Favorites Friday

I am supposed to be working on a homework assignment right now. So obviously that means it's time to blog! I know I didn't have a list last week but I wasn't really into anything last week. Thinking about how I might change up this weekly post as well. Stay tuned for that! Anyway, onto favorites!

1. Hot Cocoa lip balm from Wild Rose Herbs. I almost didn't order this flavor but I am so glad I did! It is super chocolatey and smells exactly like hot cocoa! I love me a good chocolate lip balm and this is one of the bests I have found. I can't stop using it! 
2. Sharkbender solid perfume from Darling Clandestine. This was one of Evonne's limited edition releases - I don't know if it'll make another appearance. It is a blend of her Love & Sharks and Hellbender fragrances. And I love the blend! It is a good balance of sweet and spicy that makes it quite intoxicating. I got a compliment on this one the other day!
3. Valiant Heart perfume oil from Sarawen. I am completely in looooove with this one! It might possibly earn a spot on my list of very favorite perfumes. The main notes are lavender, plumeria, citrus, English apples, and almond cake. And it is HEAVENLY! It is sweetly floral and spicy and sultry. Sexy! I want to wear this all the time. Oh, and it's currently on sale!
4. Suave Kids Naturals Head to Toe body wash in lavender. I don't usually use a lot of commercially produced items. I was desperate when I first tried this - I was traveling and needed shampoo and my only place to get some was at a department store. I am really sensitive to most commercial shampoos. The fragrances are too much for me and give me headaches all day. This was the least offensive one I found. And I found out it performs really well on my very picky hair. And the scent is gentle when in use, and leaves no lingering scents. My hair is always soft and silky when I use this shampoo! I was very sad when I ran out and had a hard time finding it in stores up here in Alaska. I gave in and ordered some online. While I do love shampoo bars, and still use them, shampoo bars are not good for washing your hair everyday. And now that I am working out, I have to wash my hair everyday or else I'll go around smelling like sweat all day. This is perfect for every day washing! Maybe I'll do a full review on this later on instead of writing a book here...
5. Small Saga solid perfume from Darling Clandestine. I am not a big fan of this when I first apply, but after a few minutes it is a beautiful fragrance! I am not even sure how to really describe it. It is sweet with a bit of zing in there. And a bit of creaminess and lightly fruity background. It definitely makes me happy!
6. Sra. Rosemary soap from Epically Epic. Of course I had to try the new EE soaps! And I have been into rosemary lately and this bar is perfect! It is a bit medicinal in smell but I really like that about rosemary - it's soothing and relaxing. And it is very strongly scented - I was surprised and impressed! It completely fills the shower when I use it and the rest of the bar I'm not using is making my room smell really good. Can't wait to try more EE soaps!

Pretty decent list this week! I recently placed another order with Darling Clandestine as well. I just can't stop myself! Looking forward to playing with new goodies soon. Also, in other news, I will be traveling again next week so I am not sure if I'll be able to post much next Friday. We'll see though.

Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful weekend! It is finally starting to get cold here. I pulled out my winter socks! Stay warm everybody!

<3 Alyssa

Favorites Friday

Sorry for another late in the day post! It's been a crazy day around here. Full of appointments and waiting and dragging kids around busy holiday events. Finally at home relaxing! Although there won't be a photo for this post. Relaxing feels too nice! But anyway, here are my favorites for the week:

1. Vintage Lavender perfume stick from Dollface Perfumes (scent currently not in stock - I believe the owner is working on restocking her shop). I have been loving this scent this week! There's something fizzy about it that blends so well with the lavender. And it was such a great deal!
2. Yuletide at Baker St. perfume oil from Sarawen. I have only used this once this week but fell completely in love with it! I think I even fell asleep huffing it on my wrists. It has so many great scent notes that all take their time to shine. But, to be fully reviewed later (before Christmas!).
3. Whipped Squalane Face & Eye Mousse from Chagrin Valley. The texture of this mousse is amazing! I have only been using this for about a week so I'm still testing it out to see how it's working for my skin, but so far I have been loving it. It feels super moisturizing and I have a feeling this will be great for wintertime! 
4. Ginger Ale lip balm from Epically Epic. This really does smell like bubbly gingerale! And I love gingerale! And EE balms! Win win here, really.
5. Lavender Marshmallow solid lotion from Epically Epic. I'm not the biggest fan of solid lotions but I love the EE ones! And I believe I still need to review these. I will at some point because I have a lot! They are great for keeping my hands soft in this harsh, cold winter weather. Super moisturizing - they take a while to sink in (as can be expected), but totally worth the wait! And the Lavender Marshmallow scent is lovely! I can't get enough of it!

