Recapturing the old fashioned sex appeal...Ralph Lauren Notorious!

The other day as I was leaving to work, I opened the door to find the classiest looking box sitting on my doorstep. As the gusts of fall have settled in, I have started to look to more complex scents - heavier and darker. Nestled in chic bronze tissue was a luscious dark chocolate colored box with crocodile leather texture and glossy gold lettering that read, Ralph Lauren Notorious. The perfume box alone takes your breath away because it is so sexy and luxurious. The bottle is simple, square with thickly curved lines and a black button top with the RL initials in gold. In it's simplicity, this has to be one of the more beautiful bottles sitting on my dresser now. Art Deco in design, I love smooth lines, simple balanced geometry. This bottle takes you back to the 30's and 40's, reminiscent of architecture. I have one other bottle that I can compare it to and that is Estee Lauder Private Selection which is also one of my favorite bottles. But I am skeptical about appearances when it comes to perfume. There are plenty of times that I have tested a beautiful bottle only to find the juice inside to be sub-par. Not so in this case. This scent takes me back to the old 40's perfumes without the highly alcohol smell. It is peppery, floral without being flowery, and chocolatey. It is familiar without being tired or an exact copy of other perfumes. It has more body than most of the current Ralph Lauren perfumes (I have not tried Pure Turquoise.). Notorious is like film noire -reminding me of something that Katherine Hepburn would wear. It is intelligent and mysterious. It is dark and sassy, like the fall line released by Ralph Lauren. But it isn't harsh and that's what makes it a favorite with me. I wear perfume around all sorts of people - twenty or thirty at a time and my husband has asthma so I am careful. With Notorious, I get a strong perfume (like my personality) without the risk factor that I encounter with others. By far this is my favorite Ralph Lauren perfume! Thanks so much, Arianne - this one is beautiful, sexy, and accomplished.

Revlon - Tried, true but potentially tired!

There are a few mainstream grocery cosmetics brands that I enjoy and feel have high standards in their reasonable products. Revlon is one of those brands. My mother worked at Revlon back in the 60's. She always carried a positive view of the company so when I first started using cosmetics Revlon was one of my primary products upon her encouragement. I have been a huge fan of the lipsticks and nail polish colors, finding the variety and quality superior to other brands. But recently, the Revlon displays have seemed tired and old - as if they are from a distant past - one that I am not willing to revisit. On my last excursion a few weeks ago to look for eye shadows, the selection presented did little to tantalize. Is it the packaging? Does Revlon have an image problem? Or is the actually the product? There seems to have very little effort to revitalize the basic staples - brown is just brown. Eyeshadow quads are just that...standardized and unglamorous. Granted, there are probably strong sellers and popular colors that stay true over the years but even the "new" colors look tried and not innovative. Instead, Revlon introduces limited edition products that upon trying (and overpaying I might add) are not exciting. At Christmas, I purchased a holiday lipstick looking for the sparkle and strong color that it might bring to my wardrobe. Instead, I received true red....which I can get from about a dozen lipsticks. The color tester looked like a shimmery, glitter version of a mocha. My hopes were dashed. I've used the lipstick twice and felt cheated both times. While perusing one of my many beauty/style websites, I clicked on the advertisement for Revlon that shows the Gucci stylist going through tutorials on application and the latest color looks. I am a huge FAN of Gucci as well. My hope was that Revlon would introduce new products or unveil a dramatic energizing palette but was disappointed yet again. While the tutorials are informative to someone who hasn't had a background in makeup, I found the model and colors to be off kilter. The lipstick tutorial had a beautiful model with lovely shaped full lips. She was then used to demonstrate two colors of lipstick that do not suit her skin or hair color. While the season may have dramatic reds, the ones picked for her warm tones were not applicable - being more cool in nature. The video did a great job of showing the different lip products in the line from pencil to lip stains. But I was bored. Please, Revlon, I am longing for you to come back into my good graces. I have been so disappointed! With incredible innovations and color technology emerging in the cosmetic marketplace, it is shocking that Revlon is stuck in old territory!

Looking forward to my Sephora Order

When the OPI/Sephora colors hit the market at the beginning of this month, I was hyped up. While shopping last weekend, I planned to grab a few hot colors to jazz up my fall look. I had a list in mind but was thwarted by EMPTY shelves. So I hopped online to place an order. Here are a few of my goodies that are in transit. Can't wait to see how they look!

Of course, I had to pick up this one, Brunette on the Internet!




And then, just because I'd been to New York city and was still feeling the vibe, Cab Fare!




Waiting for the Dark Smoke color called Metro Chic to come back in, it was out of stock! But what a great fall color....a steely gray like all the rain clouds that I know will roll in during the month of October!

Coming soon....my nails on OPI....or vice versa!

Live Beauty!