TWRT 10.21.11

This week's random thoughts ~

I’m loving the new creepy show on FX Wednesday nights: American Horror Story.  If you like gory, disturbing stuff check it out.

I already reviewed Love, Chloe Eau Intense and told you how much I love it. The oddball thing I’ve been doing the past few days is wearing both Love, Chloe and Eau Intense at the same time.  One on each wrist.  Somehow sniffing one makes me miss the other so I wear both.  Only a crazed perfume nut would understand this behavior.

I’ve made this pumpkin bread twice now and it’s beyond delicious.  One thing I add is homemade icing drizzled across the top once the bread cools a bit.  Icing is a cinch to make; confectioners sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract , milk and my secret weapon is some sea salt.  Of course this pumpkin bread is a giant splurge as I have been low-carbing for about 10 months now.

Tom Ford Violet Blonde has continued to intrigue me.  I’ve worn it twice since my review last week.  This is something I plan to start documenting.  How often do I actually wear the fragrances I review positively?  Do I like them enough for a review and then forget about them or do I actually wear them again?  So far, Violet Blonde has held my interest.

I completely do not understand fantasy football.  I don’t even understand real football so I suppose there was little chance I’d get it.

I ordered Llamasqua Freak yesterday (one for me, one for The Posh Peasant).  I desperately hope the bottle lives up to the online photos of it.  If it’s as adorable/quirky as I hope it will make my younger goth self happy.

The Wild Marinated Soy Ginger Cod fillets from Trader Joe’s are excellent.  

I use Splenda in coffee all the time.  I prefer Splenda over sugar.  But I can only use sugar for tea.  Splenda ruins tea.  Unless it's iced tea. 

I’m devastated about all those beautiful animals being killed from the Ohio zoo.  I can’t even think about it.

I’m trying to decide if I should buy more Decleor Aromessence Rose d’Orient Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum.  I don’t think it actually does anything for the price.  But it feels and smells so good when I use it.  It gives me the sensation that I’ve just had a facial.

Please, please, please let Kristen Wiig make another “Bridesmaids-esque” type of movie.  It’s about time women are lead roles in riotously funny yet crude, goofy and heartfelt films.  I still laugh every time I think of Melissa McCarthy’s scenes.  Hollywood: please make one of these for every lame romcom that comes out.

Seriously, what is better than crisp fall weather?

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Love, Chloe Eau Intense

Love, Chloe Eau Intense, the 2011 flanker to Love, Chloe (2010) is described as a more intense version of the original.  Even me, who prefers her perfumes potent with some sillage, was a little nervous about a much stronger version of Love, Chloe.  And, thankfully, this isn’t what Love, Chloe Eau Intense is about.

Since these names may get confusing I’ll refer to the original Love, Chloe (2010) as Love, Chloe and the 2011 flanker Love, Chloe Eau Intense as simply Eau Intense.  I adore Love, Chloe and now I adore Eau Intense just as much but for different reasons.  Love, Chloe is a smooth, polished powdery floral fragrance with emphasis on a chewy orange blossom floral with a big dollop of cosmetic powder.  In a way, after smelling by Kilian Sweet Redemption, I think of Love, Chloe as a more polished version of Sweet Redemption.  I thought I’d enjoy Sweet Redemption, but couldn’t help but find it juvenile after wearing it once or twice; it was just too sweet for me.  I have worn Love, Chloe dozens of time over the past year and this says a lot as I hardly ever wear anything but my absolute favorites more than a handful of times per year.  Love, Chloe agrees with me, it melts into my skin and even though it does have a good bit of sillage, it still feels like the most pleasant skin scent on me. It’s there but it isn’t obtrusive.  It’s me but better.  

Now along comes Love, Chloe Eau Intense, which turns out not to be a more potent version of Love, Chloe but instead a mellower version with amplified vanilla and heliotrope.  Eau Intense smells like the stereotypical ‘skin scent’ (soft and easy vanilla and musks) but with a little more oriental intrigue.  Eau Intense certainly exhibits the original Love, Chloe impression; this sort of chewy orang-y floral, but this only lasts for about 20 minutes after which it becomes a softer, much less floral and imminently cozy fragrance upon dry down.  In trying to think of a comparison, I vaguely recall Estee Lauder Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang, but when I pulled out the Estee Lauder for an actual side-by side, I found it to be one dimensional and syrupy while Eau Intense is less sweet with slightly more florals and a more varied (less flat) vanilla/heliotrope oriental base.  I also smell something akin to leather once Eau Intense dries down.  The far dry down of Eau Intense is almost as if I’m smelling the inside of my nicest leather bag, the one with a gorgeous suede liner and my stockpile of far-too-many lipsticks and cosmetics in the side pocket.  Eau Intense is a ladylike scent yet it’s so supremely comforting with the addition of a gorgeous non-foody vanilla and fluffy heliotrope note.  It’s entirely possible to enjoy Eau Intense even if you didn’t like Love, Chloe.  

