Fragrant Friday - Carolina Herrera Bad Boy Cobalt

There's a new bad boy in town proving it's good to be bad:

 

Carolina Herrera Bad Boy Cobalt - 50ml EDP - $124, 100ml EDP - $158, 150ml EDP - $195 - an energizing fragrance of contrasts with pink pepper top notes that offer a fresh and aromatic opening, enhanced by a floral-yet-masculine geranium heart. The mineral accents of the truffle accord base are invigorated with smoky oakwood and infused with ethically sourced vetiver and sexy cedarwood. It's meant to smell a little mineraly and earthy - something like what the atmosphere smells like after a strong storm.

 

This is not your father's fragrance and it's quite a bit different from the original Bad Boy - the pepper is what does it for me - I love the spiciness it brings and it really does give me the air after a storm feel that is just a little bit electric and refreshing.

 

The lightning bolt bottle has gone bright blue and still amazingly, doesn't fall over! A great option for a fall scent or if you are starting your holiday shopping early.

 

 

Available now at Hudson's Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, Sephora and Jean Coutu stores across Canada.

- Lisamarie -

Experience the latest and greatest in everything beautiful with Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty+ !

It's that favourite time of the year again for me - right up there with Christmas and vacation is Shoppers Beauty+ - only the best time to pop down to my local Shoppers to discover :

 

Products that are new to me like: 

Coco & Eve Like A Virgin Super Nourishing Coconut & Fig Hair Masque - 212ml - $50 - a highly concentrated deep conditioning hair treatment that works to improve the health of your hair. The super-charged formula is infused with coconut, fig, shea butter, linseed and argan oil to strengthen and restore hair to its pure virgin state, delivering hydration from root to tip, repairing hair damaged by heat, styling, dyes and the environment and improving hair texture by targeting frizz, preventing split ends and adding gloss - Madonna would approve! On top of all of that, it smells amazing, like your hair is on vacation!

 

Brands that are new to Shoppers like: 

 

Drunk Elephant O-Bloos Rosi Drops - 30ml - $50 - adds a golden peachy-pink wash of colour that wakes up your face, while a nourishing mix of barrier replenishing omega oils and essential fatty acids keeps skin soft and soothed. Sappanwood bark, a vegan pigment, provides the warm pink tones in O-Bloos™, while powerful antioxidants (white tea, grapeseed, and cocoa extract) give skin a boost of free-radical-fighting protection. Free of silicones, drying alcohols, fragrance, and essential oils. 100% free of essential oils, silicones, and fragrance. Vegan and cruelty-free. Mix it into your foundation and use all over for a healthy-glow look or I like to apply a bit directly to the apples of my cheeks for that just got lucky look!

And of course all my perennial faves like:

Quo Beauty Glossy Lip Stain - $12 - it comes in 6 wonderful shades but I am partial to this hot pink shade called Drip - it goes on with some shine but even when the sheen wears off, the colour stays for that "sucking on a popsicle" look, of which I am a fan!

All of these also have the benefit of  part of the Thoughtful Choices at Shoppers Drug Mart lineup -  curated to help make it easier for you to shop consciously. 

 

And as an added bonus, Monday, October 2 to Thursday, October 5, 2023 you will get 30,000 bonus points when you spend $100+ on cosmetics, skin care or fragrances. 

 

Check out these and all the rest of latest and greatest at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada and online at beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Fragrant Friday - Burberry Goddess

Burberry introduces their first-ever refillable fragrance:

 

Burberry Goddess - 10 ml EDP - $45, 30ml EDP - $120, 50ml EDP - $153, 100ml EDP - $206, 150ml EDP Refill - $206 

 

A lot of work went into creating this gourmand fragrance - during the process to create the perfect vanilla accord, the precious vanilla was wrapped with notes of bright lavender diva essence from Provence and earthy notes of cocoa and ginger roots, creating an aromatic balance to each vanilla. The Olfactive Pyramid Top: Vanilla Infusion and Lavender; Heart: Vanilla Caviar; Base: Vanilla Absolute. 

