Friday, May 20, 2011

Bond no 9 Body silk review














I received a press package recently from bond no 9 to review their body silk and two samples of their Madison square park perfume. I took a picture of how cutely it all came packaged like a bonbon. Bonbons are now synonymous with Bond no 9 and are equally visually appealing to people from eight to eighty





MADISON SQUARE PARK BODY SILK :




First of all I loved, loved, loved the way these body silks feel on my skin, they are like just a bit of Lush, beautiful, little chunk of heaven melted on your skin and I also noticed that the perfumes I have tried before and did not really cared for seemed very pleasant indeed when I used them in form of these luxurious thick and silky body cream, So if a particular scent does not go with your chemistry , you can still give it a second chance ina body cream.
It has top notes of impossibly gorgeous grape Hyacinth, tart Huckleberry and Prairie drop seed grass.
Middle notes of rather posh red leaf rose, Subtly scented Red hunter tulips followed by warm Teak wood. On my skin I get a crisp, fresh and just a hint of a green fruity scent, very clean, very summery, Made for my vanity:) I know I will be wearing this whole summer long I just haven't decided weather in a body silk or in a perfume. The body silk is just as strong as the perfume if not more. Also available in a candle









200ml for $130.00





EAU DE NEW YORK BODY SILK:
This is one of the scents which I did not get bowled over by in the perfume form but I loved how the body silk melted on my skin and scented it so beautifully.




It has notes of Neroli, white lily, Gardenia and the unmistakable subtle hints of musk. The blend of all these notes gives me the feel like I am sniffing a slice of fresh, green, flowery, rain soaked meadow. I don't know if I will buy it full size but I will definitely be enjoying my sample a LOT!
200ml for $115.00

CHINATOWN BODY SILK:
Chinatown....OH Chinatown...How can I ever express my love for you?
this is the first BOND I ever sniffed and it was instant lust at first whiff. It makes me nostalgic and reminiscent of my years in my home country, of all the impossibly sunny, warm and bright mornings.






The summer mornings which holds a lot of promise, radiating warmth and energy to all those who are fortunate enough to experience it. It reminds me of warm happy times, when all I used to worry about was how to get up early in the morning after being up all night....come to think of it, this is all what I worry about now too, I am just so not a morning person.




Whenever I had to get up early in my college days, I was this grouchy, mean monster of a person which used to somehow go back in it's shell as the day subsided. But whenever I get a whiff of Chinatown, all the past bleary eyed and heavy headed, close lidded mornings vanish and there is a rosy veil spread all over them and all I remember are the sunny, bursting with happiness and radiating with energy, bright, orange mornings just like they should be.




OK my analogy of Chinatown is over and now moving over to the technicalities of the blend. Notes of Mouth watering Peach blossom, tuberose, Patchouli (I did not know I liked Patchouli in fragrances but I am kind of addicted to this heady note in fragrances now) and subtle hints of cardamom.

200ml for$115.00




SCENT OF PEACE BODY SILK:





The scent of peace has a cult following of it's own but then again not a scent I am too impressed by in the perfume form. It smells gorgeous in the bottle but when I spray on my skin it becomes kind of plastick-y, like I am sniffing a empty water bottle
:(
The body silk again is a huge improvement with my body chemistry but I am still getting the subtle plastic now and then, I know for a fact that it is the black currant note which is playing this trick on me weirdly and sadly it always does. For those with whose chemistry it goes well with, would LOVE this cream. Notes of the above mentioned black current, cedar wood, Grapefruit and lily of the valley.




200 ml for $115.00

NUITS DE NOHO BODY SILK:














If china town brings out the memories of happy mornings to me Nuits de noho brings out, well you guessed it........the beautiful dark nights, wrapped in mystery and hushed promises. I have so many fans of this fragrance in my family that I can't even keep count. I have the 1.7 oz perfume and I will be getting the body silk for sure. Jasmine, creamy vanilla and sheer patchouli has that blow your socks off effect. Truly a fragrance to enjoy in leisure.

