It's impossible to miss the Anna Sui counters in Tokyo. They are all elaborately dressed up in ornate black furniture and touches of bright flowers everywhere! The cosmetics and small mirrors all look lovely - I wish I took some home. However I'm already pretty happy with one of the brand's fragrances, the Anna Sui Secret Wish Eau de Toilette (P3,950/75ml, P3,250/50ml and P 2,450/30ml) which I got some weeks back.

Secret Wish is a fresh, exuberant fragrance that features sparkling lemon, melon, and tagete (an apricot-scented flower) upon the first spritz. It then develops a sweeter, fruitier personality with pineapple and blackcurrant. It trails warmth at the end with white cerdar wood, amber, and musk. 

Can you feel it, the turning of the season? Mornings are brighter and crisper, with a sharp tinge of cold in the air. The evening falls earlier too - the moon rises just before the sun sets. This is my favorite part of the year. I'm looking forward to the celebrations and the start of 2014. Yes, this early!

Anyway, I thought I'd open the week with a scent I've been enjoying tremendously: the Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Honeysuckle (P2,250/ 50 ml and 2,950/ 100 ml at Rustan's). This is the latest scent in EA's cult favorite Green Tea franchise! It's all about the exuberance of the honeysuckle scent, combined with green notes and a sweet musk as base.

The top notes include sheer bergamot, sparkling lemon, green tea vapors, tangerine, and bosysenberry blossom. That bright green whiff will instantly make you feel energized! That brightness will soften into a sweet floral mix with honeysuckle accord, jasmine, ylang ylang, green tea leaves, and Tunisian neroli.

The Burberry girl is chic yet classic. She doesn't succumb to trends, instead preferring to invest in basic pieces that she can mix with each other. She's quiet but she's also headstrong. She might not be the life of the party, but she's the girl that people listen to in the boardroom.  

Would you describe yourself this way? I think that people choose their perfume brands according to the affinity they feel for them. I mean, all perfumes are designed to smell good, but which one will you actually wear? Mood and preference play huge roles in the process of choosing, of course, but the brand is still something that sticks in our mind.

Burberry's latest perfume offering, the Burberry Body Tender Eau de Toilette, is a sparkling citrus and floral scent. I feel that it captures the essence of the Burberry girl, since it's quite sophisticated without being flaunty about it. 

The hotter it gets, the lighter your perfume should be. Your normal musky and woodsy fragrances will just smell off in the middle of the day - when the heat is the most intense - so it's best to spray on something fresh and light-hearted! Something floral, fruity, with a generous sprinkle of aqua. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? ;)

The Clinique Happy In Bloom for 2013 is a great summer pal. It's designed for spring in the US but even if we don't have that season, it works just as well for our summer. The cult favorite Clinique Happy now comes in this limited edition version, with new packaging to celebrate the special release.

It smells wonderful. It's not overly girly due to the touch of aqua, but it is feminine enough with top notes of yellow plum, a cocktail of frozen fruit, and watery green notes.

Sweet yet well-rounded - that's the Éclat d’Arpège Gourmandise Lanvin (P2,998/ 50ml). It's invigorating upon first spray with Sicillian lemon and lavender smoothly scenting the skin, but then it develops into a sweet glow of green tea and peach blossom. It comes down to a musky cedarwood and amber base which I find stays with me all day.

The packaging is quite playful and girly, something that Lanvin (as a fashion house) is best best known for. Strings of illustrated candy surround a hazy lavender globe.

I was such in a mad rush yesterday that I forgot to wear perfume. I panicked a little. My outfit doesn't feel complete without a nice matching scent! Yes I know, very shallow and all that, but scents help me define the right mood and attitude that I need for the day.

That said, just a couple of years ago I really didn't really care for perfumes. But after trying out so many I realized that each scent is special and embodies a certain personality. Like fine wine or cheese, a good perfume can make your life a little richer. Anyway, here's my personal collection! I give away perfumes to friends and family but these are the ones I dearly hold on to.

Here's a quick list of the reviews in case you're interested! Haven't reviewed everything here unfortunately but in case you're curious just ask me. ;)

DKNY: DKNY Be Delicious | DKNY Delicious Candy Apples: Sweet Caramel | Pure DKNY: Verbena in a bottle |DKNY Golden Delicious |  DKNY Women is New York in a bottle (love DKNY! It's my favorite perfume brand)

A long drive across the countryside, windows open, can do things to me. I think of simpler times, away from the lights and noise of the city. I drink big gulps of healthy air and it goes to my head. "What if I don't go back? What if I stay here?" The wind blows through my hair and the smell of greenery is luscious and intoxicating.  