It is in one word: yummy! I loves me a vanilla scent and this one is chock-full of vanilla-wonderfulness, obviously sweet but not cheap sweet, elevated sweet like a sultry tropical evening - this is my new fall fragrance for sure!

 

I actually wasn't expecting a sweet fragrance because the bottle is so elegant - with an archive-inspired shape modernised with a gold medallion.

 

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart and Sephora stores across Canada and online at beauty.shoppers.ca and sephora.ca.

 

- Lisamarie -

Plump and firm skin with Isa Knox Anew, Korres and Vichy!

Pump your way to plump skin with:

 

Isa Knox Anew Clinical Collagen Booster Firming Cream - 50ml - $65 - fine lines and wrinkles are reduced and skin elasticity is improved with a formula of moisturizing and skin-plumping niacinamide and squalane. I especially love the hygienic, airless pump - just press down on the top and it dispenses just the right amount of cream without your fingers ever having to touch the rest of the product!

 

Available online at avon.ca. 

For skin that has lost its bounce:

 

Korres Black Pine Bounce Firming Moisturizer - 40ml - $70 - a plumping face cream that brings the bounce back to your skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and replenishing hydration. Powered with a formula of black pine - packed with polyphenols, stengthening skin to improve the appearance of firmness, fine lines and wrinkles; 4D bio-shapelift - a powerful complex to visibly lift and firm the appearance of the facial contours; and spilanthes acmella extract - to provide a tensing effect that firms and lifts the appearance of the skin.

Available at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada and online at beauty.shoppersdrugmart.ca.

For skin that needs some resculpting help for the neck and face contours during menopause:

 

Vichy Neovadiol Phytosculpt Neck & Face Contours - 50ml - $61.95 - fights skin sagginess and lack of firmness in two key areas: the neck and face contours. Formulated with tensing phytosterol of natural origin and densifying proxylane - your neck and jawline with thank you for it!

Available at Vichy counters across Canada and online at vichy.ca.

- Lisamarie -

Fragrant Friday - DS & DURGA I Don't Know What

DS & DURGA I Don’t Know What - 100ml - $300, 50ml - $210, pocket - $75 - a fragrance enhancer with transparent radiance that gives any perfume a certain, as the French say - je ne sais quoi which translates to: I don’t know what - a wonderful tool for anyone who wants to play around with perfume. 

 

It's like a magic wand for fragrances - sure it can be worn as a modern wonderfully transparent aroma on its own, but it can also be layered over anything. If you like to wear fragrant oils like sandalwood, rose, jasmine, patchouli, oud, etc. - just spray this over them and it turns the oil into a perfume - extending the longevity and enhancing the scent. Or say you have a scent that you don't necessarily care for or has lost some of its power with age - just layer it on top and prepare to be amazed...

 

It does this because it is made with no notes but instead a secret combination of materials that perfumers use to highlight and enhance notes in a perfume. A Bergamot accord announces freshness, Vetiver Acetate a thin amber, Firsantol a lingering sandalwood, Iso E and Ambrox Super a radiance - together meant to layer and enhance everything else it touches.

 

I like it a lot on its own but decided to try it out on my nemesis fragrance - Chanel No. 5 - I know it's a classic and there are millions of people out there that love it, I'm just not one of them. It has an old lady smell to me that I just don't love. Somebody gifted me this bottle and I know it was expensive so I just don't have the heart to throw it out so I decided I would try to I Don't Know What it and see if it improved the scent for me. And actually it does - I would be willing to call it classic now instead of old lady - it still has too much floral to it to make it something I would want to wear on a regular basis but it does make it bearable and that is a high compliment for sure!

Available online at dsanddurga.com - but unless you are sure you want to spring for a full-sized bottle you should check it out on Scentbird - you can get a 30 day supply (0.27 oz vial) as part of your monthly subscription (which is $16.95/month) or as a one time purchase for $31.95 (all prices are in US$). 

 

And while you are at it check out the other DS & DURGA fragrance which is my current love - Pistachio - a sweet and creamy scent that just makes me happy!

- Lisamarie -