December 31st

Another year has flown by! Thank you all for continuing on this journey with me. I am proud of myself for doing this blog, and so grateful to all of you who have stopped by.

2015 was quite the year, wasn't it? I got a new job, which has been super exciting. It's certainly had its good and bad times, but I'm genuinely happy with it. And of course, I started dating Brad, who I love so dearly. I am so overjoyed that we get to ring in this year together just like we did last year. My perfume collection has also grown significantly!

Thank you, 2015, for the new music, new friends, new loves, new perfumes, new job, new video games, and every other new experience you've given me. Thank you Lexa, Kady, Jon and Anfo for helping to create this blog with me. Brad, thank you for being a part of my life. I love you to the moon and back.

To 2016: Hello, new friend. I look forward to meeting you. I cannot wait to see what you have in store! I'll be attending MAGFest, seeing Andrea Bocelli perform, and hopefully spending lots of time with my family, friends, Brad, and Cas.

And so, I finish 2015 in love, with people, places, and experiences. When I look back on this year, I want to remember how happy I am right now. Thank you all for this beautiful journey that we're on, and I'll see you in 2016. I love you all!

December 30th

Sleepy night with Brad tonight! We had a fun shopping adventure earlier and now we're tired. Tomorrow we're going to Ikea! And hanging out with my dad!

I love having Brad here. He's the best.

December 29th

Brad is finally here! I'm so happy. Like...really, really happy. I love him so much. I can't wait to spend the week with him!

December 28th

Work in the morning. Cleaning in the afternoon. And Brad in the evening!

I hope tomorrow is an easy day. Fingers crossed!

December 27th

I am on a total Chinese food kick. And by Chinese food I mean Panda Express, but still. Orange chicken and white rice forever, yo. I even got wontons today.

Getting out of the house was good today. I had kind of a funny afternoon, so getting to see Sarah and Megan and everyone else was nice. Granted, there was a sad movie playing in the background and I didn't get to stay too long, but at least I did something today. This time of year can be really tough, like my depression doubles down on me and kicks my ass more days than usual. (Thanks, seasonal affective disorder!) But despite the napping and being sad more often than usual, I'm still getting by. going to work, getting out, all that. I wish it was better, but if wishes were fishes and all that.

December 26th

Happy birthday to my wonderful little sister! She's growing up way too fast. She'll be 20 next year. I really can't handle that. She's not that old. D:

It is another chilly night tonight! But luckily I get to sleep in tomorrow, and hopefully Cas won't keep me up tonight. I love his cuddles, but not when they turn into hi chewing on my hair or my nose because I fell asleep and I'm not petting him anymore.

Tomorrow and Monday are going to be big cleaning days! Woohoo! And then Brad will be here!

December 25th

I am very chilly! I also ate a little too much today and my stomach isn't the most happy it's ever been. But I got some wonderful Christmas presents and got to have a lovely lunch with my dad and sister! And tomorrow...it's back to work at 7 AM!

December 24th

Merry Christmas Eve! I'm spending time down at my dad's house today and tomorrow. My sister is back from college too, and it's the first time I've seen her since August! I've missed that little doofus so much. She's the best.

I hope you all have a warm and merry Christmas if you're celebrating it tomorrow!

December 23rd

Guess who is super excited to sleep in tomorrow? THIS GIRL.

I can't believe it's almost 2016. Neither can Cas, judging by how much he's bugging me right now. He is rubbing the keyboard, and my fingers as I'm trying to type.

I received my end of my last perfume swap of 2015 today, which is Dark Amber and Ginger Lily by Jo Malone! Expect a review soon!

December 22nd

I got to meet my manager's new baby today! He's less than a week old and he is the cutest little thing ever and I got to hold him and it was amaziiiiing. I haven't held a baby in like 10+ years and that baby was several months old. This baby was like...fresh outta the oven. So tiny. So soft. I like holding babies.

December 21st

Well, I got most of my chores done today! I even did some that I wasn't planning on doing! Aaand I haven't started cleaning my apartment yet. It is so messy. At least Cas doesn't judge me for it. 

December 20th

I have so much to do tomorrow! I have to mail like 500 packages, and I really ought to start cleaning for when Brad gets here, and I need to do laundry as well!

I could use a good TV recommendation or two. I don't have cable, just Netflix and the internet. Any suggestions?