This mood, this feeling is what's in the bottle of the new Pure DKNY Verbena. It's a crisp green scent that softens into a floral glow as it settles on your skin.

Think of a garden that's been freshly watered - the smell of cut leaves mingle with those of dainty petals, not one standing out from the other. It's a wholesome, earthy scent that I can't help but love.

What's the last thing you wear before you leave the house? Mine is perfume. For me, how I smell like seals my whole look. I spend a lot of time on doing my makeup, choosing my outfit, picking the right accessories and shoes - but that is just visual flavor. My perfume is the smell of the person I want to be when I walk out that door. Preppy? Flirty? Serious? Sultry? It's all in a bottle. 

I know I am sounding incredibly vain right now (Project Vanity, get it? Lol.) but I find the process of choosing and putting on what I want to wear more fulfilling than the actual result itself. Some people get a kick from cars. Others, gadgets. I like mixing, matching, and painting on a personality.

You could say, in a sense, that I'm a show-off. I'm not an attention whore but I like being noticed. Don't we all? That's what all this fuss is about, isn't it, to get noticed by the right people at the right time.

The access to clean and safe drinking water is a basic human right. While it's true that 70% of our planet's surface is covered water, only 3% is fresh, potable water. Most of it is inaccessible to those who need it badly. Many of them live in landlocked Africa, which is why several organizations are at work there to improve the people's access to drinking water.

Early this year, Giorgio Armani launched a campaign called the Acqua For Life Challenge to help the people of Ghana and Bolivia have a sustainable supply of water. This is in partnership with Green Cross International. More than providing communities with safe water, the Acqua For Life Challenge also helps improve education since the children no longer have to travel long distances just to fetch water.

It has been said that giving a person fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. Likewise, Giorgio Armani is not just donating water, but developing sustainable sources of drinking water through rainwater harvesting systems, wells, and boreholes.

Last year's AFLC collected over 43.3 million liters of drinking water, and this year, it hopes to get more!

Tommy Hilfiger's Eau de Prep Tommy Girl (50ml P2,800/ 100ml P3,800) is a cheerful, feminine scent that won't have you smelling like an awkward kid. It speaks of elegance and poise, but it never even remotely strays into the territory of "too much" or "too old". I also appreciate that it's not light and forgettable.

Eau de Prep features pink peppercorn and violet leaf top notes, with musky white roses in the middle and then beautifully finished with a homey sandalwood note. Lasting power is pretty good - the woody base warms up on skin wonderfully and stays on for hours.

The Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Parfum is a classic perfume that was created in 1989. Since then, it has been a cult favorite around the world and has remained unchanged for the past 23 years. That's not hard to fathom because it is a memorable scent. Once you smell it, it will remain engraved on your brain.

Women my age would find it hard-pressed to appreciate the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Parfum because it smells, well, middle-aged. It's something your tita or mom would probably wear - heavily floral with a woodsy base, Red Door is a commanding scent that would suit nothing else but a strong personality. I find that older women have more of that secure sense of identity compared to younger ones. Agree or disagree?

I wasn't taken by Red Door the first time I smelled it, but it grew on me after a few more times of wearing it out. Why? Because once you get over the initial floral assault, it immediately softens into more definable smells of ylang-ylang, rose, and jasmine.

Last year, Avon launched Outspoken, a perfume in collaboration with pop star Fergie. It was designed to be daring and sexy and I think it delivered! This year, Avon followed up the success of the scent with a new version called Outspoken Intense (P999).

Outspoken Intense comes in a silver glass bottle with a cap similar to a crystal decanter's. It's a simple design that won't immediately say "expensive", but once you touch it and hold it in your hand you'll feel that the bottle is actually heavy. It's glass even though it looks like plastic.

As for the scent, I love it! The old version is floral and feminine, but it is underscored by a muskiness that lends it a masculine touch.

You must have a signature scent the same way you have a signature piece of jewelry or lipstick. It just completes your whole look by taking it up to another sensory level! It's true that people may not remember what you wore but they WILL remember how you smelled like, which is why perfumes are a must in every woman's closet. 

