They Know Me So Well

I love the holiday season, even though I loathe Christmas music, because there's an abundance of food and PRESENTS! Gift-giving and -receiving is one of life's pleasures, and something I thoroughly enjoy on both sides. I've been blessed to receive several wonderful gifts from loved ones, including several beauty-related, which I share with you today (which is also the first day of winter term, and passed by without issue, hurray!).

Tauer Perfumes Carillon pour un Ange

I smelled this in New York at Min, and absolutely fell in love. At $140 for an ounce, though, it's way out of my price range. Min had a 20% off sale before the holidays, and I so wanted to purchase it then, but $112 is still, well, too much. The boy knew of my plight, and offered to buy it as my Christmas present. I didn't want him spending $112 on perfume for me, either, but he said he knew I loved it and it was something I wouldn't buy myself otherwise, and therefore made the perfect Christmas gift. Having only smelled it and worn it the one time, I was a little worried that it wouldn't be everything I remembered, but I needn't have feared: Carillon pour un Ange is one of the best things I have ever smelled. Y'all know that I love my woodsy oriental rich scents, which Carillon pour un Ange (literally, Chimes for an Angel) decidedly is not. It's a floral green lily of the valley scent, none of which are things I usually go for, which just goes to show a) how talented Andy Tauer is, and b) how much you shouldn't assume you know what you like. I think the ambergris help anchor the scent and provide contrast, and the woodsy notes add complexity, but it is, through and through, a floral scent. It's also insanely strong and long-lasting; I sprayed my arm and it lasted more than 24 hours, including through a shower. Because it's a floral, and lily of the valley at that, I find it to be more of a warm-weather scent, but even in the gloom and grey, it smells beautiful. I feel so blessed that the boy understands me so well, and is so very generous. Thank you, grapes!
(Samples are available from Luckyscent, $3 for 0.7 ml, should you wish to try it yourself!)

Eve Lom Rescue Mask

image via Barneys, because I was too lazy to take my own

I loved the sample I got of this when I went to Barneys with L, so when she offered to get it for me for Christmas, I of course said yes! The tube, unlike the little sample packet, needs to be shaken before use because the clay and liquid can separate, but otherwise it is exactly as I remembered it––slightly funky smelling, weird grains, and incredibly effective. I use it as a spot treatment and it helps dry blemishes out and heal them much more quickly than they would otherwise. Hurray!

Sephora X Chaotic

I arrived home from California to several packages, including two from Sephora. I knew what one was––I'd ordered NARS Mascate when there was free shipping at $25 as my post-term self present––but was utterly puzzled as to where the other came from, racking my brain* as to whether I'd ordered something when I was gone? Upon opening it, though, I discovered that my dear friend Z had sent me a most excellent Christmas gift: the new Chaotic topper from the Sephora X collection! It's a black and white glitter, similar to Lynnderella Connect the Dots (see comparisons from The PolishAholic), and it is total awesomesauce. She recommended I wear it over a light creme, so I chose Deborah Lippmann Modern Love (which is a very nice polish itself, and quite a chameleon!). It did, indeed, look great. The day after I applied the mani I had family pictures with the cousins, and our color theme was black and white this year (though my brother, being the sole boy, got away with wearing white and brown, what a rebel), and my nails looked amazing with my black and white grid dress.

See?

Then, for my back-to-school mani, I layered it over Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid, which also looked great (though the picture I took looked terrible, so no snapshot of that one). I just want to wear it all the time, pretty much. Except when I'm wearing the next one!

Orly Angel Eyes and Bonder

My lovely friend T gave me these after trying Bonder and finding it helped extend her manicures––we've long bemoaned how quickly polish chips on us, and she was generous enough to gift me my own Bonder to try out, along with the truly gorgeous Angel Eyes. I didn't feel like doing 3 coats to get it opaque, so I layered one coat over OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue**, which looked great. And Bonder does help make my polish last longer, at least based on one sole manicure. T recommended sandwiching the polish between layers of Bonder (Bonder, polish, Bonder, topcoat), which is the only way I've used it so far and it helped it mani last a full 2 days with no tipwear or chipping, which with something this dark, and my nails in the shape they're in, is no small miracle! (I failed to take a photo because, um, I'm a terrible blogger, but when I wear Angel Eyes again I'll try to remember to snap one!)

*I wasn't sure whether this should be wrack or rack, Google Ngram shows rack (whether as rack, racked, or racking) far outnumbering wrack, so I went with the numbers, even though, if pressed, I would have guessed wrack being correct.
**The terrible punny names are what kept me away from OPI polishes for so long, but after buying Every Month is Oktoberfest I realized the formula is really great and I should try to get past the names. But I still think the names are moronic.

Did you get any beauty-related gifts for the holidays?