Fragrance Spotlight-Lady Gaga Fame

A celebrity fragrance is often the topic of much debate-sometimes praised, other times lampooned, and always highly anticipated. So it’s no surprise that when Lady Gaga and Coty announced a partnership to develop her first fragrance it was met with a lot of speculation.  Always unexpected, Lady Gaga has created a massive fan base around her unconventional fashions, videos, and imagery. To create a fragrance that captures the essence of Gaga therefore means to create a fragrance that both surpasses expectations and subverts them. We were lucky enough to receive a sample of the fragrance and are pleased to report you won’t be disappointed.

The fragrance contains notes of incense, belladonna, apricot, and honey and circumvents the usual note hierarchy. The end result is a scent that’s rich, spicy, and sweet, without being overly fruity or candied.  The one-of-a-kind fluid is black in the bottle but sprays clear; we tested it and found it works perfectly. Luxurious and completely addictive, Lady Gaga Fame is a scent that will silence the crowd.

Get your bottle of Fame here!

Product Spotlight-BB Cream

New beauty products come and go, but every now and then a hot product takes the beauty world by storm. The latest product to create a craze among the beauty industry is BB Creams. Also known as “Blemish Balm” or “Blemish Base,” the formula is created to protect and improve skin while providing light coverage. Already a popular item in Asian markets, BB cream has recently developed a following in the West, and larger beauty manufacturers like Garnier and Maybelline are taking notice.

The beauty of BB Cream is really found in the all-in-one function of the product. While the lure of BB Cream is clear, the benefits are debatable. We love it for weekend makeup routines when we want coverage but an application that’s natural and quick. However, BB Cream is still new, and finding a variety of shades can be difficult. Also, be sure to pay attention when purchasing BB Cream; rumor has it some formulas are merely repackaging of tinted moisturizers. If you’re interested in trying BB Creams, you can find them at most beauty retailers and at widely ranging prices. A few brands we love are Garnier, Smashbox, and Too Faced.

Tell us what you think of BB Creams, fad or fabulous??

Fragrance Spotlight-DKNY Hearts the World

DKNY Be Delicious has long been a favorite fragrance of Scentsa, so when DKNY launched an ambitious, new line of fragrances inspired by its favorite cities around the globe we couldn’t wait to try them. DKNY Hearts the World is a collection of four fragrances inspired by the cities of New York, Paris, London, and Rio.

The company says, “Get ready to take off on a scent-sational journey! DKNY’s fragrance collection promises to transport the senses to the chicest cities around the globe one spritz at a time. Take off from New York City, full of passion and vitality, to the pulsating energy of Rio, to the country-meets-city scene of London, to the ultra-posh streets of Paris.”

Be Delicious Heart Rio features notes of apple, passion fruit, gardenia, sandalwood, and amber. The scent is nicely balanced and captures the seductive elements of the city famous for its Carnival celebrations.

Be Delicious Heart Paris is the only Chypre scent of the collection and features notes of violet, jasmine, apple, and woods. The rich, luxurious notes capture the chic city perfectly and strike a nice balance.

Be Delicious Heart NYC is a fruity floral scent that features the green apple note most heavily. The green apple note blends with cucumber, grapefruit, magnolia, and skin accord to form a refreshing scent.

Be Delicious Heart London is also a fruity floral and perhaps the lightest scent of the collection. Rose and Honeysuckle combine with the apple accord, hyacinth and neroli. Well-balanced it matches the modern, city it’s inspired by.

Beauty Tip-Highlighters

Makeup routines often become just that, routine. Switching up your makeup style or adding a new product can be the difference between blah and beautiful. An easy way to add a little luster to your everyday look is with a highlighter. A highlighter is a complexion enhancer that can give skin a dewy, radiant look. As a rule, a highlighter should be applied to places where light hits your face. Keep these spots in mind.

1)      The high points of your cheekbones.

2)      The center of your nose.

3)      The brow bone, just below your eyebrow.

