Oxford University that allowed me to visit London during weekends.

Jo Malone was one of the brands I hunted down ruthlessly and after walking all over Oxford Street/Bond Street/Reagent Street, I found the quaint little shop and grabbed a bottle of this scent as fast as I could without the fairy assistant thinking me insane.

~~~

I love it.

It starts off with a burst of freshly squeezed nectarines and peaches, their juice trickling down to a bed of warm honey that smells like flowers.

It's mildly green (which enhances the freshness of the fruit) and it dries down to a warm and slightly woody honey note, that's delicious in it's own right.


It's not a complex scent, by any means but sometimes, you just need a little squirt of sunshine to make your day all the more lovely and this does just that for me.

If you've tried it, do let me know what you think ♥

All love,
Alethea

Solstice Scents Valentine's Day Collection 2012

Grah I'm sorry I know I'm late for this but my 2nd last paper of the End Semester Exams just ended a few hours ago (1 moar to go, YAY! ^^) and I only received this parcel a few days ago actually.

(The sad thing about living so far from Angela. You cheer up once you open it really.)

I was way excited for this collection & I actually calculated the time difference + woke up slightly earlier to catch the scent I was so psyched for and did mini victory dances when I got it.

Then went to school. Anti climatic I know but I've never done this for any of Angela's previous collections so I never realized how fun stalking SS things are.

&someone did ask why didn't I review the Yule Collection; Hehe, well basically because I got the sampler pack early but I spent most of my holidays in Paris&London so I didn't exactly get the chance to sit down and blog a lot. x)

And when I got back to Sg, I figured that Angela would probably be taking the collection down soon so....yeah.

But I've checked and it's still up. ^^ Plus a lot of which is on sale, so I might sneak a ultra overdue Yule review before or after my last paper. ;) Might.

Eesh enough blabber. Valentine's Day collection nao. \^^/

~~~

I've already reviewed Violet Truffle, German Chocolate Cake and Cherry Vanilla Amberosia here & I still stand by my thoughts;

Violet Truffle: Delicious, sweet and earthy. Like deep rooty dark & bitter chocolates with gorgeous crystallized powdered sugar violets in an enchanted garden. I can almost swear I smell some dirt and greenery in the background. (&I mean that in the best possible way)


Cherry Vanilla Amberosia: Nectar-like and romantic. Like a very scrumptious syrup you want to keep drinking. Bright and sparkly citrus, sweet cherries and a golden base of amber. Lovely stuff, seriously.


German Chocolate Cake: Like it, but not as much as the other two. Nutty and decadent but with a strange coconut note that kinda disagrees with me. I pulled out the sample again to re-review this and sadly, that view still stands true. x(

And now for the new scents~ ^^ (Read the full descriptions at the SS website here)


Cherry Cordial


Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Maraschino Cherries & Black Cherry. Contains cocoa absolute.

This one's lovely.

It started with a very sharp benzaldehyde note straight out of the vial which kinda scared me a teeny bit (Angela wouldn't do something like this!) but then came the chocolates; sweetly bitter, along with the rest of the cherries, mellowing out the entire scent and making everything so pretty.

It's a foody scent but a very elegant one, something that even non foody lovers would fall for, because in retrospect, the benzaldehyde keeps it from getting too sticky and sugary and gives a mild almond nuance. It's a cherry scent that's playful, sweet & young yet controlled in all the right ways. So much fun to wear.

I kinda held off getting a full size of this because I thought it'd be a lot like Cherry Vanilla Amberosia (which I already have a full bottle of) & just requested it as my free sample instead but now, if it's still there when I make my Spring Collection purchases, it might just sneak into my cart.

It is rather like CVA, but with the amber based swapped for a gorgeous smelling cocoa absolute and a lot more cherries, instead of the citrus.


Nightgown


Vanilla, White Chocolate, Tuberose & Tiare Flowers

The perfume I stalked the site for. x)

I think the fact that it was so limited made it all the more desirable, but Angela has got the ingredients necessary now and there's more listed on the website so cheers. ^^

It starts off with a very tea-like scent (like white floral tea) which is probably my favourite part of the scent. (The tiare flowers maybe?)

