His & Hers: Diptyque 34 L'Eau Du Trente-Quatre

In the last few months, Diptyque released a new variation of their classic 34 scent. This lighter variation, L'Eau Du Trente-Quatre, is a nice fresh blend. I wasn't in love with the scent on myself, and as we were shopping for scents for my fiance, this one caught his eye. Read on for his review!  

diptyque 34 edt review, diptyque l'eau du trente-quatre review

It has been a while since I used a new fragrance on a regular basis, about two years actually. I typically select a cologne and stay with it until it runs out, the most recent resident cologne for me was John Varvatos Artisan. Artisan proved to be consistently pleasant for daily wear, but was nothing special, and was an all around very timid and conservative scent. 

My philosophy of fragrance selection is rather simple, I will select a fragrance that is subtle  and without any blaring tones of spice or scents that are reminiscent of a men's locker room after one has fought the war on body odor with a can of Axe body spray. If the fragrance is subtle and provides a comfortable scent I am typically open to all sorts of scent profiles and varieties. 

After an admirable olfactory odyssey to many department store fragrance counters and boutique fragrance shops I concluded that one of the most appealing fragrances I encountered was Diptyque 34, which is what I've been wearing for about a month now. 

To be as succinct as possible of my description of 34 I would say the scent is clean with mellow tones of wood, and I find the scent to be relaxing and luxurious. I noticed that Diptyque markets this fragrance to be used by both men and women, and I would agree this to be accurate, nothing about the scent pushes it towards masculinity or femininity in the order of scents. Its an all around enjoyable scent that both men and women should consider.

Have you tried Diptyque L'Eau Du Trente-Quatre? Do you have a favorite unisex scent? :) We'd love to know!

Added to the Wishlist: Sai Sei

I stopped by the new Space NK at Bloomingdale's on Michigan Avenue, and I spotted the brand Sai Sei. While I've noticed the brand before, I've never really looked at them closely. Let's just say I've added a few new things (aka EVERYTHING) to my wishlist!  

I definitely have the Mineral Invigorate Body Scrub on my list, and the candle seems quite calming. There's quite a few options for bath, and I'm thinking I want at least one, if not all of them...! 

Have you tried anything from Sai Sei? Here's a look at the top picks on my list! 

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2013 Empties: #3 May-July

Most of you know that I was away in California from May-July, and I wanted to see how many products I could get through in that amount of time.  

While I managed to get through some smaller sized products and a good amount of samples, I've realized that my fiance is really the one who is accomplished at empties. He managed to finish a bottle of John Varvatos Artisan, a fresh lightly citrus scent that I even wear every once in a while. He also finished a jar of Ole Henriksen Nurture Me (review) that we had been working on for a while. 

So here are the goodies that I finished! Read on to find out what I thought! 

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Lush Avobath
This bath bomb has always been one of my favorites. It has a light citrus scent and some moisturizing properties. 
Repurchase?: Yes, and I have before!

Lush Secret Garden*
Released for Mother's Day, this fun pink and green floral bath bomb was fun. Check out my review here.
Purchase?: Maybe, when I'm not overflowing with so many bath goodies! 

Lush Mumkin*
Another Lush Mother's Day release, this floral bubble bar was a fun treat. Check out my review here
Purchase?: Probably not, as I much prefer the citrusy Brightside bubble bar! 

Lush Back for Breakfast*
I quite enjoyed this citrusy shower gel from Lush, though I would say that their Happy Hippy one smells even better! Check out my original review here
Purchase?: Probably not, as I would rather buy Happy Hippy when I run out of shower gels!

Dior Diorshow Maximizer (mini) 
I love getting my hands on these mini diorshow maximizers, as it doesn't feel as wasteful to toss them after a few months. This is one of my staple items that I can't live without, and it just does wonders to define and volumize lashes. It works great with any mascara too! 
Repurchase?: Yes, and I have many times before and will keep buying it forever! 

Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl (mini) 
I liked this mascara for how natural it looked and felt. It gave my lashes some nice curl too! Check out my review here
Purchase?: If it becomes more difficult to buy Fairydrops Scandal Queen mascara, then I would definitely get this one or Extase from Dior. 

Bliss "that's incredi-peel" (sample) 
I wasn't sure what to expect from this sample, but my skin was definitely tingly when I wiped this on. Afterwards, my skin was nicely glowing and perfectly happy, which was a relief! 
Purchase?: Not sure. I think if I ever made it through the masks I own and then piles of samples, then I would consider this, but at this point I'm not crazy about it to just run out and buy it. 

Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water Cloth (sample) 
I love the Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water, so I was excited to try this. I quite like makeup wipes for those lazy days, and the spa water always makes my skin look and feel good. This removed my makeup well, and made my skin look as if I had cleansed it properly. 
Purchase?: Maybe, as it does seem to be a pricey product. I'll have to consider it more! 

Kevyn Aucoin Candlelight Kit Candle (mini)
I burned this little candle from my hotel room, and it burned well and lasted quite a while. It did have a light musky scent that I can't really describe, but the scent didn't really disperse during burning like I would have expected. 
Purchase?: No. There's so many other candles to have, and I'm not even sure that this one is for sale outside of the Candlelight Kit? 

Aesop Parsley Seed Mask (sample) 
i had heard so many good things about this mask, so I asked for samples at Barney's one day. This clay mask was quite pleasant, and hardened after a while. (Fun!) I wasn't breaking out much, fortunately, but I also couldn't test how well it treated breakouts. 
Purchase?: Maybe. I have another packet around to try, and maybe I'll give that a go when I'm actually breaking out! 

