¡Ombligo!

Photo taken from Aedes.com

When I first heard of Cédre I wanted to cry over the notes: cedar, cinnamon, musk, amber *swoon*............................................and tuberose.

TUBEROSE!?!?! You've got to be freakin' kidding me! Tuberose? My heart sank and I wanted to cry! Not to say that I don't like tuberose, but if you're spicing up a floral, why would you choose tuberose?

In my head I was thinking this was going to be a creamy and in your face tuberose so my expectations were low on this fragrance before trying it.

I'm all over the top notes in this fragrance as it opens up with a bold cinnamon that dried down far too soon on my skin. Once it dries down it loses some not all of its momentum. In the drydown the cinnamon is very subtle and the cedar seems to be heavier when the fragrance is closer to my pulse points but tuberose takes center stage in this fragrance. The amber really warms it up and there seems to be a sweetness buried in here - like a drop of honey.

It's still so hot and the high today was 98°F and this scent seemed to be a perfect choice for today as I'm sure it would in colder weather as well. The staying power is really good in this fragrance. Applied it this morning and could still sense it on my skin when I was on the treadmill this evening.

Cédre retails for $150/1.69oz Eau de Parfum and is sold at
Aedes, Barneys and La Creme Beauty.

Note: It's not shown on either the Barneys or La Creme Beauty website so you'll have to contact them for it.

For Barneys NY contact Tyler Mayo at 212-833-2003.
For La Creme Beauty contact Autumn Asbury at 206-634-0805 or cs@lacremebeauty.com.

Some days it gets a lot harder to stick within my points range than others and as hard as I try to stay away from point heavy foods, I do on occasion cave.

This week I had a piece of cake, a brisket sandwich, "real" macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes with brown gravy and French fries so imagine my surprise when the scale tells me that I lost 1.2 lbs this week.

Part of me feels really bad because I know had I chosen healthier options I would have lost more weight this week, getting me to my goal weight sooner. But the other part knows that cutting out these foods completely out of my life makes me crave them even more.

I was smart and did choose smaller portions of those items and I exercised this week as usual but I didn't really pay attention to my points this week, especially towards the end of the week.

I don't want to regain my bad eating habits and the weight I've lost so this week I'm going to try to be good, stick with healthier options and pay attention to my points!

Anyhow here's the quote Weight Watchers gave me:

WAY TO GO! Congratulations for losing weight this week. We hope you're thrilled with the result. Here's a quote by Aristotle that we thought might strike a chord with you: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." Keep practicing your excellence and have a great week.

A few months ago I was sent by accident a book called How 2 Play Guitar through Fred Flare so I wondered if the universe giving me a sign that I had to learn to play guitar? Of course that would entail me owning a guitar which I didn't up until a few minutes ago!

I'm a second place winner in the Coors Light - Taste the Cold, Get the Music Sweepstakes and I won a Washburn House of Blues Acoustic Guitar (ARV $150)!

Attention Gods and Goddesses of the sweepstakes universe, I wouldn't mind winning a few million dollars!

The Guitar and Hope the punkassmotherfuckingdog!





Washburn House of Blues Acoustic Guitar is sold on this site for $149.99.

New for Fall - the Pink Head Russian Nouveau Collection. Over 200 Swarovski crystals frame the three Pink Head portrait cameos on this beautiful tiara. Fit for a Russian Princess! Pink Head is Hello Kitty styled by Tarina Tarantino.

*sobs* I can't even express how much I want this!

$500 at Tarina Tarantino

I love the rings in the Pink Head Russian Nouveau Collection even more than the rings from the previous collection:




New for Fall the Pink Head Russian Nouveau Collection. This mod-style ring has a 35mm Pink Head portrait cameo and a fully adjustable back. Pink Head is Hello Kitty styled by Tarina Tarantino.

I have yet to buy a Tarina Tarintino Hello Kitty Ring, perhaps I'll finally cave this season, nevermind what I just wrote about not spending any money on accessories!

$55 each at Tarina Tarintino

I just love this time of year! Of course it doesn't get cold out here until the last week of October if we're lucky! Still, this is my favorite time of year!

