Farmgirl July Favorites: Burberry, Aveda, YSL, Hourglass, Revlon, porcelain tea set fit for a princess + a “swap meet dress” fit for a tea party. ~ Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™
Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets

8/3/10

Farmgirl July Favorites: Burberry, Aveda, YSL, Hourglass, Revlon, porcelain tea set fit for a princess + a “swap meet dress” fit for a tea party.

It’s time to get shamelessly materialistic as I give a run-down of my July favorites. Of course, I have to start with my favorite dress of the moment. I call this my "swap meet dress" because that's precisely where I got it. Earlier last month, my sister, our lovely friend Susan and I spent an awesome day running around a local swap meet. It was quite an adventure- the 3 of us picked through rusted/cracked/dusty treasures, snacked on free peanuts and haggled our way into great deals. We left with knowledge on how to grow better organic plants and how Cuerritos con Limón taste like. It was a blast. I found my swap meet dress at one of the clothing tents. Susan found a romper that she loved from there too, so we were able to join forces/purchasing power and get the dress and romper for $13 a piece.

My dress looks like a perfectly ladylike dotted dress until you look closer to find unicorns, mushrooms, kitties and sweater-wearing bunnies scattered amongst the polka dots. Yes, you read correctly. See below:

I believe Susan and I will be coordinating a "swap meet dress day". I'm looking forward to that occasion!

With the summer heat going full force, everyone is scrambling to find their perfect summer scent as they shove their cold weather perfumes to the back of the vanity. It’s during times like these when I’m so grateful for my Burberry Classic EDP, my year-round signature scent. Burberry Classic is equally intoxicating during summer and in the dead of winter. There are apricots and apples flirting with an interesting combination of vanilla/sandalwood/greens/musk as base. Now, I hate most woodsy notes and I'm downright fearful of strong vanilla scents. Fruit notes are fun but typically one-dimensional. Musks are at best boring and at worst offensive. Burberry miraculously captured the most amazing and foreign blend of these notes. The formulation is awesome as well. It is sheer enough to drench myself in this and not drown in fumes, making it perfect for nights out .Yet one spray is enough to linger until the end of the day (suitable for work). The scent really melts into your skin; it is as if you smell so delicious all on your own.

I’ve been buying this perfume for over 10 years and the one downfall of Burberry Classic is that sometimes you run the risk of buying a rancid bottle. This happened to me before when I bought from a discount perfume company. I thought I was saving money but instead I spent $40 on a bottle of expired fragrance. I’ve also had this problem at Sephora and department stores. They keep their EDTs and EDPs baking under a heated white light. You can actually feel a slight warmth radiating from the new, unopened boxes of fragrances! When I sprayed the tester, I could tell it was rancid by the extra metallic note that is not in the original.

Thankfully, I was able to try out FragranceNet.com. They gave me an opportunity to try some products that they carry and my Burberry Classic EDP came in perfect condition. One whiff through my expert nose told me that I got a fresh bottle of my beloved perfume. And the cherry on top: they sell my fragrance at a deep discount. I now have a place where I can replenish my Burberry Classic at a discount without having to worry about rancid perfumes.

Aside from carrying every designer fragrance, FragranceNet.com also carries lots of Guerlain and Yves Saint Laurent beauty collectibles at huge discounts. Remember the temporary insanity I suffered when I purchased YSL Rouge Volupte in Lingerie Pink? Had I known about the following item, I may not have succumbed to the spell that is YSL Rouge Volupte.

It’s called YSL Lip Twins, a lipstick and lipgloss duo that YSL launched years ago. It’s become quite the vintage beauty piece as the gold lipstick case SCREAMS gaudy perfection. It comes with a mirror and a usable lip brush hidden underneath the YSL logo. They don’t make them like this anymore, eh?I got this in Fuschia Orange #9 because it is contains the perfect summer shades. You twist the lipstick case to reveal the lipstick and gloss.

Another lip product I’ve been reaching for nonstop is the Revlon Bitten Lip Stain in Berry Juicy. Not the lip marker that just came out- This was a limited edition item that surfaced a few years back. It’s a liquid lip stain contained in a roller-ball bottle. Just a tiny dab in the center of my lips gives me the perfect see-through flush on my lips. I top it with a gloss like the YSL Lip Twins Orange and it looks like I have nectar on my lips. I was able to snatch this up at my local Ulta last year but I believe you can still find these online.

