Beauty Vixen: collection

Vintage Perfumes From My Collection

By Jill Oliver-Fox Sunday, March 03, 2024 4711, clinique, Clinique happy, collection, dkny be delicious, guerlain, happy, happy heart, perfume, Shalimar, yardley, yardley london

I have been building up a perfume collection for a while now, and I realized not too long ago that a few of my scents have been around for decades. I thought I would give you a bit of a glimpse into a few of my vintage (20 years or older) scents.

Clinique Happy (1998)

I fell in love with Clinique Happy, maybe around 2004, or 2005. It had a citrus punch I like and I thought it smelled fresh. I feel I caught on around the time it was hitting really big because there were always sets with other scents like Happy in Boom, Happy Heart, and a few others. For about 8 years I wore it a lot and had full bottles as well as lots of Roll-ons I got in gift sets.

As time went on I drifted away and to other scents. That didn't stop me from keeping a few minis, and roll-ons, and in 2017 I treated myself to a mini spray trio set. I truly hate roll-ons, so a spray set was great.

I still love this vibrant fragrance and wear it a few times a month. Clinique launched it in 1998 and it was seen in the opening of Legally Blonde as Elle gets ready. It is a fruity floral with lots of orange to it. Happy Heart was the only spinoff I've ever really enjoyed, it has more floral notes to it.

4711 Original Eau De Cologne by Echt Kolnisch Wasserstein (1799)

This one is super new to me, but was created in 1799 in Cologne Germany. It has an ongoing history that is quite fascinating. I picked it up at the Lisa Cosmetic sale for $9.99 and didn't notice at the time that it was a tester. I could have bought a gigantic litre of it, but this seemed just fine.

I got interested in the scent after Jane Daly tweeted about it, but I couldn't find it anywhere. It seems to be huge elsewhere and more of a hard-to-find item here in Canada.

It's a super light unisex scent with lemon, orange, neroli, and bergamot in it. It has almost no lasting power, so splash it on generously.

Yardley English Rose Eau De Toilette (1997)

I love roses and Yardley's English Rose might be my favourite. It's simple and wonderful. It's also the one fragrance, that when I wear it my husband always says I smell nice. I like the compliment so I wear it, or its body spray often.

Yardley was founded in 1770, having celebrated their 250th anniversary in 2020. While in Canada you can only get their English Rose, English Lavender, and Lily of the Valley, you can get lots of other scents in the UK. Speaking of which, the brand has held many Royal Warrants since 1921 (currently holds one for King Charles III).

While their signature scent is English Lavender (created in 1873), they have had rose scents for pretty much just as long. Red Roses seems to be the name before this one was created in 1997.

This is a wonderful light rose scent with a bit of magnolia, citrus, and patchouli mixed in so that it it isn't heavy or make me feel sleepy. I find it works best with the lotion and body spray used in combination.

Guerlain Shalimar (1925)

Shalimar was launched in 1925, making it just shy of 100 years old. I happen to have the eau de cologne version, but it comes in many variations and has stood the test of time. It currently is Guerlain's flagship fragrance.

It has a powdery scent with bergamot and a whole bunch of other warm scents. It is definitely a classic scent that still holds its own almost a century later.

DKNY Be Delicious (2004)

I can't remember the first time I smelt this scent, but I do remember buying it at The Bay and getting a beach towel with it. I re-bought it a few times over the years, mainly at Estee Lauder warehouse sales.

The last time I had no intent because I had just redeemed a voucher for a full size of the Golden Delicious variety from a sampler I had. My friend wanted some at the sale and it was buy one get one free for a whole set, so I ended up with another full bottle and a mini. As you can see I've gotten a few other minis along the way too.

Launched in 2004 this scent is fresh and fruity as well as floral. Cucumber, green apple as well as tuberose and violet are in the mix and I find it quite refreshing. There are a few variations including Golden Delicious which is more woody and floral. As well as Fresh Blossom Delicious which has more floral and grapefruit notes to it.

The Body Shop White Musk (1981)

White Musk is probably The Body Shop's most iconic scent. In the '80s and '90s, The Body Shop had a whole line of fragrance oils, now only White Musk remains (I got a roll-on, but you can still get it in a bottle with a dabber). It (and many other of their fragrances) comes in eau de toilette, eau de parfum, as well as fragrance mist (and all the other body products).

The scent is light, and floral and has a musky to it that screams 1990s mall. The Body Shop also makes a few other variations of it, including a men's version.

So there you go, a few fragrances from my collection that have stood the test of time. I might do another showcasing some other classics like some CK fragrances or a classic drugstore option from my teen years, Exclamation. Let me know if you want to see more.

Do you have a favourite vintage fragrance?