Now, I've tried quite a number of scents for this blog - from cheap to high-end, from light to heavy - but there is only one scent that I keep going back to: the DKNY Be Delicious. It's a radiant, fun and feminine scent while still managing to be very sensible...just like me, in my mind. When I want something sweeter, I always go for the DKNY Delicious Candy Apples in Sweet Caramel. 

So now you know my history with DKNY, you'll understand why I'm totally gaga for their latest fragrance, the DKNY Golden Delicious (P3,100/50ml and P4,200/100ml).

Scent. I would describe Golden Delicious as a beautiful, warm scent that blossoms as it dries down and melts on your skin. Like all Be Delicious scents, its very feminine without being smothery and overly cloying; sensual without being oversexed and obvious.

These days, I never leave the house without wearing perfume. It's the final finishing touch to my look, that factor that holds the whole thing together and establishes the mood I want to hold for the day. Yes, a scent is that important!

One perfume I recently got the chance to try is the Mary Kay Bella Belara (P2,300) EDP. It's a sweet floral scent that's not too young or cloying, if you get my drift. The top notes have fruity elements like nectarine and apricot, while the mid-notes sing of rose and jasmine. The dry-down is a subtle wood and moss combo, the perfect finish that sets everything to ground.

My verdict? It's nice! The Mary Kay Bella Belara is something I'd wear with floral-printed dresses and lacy tops since its subtle sweetness complements that particular look. I recommend this happy scent to women who are quiet, elegant, and always smiling.

And now, for the contest! If you want to get your own bottle of Bella Belara, simply accomplish the steps below to join the raffle. It's super easy to join! :D

Once the novelty of the gel formula and wand applicator wore off, I started to look at the new Majolica Majorca Majoromantica scent in Fruity Forest (P995) with a more critical eye. Does it have good staying power? Is it all cute and no substance?

What it is: Fruity Forest is a strong scent with juicy fruits as top notes, floral as the mid notes, and sugary sweetness as its base notes. It assaults the senses as soon as you pull the wand out, but it mellows down quickly as it spreads on your skin and dissipates in the air. Fruity Forest is part of Majo's latest collection called Fake Sleeping.

Lasting power: The wand is designed to apply the gel cologne on your pulse points (on the wrists, behind the ear, base of the throat, back of the knees). Doing so allows the scent to heat up and stay longer. However, I find that the fragrance is completely gone from my skin in three hours - not surprising, because this is not even an EDT, it's a cologne.

I did discover something else though.

I have already talked about my current favorite day scent, the Guerlain Herba Fresca. Today I'll talk about my default scent for the evening which is Guerlain Shalimar (P3,998). It's one of the most iconic fragrances in the world and toted as the first oriental scent ever created. It's got a lot of impressive history in a bottle!

Guerlain Shalimar was first created in 1925 by Jacques Guerlain. It's inspired by the passionate love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, two familiar figures behind one of the eight wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal in India. The word "shalimar" is actually Sanskrit which translates to "temple of love".

I'm sure you've seen the Outspoken by Fergie commercial by now. I love it when she said, "There is more than one way to be heard." I completely agree! One way is by wearing a scent that reflects your personality since it can speak volumes to those who can "hear" it, if you know what I mean.

I must admit that I was surprised when I learned that Fergie, of the Black Eyed Peas fame, did a collaboration with Avon. She's known for her sexy image and strong personality - not really something one would immediately connect with a conservative brand like Avon. However, now that Avon is taking a more aggressive stance on women empowerment, Fergie is indeed a timely endorser as she is known to be a fun, fearless, and fashionable female that has a voice in this generation.

Avon kindly sent me a bottle of Outspoken by Fergie, designed by none other than the singer herself. It's a fresh modern scent that I really love!

It's finally here! The DKNY Delicious Candy Apples collection is distinguished by its saccharine, but not cloying, scent. Sweet Caramel is a light fragrance that combines juicy fruit (apple and pear), fresh floral (jasmine pertals, muguet, and violet leaves), and tantalizingly sweet notes (caramel, vanilla, and marshmallows). If I can eat a smell, I would definitely eat this one!

The cute bottle is designed to look like a candied apple. The top screws out smoothly from the perfume in one twist, so you don't have to worry your pretty head about getting it stuck or, god forbid, dropping the bottle in a fit of eager twisting.