Hi friend. You’re probably actually a stranger but you’re reading my blog so I’m gunna go ahead and call you a friend. Yup, zero to intimacy real quick over here at BYD. Anywho, here are a few products I have been using nonstop lately and why I can’t seem to put them down.
Winter is brutal to skin. Chicago winter is brutal to your skin, your soul, your will to live…etc. Thankfully Jo Malone’s Vitamin E Nourishing Hand Treatment (too fancy to be called a “hand cream”, apparently) helps with one of those problems. The formula features key ingredients Vitamin E (I’m a sucker for vitamin E products, my skin responds very well to vitamin E), wheat germ, and barely. The lotion feels thick like a body cream but is not greasy and doesn’t leave a residue. While perfumed, the scent is very light (pomelo & cassis), won’t compete with your perfume, and dissipates quickly. The tube is generous at 100ml but slim, and can easily be tossed into a handbag. Personally, I keep it on my makeup vanity next to my perfume bottles as the minimalist packing makes it very top shelfie worthy. Hand cream is the last step in my morning routine before I put on my jewelry and head out the door. Even in Chicago winters I find I don’t have to reapply often, and my knuckles are crack free hours later.
About six months ago my husband revealed he no longer loved go-to scent, Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey, which I have been wearing for almost eight years. His admission actually excited me as I had been thinking about switching it up for some time. Don’t get me wrong, I still adore Nectarine & Honey, but after eight years I’m ready to give something else a whirl. I have a slightly complicated relationship with perfume – I own many but generally stick to a signature scent, which I occasionally swap out when I need a pick-me-up or just feel like something different. Honestly I’ll usually wear the same one 28 days of the month. Diptyque’s L’Ombre dans L’eau is the current top contender for my new signature scent. With notes of blackcurrant leaves and Bulgarian rose, the scent is warm but not musky, bright but not sharp. The perfume is actually a cousin to the brand’s popular candle, Baies, but lacks the candle’s berry notes. I’ve adored rose scents my whole life but this is the first one I’ve tried that doesn’t give me a headache. The scent lasts about eight to ten hours on my skin, gradually fading the whole day. It’s such a pleasure to find a rose based fragrance that never smells powdery, soapy, or, well, old lady like. My husband isn’t the biggest fan of this perfume, but I am, so he’ll just have to deal.
If you follow me on Instagram you know I can’t help myself with foundations. Even when I’ve found a formula I adore I still always want to try others - a habit which led me to buying my new favorite within days of its release. Jumping on the 24-hour wear train, Bobbi Brown has released the Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation SPF 15. I picked up the shade “Warm Ivory” and it’s a fantastic match for my skin tone. Promising to be matte and full coverage, I find it to be neither. And that’s why I love it. The formula reminds me of the Bare Minerals Bare Pro in that the coverage is definitely heavier and build-able and the formula non- irritating and long wearing. However, I much prefer the Bobbi Brown after only a few wears. Unlike the Bare Pro, this foundation looks perfect the second it’s applied, whereas the Bare Pro takes about an hour to settle into my skin and find its rhythm. I would describe the finish to be more of a satin than a true matte, which I prefer but others may not appreciate. I can admit much like the Bare Minerals this formula also needs to be applied to meticulously prepped skin (by prepped I mean exfoliated and hydrated) or else risk it sticking to dry patches in a very unflattering way. Bobbi Brown has long been a brand I want to love but have been consistently underwhelmed by, until now with this launch.
I’m not usually a powder person. I want my skin to glow and would choose looking greasy over looking dry and matte any day. However even I can admit a touch of powder can help extend the wear of makeup. If the packing of this powder hadn’t been so damn pretty I probably wouldn’t have even considered it. Part of the Robert Lee Morris launch, MAC potted their already existing Pro Longwear Pressed Powder into jewelry inspired compacts designed by Morris. I purchased shade “Light Plus” and use it wherever I tend to get shiny (obviously). I was pleasantly surprised by how un-powder like this product wears on the skin. It does a great job of setting anything I dust it over without depleting glow. I intended to keep the compact in my work bag for touch ups but it’s actually a bit larger than I realized before ordering and does not come with a built in brush or puff, so on my vanity it stays (which is totally fine because I really like staring at the packaging).
Recently I stopped by Sephora for shampoo and left with a $54 lipstick. As you do. Tom Ford lipsticks have this uncanny power of making me feel like an aristocrat who weekends at The Breakers in West Palm Beach. This shade, “Devore”, is the perfect my-lips-but-better nude. I have no idea how I’ve existed this long without owning it and intend to never be parted from it in the foreseeable future. If unfamiliar, Tom Ford lipsticks’ formula is that of a classic lipstick – not necessarily intended to be long wearing and generally have a creamy/smooth texture and a luminous finish. I definitely have to reapply this several times throughout the day, but I think that may be half the point. Ford’s packaging is in league with Chanel in that it’s meant to be seen. Is it worth $54? In terms of practicality, hell no. In terms of making me happy and feel glamorous, fuck yeah.
Lastly, BOOKS. Yes, my friends, those aren’t just photo props to make you think I’m smart – I actually read. I’ve just finished Caleb Carr’s “The Alienist” after it sitting on my shelf for upwards of half a decade and I’m sorry it took me so long to get around to it. Anyone who has any interest in crime and/or psychology and/or history will probably thoroughly enjoy it. For christmas my husband surprised me with “Mythos” by Stephen Fry, which I’ve just begun. The book is a retelling of many of the classic mythological tales of Ancient Greece, but with the added crass of a Brit. The epilogue openly states you don’t have to be a classicist to enjoy the book, but I am one, so there.
What have you all been loving so far in 2018??
xx,
Claire
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