Let me tell you, bellas!

Last night I attended a special event, courtesy of Dove Visibly Smooth deodorant. At a gorgeous place called Spa Soak in the trendy Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago, I recieved a “piticure.” On my way back home, I tweeted the following:

“Just had a Dove deodorant “PitiCure” – just so you know, I have baby smooth Beyonce armpits now.”

The response was overwhelming! Everyone wanted to know — what on earth is a piticure, and where can I get one?

It’s super easy and you can totally DIY.

It’s as simple as that! Click here to learn all about it

My piticure began with a very necessary neck and shoulder massage — I seem to store all my tension there and the muscles are always insanely tight. Sarah, my masseuse worked it OUT for me, and today I am so grateful. I love a good, theraputic massage and clearly I needed one!

After that she cleansed my armpits with Dove’s Cool Moisture Cleansing Cloths — they’re refreshing and durable, and gently exfoliate your skin. Love em!

Then she moisturized my armpits with a little lotion — I believe it was Nourishing Moisture Beauty Body Lotion. Then to end the piticure, I applied some Dove Visibly Smooth deodorant in Nature Fresh.

I’ve been using Visibly Smooth in Wild Rose for maybe the past month or so, and I really have noticed a difference. My underarm hair grows in softer and finer, less prickly and thick. It hasn’t reduced the growth of it at all, but it makes for easier shaving and depilatory use.

After my piticure, I got my nails done by Rachel, a super cute manicurist. We were cracking each other up — and together we came up with a killer color combination!

That’s OPI’s brand new skates, and Essie nail polish in Classical, a really interesting sheer, shimmery pale green for my accent nail. Apparently Classical is a rare enough shade that it’s going for $16 on Ebay. Who knew?

And I gotta tell y’all – I LOVE the layout of Spa Soak! This place is awesome for bridal showers or girls’ afternoons out, or just to go with your BFF. Pedicure stations are set up right next to each other so you can gab the whole time. I love spas set up for socializing!

So even though it may sound weird to have a stranger pamper your armpits, I thoroughly enjoyed my piticure and I’m definitely going to continue the trend at home. I’ll have Beyonce armpits someday!

Related posts:

1. Latest, Greatest Drugstore Buys
2. My Week Without Deodorant
3. My Armpits Smell like Ice Cream!

Last week I was spritzing myself with Calvin Klein’s 2009 Eternity Summer and my mom in law literally stopped in her tracks as she was walking by. “Mmmmm! You smell gorgeous!”

Why thanks, Mom! Yes. Yes I do.

Eternity Summer will win you over if you’re a fan of Calvin Klein fragrances in general – it hews close to the formula of clean, fresh and floral. The initial spritz is sweet, but when it all dries down, it’s a mild, clean floral at heart. It’s a pleasant scent, but didn’t make my heart skip a beat.

I found Calvin Klein’s Euphoria Spring Temptation to be far more heady, delicious, and me. Now Smell This did a great rundown of the fragrance notes: ” lush pear blossom, guava leaf, fluid waterfall accord, pink lily, dewy violet, white sandalwood, pure frosted musk and untouched amber.”

Heavens to mergatroid.

All of that sounds fancy enough, but I am not so complicated when it comes to fragrance. Does Euphoria Spring Temptation smell good? YES. It’s fruity yet floral, feminine and refreshing. And the bottle looks gorgeous on my dresser. Spring, Summer – who cares! I’d gladly repurchase this when my bottle runs out. It’s perfumey without being overpowering.

Which is not what I can say about Queen Latifah’s debut fragrance, titled simply – Queen. Its a notable and regal blend, alright — incense, musk, sandalwood, cognac and golden tequila are among its notes.
This is a heavy, very womanly, very I AM WEARING PERFUME kind of fragrance — far more a Fall fragrance than a Summer scent. I found it to be reminiscent of Eighties era fragrances, but not in a bad way.

It took me back to the days when my mom wore a power suit and had a batallion of very ferosh perfumes at the ready. Feminine, sexy, don’t eff with me. If you like less noticeable scents, you might not be down with Queen. But if you want to remind yourself and others that you are woman, hear you roar, you’ll probably love it! It hits shelves in August.