While I am writing this review it is 2.00 A.M like I mentioned I am so not a morning person I am a night bird ...I fly by night and right now I just want to land in my crisp, cool bed while I am all all richly scented with these scrumptious body silks, in the morning my white crisp cotton sheets are going to smell like heaven for sure.





The BOND no 9 is having refill event, which is a great way to stock up on your faves and I also personally think that it is a great deal. You get a huge 3.3 oz refill, which is actually a regular bottle just w/o a cap since it is a refill, you have to buy two products and has a few exclusions. I have ordered before on the phone from their store especially if you are not able to go to the store. They are very friendly and accommodating despite the chaos going around in the store during the refill event. You can read the details here.

http://www.bondno9.com/

Needless to say that I love this brand which was launched as a homage to New York city. The brand is just as unique as the city it depicts. I am just as much intrigued, fascinated and excited about the BOND NO 9 collection as I am by this wonderful, thrilling city which embraces us all regardless of who we are and where we are coming from.

Friday, January 8, 2010

I am Bringing Soapy Back!!! --wyldeivy soaps review







OK! so I have been gone long enough and I received so many concerned and sweet emails and messages from all my readers, Thank you! and I apologize for not bieng able to respond. I will post details Why I was not posting, Much has changed in this past year, I became a mom once again and this time, a mom to a wonderful, beautiful and amazing little baby girl!!!
My whole family especially my Older son are way beyond excited. My home is now a big bubble of baby pink and all things girly and nice. I am having a ball being a Mommy of the sweetest little girl in the world. The bakauguns and ben tens are now being slowly balanced with Pretty tea sets and frilly frocks and they co exist happily.
The reason I have not been posting was simple, I was really not in a position to sniff my beloved bath and body products:(. I was sticking to lighter stuff and stuff I was already familiar with. Now that my baby girl is 2 months old, and we all are settled with the new changes, I am back to my beloved hobby and I am itching to write about all the things I love.
One of the last orders I made were from my favorite etailer Ashlee owner of www.wyldeivy.com. And to be fair to her, I stayed away from reviewing her stuff because it would have been not fair enough and I saved all the soaps to use for later when I would be able to really enjoy them. My husband is actually the one who took the initiative and finally unwrapped one beautiful bar after another. It is such a joy to just look at these beautiful handcrafted soaps. They look like big solid bars of happiness in a muslin bag!. All wrapped individually and with their own unique fragrance. One great thing that is admired by a lot of her customers is that Ashlee, does not use duplicates of brand name fragrances. Instead she mixes her own unique blends.



The first soap I used was her Blackberry cotton candy soap. Like the name says it is a berry scent blended lightly with the scent of cotton candy. it comes all swirly in pink and lilac color. It is a fun fair cooked and solidified in a soap bar! I really ahd fun using this.

Next is the Summer fling soap. Oh! how I LOVE this soap! it is the reason I switched to cold process soaps in the first place. it smells so divine....of peaches, raspberry and it is simply a big huge sunny shiny, summer in a soap, lets just leave it at that or I will keep going on and on about this one.



Voiletta and the black tea and jasmine soaps are the kind of soap that should be the focal point of your bath vanity. They each are topped with voilet petals and herbal teas. I would suggest if you decide to gift these soaps ( why would you want to?) wrap them in a clear box and a silver ribbon and every one would wish they were on your gift list. They smell great and they look so pretty , you really don't want to use them and dissolve thier beauty:)


Lime margarita deli soap is a great bar soap for all the people who love 'FRESH' lemon sugar scent or the Philosophy senorita margarita fragrance. It is just that great combination of coconut and lemon, simply beautiful and a great must for hot, sweaty days.
Lemon-tine is from her Deli soaps just like the lime margarita deli soap, very beautiful and refreshing, a very zesty lemon scent.