December 19th

Scent of the Day: pc02 from biehl parfumkunstwerke

So, can you tell by the brand that this is a German perfume? I thought so. I've been trying to find something from this brand for awhile that would strike my fancy, but most of their compositions are made of very similar note pyramids, not many of which appeal to me. This one, though, was different from the others so I thought I'd give it a go. This is a very, very sweet perfume. Honey, sugar, and tonka bean prevail here. It's almost too sweet, but just barely stays on the side of wearable. It's tempered by cardamom, which isn't really detectable in smell but rather in how it makes the perfume function. It makes it less heavy. The drydown of this is actually quite wonderful, though. If I could have a perfume that was just this after 4+ hours on the skin, I'd love that. It's still sweet, but very sensual, like sweet skin. There's some patchouli and spices, plus the aforementioned sweetness, but nearly so intense. This is definitely a winter scent, though, it would be far too cloying in the summer. I'll finish my sample of this just to enjoy the drydown again.

December 18th

Three day weekend for me! I have so so so much to get done! But then it's Christmas, and so very nearly 2016! I can't believe it. This year has absolutely flown by.

Tonight is a night for sugar cookies and kitty cuddles.

December 17th

I am having a sleepy day at work. I work until 11, and then I have to be back bright an early tomorrow morning! Bleh.

Today's review: Vierges et Toreros by Etat Libre d'Orange. 

So, Virgins and Bullfighters. This name definitely intrigued me. The main notes here are tuberose, leather, ylang-ylang, and vetiver. On me, though, it was all leather and vetiver, with a bit of cardamom. Now, that's not a bad smell by any means. It smells like a very rugged, sexy man. But the lack of the other notes that should have been prominent meant this one didn't quite live up to its name. I was hoping for a leather (bullfighter?) softened by tuberose (white floral for a virgin?) or some sort of dichotomy, but it was all bullfighter. This is one for the boyfriend, not me. Very good, but not what I was looking for.

December 16th

Today's review: Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens

This is what I expected Bois Farine to be. Wheat-y, milky, sort of like a bakery. Unfortunately, Bois Farine has that awful sawdust note. This, however, does not! I'm still not terribly keen on it, as it's quite an unusual smell. The main notes are wheat, milk, sandalwood, licorice, and coconut. I was hoping to get more licorice and coconut, but alas...mostly just milk and wheat. I can see why this is a comfort scent for many people. I've even seen people saying it smells like a newborn baby or breastmilk. I've not smelled either of those things so I can't confirm or deny, but that does seem interesting to me. I'm not super excited to finish my sample of this since I don't really love it, but it's one I'll definitely try again. It's an experience, at least.

December 15th

Stressful day. Emotionally draining. I was feeling pretty shitty at work. My amazing manager took some time to let me vent though, which made the rest of my work day so much better. I'm so grateful for her. 

I've kind of slipped back into bummed out/stressed out mode though. I don't know if that's going to go away before Christmas. I kind of doubt it. 

I'm going to try for another perfume review tomorrow, even if it's brief. Not sure yet what I want to test tonight. Hopefully it makes me happy. 

December 14th

Hello beauties! I have some fragrance reviews for you today! I'll try and spread them out a bit, since I've tried quite a few new ones lately, but I'll do two today.

And before I forget, here's the coat I got yesterday! I love it so much!

All right, so today is a Serge Lutens review day. I've recently tried a few new scents from the brand, but I need to retest one because I don't remember it all that well.

So first off we have Cuir Mauresque.

I'm not sure why I'd never seen this scent when browsing Fragrantica or sites that sell SL, but I was buying some samples on Surrender to Chance and this one came in a set with two other scents I wanted to try, and I got super excited because anything with "cuir" in the title gets me excited. (Cuir meaning leather, and in this case "Moorish Leather".)
Now, I'm not sure why, but this smells very familiar to me. It oddly reminds me a lot of Misia from Chanel. It has this fruitiness to it, and it's quite sweet. It's primarily composed of leather (of course) as well as myrrh, incense, caraway, and amber. The drydown is definitely a standard incense-and-resin drydown. Sweet and smoky. Again, it's a very familiar drydown, but I can't place it.
I really do enjoy this scent. Would I buy a full bottle? Probably not. But I definitely like the scent, especially in this chilly weather.

