Tripping Over Tombstones...Village Candle Ghost Cemetery

I know Halloween is over. But, I was sick that week, and didn't have a chance to publish all my spooky posts before leaving for Nagoya on the 2nd (photos and videos of the trip are on Instagram). I just got back, and I really don't want to scrap these posts.  So, I asks for your patience during the next few installments. Anyway, if you're like me, Halloween is 365 days a year. so, I hope you enjoy:)

The first candle I'm going to review from the Village Candles' Halloween Collection is Ghost Cemetery.

What a phantasmagorical label and name for a halloween candle. As someone who used to lurk around cemeteries in her high school days, I was curious to explore Village Candle's interpretation of a grave site. Grievously, they missed the mark with this one.

Ghost Cemetery's notes are: Frankincense, Clove, Sandalwood, Forest Green.

The scent is described as, "Spend a chilly and haunting evening in the midst of a foggy grey cemetery where ghouls, ghosts and spirits of the night linger and watch from above. This mysterious scent both frightens and brings comfort to the air." 

On cold sniff, and burn, one positive note I got was a hint of a menthol coolness. However, this is detracted by a smokey, bakery vanilla sweetness. The oddest note to come to the foreground is maple. I've not sure if my sense of smell is broken, but the main scent I got was maple. 

I like the scent, but it should've been called something else...maybe Trick-or-Treat, but definitely not Ghost Cemetery. I wanted the candle to smell of freshly dug earth, mossy greenery, decomposing flowers, damp stone, with an otherworldly cold.

Use Me For Emotional Blackmail...China Glaze You've Got Blackmail

Next up in the To Catch a Colour Collection is: You've Got Blackmail.

You've Got Blackmail is a lavender-tinged charcoal gray, loaded with silver shimmer, and a textured finish. The formula is very good, and it applied with ease; practically opaque in one coat, but perfect in two.

An unexpected surprise was how much I liked the textured finish of You've Got Blackmail; it's one of my favorites in the collection.

See into the Tress...Village Candle Forbidden Forest

Recently, I purchased all four pettite glass jars (wish I would have bought the large) from Village Candles' Halloween Collection. Mistakenly, I thought Forbidden Forest was part of the series, but it isn't; it's from the Fantasy Collection...mea culpa.  Therefore, I'll review it first.

The Village Candle have gone through a bit of a makeover, and now have aluminum lids. 

The notes of Forbidden Forest are: Pine, Herbaceous, Cedarwood, Patchouli, and Smoke.

Village Candle describes the scent as, "Lush green, wet moss and a hint of smoky air lies deep in the intriguing forest where only some venture to go. At first glance the bright and cheery pine forest invites and then transforms into a mystical world where gnarly twists of cedarwood, eucalyptus clouds, dark fireside smoke and drifts of patchouli mysteriously mingle to capture your spirit and darken your mood in the hidden forbidden forest."

I believe the name, along with the visual description, is befitting the scent of Forbidden Forest. The candle's aroma is what I believe a forbidden forest would smell like. I smell earthiness, moss covered trees, pine needles, and a rich, swirled smoke mingled with a nipping chill. It's a dark, eerie, lost deep in the heart of a moon lit enchanted forest from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.

For being a petite candle, I was very impressed with the throw. The scent filled up my entire living room.

Even though Forbidden Forest isn't a Halloween candle, I think it's perfect for the season as well as autumn. I will definitely be buying a large glass jar.

The Forbidden Forest 3.75 oz petite glass jar candle burns up to 25 hours (although, I've been able to get a few more hours of use), and retails for $10. 

So Full of Jealousy...China Glaze Green with Jealousy

I always look forward to China Glaze's Halloween Collections. I love them, and wish more mainstream brands would release themed polishes for All Hallow's Eve, don't you?!

With that said, I find there seems to be a disconnect between the polish shades and the crime noir- theme, and shade names of this year's To Catch a Colour Collection. For me, the mystery/thriller-theme lacks that spooky/supernatural element I need for Halloween, and would have worked best for a fall release; they just don't seem to match with one another.

Green with Jealousy has a bewitching, murky teal base, with green and gold shimmers. Opaque in two coats, the polish finish is a little dull. Actually, I really liked this shade, but I was disappointed with the absence of  the glowy-radiance these types of shimmer polishes seem to have. So, You'll need a good top coat to revive the glimmer.

A Tint Out of Water... Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint

Typhoon Hagibis ushered in the long overdue Autumn weather. So, as the temperature drops, and my complexion's summer color fades, I'd say I have another weeks use of Chanel's Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint in Medium Plus.

Preface: if you enjoy full-coverage foundation, or are in need of concealing any imperfections, this may not be the product for you.

Chanel makes plastic look luxurious. I love the look, and feel of the bottle. 

 Also, I like how the clear plastic allows you to see how much product is left in the bottle.

Included with the Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint, a nifty brush that actually works wonderfully at applying the product.

Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint in Medium Plus

Japan offers three of the six shades in the Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint: Light, Medium Light, and Medium. Although Medium matched me perfectly, I wanted a deeper shade to enhance my summer coloring, and give me a faux tanned effect. So, I ordered the shade Medium Plus from the states.

I've used the Water-Fresh Tint as a primer as well as on its own, and both result were great. However, I found myself solely using it in place of foundation for the entirety of the summer season.

This product is exactly what Chanel claims it to be, a complexion tint. The base contains 75% water and encapsulates pigment micro-droplets. The Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint gives the complexion an almost blurred, veiled uniformed, bare-skin effect. My face looks and feels hydrated, plump, with a healthy, radiant sheen.

I've been using Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint for over 4 months, and I love it. For summer, I wanted an extremely lightweight, no-hassle base product that would hydrate, even out, as well as give warmth to my complexion; and it checked off all the boxes. I love this product so much! I'm going to buy the Medium shade, and wear it on those fall and winter days when I can't be bothered to wear foundation.

Welcome to St.Tropez...Lauren B Beauty Sun Kissed in St.Tropez

Released as part of Lauren B Beauty's Spring/Summer 2018 Travel Collection, Sun Kissed in St.Tropez is a glorious, deep burnished copper, with a metallic finish.

The first coat offers semi-opacity, with some nail line peeking through. However, with a second coat,  you achieve full color payoff. Personally, I prefer the color depth after the third coat. Although the majority of streaking levels itself out, there were minor trances on my application that day. It's not unusual to have streaking with metallic polishes, and I find this gives their finish added dimension.

A gorgeous, poolside shade, I love how Sun Kissed in St.Tropez transitions from summer into fall and, dare I say, looks even more stunning against the backdrop of Autumnal hues.

Sunshine of Your Love...Bath & Body Works Shower Gel

With temperatures ranging from 83 to 86 degrees, the first week of Autumn was off to a sizzling start. The month is just about over, and one use left in the bottle, September's shower gel was Love & Sunshine.

Love & Sunshine's key fragrance notes are: Sun-kissed Daisies, Sweet Lemon, Mara Strawberry, Golden Honeysuckle, Sunshine Musk.
A refreshing scent for warm weather, I mostly pickup the lemon and strawberry notes of the shower gel.

I thought Love & Sunshine was retired, but I just checked the Bath & Body Works website, and it's still available. I've already made my repurchase.