I ordered Nanadebary Bronze this morning which is going to be my signature fragrance this season. I didn't love it at first but decided to test it again this summer and really liked it. Took it for a final test drive last week and still loved it. I really like that it can be worn both in warm weather and cool so it won't be too much of a transition once the weather cools down.

As for signature color I'm really feeling red. I don't wear red nicely as I'm fairly pale and when I blush or just get worked up my face turns beet red - not a pretty sight which is a shame since I have two-toned red/black hair. So I'm sticking to red accessories - mainly the large red durango Hype bag I bought a year ago and never used. It's like this one but red and the clasps are different but everything else is the same.




I'd love a killer scarf in the red as well and maybe a hat! Nevermind that my head is warped and I don't really wear hats well.

Goals for this season: To continue on my journey in reinventing/building myself into the best "Me" I can possibly be. I'm also putting myself on a volunteer no spending on myself until December for fragrances and accessories. Been dropping it like it's hot lately so I need to curb my spending before it gets out of control.

Anyhow, there are a ton of books I've been meaning to read but never quite took the time to read - I'd like to make this a season of learning and exploring. While I can't quite afford the entire Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection, I should buy a few this season.

Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection is sold through Amazon for $7,989.50 /Over a thousand books are in the collection.

Nanadebary Bronze retails for $130/3.3 oz and is sold at Aedes, Barneys Luckyscent and Luscious Cargo.

The red Hype bag I bought a year ago for I believe $45 at Marshalls on clearance.

These arrived the other day I ordered them from Crafters United and they are by Wristcraft.

This was how the earrings were described: Colby Glass original beads, made at Haven Art in Port Washington, NY. Featured with Swarovski crystals and Bali Sterling silver.

I love the colors and the fact that they have leverback closures. They are fairly heavy (Glass - Duh!) so I wouldn't wear them on a daily basis but are versatile enough to wear with anything.

I nabbed them for the low, low price of $15!

I tested Alessandra the other day and didn't mention it so I'm testing it again tonight.

Described on the Bourbon French site as: Alessandra, this scent is rich & powerful, mysterious & seductive. A heavy Oriental spice with smooth woody undertones.

This fragrance starts off incredibly strong with a hint of adelhydes, it has a very vintage style at first which loses its momentum over time dries down to a powdery carnations, woods and very subtle clove on me.

Based on what I smell, I should love this scent but it seems like there is too much going on and don't like it as much as I should.

I'd reserve this for colder weather and the staying power is really good in this one as it lasted on me the other day for hours.

Alessandra retails for $65/1 oz. for the parfum through Bourbon French Parfums.

I though I had posted about the Emmy awards but I guess not. These were my favorite dresses from the Emmy awards.


Felicity Huffman in Kevan Hall.

I really like Felicity Huffman, she seems like a really down to earth person. While she looks rather homely on Desperate Housewives, she's incredibly beautiful and it's times like this that she really has the opportunity to shine.


Marcia Cross in Elie Saab.

Marcia Cross seems to come across very passive aggressive but I think deep down inside she's a rather nice person. She's also recently engaged, isn't it wonderful!


Halle Berry in Ungaro.

Halle Berry always looks great in vibrant colors and I love, love, love the color of this dress! Such a stunner and bouncing back from whatever life throws her way.


Sela Ward

For the longest time my Mom has wanted to look like Sela Ward. Anyhow, Sela's dress was just amazing and I think she improves with age. Cheers to another late bloomer!



I noticed that there was a lack of necklaces on the red carpet this time around but I did like the appearance of magnolia pins in support of those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

To purchase a magnolia pin or hair clip like the ones seen at the Emmys, Lindsay Designs sells them for $10 and 20% of proceeds will be donated to hurricane Relief Efforts.

In my May 2005 Sampler, I received a pin from Linday Designs and it's just fabulous so I highly recommend them.

This came in yesterday it's (2) MegaMan booster packs, at an approximate market value of ($9.98) as I was a second prize winner in Cartoon Network's "MegaMan PET" Sweepstakes.

