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Yes I Am by Cacharel

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Just look at that bottle of Yes I Am by Cacharel... A classic red lipstick. Wearing red-colored lips dates back to the ancient Sumerians. Then, in Ancient Egypt (Cleopatra, of course), more colors besides red were available ( source ). Cacharel, like the Ancient Egyptians, after the classic red lipstick, came out with lipsticks with different colors, the flankers of Yes I Am. In the original Yes I Am, the star of the show is cardamom. Cardamom appears to have some health benefits and the list is long: it may help lower blood pressure, some compounds in it may stop the growth of tumors and fight cancer (so far only seen in vitro and in mice), it has antioxidants that may slow down and prevent inflammation, it may offer protection against digestive issues and in rats it has been shown to reduce the number and size of stomach ulcers, it may treat bad breath and prevent cavities, etc. Looks like this spice could turn us into immortals.  A classic red lipstick as the bottle, repr...
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Illicit by Jimmy Choo

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  Today's fragrance is all about the ginger, beautifully blended with the other notes. I've found that the chapter 7 from the book Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects  is called  The Amazing and Mighty Ginger , which sounds like the title of an old-timey comic book about a ginger superhero. But it is really a good source of information, from which I will share the bits I've found more interesting. Ginger, cardamom and turmeric are all members of the same plant family. It is believed that Indians and Chinese have been using ginger as a tonic root to treat many ailments for over 5000 years. Long before history was formally recorded, ginger was used as a flavoring agent. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, if you wanted to buy a pound of ginger it would cost you a sheep. And during medieval times, it was used in sweets. Last but not least, Queen Elizabeth I of England is credited with the invention of the gingerbread man. Ginger has been shown to have ...
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Chocolate Greedy by Montale

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  In 1735, Linnaeus gave de cacao tree the scientific name Theobroma cacao . Theobroma means "food of the gods". This name comes not only from Linnaeus' love of chocolate but also from his knowledge about the Mayan and Aztec beliefs that cacao was a gift from the gods ( source ). A lot has been said and published about chocolate, so I wanted to bring you something new that you might not heard about before. It is a recent scientific study, from 2021, called " Chocolate Consumption and Sex-Interest ", by Beatrice A. Golomb and Brinton K. Berg from the University of California, San Diego, USA. They found no relationship between chocolate and libido in men. However, they had questions regarding women. Here's a quote from the scientific paper: (...) chocolate consumption might be tied to increased sex-interest - or diminished (or neither). Chocolate might be postulated to spur interest in sex, by simulating love and stimulating the chemicals allied with it - with...
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2022: One decade of La Vie Est Belle

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I was planning on writing this before 2022 was over. It's 2023 and I don't want to ignore the fact that this fragrance has been around for over 10 years. Meet La Vie Est Belle by Lâncome. I'm kidding. At this point, everyone who has the mildest interest in perfume already smelled it. It is one of the most popular and best-selling perfumes worldwide while at the same time one of the world's most hated perfumes. If you haven't smelled it before, I assure you that once you do, you will immediately think "I've smelled this before". You might have smelled this on other people, you might have smelled perfumes with a similar scent profile before. Whatever it is, you will find this familiar. At this moment in time, La Vie Est Belle is the answer to the question "What does perfume smell like?". And although you might be tired of it right now, at the time it was launched, this type of gourmand composition was new. And a crowd-pleaser. This made me wond...
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Sweet Like Candy by Ariana Grande

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When I opened the box of Ariana Grande's Sweet Like Candy, the brand new bottle showed me what society still expects me, as a woman, to be: soft, pretty, flawless and pink.  However, very soon, the bottle starts morphing into what women actually are: real, their nail polish sometimes is chipped, silver linings may show and some days we need to be assertive so we ditch the soft pompom. And I like it. This is a comforting scent that will put you in a better mood when you need a pick-me-up. When you feel the way my bottle, pictured above, looks right now. It's a crowd-pleasing perfume, yet so soft that it won't reach any of the crowd's noses unless you overspray.  Some say "never wear perfume during negative events in your life". I politely disagree. I understand that in some cases it may ruin the fragrance for you forever, that smell will remain tied to that negative memory and you won't be able to use it again. But I also feel that the cozy fragrances that ...
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Burberry Brit for Her EDP

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  There it is, my half empty bottle of Burberry Brit, the Eau de Parfum version. A blend of almonds, sugar and vanilla… and lime. Green, fresh acidic lime. The lime does tone down a little after the initial spray, but what sets this one apart from any other sweet vanilla almond perfume is that green lime.  The perfect fall fragrance. Isn't fresh citrus usually more associated with summer fragrances? Not this one. Imagine a cold day. It's cloudy and gray outside. All you want is to stay cozy and warm, wrapped in a blanket. However, you can't spend all day on the couch. You need to get stuff done. And this is where this perfume can be a secret weapon.  I get the coziness I need from the sweetness of the sugary vanilla almond and that zesty and bright fresh green lime wakes me up and gives me energy to get my mind and my body moving. This will take me off the couch and motivate me to do anything while at the same time keeping me comforted and safe. Beware of the sweet almond...
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Jean Paul Gaultier "La Belle" Le Parfum

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Unlike the original JPG "La Belle" , I don’t get pear-flavored gummy bears at all with this one. Both the cinnamon and the bitter woodiness, subtle in the background of the original La Belle, play the main role in "La Belle" Le Parfum.  Mysterious, smokey and deep night-time scent. Not a safe blind buy. To me, this is a combination of the 3 following scents, each one stacked over the previous one: #1: Inside an abandoned mansion with very old and dark wood furniture. #2: That furniture was recently polished with a strong smelling industrial grade product. Windows are closed. #3: After being polished, that furniture was violently attacked with a squirt gun charged with cherry cola.  I just can't shake the visual image of my description above out of my head whenever I smell La Belle Le Parfum. And someone really went crazy with that cherry cola squirt gun. On the topic of squirt guns, did you know that the Super Soaker, the famous and powerful squirt gun, was inve...
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