March Beauty Must Haves!

Hello lovelies! It's been a crazy winter here in PA, and my skin has really been suffering. I don't know about you, but when I'm feeling down the quickest way to perk myself up is to find myself some new beauty goodies! So what's been keeping me sane during this (hopefully) final month of winter?

Cuccio Naturale Milk & Honey Butter Blend

I am loving this body butter! I totally hoard collect body butters because I love how moisturizing they are. Having said that, this one has jumped to the number one spot in my collection! It's so silky and not greasy at all. It absorbs quickly, but you can still feel it's effects hours later. It also makes a good moisturizer for my cuticles (which I'll admit were looking a bit haggard…). The other plus? The smell! It's so soft and unobtrusive, and it's the kind of smell that will work well with a lot of different perfumes. I don't have to worry about my lotion competing with whatever fragrance I'm wearing.

Cuccio Naturale is a salon brand, but can be bought at their website or on Ebay or Amazon.

OPI Chip Skip

I work with my hands, and it's hard to keep polish on for very long. Since I've been using this, I've been managing to stretch my manicures from 3 days (with chipping and major tip wear) to up to 7 days with no chipping and minimal tip wear! Yeah, I'm pretty psyched. What Chip Skip does is remove all the excess oils on your nail before you start your polish routine. I love the tiny little application brush, and how easy it is to get down near my cuticles.

OPI Chip Skip can be bought at any salon supplier, Ulta, or Amazon.

St. Ives Timeless Skin Collagen Elastin Moisturizer

You guys are going to start laughing at me…. I woke up one day and totally started freaking out about getting wrinkles and aging. I'm 22 years old. I have no wrinkles! Why am I freaking out about this??? Anyway, you should always take care of your skin, and your 20s is the time when you have to crack down and stick with a routine for skin care. When you're in your 20's it doesn't really matter what moisturizer you use, so long as you stick with it. This moisturizer is not only the best deal in the drugstore ($5 for 4 ounces!), but it's also a really nice consistency and smells lovely! It's thick enough to provide some serious moisture, but it doesn't make my oily skin feel greasy. I've been slathering it on my face, neck, and decollete twice a day.

St. Ives Timeless Skin Moisturizer can be purchased at any drugstore.

Suave Moroccan Infusion Dry Body Oil Spray

This is another product that I've been using twice a day, when I get out of the shower at night and in the morning before putting on my clothes. It seals in moisture and is helping me get rid of those rough patches of alligator skin on my arms and legs. It also smells pretty amazing. I'm telling you, if there was a smell that depicted how it feels to touch cashmere, this would be it. So luxurious!

Suave Moroccan Infusion Dry Body Oil ban be purchased at any drugstore.

Wee Bee Naturally Raw Honey

"But Hannah…" I can hear you asking, "Why is there food on your beauty must have list?" Well, let me tell you. You want a truly multitasking beauty product? BAM! Here it is! I use this amazing nectar of the gods as a nightly face mask. I remove my makeup, put this on, wait a few minutes, and then hop in the shower. It also works as a moisturizer for dry patches of skin. Put it on, wait a bit, and wash it off. It helps with pimples too! Put a dab on, wait 30 minutes, and wash off! It makes a good addition to baths too. Dissolve a few teaspoons in hot water, and pour into your bath water. It makes a great deep conditioner for hair, and is chocked full of antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. It's really helpful to have around as it helps heal sores and burns, and boosts your immune system. Take a teaspoon of raw honey to help get rid of colds, hangovers, and boost your energy! I am a huge lover of honey! I love honey perfumes too, and there's a reason for that. This stuff has the best taste and smell of anything in the world. Nectar of the gods, I say!

(PS- I first got the idea to smear honey all over myself after reading this article by Crunchy Betty. Life changing!)

Wee Bee Raw Honey can be purchased in any natural food store, or in the natural food section of major grocery chains.

What do you think? Do you have any new favorite beauty must haves? Have you tried any of my faves? Let me know!

Review! Arcana's Madame Lapin and I Smell Good's Marshmallow

Today I'll be reviewing not one, but two indie fragrances! The first is Madame Lapin by Arcana, and then the second is Marshmallow by I Smell Good.

Madame Lapin by Arcana Perfume

 "The essence of a soft brown bunny: fragrant notes of sweet honey, dry Atlas cedarwood, warm toast, buttermilk, and a subtle blend of spices."

