Wednesday, April 6, 2016

My Favorite Perfumes

A couple sprays of perfume is how I love to end my beauty routine. It's like the final punctuation for my look. Applying makeup can get pretty tense for me sometimes. Drawing that perfect liquid line is no walk in the park! With perfume, it's just *spritz, spritz* and you're done in a matter of seconds. I'm a bit of a collector but I tend to fall back on four perfumes. I prefer EDPs to fragrance mist since their staying power is much better.

I would love to have a proper vanity someday so I can display these lovely flacons.

L to R: Calvin Klein Eternity Moment, Lancôme Miracle, Bath & Body Works Country Chic, Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom
Calvin Klein Eternity Moment

My all-time favorite EDP is Calvin Klein's Eternity Moment. I bought my first bottle from Macy's when I was in high school. At first sight, I remember thinking the light rosy color was so lovely and that the flacon was so elegant. Scarlett Johansson was the brand ambassador and I thought she totally embodied that glam look. The scent was a perfect balance between floral and fruity(70% and 30%, respectively). This was my first "fancy" perfume and it became my signature scent. It does lean a bit Spring-y, but I like to wear it any time of the year. I've received lots of compliments in the past while wearing this. It works well with my body chemistry during the initial spray and until the end of the day.

© Calvin Klein, Fragrantica.com
Description from Fragrantica.com:
"Eternity Moment, meant for modern, young women. Its fine and fresh floral aroma is invited to capture the eternal moment of two souls meeting, gazing at each other, touching for the first time...The notes are: litchi, pomegranate blossom, water lily, Chinese pink peony, guava, musk and woody notes."

Don't the notes sound so lovely? I love peonies and guava. Like many good things in the beauty world, Eternity Moment stopped being sold in department stores. Strangely enough, a couple years later, small bottles would show up at Marshalls/TJ Maxx for $17. I had bought my second full-size bottle from eBay for about $28. It was supposed to be tester but it looked brand new to me. You can find on sale it at other online retailers for around $30. I'm a little surprised it's going for so low since it's Calvin Klein and it smells amazing! Definitely check it out if you're in the market for a new perfume and you like floral/fruity scents.

My husband was doing marketing promotions for a man who sold perfumes. I was flipping through the fragrance catalog when I saw Eternity Moment on the page. I excitedly told him that I would buy at least two bottles. He went back to the office and asked his client if he could purchase one. Without any further questions, he handed him a sealed full-size bottle of it for free. Ahh, I was so excited! I think I'm set for a while now.

Lancôme Miracle

Lancôme Miracle is a close second. It is in many ways similar to CK Eternity Moment since it is a floral/fruity scent, but it has a spicy element to it. It's like Eternity Moment's big sister! The perfume is a darker pink, too. I got the rollerball from my husband one year and loved it. I eventually got the full set for Christmas last year. The scent has pretty good staying power and would last me through an entire work day.
 
Uma Thurman was the brand ambassador and she is one elegant lady!

© Lancôme, Frangrantica.com


Description from Fragrantica.com:
"This fragrance can be exactly described by two words: energy and revelation. The beauty lies in living, in maintaining interests, in seeing and cherishing every second of life as a miracle, and in the ability to start all over again. Uma Thurman is the face of Miracle – a beautiful and wonderful woman able to walk both on the air and on solid ground.

Miracle is modern, oriental fragrance with fruity opening (litchi); slightly spiced flowery heart (magnolia, jasmine, ginger and pepper); and powdery base of musk and amber."

I think what gravitated me the most toward this EDP were the litchi and jasmine notes. Litchi reminds me of spending part of my childhood in Hong Kong when I would eat it during the summer with my family. Jasmine is my favorite tea and it's just such a comforting scent.

Bath & Body Works Country Chic

I actually have two EDPs tied for 3rd place. The first is Bath & Body Works' Country Chic. Unfortunately, this one was discontinued in stores last year and is still available online, but only in fine fragrance mist form. As much as I love that store, they tend to discontinue some really amazing scents. Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret EDPs don't have a very strong staying power on me. They're practically non-existent about halfway through the day. However, this makes it perfect to use as a very light fragrance for daily use. It's a slightly citrusy, light floral, woodsy scent. I hear it's a dupe for D&G's Light Blue.
© Bath & Body Works, Fragrantica.com

Description from Fragrantica.com:
"Country Chic by Bath and Body Works is a Floral Fruity Gourmand fragrance for women. Country Chic was launched in 2011. Top notes are grapefruit, pear, green notes, tagetes and amalfi lemon; middle notes are jasmine, African orange flower, gardenia, lily and raspberry; base notes are musk, patchouli, virginia cedar, amber, peach, orchid and praline." 

I thought the blue gingham pattern on the flacon was so adorable and it was very fitting for the name of the scent. Right before it was discontinued, it got a makeover with a huge sunflower on the front. I preferred the gingham!

Bath & Body Works Cherry Blossom

Also tied for third place, Bath & Body Works' original Cherry Blossom .It was my first favorite scent when I was younger and would tag along with my mom to the store. I bought the entire line of products in Cherry Blossom. There was a point in time when it got reformulated and was briefly sold in stores again. The body cream just didn't smell the same. There was something a little off and more synthetic about it when they added the Triple Moisture Complex. They eventually phased it out of the stores, too. It's still available online.

I own both the older and newer versions of the flacon. I enjoyed the simplicity of the old ones, but I really loved what they did with the redesign. I thought they really captured the essence of the fragrance with the delicate pink cherry blossoms etched on the outside. I usually dislike any revamp in packaging from Bath & Body Works.
© Bath & Body Works, Fragrantica.com
Cherry Blossom is not the same as Japanese Cherry Blossom. It's like JCP's little sister and not as musky. It's a simple scent but still very lovely. It's a very youthful springtime scent without being cloying. Staying power is not amazing but sometimes you don't need a scent to linger for that long. These perfumes are also not as expensive as the Prestige brands so I guess you get what you pay for!

Once upon a time, stores were carrying at least 4 different kinds of cherry blossom scents. I was all over it since I love cherry blossoms! If I can properly recall, there were Blushing Cherry Blossom and White Cherry Blossom. Does anyone else remember that?

Description on Fragrantica.com:
"Cherry Blossom by Bath and Body Works is a Floral fragrance for women. Cherry Blossom was launched in 2005. Top notes are wisteria petals, plum, watermelon and green notes; middle notes are freesia and cherry blossom; base notes are sandalwood, musk and heliotrope."

Going through this list of fragrances reminds me of other old favorites from Bath & Body Works that are now long gone: Country Apple, Plumeria, and Pearberry. They were brought back as a throwback type of promo last year but it's just not the same! I felt like the classic scents were more solid and could stand alone. Many concoctions that are released now are mixed with so many different scents, often times, I don't even know what I'm smelling or I can't pick up particular notes that are in the description. The majority of them are so sweet, it's like smelling a candy factory. I guess other people may like them but it's just not my cup of tea.

What are your favorite perfumes? Do your favorites get discontinued, too? Please tell me I'm not alone, haha. Let me know in the comments!




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