Need more recommendations? My homegirl Sicka Than Average came up with a killer list of summer fragrances herself!

Have you tried any new fragrances lately? Tell me about them!

Related posts:

1. 5 Things… Scents of the Season
2. Me and Mariah
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I have yet to find the ideal deodorant. It’s always two out of three – most often they glide smoothly and smell great, but leave tell-tale signs of residue. That’s just how it is. And having read a few articles about deodorant being bad for me, I decided to give the alternative antiperspirant thing a try. Again. This time around I tried Lavilin, a “unique herbal deodorant free of aluminum and other harsh chemicals.” Lavilin promises that just one application can leave you odor free for up to seven days.

I decided to take the Lavilin challenge and chart my 7-day experience. All in the name of being a braver beauty blogger.

Before you begin using Lavilin, you’re supposed to refrain from using other deodorants for two days. So my advice to you if you plan to try it yourself — if you don’t want to wind up stinky and sweaty-pitted, try to start on a cool day when you don’t have to do any strenuous activities and be around lots of people.

Day 1 — I can’t lie. My first thought as I opened the package was, this is weird. And kinda old school. Lavilin comes in this little funky jar with three pointy little legs, like a spaceship in a 1950’s film. It’s a thick white cream that smells like… well, nothing really. Lavilin has a very mild scent that I can only compare to Pond’s cold cream or Nivea in the big blue jar. Very clean and cream-like, if that makes any sense. And did I mention it’s thick? You only need a fingertip-size dab to cover your whole armpit. Upon initial application it made my armpit looks really gray. Lavilin definitely took quite a while to fully absorb into my skin. But I’m skeptical. I apply this stuff on day 1 and it’s supposed to last a week? Through showering and sweating? Yeah, right.

Day 2 – Woke up smelling great! So I decided to challenge Lavilin with a workout. 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer got me sweaty, but not smelly. And after showering… still scentless. And my armpits felt particularly soft and touchable. That never happens with regular deodorant.

Day 3 - Experiencing some um… hormonal challenges? I don’t exactly smell… but I feel like I could at any time. Better compensate with extra perfume. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Perfecto!

Day 4 - OK I can definitely smell myself. This might be because I gave myself a brown sugar body scrub and exfoliated my armpits. Or it could be because I live in Miami, which is guaranteed to mean a case of swamp pits for anyone under any circumstance. Hmm. Tempted to reapply. I’ll try to stick it out to day 5. Maybe it’s in my head.

Day 5 - Yeah, it’s definitely not in my head. Now comes the big question — do I reapply more Lavilin, or go back to my regular favorites?

I went back to Dove on day 6.

Maybe you’ve got a reason to switch from the typical well known brands, maybe most deodorants give you a rash, maybe you’re looking for an alternative that feels healthier. If you’re looking for a aluminum-free deodorant replacement that really works, Lavilin is awesome. But if you’ve got no complaints with the popular brands, and prefer having the option to have armpits that smell like Vanilla Chai, then Lavilin may not be for you.

Click here to get Lavilin.

What’s your de-scenter of choice?

Related posts:

1. My Armpits Smell like Ice Cream!
2. Latest, Greatest Drugstore Buys
3. 5 Things… I’m Loving This Week

Between dealing with teeny tiny shower stalls, weird water pressure, learning the difference between hard and soft water, and packing light to bounce easily from apartment to apartment, it’s been a lesson in beauty essentials. So what products have been my must-haves along the way, from lip-blistering cold in New York City to balmy Mobile, Alabama? Here’s some brand new reviews, to fill you in on what I’ve road tested!

In NYC and Washington DC, I got a raw taste of what life in Chicago will do to my beauty regimen. Bellas, moisture is a must. My skin got dry, dry, dry. My hair was bigger and poofier than I was accustomed to it being. And my lips! Oh, my dry, aching lips. I am the kind of lady who carries around a big pouch o’ lip glosses for any beautifying occasion, but when it came to imparting any kind of lasting moisture, I’m sad to say some of the biggies fell short. When Blistex and Nivea couldn’t stand the pressure, I reached for a teeny silver bullet. Snog lip balm, straight outta England, is the business!

