July 31st

Hello nuggets! Happy end of July! I'm on call at work tomorrow. So I could be summoned at any time! Like a front desk wizard! My mom also decided she's coming up to visit tomorrow night, which would be a lot more awesome if I had time to clean, but I'll make due. 

I'm gonna play some TwoDots and get to bed, since I need to be ready to go at 6:30 tomorrow morning if need be. 

July 30th

My dinner didn't quite sit right with me. I'd really like to just have a peanut butter and honey sandwich right now since I'm hungry, but I didn't get bread on the way home from work because I felt sick. Now what?

At least I have Cas walking on the keyboard as I try to type this, right?

July 29th

Good evening friends! There is a sale at FragranceNet and I was very good and didn't buy anything. Gotta save money to do fun stuff with Brad! We're gonna go on a freaking safari! And ride horses! I'm so excited!

Perfume of the Day: Batucada by L'Artisan Parfumeur
Notes: Lime, sea water, tiare flower, mint, sugar cane, coconut, ylang-ylang

I have discovered another gem from L'artisan! Normally, lime fragrances don't work for me at all. Neither do mint fragrances! But this one is absolutely gorgeous. It's blended so well and doesn't smell synthetic in any way, and the notes all fit together so well. It's just the right amount of each one. I'm going to give this one another couple of wears but I do think I might want it in the future. I do have a solid marine perfume in Wood Sage and Sea Salt from Jo Malone, but that one is much harsher than this one. I do also have Turquatic, but that's more aquatic than marine, which is to say it's not oceanic or salty. Also, I really thought Batucada said Barracuda when I first saw it. Anyone else?

July 28th

I had a pretty chill day today. I've been meaning to watch an LP of this little indie game called To the Moon for ages now, but haven't really been in the right mood since it's a more serious LP, and best watched all in one sitting (about three hours). But today I was in the mood, and I'm so glad I watched it. The version I watched doesn't anyone talking over it or anything, so it plays a lot like a movie. It's a really touching story, though it deals with a lot of ethical issues. Essentially, it's about a company that fulfills the last wishes of dying people by manipulating their memories to make them believe they have accomplished their life goals, etc. I'd highly recommend you check it out, and you can do so right here!

July 27th

Man, it feels weird to sleep in. Nice though!

I finally took the plunge and tried out the oh-so-bizarre looking Traversée du Bosphore from L'Artisan Parfumeur today. I've been both curious and intimidated by this one for awhile, but I decided to try it out.

Main notes: Apple, leather, sugar
Other notes: Nougat, rose, honey, saffron, pistachio, tulip, tobacco

So yes, a sugary leather-apple fragrance. Sounds weird. And it is a bit weird. I found the nougat to be quite pronounced as well. Apparently this is supposed to smell a bit like a Turkish delight, hence the rose, but I didn't really get that vibe. It was very, very sweet. Too sweet for my liking. The leather was very soft, and really the star of this scent is a sugary apple with nougat - which smelled a bit like caramel on me. I must admit, the drydown is absolutely gorgeous. It's a very soft, warm scent. It's very much like caramel, or a vanilla-esque nougat. But it isn't overly sweet, the sort of syrupy, fruity sweetness that is the star of the show. I don't tend to like super sweet fruity scents, and while I do love how this dries down, it's a bit much to wear until that point. If the leather were more pronounced on me, it might be more bearable, but I almost didn't notice any leather at all.

Would I buy it? No. But I would recommend trying it. L'artisan makes so many amazing scents, it's absolutely worth trying a lot of them to find the one that fits you. And there are a lot of them to choose from!

July 26th

Hi friends! I have been up since 5:30 and I am sleepy! I didn't even nap today or anything! I hung out with some friends after work, and talked to Brad for awhile, and I don't really know where the time went! But now it is late and I want sleep! My jaw has started hurting in the past half an hour though, which is unfortunate.

I get to sleep in tomorrow! Whoa! I also might get to go visit Sarah at the ranch next Sunday and ride horses! Eeeee!

