Hi everyone,

I love Faith Hill and her music. In fact, the first CD I bought in the U.S was "Breath" and I still have good memories when I heard the title song. When she came out with her first and eponymous fragrance, I bought and loved it a lot. Like Faith, her perfume smells very chic, classy, and feminine. Then, last year I got a travel size version of her second fragrance, Faith Hill True, for a dollar!

This perfume has been traveling with me to many, many places. Yet, I manage not to review it. Well, not anymore. Today, I am going to give my best shot at reviewing Faith Hill True perfume.

According to the website, Faith Hill True is described as the ultimate casual allure of a musky floral fragrance. This passionate and spirited fragrance captures your attention with an invigorating scent of sparkling citrus notes like Yuzu and Sheer Mimosa. Gardenia and Lily weave a breezy aura while precious woods and musk provide a sensual base.


The notes are:

• Top Notes: Japanese Yuzu and Sheer Mimosa.
• Heart Notes: White Lily and Gardenia.
• Base Notes: Sandalwood and Sexy Musk.

My version is a traveling size with a removable mini bottle inside a cannister

The juice has a hint of blue in it, which is hard to see in this picture

Last year, since I traveled a lot, this was perfect for travelling. Not only it was small enough to tuck in the purse, it does not violate the liquid restriction when traveling by air. Also, while I love to smell nice when being on the road, I also do not want a fragrance-induced headache. After so many hours in the car, a strong scent can make me nauseated to a point of vomiting.

Faith Hill True is none of that. It is so nice and fresh that I barely notice it. It smells like fresh air on a sunny day at the beach: so fresh, so clean, so cheerful. Many times in China, I smelled something nice around me only to realize it was this fragrance on my body! This scent is personal. I have worn it so many times and people always commenting that I smell nice, not I wear a nice scent. Once sprayed on my body, it becomes a part of my skin and I guess that's why people cannot differentiate it as a perfume.

Moreover, Faith Hill True is not something I regularly wear. I am more of a fruity-floral-feminine fragrance wearer and this is not that. I would like to describe it as a watery scent with a tiny touch of chypre. Think of it as a lighter and more feminine version of CK One when it started out. However, as it progresses, Faith Hill True does not have that dirtiness that CK One has. It dries down quite sweet and feminine. Although it is not a strong scent, this perfume lingers on quite long. I spent 10 sweaty hours on the road only to come home and still smelled it on my skin. Amazing, right?

Would I recommend it? Absolutely! This perfume is perfect for everyday wear and if you are a Faith Hill fan, this is a must! This lady knows how to make classy perfume and so far, the two I have tried do not disappoint. It is sold at many mass-market stores as well as drug stores. If you wait until the holiday season, you can get the set for $15-25 USD. Not bad for some seriously nice perfumes!

That's all for today. Have you tried any of Faith's perfume? If you have, what is your experience? Share with me, ok?

With love from your perfume loving friend,
Dao xoxo

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Hi everyone,

Recently, I was browsing the Ulta email ad and something caught my eyes:

Like, srsly, Justin Bieber has a fragrance?
What is going on??? o_O

 I could not believe my eyes! I mean, this kid is 17, his rise of fame is faster than anybody else's in the music industry, he wrote a book, and now he has a perfume?! What else hasn't he done? Running for the president?

I just don't get it. People are treating him as if he's Baby Jesus's second coming or something. While I know he is talented, I also believe that he is over-promoted. Over and over again, we have seen child stars turned into troubled adults once they grew up and did not resemble the cute kids they once were anymore. I hope he is not going to be in that category but again, Justin Bieber has a perfume?

I know how 17 year-old boys are. My brother is one and he is only a few weeks younger than the Bieber. Boys that age don't care about perfumes (or their own personal hygiene per se.) The only "perfumes" they wear are those Axe cans that they freely douse on their bodies. You can smell their B.O with Axe several miles away. The smell of a team of 17-year old boys can suffocate a giraffe to death. Yet, the Bieber managed to have a perfume. And it's not for people of his same gender. It's for the ladies.

Smooth!