I usually give these prizes to one of my best friend's sons but I think I'd have to buy the unit for this. Going to check out the price for this as I'm doing a project where I'm saving up prizes that I really have no use for and plan on giving them to a needy family.

Also arriving yesterday was two decks of playing cards from the Deal Me In with Full Throttle promotion ARV: $5.

Confessions of a Teen Nanny came in today. I must have won this in a contest but I'm really not from where. There are only 198 pages in it so I have no doubt that it'll be a short read - but will it be satisfying? *dramatic music*

Confessions of a Teen Nanny is sold for $10.87 at Amazon.

September 2005 Sampler


My September 2005 Sampler arrived today!

A card from Fork 'n Spoon Mailorder
The Media Whore Feminist Literature Review from Feed Your Head Books
An owl card from Fern House Studio
A ephemera bag,from Paper, Scissors, Soul
A blooming button flower pin from Stinky Lou Lou
Bath salts from Wrong Number Distro
A button set from DeMarco Designs
Some "Card me" cards from rhymes with twee
Bejewelled hair pins from Designed by RJ
A 1964 kid's workbook pin from melababy@hotmail.com
A pin from Eclectic Elements
A yellow chiffon belt from Mellifluous Couture
Hairpins from The Star City Sound
A fat kitty button from Little Dear
Cherry earrings from Hannah Zakari
A wristband from Hollypop
A "I ♥ mail" button from Whammy! Buttons
A mini bag book from *turtle kisses*
A silver-embossed mini-card frommega(k)nits
A Nag Champa Bath Melt from Molly Artisanal Soap
A bookmarker from Magpie Molly

All of that plus a bag of candy because The Sampler is a year old! I can't decide which is my favorite thing of the bunch but I had looking to buy some cherry earrings and now I have a pair! Yay!

The Sampler retails for $20/1 month or $50/3 month subscriptions for Americans and $26/1 month or $68/3 months for International Subscribers. That price includes shipping.

I've been feeling so frustrated lately because I had been sticking to my points and exercising and was losing little to no weight.

Doubt started setting in and I was feeling like maybe I couldn't do this anymore,maybe it was time to throw in the towel.

For the last three weeks I've been on an increased level of Synthroid as I have Graves Disease so I was hoping to see better results as the increased level entered my system.

I'm glad to report that it's finally working! Checked the scale this morning and discovered I lost 2.4 lbs! Yay! Actually, more than Yay! I'm so glad that I didn't give up as it would have been so easy but I feel even more determined because of the setbacks!

Weight Watchers gave me a quote for the week: "Instead of giving in to cravings, binges and unplanned eating, I ask myself, 'Do I want it?' No I don't. 'Will I eat it?' No I won't."— Yvonne

That's a bit crap as they've given me that quote a million times over but I'm on a personal high so I don't mind too much.

I'm also excited because I discovered my new favorite jam: Smuckers Sugar Free Apricot Preserves! One tablespoon has no WW points and that's the perfect among to spread on toast!

My allergies have been really bothering me lately so I've been staying away from fragrance for the most part but decided to test Bourbon French's Sans Nom today.

Sans Nom is described as a spicy & exotic oriental fragrance whose name means "without name" in French. A name would hamper the free spirit of this bold & exciting, daring & dangerous fragrance!

This opens up smelling a lot like Calvin Klein's Obsession for women on me. I remember loving that fragrance in the mid to late 80's. It felt so sophisticated to me at the time, mind you I was probably ten. But I remember wishing I were old enough to pull off that fragrance. While I've tried, it's never been a fragrance that I can wear but it's quite lovely on others.

Anyhow, that scent lingers for only a few seconds and then it dries down to a rather powdery slightly spicy fragrance there are some floral notes that come out a bit with the heat but I wouldn't classify this at all as a floral fragrance.

I think the staying power could be a bit better in this fragrance but I do like that it changed from the initial application. I'd reserve this more for colder months as I think it would just be too heavy in warmer months unless applied with a light hand.

Sans Nom is sold at $65/1 oz. Parfum at Bourbon French.

win


This came in yesterday but I'm really not sure from where as there wasn't a letter attached to it. It's a Leviathan CD, t-shirt, poster and stickers from the band Mastodon.

