Meadows of Candles...Village Candle Rosemary Lavender

Hey all,

Before I get into this post, I wanted to update you on what I've been doing. I've been working on several projects (one of them being swatching for my friend, Troy Surratt's brand for the Sephora) for some time now, and these projects have  taken up most (if not all) of my time, causing the blog to fall on the wayside. But, these projects are coming to an end, and I will be able to blog on a more frequent basis. x

Some of my favorite Christmas candles come from Village Candle. Last Spring, as all my candle orders were arriving, I thought to myself, "why haven't you posted on your candle purchases?" Thus, here we are.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a candle aficionado or the like. I just want to share the candles I like (or don't) with you.

The first thing that lured me to the Rosemary Lavender candle was its beautiful label.

Rosemary Lavender's scent is described as. "a prefect fusion of herbs and flora, this fragrance captures the intricacies of the natural world. Blooming with lush lavender, royal iris and fresh notes of rosemary, this is a fragrance that flourishes with brilliant light and a profoundly balanced beauty."

First, I don't get any scent of iris whatsoever. The rosemary note is subtle, yet blends well with the lavender, giving it a delicate herbal nuance. With a medium throw, Rosemary Lavender has a wonderfully soft, fresh, and relaxing fragrance that isn't overpowering. I love burning it throughout my apartment, especially my living-room and bedroom.

Generally, I always buy Village Candles 26 oz. dual wick, large glass jars. These jars have a burn time of up to 170 hours, which I would say is quite accurate with Rosemary Lavender, as with the majority of the brand's candles I've tried.

Village Candle does ship internationally. Although the shipping isn't cheap, the upside is that my orders arrive within 3-5 business days...sometimes in 2.

If you're a lover of Lavender like myself, I recommend giving Rosemary Lavender a try.

Also, if you have any Lavender fragrances recommendations, please living it in the comments.

'Til The Sun Shines On Me...Cadillacquer Apricity Nail Polish

Another polish making its debut on the blog is the Switzerland-based indie brand, Cadillacquer. Having discovered Cadillacquer around three years ago (and 20 polishes in), I was instantly captivated by, and feel in love with, the pairing of their polishes' base colors and the color combinations of the glitters, shimmers and flakies.

Apricity is a pastel, bluish-mint crelly with various sizes of berry and violet square and hexagon-shaped glitter. The first coat goes on quite sheer. However, here's a great thing about the polish: you don't have to manipulate the brush inside the bottle to get a proportionate amount of glitter on the nails. Although you can get great results with three coats, I prefer the look of a more solid base color, and that extra layer of glitter, I get with a fourth coat. All of which I'm not mad about because the color combo of Apricity is, PHENOMENAL!

As with all my other Cadillacquer polishes, Apricity wears flawlessly for 4 to 5 days. Thus, as a public service announcement, glitter polishes, like Apricity, can take some extra work to remove.

Cadillacquer polishes are free of Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, and Camphor, and are not tested on animals.

I purchase my Cadillacquer polishes from hypnoticpolish.com, color4nails.com, and whatsupnails.com. Keep in mind, whatsupnails.com only permits purchases from within the United States. So, you'll have to email the links to your friends or family in the US in order to get your cadillacquers, like I do.

Rinsed in Sweet Tea & Peaches...Bath & Body Works' Shower Gel

Although this was April's body wash, I felt bad scrapping it, and deleting the picture.

After my disappointment with Sabon's Rose Tea Shower Oil, I was hoping Bath & Body Works'
Georgia Peach & Sweet Tea would give me my tea scent fix.

Georgia Peach & Sweet Tea's key notes are: Georgia Peach, Sweet Tea, White Nectarine, Apple Blossom, Jasmine Petal.

This peach-colored shower gel is described as, "a stroll through charming tree-lined streets while enjoying a warm breeze on the veranda savoring the delightful spring fragrance fit for a beautiful belle." Georgia Peach & Sweet Tea is more peach than tea. The peach note is definitely the dominate note, with faint swirls of tea, apple and floral scents. Despite being disappointed the sweet tea note wasn't equally matched with the peach, Georgia Peach & Sweet Tea shower gel was a lovely scent for Spring, and I wish it were still available because I want more.

Through the Cosmos...KURE BAZAAR Nail Lacquer

Of the 30 Kure Bazaar nail lacquers in my collection, I thought I had posted on some of them. But, to my surprise, I haven't.

Before we get into the polish, let's talk about the brand for a moment. Free of Toluene, Parabens, Formaldehyde, Synthetic Camphor, TPHP, Styrene, and Dibutyl  Phthalate, Kure Bazaar nail polishes are formulated with 85% natural ingredients. They are vegan, and do not tested on animals.

Cosmos is a pastel lilac-pink, with a glossy, cream finish. Also, when dry, I did notice that Cosmos was relatively darker on the nails than in the bottle.  The majority of all my Kure Bazaar polishes are practically one coaters, but Cosmos needed three coats to get full opacity. Just like all her other sisters, Cosmos wears for an average of 6-to-7 days.