Apparently,  it's called "Someday" and looks like this:

Someday by Justin Bieber
Don't expect me to give a link. Just don't, ok?

According to Ulta.com, this is what "Someday" supposed to smell:

Description
Playful, thought-provoking, fresh yet flirty and nothing but ordinary, the bottle comes with a removable, crystal heart charm from Justin. What better way to carry his heart on your sleeve? Top notes: Mandarin, Juicy Pear, Wild berries, Middle notes: Jasmine, Creamy Florals, Bottom notes: Vanilla, Soft Musks.

From the description, it doesn't sound like a bad perfume after all. Someday is a fruity-floral with a soft musky base. Not bad, but not so unique, either. So many perfumes out there have the same description. Also, the bottle looks like that of Marc Jacobs Lola, don't you think?

While I don't entertain the idea, I do expect this perfume to sell well during this holiday season. After all, the Biebs's team knows how to price their stuff ($30 for 1 fl. oz and $45 for 1.7 fl. oz.) It's ok if your teens like it. Blame it on their lack of exposure. But if you are over 25 and you sing praises to the Bieber's perfume, we need to talk.

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Hi everyone,

This year, I haven't bought a single bottle of perfume. My perfume stash dwindled down to about 3 scents I love the most. I gave away my stuff before and after moving to Vietnam. However, I still have a new bottle of perfume. Recently, my aunt from Belgium came back home for a visit and gave me a bottle of Cacharel Amor Amor. After experiencing the cloying scent of Cacharel Anais Anais, I was not sure if my love could go to its younger sister. I gave it a try and realized despite our differences, Amor Amor and I can work things out.

Cacharel Amor Amor (comes in 30, 50, and 100ml EDT)

Wanna know what I think about this perfume? Jump!

First of all, here is what Cacharel said about Amor Amor:

The atmosphere is electric as your glances meet. Amor Amor is the trigger: do you dare unleash passion? Sensual vanilla and jasmin mingle with sparkling blackcurrant; let the scent wrap around you both. Instant attraction, instant desire, instant Amor.

Vanilla, jasmine and black currant sound really good to me. I took a sniff and realized this ain't the cloying, heady old-fashioned Anais Anais. This perfume is a light floral scent where all the notes blend well together. Initially, this perfume is very vibrant and flowery. I could detect a touch of jasmine with black currant to give it an edge. Nice but not too oriental. Then, the vanilla scent quickly emerge and the perfume has more edge. As it dries down, vanilla becomes more and more pronounced. Overall, it is a very clean scent. I wear it on hot days and it does not give me a headache.

However, here is a major gripe:

The cap.
Where is it?

Of all the perfume bottles I've ever owned, this is the weirdest. I mean, where is the cap, Cacharel? Where is it? Do you think your bottle is going to stay nice and dandy on my desk forever? Hello, I may take it on a trip and how am I going to store it?

Really, what did they think?

Overall, I like the scent and the red bottle is a nice touch. It is not too bulky. My bottle is a 100ml size, yet it fits comfortably in my hand. For some reasons, the wires and the loop around the neck of the bottle make me think of a grenade. I know this is not similar to Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb but I can't help it. I smelled Flowerbomb before but it was not something I would wear. Amor Amor, on the other hand, is a lot more wearable thanked to the vanilla note.

Would I buy it again? No. This bottle is going to last for a long time. Also, I don't wear the same perfume all the time. Moreover, Amor Amor smells similar to so many floral scents out there. Mariah Carey Lollipop Bling Honey smells a tad more intense but costs you only $20!

Where to buy: department stores, drugstores, and online. This scent is very common.
Price: from somewhere around $35 to $65, depending on the size and where you get it.

So, if you need a soft and sweet summer scent in the floral side, Cacharel Amor Amor is the one for you. It is not overwhelming and wears well in the heat, which is perfect during the hot months. I'm still finding a way to transport it safely during trips. The lack of a cap really bothers me.

What do you think of Amor Amor. Have you every used it? What is your favorite summer scent? I'd love to hear all about it!

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After years and years of watching and sniffing and buying and begging for perfume samples, I came to one conclusion: the folks who name perfumes are not that creative.