The wyldeivy soaps Do not melt easliy even if placed directly under water for a long time (trust me I know first hand) which can happen a lot if you have men in your home as they cannot be bothered about storing soaps in dry, dark soap cases.
Unlike a lot of soaps Including the LUSH soaps, which melt literally in minutes. So you can get a lot of baths out of one bar.
All of her soaps are approximately 3.5 to 4.5 ounces and consists of
Saponified Olive Oil,Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, and Cocoa Butter; Aloe Vera, Fragrance Oils mainly. Priced between $5.00 to $6.00 are very reasonably priced. she has wonderful sales often and watch out my blog to announce her next sale!.
I am glad that I restarted my blog with wyldeivy soap reviews, She also offers body lotions, perfumes and jewellery etc, but I can only review the soaps as they are the only items I have tried yet. Writing this review has made me want to place another soap order from her:). I'll go check her website and I suggest you do that too, while I plan my order with her next sale.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Look what I made in my kitchen and it is not food:)



WAX TARTS!!!


PINEAPPLE BLOSSOM TARTS


BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES TARTS

CHOCOLATE ORANGE TRUFFLES TARTS


FRESH GREEN APPLES WAX TARTS


FRUIT SALAD WAX TARTS

Thursday, September 11, 2008

The Manor Hall Soap company 'Box full of goodies' Review.







I had a really, really crappy day yesterday (I seem to be having a lot of those lately) and then I received a beautiful generous fall sampler package from My favorite soap company, The manor hall soap company, and life seemed a lot better all of a sudden, Lol. See the thing is I am greedy for all things beauty and that a box full of fragrant soaps from my fave soapmeker is like a bottle of Tylenol for me, it is an absolute pain killer. And this box was soaps and much, much more. A bathaholic's dream come true indeed.

They had included full size ( 4.5 oz) bars of 'Almost sunset', Choccy Orange Kerfuffle', 'Spearmint Grapefruit' and 'Hardy Har Harvest' soap. Facial cleansing grains in Almonds & Honey (4 oz jar - net wt 2.5 oz), Natural Face Mask - Yogurt & Green Clay 4 oz jar (net wt 2 oz),Natural Complexion Bar Carrot & Fennel Seed - 3.5 oz, a Exfoliating Soap Pouch which can be bought in their web store for $4.35 and a beautiful, adorable and very handy Complexion Brush which is also available on their website under accessories for $3.85 each.


The first thing I grabbed from the box was the facial skin care products, I have heard so many good things about the company's facial grains and natural mask that I was dying to use them. I used them according the directions given on the jar and bottle.


Almonds & Honey facial grains:

The Almonds & Honey is Suitable for all skin types, You have to mix it with a little water on your palm and rub gently all over your face, it turnd out to be a pretty scrubby exfoliater and I really enjoyed using it. Personally I would use it once a week as a scrub and once a week as a mask, as I have sensitive skin. The after glow was amazing! The combination of oatmeal, botanical and honey powder seemed to work their magic right away
Great thing about this scrub? it does a double duty of a fresh mask for that at home facial. According to the website Spring water, or green tea can be used. A little honey in warm water is extra softening. Milk, yogurt, and even mashed strawberries with cream are just a few ideas to get you started. Also pureed cucumber is recommended for summer! doesn't that sound heavenly?


Yogurt and green clay mask:

Following the scrub I used the Yogurt and green clay mask. This mask is to be used as a paste but it comes in powder form, you have mix a teaspoon with water to make it applicable. I believe strongly in the cleansing and cooling qualities of clay, this mask is made with yogurt and green clay,
It helps to tighten fine lines and wrinkles, also working to refine pores. Lactic acid loosens the dead cells on the surface of the skin, helping to moisturize. French Green clay, rich in plant minerals, stimulates the circulation, bringing new blood to damaged cells. It revitalizes the complexion, cleansing and tightening pores. I used it and loved it! it left my face tight, radiant and soft! A really important ritual before a big night out.