Let's see... what non-B&B favorites of the week do I have...

• Hot cocoa! And of course it has to be extra chocolatey! With whipped cream! It's that time of year when a mug of hot cocoa is one of the best things in the world.
• Prejudice by Tim Minchin. This never fails to amuse me! And it's so catchy. Tim Minchin is kind of a genius! 

And so there are my favorites for the week! And back to the relaxing thing for a bit. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I have one more weekend of homework then I'll be on break! Wish me luck on getting everything done! :)

<3 Alyssa

Favorites Friday

Happy Friday! I thought maybe I'd start doing these weekly favorites posts. I'm really trying to get back into the whole blogging thing and keeping it that way! I've got some plans brewing and reviews in the works and I will be able to spend a lot more time working on my blog next month! Woo! :)

But anyway, onto my favorites for the week!

1. Falter perfume oil from Darling Clandestine. I can't get enough of this scent! It's sweet and mellow and utterly fantastic! I won't say too much here since I am working on a review for more DC perfumes. But I will say that this perfume works perfectly with my body chemistry and I have been swooning over it!
2. Baker's Boy perfume oil from Sarawen (reviewed here). This has been getting some use from me this week on those breaks from Falter! I have been really into leather scents lately and I love the blend in this, with the sweet cake and fruits complementing the warm scent of the worn leather. Wearing this right now and I can't stop sniffing my wrists!
3. Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream body butter from Mad City Soap. I only have a little sample of this, which I received in my last order. I'm not a huge fan of the scent, as blueberry fragrances aren't one of my favorites. But it is sweet and delicious smelling. And the lotion goes on beautifully! I've been enjoying using this on my hands at night. I am definitely going to order some body butter from MCS! Winter scents were just released today too! They sound so yummy!
4. Forest Berry Jam Root Beer lip conditioner from Ella Dean (reviewed here). I have been loving the bright and refreshing flavor of this lip balm. Plus, I've been trying not to drink soda lately. It has so much sugar! I've been getting my root beer fix from this balm. And the silky texture is heavenly, as always!
5. Double Mint soap from Noirliliana (although it looks like the shop is currently closed). I had this soap for a long time before I tried it. By then the minty scent wasn't as apparent so I was a bit sad about that. But I have moved it to my soap dish for washing my hands and it has been keeping my hands super soft! The lather is really creamy and great for this colder weather.

Here's a couple other things that are non-B&B related that have been my favorites this week:

• Spangler mini candy canes. I am so happy that it is candy cane season now! I love candy canes and these are perfect! There's 40 in a box for $2 and a serving size is 4 candy canes for a total of 70 calories and 13g of sugar. I've been stashing them everywhere! Must. Start. Stockpile.
•  Horse Outside by The Rubberbandits (video). I have been loving this song! It has been playing a lot around here lately. I don't know what it is about it - it's amusing and fun and has a slight dancy mood to it. If you take a listen, there is some cursing.

That's it for my favorites this week - hope you enjoyed my first favorites post! I'll do my best to keep it up! Have a great weekend!

<3 Alyssa

Sarawen Perfume Art Perfumes {review}

I don't know if I'm the best girl for doing perfume reviews. Sometimes I can be terrible at explaining things, and trying to describe the complexities of perfumes may lead to some confusion on your part. But I really love these perfumes so I'll give it a shot! And I'll do my best! :)

I was first drawn to Sarawen Perfume Art because of the vintage style presented in the shop. All of the perfumes are beautifully presented and I just wanted to take a whiff of them all! There are cool themes, such as fantasy & sci-fi inspired scents. The shop even offers masculine and unisex fragrances. Something for everyone!

Note on the photos: The bottles and vials used for the shop have changed since I've purchased perfumes. You will notice the difference if you browse the shop!

{the perfume}

These perfumes have no alcohol in them. That is what I like most about handmade perfume oils - there is no alcohol added to help throw the scent. I don't like everyone in the room to be able to smell my perfume. I prefer to only have those who get close enough to me to be able to catch a whiff. I also don't like the headache-inducing scent alcohol adds to perfumes, basically making them all smell the same (to me anyway). These perfumes are not like that. It is just oils and fragrance, and all I smell are the lovely, complex scent notes.