Right now, your reaction from my statement can be:

1. I know, right?
2. Girl, what cha talkin' 'bout?
3. What's happening to My Makeup Blog lately? That girl has been on a bashing trip. 
4. Really, I have no idea what you're talking about (preferably, the statement should be spoken with a British accent) 
5. Dude, I don't care!

Did you mark your choice? Oh, you did? Good, write it down somewhere, ok? Wait, don't tattoo it! I didn't say tattoo, I said write.

While browsing the perfume counter, that realization hit me square in the head. More and more perfume companies have created spin-offs from the greatest or slightly alter the packaging of their best-selling perfumes. I've sniffed a few and needless to say, they are more of the same. Below are the three examples:

Chanel no. 5 Eau Premiere (source)

Chanel no. 5 has a younger niece called Chanel no. 5 Eau Premiere: I know, it is still under the numero cinco umbrella but Eau Premiere is a kitty cat while no. 5 (especially the EDP) is a cougar. Did you get my metaphoric comparison?

Tresor in Love (source)

Tresor from Lancome has a spin-off called Tresor in Love: Lancome did what? Tresor, so far, is the perfume I receive the most compliment whenever I wear it. Do they need to have a spin off? I mean, really, is that necessary, Lancome? Tresor is Lancome's number one best selling perfume and I don't expect a lot of great things from spin-offs.

Daisy in the Air (source)

Marc Jacobs Daisy also has slightly altered sister called Daisy in the Air : Worse than Lancome and Chanel, who actually did some work to slightly alter the design and scent, Daisy in the Air has the same yellow juice as the original Daisy but the flower is blue. It's a mood boosting perfume but I will not shell out my money for something that smells the same but looks slightly different.

Please notice that these perfumes come from luxurious brands and were not "created" by celebrities. Although some of them are more modern renditions of the old and famous perfumes, I can't help but notice how lackluster they are when compared with the older versions. I guess brands are more focusing on gaining a younger crop of consumer by offering younger smelling scents. However, I don't think that's necessary. Just look at Guerlain Shalimar. Like Chanel no. 5, it is a timeless scent. However, nobody dares to alter it. Shalimar is what it is. Any alteration would smell ridiculous to me.

What do you think about this trend? Would you buy a newer edition of a classic scent or stick with the original? Please let me know. Also, if you wrote down your choice from the above multiple-choice question, please feel free to share.

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Family legend has it, my maternal grandfather was a Chanel no. 5 man. To be honest, I don't remember much about my grandfather since he passed away when I was so young. However, I recalled he was quite stylist and he smelled pretty good. My grandfather was tall, dark, handsome, and skinny. And he smoked, a lot. I did not know what kind of perfume he wore but it smelled interesting. Probably the tobacco smoke added some character to it.

Later on, as I grew up, my mom told me the secret: Grandpa wore Chanel no. 5! Now, that came as a shocker to me. As we all know, Chanel no. 5 is the famous perfume for women. And how come he smelled so fabulous with it? I remember it was quite dark and smoky on him. An interesting mix, yet somehow it felt comfortable, too. I guess my grandfather did not overdo his perfume and the tobacco smoke just deepened the scent. I kept that information deep in my mind and at the time, I did not know what to do with it.

Time passed, I became a beauty blogger. Yet, I was not convinced of the power of Chanel. Of course, Chanel makeup is more than fabulous. I want them but for now, I know for sure I can't afford them. Once in a while, I would cruise the Chanel counter and randomly sprayed some perfume like a fan girl. After doing it for a while, one day I realized I smelled pretty fabulous with Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. Like seriously, that day I smelled bitch-ass fabulous. I got a ton of comments on the way home. People wanted to know what I wore. Right then and there, I wanted to bust out my wallet and buy the smallest size possible of the Coco Mademoiselle.



But the inner money conscious Asian inside of me begged to differ. Instead, I asked for a carded sample. The sales assistant was kind enough to search up and down the counter for me. I had high hope. But then, she looked at me and said, "Ma'am, we don't have any samples for Coco Mademoiselle. But we do have Chanel no. 5. Do you want one?"