Love, Chloe and Eau Intense have saved me from “perfume ennui” over the past year.  Both of these fragrances are “permanent collection” status.   By that I mean I’m not just sniffing them, enjoying them enough for a couple days, reviewing them, and then forgetting about them.  I will definitely wear both Love Chloe and Eau Intense frequently.  I have already worn about 1/3 of my Love Chloe bottle since last year and I expect I’ll wear at least as much Eau Intense during the fall and winter months ahead.  An observation occurs to me about Eau Intense which is that this (Eau Intense) is my “Guerlainade.”  I love several Guerlain fragrances but never the ones with the trademark Guerlainade accord.  This Guerlainade accord just doesn’t agree with me, it’s too sweet and a little sickly.  With Eau Intense, I’ve found a comforting Guerlainade-type accord that suits me to a T.

TWRT 10.7.11

This Week’s Random Thoughts~

I am a total loser because I’m really excited about all the new fall shows and, of course, the returning shows I love.

Fragrance, this week, was all about Canturi and Alahine.  The weather is now becoming “fall like” but fall in The South is a totally new experience.  Daytime temps under 80 and nighttime temps in the 60s are what makes a nice autumn day here.  It’s quite nice actually but takes some getting used to.  

Honeycrisp apples are out of this world delicious.

Congratulations to Brian and Andy Tauer for the launch of Miriam at Lucky Scent this week!

I’ve started tweeting.  It’s only been a few weeks but I think so far I like Twitter more than Facebook (FB, truth be told, I really can’t stand).  I’m @AbigailLevin on Twitter.  I don’t tweet anything particularly insightful…I just check in a few times per day to see what the world is up to.

I am obsessed with Downton Abbey.  

For 3 days I thought I adored Cartier Baiser Vole.  Then, on the fourth day I had the Octavian experience, where the scent just falls apart after two hours and becomes a musky clean hygiene product.  The day it fell apart really bummed me out, because I had been enjoying it so much.  It might have something to do with wearing it on clothing/fabric as opposed to skin.  At first I was only wearing it on skin and it was wondrous but very short lived.  I switched to spraying it on my clothing because it lasts much longer that way.  But…alas…on fabric it breaks down into a really generic synthetic musk.  The lily fragrance, either way, is still beautiful for the first hour.

Food item of the week:  Deviled Eggs.  Tabasco sauce, pepper and garlic salt are key.

I am forcing myself to not feel shame over this, but I love Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude.  I know both Brian and I have said you can’t have too few skin scents.  I still feel this way.  But if I’m going to have at least one skin scent let it be Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude.  I’m in love with this stuff.  Sensuous Nude is a slightly powdery, musky, softly fruity scent with a touch of Bronze Goddess and a hint of salt.  I like Nude better than original Sensuous and Sensuous Noir.

I cannot wait to receive Love, Chloe Eau Intense.  I’m also optimistically awaiting Tom Ford Violet Blonde.  I have sampled Violet Blonde and it might be a good violet for me.  I am always looking for The One violet that’s just perfect.  I do enjoy Annick Goutal La Violette (love it, but it’s usually a bit too subtle) and I also love Guerlain Insolence edp (but this can be a bit too much) so I’m hoping that the Tom Ford will be just right.

I saw the movie 50/50 last weekend and it was surprisingly good.  I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt (especially enjoyed him in Hesher) but I don’t usually like Seth Rogen.  

Oh, and I saw Drive a few weeks back and feel like the only person who hated it.  I thought it was incredibly boring.  Yes, Ryan Gosling is easy on the eyes, but that doesn’t get me through an entire movie when what I would have preferred do was pull out a pen and write a to do list instead of watch it.

October always makes me miss Boston.