I'm pretty ready for August. You ready? I'm ready.

July 25th

Hello friends! I had a long and busy day! And I am super tired! But I got new work shoes, so I'm happy. I like them a lot. 

I also got a lab coat. And red-rimmed glasses. Hmmm...

July 24th

I have such a busy weekend ahead, and then Monday through Wednesday off. Backwards three-day weekend?

I bought some Wall Flowers from Bath and Body Works today. One of them, which is actually a really nice scent, is inexplicably way stronger than the other one, to the point where I can actually smell it from my room, and it's the one farthest from my room. It smells a lot like my Michael Kors Very Hollywood perfume. Lots of gardenia. But it's getting to be quite strong, and I want to smell the other one too! It's nice and fruity and tropical. Plus I'm not so sure how I feel about having something that smells so much like one of my perfumes be the scent of my home. It's different. I wonder how hardcore Jo Malone fans feel about that sort of thing, since all of her fragrances also come as candles.

July 23rd

I am so thankful to have tomorrow off- my feet have been hurting so much these past two days! They need a break, and a massage! I wish Cas would knead them. That'd be cute, and it'd totally make me feel better. Instead he's on the headboard like a doofus.

Current mood: Stupidly in love :3

Been listening to Hinder for the past few days. Good stuff.

July 22nd

Do you ever go to take a nap and don't set an alarm and then your blog alarm wakes you up because you ended up sleeping for like four hours? Yeah, me neither. Oh wait. 

I'm super perfume-happy tonight; I get to swap away something I've been trying to get rid of for ages for something I really want, and I believe I have a perfume waiting for me at the post office as well. (And another coming soon!) I went a little silly with wanting to have all of the Féerie flankers, and after these two come, I'll have four of the five. The last one is a pricy one though, so that one will probably have to wait a paycheck or two. It's only about $50-$60, but when you're on a slow-buy, that's a lot!

July 21st

I have no internet. I'm blogging from my phone, using data. Sigh. Someone from my internet provider company was supposed to be here between 5 and 7. It's 6:50. And I need a nap. I don't know how late these guys think they can come. Or perhaps that lady with whom I made the appointment screwed something up. That's starting to seem likely. Because I was supposed to receive a call an hour before the guy got here. So that should have happened an hour ago at the latest. I'm not really sure what to do next! Perhaps he'll come tomorrow night and I'll have to make due until then? I don't want to stress over someone coming tonight if no one is coming! And at this point, it's late! They've exceeded their window of when they'd show up. I'd almost rather they just come tomorrow so I can relax. 

I hope you're all having peaceful evenings, anyway!

July 20th

I was all excited to do a perfume review tonight but I'm not feeling well. I had a bowl of Apple Jacks, took a swig of Naked Juice, and less than five minutes later I felt awful. So, I guess the review will have to wait. I'm sorry, y'all. I'm going to play Solitaire and listen to Game of Owns and try to get some sleep.

July 19th

No work tonight, but I am SO tired. 

Guess what I was doing July 19th of last year? Bringing home my amazing kitty cat, Castamere! I can't believe I've had him for a year now. Even though he can be a little shit sometimes, I love him so much. He's so laid back, affectionate, and he's pretty much one of my best friends. I'm so happy I got him, and I look forward to many more years with him!

July 18th

Today marks 2,015 days since I started blogging! What a fun thing to have happen in 2015. I also can't believe I missed posting about my 2,000th day of blogging! I may or may not be running slightly late for work again, so that will have to wait I'm afraid. Hopefully tomorrow I won't get called in (I'm on call from 8:00pm-3:00am) so I can write up a sweet entry for you. Plus a perfume review. Yay!

July 17th

Off to night audit! I'm running a little later that I was hoping for, so my apologies for the short entry! I'll try and blog earlier tomorrow!

July 16th

I typed June instead of July again! What month do I think this is, really?

