A few of my *NEW* favorite things

In the holiday spirit I want to toss out a few ideas for some great  (mostly inexpensive) gifts that you could pick up for so many of the women on your holiday gift list. And they are.......

 Love this great fun bracelet from Wanderlust and Co.   Comes in a dozen different colors in either gold or silver colored metal accents.  At only $29 each this makes a great gift for so many on your list!

Benefit "that gal" primer and highlighter. I use this as a highlighter and last add on to my make-up routine. Brightens my make-up and also "seals" everything in place. Really love this product and so will all "those gals" on your list! $29

My new favorite nail polish! Okay I know I am way late to the dark nails thing, but I have never really been much for nail polish anyway. I am always either natural nails or a french. I don't typically even paint my own nails at all. Pedis and Manis are one thing I do splurge on regularly for myself (at the inexpensive small parlor on the corner up from my house :) With a new baby in my life my mani/pedi time has dwindled to nothing (its a good trade, though! ;)....enter the discovery and purchase of Essie's Bobbing for Baubles. I picked mine up at Target where I found it randomly and LOVED the color in the bottle. I have to admit when I first painted my nails with it I wasn't sure, but after a few hours I was in love! The color is great and the Essie nail polish dries so fast so even with the demands of being a mom ever present I don't have to take an hour to paint my nails and let them dry. They were dry to the touch within 5 minutes and I was strapping the baby into her car seat to head out the door 15 minutes later with no mishaps. Perfect!  Around $6.00 a bottle you can pick a few of your favorites!

Yes, I love to smell yummy, but perfume is not something I wear alot of. As you may recall I did a post in my blog about smelling "nice" (see that one here ;)  so I wanted to point out that any of those scents I would also think are great for gift giving - ESPECIALLY Candy Baby body spray from Victoria's Secret!  Since I just recently discovered this lovely Prada scent at a recent visit to Sephora I thought I should add it to my "list" so that you may know about and possibly try it out yourself.

Since this is from the Prada label it stands to reason that the cost is slightly higher than the other items on today's list.  Prada Candy is available at Sephora for a 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray at $60.  I did take home a sample bottle that I spritzed on yesterday and today. It does have staying power and it has not given me a headache - yay!  It has a sweet yummy "candy" scent which makes it a win for me :)

I would love to know if you have any items that you think are great to hand out as gifts this season?  Please share if you do!

XO

Jessy



"You smell NICE........"

.....okay, yes, there is a story behind that quote - lol :)  Three or four years ago I went in to a new salon for a pedicure. When the girl came over to get me and take to me my pedi chair she was very touchy feely. To be honest it was a little uncomfortable.  On top of that I had a difficult time understanding what she was saying to me with her very strong Korean accent, but she was very sweet. As I started to roll up the hem of my jeans to put my feet in the basin she jumped to her knees in front of me and said, "I will get it!". While she was in the process of rolling up my jeans she looked up at me with a very seriously face and the most clear affirmative English she could muster and said, "Mmmmm, you smell niiiiicccceeee!"  At the time all I could do was smile and nod....it was beyond uncomfortable, I really dont' know how else to explain it. 
Well, I told my best friend, Tina, and to this day, every time she sees me and we hug she says, "mmmm, you smell niiiiccceeee!". We, of course, crack up about it now.  It is made only more funny by the fact that I get stopped (by total strangers) several times a week and asked what scent I am wearing or told I smell good. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great compliment and I think it is too sweet that someone would go out of their way to pay me a compliment, but after my nail salon experience it is kind of funny. I am telling you that this almost never happened before that incident and I have not changed my signature fragrances in years.....strange!!!

Anyway, enough story.....on to the meat of the blog!  Today's blog is, of course, all about my favorite scents.  I really do not wear anything that is expensive or hard to get. I don't generally like anything very heavy and although I have listed 3 perfumes below I typically stick to body sprays because perfumes tend to give me a headache too easily.  Since the body sprays are not typically as strong they are easier for me to enjoy. Ironically, it does seem to be when I wear my body sprays that I get the most reactions. Maybe you could try one or two out on your own and see if you get a similar reaction?

 

FLIRT! Flirtatious is a super yummy, sweet smelling perfume that is not too strong or overwhelming. It has notes of vanilla, honeysuckle and fruit. This is a very inexpensive perfume that I first discovered back around 2007 when it first appeared on the market. Find it here and here.

 

Lolita Lempicka is one I have been wearing off and on for about 15 years. It has a more floral scent than I typically go for (violet & iris in this one dominate), but it is balanced with vanilla, as well.  I also like this one for it's more sensual allure. It is a "grown ups" perfume that I started wearing long before I should have been. I appreciate it much more now than I did 15 years ago! Again, it is a lighter scent than many perfumes in general.  Find it here.

 

Ah, Coach Poppy. Yes, I know that it is EVERYWHERE and it's virtually impossible to "stand out in a crowd" in this one. But, I still like it. I admit that I do not really wear it very much, but on occasion it seems to be the right choice. Much more floral and not enough sweet for what I typically go for. Many many people have been raving about this one since it's release to the store shelved in 2010. 

Find it here and nearly every department store you venture into!

 

 

Victoria's Secret "Tease" from their Sexy Little Things collection is one that has an entire line of lotions, perfume sprays,etc behind it, but I only wear it in the body spray version. The body spray, while still strong as this is a stronger scent in general, is certainly not as heavy as the perfume. This one is a mix of floral and fruits and finished off with a twist of vanilla. It is sweet, fun and a little bit seductive. Find it here.

 

Victoria's Secret "Candy Baby" from the Beauty Rush collection. I do not know if this is a fact or not, but I have caught wind that they are or will be discontinuing this line in the near future. That breaks my heart as this has been my favorite scent since it came out however many years ago. This is the scent that I wear nearly every day and almost never fail to get at least one compliment out of it. It is me to a "T". It smells like cotton candy! Such a yummy, yummy scent....really I can not say enough good things about this. If you don't like sweet candy then stay away from this one - wearing this you are likely to get some longing looks from those dreaming of some sweet treat!

BTW, this is THE scent I was wearing that fateful day in the salon. :)

Find it here.

 

You may have noticed a theme with my scents - vanilla and fruit. I like what I like, I guess!

 

Tip: When spraying a body spray like the two above, spray them on your body and then again on yourself once you are dressed and also spray them in your hair like a hairspray. The scent will last ALL DAY in your hair and everytime your hair moves it releases the scent!  ;)

 

One last thing....when I came into my office tonight to sit down and write today's blog there was  beautiful little envelope wrapped in a bow on my keyboard.

 

 

 

I opened it and inside this is what it said, "Jessica, Congratulations on starting your fashion blog. I know you can do anything you set your mind to. I will pray for your continued success. Love, Your biggest fan! Derek" 

That is my incredible and loving husband!  Even if I never get any more than the 9 followers today it will be enough. I am doing something I love and am supported 100% by the man of my dreams. What more could I consider success?!

 

I hope you have an incredible night and enjoy your tomorrow :)

XO

Jessy