Fragrances: Favorite Designer Scents

Perfume Mania

There are a few things that I cannot and will not buy cheap and one of them is perfume.  I lovvvvvvve designer fragrances.  I try to treat myself every quarter with a new fragrance.  These are a few of my go to favorites for now. In no particular order:

1.  Donna Karan - Cashmere Mist

     FRAGRANCE NOTES - fresh floral jasmine, sandalwood & vanilla.

2.  Dolce & Gabbana - The One  

     FRAGRANCE NOTES - coriander, grapefruit, cardamom seed, tobacco, basil, cedar, amber, ginger, orange blossom.      

3.  Christian Dior - J'adore 

     FRAGRANCE NOTES - mandarin, champaca flowers, ivy, African orchid, rose, violet, damascus plu, amaranth wood and blackberry.

4.  Channel - Coco Channel 

     FRAGRANCE NOTES - spicy and floral with notes of amber.     

5.  Vera Wang - Vera Wang (signature fragrance) 

      FRAGRANCE NOTES - mandarin, lotus and iris, exotic and feminine.

        

If you noticed, all the fragrances have a similar motif.  I tend to gravitate toward soft flower scents that are a bit musky.  I like my perfume very soft, subtle and feminine.  In my opinion these types of scents can be worn day or night.  What are some of your favorites?

All About Hair: I Want Yummy Smelling Hair!

Who doesn't want their hair to smell yummy???  I absolutely love when I catch a whiff of my hair and it smells sweet. I find myself walking a little faster or tossin' my hair to and fro, just so others can get a whiff of it too!  LOL!!

This hair perfume by Aquolina is Awesome!!  Love this stuff!!  Check out the description of the scent: Pink Sugar begins with sugary sweet notes of cotton candy, strawberry, raspberry and orange which fade to reveal sensual mid notes of lily of the valley, fig leaves, and barbe-a-papa. The scent finishes on rich, soft base notes of vanilla, amber, musk.  
How can you go wrong with that?  You can get it at ULTA for $15

You can spray a little in and it lasts all day!  If you don't like sweet scents, their are other hair fragrances on the market.  Some people even use a spritz of their own perfume or body wash.  This can be very drying if it contains alcohol, so be careful with that, or you can just make your own!


What You'll Need:                                                                                                                                                             
Your favorite carrier oil and favorite essential oil.  Examples of carrier oils: almond , olive, pecan, avocado, tea, cranberry seed, evening primrose, grapeseed, rose hip, coconut, jojoba, hazelnut, watermelon seed, etc.

Examples of essential oils: cinnamon, ginger, juniper berry, lavender, lemon, lime, mandarin, myrrh, peppermint, rose vanilla, etc,

Essential oils can irritate your skin if not used properly.  The following is a good rule of thumb to follow if you're going to try this:

A safe and effective dilution for most aromatherapy applications is 2% (2 drops of essential oil per 100 drops of carrier oil). There is no need to go beyond a 3% dilution for any purpose. Using more of an oil will not get you better results; in fact, it may cause adverse effects. Some oils, such as lavender, are sedating in low dilutions and stimulating in high dilutions. A 1% dilution should be used on children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with health concerns. 

When making blends for the first time, start with no more than two or three oils at a time. The more complicated blends require a bit more knowledge because the oils have synergistic effects (meaning that the combination of oils have properties greater than the um of the individual oils).

• 1% dilution: 5-6 drops essential oil per ounce of carrier oil
• 2% dilution: 7-14 drops essential oil per ounce of carrier oil
• 3% dilution: 15-18 drops essential oil per ounce of carrier oil

10 drops	1/10 tsp	1/60 oz.	1/8 dram	1/2 ml
12.5 drops	1/8 tsp	1/48 oz.	1/6 dram	5/8 ml
25 drops	1/4 tsp	1/24 oz.	1/3 dram	1 1/4 ml
50 drops	1/2 tsp	1/12 oz.	2/3 dram	2 1/2 ml
100 drops	1 tsp	1/6 oz.	1 1/3 dram	about 5 ml
150 drops	1 1/2 tsp	1/4 oz.	2 drams	13.5 ml
300 drops	3 tsp	1/2 oz.	4 drams	about 15 ml
600 drops	6 tsp	1 oz.	8 drams	about 30 ml
24 tsp	8 Tbs	4 oz.	1/2 cup	1/4 pint
48 tsp	16 Tbs	8 oz.	1 cup	1/2 pint
96 tsp	32 Tbs	16 oz.	2 cups	1 pint