4)      The cupids bow, the small, top center portion of your lips.

When using highlighters, always apply after your foundation, but before concealer and avoid areas of the face that are red or pigmented as the highlighter will draw attention to those areas.  A few highlighters we love are Benefit High Beam, a classic that never disappoints, and Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Powder, a shimmery highlighter.

How do you rock your highlighter? Leave a comment and let us know!

TokyoMilk Fragrance Winner

 

All good things must come to an end, including this giveaway. We want to say thank you to all our wonderful readers for participating in this giveaway and welcome to those who are new to the ScentsaBeauty blog. Now to the main event, the winner of Chance by TokyoMilk is…Heather!! Congratulations to Heather we hope you enjoy the fragrance!

TokyoMilk Fragrance Giveaway

At Scentsa we see a lot of fragrances; some mesmerizing, some ordinary, but when TokyoMilk by Margot Elena came across our desks there was nothing ordinary about this quirky, daring line.  Ranging from spicy to floral and featuring unique names such as Arsenic, Bulletproof, and La Vie La Mort TokyoMilk is irresistible. So naturally we felt the best way to share this incredible brand with our amazing readers is with a giveaway!  Chance is a fresh, oriental unisex scent that features notes of bamboo, tea leaves, fresh fig and white musk.  Simply fill out the form below and you’ll be entered, the giveaway will run until the 18^th and we will announce the winner here on the 20^th.

This contest is closed.

Magnetic Nails

Of all the beauty trends with staying power, nail art seems to take the cake. With Sephora stores dedicating entire sections to nail art and design the adorned fingernail look isn’t going anywhere. There are lots of fun design ideas to choose from, just search nails in Pinterest and you’ll find tons of options. However, not all of us have the hours of time it requires to sketch flowers, polka dots, or stripes onto our nails. This is why we love Sephora’s magnetic polish. A cool nail design can be achieved by simply painting your nails. Follow the easy steps below and you’ll love the final product.  We used Nails Inc. Magnetic Effect Polish.

Step 1) Paint a thin layer of polish on nails and allow drying for 2-3 minutes.

Step 2) Apply a thick coat of polish to one nail and immediately hold magnet over nail, while polish is still wet.

Tip: Line the rim of the magnet up with your cuticle to ensure it doesn’t make contact with the wet surface.

Step 3) Hold magnet over nails for ten seconds to reveal design. Allow polish to dry completely and finish with topcoat.

Beauty Spotlight-Wine Colored Lips

This year’s Met Gala brought beauty trends in full force. Although there were lots of gorgeous makeup looks, we couldn’t take our eyes off Camilla Belle’s wine colored lips. The bold color went perfectly with her shimmery skin and silver dress. This beauty trend was also spotted on Leighton Meester, Jessica Alba, and Kate Bosworth. Although this is a more daring beauty look it’s still very wearable. For daytime try using a sheer lip stain, like Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Plum or Clinique Black Honey Lip Duo, and neutral face makeup.  For an evening look pair luxurious berry colored lips with metallic shadow for a touch of sparkle, we love Dior Addict Lipstick in Perfecto. Below are some wine colored shades from brands we love!

How would you style your wine colored lips?

Scents for Spring

The spring season has arrived, and with the warmth and new life the season brings, new trends blossom as well. The warm weather of spring makes lightening up your choice of perfume imperative, but with so many amazing new scents, choosing just one can be tricky.  So we compiled a few of the newest scents we love.

Flora by Gucci the Garden Collection

Italian fashion house Gucci has a new collection of five fragrances including: Gorgeous Gardenia, Gracious Tuberose, Glamorous Magnolia, Glorious Mandarin, and Generous Violet. The collection represents a bouquet of scents. Our favorites are Gorgeous Gardenia and Gracious Tuberose. Gorgeous Gardenia is a classic floral scent with a rich, feminine aroma. Also a classic floral scent, Gracious Tuberose has a powdery appeal with notes of violet, peach, tuberose, and orange flower.