In the bottle, Madame Lapin smells very sweet. You can definitely pick up the notes of honey and toast. When first applied to my skin, I could really smell the sweetness of the honey, followed by strong cedarwood notes (very similar to the wood notes in BPAL's LE* Butterscotch and Black Beetles- more like a cedarwood chest than the chips you'd put in a hamster cage, or even cardboard). For the first hour, I kept getting sniffs of the toast and honey, along with a smooth milky note. By the second hour it was almost all cedarwood with just a bit of the toast making an appearance. A few hours later I felt that the honey came back (and got really excited, because I am all over anything having to do with honey!), but my excitement was short-lived, because after the fifth hour, it was all cedarwood.

I will say that Madame Lapin has very long lasting. I could smell it 12 hours after I applied it! It also has really good sillage for the first several hours, and even after that you can still always smell it. Maybe with someone else's body chemistry, the sweetness might stick around for a bit longer (which is what I had hoped for). I still enjoyed it, but it's not one I'll be reaching for too often.

Madame Lapin is an LE fragrance introduced in Spring 2008, but can still be purchased at The Soapbox Company for $14.95 (for 5 ml amber glass bottle).

*LE- "limeted edition"

Now, onto one of my favorites! 

Marshmallow by I Smell Good

"Marshmallow is soft, sweet and absolutely fluffy!"

As it is a single note fragrance, Marshmallow is relatively linear from beginning to end. (Linear meaning that you shouldn't expect the journey of experiencing the top, middle, and base notes and how they interact and change as time goes on).

What I love about this fragrance is how realistic it actually is! In the bottle it's sweet and airy, definitely marshmallow! On the skin, it develops into something with more depth. It takes on a warmer scent. Imaging a freshly toasted gooey marshmallow. Some days, depending on my chemistry, I get more of that toasted element. Another characteristic that this takes on when on the skin is that powdery soft note that real marshmallows are coated in. It's the scent of fluffiness, and in my opinion this is the note that makes this perfume so realistic! Marshmallow is easily one of my top three favorites. It's also pretty long lasting. I can smell it at the end of the day. Sillage isn't overpowering, but that's okay with me. Sometimes it's nice to be enveloped in s soft cloud of fragrance that someone can't smell unless they get up close and personal.

Another great thing about this perfume (along with all the other scents by I Smell Good) is that they can be worn alone or layered with other scents to create your own custom blend! Marshmallow can be used to soften an overbearing perfume, or to add just a hint of sweetness. Try layering it with other gourmand scents, fruity scents, or even try it with a tea blend! Suggestions of oils to mix with: I Smell Good's Earl Grey, Circus Peanuts (get a carnival scent going!), Tobacco, Mango, Cake, Cola (smell like Vanilla Coke!), or Cherry! The possibilities are endless! Endless I say!

Marshmallow can be purchased for $10 (for 5 ml amber glass bottle) at I Smell Good's website or etsy.

Mr. Fat and Sassy's opinion of Marshmallow and Madame Lapin:

*it should be noted that Mr. Fat and Sassy is hard to please when it comes to perfumes because he doesn't like synthetic or heavy scents*

Mr. F&S didn't care for Madame Lapin as he thought it was too sharp. He was a fan of Marshmallow though, because he said it was soft, and not overbearing.

Well that's it for today. I have some new fragrances in the mail that will be reviewed when they get here, including some from the Valentine's collection by Arcana and one from Demeter Fragrances. Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think or any brands/scents you want me to review!

*Both fragrances were purchased with my own money, and these reviews are my own opinions.

Welcome!

Hi there! Welcome to my new blog! My name is Hannah, and I’m 22 year old, from Baltimore, and I’m constantly messing with my hair. From coloring it in cotton candy hues, to cutting it in different styles, I've done it all. I love hair, makeup, and beauty (so much so that I am a licensed cosmetologist!). I have an ever-growing cabinet of beauty products, perfumes, and hair products (don’t even get me started on how many conditioners I have…). I’m an art school drop out, and I love thrifting and anything having to do with thrifting and flea markets. In my spare time, you can find me reading, painting, baking, or refinishing thrifted furniture.

Why did start this blog, you might ask? Well, I’ve been anonymously browsing a lot of body positive fashion blogs and blogs about indie makeup and perfume, and thought I’d like to start one of my own.

In my internet searches, I’ve noticed that a lot of indie company perfumes and products go without being reviewed. This is disappointing to me, as I love creating bonds with people over a mutually loved (or hated!) product. Get ready to see some of my own reviews and thoughts on these products, pictures of my art, recipes, thrifting accomplishments, and everything else that relates to my life!

I’d love to hear from you about what brands you want to see reviewed and answer any hair or beauty questions you might have. If you have a blog as well I’d love to subscribe to you too!