Summer Top Picks: Scented Body Powders

Summer is the season for perfumed body powders. Sometimes it's for physical comfort, for other people it's the preference to go with something lighter than an actual perfume (don't ask me. I use them together). I love a good lashing of fluffy puffy powder before bed. The problem is that there are fewer and fewer of these little luxuries. Once upon a time most perfume lines had a range of body products that included a body (or an "after bath") powder. It's a rarity nowadays, and I can't even blame millenials. I'm pretty sure it was gen X that killed this category, rejecting our mothers' powder puffs.

There are still good ones to be found at just about every price range. Here are my top picks for summer:

Acqua di Parma Colonia Talcum Powder Shaker ($56, at Barneys and Bloomingdale's). It's the obvious partner to their Acqua Colonia eau de cologne.

Maja. Lovers of this classic Spanish perfume probably don't need me to tell them. The bars of soaps still live in my drawers and perfume my loungewear (I'm a shower gel person), but the powder is out on top the dresser for frequent use. Available from various online retailers and local stores, usually for under $15.

Shalimar. You knew it was coming. One of the most consistent products by Guerlain where reformulations, civet level, and packaging don't really matter. The body powder ($72) can be picked everywhere from Ulta to Saks.

Let's stay with the biggest classics for a second. Chanel body products go in and out of production, but the No.5 body powder (not to be confused with the bath powder) is alive and well. The most current version is even more finely milled than ever and comes with a powder puff ($72, Nordstrom, Macy's, and Chanel.com).

Thymes Goldleaf Dusting Powder. This is a heady scent, lush and floral in a style we know (and either love or hate) from the 80s. More Krystle Carrington than Alexis, perhaps, yet utterly fabulous, and in my case addictive ($45, thymes.com).

Woods of Windsor Lavender Dusting Powder. A classic cheap thrill that cost £6.66 in the UK and usually under $15 here. The powder also comes in other scents such as rose and jasmine, but for the Englishness of it and because I love lavender this is my favorite. Available on Amazon, from CVS stores, and other retailers. 

Estee Lauder offers body powders for a few of the brad's perfumes, including Youth Dew and White Linen. But my personal pick is Beautiful ($55, at Ulta, Macy's, esteelauder.com and other authorised sellers). It's another grand floral straight out of my youth, and I find that it gains a softer and cozier quality when worn as a powder.

I admit that Houbigant Quelques Fleurs was an acquired taste for me. It used to overwhelm me, but nowadays I keep a couple of vintage bottles stashed away. The current version, Quelques Fleurs L'Original is nice and comes in a couple of body products, including a stroke-inducing $300 Perfumed Body Powder. Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus both offer a $100 refill (5.2oz) that comes in a sachet. I'd find a gorgeous vintage container on eBay and dump it inside.

Lush Cosmetics really messed up the packaging of their powders. They're now sold in little bottles, like shampoo. At least they don't leak like earlier versions, but it looks... undignified. Still, Silky Underwear is kind of a modern classic by now with its brilliant jasmine-vetiver combination. The powder itself has the best feeling on skin (it somehow contains cocoa butter), and I use it all year ($10.95 fromlushusa.com).

I have a soft spot for Santa Maria Novella's Rose fragrance. It speaks of secret gardens behind ancient stone walls, and narrow path among fragrant bushes. Obviously I'm dreaming of Italy again. SNM currently offers their soliflores in dusting talc form ($45 from aedes.com and at Aedes Perfumery on Greenwich Avenue in NYC. Maybe I should try the one in Iris next. Have you?

For more fragrance picks for summer please visit Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc, and Now Smell This. 

Chanel Première Eclosion 302 Eye Shadow Quad & Ombre Première 824 Verderame

This season has brought several Chanel eye shadow items that I've found irresistible. It doesn't always happen with their spring and summer collections, but these combinations of neutrals and rich greens are among the things they do best, and I'm all about the green lately.  First there's the Spring/Summer quad (not to be confused with Cruise Collection quad which we'll talk about in a few days and also look at alternatives), Première Eclosion 302.  It's a limited edition item (Chanel.com has sold out weeks ago but most department stores have it in stock right now). It's a classic Chanel combination of colors where you can almost see the tweed jacket with golden buttons emerging from the compact.

swatches done with a flat brush, one sheer coat over Lorac eye primer

Première Eclosion is the baked formula and offers the usual mid-level pigment saturation. The colors are semi sheer and can only be built u to a certain point. It's not Instagram makeup and isn't meant to be. I'm fine with that, since it works beautifully for a daytime real people look. The texture is pliable and blendable, and all the colors in the quad can be layered over a cream eye shadow base, either from Chane (see below) or from other brands, upscale or drugstore.