As with all perfumes with no alcohol added, the scent is not long lasting. The fragrance needs to be refreshed every couple of hours or so, if you're to wear it all day. Usually I just use perfume for a night out, so it's not much of an issue to me. But I don't mind reapplying a few times a day because it means I am using quality perfume that I prefer - it doesn't give me headaches and the scent stays close to me.

{the scents}

When I first ordered from Sarawen Perfume Art, I ordered a full size and four samples. Since then, I have ordered full-size bottles of three of those samples I received. (I will not go into Vanilla Vamp as I don't believe it is offered anymore and it was the one that I least cared for, so I no longer have it.)

The Baker's Boy is a scent inspired by The Hunger Games (the character Peeta in this case). It is described as: "A luscious, gourmand fragrance bursting with ripe strawberries (from Katniss of course!) and delicious yellow cake. Underneath the deliciousness drifts soft vetiver, leather, and golden amber. This perfume is a unisex blend that borders towards feminine." To my nose, this is a sweet scent mellowed out by the other components of the perfume. The blend of strawberries and yellow cake is perfectly done. It's not an in-your-face-sickly-sweet-dessert-fragrance, but rather it reminds me of sweet berries left out in the sun or some delicious berry dessert baking in the next room. In the background, I mostly detect leather (although admittedly, I don't know what vetiver smells like on its own!). It blends well with the sweetness, mellowing it out and adding an interesting and almost refreshing element to the perfume. Writing all this makes me want to wear this perfume all the time now!

Girl On Fire is another scent inspired by The Hunger Games (Katniss!). It is described as: "Wild strawberries gathered from the forest blend with the comforting scent of leather hunting boots, and in her hair a very faint hint of sweet forest herbals. A pretty scent, but not to be taken lightly - rebellion lurks beneath the feminine fruit notes! Main notes: leather, strawberry, green herbs." To my nose, this is an interesting scent combination that always intrigues me every time I wear it. At first, I smell the strawberries and the leather. When it settles down, the herbal scents come to the front with a faint sweetness in the background and warmed by the scent of leather. It almost reminds me of walking through the forest on a warm day. It is the perfect scent for an Alaska girl like me!

Georgina is a Victorian era based scent described as: "Spend a lovely summer afternoon with a pot of fresh-brewed mint tea, a bowl of ripe peaches, and a plate of delicious dainty cake! A scent that is fruity, sweet, and refreshing, with just a hint of underlying gloom beneath the sunny sky. Main notes: peach, black tea, mint, incense." To my nose, the combination is so refreshing! At first, the peppermint is a bit strong but it mellows a bit and blends well with the peaches for a sweetly invigorating scent. The black tea and incense add complexity to the blend with an almost spicy background. This has to be one of my all-time favorite fragrances. The peaches and peppermint seemed like such an odd pairing to me at first, but they work extremely well together to create such a beautiful fragrance!

Tea With Watson is a scent inspired by Sherlock Holmes. It is described as: "Take a break from adventuring and stop at 221 Baker Street for awhile. White tea, delicious yellow cake, and a dash of cream caramel with a lingering background of light tobacco and bay rum. It smells just like a tea party at Holmes and Watson's flat! This is a balanced unisex fragrance inspired by the world of Sherlock Holmes." To my nose, this is the one I have most difficulty in trying to describe. The scent is warm and smokey with a sweet background. It is more of a masculine scent, but I really dig it and feel like I can still pull it off. I like to wear it on rainy, chilly days because the fragrance reminds me of being in a warm, cozy cabin with a fire going. I believe this is one of Sarawen's more popular fragrances, so it gets a lot of love!

{ingredients}

 Ingredients include rice bran oil, fractioned coconut oil, fragrance, and vitamin e.

{conclusion}

I definitely recommend giving Sarawen Perfume Art a shot! The perfumes are high quality and the fragrance blends are interesting and beautifully done. All of the perfumes I've tried are very unique and I love having fragrances that are different than the toxic perfumes everyone else wears! The scents are so enchanting, there will for sure be some more testing of new fragrances by me! I'm just itching to try one of the Doctor Who inspired scents as I am a HUGE Doctor Who fan! And I just might do that since there is a sale going on right now! It is 20% off (through Monday 10/14) your order of $10 or more with the coupon code "THANKYOU"! Now there's no excuse to not try out some new perfumes! :)

There is also an Etsy shop if you feel more comfortable purchasing through Etsy!