Bvlgari Rose Essentielle | $95 | Nordstrom: Floral notes of ottoman rose, prelude rose, jasmine and violet, combined with the spicy base notes of sandalwood and patchouli. This is the perfume I’ve had for the longest time. I first asked for it for Christmas one year, and I’ve been repurchasing ever since. It’s rose, but
Chloe Roses de Chloé | $70 | Sephora: Fresh Cut Roses, Bergamot, Rose Essence, Magnolia Accord, White Musk, Amber. I get the most compliments on this one. It smells like pure roses to me, and it’s very strong. I was hesitant about getting it at first because I already had the Blvgari, but I’m so glad I did.
Chanel N°5 Eau Premiere | $100 | Nordstrom: Modern, airy interpretation of the the classic N°5. Rich, warm, intense floral scent. I just bought this one with the latest Saks beauty coupon after nursing a sample for a few weeks in my makeup bag. It smells powdery and wonderful. It’s not as strong as Coco Mademoiselle, but it’s just as elegant.
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle:$95 (Purse Spray) | Nordstrom: Bergamot, orange, jasmine, rose, patchouli, vetiver, white musks, vanilla. This is the strongest scent I have and I love how elegant it seems. I like spray it once in the morning and it lasts the whole day. It’s easy to overdo it with this one, so I make sure to only spray it once. I love the refillable purse spray.
Jo Malone Red Roses | $65 | Nordstrom: Composed of seven types of roses from around the world with a heart of crushed violet leaves and hints of lemon and spearmint. This is a pure, rose scent. It’s similar to Roses de Chloé, but I find it to be a little lighter.
Caswell-Massey Exlixr of Love | $40 | ElementsBeautyShop.com: Perfume-grade oils of Jasmine, Lavender, Egyptian Musk, and Passionflower and a secret herbaceous ingredient. I love this scent. It’s very unique, and the only thing I wish is that it lasted longer. I carry it in my purse to reapply, and I’m on my second bottle.
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One of my favorite makeup artists to follow is Lisa Eldridge, and she raves about the skincare she picks up from pharmacies on her trips to Paris. When my wonderful friend Deb told me she was going on a trip to France for her business school program, I begged her to bring me home some skincare products. This is what she came back with! It turns out these are available in the US (See the photo below. It’s even on sale!)
The Avene spray perfect for when you’re doing full coverage makeup (for a special event or going out), and your makeup can look heavy right after you apply it. The spray gives the affect of a few hours wear, when your makeup has settled in (in a good way) and looks more natural. My favorite sprays are multi-purpose (COOLA, which gives SPF and Make Up For Ever, which “sets” makeup and makes it last longer), but this one is nice too.
I LOVE Bioderma. This is actually something I’d bought on Amazon, but I wanted to include it since it’s French. This is my favorite cleansing water. I use it every night to remove my makeup with one of these cotton pads, before my Erno Laszlo oil/treatment bar.
The Vichy serum smells wonderful -almost fruity, but I haven’t used it enough to see how well it works. The moisturizer is light and gentle.
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Here’s a little about what I got at Nordstrom sale and a giveaway!!
Personal Microderm: I’m so excited to try this. I’ve seen several YouTubers talking about it. I love my Clarisonic, and am hoping this will be the next level of awesome.
Topshop Self-Tie Shirt Dress: This wasn’t on sale, but I love it and couldn’t help but include it. I’ve worn it several times already and it’s perfect. It’s super soft and cozy. It comes in red/orange, but I love the light grey. I first saw it on Buy Now Blog Later’s Intsagram and had to have it. (Note: don’t pay attention to the sizing recommendations/conversions on Nordstrom.com. It converts Topshop sizes to regular but I found it to be inaccurate. Buy your normal size).
Zella Live-In leggings: I also bought a pair of these last year at the anniversary sale. I got this fun blue color, but it’s sold out now. Zella is one of my favorite lines of work out clothes. I have several pairs of pants and this jacket that I love. I read somewhere that someone involved with Zella came from Lululemon and I do see the similarities.
Kate Spade Glitter Stud Earrings: (These are not sold out, but I bought an extra pair for my readers and am giving them away a multi-glitter pair in a Rafflecopter giveaway. USA only)
“Replicate what you’re good at in real life on Twitter [or Facebook/LinkedIn/Instagram]. We often get so caught up in making sure we’ve used all the right hash tags and links that we forget to sound like the human beings we are. Too often everyone ends up sounding more or less the same on Twitter, but resist the urge to just conform to the collective voice.” – words of wisdom from this piece in Forbes.
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I’ve been working with Elements for six months now, and I’ve tried a LOT of products. Here are my all-time, gotta-have-it, can’t-live-without-them favorites.
Erno Laszlo: My favorite skincare line.
Sea Mud Treatment Bar and Phelityl Pre-Cleansing Oil: Everything about them feels luxurious, from the smell to knowing that Old Hollywood used them too. I talk about starting my Erno routine here. The oil and soap bar are the perfect combination of super throrough cleanser.
Hydra Therapy Mask: This mask is so fantastic. Prickly pear and hyaluronic acid plump up and mostirize overnight.
Hydra Therapy Serum: Simply awesome. I talked about this a lot here. Its part of the same line as the mask, so it’s super light and perfect for my skin type (combination). I’ve been using it lone, but plan to layer a moisturizer over it for winter.
CV Skinlabs Restorative Balm: This is amazing for dry skin. Sometimes if I’ve used an acne product or had a peel, my skin will be flaky, and this fixes it right up.
REN: Love this line. See my post about it here.