Leviathan retails for $13.99 at Amazon.

I hit Marshalls last night looking for a scarf but I didn't find anything I liked in their stock. I did however find these little goodies:


It looks black in this picture but it's really navy.

I really liked the shape of this bag and it's navy! I believe this is the only navy bag in my collection. I wish I could find a leather bag in this shape but until then I'll have to settle for this one which is polyester. It's a Liz Claiborne with a retail price of $48.00.


Navy bag up close.


It has a rather long handle.

I also found this which will be nice for spring, of course it's a long time until spring rolls around again but I really liked the color. It's a Sak with a retail price of $62.00.


Lavender bag up close.

I also looked over the fragrances and bath items but there wasn't anything new. There were some boxes that had been opened with the bottles missing. I always hate picking up things in the bath and body section because there always seems to be some type of gloop all over the items like something spilled on them.

I was lucky enough to snag this Hard Candy trio of nail polishes - it was the only one there! It came with Static - this is my favorite of the three which is a bluish/purple color, Solar - which is in gold and Complex which is a bit of a rust color.


HC polishes in the box.

I love Hard Candy nail polishes as they come with a ring attached to each bottle. I have a small collection of them stored with my other funky rings. These are discontinued colors and each bottle retailed for around $12.00 I believe. Prices have since dropped on Hard Candy merchandise. I believe they are trying to market the line more to "Tweens" as Generations X and Y get older.


HC polishes out of the box.

I really didn't need any of these items but all three were on clearance . The Liz Claiborne bag was the "most expensive" item at $12.00. The Sak bag came in at $8.00 and the set of Hard Candy nail polishes came out to $3.00.

Total damage done was $24.90!

This also arrived today, it's B.pure's lip balm in Cosmo. I purchased it through Crafters United last week at the same time my sister ordered one in Appletini.

B.pure's body products are named after destinations and their Cocktail line which features lip balms and candles are inspired of course by cocktails.

The lip balms which have the following ingredients: Sweet almond oil, coconut oil, beeswax, olive fruit oil, cocoa seed butter, mango seed butter, flavor oil and mica retail for $5/1/3 fl. oz.

There are still some flavors up on Crafters United with all proceeds going to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund.

Lemon Drop Cocktail Lip Balm $4 with free US shipping.
Mimosa Cocktail Lip Balm $4 with free US shipping.
Cocktail Candle Set which includes: One mai tai candle, one lemon drop candle, and one cosmo candle $22.50 with free US shipping.

The B.pure Cocktail collection is also sold at B-glowing which is featured in this month's Shop etc. and for a limited time you can get 15% off all non-sale purchases with code: SHOPETC.

My fall fragrance article is up on the site now and I'm sad to report some sad news. Flowerbelle is closing up shop. Their Lielac and Ocean fragrances are among my favorites and I've yet to buy them.

In other sad news, I heard that Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier's Fleur Des Comores will no longer be available in North America. That is also one of my favorite fragrances!

On July 10, 2005 The Unilever corporation which owns Suave decided to run a promotion where consumers could get a free box of full sized Suave products specialty tailored to their needs as long as they paid the $1.99 shipping fee for that day only.

I was game for $1.99 and filled out the survey online. They asked a series of questions regarding my hair and skin needs and listed a series of products that would work best for me.

Here are the products that came in my box which arrived today.



Suave Shampoo, Professionals Humectant $1.99/14.5 fl oz
Suave Professionals Conditioner, Humectant $1.99/14.5 fl oz
Suave Professionals Gel, Firm Control $2.29/8 fl oz
Suave 24-Hour Protection, Powder Scent around $1.99/2.6 oz.
Suave Skin Therapy Fragrance Free Moisturizer, Natural Oatmeal $2.79/18 fl oz

*sobs* This borders a bit between an "need" and a "want"!

Cat's meow—a whimsical Hello Kitty® ring dazzling pavé diamonds.

• Pavé diamond ring with 18-karat white gold shank.
• Rose gold bow, yellow gold nose, and black enamel eyes.
• 0.6 total carat weight.
• All gold, 18 karat.
• 5/8"L.
• Size 7.