Of course, I was not insane. Disappointed, yes, but not insane. So I nodded. I came home, took a shower, and sprayed some no. 5 on my arms. Somehow, I managed to forget all about it until a couple of hours later when I caught a whiff of myself. What is that? I continued sniffing until I found the spot that I previously sprayed Chanel no. 5 on. Bingo! This is why I smelled good!

Truth be told, I probably sprayed Chanel no. 5 ten times before that. However, the scent I smelled was not the same as the one I remembered. You see, scents and memory go hand in hand. Sometimes, a scent can invoke powerful memories of childhood. That's why I still can't wear lavender. It reminds me so much of my grandmother. But the Chanel no. 5 in my past was a lot different. It was darker, muskier, and sexier. It was Grandpa. And the current Chanel no. 5 is not. It smells too young to me. Even my mom said the same thing.

Then, after some digging, I found out a lot of ingredients in Chanel no. 5 became synthetic since some of them are hard to find and/or take a lot of time to grow. That change probably made the current Chanel no. 5 less interesting. Also, if I remember correctly, my grandfather did not use his Chanel right away. He let it age for a while before using it. With that process, the perfume became more condensed and probably brought out more interesting characteristics.

But that day when I sniffed my arms like mad, I realized one thing: like people, perfumes also have their own evolution. Hence, I don't expect Chanel no. 5 to smell the same 50 years from now, either. Behind the mist and legend, Chanel no. 5 is a pretty straightforward scent: it is a skin scent. Back in the day when it came out, this perfume probably was a sensation due to its overtly usage of aldehydes. But now, it is pretty tame. With all the perfumes coming out every year, we get a pretty wide spread of scents. Three years ago, if you told me that woody-floral would become trendy, I would have laughed at you. But now, with the advancement in chromatography, anything and everything is possible.

With that said, I found a new love thanked to my grandfather. To me, Chanel no. 5 is a skin scent that is full of sensuality. It cannot be beat. But it is not for everybody. You need to be mature enough to understand and wear it. You need to own your no. 5. Otherwise, you will end up smelling like you're trying too hard.

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Hi everybody,

How was your weekend? Mine included rain, rain, and more rain. Therefore, the plan to go to the beach was pretty much done. Also, the spilled oil in the Gulf area made it hard to enjoy the beach these days. I wonder how St. George Island is doing these days.

To substitute for the lack of chillaxing, I've put Victoria's Secret Island Escape sheer fragrance mist in heavy use these days. This is a part of Victoria's Secret's new Secret Moments body care line. It is a warm exotic sugary scent that reminds me so much of what's going on after a trip to the beach. This was billed as a "beachy coconut and sugar cane" scent and it does just that.

Victoria's Secret Island Escape sheer fragrance mist

This scent is really uncomplicated: it's just sweet and yummy, veering more toward vanilla with a tiny touch of coconut. It's not so much of a coconut scent to make it a gourmand fragrance though, it's just enough to make Island Escape smell like a vacation in a bottle.

The sides of the bottle have the words "Victoria's Secret" edged along

The bottle is simple, yet elegant. I love the contrast of pale blue liquid and hot pink spraying straw (what does that thing called again?) At first, I wanted to get Room 504, which is a sexy date night kind of scent. However, I realized I have a whole bunch of similar scents at home. Dream Angels Desire has the same vibe as Room 504. Island Escape peaked my interest enough for me to pick it up. However, when I came home, I realized I have similar scents, too!

• Body Fantasies Vanilla Fantasy: for real, this one comes pretty close. Except for the slight coconut touch that Island Escape has, it smells almost the same to Vanilla Fantasy.
• Bath and Body Works Twilight Woods: this one has the warmth similar to Island Escape. If you dilute a bit of Twilight Woods to Vanilla Fantasy, you may come with something close to Island Escape. However, the mixture may be really sweet.