I had a weird, stressful day today. Stress in the morning, called Brad, took a nap, felt better. Then hung out with Sarah, felt weird again (not because of Sarah), called Brad, felt better. That boy is so important to me and I love him so much, I can't even begin to tell you guys. Now I'm studying up for my night audit tomorrow night! No sense in trying to have a normal sleep schedule tonight, it's all going to hell tomorrow! And the next day! Whee! Auditing isn't actually that bad, really. There's a lot of stuff to remember, but once you get all of the important work done, it's more a matter of keeping yourself busy while you wait for phone calls (if there are any) and just staying awake and alert. The majority of the work comes in the first half of the shift, so the latter half can be a little weird. Last time I worked I did a lot of stretching and walking around to stay awake. I also received a creepy phone call and had to deal with a creepy person at the desk, so that kept me up.

Perfume of the Day: What We Do In Paris Is Secret from A Lab on Fire

I was expecting better things from this one. In the sample vial, it smelled like a pretty harmless fruity-floral. On my skin though, it got super cloying. And cloying fruity-florals are really not something I enjoy. Luckily, the lasting power is only moderate so I was able to switch to something more pleasant afterwards. (MAC's Turquatic.) I haven't had much luck with this brand so far, which is a shame...I like their aesthetic a lot.

July 15th

I am very mostly asleep. I just looked up at my phone and noticed I hadn't even been typing, it was just gobbledegook. Sigh. I'm tired! I got my hair cut! It's cute! 

July 14th

I am super hungry! I took a hardcore nap today. I've been waking up weirdly early and then having trouble going back to sleep so I think I needed to catch up. 

Sarah is coming over tomorrow! We haven't hung out in ages. 

Tomorrow: A Tauer perfume review!

July 13th

Welp, I started the title of this blog with June instead of July. What's up with that?

I've got a few days off from work before I'm in to do another weekend of night audit. Woo! I know what I'll be doing during my down time. (Hint: it's HuniePop.) As for tonight and tomorrow though, I'm going to relax! All I really need to do is go get a new bank card and buy some lightbulbs. (My life is so fascinating, I know!) I'm also waiting for two perfumes in the mail and I have to send two back, so I may do that tomorrow, though I'm always worried the postal worker is going to come during the five minutes it takes me to get to the post office and back and I'll miss my package.

...I was very naughty and blind bought some perfume. It may or may not be the perfume I mentioned yesterday. I had to order it from Russia because it's not sold in the US yet, apparently. I could only find a 1oz bottle which means I don't think it's the one with the fairy on top, but I still think it's gorgeous. And if I like it, I'll buy a bigger bottle when I can. If I don't like it, I'm sure it'll swap well. Though I do like the little collection of Van Cleef & Arpels scents I've got going. I'll have red, white and blue soon enough. I should order the Spring Blossom version to offset the unintentional patriotism I've got going on. That one is a lovely pink bottle and it does look like it'd smell good! I could buy the EDT of the original too and complete the whole collection, aside from the Gold Edition of the original which is the same bottle but with gold instead of silver on the bottle, and an oddly different smell apparently. I get paid Wednesday...we'll see!

July 12th

Oof! I woke up at 3:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I had a sleepy day at work. I also ended up staying an hour later than I was scheduled because one of my coworkers wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home, so I took the rest of her shift. She did the same for me earlier this week, so I would have felt like the biggest jackass if I'd said no. Being at work when you're sick is miserable. I may have been totally pooped, but she deserved to go home early as get some rest. I ended up feeling pretty unwell after lunch (Jimmy John's brought free sandwiches and the one I ate made me feel super sick), but I made it through the long day and took a nice nap when I got home.

Anyone up for some perfume reviews?

/≥≥≥≥≥≥≥≥

Well, Cas just made a contribution to the blog. Let's try that again.

This little number is called Dzing! by L'artisan Parfumeur and it is a very weird one. Let's break down the notes here. Caramel. Leather. Cotton candy. Musk. Apple. Ginger. Toffee.

