Welcome to the Valentine's Day Gift Guide (interactive links coming soon) on My Own Judge! In the coming days you will see multiple posts including product reviews, product recommendations, and advice on making your Valentine's Day in 2010 just what cupid ordered.
Feeling a bit like a grinch? Remember that Valentine's Day, similar to every other holiday is what you make of it. Just because flower shops revel in their payday one out of several (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.) days a year doesn't mean you can't make your day not just memorable, but unforgettable. Feeling really bold? Celebrate Valentine's Day on a day other than February 14! I will be going out on the 13th with my honey.
Don't have a Valentine? You must kid. When I was little, I was the mastermind of Valentines. My mom. My aunt. My grandpa. Shoot even the four legged animals weren't immune from being my Valentine. The best part about it for me? There are amazing sales on candy after the day, and amazing sales on products in the time leading up to the event. So really - don't hate on a holiday that makes people money, if it saves you some!
Speaking of saving money... Have y'all heard of Fragrance.Net? It's a site that gives you the most wanted perfumes and colognes at discount prices. Think of it as the moment you finally get a coupon to a department store that for once doesn't exclude perfumes, but every day, and online.
Just so you guys know what to look for, I have a perfume review for you. Now this is somewhat difficult to convey to you, because well... scent is a bit harder to describe than texture, and even harder to photograph.
Enter into the courtroom: Exceptional perfume. I love flattering titles as much as I love a visually stimulating product. So something that's called Exceptional (because you are)? Better smell good. At first spritz I was a bit put off. I thought the scent was a bit too strong for me and consulted with Mama Yaya. She loved it at first spritz. I looked at her funny and said, "Will retry tomorrow."
By the way, if you are buying a fragrance for the first time, remember the following tips:
- don't try more than three at once. Look for a jar of coffee beans (most locations selling perfumes and colognes will have a nasal neutralizer like coffee beans available... it's not just for decoration!), sniff some and then proceed. Your optimal choice would be to go home after three.
- if you can, spray one on and see how you like it at the end of the day. The wear test will also let you know how long it lasts and how it mixes with your body oils and skin. I like to do this several times to make sure that I am not wasting my money. But of course I learned this after wasting plenty of money first.
- don't rub the scent into yourself. When you rub your wrists, behind the ears, or wherever else, you break up the molecules, and of course the scent and experience.
- once you spray the perfume, don't trust the immediate scent. The strong spritz at first includes all the alcohol and other chemical mixes that go into creating perfume. Let it settle before you nosedive in for judgment.
- get familiarized with what it says on the bottle. EDT, EDP, Parfum. You think those are all the same? Wrong! Each title describes the concentration. Eau du Toilette is similar to a body spray and generally is light and airy, and dissipates just as quickly. Eau du Parfum is of a heavier concentration, and thus of a higher price range. These are the ones that I tend to be the biggest fan of, as they last nearly all day for me. Parfum? This baby is expensive!
- have any allergies? Ask the salesperson, or check the net for what notes are contained in the perfume. I am not well versed in the science of this, so I can't tell you if the note of an apple will make an apple allergic person break out in hives, but I sure as heck wouldn't recommend the risk.
Now that we are equipped with information, let's continue with being
Exceptional. I sprayed the perfume on the next day. All over myself.