&though I wish it'd stay like that forever, it morphs into this powdery, sweet and more heady floral scent that is still rather pretty&poetic.

I LOVE how it's called Nightgown because it's such a unique scent that keeps changing. It can be a soft and powdery and innocent lace gown or it could be one that's probably gonna be taken off in a while. Either way, it wears so close and comfortable and ethereal it's like sleeping on fluffy angel wings.

I adore the top notes this scent & though I'd wish for more tiare blossoms than the vanilla-tuberose accord, it's really well blended and fun to wear. The tuberose gives the whole scent a powdery, sleepy feel but the white chocolate and vanilla keeps it from turning too perfume-y (as Angela did mention).

It's an extremely clean and comforting scent, mildly reminiscent of Haus of Gloi's Odette but I find the tuberose in this more bearable.

Oh lovely sweet angel wings ♥


Black Forest


Agarwood, Nagarmotha EO, Tobacco Absolute, Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Mousse, Cocoa Absolute, Maraschino Cherries, Black Cherries, Hay Absolute, Sandalwood EO, Whipped Cream & a drop of Pink Peppercorn Essential Oil.

Saved the best for last. Heehee.

It's deliciousness in a bottle. EXACTLY like rich and thick Black Forest cake with the sweetest cream, chocolate and cherries-

And it also smells like a deep, black forest. (Dual-concept fragrances, creativity is so lovely and welcome)

Smelling it from the bottle, I can actually smell the sweet cream, chocolate, some cherry sweetness plus woody notes and the pink peppercorn EO (yes, I was surprised I could, but this spicy nuance came out after a while and I recognized it) . Who knew sweet spicy woods could be so delicious? =9

On skin, it's spicy woods + fresh creamy cherries and chocolate cake. It stays like this for a while before changing into how incense and forest trees at night smells like; damp, earthy & fragrant (might be the Nagarmotha EO), a wonderful combination.

It finally fades into a sweet incense on me, very reminiscent of Manor (another gorgeous perfume), so very haunting yet edible.

I swear, words aren't enough to describe this scent. You really need to smell for yourself to taste all the layers that reveal themselves. I've just got a bright idea to buy this perfume for the birthdays of all the guys I'm close to (hehe, my brother's birthday is coming up) & save a lot of trouble trying to shop for them. x)

"Yes, it smells like cake but it'll smell awesome on you. Honest."

It's mysterious and sweet fragrance on a girl but I bet it's gonna be killer delicious on a man, especially once it hits the stages of drydown.