Aesop Sage & Cedar Scalp Treatment (sample) 
I got a tiny tiny bit of this treatment in a gigantic sample jar, but from what I could tell, it was nice to massage it into my scalp. It did seem to soothe my itchy scalp and make it generally less itchy, but I'm curious how effective this could be in a haircare routine. 
Purchase?: Maybe. I would like to try it out more, and I would consider it if it isn't terribly expensive. 

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Serum (mini)
I had wanted to buy this forever, as my fiancΓ© always piled it on whenever we were shopping at Sephora together. I was happy to get a small deluxe sample as a 100-point perk at Sephora, and it lasted quite a while. Something about this formula seems to dry up around the rim of the packaging, and I've seen that clogs up the pump on the testers too. The product itself is decently moisturizing, but seems to have a bit of a tacky feel if you put on too much at once. 
Purchase?: No. I like their Pure Youth Activating Oil better! 

Korres Greek Yoghurt Advanced Nourishing Sleeping Facial (sample) 
I was on the hunt for a hydrating overnight mask, ad this somewhat new release from Korres really caught my eye. The scent is a bit tart like yogurt, but this creamy product really hydrates. There is apparently a rose version as well, so I'm curious to try that out!
Purchase?: Yes! (And I did buy it for my birthday haha!)

Diptyque Satin Oil (sample)
This nicely scented body oil was a nice treat to try. I liked putting it on arms and legs, and I think it is such a great luxurious product for summer. I don't know how moisturizing it is compared to other oils out there - though I did find it more moisturizing than Caudalie Divine Oil - but I still would like even more hydration as my legs are dry! On my hair, it was ok, but I don't have much experience with hair oil either to really judge the product. 
Purchase?: Maybe. It does seem pricey, and I would like to explore more oils first to compare.

Diptyque Precious Oil (sample) 
This is scented like the Satin Oil and other body items from Diptyque. I didn't find this to be moisturizing on the skin at all, and while it scented the bath quite nicely, I would have really liked it to provide some moisture like many other products do. 
Purchase?:
No. I didn't' find it very moisturizing, so I don't think it would be worth the money.

Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 6 (sample) 
I picked up a sample pot from Nordstrom because I kept hearing good things. It has light to medium coverage, which I love, and the finish is pretty natural. I plan to do a proper review eventually!
Purchase?:
Yes! (It was another birthday present for myself!) 

Darphin 8 Flower Nectar (sample) 
This oil is meant to boost the skin and tackle aging. It has a nice herbal and slightly floral scent, and was quite luxurious to use. The SA at Space NK that made me a sample said that it helped her a lot with hormonal breakouts, and I can't say for sure that it worked for me, but I sure didn't have breakouts of any kind when I used this. 
Purchase?: No. It is too expensive, and while it did seem effective, it wasn't miraculous. I would love to try it more though!

Nude Perfect Cleansing Oil (sample) 
I've been curious about cleansing oils and haven't had much experience with them. This did feel nice, but I wouldn't use it by itself to remove makeup. As a cleanser, while it did feel soothing, non-irritating, and non-drying, it didn't give me that nicely clean feel. There wasn't any residue, so that was good - I just never felt clean! Maybe I was doing something wrong? 
Purchase?: 
No. It didn't do much for me. 

REN No1 Purity Cleansing Balm (5ml sample, not pictured) 
I used up a whole deluxe sample of this, and while it had a nice balmy texture and was not irritating to my skin, I wasn't super excited by it. It wasn't drying, so I suppose that was good. I don't know, maybe I didn't use it right? 
Purchase?:
No. It was ok, but I suspect there are better ones out there to try! 

All in all, I feel good to be finishing things up, even if it is mostly small sizes and samples.. I feel like I'll never get through all of the products I own! What have you finished lately? Have you tried any of these products? I'd love to know! 

P.S. You can look forward to a sample-centric empties post at the end of the month, featuring the things I've been using since I got home this past Saturday!  

Products marked with a * were provided for review. All opinions are my own, and 100% honest! :) 

 

Hydrate Your Skin with Lush Ultrabland Cleanser!

I recently had the opportunity to experience a Lush Emotional Brilliance reading, and I ended up with quite a number of swatches all over my hands. Lush Ultrabland was smoothed all over, and I was immediately sold. Luckily, the kind manager there decided to give me a pot of this creamy goodness!

lush ultrabland review

This cleanser is definitely rich and moisturizing, and that is probably my favorite thing about it. My skin has been going through cycles of dehydration this year, and this really helps make my skin feel normal again. One downside of this creaminess is the bit of residue it leaves on the skin. It seems to be unavoidable, and I like to think of it as a bit of moisturizer to get me started. (LOL) However, I do find that if you don't use a ton of product and rinse well, then the leftover bits are minimal, but if you are one who likes a squeaky clean feel, then I would skip this. 

Ultrabland is also a really nice way to remove makeup. It is creamy, and I find that it removes makeup better than my limited experience with Nude Perfect Cleansing Oil. (I also managed to scare my fiance by rubbing this all over my mouth with bright lipstick, and then smearing it everywhere... haha!) I don't know how it performs on waterproof eye makeup, as I just prefer to use my Koh Gen Do Cleansing Water on my eyes.  

All in all, I am really glad I tried this. I really want to try other cream cleansers now, so I'm not sure that I'll purchase this one just yet. I suspect it is a winner though, so I'll let you know if I'm buying a pot once I get to the bottom! :)

Have you tried Lush Ultrabland Cleanser? Do you have a favorite cream cleanser that I must try? I'd love to know! 

 Lush Ultrabland was provided for review and retails for $16.95-$29.95.