The Virgin Cherry flavor is sweet, and Snog is so moisturizing and feels so good, my husband started calling it “lip crack.” As in, “hey, I need some more of your lip crack!” Even though this is an imported product, it’s pretty cheap at $2.49 a tube. And as you probably already know, “snog” is slang for kiss. And I don’t tell but you have my word – this product keeps your lips kissably soft.

I already praised the customer service at the Carol’s Daughter flagship store in Harlem, but I didn’t yet get a chance to gush over my latest purchases. That Hair Balm is the bomb!

When my tresses were stressed with the cold and wind, I discovered that slicking on Hair Balm after doing a conditioner wash really helped to keep my hair touchable, less tangled, protected from the elements, and super shiny. Hair Balm is a blend of soy oil, sweet almond oil, and coconut oil. It’s thick and my hair absorbed it best when I kept it in the shower stall with me, then warmed the balm between my palms before slicking it on from root to tip. Will I love Hair Balm as much in warm weather, when my hair tends to respond best to lighter products? I’ll find out when I get back to Miami, and let you know.

Now about that conditioner wash… with all the wind and cold and rain (especially in DC, yeesh), the ends of my hair got really knotty and snarled. I needed a good, moisturizing condish to make my situation even a little comb-throughable. And wouldn’t you know it, the products I managed to not-remember-to-pack included perfume, mascara, and a good conditioner. So I had to run to a Duane Reade and lo and behold — the Organix Hair Care line was fully in stock!

In Miami I was unfortunately only able to find one or two of this company’s products, but NYC and DC had it goin’ on. The Smoothing Shea Butter was JUST what I needed. It smells great, and made combing through the tangles much, much easier. And SCORE, each bottle comes with a “try me free!” label attached, so you can mail your receipt back and be recompensated for trying something new that actually works well. I’m a fan of this brand and plan to repurchase for sure.

Normally I’m the kind of bella who spritzes herself all over with an eau de toilette, but alas, I forgot em all at home when I left. But I was smart enough to bring my favorite Kiehls essence oil, and it’s lasted through the trip and then some. Now anyone who is familiar with the Kiehls brand knows, it isn’t exactly cheap. What it is, though, is great quality. There’s a reason these products have been around since 1851.

The Kiehls essence oils represent that rich heritage, and each package displays the date of their first known introduction to the market — Mink in 1921, Coriander in 1946, Vanilla in 1968, and Grapefruit in 1976. If you’re a vanilla lover like me, know that this isn’t your plain jane vanilla. This scent will linger on your pulse points for hours on end. If you spring for the $42.50 1 oz bottle that comes packaged sans-rollerball applicator, you get the added bonus of mixing drops of your pure oil with other oils — just a drop combined with some organic coconut oil makes such a sweetly scented treat for your hair! Whenever I mix up that concoction, my husband loves the way my hair smells. But at $42.50, I wouldn’t advise mixing it up every day! Use sparingly and on special occasions.

My road trip ends tomorrow, bellas. If you sent me an Ask Afrobella question, or are just waiting for me to get back to regular beauty blog posts — fret not! I’ll be back in great shape by next week, and I’ve got a stack of questions to answer, products to review, and stuff to share with all of you!

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This photo is one of my favorites. It was taken by a photographer for the Miami Herald, and featured on the cover of the paper shortly before Valentine’s Day this year, accompanying a story about frugal Valentine’s Day ideas. But the backstory behind the photo is kind of funny — my husband and I had to hold the pose and sit tight for about 20 minutes while the photographer fiddled with his camera settings to prevent the candle’s flames from reflecting all over our faces. Lucky for us, the candles in the photo smelled absolutely incredible, so crouching with our noses so close to them was kind of wonderful. Let me tell you about some of the candles you see flickering before you, and some home fragrance companies you absolutely should check out! Oh, and spoiler alert — there’s a giveaway at the end of this post!

Sacred Glo is a candle company I learned about via Twitter — the creator is a very friendly bella, and from the moment she approached me about her products I kind of knew I’d love them. What can I say; I’m a fool for romance, and massage candles can really ignite the mood!