Carrot and feenel complexion soap:

I used the carrot and fennel seed bar at night, I must it it sounds healthy doesn't it? the Fennel seed is soothing to mild irritation, and when finely ground, it cleanses gently, removing impurities to offer balance and tone and carrot is well, the healthiest thing around for every thing right? The carrot juice in it is used to help with tissue repair, cell regeneration, fine lines, and aging. I used it and I was expecting my face to feel very soft and soothed after first use, I found it luxurious and comforting and nourishing on my skin, I will be using this in the harsh winter and heating of NY. This bar surpasses my expectations. but I should not be surprised as a lot of people use their soap bars for body on their faces, because they leave their skin feeling so nourished and natural.

SOAPS:

Choccy Orange Kerfuffle: This soap as the name suggest is made with with real cocoa bean powder, and spilling with sweet orange essential oil. We all crave chocolate in colder days and this the perfect soap to satisfy your urge without the calories. This soap is a must have and top of my list to buy as gifts for friends who cannot eat chocolate around Christmas time instead of a box of chocolates. It will be a perfect substitute.

Almost sunset: Sunsets are the favorite time of the day for me, I Love the way the sky bursts in a splash of colors when the two time meet. This time reminds of so many wonderful timies I have spent near the beach in my home town which I now rarely ever visit. This soap takes me back home and for me nothing can be more meaning full than that. Like all their other natural soaps this soap is also rich on creamy lather and very balanced with the fragrance blend. A beautiful blend of patchouli, ylang and lemongrass the trick in making this soap a beautiful bar of goodness.

Spearmint Grapefruit:
This soap is truly a masterpiece, I can smell it the most even all wrapped up. It is as fresh as a crisp cool winter rain and totally wakes up your senses in the shower. I used it in the morning and I was delighted to say the least with the effect I had after showering with this. You just have to use it once to become addicted. Also it would be a great bathing relief for people who suffer from acute or mild migraines like me.


Hardy Har Harvest:
I have not been able to actually use this soap in the shower but I have kept it for DH to use when he will be home I KNOW he will love it, it is such a wonderfully scented soap. SO took the liberty of taking the description straight from the site.
This deeply scented smoky soap bar is swirled with skin renewing black walnut powder, and was made to help you take on those harsh winter days.
It is infused with macadamia nut oil, a great skin toner and softener. Scented with a warming blend of essential oils including bay rum, its smell is reminiscent of sitting in front of a toasty winter fire.


To buy their outstanding products and experience great customer service please go to:

www.manorhallsoapcompany.comy

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Can-do-candles Tart review




I ordered a ton of tarts from Can-do-candles last weekend when she had a 20% off sale. Right now I am really on tart trip, making buying and of course eating too. I bought around 17 of them and received around four more FREE!. Plus I really liked Donna's customer service and her speed of delivery.
The scents I ordered were all foody, in honor of colder weather ahead.These are all reviews based on cold sniff as I am going to wait for Fall to use these scents. I am still sweating here and using up my warm weather tarts and candles.

Birdy's Baklava: A very nice scent of a little bit of puff pastry and leads of honey and syrup.( I bought two of these).

Tootsie Roll: exactly like the candy.

Aunt Becky's banana pudding: Very similar to banana cream pudding scent but stronger than other etailer tarts I have tried. nice smooth banana scent.

Cinnamon Latte: OMG perfect coffee scent with the sweetness of cinnamon. this would a real fun scent to burn in the cooler mornings. this is better than the Yankee cafe o lait straight strong coffee scent as this has a sugary hint which I love.

Applesauce cake: Lots of spice and very slight hint of apple, no cake scent on cold sniff, hope to get some foody notes once I burn it, which would have to be a very , freezing cold day, too strong for mild weather.

