Pacifica Brazilian Mango Grapefruit Solid Perfume

Yum, yum! Pacifica’s Brazilian Mango Grapefruit fragrance smells like summer. It features notes of tropical fruits including mango, peach, pineapple and grapefruit. I really smell the mango and don’t get any of the other notes. I love that the packaging is portable and petite. The fragrance didn’t last very long at all on my skin, only about an hour. This would be great layered with Pacifica’s other scented body products or as a refresher to any of the perfumes. At only $9, it’s a fun little indulgence.

Bliss Best of Skintentions Moisturizer

I’ve been using Bliss Best of Skintentions SPF 15 moisturizer as my day hydrator for the past few weeks and I’ve been loving it. It’s not heavy, has antioxidants, and features subtle pretty skin illuminators. I also love the Japanese SPF PA++ rating. Bliss Best of Skintentions SPF 15 moisturizer has all of these, plus minerals and omega 3 fatty acids. Finally, a skin care product that gives me everything I want and more! While it is a fantastic formula, the scent is not my favorite. It’s a fresh floral that seems to disappear when I apply my makeup over it. When I go bare faced, the scent lingers for an hour or so. If you are not particularly sensitive to fragrance you probably won’t even notice.

Bliss is carried at Sephora, The W Hotel, select Nordstrom, Macy’s, Saks, and other department stores and boutiques. Check out the Bliss website to find a retailer near you.

Kiss Me Farewell

I am usually unphased when products are discontinued. When it comes to beauty products, something better will come along. Right now I am saddened by the loss of Benefit’s The Gloss in Kiss Me, my most favorite lip gloss in the world. Most people were scared of the seemingly purple-pink hue but not I, for I knew its secret. It was not at all purple but a lovely sheer, shiny, smooth, beautiful pinky-mauve. No shimmer, just shine. And it smelled of lychee…Divine!

Whenever I look at a photo of myself circa 2001-05 and I think, “Wow, my lips look amazing,” I was wearing this gloss. For many years it was one of the only glosses I wore exclusively. Sure, sometimes the tube would leak, but I always carried mine in a plastic bag. I was willing to live with a slightly leaky tube then go without my dear Kiss Me gloss. As time passed, I experimented with Urban Decay glosses (too sticky!), Stila “It” gloss (now discontinued), Loreal Color Juice (meh), and various others. I always ended up going back to Benefit’s Kiss Me gloss.

Farewell, Kiss Me gloss. You were with me during the good times, the bad times, and all of the times between. You will not be so easily replaced.

*EDIT* Aug. 8, 2009: benefit released new glosses with a color called “kiss you,” a replacement for kiss me. The texture is a little different and instead of being super sheer, it now has a tiny bit of shimmer, but it’s worth a try if you really need to find a replacement.

The Body Shop Cranberry “Hugs”

I love The Body Shop, especially the seasonal cranberry items. The cranberry scent is calming, light and not too sweet or tart. Yum! Last year they had cranberry heatable feet hugs and cranberry heatable body hugs, both are cozy, soft material that contain little pouches you heat in the microwave. They retain heat and you can bask in the warmth they give off. I wanted both of the hugs over the holidays but was too lazy to order them. Well, laziness pays off because I was randomly browsing TBS site and found them on sale for $13 each! They were previously $26 each.

My favorite of the two is the feet hugs. They feel divine after a long day of standing and walking. I also have feet that turn cold easily so I foresee these being my favorite thing next winter. I like the body hug and I wish it was a bit longer. I’ve only used it once and it didn’t seem to retain heat very long, although I know with such products it takes a few uses for them to hold heat longer. It will probably be my BFF when I’m crampy or sore.

All in all, at the sale price, I’d say these are both worth it. They are still available on TBS website, and are currently listed under the “specials” tab in “last chance” so they may be gone soon.

I also got a free coconut shower cream. I chose coconut because I adore their coconut body butter (my fave scent, next to mango). When you spend $25 or more (before tax and shipping) you can choose a free shower gel online or at participating stores. This offer is valid until April 19th.

It’s Like Spying! Plus: Man Dies at the Age of 494

I showed my Nana google maps today and she was so amazed. We typed in her address and she saw the front view of her house and also the aerial view. She asked, “Can we look up other people, too?” So we looked up some of her friends houses. Then she got worried and said, “Is this allowed? It’s like spying!” Haha. My little Nana is so cute.

The clipping, above, is from the obituary section of my local paper. It was printed on April Fool’s day, and could have been a prank, albeit a morbid prank. Hopefully the D.O.B. was just a typo, although in the days following the obit., it wasn’t printed again and no retraction was made to advise of an error.