Another item Fragrancenet.com sent was the Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo. I fell in love with this shampoo while staying at a charming, beach-front hotel in Santa Barbara, CA. Instead of providing ambiguous soaps and shampoos that smell like bathroom cleaners, this hotel fits all of their rooms with Aveda toiletries. I’ve since stayed at this hotel numerous times after simply because of the toiletries. And since then, I’ve thought of Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo as the quintessential summer shampoo. Nothing comes close to getting that squeaky clean and tingling feeling. I’ve seen many attempted dupes of this scent but no one does it quite like Aveda.

I’ve been so loyal to my 100% Pure Cocoa-pigmented Bronzer that I hit pan on it! I never used to use bronzer before this, the fact that I’ve hit pan on this speaks volumes. The color I have is Brown Sugar and I think I'll try Honey next. It's rumored to be the perfect bronzer for pale skin. Click here to read my original review of this.

I was given an amazing eye shadow duo from Hourglass Cosmetics called Visionaire. I seriously have been reaching for this everyday last month. I have the color Prism, which consists of a blue-toned grey satin (the first and only blue-toned grey I’ve ever been able to wear) and a gorgeous deep black with teal sparkles. The texture of the shadow is just perfect- butter-soft and smooth. The wear is also very impressive.

The most exciting purchase last month would have to be the Sorelle Porcelain tea set Boyfriend and I bought on HSN. Now before you point your finger at the screen and laugh, I too once thought that Home Shopping Network was for grandmas who have a closet full of crystal bowls, glass pineapples and other knick-knacks qualified for White Elephant gift exchanges (nothing wrong with that at all; I'd like to be a grandma like them someday!). Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this gorgeous 17-piece porcelain tea set. It is completely handmade and hand-painted. All the gold decoration you see is actual 24-karat gold! We bought this as a birthday gift for our friend Tabatha, she and her hubby always host the most wonderful gatherings in their home. This porcelain tea set could not have been more perfect.

It is pointless for me to link; the set became completely SOLD OUT a few hours after our purchase. We got 1 of the last 6 sets available- boy, did that tickle me so! I dare say that watching the sets deplete in quantity was even more exciting than hounding Ebay. I now know how those grandmas get addicted to HSN. I was much too excited when I was buying this that it didn’t occur to me that I NEED one too! I’m now sorry I didn’t buy one for myself (oh, how my heart ached a bit when I saw how beautiful the set was in person!). According to the HSN lady, this brand, Sorelle, won’t be coming out with another porcelain tea set for the rest of the year! *cries* Someone please tell me if there’s a way to manually block the HSN website from my computer for the time being- my wallet and I will thank you!

And with that I'll leave you with one of the HSN videos featuring the aforementioned tea set. I was slightly addicted to watching these when I first got the set. In this episode, a fellow HSN shopper phones in to rave about the Sorelle porcelain tea sets she owns:

12 comments:

Unknown said...

the ysl lip duo is ingenious! a little gaudy though.

i wish you shot a better picture of the dress...without the camera in the way :)

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi Sue,

Gaudy indeed!
Hee hee! That camera is quite heavy, you can almost see my little arm muscles flexing :D

Farmgirl

Anonymous said...

your dress is so so cute & I love the tea set! & the purfume sounds amazing!

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi there,

Thank you so much!

Farmgirl

Lady Rosenred said...

Hello, Farmgirl. I love the effect of the orange and the fuchsia combined! And thank you for sharing with us the secret to having "nectar" lips. Inspirational, as usual:) My new lip favorite is Enchanted Fantasy Makeup in mesmerize from Mineral Basics, have you tried it?

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Hi Lady Rosenred,

I've got to look into that- I love Mineral Basics' Concealer powder! They have great stuff. Thanks for the rec :D I'm guessing it's a lipstick?

I'm absolutely obsessed with corals right now and the YSL orange Fuschia combined makes the most sophisticated deep coral :) It has a small amount of chemical spf though, I can't use it often.

Farmgirl

Leann said...

I really really like the tea set :-)

Maddalena said...

love your dress, and the lipsticks are amazing!

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Thanks Maddalena!

Farmgirl

Kasia W. said...

great dress!

http://www.mypointmystyle.blogspot.com/

*~kAy~* said...

I love love love your dress!!! <3 So so cute!!! :) Such a great buy! :)
and that lip duo!!! <3 Love the color when it is mixed! :)

Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets™ said...

Thanks Kay! I agree, I love that coral :D

Farmgirl