Hump Day Giveaway!! Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sugar Scrub

I don't know about you, but I am already fed up with this week, and have been feeling stressed out for about the past month.  In an attempt to keep my outlook rosy, and not be a Debbie-Downer I've been seeking solace in the little things and have found myself again having a crush on my newest Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Sugar Scrub.  You may remember that this lovely tub of scrub made my 'Favorite Five' January post for its moisturizing, exfoliating, fragrant goodness.  At that point I had tried the Lavender Vanilla and was moving on to the Vanilla Verbena.  Today I opened my new jar of Tranquil Mint (as the label says, for 'mental fatigue'), and truly loved the short shower break from the chaos outside.  I'm hoping next time to try the Eucalyptus Spearmint, but they were seriously backordered when I visited the store -- guess that means it's definitely one to try, huh?

While I'm waiting on the Eucalyptus Spearmint to come in though, I'm quite happy with my Tranquil Mint.  So happy that I thought about how I'd like to help reduce someone else's stress out there, and figured I would spread the love and do my very first giveaway!  If you leave a comment telling me what your biggest stressor is right now, and which scent you would use to combat it (you can view the available scents by clicking HERE), you're name will go into the running to receive a free Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Body Scrub of your selected scent.  The giveaway is open until 12pm EST 4/22/11, so don't delay.  I will be contacting the winner on Friday 4/22.  Oh, and if you're not already a 'Follower' be sure to click the button at the right to keep up with any future giveaways!
  
Good luck!!

 

Esprit D'Oscar, A Spirited New Take On A Classic

Well, it appears that the most recent installation of the Sephora Hot Now list of Vogue Influencer Network reviews has come to a close without us being given the opportunity to try out and learn more about the Tokidoki Soda Shop Tin or the new Diorshow 360 mascara.  So sad.  No need to fret though, as Vogue has provided us with a preview of a brand spanking new fragrance, Esprit d'Oscar, and a behind the scenes look at the feedback received on it at their Fall 2011 Fashion Week show.  Let's have a look at it now, shall we?

Please push the 'Play' button below to begin viewing. 

If that didn't quite sum it up for you, then you're in luck because I received a lovely sample bottle of this gorgeous scent for my own little non-supermodel self to try from the Vogue Influencers Network.

As a preface, I should let you know that once upon a lifetime in a faraway town, I enjoyed a bottle of the original Oscar fragrance and l-o-v-e-d it. If memory serves, it was actually my first 'real' bottle of 'eau de anything' so I was probably impressed as much by the fact that it did not come from the drugstore aisle with the Debbie Gibson 'Electric Youth' spray, as I was with the actual scent. I do, however, remember how it was not overpowering or harsh, did not smell like gross Electric anything, and that it lingered with a glamourous scent reminding me subtly throughout the day that I smelled like a beautiful dream of a delicate, sophisticated, gorgeous female even though I was most definitely in the less than sophisticated ugly duckling category. It's really amazing what a scent can do for one's self image. It's also pretty amazing what a scent can do for one's memory.

When I spritzed on some of the new Eau de Parfum, the familiar base notes took me right back to remembering how it made me feel so long ago - elegant, sophisticated, and luxurious. Then I also noticed what was different about the scent - it now seemed a bit lighter and more modern, still feminine and elegant, but more delicately floral and less musky than its predecessor. Every note in the new fragrance seems perfectly balanced, so that there isn't an overwhelming spicy, floral, fruity or musky aspect, but instead a wonderfully modern hybrid of the combination that will not only compliment multiple facets of a one's personality, but will also travel nicely from morning to night and office to evening engagements (something that I did not begin to consider or even comprehend years ago while wearing the original scent to carry out my oh-so-sophisticated Friday night 'mall stalking').

For me, it seems an almost timeless scent, and I certainly see it becoming a staple in my own fragrance wardrobe (hopefully with a body lotion to go with).  I never would have imagined that I would still relate to any version of a scent that I chose to wear nearly 20 years ago, but I suppose on some level we never lose that original spirit of self; we only build and improve upon it, and that is exactly what the new Esprit D'Oscar has successfully accomplished in my opinion.    You'll have to give it a sniff the next time you're strolling through the fragrance department, and let me know what you think!