$1,450.00 at Neiman Marcus

I won a soap and lipbalm from Lindsay's Candles & Stuff. I got to choose the scents so I chose Spa Soap which is scented with orange, rosemary and lemon essential oils. This soap includes Dead Sea Mud to make your skin feel wonderful! And I chose the vanilla lip balm.

Both smell wonderful and I can't wait to try them.

The ingredients in Spa Soap are: Olive oil, palm oil, water, coconut oil, sodium hydroxide, shea butter, dead sea mud, essential oils of orange, rosemary and lemon. $4/4 oz. or $11/3 bars of soap.

The ingredients in the Vanilla Lip Balm are: Shea butter, Beeswax, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil, Cocoa Butter and vanilla flavor. $2.50/.15 oz tube.

This arrived yesterday, it's Brooks & Dunn's newest album, Hillbilly Deluxe. I won it through ACC Top 40 Brooks & Dunn Weekend 2005. Hillbilly Deluxe sells for $13.29 at Amazon and that's the honky tonk truth.

Bourbon French - Bourbon French


Decided to test Bourbon French by Bourbon French today which is described as a soft, powdery, spicy floral scent. This is smells very similar to Kus Kus at first. Bourbon French opens up with carnation and I smell a very faint rose in here but that soon dissipates to a rich powder scent which would make it a lot more like Teint de Neige.

Very pretty and suitable for year round use but I'd prefer to wear this as an evening fragrance. Fragrances that are too powdery loose their appeal on me over time. I think I may like this even more than Teint de Neige so this is one I could definitely see purchasing.

Bourbon French retails for $65/1 oz. parfum.

This also arrived, it's from the Lucky Jeep Sweepstakes.

The Teastick


Yay, Tea! When I first heard about this product, I knew I had to have it. Since I started changing my eating habits, I've been drinking more tea. By luck, Herb + Ginger put one of these up through Crafter United so not only buy something that I had been wanting but all proceeds went to The Red Cross hurricane relief fun.

I'm so excited, now I have to order some more loose teas!

The Tea Stick retails for $20 and can be purchased through that site or through the retailers listed on that site.

I just received my June Lemming Central Box today. That's right I said June! This order was placed on February 5, 2005 which makes the turn around rate on BPAL's orders (two months) seem tame!

I had previously ordered and received the April Lemming Central Box which actually arrived in April and was for the most part pleased with it. There were products from ten e-tailers in that box compared to this box which had five.



Aura Soleil
Earthly Perfume Oil Sample
Jazz Perfume Oil Sample
Kismet Perfume Oil Sample

Bathed & Infused
Sake Lotion Sample
Starfuzz Fluff Sample
Snowflake Fluff Sample
St. Lucia Body Lotion Sample
Blue fortune cookie
Coupon which expired 09/10/05

Dream Esscents
Cream de Corp Shea Cream in Honey Elixar
Curcao Perfume Oil Sample
Cloud 9 Perfume Oil Sample
Creme Sucre Perfume Oil Sample
Tonka Bean Perfume Oil Sample
Coupon which expired 08/30/05

Things that make scents
Six pack of assorted mini soy tarts

Tea Boutique Collection
Tropical Coconut Bath Gel Sample

I'm a procrastinator myself so I can excuse for the most part a delay in shipping but when money is involved and both business and customers pay for products to be delivered, there is no excuse for such a long delay! These were supposed to have been delivered in June and it's now September! I also heard that some people never received their April Lemming Central Sampler Boxes.

I find it rather convenient that the proprietor is now selling "extra" boxes on the site. Instead of there being extra boxes, they should have distributed those "extra" samples in the boxes that were sold and promised so long ago.

Needless to say, I am not ordering another Lemming Central Sampler Box again. The Lemming Central Sampler Boxes retail for $15.

I haven't been sleeping good lately, sleeping for about six hours every other day. I've been an insomniac all my life so this isn't anything new but I've been feeling rather bummed this last week. My body finally crashed yesterday and I slept for several hours and felt much better afterwards.