Kure Bazaar Polishes are some of the best polishes on the market, and one of my favorite nail polish brands...and I wouldn't make such a claim so flippantly. These polishes apply remarkably smooth, are ultra-shiny, and resilient against signs of wear. There are several polish brands that make me want to own all their polishes. Given that I'm 30 nail lacquers in, I believe I'm at the half way mark to achieving that goal!

Got My Lipstick On...Lancome French Collection Lip Products

Lancome included five limited edition lipstick products in their French Temptation Collection (four L'Absolu Rouge Matte lipsticks and a Jelly Flower Lip Tint).

The four French Temptation L'Absolu Rouge shades are: 400 Framboise Pulse, 401 Crunchy Myrtille, 402 Rose Acidule, and 403 Zeste Mandarine. Albeit the formulas and finishes are different, I passed on 402 Rose Acidule because the shade was in the same family range as the Jelly Flower Lip Tint.

Although these L'Absolu Rouge lipsticks are suppose to be matte, their finish is more of a creamy, semi-matte. All three lipsticks are highly pigmented, comfortable on the lips, and wear exceptionally well without any dryness, uneven fading, feathering, or peeling.

How gorgeous is the transparent tube packaging and the bright, deep pink with suspended petals of the Jelly Flower Lip Tint in 01 Rose Jelly Cake?! Based on appearance alone, this Flower Lip Tint was coming home with me.

Encapsulated with real rose petals, Rose Jelly Cake has a light, non-sticky, gel-like consistency. From the tube, the gloss has a subtle pink coloring. However, it seems as if  the product reacts to the warmth of the lips because the color intensifies the longer it's worn; thus, leaving a lovely deep, pink stain.

From left to right: 01 Rose Jelly Cake Jelly Flower Lip Tint, L'Absolu Rouge 400 Framboise Pulse, 401 Crunchy Myrtille, 403 Zeste Mandarine.

400 Framboise Pulse: a medium, reddened raspberry.

401 Crunchy Myrtille: a vibrant, deep, violet-purple.

403 Zeste Mandarine: a bright (almost neon), milky-orange.

01 Rose Jelly Cake: a vibrant, magenta-pink. 

I really like all of the lip products from the French Temptation Collection. But, I must say, my favorite is L'Absolu Rouge 401 Crunchy Myrtille.

The Candy Mani Can...Lancome 440 Candy Blue Le Vernis

Lately, the weather here has been pretty sporadic; cold and overcast one day, and rainy the next. To brighten these gloomy days (and my mood), I've been wearing 440 Candy Blue.

A fun pop of color, 440 Candy Blue is a bright, medium sky blue, with a glossy, creme finish. The formula is great, practically a one-coat polish. Lately, I've been changing out my manicures quite frequently. As a result, I haven't experienced any tip wear or chipping. However, I have worn 440 Candy Blue for three days now, and without any incidents.

The Real Slim Shady...Visee BR305 Soft & Slim Eyebrow Pencil

By no means am I betraying my tried and trusted B & C Browlash EX Water Strong W Eyebrow pencil (I wish it came in more shades), but it's fun having a little tryst with a new brow product.

Available in six shades, I first bought GY 001 some time ago, and put it away like a squirrel does its nuts in the Winter...and now I can't find it, anywhere.

Anyway, Spring is a time when I like playing with colored brow products. Currently, I'm loving MAC's Eye Shadows in Blackberry and Haux to create a muted, plummy or rosy brown brow. Enter Visee's Soft & Slim Eyebrow Pencil in BR 305. Described as a Dark Brown, BR 305 has a minute plummy tone to it, pairing perfectly with both of the aforementioned products.

Visee's Soft & Slim Eyebrow Pencil comes in an ultra-slim, featherweight plastic holder, with a spoolie on the other-end. The pencil tip is 1.7mm, which allows for quick and precise "hairlike" strokes; thus, filling in those sparse areas, and shaping the brows, while giving them a soft, natural look.

I particularly like that the spoolie bristles are very firm; they do a great job at grooming and combing the product through the brow hairs.

Anyway, Spring is a time when I like playing with colored brow products. Currently, I'm loving MAC's Eye Shadows in Blackberry and Haux to create a muted, plummy or rosy brown brow. Enter Visee's Soft & Slim Eyebrow Pencil in BR 305. Described as a Dark Brown, BR 305 has a minute plummy tone to it, pairing perfectly with both of the aforementioned products.

Not too waxy, nor powdery, the Soft & Slim Pencil's formula has a creamy-dry consistency that glides on the brows.

I'm not into the habit of rubbing my face into things, so I can't account for the smudgability of the product. That being said, after a 14+ hour day,  my brows are still in tact.

Visee's Soft & Slim Eyebrow Pencil is a great alternative when I'm going for a softer brow, and with a 864 yen price tag, I'll definitely be repurchasing.