If you can only try one scent from this collection (I feel for you T.T), then let it be this one. Just because I can't tell you about any other scent that smells like cake and forest in a bottle.

~~~


All love,
Alethea

Haus of Gloi's Valentine's Collection 2012

I've been testing these out for about 2 weeks nao & I guess reviewing them is now or never. x)



Odette
Clean sun dried linens, tuberose, ginger lily and white musk.

I wanted to love this one so badly. x) I mean it has ginger lilies and some really good reviews plus I got a full bottle. (&I don't think I've ever regretted any of the full bottles I've got from HoG.)

It starts off clean. Super clean, almost like fabric softener if you asked me. But once that powdery clean fades off, heady florals like its place and they don't really change the impression of the aforementioned softener.

(I'm blaming the tuberose really. x) Ginger lilies don't smell like this!!)

However, on the dry down, it's less screechy, reminds me less of laundry detergent and wears slightly more lovely.

I don't think it's the 'clean, sun dried linens' that keeps bringing me back to 'LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY'. I remember Solstice Scents had 'Linen & Ivy' that was also a lot about freshly washed clothes but also had a green tinge to it, which made it smell so wonderful. I basically think it's the tuberose that's kinda disagreeing with me.

But like all perfume oils, try it on your skin and give it time. The dry down still doesn't exactly conjure images of floating swans but of flapping clothes pegged on a laundry line, on a hot summer day with a breeze from the flower garden swirling around, but it's a pretty nice scent, once you're more used to it.

I'm probably gonna let my bottle age a bit and see what happens. (Yes, HoG perfumes have this awesome quality of smelling more well rounded and wonderful a little while later. I didn't like my bottle of Fe'ausi at first but I'm utterly in love with it for some reason or other. Review soon maybe. ;D)



Come Hither
Based off of traditional herbs and roots used in Hoodoo to draw and attract a lover, or entice the one you've already ensnared! Bourbon vanilla, tonka bean, a touch of rose oil, Queen Elizabeth root, three threads of saffron and a touch of honey to sweeten the whole deal.

Out of the vial, it smelled so good, like wooden honey and something sticky/golden/sweet. On my skin wet, it smelled equally amazing, so golden and sugary, with a timid sprinkle of rose petals.

It's so lovely but it doesn't stay like this for long; the dry down (on me), makes the scent slightly thicker and just a teensy bit more cloying (tonka bean maybe?). It finally dries down to the dusty almond scent I get from White Raspberry so I'm convinced my skin doesn't really like HoG oils as much as my nose does.

(However, I haven't revisted White Raspberry in a while, and if ageing can make the dusty almonds go away, I'll be so happy. Cause it means that ageing Come Hither will let me be able to wear the golden floral juice, for a long time. ^^)

It's such a nice smell so it's a definite pity I can't wear it. However, a trick I've found is to lightly dab the perfume oil onto the ends of your hair. Yeah, yeah you might look slightly weird grabbing up bunches of your hair to smell throughout the day but it's a pretty nice way to wear scents you can't wear on your skin.

(&sometimes I do this for scents I can wear too. xD)


Spring Tonic #1
Californian lemon, Mexican lime, parsley and dandelion greens.

Like a burst of fresh juicy limes. You pick up the lemon slowly after but to my nose it's lime lime lime from the start.

However, the parsley and the greens definitely help keep this blend from turning into dishwashing fluid (there I go again with the household chores) and it's slightly sweet, earthy and more grounded when the dandelions and parsley smells start to sprout.

It's a pretty linear scent, nothing fancy about it, but sometimes it's all you need. It's as refreshing as a splash of iced tea and it gives you a mental picture of someone using lemonade + limeade to water the parsley and greens, on a hot afternoon. Imagine you're the parsley. xD

Not a scent I'd want a full bottle of, per se, but watch me splash my sample all over me, come one hot day.


Spring Tonic #2
Fresh cucumber, parsley and dandelion greens.

The scent of the dirt and dandelions is definitely more pronounced in this scent. (If you liked the dirt from Ploughman, you can say hi to it here.)

The cucumber is fresh and watery and the whole scent is more of a fight between a just-picked cucumber and some wild greeness than an actual cucumber salad. Unless you like dirt in your salad of course.

Like Tonic #1, it's extremely linear, with no surprises, though *SPOILER* the cucumber wins in the end and dominates for the rest of the scent. It might get slightly synthetic to some but it might be pure bliss after a cold winter to others.

Definitely an equally cheering scent, spring tonic really.

~~~

All in all, I can't say I'm ultra overjoyed with the HoG V day collection but I can't say I'm disappointed either. (HoG, would you ever let me down? xD)

But I'm waiting eagerly for the Solstice Scents V Day package to come (!!!) and I'll definitely try & review them for you all. xD

Hope you had a wonderful Valentines =D

All love,
Alethea

Favourite Body Creams/Butters

I never was really big on body butters until recently; I use them everyday now ^^ I think they're a really nice way to end a long bath/thorough scrub and go back to all the things you're supposed to do.

I don't really have that many, and there're still loads I wanna try but here are my favourites for now.


1) Roger & Gallet Fleur d'Osmanthus body cream


I picked up it up randomly one day when I was in Paris at one of the Pharmacies. (Side tracking; Paris has THE BEST beauty products in their Pharmacies. Picture a long string of exclamation marks after this statement.)

I was looking for a new moisturizer and I thought "Well, it's French, how bad could it be?", not expecting to fall so hard for this. It's possibly my fave purchase of that day. Of that day. xD

It smells DIVINE. Exactly like osmanthus blossoms which kinda smell like apricot flowers & sweet tea. It's floral, fresh, fruity, very delicious & so realistic, it's like rubbing fresh osmanthus flowers onto your skin.

I can't really emphasize how wonderful the smell is (you really need to try it yourself) so I shall blabber on about the wonderful product: it's smooth, silky & soo creamy but it's also really easily absorbed.