The colors in Première Eclosion are a pale mint green (applies best with a dense flat brush over a creamy base, needs little to no blending, a peach with a light sheen and more robust pigmentation, a light taupe with a silky sheen, and an almost matte dark chocolate brown. The texture of all four is smoother than I remember from other baked quads, and they can all be applied with fingers in a hurry. I've done the 30 seconds per eye with two colors in several combinations and they look just as sophisticated as a more elaborate placement, though the latter is of course more fun to create.

Bottom Line: mostly for Chanel fans, but not a bad place to start a habit. It's like a summertime version of Tisse Venitien.

Chanel Première Eclosion 302 Eye Shadow Quad ($61, limited edition, made in Italy) is in stock right now at Saks, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and probably other stores as well.

one swipe with the included brush, no primer.

Chanel Ombre Première 824 Verderame came out at the same time as Première Eclosion, the gorgeous Premiers Fleurs face palette, and a couple of lip colors. It's a permanent shade, though, which joins the improved cream shadow range, Ombre Première. Verderame is a stunning black-based cypress green right out of a Van Gogh painting. The soft texture is tempting to get one's fingers right in there and start painting. Brushes are optional and the one that comes in the box is quite adequate in laying down the color before diffusing the edges with your finger or with an old 217.

This cream shadow can also become a base for the mint green or the taupe from the Première Eclosion quad, or any trendy liquid glitter or sheer duochrome product you feel like layering on top. I've tried stuff from J Cat to Pat McGrath Astral White. It's all good.

Bottom Line: I can't keep my hands off this eye shadow.

Ombre Première 824 Verderame ($36, made in Italy) is available from Chanel.com and most department stores.

FotD: Dewy Skin, Stained Lips

Looking at the pictures now I see that they have an autumnal vibe, mostly because of the vintage necklace I chose and the black top.  Around here black is often a default,  though I often stand out for actually choosing a print . Not this time, hough, and the autumn leaf necklace made sense because of the dark green eyeliner I was wearing. Off season or not, it's supposed to be a light and dewy look with a punch of color and little to no drama. It's not a product-specific look, though of course I'm listing everything I used.

Face
Niod Photography Fluid Opacity 12%. I love the smooth canvas it creates but at this point I know I should never use it more than two consecutive days because on the third day I'll get a reaction inthe form of red bumps. It goes away after a night of BHA, but why even go there? Limited use is fine, though, and it is a beautiful primer.
It Cosmetics Illuminating CC Cream. I used the thinnest layer and kept most of it where I needed the coverage. There's definitely some flashback in the second photo, but it was meant to perform off-camera, and it did.
It Cosmetics Airbrush CC+ Perfecting Powder. I have it as part of the Je Ne Sais Quoi Complexion Perfection Face Palette, and to be honest I'm not sure it does all that much for me. Maybe I just prefer loose powders or NARS or whatever.

Eyes
It was the last dregs of Edward Bess Illuminating Eye Base in Dune. I finished both Dune and Cashmere in the last few weeks, and will probably repurchase at some point after I use up more eye primers and eye primer samples. One EB eye base or another has always been in my collection since they launched.
Edward Bess single eye shadows in Nude, Intimate, and Mystery, plus the brown shade on the upper left of L'Oreal Colour Riche Pocket Palette #108 (Bleu Nuit). The Edward Bess singles are discontinued, but they're essentially basic neutrals so if you have any of his newer eye palettes they should work just as well. I didn't do anything special so any combination of medium to light neutrals can do the same thing as long as you use something light-reflecting on the inner third of the mobile lid.
Kiko Super Colour Eyeliner in 104 Dark Slate Green. It's very very dark, kind of a "black alternative" and brings just a hint of something extra to an otherwise standard neutral eye. These $9 Kiko eyeliners have fantastic longevity and they don't lose their vibrancy during the day.
Clinique mascaras: High Impact and Lower Lash mascara.