Stepped on the scale and I only went down .4lbs. Ugh! Here's what Weight Watchers had to say on the matter:

If you're feeling a little neutral about your weight-loss result, here's a little fact to make you smile: The rate you`re losing weight at is considered to be very safe and healthy. So you're seeing success! You're doing the right thing.Remember this anonymous saying this week: "Feel pride in how far you've come and confidence in where you're going."

I felt so deflated after that but rather than sit on my ass being further bummed I decided to work out and let it all out. I also decided to increase my weight training up to 15 minutes a day and really measure everything I'm eating. I was a bit lax on measuring everything last week.

Seriously, how bummed can I be? I got a quote this week! Yay!

I ordered this brooch on Monday from Chebang's Etsy Store and it arrived today. Chebang frequently contributes to The Sampler and I was lucky enough to get one of their brooches in my Summer Sampler. I thought this was really cute and I couldn't beat the price, it was $1.50 including shipping!

I suck at taking pictures but here's my photo of it.


No need to be jealous that I have an awesome brooch and you don't - she's got lots of other cool brooches and other stuff on her site! Still, nothing else will be as cool as mine!

Chebang is opening up a new online store at Chebang.net which is opening up on September 13th. If you can't wait out the weekend and a day, you can buy their products through their Chebang Etsy Store.

I won the earrings and necklace shown above they are made by Lia Sophia which is a line I'd never heard of before. They are one of those companies where you host parties and try to sell stuff to your "friends" (Mary Kay, Avon, Tupperwear, etc..). I put friends in quotes because real friends don't act like drug pushers and try to hawk stuff you don't really want or need.

Anyhow, the necklace is much cuter on the Ci-Boy than it is on me (note: The red Kabbalah string is still on which means that the Ci-boy is filled with negativity.) Ci-boy isn't sporting the earrings as Ci-Boy doesn't have ears!



The earrings which are called Vanity Flair retail for $22 and the necklace which is called Sweetness retails for $29. Both can be purchased through a Lia Sophia advisor.

26 Mar 1954, New York, New York, USA --- The morning after...her Oscar before her, Audrey Hepburn happily waves telegrams congratulating her on winning the 1954 Motion Picture Academy Award for the Best Performance by an Actress. Dutch born Miss Hepburn, 24, won the Oscar for her performance as the princess in Roman Holiday, her first starring role. She is shown backstage at the 46th street theatre where she is currently appearing in Ondine. - Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS


Congratulations to my best friend Annie who's fabulous blog Blogdorf Goodman was written about in the New York Times! Hope the phone is ringing off the hook and someone has offered you a fashion editor position or your on magazine by now!

Rockin' Robin's site Now Smell This was also noted! Now Smell This is by far one of the absolute best sites on the web and is crucial reading for anyone who loves fragrance!

Congratulations ladies, may this be the first of many!

I'm wearing Bourbon French's La Pluie today which is described on the site as:
La Pluie ~ "The Rain" This fragrance is a light Lily of the Valley blend.

If you are a fan of Body Time China Rain or JLo Glow you'd like this fragrance because it smells very similar to those two fragrances. This is a bit softer and slightly more floral but if I were to do a blind sniff test I wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between the three.

I was given a miniature bottle of JLo Glow as a gift years back and I gave it away I tried in vain to move past the name and focus on the fragrance.

When I smelled La Pluie I regretted having given away the JLo Glow bottle for a second until I realized that it just doesn't work on me - no matter what name it's called or who's image is behind it. La Plurie is a year round fragrance in my opinion and the staying power is fairly good - it has since faded on me.

La Plurie retails for $65/1 oz. for the parfum.

My sister called me yesterday and told me that she bought these little coin purses yesterday and she said "I bought you one but you might not want it."

I asked her why and she said that it had the colors of the Mexican, Mexico written on it and a there was a soccer ball on it. I cut her off and told her I didn't want it!

It has nothing to do with politics but has everything to do with soccer! Mexico is USA's biggest rival when it comes to soccer and I'm still celebrating the fact that we kicked their ass on Saturday and are headed towards the World Cup. In your face Mexico!

I'm grateful that Mexico has come into our country to help with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Yay Mexico! We're still going to kick your ass in soccer however!