Sacred Glo candles are all natural lotion candles that come in four divine scents — Sacred Clarity, Almond Glo, Nevis Island Breeze, and Sensual Groove. At $24.99, they’re totally worth it if you’re especially into natural goodness. Made with soy bean oil, shea butter, natural essential oils and eco-friendly fragrant scents, the temperature of the melted oil is just 2 degrees above body temperature, so it’s never hot enough to burn your skin. Light one up, let it melt, and enjoy your loved one rubbing warm massage oil all over you. It’s like heaven, trust! Visit Sacred Glo.com for yours.

If you love a highly scented, robust, room filling candle (and price isn’t an object), check out Candle Delirium — they’ve got quite a collection of high end home fragrance items. Tocca, Voluspa, Paddywax, and Archipelago Botanicals are all here, but the one my husband loved was Blue Absinthe by Delirium and Co..

It’s described in somewhat florid prose as “Dark, mysterious and regal…capturing the essence of royalty and sophistication, a time when men were brave, suave and chivalrous.” OK then! So how does it smell? The blend of absinthe, vetyver, blonde woods, basil and rosemary is very strong, and very, very manly. This candle smells kind of like I’d like my husband to smell. Does it come in a cologne, too? $38 for a heavy 7.9 oz candle in a translucent, reflective midnight blue glass.

And finally, finally I can shout to the world about MickeyMade! These candles are so sweetly scented, I just want to eat them! The creator (that’d be Mickey) took a hiatus from business but now is back and better than ever. Mickey Made candles are super afforable ($1.75 for a “mini,” 9 oz candles cost $6.50, and big 16 oz candles are just $10.50), and they come in so many fragrances, it’ll make your head spin. Apple Pie, Baby Powder, Brown Sugar, Carrot Cake, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Citrus Basil, Coconut, Cranberry, Dreamsicle, Eucalyptus, Fresh Cotton, Gardenia, Green Apple, Lilac, Mango, Nag Champa, Peppermint, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Rose, Sandalwood, Strawberry, Tangerine, Vanilla, and Watermelon — take your pick!

No, seriously — visit the website and pick your favorite fragrance, because it’s an Afrobella/Mickey Made giveaway! I meant to offer this around the time of my birthday at the beginning of the month, but my birthday present (this wonderful road trip I’m still on) took me far away from blogland. So mea culpa, and please enjoy this belated birthday giveaway!

Five lucky readers will win a 9 oz candle of their choice. All you gotta do is two little things.

First, click here to fill out a brief survey, which will help me know more about you, and will help me make Afrobella even better! And second, leave a comment below telling me what your scent of choice is, and why it’s your favorite.

I’ll leave these comments open till Friday at noon, and will choose and announce winners by next week. And I’ll be back from my road trip by then, and back to regular blogging. Yay!

Good luck, bellas!

Related posts:

1. Mickey Made Candle Winners!
2. fragrance and light
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14 different beauty blogs are participating, so every day from now until February 14th, you can vie for a gift pack ($170 value) of the Body Shop’s new line in their online scavenger hunt. click here to try to figure out the answer!), then tell me the product’s name in the comments. A winner will then be randomly selected from readers that correctly post the name of the product. And FYI this is a one-day giveaway! So I’m closing the results on Monday February 9 by 11 a.m.

What’s in this $170 bonanza? So many things! Here’s the list of products you’re eligible to win:

Moroccan Rose Eau de Toilette
Moroccan Rose Shower Gel
Moroccan Rose Bath & Massage Oil
Moroccan Rose Body Butter
Moroccan Rose Body Milk
Roseflower Eyes Shade 01: Sunshine Gold
Roseflower Lips Shade 01: Soft Pink
Roseflower Blush Shade 02: Fuchsia
Radiance Stick Shade 01: Sheer Pink.

Wowza! Leave a comment below and get to guessing, bellas!

edited at 1 p.m. — and comments are officially closed. I’ll post a winner later today, bellas!

