New Perfume

A few weeks ago I ran out of Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf and have been perfuming myself with the Ralph Lauren samples that came with the purchase. While I really liked Flowerbomb, I just didn't think it was ever right for me - I'm not a floral sort of girl. I also found it disconcerting that in the entire year that I was wearing it I didn't receive a single complement on it. Did the smell fade? Did it react funny with my skin and actually smell bad? Who knows.

Last week I got my tax return and after paying off my credit card still had a bit of money to play with so during my lunch break decided to go on a hunt for my true signature scent. I wanted something a little heavy, unique, dark, difficult to place, memorable. I must have sprayed every swatch of card paper in David Jones and Myer but soon enough I had narrowed it down to 5. I went to grab some actual lunch (as you do during your lunch break) all the while I was sniffing my short list of swatches.

Florabotanica by Balenciaga was eliminated first as it was too subtle but strange.

Midnight Poison by Dior while a childhood favourite was also ruled out for no other reason than it just didn't smell right.

Lady Gaga's perfume smelled really amazing and sweet - if she actually followed through with her idea for it to smell like period blood and semen I couldn't tell. But it too was ruled out because ... well I was worried about attracting sharks. Not really, I just knew that I liked two of the other perfumes more.

Ivoire by Balmain was my second choice. And good thing I didn't pick it because I really don't remember what it smelled like.

So that just left my number 1. Since it was super expensive I refused to buy it until I had worn it a day on my skin. So I tried it on and went back to work. It was a quiet Friday afternoon so there weren't many people in my Branch who would've mentioned if they liked it, but that was okay, I loved it - I kept lifting my wrist to my nose. After work I rushed back to David Jones and bought it.

                                                    

Now it is stashed in my refrigerator where I keep going just to smell it. I think I'm in love.

Dreams about Eyelashes

I had a dream last night that most of my eyelashes had fallen out due to wearing too much eyeliner and mascara. They were patchy and sad and I made a logical, yet mopey decision to stop wearing eye makeup until they had grown back. I wear a lot of eye makeup and I have had times when the abuse has caused some of my eyelashes to fall out, but nothing like my dream. I should probably take this as a wake-up call and take better care of them - mascara always looks so much better when my eyelashes are strong and healthy - I can tell when they're getting cranky because my eyelashes go in different directions and refuse to curl.

Normally, I'm incredibly lazy and use my normal facewash when I'm in the shower to take my makeup off. While it does the job, it leaves my eyes sore and the skin around them irritated as a lot of rubbing is required - the damage to my eyelashes is a bit more long term. I have proper stuff in my cupboard and while it stings my eyes if I'm stupid enough to open them while I'm using it, it does an amazing job of getting all the black gunk off my face - it's also good for lipstains too, but it's not really meant to be used for that.

The product in question is Almay Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads - but considering it boasts being the 'Number #1 Brand in America' I'm guessing most people already know about it. It's soaked in the remover and they stay soaked all the way to the last wipe - I normally only need one to take off the makeup on both eyes, but if it's a big night sometimes I need two. I've only tried the oil-free one as I get sty's if I get oil in my eyes, but I don't think the oil is necessary. I hold the pad to my eye for 5 seconds before gently rubbing and it just all comes off - I don't wear waterproof mascara or eyeliner so I don't know how effective it is for them but this is all I need and at AU$10 (which lasts months for me) it's something I will keep buying. Hopefully I won't have any more creepy dreams.

Introductions - Coming Out of a Cooking Slump and Declaring a Mission Statement

I've been in a cooking slump lately. Starting a new job with a 1 hour commute while also doing my degree by correspondence has been very challenging. Couple that in with it getting colder and colder and the fact that my house always seems to be a damned mess, I have zero enthusiasm for planning, shopping and cooking a meal. Since I can't afford to/don't have the time to eat at restaurants, it usually means that I eat junk food for dinner or if I can't bear to eat shit, then I just don't eat at all. That's really not conducive to performing well at work or at uni and well, it makes me grouchy and the week drags for what feels like an eternity (weekends? What are weekends? And when will I see one again?).

I took a good two hours today to go through my favourite cookbooks and my favourite cooking blog to find some recipes that are simple, delicious, nutritious, healthy, and minimalist. Now since I didn't go the farmers markets today (it was raining and cold) this will have to wait until next weekend, but by then I will most certainly be ready.

I've wanted to start a blog for a very long time, but I have always had trouble sticking with a mission statement. I go back and forth between wanting to blog about: cooking, weight loss, fashion, literature, gossip, music, politics ... it goes on... but with my mind divided between so many things, I failed to do any of it very well. When I tried to concentrate on the one thing, it immediately became the thing I wanted to talk about least. So out the window with that. Do I need to label this? Does this have to be one thing? This blog is going to be about everything and nothing at all.