Happy National Fragrance Day! (2018)

2018-03-212018-03-21 fivezero4 Comments

Today is National Fragrance Day! I don’t know which nation this is from (probably not Canada), but I’ll celebrate it, anyway!

In honor of the day, I will round up all my Canadian drugstore perfume deals. For those who do not know, many locations of Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall drugstores have clearance perfume shelves, where they rotate perfumes priced at CA$19.99. Occasionally, Shoppers even has weekend deals for $17.77!

These perfumes are often the cheaper drugstore lines (drugstore staples and celeb scents), but occasionally one will also find discontinued smaller sizes of designer fragrances that usually go for a lot more! It’s well worth it to swing by the clearance shelf once a week.

Here are the ones I’ve picked up over the years:

ISABELLA ROSSELLINI
Manifesto EDT (50 mL)

basil, pepper, bergamot, lily, orange blossom, musk

This is a super old one in my collection! To be honest, I haven’t used it in forever; hope it hasn’t turned. But it is quite a lovely herbal green scent.

OSCAR DE LA RENTA
So de la Renta EDP (30 mL)

kiwi, mango, watermelon, white florals, lotus, peony, musk

This remains one of my very favorite florals. It’s light and bright, youthful yet completely classy, and supremely easy to wear. My bottle is very old, so I don’t know if the certainly reformulated version out today compares. But I do love the original.

National Fragrance Day: 20 Favorite Bottle Designs in My Perfume Collection

2017-03-21 fivezero5 Comments

It’s National Fragrance Day! To celebrate, I’ve compiled a list of favorite perfume bottles in my collection. I’ve previously done a list of perfumes I want just for the bottles, so I thought this would be a fun one to do, as well.

I’m not wearing any of these scents today, though. Test driving ’90s classic Tommy Girl (which comes in a perfectly serviceable bottle, but it’s certainly not one of my favorites).

ANNICK GOUTAL Heure Exquise EDP — Image: annickgoutal.com

1

ANNICK GOUTAL — Heure Exquise & Les Nuits d’Hadrien

Many of Annick Goutal’s fragrances come in this signature bottle and tagged with a ribbon and a card. The style is old-fashioned and very beautiful. The glass bottle’s ribbing is reminiscent of gathered tulle.

2

BADGLEY MISCHKA — Badgley Mischka (2006)

Nails Inc. Superfood Nail Fuel Collection

Haulage! Sephora Fall Sale (November 2016)

2016-11-232016-11-23 fivezero6 Comments

Time for annual Sephora haulage! It’s hard to pass up 20% off, even when I haven’t been shopping much at Sephora all year.

Ugh, you know it’s winter when everyone starts getting sick! My husband started feeling a little under the weather yesterday, and this morning poor Peanut started feeling badly, too. A couple of barf-ups later, he’s much better—I have a sinking feeling it’s a norovirus-kind of bug. We all got hit with it around December last year, and I hate it. I remember hugging the toilet half the night, yet not actually barfing. I hope I don’t come down with it again (if I do, it’ll probably be tonight! Joy!) and especially that our little infant Olive doesn’t get affected.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff. (Cleaning up barf? Not fun.) I posted my first order here; also, just before the sale ended, I snuck in one extra order! Here are all the goodies from both orders:

Deborah Lippmann Her Majesty Gel Lab Pro Set (8 color polishes + Hard Rock base & top coat)
Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Powder in Translucent
Kevyn Aucoin The Expert Lip Color in Bloodroses Noir
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick in C406
Marc Jacobs Enamored Hi-Shine Lacquer in Sally
Nails Inc. Superfood Nail Fuel Collection (4 color polishes + NailKale Superfood Base Coat)
NARS Audacious Lipstick in Audrey
Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette
Urban Decay Pro Essential Brush Stash

Freebies:

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser & Rose Face Mask (Sephora Birthday 2016 deluxe samples)
Atelier Cologne Bergamote Soleil Cologne Absolue EDP (sample)
Atelier Cologne Mandarine Glaciale Cologne Absolue EDP (sample)
Maison Margiela Replica: Lipstick On EDT (sample)
Marc Jacobs Decadence EDP (sample)
Versace Bright Crystal EDT (sample) — they didn’t send this! 😦
Versace Eros Pour Femme EDP (sample)

And with this haul, I am VIB for 2017, as well.

Haulage Photos

Deborah Lippmann Her Majesty Gel Lab Pro Set — **Deborah Lippmann** Her Majesty Gel Lab Pro Set:
Emperor’s New Clothes, Ever After, King of the Road, Blue Blood, Crown Velvet,
If I Ruled the World, Hard Rock Nail Strengthening Base & Top Coat,
Reign of Love, Queen of the Night (all Deluxe Sizes).

I actually still have a couple Deborah Lippmann sets to go through from previous years (yes, not one but two). I promise to go through them SOON! Aaaack. Also, super excited to try the new Gel Lab Pro line in this set.

Versace The Dreamer Eau de Toilette (50 mL)

Throwback Thursday! Versace — The Dreamer EDT Review

2016-11-172017-05-06 fivezero15 Comments

Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada often runs CA$19.99 specials on selected perfumes, and I’ve taken advantage of these sales many times. Over the years, I’ve picked up these scents, some for me and some were for giving. Once or twice they’ve been even cheaper, like $17 or $18!

Burberry London for Men EDT (30 mL)
Bulgari Mon Jasmin Noir EDP (25 mL)
Jessica Simpson Vintage Bloom EDP (100 mL gift set)
Burberry for Men EDT (30 mL)
Bulgari Aqua EDT (30 mL)
Roberto Cavalli Nero Assoluto EDP (30 mL)
Diesel Loverdose EDP (30 mL)
Adam Levine for Women EDP (50 mL)
Bulgari Omnia Crystalline EDT (25 mL)
Versace The Dreamer EDT (50 mL)

I’ve seen other scents there from notable brands like Lolita Lempicka, Cacharel, Vivienne Westwood, Elizabeth Arden, Azzarro, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein, Aquolina, Givenchy, Nina Ricci, and Vera Wang, and also a bunch of the popular celebrity lines like Britney Spears, J.Lo, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, and Celine Dion. I’m waiting for Jean Paul Gaultier to show up so I can snag Classique and Ma Dame on the cheap! It can be quite the treasure trove for a perfume lover.

Rexall, a competing drugstore chain, also runs similar sales, and I just picked up my first $19.99 deal from them, too:Read More »

Sephora Fall Sale: My Haulage!

2016-11-112017-04-04 fivezero6 Comments

As I’m VIB at Sephora this year, I finally got to place my order with the 20% off 20VIB code today!

I haven’t spent much at Sephora this year, and it was a bit of a struggle to try to get VIB for next year. Part of me wonders if I should have bothered, but Sephora’s semi-annual sale coincides with my birthday month and it gets so tempting to splurge!

Here’s what I ordered (with 4% ebates cashback, as well):

My final shopping cart. (Prices not yet reflecting 20% VIB discount.)

I chose the Fresh skincare birthday gift instead of the Marc Jacobs makeup gift, since I already have the eyeliner in the Marc Jacobs set. The lipstick would have been nice to have, but it’s just a red, and I have enough of those!Read More »