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1. The Body Shop Scavenger Hunt Winner Is…
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In a perfect world, I would have posted this roundup of fabulous by bellas, for bellas items over a week ago. But as many of you know, the holidays can be insanely hectic. I feel like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I’m late! I’m late!

I don’t know if you can still put in an order with these companies in time for December 25. But hey — tis the SEASON, right? Here’s some last minute, unique gift ideas from indie businesses that I hope aren’t too late for you to enjoy and support.

Whimsicard — Party Stuff for People of Color specializes in inspiring images just because, for weddings and now, for the holidays! Their Christmas card line features a happy bella sporting a natural hairstyle. $15 for a box of 10, and Whimsicard will include your name in it for two extra dollars.

With a name like DeadSexy Cosmetics, you already know what you’re in for. Intense pigments, stunning colors, and looks that kill. Makeup artist Thea Mitchell delivers all that and then some. I reviewed the line once before, but it bears repeating for those of you preparing for holiday parties and New Year’s Eve. She’s got amazing makeup tutorial videos on YouTube!

OMG, her Harlem Renaissance demo is so up my alley.

You can buy ALL of that makeup at DeadsexyCosmetics.com. My absolute favorite product from the line is the Two Cheeky blush — those shades look bright, but TRUST me, they blend beautifully into a warm brown skin tone. $19.98 and SO worth it. Her eyeshadows are amazing as well!

If you’re looking for more than makeup, Etsy Artists of Color is a tremendous resource. Especially if you’re into supporting wearable art, bath products, and other such creative endeavors. Through the EAOC, I discovered Amanda Jones and her amazing sounding soaps, Cece St. Croix and these oversized hammered petal earrings I adore, and the super fly woven hats of Dahlia Soleil. And don’t forget Tomoka’s Twists! All are still open for the holidays, so get your shop on!

Last week, a longtime reader added a holiday special to the comments of my Bargains for my Bellas post. When I checked out the link, I was blown away. The bath and beauty products of Darcy’s Botanicals sound amazing! The Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme sounds especially divine — my hair loves a creamy, curly hair styling butter, and I adore the heady scent of vanilla. And it’s $12! Sounds like a sweet deal.

Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? Tell me how it’s going, bellas!

Related posts:

1. Gifts for Escapist Bellas
2. Gifts Worth Giving – The Incredible B. Smith
3. Bargains for My Bellas

This morning if you watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, you saw a new float somewhere between Dora the Explorer and that super fun Sesame Street number. Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Girls made their inflatable figure debut, boogying to an instrumental version of Hollaback Girl.

Crazy.

I was a Gwen Stefani fan from early on — I still remember seeing the video for Trapped in a Box on 120 Minutes on MTV back in the day and thinking, “wow, her voice is kinda crazy.” Then the band blew up with Just a Girl and the rest is history.

I love Tragic Kingdom to this day, and I also loved Return of Saturn and Rock Steady. I am really excited about the upcoming No Doubt reunion and album.

And I’m even more excited about this giveaway!

I recently reviewed Gwen Stefani’s new Harajuku Lovers perfume, and now Harajuku Lovers is offering Afrobella readers a special giveaway!

One very lucky Afrobella reader will win the Harajuku Lovers Solid Fragrance Coffret Set — 5 solid fragrances all adorably packaged. So cute for your dresser, no?

The scents are:

LOVE
Super cute and frilly. Sweet, caring, and free-spirited, Love is always off in her own little world.

LIL’ ANGEL
Sassy and sexy! Lil’ Angel is constantly looking out for others because she knows there are two sides to every story.

MUSIC
Tough, with an attitude! Always looking to make someone laugh, charismatic Music has no qualms telling it like it is!

BABY
Girlie and sweet! One bat of her lashes and Baby has all the boys in the palm of her hand!

G
Leader of the pack! Quirky, unique, and undeniably cool, G has a style all her own.

All you need to tell me, bellas — is which fragrance suits your personality most, and why?

I will close these comments on Monday morning and choose a winner next week. Happy Thanksgiving!

** Edited Monday morning at 7:35: so said, so done bellas! I’ll announce a winner later this week. Thanks to those of you who entered and those of you who expressed concern about the brand. I’ll address that later this week too!

