Sweet serenity for hopeful romantics: Coach Love Eau de Toilette
Do you remember your first love? More than the person, it's the feeling that nothing else could be more important than the longing - that rush of blood to the head whenever you see the one who holds your heart, the depth of sadness when you doubt he will love you back. Then, finally, the serenity that comes when both of you realize at the same time that you're meant to be with each other.
Love is sweet, not necessarily permanently so, but one moment could well be an eternity.
Turning that emotion into a scent may be impossible, but the Coach Love Eau de Toilette may be as close as it gets. It's joyful, refined, and romantic as two soulmates intertwined. It opens with notes of sparkling mandarin, dewberry, green violet, and freesia, while the heart is a sophisticated floral bouquet of magnolia, jasmine, and gardenia. The base is woodsy (sandalwood, patchouli) sweetened with fresh florals and caramel. It leaves a musky sillage for a few hours.
Anna Sui Secret Wish Eau de Toilette
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.
My top five perfumes this 2013
It'll be next year in a couple of days - how times flies, I can't believe it, etc. and so on. This was a phenomenal, unbelievable year. If someone told me I'd have a year like this, I wouldn't have believed that person. Actually if you told it to me right now I'd still have trouble believing you.
But let's save all this disbelief for my year-ender post, alright (check out 2012's while we're at it). Today I'd like to list down the five best fragrances I've tried this 2013. I realized that my taste in scents and style has changed drastically in the last 12 months. I no longer favor ultra-feminine, sensual things to wear. Now I prefer simple, crisp, and classic pieces to define me.
So, here are my five favorite perfumes, plus two runner ups! These scents are floral mixed with green, and warmed by a musky woody base.
DKNY Fresh Blossom Intense. You know I've been a long-time fan of the DKNY Be Delicious scents. I love Fresh Blossom because it's a beautiful warm floral scent with a touch of sparkling apple. It's lovely and complex, just the way I like 'em.
Jo Malone Blueberry and Bay Cologne. I never did get around to reviewing it, but this is one of my most cherished perfumes. I feel somehow powerful and slightly possessed when I have this on; it's almost masculine in it's sharp green-ness. This 30ml slim bottle is perfect for traveling so this is what I always bring with me.