Twinkies: Hmmm very sweet cake, just like the one sin our grocery isles. I am glad I ordered this.

Lemon Bars: tangy, festive lemons mixed baked vanilla batter. Perfect!

Pumpkin Bread pudding: Lots of pumpkin and lots of fresh baked bread scent almost no pudding scent on cold sniff, but that is mostly such a mild note to even detect. nice pleasant scent.

Cream puffs: nice sweet scent.

Fairy garden: now this is scent for a garden party indeed! very floral and pretty.
Fruit loops: burn this and have some cold milk along side as this is exactly like the cereal, just smells much better and stronger

Pink sugar cookies: If you like pink sugar you would fall instantly in love with this, I know I did.

Aunt Carol's crumb cake: nice foody scent

Pity pats pound cake: I wish I had ordered more of this heavenly cake scent.
Spice coffee cake: Very nice mix of coffe and cake. Exactly what I wanted
Lessie's Haunted house: A very nice and surprising scent. just like Halloween itself!

These are the four free tarts I got:

Cherry chip cake: I am so glad she included this, I would have never ordered this myself as I thought it would be a plasticky cherries scent but instead I was surprised to smell a scent mixed with juicy cherries and fresh cake. very nice tart, my new fave.

Starbucks: Wow! straight up strong coffee, for those mornings after a hardy party night.
Bread puddin: spicy! exactly like the original. gift this someone for thanksgiving day or burn it on your thanksgiving dinner table for perfect ambiance.

secret recipe: Uhhh it smells like zucchini, in the nicest way possible! burn it when you want to fool people in to thinking you are cooking!

All in all a very nice order from a very nice lady. I am very happy with the whole experience.

www.can-do-candles.com

Monday, September 8, 2008

Manor hall soap newsletter and Butter me better soap.




I used a sample ( very generous sample) of a 'Butter me better' soap from www.Manorhall soap.com. This smooth bar of creamy is scented with a warm vanilla scent Stirred with Mowrah butter to help prevent dried out skin, and poured through with cold pressed pumpkin seed oil for promoting healthy cell growth, this butter bar is rich in natural emollience. Very good for dry skin and colder weather.
Here is thier newsletter for the month of september filled with specials and savings.


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It's For You... On Us

Each month on the website, we highlight a product and give it away free inside each order box. Never a mystery, and always full size, we've added more for you to enjoy. Check out the freebie page, and see what's free for you this month. What's Free for me

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* Autumn Sale... Discount Coupon

From now until Friday September 5th at midnight, your order will receive a 15% discount when using the following code at our secure online checkout:

AUTUMN15

Just remember to type the coupon code "AUTUMN15" into the coupon code box at the checkout. Without using this code, you will not receive your 15% discount, so be sure to type it in. Your coupon is valid from now through the end of the day on Friday, September 5th.

Note: Coupon does not apply to Sample Sizes, and all already discounted items, including Mischief Makers, Monthly Specials and Multibuys.

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* New to the Manor... Ambience Candles and Chocolate Soap Bar with bonus freebie

New for the fall is our line of ambience candles. These candles are hand poured with eco friendly soy wax, and scented only with pure essential oils to create a room friendly ambience all of your own.

And what season wouldn't be complete without a little chocolate treat. Our latest wild child soap bar is on the site, filled with temptation and none of the calories. Made with extra virgin olive oil and spilling with moisturizing cocoa butter, it's an indulgent heavenly delight. And during newsletter sale week, each bar of "Choccy Orange Kerfuffle" comes with a free sample of our chocolate face mask. Get yours now. What's not to love! Offer ends midnight Friday, September 5th. Check out what's new

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* Shipping Special Continues... $5.00 US Priority Mail

Throughout September, we're continuing our popular $5.00 shipping special. All orders placed in September will receive a flat shipping charge of five dollars. Any weight, to anywhere nationally by Priority Mail. No coupon needed, our cart will apply the $5.00 shipping for you.

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