Flash Rinse One Minute Facial: I used this just before writing this post. I like that it only takes a minute, so you can use it as you’re getting ready for the day
Glycolactic Renewal Mask: I leave this one on for thirty minutes, so it’s reserved for evenings or weekend afternoons. I like to use it after a day in the sun. Smells citrusy.
Instant Firming Beauty Shot: Just a fun product. It smells like roses and you can pat it on even after you’ve applied your makeup.
Beauty Blender sponge: Fabulous. It makes your makeup look so much more natural. Make sure you wet it, ring it out, and bounce it on your skin (rather than smearing); that’ll get you the best results. I just got it in white to use with one of my facial oils.
80 Acres Olive Oil Salt Scrub in Lavender: I’ve used at least three jars of this and don’t see any end in sight. It smells wonderful and it’s that great kind of scrub that feels super gritty so you know it’s sloughing off all the dead skin. Tip: When you use this, turn your shower off. That way, you’ll be able to get the scrub all over without it washing off before you’ve scrubbed it all you want. Also, it prevents water from getting in the product since it comes in a jar.
NKD Skin Tinted Tan: Yaaassss. This is so wonderful. I discovered the fabulousness that is self-tanner last year. I love going to get a spray tan for special occasions, but this stuff is perfect for everyday. I’ll apply it one or two nights in a row and it lasts for several days. I love the way this looks when I’m wearing something sleeveless or a skirt/dress to work. This brand is much cheaper than the other self-tanners I’ve tried AND I like it better. It doesn’t smell weird at all but it does get on your sheets.
Gloss Moderne Shampoo and Conditioner: I can’t even explain how great this is. It smells like cake, and it makes your hair SO soft and shiny. Even the bottles are chic. You only need two pumps per product, so it’s lasted me a long time. I bought my first set in March and replaced the shampoo in June and the conditioner yesterday.
Joanna Vargas Exfoliating Mask: Volcanic ash gives this mask a slightly gritty texture, prefect for scrubbing away dead skin. After you scrub, the mask stays on for 10 minutes and , glycolic and lactic acid work together to make the skin super soft. This mask’s texture is really unique. It’s liquid-y and looks almost shimmery. You apply it to your skin when it’s damp and scrub. Then, you leave it on for 10 minutes; that’s when the chemical exfoliants sink in, I imagine.
Peter Thomas Roth: An awesome range of products.
Rose Stem Cell Mask: Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I love anything that smells like roses. It’s hard to explain what this mask does. When I was up after having slept in it, my face feels soft and plump, if that makes sense. I like to use this the night after I’ve used an exfoliating mask and/or before a big event.
Sulfur Cooling Mask: This is one of my favorite acne products. I actually like to use this in combination with the rose stem cell mask. The sulfur can be drying (which is good because it helps get rid of acne), so I make sure to only put it in areas that are congested/oily, like my chin and nose. Then, I Apply the rose mask overtop.
COOLA: Natural, organic suncare.
Classic Face in Cucumber: This feels so different from regular sunscreen. It’s almost like a gel.
Classic Body in Plumeria: Amazing. It doesn’t smell like sunscreen at all. I love having something like this at the pool. It smells a little bit like Sweet Pea from Bath and Body Works. Remember that?
Make Up Setting Spray w/ SPF 30: The perfect solution for reapplying sun protection throughout the day.
If you’re interested in these products or any others at ElementsBeautyShop.com, use the code TIRAMISU online to save 10% off your first purchase. If you’re local, stop in their Carytown store and mention my blog for the same deal!
1. Colorblocked Shift Dress | Forever 21 | $19.90: I bought this on a whim from the Foreve21 site not knowing how it would look and it turned out to be great. I love that they have so many inexpensive, easy to wear dresses.
2. Hampton Heeled Sandals | ASOS | $67: I came across these on the shopstyle website and thought the heel was so interesting.
3. Racerback Camisole | J. Crew Factory | $24.50: I got this in black and ivory and it’s SO nice. J crew has another version for $89, but you can’t beat the price on this one.
4. Simple Strap Heels | Daily Look | $39.99: I bought these last year, and have been reaching for them every time I head out after work. I like that they’re not glossy and I can wear them with something more casual. They’re so easy and they match everything.
5. Silky Strappy Jumpsuit | J. Crew | $128: My friend Jevata wore this to her birthday party in navy and it’s gorgeous!
6. Palm Leaf Print Round Neck Blazer | Pink Queen | $27.82: This jacket is so pretty. I find collarless fits to be so flattering. I’m not sure about this website though. I’ve never ordered from it or even heard of it before.
7. Double Windowpane Barcelona Cami | Express | $44.50: I wore one like this here, and loved the way it looked. I have this cami in plain white too.
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I think Erno Laszlo’s Hydra Therapy Skin Revitalizer is just perfect. I bought it to use as a serum, under my moisturizer. Now that it’s summer , I use this in place of moisturizer for something super light that still keeps my skin hydrated. Here’s what they have to say about it:
“A powerful thirst quencher for skin. Our lightweight emulsion is a serious hydrator, capturing and locking in moisture—drawing it into the deepest levels of skin. Completely immersed, skin feels plumper and softer, and fine lines and wrinkles look smoothed away. The hydration serum is perfect for summer for all skin types. An added boost for those who are dry, and an oil free hydration for those who are oily.
Hydrates: Used alone, provides for oily skin’s occasional moisture needs and used with moisturizer, offers intensive hydration for normal to dry skin.
Rebuilds: Restores elasticity and increases firmness and tone.
Nourishes: Botanical phosphatides mimic skin’s own lipids, delivering nutrients to weak cells.”
This is one of the many, many products I’ve been trying out from Elements. Get 10% off your purchase in their Carytown store or at ElementsBeautyShop.com with the code TIRAMISU.
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