I've been absent much of the week, out with a chest cold that kept me away from work and from this blog. Today I'm feeling much better, but I still didn't feel up to picking a sample, so I am wearing Santa Maria Novella Citta di Kyoto from a decant sent to me by a very kind reader and MUA regular (thank you again, eaumy!). It's also shaping up to be a very pretty fall day here in Atlanta, and it's Friday...hence my title, Small Pleasures, and the picture of the painting of the same name by Kandinsky.I wanted to comment briefly on something I read on Ayala's SmellyBlog, in a post she wrote about one of her first perfume loves, Miss Dior: "What stroke me as most special about Miss Dior when at first was how warm and round it was. No one note stood out in particular. It was a true “perfume” in the sense that the sum was greater than its parts…" This struck me because I felt she put into words nicely the way I've felt when I've tried several perfumes, most notably for me Delrae Amoureuse and Rance Josephine. I call them "Perfumes with a capital 'P'," because, as Ayala put it, the sum is greater than its parts. Not all perfumes, even ones I love, have this quality. I think it's an interesting distinction.
I also realized, after reading Patty's post on PerfumePosse about finding a foundation, that I hadn't done a beauty post in a while. Frankly, I'm a little irritated. First off, I'm still struggling with the right skin care, but beyond that, foundation. I finally got to try BareEscentuals, thinking it was going to be the greatest, most natural thing ever, and instead I got dry, tight, powdery, awful...I don't know how they can say this is great for a person with dry skin. Let me tell you right off, if your skin has even the slightest bit of flakiness (I won't go into my skin care rant right now), it will magnify it by clinging to every little flake you have. And the brushes that are supposed to be so soft and wonderful? No. Itchy. And every time I used them, hairs fell out. Not the sign of good brushes.
Yes, I watched the video, the whole thing, and I practiced with the "creamy minerals" for five days. The only good thing I can say about it is that after some of it wore off, I thought my skin looked relatively okay, and the coverage stayed even, which means my little red nose wasn't peeking through late in the afternoon. So far, the best thing I've found is Smashbox Photo Finish primer with the Stila Tinted Moisture (not the illuminating stuff...I learned that's not so great for dry skin either when I wore the DuWop Revolotion, which has a wonderful consistency but also highlights every dry patch if you have dry skin). I'll be sticking with that until I find something better. Anybody out there with dry, sensitive skin want to recommend any skin care or foundation? Feel free! (I should warn you...don't say Cetaphil. That stuff doesn't get your skin clean, and what's the point of moisturizing cleanser if you have to wash your face three times to get your makeup off?)
But to end this post on an "up" note (after all, I did call it "Small Pleasures" and not "Little Annoyances"), I've been meaning to mention the best product in the world for removing eye makeup, DHC Deep Cleansing Oil. I've used their full system and some of their moisturizers, and while nothing else really works for me, this oil does wonders. Eye makeup, regular or waterproof, simply melts away when you gently rub this into your eyelids and lashes, and it rinses cleanly away with water, leaving your eye lashes well-conditioned and soft. This is the only thing that saves me from the wonky eyelash syndrome I mentioned back when I participated in the Great Mascara Hunt.That's all for today. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
*photos from WebMuseum and DHC