So that alone is a pretty bizarre combination. And it creates an even weirder smell. Before trying this one out I looked at some reviews, and there was a consensus among most reviewers, and I'll have to agree. Something about this smells like standing in front of the elephant enclosure at a zoo. Imagine you've just sprayed a really lovely, rich perfume on yourself. But you're right by an elephant, so you can smell him, and the hay in his enclosure, and maybe some of his poop too. Just that general zoo animal smell. It's a very weird combination, because without that animal note, this might actually smell kinda nice. But it's way too weird. People were comparing it to zoo animals, to riding horses, hay, dung, you name it. It kind of works, in its own weird way. It's hard to explain. But it's not something I'll be wearing again.

Last night I decided to try out Misia from the Les Exclusifs de Chanel range. The main notes were violet, iris, and powder, and owning a perfume that shares similar notes, I figured this was a safe bet. It was! Misia is a delight. It opens with a gorgeous blast of aldehydes alongside the powdery purple flowers. After it settles, litchi and rose come out. It's mainly a powdery candied violet scent (which I love), so this was a great take on that. However, I must give this one huge negative comment- its staying power and sillage are almost non-existent. Within five minutes of application it's already settled into its drydown, and within the hour it's gone. It's barely even a skin scent - I sprayed it one before bed so I was all curled up in it, and I could still hardly smell it. There are better powdery violet/iris scents out there, ones that last longer and are stronger. Misia does well by being slightly unique and having a wonderful fruity undertone alongside the fresh rose and beautiful initial burst of aldehydes, but it's all counteracted by the fact that it goes away so quickly. If this were stronger and lasted longer, I'd probably be head over heels for it. But as much as I love its scent, the juice itself leaves something to be desired.

Today I am wearing one of my heart's greatest delights, Féerie by Van Cleef & Arpels. This scent was an instant favorite. I've had it for over a year now, probably close to two, and it delights me every single time I wear it. Now, when I first bought it, I bought it because I liked the bottle. That's definitely not the best way to blind buy a perfume, but the notes looked harmless so I gave it a shot, and totally fell in love. This perfume is magical. I've described it in the past as a mixture of a magical forest, dark berries, and a mojito. It's mainly comprised of violets and blackcurrant, and it reminds me of my first trip to Ireland. I wore it there, and since then the smell has been evocative or Ireland to me. I really do cherish this one, and it also happens to be one of the scents that garners me the most compliments from others. I think it suits me well and everything about it is lovely. (They've also recently released a new edition called Rubis which features a ruby red bottle and I want it so very, very badly.) This scent will always have a place in my heart, and the bottle a place on my shelf.

July 11th

Good evening! I have a bit of a headache from sleeping funny, and I'm still quite tired to be honest. I work super early tomorrow so I need to get to sleep on time tonight! Gonna wear some nice perfume, get all cozy, and have hopefully less weird dreams than I did today, which were all Orange is the New Black-themed and I was is prison, so that was strange. I haven't even watched that show in like two weeks. 

Tomorrow, expect a perfume review for a very strange scent- Dzing! from L'Artisan Parfumeur. I'd text something new tonight but I'm on the fence about it. It can be hard to sleep with an unfamiliar, possibly unpleasant smell all up in your grill. 

July 10th

Today has been a better day. Here's what I posted to Tumblr earlier:

"so, as some of you probably know, for the past couple of days I’ve been in a really bad rut of depression. just this morning, I was talking to my boyfriend on the phone and the connection was lost, and I started crying. that stupid little thing upset me so viscerally for some reason. it’s been one hell of a week, basically.

something really amazing happened when I went grocery shopping. after loading up my car and preparing to back out, a young guy, probably early twenties, runs in front of my car. he smiles the biggest smile ever at me, flashes the nerdfighteria sign, and gets into his car, which was next to mine.

I’ve had a DFTBA bumper sticker on my car for three years now and that’s the first time anyone from the community has ever noticed/acknowledged it.