What I'm reading: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

"Why did you put the body mist on top of the book?", you may ask. Well, my dear, it's a loaner. And if you have ever borrowed books from the public library, chances are you may bump into a book that reeks of cigarette one day. This book even has some cigarette stains in some couple pages. I love the book enough to continue reading it and I can only do it with the aid of Island Escape. This spray is sheer enough to partly deodorize it without staining the pages. So far, it smells like vanilla mixed with a bit of cigarette. Kinda like a stronger MAC MVIII, which is not so bad after all. (Although I'm afraid of second-hand smoke, so I read it as fast as I can!)

In conclusion, this is a nice summery scent that is not too cloying, annoying, or overly gourmand. Those who enjoy vanilla fragrances may find this scent enjoyable. At $12 USD a pop, it is decent for both price and lasting power. Also, it makes a good book deodorizer :)

Disclaimer for FTC et. al.: I bought this product from my own pocket. For more information regarding My Makeup Blog's disclaimer policy, click here.

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Hello, everybody!

Recently, I've noticed the number of products that have the word "Twilight" increases tremendously. I know vampires are the new black this year but come on, Ghiraldelli Twilight Delight chocolate? Really? If my recollection is correct, Edward Cullen does not eat. So who's going to eat le chocolat? Bella? I don't remember her liking chocolate either so really, what's the point?!

 Bath and Body Works Signature Collection Twilight Woods

Image courtesy of Twilight Guide

However, the genius people from Bath and Body Works were so smart to name their newest scent from the signature collection "Twilight Woods." I can actually imagine Bella Swan wearing something like this. I got a coupon for a mini-sized product and chose the Twilight Woods spray. In store, I could not smell a thing, despite dousing myself heavily with the eau de toilette spray. Perhaps the store had so many strong scents that this perfume did not get a chance to shine.

From Bath and Body Works website:

Master perfumers have blended apricot nectar, mimosa petals, and Tuscan cypress to create this hypnotic fragrance inspired by a romantic walk in enchanted woods.

• Indulge your senses with our exclusive Twilight Woods, a hypnotic fragrance inspired by a romantic walk in enchanted woods.
• Fragrance Top Notes: Juicy Berry, Sparkling Mandarin, hint of Coconut
• Fragrance Mid Notes: Creamy Frangipani, Soft Mimosa, Wet Honeysuckle, Wild Freesia, Apricot Nectar
• Fragrance Base Notes: Oud Wood, Skin Musk Captive, Vanilla Milk, Warm Woods
• Indulge your senses with our exclusive Twilight Woods, a hypnotic fragrance inspired by a romantic walk in enchanted woods.

From the description that BBW gave, I could imagine this to be a sweet fragrance with a touch of wood. The fruity notes (berry, sparking mandarin, apricot nectar), and floral notes (frangipani, mimosa, honeysuckle, freesia) guarantee it to be a girly fragrance. On top of that, the base notes have skin musk and vanilla milk and I was sure this is going to be sweet. The base notes have oud wood and warm woods, which intrigue me as I've been interested in this woody-floral category ever since I tried Estee Lauder Sensuous.

As I came home, I sprayed a bit of Twilight Woods on my body and waited to see what happened. As predicted, this is a sweet fragrance. (BBW classified it as a "Cuddly" perfume.) My body seems to emanate the vanilla and musk scents more than anything else. I barely smelled the top and mid notes. Also, there is just a touch of woods in there, not enough to satiate my thirst for a woody-floral perfume.

I went a step further to compare it to BBW Sensual Amber, which was my favorite BBW scent. I found out Sensual Amber no longer smells as sexy as I remembered it. It used to have a hint of smokey and leathery kick that drew me into it. Now, it smells kind of bland. Twilight Woods, on the other hand, smells a lot like the Sensual Amber I remembered, but with less kick and more sweetness in it. I wonder if BBW reformulated their scents recently.

With or without "Twilight", the saga, 'Twilight Woods" is going to be a success to BBW. It is very wearable, yet not cheesy, overly sexy, or cheap like the earlier renditions of BBW. Instead, it smells decent and sweet. For those who like to change their perfumes from summer to winter, this sits very well with the cold season. As usual, BBW products are quite affordable (the EDT is $29.50 USD) and if you scout for coupons, you'll get them even cheaper.

What do you think of Twilight Woods? Have you tried it? Do you like it? Give me some comments, ok?



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