Brows
Clinique Just Browsing in 03 Deep Brown.
Tony Moly Auto Eye Brow in 02.
I used both with a very light hand. In hindsight I should have gone heavier. This look can definitely take more.

Cheeks
Edward Bess Blush Extraordinaire in Bed of Roses
Edward Bess All Over Seduction highlighter in Sunlight. I think it's considered a classic at this point, and with a good reason.

Lips
Edward Bess Defining Lip Liner in Natural. I used it to fill in the lips to create a base more than to define the perimeter.
Edward Bess lipstick in Betty (limited edition, discontinued) which I applied, blotted, reapplied, and blotted again until it was mostly a weightless stain. You can use any red, berry, or red berry in this way which is quite effective when there's a meal involved and you want to avoid being left with a ring of color around the lips. A natural liner keeps things in place without calling attention to itself, and a blotted down stain remains mostly intact unless confronted by an oily salad dressing.

Other Stuff
SotD: Edward Bess Spanish Veil
Top: Kenneth Cole (from many seasons ago. It's draped and tied with an annoying rope-like belt that I have to make sure is well-secured to avoid a first degree wardrobe malfunction).
Necklace: vintage Givenchy. A favorite eBay find.


Just to make it clear, especially if you're new here, this post was not sponsored by anyone. I don't do sponsored posts, and have no business relationship with brands, stores, websites, or the British royal family. While I know Edward Bess personally it's not like he's going to bring back the single eye shadow range or create a blue eye shadow just because I want him to.

My Most Worn Perfumes According To Basenotes- June 2018 Edition

It's been two since I checked my perfume wearing statistics on Basenotes.net where I try to keep a somewhat accurate log of my daily scents. I confess to not being diligent enough, but I make an effort most of the time. Still, I've probably skipped recording a Shalimar night here and there, but it wouldn't have changed a thing. Shalimar, mostly vintage and in any concentration (often layered), will always be the queen of everything.  You can have a look at my past stats here and here before we move on to the most recent version.

Shalimar aside, the top five is just a game of musical chairs. When I don't know what to wear it's either L'Orpheline or some version of Chanel No. 5. Basenotes doesn't account for concentrations let alone vintages, but I can tell you that I love layering very vintage eau de cologne with any of the extraits I have. No.5 used to be very be ubiquitous, but I can't remember the last time I smelled it on a random person anywhere (obviously my perfume friends don't count).

Bal a Versailles is my filthy friend while Philtre d'Amour is a favorite after-shower treat. My backup bottle might be called in for service sooner rather than later. Then I'll be scared.

My cheap thrill of Oro by Cavalli is still going strong. It's becoming harder to find other than in my basement and I'm not apologizing.

I have a feeling that I've worn Ilang Ivohibe many more times than this list may suggest. It's located strategically in my cabinet so I can and do reach for it often. It's also an evidence that I don't really understand people. Why isn't it the biggest Parfumerie Generale hit? This is such a delicious and warm floral I'd expect more perfume people to worship it.

I'm not sure why I've let No.5 Eau de Premiere slide down the list this way. I guess that whenever I feel like No.5 I go for the real thing, but EP deserves better, especially in light of the more recent No.5 L'Eau which I simply don't get.

Then there's No. 19. Again, I'm pretty sure that I've missed logging several wearings, especially of the very floral eau de parfum from about 15-20 years ago which I love dearly. Maybe I'll wear it tonight to erase the memory of a day spent in Chanel's Gabrielle.

Closing the list is La Fin du Monde. The end of the world. If we're all going down I'll be doing it in a big bang of buttered popcorn and iris.

Urban Decay Backtalk Palette & Lipstick

Urban Decay eye and face palette is another item I caught and released into the wild. Or rather got it in PR, tested and admired it, then gave it to a friend whose complexion suited it perfectly.

