Loving Lately - December 2014

It's a little early, but early is better than late and I have every intention of staying away from my laptop over the next week or so. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season! Onto this month's standout products: 

Diptyque Eau Duelle 

I've commented on how I'm not really a gourmand fragrance lover, but I've had my moments where a particular vanilla note captivates my attention without nauseating me. I bought Diptyque's Eau Duelle perfume solid (pictured above, which I dug up from my Instagram circa Feb. 2012) and travel-friendly purse sprays (set of 3) from a Diptyque warehouse sale in NYC in my Parsons days. The perfume solid and travel sprays seem to be unlisted on the Diptyque site currently, so I suppose they were discontinued. If you can track it down, note that the perfume solid has a less spicy aspect to it versus the travel sprays (which are eau de toilette concentrations). The standout notes (at least, to my nose) are cardamom, bergamot, pink pepper, black tea, musk and bourbon vanilla. I've kept the perfume solid in my bag for a little dab every so often this month, as it's a perfect winter scent in my opinion. Tip: if it's too sweet or spicy for your taste, try layering it with another Diptyque scent to mellow it out, such as sandalwood-driven Tam Dao or floral Do Son.

Review: Glossier Phase 1 Set

In my usual overzealous manner, as soon as Glossier (rhymes with "dossier") dropped in October, I had to try it. 

Okay. No. I didn't have to try it, but I wanted to. The idea that these products essentially came into existence based on trends derived from a beauty website's user feedback and comments (ITG, I love y'all) was enough to captivate my attention. It's a hyper-modern way to create a product, not unlike a school project I recently wrapped that zeroed in on "cool hunting" a.k.a. essentially finding a gap in the market based on feedback. Not to go all Porter's Five Forces on you, but as saturated as the beauty game is, there is always room for improvement and new players, as high as barriers to entry may be.