Related posts:

1. About that Harajuku Girls giveaway…
2. The Winner of the Harajuku Girls Giveaway is…
3. The Winner of the Home Depot Giveaway!

I started with the usual pre-poo of pure coconut oil mixed with Ojon restorative hair treatment. I’ve reviewed Ojon before, but I gotta rave some more. I use it very sparingly (because it costs $55 for a tub!) and apply it to the most tangled parts of my roots. I supplement the rest with organic coconut oil, parting my hair and making sure my roots get lots of love. I let that sit for about an hour, maybe two while I enjoy some other beautifying routine — use a steam cap and do my nails, put on a face mask, or just read a book or magazine. It’s my time away from the demands of the computer and the television screen.

When enough time has passed, I enjoy a wonderful long hot shower with one of my favorite body washes. An affordably decadent new fave of mine is Olay Body Wash with Spa Exfoliating ribbons. It doesn’t smell especially girly, so the husband and I can both enjoy the scrubby moisturizing power of Olay — it’s just $6.95 at Drugstore.com right now, and is well worth it.

Then, shampoo. Recently I went back to a not-so-oldie but goody — Hair Rules aloe grapefruit clarifying shampoo. It’s only recommended for kinky hair once a month, so my bottle has lasted and lasted. For $16,50, it’s a worthwhile investment.

This stuff makes my hair feel super clean and smell wonderful. And it manages to remove product buildup and residue without stripping away all of my oils. It’s probably my favorite of the Hair Rules line, that and the Quench Conditioner.

I like to end my Sunday beauty ritual with a scalp sugar scrub or a deep conditioning treatment — this past weekend I used the last little end of my Kiehls Olive Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak and combed my tresses through from the ends up to the roots.

That’s the only way I can do it! For those of you who have asked, do I still use the Denman brush? My answer is no – after personally witnessing Lorraine Massey’s horror at the mere suggestion, and also noticing that my hair after was way more frizzy and less perfectly spiralled after I used it, I went right back to the classic wide tooth comb. Works for me, always has.

The post-shower and shampoo styling products I use pretty much depends on how in a hurry I am. I’ve learned over time what my hair responds best to. I reach for a Miss Jessie’s product if I know I have time to let my hair dry thoroughly before I go out somewhere. If I’m in a hurry for work, sometimes I don’t have the time to even shampoo or co-wash my hair, so I just soak it and use some African Pride or Creme of Nature leave-in conditioner before I jet. (I really AM a drugstore diva, for real). When my hair needs nurturing, I use Curls Souffle, and most recently I fell head over heels for a product I was introduced to by Tracy Wilson Mourning, creator of the Honey Shine Mentoring Program. Is her hair not amazing?! She is even more stunning in person. I can’t wait for Tracy to release this product to the public. For now, all I can say is what I’ve already said before – aloe vera is the TRUTH. Right, Honey Brown Sugar?

More on this to come, for sure my bellas!

At the end of my Sunday ritual, I feel relaxed, beautiful, and ready to face the week ahead.

Do you have a weekly hair and beauty ritual? What are your favorite nurturing hair and bath products these days?

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The holidays are fast approaching, and if you’re like me, you always gotta save a little room for yourself on your shopping list. After splurging on everyone else, it’s only fair that you show yourself some love, am I right bellas? One of my favorite self-indulgent purchases is perfume. I prefer to buy my own, because scent is so subjective. What smells like hot basura to me might smell like heaven to some other bella, and so much is based on body chemistry. These are five scents on my shopping list, and you just might want to add to yours.

1. Carol’s Daughter Pearls. When I heard about the new scent from Carol’s Daughter, I got excited. Whenever I want a layering scent that makes me feel and smell yummy, I still reach for that Almond Cookie. And the description of Pearls just sounded heavenly. According to the CD website, it “…sparkles with lemon verbena and the luscious aspect of apricot and peach. The fragrance evolves into a voluptuous floral heart of intoxicating jasmine, rose and violet leaves topped off by warm vanilla and sweet caramel.” Sounds delightful, right?