Project Pan 2020

By Jill Oliver-Fox Monday, January 20, 2020 collection, project 20 pan, project pan

I thought I would start 2020 off with a big Project Pan. I chose 20 products I hope to get through this year and clear them out of my collection.

Why am I doing this? Mainly because my collection of skincare and makeup is getting out of hand. The number of products that I have started and have multiples of the same type of but am not willing to part with is not ok. Rather than continue on my current track, I figured I could actually try to use products up instead of just adding to my clutter and keep on forgetting about products.

This is going to be year-long when I finish a product I hope to replace it with something similar. I really want to start using some of my deluxe skincare samples so those may be next.

1 ) Pixi Rose Tonic

I have about 7 toners on the go, this is actually one of my newer additions, but my skin really loves it, which is why I added it to my project. My skin really loves rose so this has been nothing but fantastic for my dry skin. I am going to try to use it at least twice a day. It is about 4/5 full.

2) Erno Laszlo Timeless Skin Serum

I got this so long ago I cannot remember. It came in a sampler pack and while it looks big I doubt it actually is (15 ml). I have no clue how much is left inside. I will be glad when it is gone because I want to actually use up my skincare samples and not have tones only partially used in my home anymore.

3 ) Paula's Choice Skin Perfection 8% AHA Lotion and 2 BHA Lotion

I do not exfoliate enough and these babies have been in my collection a while. Part of my never using things consistently or enough to use them up is why I chose to add them to the project. I am counting them as one product and I am going rotate what one I use each night. I plan on removing one cap and leaving another one on a bottle. Each night I will take the lid off the one bottle and put it on the other, that way I can keep better track of what one I used last. My goal here is consistency, better exfoliation and to use these two up. I have no clue how much is in each one, but I assume a lot since they are 100 ml.

4 ) Fresh Rose Hydrating Eye Gel Cream:

I really suck at using eye cream, by adding this I hope to make more apart of my daily routine. I have about half of the jar left.

5 ) The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter

I have bought so many of these over the years, so it was a great choice for this project. I have another cleansing balm I want to try out but honestly haven't opened because I am trying to have too many open products and I feel like it is never going to happen. Also, it works really well

6 ) Darphin Lumiere Essentielle:

I really adore this thick and rich cream. I figured I was about 2/3 done it so I should just use it up already! I hope I should be done in a month of use.

7 ) Guerlain Meteorites 01 Blanc de Perle:

I have a large collection of Meteorites and while most just get a tiny bit of use, this one is permanent so I use it a lot more often. I figured I would add it to the project so that I would see what would happen if I put it in more serious rotation.

8 ) Joe Fresh Translucent Powder:

I picked this up when Joe Fresh was leaving Shoppers Drug Mart for a steal. While I really love it, I have too many loose powders hanging around and even have a back up of this. I do love how it leaves my skin. It is probably 80% full.

9 ) The Ordinary Coverage Foundation:

I have that terrible habit of not finishing my foundations, so this one is almost done, and well I should finish it. I do like this foundation and I want to use it up. The bottle has product up the line left, so hopefully, I can finish this up in a little bit of time.

10 ) Hard Candy Sheer Envy Coconut Water Primer Stick:

This is my second one of these sticks. I really love how hydrating it is but I am not sure how good of a primer it is. Regardless my skin really likes it. Since I have a lot of primes on the go, this one seemed like a great one to use up since I like it so much.

11 ) Hard Candy Glamoflauge Lite

This stick has been with me a while and honestly, it has been lost in my pile of other concealers. I chose it because I actually really like it, I have used a fair amount of it. I have used most of the pinker shade and not as much of the yellow one. We will see how this goes.

12 ) Nars Dolce Vita Lipstick

So my lipsticks are particularly out of control situation. I have over 100 deluxe minis and this is one of them. I honestly don't know the last time I finished off a lipstick. I chose this one because it is a nice pink nude that I could easily wear most days and maybe use up.

13 ) Mac Twig Lipstick

Sticking with trying to use up a lipstick, I figured this was also a nice nude shade that I could get a lot of wear out of. Of all my Mac shades, this one was the most likely of the bunch to get used up.

14 ) Milk Lip + Cheek in Werk

I was trying to find a blush that would work for every day, after looking through my collection I thought that this stick would be great. It works well with the lipsticks I chose.

15 ) Joe Fresh Tinted Lipbalm in Spice:

I am a big fan of Joe Fresh Tinted Lip Balms, I thought I should add one to my project just to try to use one up. I love the finish and right now in the winter, it has been great to use.

16 ) Too Faced Shadow Insurance:

I feel like this is almost gone so it seemed like a good product to just use up and toss. I always loved this formula.