Next up is a somewhat infamous/controversial Serge Lutens scent, Muscs Koublai Khan. I've wanted to try this for several months now because of all of the insane descriptions. Sometimes scents are described as "animalic" and I've never really understood that term until I smelled this. (I smelled it a bit in Dzing! but nothing like this.) This smell really is a mindfuck. The main notes are civet and musk, both of which are derived from animals. I have perfumes with both of these notes in them, but not as dominant notes. I described Dzing! as smelling a bit like a circus, particularly if one were standing near an elephant. It's this strange scent of hay and wild animal. This scent is all about that. Someone on Fragrantica described it as what is would smell like if they drove by two buffalos mating. If you can imagine that farm-stable-barn-wild animal smell, that's what I'm getting at here. But here's the catch- this scent is also very sweet and sexy. That's where the mindfuck happens. Amongst the copulating wildlife, there is a beautiful, sensual amber, rose, and vanilla. It's so contradictory to pair these feelings together, the wild animals and the sexiness. It feels very carnal. Some people seem to really enjoy this, but it makes me a bit uneasy. However, I would 100% recommend this scent as something to try. Even if not to love, to experience. It has a very raw, unnerving sensuality about it, and it's fascinating.

December 13th

Soooomebody got super cozy in bed and fell asleep! Not me though. I would never! Pfft. 

I got a really awesome new winter coat! I'm going to try and find a picture of it online to post tomorrow. 

I rocked some Russian Red lipstick by MAC today. Red lipstick is fucking amazing. 

December 12th

Hi friends! I have tomorrow and Monday off, so I'm hoping to catch up on blogging and such! I also have to buy Christmas presents!

It's so warm out for December! It's a little crazy!

December 11th

Well, so much for doing my massive perfume review tonight- I'm feeling quite under the weather and very tired. Tomorrow though!

December 10th

Another Serge Lutens perfume is now in the queue to be reviewed! But not tonight because I am super duper tired! I'm in bed blogging from my phone. But I have tomorrow off! And many chores to do! 

December 9th

Somekitty is nibbling my fingers as I'm trying to type this. He was so good last night though! He let me sleep through the whole night!

Perfume of the Day: Cuir Mauresque by Serge Lutens

December 8th

I am very sleepy and hungry. Sorry for the short post! I hope you're all doing well!

December 7th

Waking up at 4 AM and not being able to fall back asleep til your alarm goes off sucks. I napped way too hard when I got home. But I did get chores done, and my eyebrows threaded!

Tomorrow is supposed to be a crazy morning at work. Luckily I do t work until 3. Hehehehe. 

Cas is being such a nugget. He only wants attention when I'm napping. And when I'm awake, he leaves me be. Cats are the weirdest, and the best. 

December 6th

I didn't have the best mental health day today. I woke up with depression fog coming out of my pores. Just...ugh. All of the bad parts of depression. Guilt, sadness, loneliness, fatigue...all the fun stuff!

I have two perfume reviews coming up, both from the brand Juliette Has A Gun. Keep an eye out!

Now it's bedtime for this lady and her kitty. 

December 5th

I'm in the mood to buy lipstick. Lots and lots of lipstick. Why must NARS Audacious lipstick be so expensive? I want like...half of the collection. And with each lipstick being $32 and there being 40 shades in the collection...I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. A girl can dream though!

I got my LuckyScent samples today! ...Let's pretend I don't have like 50 I still need to test, okay?

December 4th

Some-kitty and I are getting all cozy tonight! Then, a relaxing day off tomorrow.

December 3rd

Who's cold? I'm cold! Who's sleepy? I'm sleepy! I have a pretty chill (no pun intended) weekend ahead though. Even if Cas is being a little ball of trouble.

December 2nd

Welp. I thought I had tomorrow off, but apparently I don't. Whoops! On the plus side, I am currently wearing a super cozy comfy fuzzy robe. :3 Paired with my new fluffy pillows and cuddly blanket, I am super snuggly.

December 1st

Wow. It's December. 2015 flew by and I don't know where it went! So much has happened this year! I'm looking forward to this month though. Brad is visiting, as is my sister, plus I love Christmas. Not too keen on the super cold weather, but oh well. I have cozy blankets and a warm cat!

I hope you all have a wonderful and cheery holiday season!