Bellas who want a sneak preview should pick up a copy of Essence Magazine – there’ll be a two page spread in December’s issue, complete with a scent strip. But of course scent strips don’t tell the whole story of how a fragrance will unfold on you — so I suggest you head to Sephora for a spritz.

On me, Carol’s Daughter Pearls was tropical and fruity at first — definitely smelled that peach note right away! Then an hour or so later the lush florals unfold, leaving me smelling like jasmine caramel goodness. I really like it. And for $45, it’s a sweet deal from a company long loved by the afrobella community. Hats off to Lisa Price once again!

2. White Patchouli by Tom Ford. Tom Ford. Erykah Badu. From the moment I laid eyes on this advertising campaign, I knew I had to get my hands on a bottle.

A small one (1.7 oz) costs $92. A big one (3.4 oz) is $138. I haven’t even been so lucky as to smell this yet, but reviews reveal I might be pleasantly surprised — it’s described as restrained, smooth, spicy, and according to Now Smell This: “White Patchouli is minimalist chic… I’d dress White Patchouli in New York black: trousers, a black turtleneck and boots, big sunglasses, sleek hair, one big piece of jewelry. It’s beautifully done, and I find it perfectly accessible.” It sounds like the every day scent I’ve been looking for, but because it’s pricey, this will go on my list to Santa. Santa = my husband, duh.

3. Harajuku Lovers by who else? Gwen Stefani. Like Margaret Cho and my friends at Racialicious — I gave a big side-eye to Gwen Stefani in 2006 when she emerged with her Harajuku Girls, four dancing, mostly silent Japanese women who have moved on from just being Gwen’s dancing posse to now becoming part of her growing fashion and beauty brand. I hope Maya Chino (”Love”), Jennifer Kita (”Angel”), Rino Nakasone (”Music”) and Mayuko Kitayama (”Baby”) are being paid well for their efforts. Now there are perfumes being sold with their likeness as the bottles, and I must admit — the fifteen year old girl inside me thinks they are super cute.

$25 to $45 per bottle, or $60 for a set of solids. Each scent is different and I particularly love Love, a sweet and delicate floral, and G, the scent inspired by Gwen herself. Coconut, jasmine, magnolia – every time I’ve worn it, my co-workers are like, “what is that awesome perfume?”

4 Youth Dew solid perfume compact. I love the whole what’s old is new again trend in the scent world. Recently the LA Times did an article outlining the cougars of the perfume business, so to speak — Poison, Opium, and Samsara are all enjoying a resurgence. One of my timeless favorites is Youth-Dew by Estee Lauder. It’s complicated, strong, and dates back to 1953. It’s the kind of scent that can’t be broken down into a simple word like “fruity” or “floral” for an initial description — it is a perfume that is defiantly perfumed. Youth-Dew smells like a strong, sexy woman. I bet Katherine Hepburn wore Youth-Dew at some point in her life. Now Estee Lauder is selling gorgeous cameo compacts — $85 for this finely crafted collectible. I am thinking this would be a great gift for my Mama Bella. And for myself!

** edited at 11 p.m. — Sweet Diva and Now Smell This did really beautiful and poignant reviews of Youth Dew. Well worth reading.

5. Michael Kors Very Pretty. Thank you, Project Runway, for bringing the world the sheer joy of Michael Kors. I want him and Tim Gunn to take me out for a fabulous day of New York City shopping and cocktails. And every time I spritz on Michael Kors’ new fragrance, I can practically hear him say in my head “very pretty!”

This scent is dripping with floral notes — jasmine top note (hmmm, notice a trend here, bellas? Apparently I love jasmine!) is layered with sandalwood, bergamot, and “tuberose layered with creamy florals, exotic spices, and the taming touch of Moroccan incense.” Maybe the Moroccan incense is what causes it to linger on my skin so deliciously. This is a fragrance you can wear to bed, and wake up with in the morning. $75 and that chic Swarovski crystal studded bottle can be on your dresser.

What scents are you eyeing for the season? Got any gifts you want to get yourself, bellas?

Related posts:

1. Seasonal Scents
2. Me and Mariah
3. Almost-Professional Perfumier