17 ) Wet N Wild PhotoFocus Rose 3-in-1 Primer Water:

I love this spray quite a bit. It has a fabulous light rose scent and does a great job as a setting spray. Since I have so many toner sprays, primer sprays and setting sprays currently in my collection (guessing 15), I figured I would try to use this one up. I like it and it is about 2/3 done already so it shouldn't be too hard to keep on using it until it is done.

18 ) Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer:

I got this in a set quite a while ago and only started to use it a short while ago. I have used several of these tubes over the years and I 100% adore the formula so I thought it was a good one for almost daily use. It also seemed like a generally good idea to get back into tinted moisturizers since my skin is always dry and I have not been loving foundation too much lately. I have about 3/4 of a tube left.

19 ) Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight

I believe I got this in a set at the Estee Lauder warehouse sale, it looks full size but only houses a small amount of product. I have used it a bit over time and like how it looks, but honestly don't use it too much, by throwing it into my project I figured I could clear it out of my collection versus having many similar products in my collection. Now that I see how small it is I am glad I chose it, so I can finish it off quickly.

20 ) Urban Decay Naked Basic Palette

I chose this palette because it was already out on my counter. That sounds silly, and trust me it was a silly choice. I thought it is a bit older in my collection and matte so I could create lots of daily looks with it. I am not sure if this was a great choice because as I type this I realize that it often looks muddy on me. I may be using a lot of other shadows to make this work.

Ok, so there you go, 20 items I hope to get some good use out of and maybe use up in 2020. I hope to do a few updates over on their progress and what I move on to as the year goes on. Happy 2020 everyone!

Mary Kay Light, Reinvented Collection: Spring 2017

By Jill Oliver-Fox Thursday, March 02, 2017 collection, eyeshadow, lip oil, lipsgloss, mary kay, nail polish, spring, spring 2017

Mary Kay's new Light, Reinvented Collection for Spring 2017 is all about fun and flirty colours to help us all forget about the gloomy winter behind us.

Nail Lacquer (Limited Edition, $10 each):

Mary Kay nail lacquers seem to be pretty famous for their quality and limited edition colours. This time around there are four very nice shades that I think are prefect for easing us into nicer weather. The shades are Luminous Mauve, Brilliant Violet, Vivid Sunburst and New Blue. I find the formulas go on nice an opaque after two coats. All the shades are beautiful creams that I think are very suiting for spring time.

Glossy Lip Oil (Limited Edition, $19 each):

With Grape Seed, Avocado and Jojoba oil, these lip oils not only look amazing but they help your lips feel that way too. These Gloss Lip Oils come in tubes with cushion applicators, which is fantastic if you are a fan of doe stick applicators but not how unsanitary they are, and if your a fan of tubes but wish they were more like a doe foot. They feel like a light weight gloss on the lips and have medium coverage to them while being pretty darn shinny. The three shades are Brilliant Violet, Sheer Pink and Magenta Ray. Magenta Ray is the most pigmented of the three, it is a pinky shade that is pretty pigmented even when applied lightly to the lips. Brilliant Violet is almost as pigmented, it a pretty purple shade. Lastly, Sheer Pink is just that a sheer shade compared to the other. It also has a bit more white to it which can show in lip lines if applied too thick.

Brilliant Violet, Sheer Pink and Magenta Ray

Overall they are a great lip gloss in a convent package that happens to be good for your lips, I see no down sides at all about them.

Eye Colour Palette (Limited Edition, $26, compact sold separately)

Mary Kay has two new eye shadow palettes that scream spring, Sunlight and Glistening Horizon. They come with four shades in them with a geometric design to their division. There is something that screams early 90's about these palettes to me, I think if they came in a boring way of dividing them they wouldn't look that way to me, but they do. They all both incredibly creamy and have beautiful finishes to them when applied.

Sunlight has a pink, lilac, peach-orange and a light-peach in it. All the shades look like they have shimmer in them, but the pink and lavender show barely any when they are applied. The peach-orange has a tad of shimmer when applied while the light-peach has quite a bit, making it a great highlighter. Together they work really well to make some nice looks. I really love the pink and lavender mixed together on the lids, while the other shades work well to highlight. This palette has gotten some pretty steady rotation from me the last few weeks, I really love the looks I create with it and how buttery the shadows are.

Glistening Horizon has a purple, light blue, sapphire blue and champagne shades in it. The light blue shade has no shimmer in it when applied, while the purple and sapphire have quite a bit of shimmer in them. The champagne shade is almost metallic in how it goes on the skin. The whole palette is incredibly pigmented and the shadows are buttery so they blend really well. As some one with blue eyes, blue palettes have never been my thing, but I do love these shadows consistency and colours. I would love to see someone with brown eyes wear it.