Ralph Lauren Big Pony collection

The Big Pony Collection for Women was created by Ralph Lauren to represent the multifaceted modern woman; it’s a collection of four fragrances. We love Big Pony Collection 1, an airy, fresh floral scent with a hint of citrus thanks to grapefruit, perfect for spring. Big Pony Collection 3 is an aromatic interpretation of the collection with warm notes of white amber and sandalwood blending effortlessly with mimosa and kumquat.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Dreaming in Portofino

Inspired by the Mediterranean summer, Dolce & Gabbana Dreaming in Portofino is a chypre floral scent for women with undeniable sensuality. The fragrance opens with an unexpected combination of litchi and ambrette seeds, and is the perfect lightness for spring.

What scents do you love to wear in spring? Leave a comment and let us know!

Scent of Triumph Q&A with Novelist Jan Moran

Scent of Triumph marks the first novel and third book from Scentsa CEO and beauty expert, Jan Moran. Scent of Triumph, a beautifully uplifting story, which takes place during World War II, and follows Danielle Bretancourt, a modern woman with a natural olfactory gift, through a journey of joy and heartache, love and loss, trials and success.

With the release of her newest book, we’ve sat down with author Jan Moran for a Q&A session.

Question: What was the inspiration behind Scent of Triumph?

Answer: Scent of Triumph was initially inspired by my love of perfumery, but the main character quickly took charge and began building a business, despite her many setbacks.  I was inspired by female entrepreneurs from the early part of the 2oth century, such as Elizabeth Arden, Coco Chanel, Madame Gres, Nina Ricci, Estee Lauder, Eleanor Roosevelt, and many others in the beauty and fashion industries.  Family is also vitally important in this story; Danielle’s love and devotion to her children is really the root of her ambition, as it is with many female entrepreneurs who wish to create a better life for themselves and their children.  She is an ordinary woman, who achieves extraordinary things. Like any one of us can.

Question: What can modern women learn from Danielle?

Answer:  The story of Danielle Bretancourt is really the story of a woman’s journey on the entrepreneur’s path.  It’s a story of creativity and innovation, and of courage of convictions.  Since the story begins in 1939, I had to understand the challenges that faced women at that time, such as the lack of credit or borrowing power for women who wanted to start their own business, among others.  While opportunities have improved for women around the world, there are still so many women who suffer from inequalities, lack of knowledge, poor access to capital, and cultural oppression.  For this story, I drew on memories from my mother, grandmother, and great grandmother – their memories of joy over gaining the right to vote, owning property in their name, and creating their own income.  The challenges they faced and overcame inspired me to become an entrepreneur, and to help spread the word today about women’s entrepreneurial efforts as a positive economic force for change.  My website has a list of organizations that offer advice and assistance to budding entrepreneurs – for women and men, at www.janmoran.com.

Question: We love the romantic aspect of Scent of Triumph, so tell us, what is your favorite romantic scent?

Answer: When I was writing Scent of Triumph, I created a cast of characters and imagined, what fragrances they would wear? How would perfume add to their characterization?  What would their choices reveal about them?  I used fragrances to reveal a character’s personality, heritage, or psychological nature.  For example, Tabac Blond and Jicky were considered fairly avant-garde in the first part of the 20^th century, so I gave these fabulous vintage scents to two of the more extravagant characters in the books.  Personally, I adore Mitsouko, so this one has a special passage in the book, too.

Question: When did your love of perfumery first begin?

Answer: My love of perfumery was seeded by my mother and grandmother, who never left the house without perfume and lipstick.  Fortunately, they had excellent taste and were generous with their knowledge.

Question: What’s your advice for authors just starting out?

Answer: Just begin! The journey begins with one step, or in this case, one paragraph or page. Then, edit and revise until you just can’t stand it anymore.

Order your copy of Scent of Triumph, now available for pre-sale on Amazon!