It was moisturizing enough for me to use in France, then later in England, but it's not sticky/too oily for use in Singapore either. Magic I tell you.

The only drawback is...well, I got it in France. I've tried eBaying and Googling it 239048 times but I keep finding places to get the lotion, not this cream, which is probably what's gonna happen, when I run out of this awesome stuff

(Nonono don'tthinkaboutit ithasn'thappenedyet)


2. Rituals Magic Touch Organic Cherry & Rice Milk body cream


Another love of mine.

I don't love the smell of this as much as I love the Osmanthus one though this is pretty nice too; very soapy, powdery, sweet and fresh, which makes it so lovely to use after a bath.

However, it's the product's performance that stole my heart. It gets absorbed into the skin faster than any other product I've tried & it makes my skin SO SO SO SMOOTH.

Literally. Truly. Like touching a piece of silk or something (forgive me for not having more artistic comparisons, I'm hungry and eating as soon as I finish this xD) BUT YES.

I've really never tried a product that has rendered my skin so soft, so quickly. My mom bought it in London, after a sales assistant told her this has sold over a million units & I BELIEVE HER. I would buy this again and again and again, I use it everyday.

But unfortunately, this was bought in London and so once again, it's extremely hard to find here. The website doesn't ship to Sg either and I suppose you could always vPost it here, which is what I might do, if I get desperate. x)

I need to stop loving things that are so hard to get.


3) The Righteous Butter, Soap & Glory



Finally. Something that's available in this part of the planet so you don't think I'm trying to torture you guys on purpose.

I've reviewed this before here but I'll say it again; it smells DELICIOUS. It works so WELL -silky soft & yummy.

I know I said it the review that it sinks in really quickly, yeah it does, but I do have to point out, not as fast as the Rituals body cream, now that I've tried both.

That doesn't make me love it any less though; it moisturizes heaps, makes my skin so soft and I can't resist the Ms Dior Cherie scent any more than the next girl so it's definitely something I'll keep using.

It's also nice to be able to waltz into Sephora and grab it instead of having to plan a trip to Paris+London.

But maybe I wanna go back to Paris+London. ;)

~~~

What are your favourites? ^^ Til next time (Valentine's reviews for Haus of Gloi & Solstice Scents! Which should come first? XD)

All love,
Alethea

Haus of Gloi Reverie Scents Part 2 (Boreal)

I'm extremely late for this post (as usual), but I'm loving the heck out of this perfume and I just had to share it.

I've placed orders for some favourite things from the Valentine's Day collection of HOG and SS & I will try to review everything before their Spring Collections come out. xD


Boreal
Pale lily, South African eucalyptus, white champa, petitgrain, white grapefruit, rosemary and a bit of white cocoa co2 to take off the bite.

The very first ingredient on the list got me. I love lilies. I'm powerless against lilies. Help me.

(Pretty much also pourquoi I ordered a full bottle of Odette, unsniffed. I read the words GINGER LILY and I went OOOOOH. Help me seriously.)

But anyway, Boreal.

It starts off extremely sharp, bright and citrusy. I'm not going to hide it, I was slightly taken aback. Forgive me, I was expecting lilies.

It's an interesting citrus though, very heavy on the grapefruit and petitgrain but there's a certain herbaceous twist to it. The rosemary and eucalyptus medley.

However, they come out of hiding behind the citrus in a while and give this gorgeously lush green tapestry, that slowly, the lily creeps onto.

The lily startled me well. I was sorta scoffing at the description 'pale lily' but that's exactly what it is.

This silvery, ghostly light lily that floats swiftly but surely over the herbs and fading citrus, barely untangling itself from the white champa. I don't really pick up the cocoa until the very end, a light sweet end to a gorgeous perfume.

I won't lie, it's not a perfume that catches you from first whiff, the green citrus might be mildly unsettling. But somehow, I've felt more from this perfume than the Litchi Milk Tea/Honeysuckle Lemon Curd/White Raspberry sweet juices from HOG.

Don't get me wrong, they're lovely but I don't wear them as much as I've been wearing Boreal. It's apparently a lovely forest somewhere in Canada and it certainly smells like it.

Fresh and sunny with a refreshing splash of citrus fading into an evening of rosemary and eucalyptus. At night, silvery lilies and champa come out, making the cold air, fragrant with remnants of petitgrain and rosemary, even more surreal.

It really smells like a realistic forest; the day breaking with a sweetness strangely welcome after a long night.