I couldn’t stop smiling and looking over at him. I felt like I had just made some surreal connection and it just lifted my spirits so much. (I - of course - flashed the sign back at him, grinning like an idiot.) it was just a random act of community in a grocery store parking lot, yet it made me feel so much lighter, happier, and so much less alone.

so to all you nerdfighters out there, especially those of you who are like me and have been with the community long enough to know how absolutely massive its gotten since its inception- these little joys can still happen, and they are wonderful. and I feel so, so much better today."

So, since I'm feeling much better...how about some perfume reviews?

This is Memoir Woman by Amouage. Amouage is a fragrance house that was founded in 1938 by the sultan of Oman. The scents from this house are well-reputed for being both incredible to smell and very expensive. I ordered a sample of Memoir, as it looked to be the most appealing of the lot. Its three prevailing notes are leather, incense, and absinthe. I love all of those notes. And in this scent, they all small amazing. It's well-crafted, very smooth, and enjoyable to wear. But as I was wearing it, I realized that as much as I love its notes, there are other scents featuring those notes that I love more. I have a favorite leather-dominant scent, a favorite absinthe scent, and a favorite incense scent. I don't need all three combined. And for $300 for a 50ml bottle? It's just not worth it to me. It truly is a lovely scent, but not one that I need. I have a sample of Fate Woman from Amouage that I have yet to try, so perhaps that will wow me. Its notes are dissimilar from anything I own, so that may be the answer to falling in love with one of these revered scents.

And here we have Carillon pour un ange by Tauer Perfumes, which I mentioned a few days ago. This is mainly a lily-of-the-valley and lilac scent, and I've got to say, it really doesn't go much beyond that. It is incredibly realistic, like sticking your face into a fresh bouquet of flowers. That said, this also makes the perfume very sweet, and just a bit too floral-green for my taste. It wasn't screechy, but it certainly followed my around and despite its lightness, felt very intrusive. Carillon pour un ange is an ode to lily-of-the-valley, so I get the realism here. But unfortunately this one isn't for me.

July 9th

So Avenue Q was really awesome! Honestly, I might go see it again. Today has been kind of a meh day though. I tried some new perfumes, and I really want to review them for you guys! But to be honest, I am not feeling like doing much of anything tonight. I just want to sleep. I don't want to go work tomorrow. Brad going home happened to coincide weirdly with all this less than pleasant stuff in my life and it's just making me feel more lonely. I'm too warm and I'm sad and I just need a few days to myself. I do have the 14th-16th off, but then I'm doing night audit the next two nights. Woohoo, fun times. I'm just in a mood, I guess. I just want to hug my cat, and Brad, and take a nap.

July 8th

Today hasn't been amazing. I got my FragranceNet order in the mail and noticed that one of the items was the wrong item, and another was one that was technically correct on their part, but I had accidentally ordered the cologne instead of the perfume. So I have to return both of those. I also had a rough morning with regards to an old friendship that I've basically realized isn't a thing anymore. I feel like all of my friends in town have drifted away and I'm basically just having a lonely day. I can tell I'm feeling depressed because I don't even want to watch YouTube or make dinner or anything, I just want to...not do anything. I don't know. I don't like these sorts of days.

If anyone has suggestions for a low-effort cheering up sort of thing, I'm all for that. I need a smile.

July 7th

Today was a bit of a slow, sleepy day. I caught up on sleep from this weekend and had some bizarre dreams, and then work was unbelievably slow. No phone calls, no people, just...quiet. Now I'm going to try out one of my new Tauer perfume samples and try to sleep, I think. I don't work until late tomorrow, so even though I'm going to bed weirdly early, waking up in the middle of the night would be okay since I can sleep in if my sleep schedule goes a bit wonky.

I got this lovely letter from Andy Tauer when I received my samples (which are in the tin box) - he really is a fantastic person! Great company and always wonderfully unique scents - even if I don't like them, I can appreciate them. They all tell a story, and I love that.