I actually had high hopes because when I first opened the package it was late in the evening and the light made the colors lean murky mauve. It was still very pretty the next day as I swatched it the next day, even if there was some weirdness (see below), but it was the final test of getting the colors on my eyes that made me realize that we were not meant to be.

The Backtalk palette was inspired by one of Urban Decay's best selling Backtalk lipstick. The lipstick is nude rosy mauve in the Comfort Matte formula, and despite its name it's an accommodating and unassuming color that fits everywhere. I wear it as my "nude" color (while Hideaway is my usual pick for a more distinct look). In any case, Back talk is an awesome color and a palette centred around it is a great idea.

There were quite a few unfavorable reviews of the Backtalk palette around the web. People didn't like the packaging design with the removable mirror in the middle. I thought it was a nice touch, actually. The palette lies flat in front of you and you can place the mirror exactly where you want it. The fact you cannot close it back without returning the mirror to it slot seemed to me quite clever as it prevents you from forgetting it in hotel rooms and such.

The other issue people complained about was pigmentation, and here I have to object. The swatches you see below were done with a basic stiff eye shadow brush, not with fingers. When testing makeup looks on my eyes I've used even softer brushes and had no issues at all. The very soft texture might blend into oblivion if one spends a long time fluffing them into the crease, but that's not the mandatory method to do makeup. I will say that a good eye primer is a must. Urban Decay's own Anti-Aging Primer Potion was my obvious choice and it worked.

I had one serious issue with the eye colors in Backtalk. A couple of them changed when applied. The most obvious example is Backtalk itself, that's supposed to be a pink mauve and ended up oxidizing into a coral during the few minutes between swatching and taking the photo below. It was even more pronounced on my lid which is significantly darker than my arm.

Here's a list of the eye shadows and my impressions:

3 Sheets- a silky soft matte in a doll skin pink.
Bare- a shimmer pinky beige, applies better than swatches.
Curve- a harder texture shimmer mauve.
Backtalk- see above. I don't even know what to say.
Shade- a satin berry. I'd take a blush n this color.
Attitude- a gleaming warm pink that's almost coral.
WTF- matte milk chocolate.
180- satin rich plummy brown.

I've managed to create three very distinct looks with the palette. Unfortunately none of them was flattering on me, which is why I let it go. My guess would be that those with blue or green eyes/porcelain skin/ undertone that isn't an ashy olive would be able to wear these eye shadow beautifully.  They really are pretty and there's enough contrast and distinction between the offered shades.

We've already established that I'm a sucker for blush palettes. I wish the face part of Backtalk was released separately, because I would have gotten it for the various layering and mixing options as well as for the Cheap Shot blush, which is a satin rhododendron color. The other shades are Double Take, another warm mauve that becomes coral terracotta on my skin (really nice in a blush, satin gleam finish),  Low Key, a shimmery peach that would work as a highlighter on deep skin tones and is a nice blush or blush companion for me, and last: Party Foul, a beige pink shimmer highlighter for me, or a blush for very fair skin.

I think there's a slight disconnect between the face and the eye portions of the palette. The blushes and highlighters would work for a much wider range of skin tones, while the distinct pink tones of the eye shadows require that one can really rock them. Or maybe I'm just jealous of those who can.

Some people griped that the formula is not on par with other Urban Decay shadows. I don't know. at this point there are so many UD eye shadows in various configurations that I'm not sure which ones are considered iconic. I have a handful of singles, mostly duochromes, which are gorgeous yet overpriced in my opinion, a Naked 2 and Naked Basics 2 palettes that are I love for their ease of use and blendability (many disagree), and a few limited edition colorful palettes, each offering eye shadows in multiple finishes and formulas. Backtalk is somewhere in the middle with its soft colors and even softer texture. I was happy to let it go to a better home, but 'm not over Urban Decay quite yet (which explains why I'm seriously eyeing the new Beached palette).

Bottom Line:
If the colors are your thing it's worth swatching them when you're at Sephora. Or just wait until it's on sale, because you know it's going to happen.


Urban Decay Backtalk Palette (limited edition, $46, made in the US with US &/or imported ingredients) is an urbandecay.com and Sephora exclusive). Backtalk Lipstick ($18, made in USA) is permanent and also available from Ulta.