~~~

I don't know when this fragrance is going to come back. But I really hope that somehow it sticks around. It's definitely not a scent that everyone would fall for instantly or otherwise, but that's probably why I did.

Discussion: Hair Care (Part 1)

This probably won't come as a surprise to you all but I'm the kinda girl who sprays perfume in her hair almost everyday.

I don't swim that often now, though I spend quite a bit of time in the sun but I don't really need anything else to justify why taking care of my hair is so important, the perfume fact screams it already. x)

To me, I see nothing wrong with spraying perfume in my hair since it's a lovely way to make scents last longer and gives you wonderful little whiffs every now and then.

But yes, the alcohol is rather drying, so I make it up by using a type of shampoo and conditioner that suits me well (I love Herbal Essences, the hydration and silky straight ones), along with a plethora of almost paranoid hair care products, which I shall share today. \^^/


Oshima Tsubaki Camellia Hair Care oil


One of my newest favourites; 100% camellia oil.

It's rather scentless and super rich + silky. It can be pretty much used for anything hair related. You can;

~Rub a few drops (and I really mean a few. Like 2 or 3. Or even just 1, if you have short hair) into dry hair, for instant taming of stray strands and silky smooth texture.

~Use it as a hair mask (I haven't tried this but I so totally plan to). You could heat it up gently or just use it straight by applying a generous amount and wrapping your hair with a hot towel. Then you wait and shampoo it off, I guess.

~It's also awesome as a heat shield, when you want to blow dry your hair. I would apply a few drops to wet hair before blow drying it for extra protection.

**I try not to blow dry my hair too often, but sometimes, coming home late after karate training, does not really leave much choice xD This is a really nice way to get your hair dry quickly without frying anything.

~The tiny booklet it came with also mentioned that it's awesome for hair styling and using it as scalp nourishment (though I've never tried this. Might, someday.)

And since the only ingredient in here is camellia oil, it can also be used on skin (mix it with your favourite moisturizer) or do what I would, pour some into a delicious steaming bath.


Silicone serums


One thing all these serums have in common? Their main ingredient is silicone and they all smell freaking awesome. xD These are my 3 favourites.

The Herbal Essences Smooth Lovin' serum has a yummy tropical fruit scent and really works at smoothening hair and getting rid of frizz.

The Essential Nuance Airy one is my second bottle of this. It has a generic girly fragrance that I really like and a super light texture but lasting properties. I definitely prefer it to its orange counterpart (that one was a lot thicker.)

The last one, Frizz Be Gone anti frizz hair serum from Giovanni was kind of an impulse buy but the scent's extremely nice and it works well too. I think this one contains the most amount of plant extracts though with all the natural-ness, it should be used up quickly.

***

However, when all is said and done, silicone serums don't do much but provide temporary manageability, which to be honest, sometimes that's just what I need, but to get further conditioning properties, hair masks and proper serums should be used. (ANOTHER POST! ^^)

And, bear in mind when using silicone based hair serums, repeated usage can cause build up of gunk in your hair (which is why I use them so slowly and in small amounts) and hence, a clarifying shampoo should be used to get it all out.



I don't know if it was meant to be a clarifying shampoo or not, but I really love LUSH's Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo for this purpose, it works like one. =D


It has a really nice, distinct scent (like beer?) and it doesn't lather much but you can really feel it cleaning your hair.

I received it as a gift, along with the American Cream, which makes my hair super super soft, BUT not silky, shiny or smooth. I think it works best as a hair mask (ie. slather loads on and leave for a bit), as opposed to a rinse off conditioner but the softness it imparts really makes using it worth it. ^^

I wouldn't exactly run out to buy either product myself (hmm...maybe just the shampoo) but I think that these are lovely for use once in a while.

~~~

So there you have it. ^^ Hair care post part 1. Maybe a skin care/fragrance one next? ;)

All love,
Alethea