Carillon pour un ange: Lily-of-the-valley, oakmoss, lilac, leather, and ambergris.

July 6th

Whee, it's my birthday! I feel so lucky that I got to wake up in a comfy bed next to my wonderful boyfriend and my fluffy kitty cat. These are the moments to live for. Even though they're not forever - even if the people, places, or things in them might not always be with you or even be important to you - in that moment, they are the world, and that's beautiful. I want to say a huge thank you to my wonderful friends, as well...I don't think I've ever received more than one birthday card from a non-family member in the mail before, and of course everyone was so kind on Twitter and Facebook. You all mean so much to me and I love you so much!

I went ahead and bought Noontide Petals today, by the way. I can't wait for it to arrive! And in order to fill out my gift certificate amount, since it's a funny system and not an actual gift card so I wouldn't have a remaining balance...I bought a sampler pack! Because I obviously don't have enough untested sample as is. My birthday present from my mom, which is also a perfume, should be here soon as well! She bought me Minuit Sonne from Lolita Lempicka. It's one of the flankers of the original and should smell quite similar to it, which will be nice, and the bottle is absolutely stunning. Hooray!

July 5th

Happy birthday to my wonderful mom! She is truly an incredible person and I feel so lucky that she's my mom. 

Brad and I went to the zoo today! It was super fun. Hot outside, but fun! Here is an eel who is our friend:

July 4th

Brad and I just got back from a fireworks show! I haven't gone to see fireworks since I went to Disneyland in 2010. These were no Disneyland fireworks, but they were pretty good! We were really close! Tomorrow we're going to the zoo and possibly doing other things, but I don't know what yet! Surprise maybe?

We are such a couple of nerds.

July 3rd

Hello lovely friends and strangers! I'm currently waiting for Brad to arrive! I had a busy, busy day and totally didn't even finish cleaning because I ran out of time to do a proper deep clean of this damn place, but at least it looks better than before, right? That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

I was originally scheduled to get my eyebrows waxed today because I've been letting them grow for like...ever so that I got get them back on track and evened out and whatnot, but I ended up canceling my appointment because I had just driven back from my dad's house and I was exhausted and felt kinda gross. I figured I'd do them myself tonight and just figure it out. But I ended up at Target for some grocery shopping, and there's an eyebrow threading place right outside. And I thought, what the hell. It's right here, I'm short on time, let's try this out. And I did! It was cheaper than getting waxed, took way less time, and I feel like my brows look way more precise than when I've had them waxed. The only downside is that it was fairly painful, but I think that's just because I had a lot of eyebrow going on! My eyes were watering so badly, I felt so lame. But hey, now my brows are fierce.

I didn't have time to dye my hair tonight. That may be a tomorrow or a Sunday thing. Back to brunette I go!

July 2nd

I got my new laptop today! I'm so excited! But I'm blogging from my phone because I'm hanging out with my mom and sister. Also, I got my gift card to LuckyScent so I can buy Noontide Petals!

July 1st

Happy July! I'm excited for this weekend! Birthday! And Brad! And we might go to the zoo! Also I finally get my new laptop! So many things!

I am super off in terms of sleep schedule, so I'm gonna try really hard to sort that out tonight. Also, I am hungry.

Perfume of the Day: Noontide Petals by Tauer Perfumes
Notes: Aldehydes, tuberose, iris, bergamot, ylang-ylang

This has become my ultimate comfort scent lately, and I'm strongly considering buying a bottle. It's not a scent I ever would have expected to like - I usually can't stand tuberose, but it's lovely in this. The aldehydes make the scent fizzy and sparkly but the tuberose is so soft and demure and not too soapy...it's a really interesting combination of notes and once again Andy Tauer has impressed me. I ordered one of his sample sets today and I'm looking forward to getting it! It's shipping from Switzerland though, so who knows when it'll be here. But Noontide Petals...definitely worth a try. It's like stepping out of the shower and into a huge fuzzy robe. I adore it.