I am revisiting last year’s favourites. There were some products I really enjoyed, but I don’t love them enough to repurchase. Others are favourites and I will repurchase again in the future. Keep reading to find out which products from my 2019 favourites made the list!
Check out my other posts revisiting my old favourites!
This year, I’ve taken a look at those “Revisiting” posts and reviewed them again. I’ve decided that every year, I will take a look at all of my favourites to see how my tastes change as I get older.
I think I started wearing perfume in high school. I never really wore perfume on an everyday basis until university. Whenever I leave the house, I spray on perfume unless I’m going to be somewhere like the movie theatre where I’m in close proximity to other people for long periods of time. I usually only do one spray and it’s enough for me.
This is a longer post with three parts so you can scroll down to the parts you want to read:
List of Fragrances and their fragrance families
My opinions on the perfumes
Descriptions of the main accords and notes of each perfume
These are all of the perfumes I’ve had over the years (in order):
The Body Shop White Musk
Floral, Sensual
Banana Republic Classic Eau de Toilette (unisex)
Citrus, Floral
Victoria’s Secret Forever PINK Sparkling Apple and Water Lily Body Mist
Fruity
Ralph Lauren RALPH Eau de Toilette
Floral, Fruity
Lady Gaga Fame Rollerball
Floral, Sensual
Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum
Fresh, Floral, Aquatic
Tory Burch Original Eau de Parfum
Fresh, Floral, Citrus
Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice
Fruity, Aquatic
Please excuse this super grainy photo. It was taken with an old camera phone.
For the Banana Republic Classic Eau de Toilette, I really liked the scent of this in-store, but then it smelled different when I brought it home and I ended up decluttering it after using it a couple of times.
RALPH by Ralph Lauren was a really nice scent, but I got tired of it after a while and that’s why I picked up the VS Body Mist. The body mist was a favourite of mine even though it was a cheap body mist that I bought 2 for $25. I had this other body mist that was okay, but I don’t consider it a favourite of my collection.
The Lady Gaga Fame Rollerball was gifted to me for my birthday. I thought it was really cool that the liquid was black (which wasn’t black once you sprayed/rolled it on). I liked the spiciness of it and only wore it when I went clubbing.
The Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia is still a favourite of mine, but I had it for 4 years and it was time for a change. It has an aquatic scent, so I only wore it in the spring and summer. It felt weird to use in the winter time which is why I bought the Tory Burch one.
Tory Burch is sophisticated, but still youthful. It’s not like Chanel No. 5 where it smells like a rich, older lady (no offense if you’re younger and you like it). I bought the Tory Burch perfume at the Mac Warehouse Sale in a set that came with a mini and a body lotion which I gave to my grandma. Before the sale, I researched which perfume brands were owned by Estee Lauder. I went to Hudson’s Bay to smell the different perfumes from Tory Burch, Estee Lauder, DKNY, Clinique, etc. and chose the original Tory Burch scent. Luckily for me, they had it at the sale and I bought it.
While I was looking for perfumes (before buying Acqua di Gioia), I got different samples at Sephora. I liked the Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice one, but it was an Eau de Toilette and I didn’t want to spend over $100 on it. Last year, when I was at the Shiseido Warehouse Sale, I saw a smaller bottle on sale and I decided to get it.
Surprisingly, I’ve never finished a bottle of perfume. From university to present day, I’ve always had more than 1 perfume. I’ve had a few perfumes for more than a few years and I stop using them once they smell different. I still have Fame and Acqua di Gioia, but I only use them for display now.
On me, all of the perfumes are long-wearing. Sometimes I even smell the perfumes AFTER I’ve showered.
I found descriptions of most of the perfumes’ notes on fragrantica. I am not associated with fragrantica in any way, it was just a website that had all of the perfumes and I wanted to keep the structure of the descriptions the same. People vote on what they smell in the Perfume Pyramid (top notes, middle notes and base notes). I am terrible at identifying scents unless it’s something really obvious like rose. So all of the descriptions are from the website.
I bought my bottle a long time ago. The new one looks different and I don’t know if the scent has changed at all. I would describe the one I have as aquatic and fresh.
Main Accords: green, citrus, aromatic, fresh, white floral, fresh spicy
Top Notes: Amalfi lemon, mint
Middle Notes: jasmine, pink pepper, peony
Base Notes: French labdanum, Virginia cedar, brown sugar
Main Accords : ozonic, aquatic, fruity, sweet, sour
Top Notes: pink pepper, kiwi, rhubarb
Middle Notes: jasmine, cyclamen, watermelon
Base Notes: musk, sandalwood, lemon tree
If you’re still here, thanks for reading!!
Based on a roundup of all of the signature scents, I seem to gravitate toward fragrances with citrus, musk, pink pepper, jasmine, sandalwood and vetiver.
I’m sharing September and October’s beauty favourites!
Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice Eau De Toilette – I don’t usually like florals, but I got a sample of this from Sephora and really loved it. I saw some reviews on Sephora where people have said it doesn’t last long on them because it’s an Eau de Toilette. While I would agree that it doesn’t last as long as an Eau de Parfum, I can still smell it at the end of the day after using only 1 spritz. I bought this at the Shiseido Warehouse Sale for $35 so maybe that’s why I can justify it. I know this is in my Sept/Oct faves, but I feel like this is more of a warm weather scent. I have another perfume in my collection that I like to wear in the Fall and Winter months, but this will be my new Spring/Summer scent (replacing my Acqua Di Gioia Eau de Parfum).
Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes* (read my review) – I’m really enjoying this eye cream. I don’t think it’s quite hydrating enough for me in the winter time, but I really like it for the warmer months. It’s one of the few eye creams that hasn’t caused some reaction on my under eyes.
MUJI Acrylic Storage Case with Sliding Doors – I am loving this acrylic organizer. It keeps my products dust-free and it makes a beautiful prop for shelfies! Also, the fact that it’s clear makes it easier for me to see what products I have in my collection.
Sephora PRO Featherweight Powder Brush #91 – This brush is so soft! I saw a review on the Sephora website where someone said this brush was called the ‘Bunny Punch’ because “it’s so soft and thick it’s like you’re being punched by a bunny when you use it.” It really is super soft! The only drawback is that it’s top heavy (especially because the handle is tapered). I use it with my setting powder. I don’t swirl the brush around my face, but I tap it using the side of the brush.
Hourglass Veil Translucent Setting Powder – I am loving this powder! I’ve tried the Laura Mercier one that everyone raves about. I had a deluxe sample of it and it would always come out of the sieve clumpy. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be like that, but it just didn’t impress me. This Hourglass powder, on the other hand, is lovely! I think I even like it better than the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder which was in my faves for July/August. I’ve already hit pan on the CT powder and also the shade doesn’t match (and there’s only 3 to choose from). I like that this Hourglass one is translucent and I think loose powders just work better for me anyway.
