Beauty.com always has some sort of great gift with purchase deal going on. For example, right now Beauty.com has a special going on in conjunction with MALIN+GOETZ products. Purchase $35 of MALIN+GOETZ products and receive a free Bergamot Wash.

Looking for some purchase inspiration?  How do you feel about something sexy and perfect for warm Summer nights? 

MALIN+GOETZ Eau de Toilette, Synthesized Lotus Root 1 fl oz (30 ml)
$48

It can be worn alone or paired with the MALIN+GOETZ Warm Rum Tonic.

Fragrance Notes:Lotus, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Musk

Image Beauty.com

Designed for travel, the Kenzo Ryoko line consists of small bean-shaped fragrance “pebbles,” that were designed by Industrial Designer Karim Rashid.

Ryoko is the Japanese word for travel. The Ryoko is small, “pocket size,” and it’s easy to take while flying - the airline-approved amount of liquid (less than 3 oz), just be sure to pack it in a bag that you are checking, not a carry on.

I got to try the KenzoAmour Ryoko, which is lucky for me, as it’s my all-time favorite scent. It’s also available in FlowerbyKenzo and L’eauparKenzo eau de parfums for women and L’eauparKenzo and Kenzo Homme for men.  The sprays are available for $29 at KenzoUSA. 

I love my little pebble. The sleek, shiny, pink bean comes in a clear display case. It’s shaped to fit your hand perfectly and has a built-in plunger for spraying. I showed it to Sarah, Bay, and Mom. They all had the same reaction, “Oh, how cute!” Sarah said that the pebble reminds her of a jelly bean. This would make a great gift. I hope that they are still around at Christmas time because they’d fit perfectly in a stocking.

KenzoAmour Ryoko
$29

Fragrance notes:  Frangipani, Cherry Blossom, Tanakha Wood, Incense, Thai Rice Steam, Vanilla, White Tea.

Image credit: KenzoUSA

Donna Karan has “brought back by popular demand,” a selection of her classic fragrances from the past. Among them you will find Chaos, Fuel, Sensual Signature, Mysterious Black Cashmere and The Donna Daran Essence Collection. Make a $50 Donna Karan Fragrance Collection purchase and qualify for a free gift at Donna Karan Beauty Online.

Today I’ve got four of the collection to introduce to you. I’ll cover the others at a later date.

Chaos Eau de Parfum Spray
$95 100ml

Fragrance notes: Lavendar, Sage, Chamomile, Coriander, Exotic Woods, Amber, and Musk

Signature Eau de Parfum Spray
$95 100ml

Fragrance notes: Casablanca Lily, Apricot, Jasmine, Rose, Cassia, Ylang-Ylang, Heliotrope, Suede, Patchouli, Amber, and Sandalwood

Black Cashmere Eau de Parfum Spray
$95 100ml

Fragrance notes: Nutmeg, Saffron, White Pepper, Carnation, Rose, Amber, Patchouli, Vanilla, Wood
Fuel For Men Eau de Toilette Spray
$95 100ml

I’ve tried to find the exact notes, they aren’t listed at Donna Karan beauty, but I’ve researched and Now Smell This smells: gingery citrus accord, tobacco, gasoline, leaather-musk, with a sweet, powdery base of musk and woods.

Image credit: Donna Karan Beauty Online

Etsy weekend shopping and I found…….. handmade scented sea salt bar soaps. A colorful collection of 4 of sunbasilgarden’s Summer-themed 3.5 ounce size  soaps.

The soaps are made with organic sea salt, shea butter, and glycerin. The sea salt exfoliateswhile the glycerin and shea butter moisturize. Get the set of 4 for only $15. Each soap is also sold separately in the sunbasilgarden shop. 

Step Into Summer Salt Bar Soap Collection

Here’s a brief description as given by the shop:

Mandarin Mirage- cool citrus
Banana Bay- true banana freshness- one of my favorites!
Cucumber Cove- fresh and cool
Island Inlet- spa quality scent of the Mediterranean

Take a look at specially priced sale items here.

Image credit sunbasilgarden Shopat Etsy.com

AXE has a new scent for men. It’s called Instinct and my son, Max, 18, is loving it. The line includes Shower Gel, Deodorant Body Spray, Deodorant, and Antiperspirant. It has a definite Woody scent. When Max first puts it on, the smell reminds me of camping. It’s warm and smokey - the leather and wood notes are clear.

This is the best that AXE has to offer, in my opinion. Some of the other scents are too heavy on the Mossy notes and there’s one that Max has tried that gave me a headache. I’m glad that AXE is working on making their scents more sniffer-friendly, as half the population of US teen boys are wearing it in some form.

AXE Instinct:

Top Note: West Indiant Pimento, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Coriander, Nutmeg
Heart Note: Raw Hide Leather Accord, Atlas Cedar Wood, Pepperwood
Base Note: Tonka Bean, Amber, Suede Musk Accord

Image credit: Michelle Smith

The CLEAN Perfume was formulated to smell fresh, “clean,” like soap. This Summer, you can get CLEAN’s new scent - Summer - for a limited time at Sephora. CLEAN’s line is perfect for this time of year, light, refreshing.

