Sweet Like Candy by Ariana Grande

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 feel like a hug or transport you to a happy place can help you power through those hard moments. And if it ruins the fragrance, as long as it helped in that moment, who cares? There are so many perfumes in the world, you will find others.

I was way past the time frame for my routine cervical screening test. For personal reasons, I was scared and uncomfortable. But I knew I had to do it. Sweet Like Candy was the perfume I wore when I finally went in for the test. I only did a couple of sprays. It's not strong enough to bother anyone and with so few sprays only I could smell it. 

There I was, unable to relax until I moved my head to one side and this wonderful smell entered my nostrils. I finally relaxed. And thought "this test saves lives, I should write about cervical screening... and about Sweet Like Candy by Ariana Grande". This might be the only Sweet Like Candy review which mentions the cervix. And I still haven't told you what the perfume smells like.

This is not a cancer test, it is a cancer preventing test. The most modern cervical screening test not only looks for changes in the cells of the cervix, it also test for HPV. If HPV and cell changes are detected, you can be treated before these cells develop into cervical cancer. So, if you are a proud owner of a cervix, please don't skip these screenings if you have access to them. 

As for the scent that turned out to be my perfect companion to this event... It is the smell of carefree happiness. Or, to put in a more specific description: imagine you have a blender in front of you. Throw in some marshmallows, assorted berries and whipped cream and blend everything into a smoothie. The taste of that smoothie is what this perfume smells like.

If you have a vagina, remember to test. If you don't have a vagina, remember you vagina-owning friends to test. And regardless of your genitalia, enjoy Sweet Like Candy.

 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yes I Am by Cacharel

Image
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...
Read more

Illicit by Jimmy Choo

Image
  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 ...
Read more

Chocolate Greedy by Montale

Image
  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...
Read more