I had the opportunity to sample both CLEAN’s Summer and Simply Soap.

CLEAN - Summer

Fragrance notes: Italian Limoncello, Bergamot, Rose Ice, Mirabelle Plum, Lily of the Valley, Musk.

Nice and clean, very subtle.

CLEAN - Simply Soap

It does have a soap-like smell to it, it’s a little sweet. I prefer the CLEAN Summer scent to the Simply Soap. The base notes are simpler, more subtle. My girls were split. Bay liked the Summer and Sarah preferred the Simply Soap.

Fragrance notes: Bergamot, Frangipani, Lotus Blossom, Rose Oil, Violet, and Musk.

Image credit: Sephora.com

Model Co, best known as pioneers in the sun-less tanning industry with first their Airbrush Technique and later their Airbrush In A Can, now offer a product that they hope will make a sunless Summer glow even easier for you to achieve. Sun Sponge Custom Self-Tan is that product.

The directions are easy. First, you shake the container thoroughly, then you press it against your leg 2 or 3 times to activate it. Taking care of one section of your body at a time, you use the sponge-tip to spread the product evenly on your skin. It’s tinted with a bronzer so that it’s easy to see if you are getting it even.

I used it this morning. I was very careful applying it around my knees and ankles, as is suggested in the directions, but I still have some streaking there. At one point, I used my hands because I could not get rid of the streaky bronzer with the sponge.

I think this would work best if someone was there to help you apply it. My ankles look a little goofy. I can fix them with another application.

Here’s what I did like about it:

It didn’t smell bad when I appplied it. I smelled a bit like a cookie, until about an hour ago. Now, for some reason, I smell like any other self-tanned girl. The color is very good. Greg said, “Have you been tanning.”  Normally it would take me about three applications to get this level of bronze.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Jennifer Lopez is known for many things. She’s a celebrity, singer, dancer, actress, mother, wife, and triathlete. Her fragrance JLO Glow came out at a time when I was feeling rather over the whole Jennifer Lopez phenomena and I never took the time to try it.

Later, I got over myself, and remembered exactly why I enjoyed Jennifer Lopez in the first place - I love to watch her dance.  I counted myself a fan again. I totally forgot about the Glow. I got something in my email about her new Sunkissed Glow last week and I knew that I definitely wanted to try it. I had heard that Glow was one of the better celebrity scents, so this spin on Glow intrigued me.

It arrived and I called my girls out to take a look at it. We love the bottle which is a hazy, soft combo of sherbet-y colors - starts with a coppery-peach, then fades to gold, and then green. There’s a little charm attached to the bottle- it reminds me of an anklet. It’s a braided cord with a faux beach shell. Nice touch.

The fragrance is called a Fruity-Floral and I thought, oh heck, not another citrus. I used to love it, but citrus seems like it’s over-done these days. Sunkissed Glow is not a citrus. It’s warmer, sweeter, but not too sweet. The scent starts out very pineapple-y with a sort of peach edge to it. Then it mellows to something that smells melon, wood, and musk. It smells great to me. I really, really like this one and I’ve been wearing it every day since it arrived. The funny thing is that it has no peach or melon notes.

Fragrance notes:Pineapple, Red Grapefruit, Beach Flower, Hot Sand, Water Lily, Amber, Skin Musk, Cashmere Wood, Passion Flower, Cassis Sorbet, Orange Blossom

Image credit: Michelle Smith

I’ve been sipping Orange-Spice iced tea all day, so this set from Kings & Queens sounds pretty tasty to me right now. Well, maybe not “tasty,” but I bet it smells pretty darn good.  The addition of the spicy cinnamon keeps a fruity scent from being too sweet.

According to Kings & Queens, former Queen of Spain, Queen Isabella was a big fan of cinnamon. She loved it so much that she financed Christopher Columbus’s expedition in the hopes that he would find a new route to further cinnamon riches.

Kings & Queens Gift Set, Queen Isabella - Cinnamon Orange 1 set
$19.50

Both the Shower Gel and the Shimmering Body Milk are made without parabens or mineral oil. They contain Pomegranate (a super fruit), Blue Lotus, and Malachite Natural Extracts.

Image credit: Beauty.com

Years ago, I got a package in the mail from my then stepmother. It contained a gift set of Claire Burke fragrance spray. It’s now known as Original Vapourri® Room Spray.

It came in this sort of lace purse-thing and at first I was confused. Was it for me or my apartment? Did I spray it in the air or on the furniture?  Honestly, this was a long time ago…. I’m thinking possibly 1987. 

Anyway, to shorten what is growing into a long story, I loved it. It had this wonderful scent that was spicy and floral without being too flowery. It carries notes of rose, lavender, spice, patchouli, and vetiver.

The Original Original Vapourri®is still available, along with other scents some of which include Applejack & Peel, Blackberry Cassis, Citrus Blush, and Christmas Memories (which can be enjoyed all year, not just during the holiday season).

They smell nice, but I think I’ll stick with the Original.  I am a sucker for spice.

Image credit: My Claire Burke.com