Cocoa: The Gathering [reviewing Tease Cocoa Soirée edp, by Victoria's Secret]

 Indulge your desires

 Tease Cocoa Soiree opens with the alluring vibrancy of lush wildberry.

The ripe fruit blend mixes with delicate freesia petals, adding a bright floral quality. Finally, a whipped mocha creates the most irresistibly tempting gourmand base.

I've mentioned before that I don't keep up with Victoria's Secret qfragrance launches closely, because the difference in the launch dates between America & the UK tend to be lengthy and they don't bother announcing the launches again when they do eventually come over here. 

I happened to see a in-store poster for Cocoa Soiree when I was in a Victoraia's Secret store last month, but there where no bottles left apart from the tester, which I  instantly fell for. I revisited  the store a week later in hopes of a restock, but still nothing. However the SA searched through all of the drawers in the beauty hall for me and found a single bottle, so I got my fix.

Seeing that Cocoa Soiree is still available to buy on the Victoria's Secret website today, I thought that I'd give it a little spotlight...

 

Is it from another galaxy? [reviewing Cosmic edp, by Kylie Cosmetics]

A magnetic, skin-inspired scent that smells out of this world.

cosmic kylie jenner is a sweet, warm floral, elevated scent that is perfect for day and night. an ambery floral eau de parfum, the scent is magnetic, addictive, and out of this world. 

the sculptural bottle was designed to look like a piece of art from another world and is formed to fit perfectly in the palm of your hand. 

Oops a daisy; I was just browsing social media to cheer myself up with cute animal videos and I stumbled across the announcement that the first perfume from Kylie Cosmetics was now available, so I went to the brand site just to read more information about the fragrance, but then I somehow ended up buying a bottle.

 I'd not known that kylie cosmetics was going to be launching a perfume, but reading the description & key scent notes brings Fame to mind, which is a perfume I've been enjoying immensely. Plus i vaguely remember a kkw fragrance & kylie collection and the fragrance in it that interested me the most had similar key scent notes, so since I never got that one & my enjoyment of Fame, I couldn't resist trying cosmic...

[Music Minute] Eternal Sunshine, by Ariana Grande

 Eternal Sunshine is the seventh album by Ariana Grande, which was released in March 2024 through Republic records.

The lead single [Yes, And?] had geat retro urban/pop music, a strong hook and was delivered with a strong & confident attitude, so I was excited for this album as (based on the single) it seems that we're getting a mash-up of the Dangerous Woman & Thank U Next eras.

Dangerous Woman and Thank U Next are my favourite Ariana Grande albums, so I pre-ordered a digital copy of Eternal Sunshine as soon as it became available on Amazon - would the wait & suspense pay off on release aday?

The power of the plush? [reviewing the Power Plush foundation, by Kylie Cosmetics]

 "my power plush longwear foundation is a hydrating, instantly smoothing foundation with medium, buildable coverage and up to 12 hours of comfortable wear. this weightless formula seamlessly blends into the skin to blur fine lines, pores, and texture. 

it leaves a soft, cushiony feel with an airbrushed, satin finish that’s not too dewy, not too matte, but the perfect in between"

medium, buildable coverage - creamy texture blends seamlessly into the skin.

Natural, satin finish - feels weightless and skin breathable.

Up to 12 hours of comfortable wear - doesn't cake or crease, and is sweat, humidity and waterproof.

Hydrating and non-comedogenic - doesn’t clog pores, settle into fine lines or cling to dry patches.

Contains flex form properties - for highly comfortable, flexible wear.

I'd tried various things from Kylie Cosmetics back when it was owned by Seed Beauty, because everyone would always rave about how fantastic it was and I'd suffer from FOMO. However I was underwhelmed with almost everything I tried, and I didn't even bother reviewing some of it here, because I couldn't scrape enough words for a useful review. 

Last year I was curious to see if the quality had improved since Coty now owns the brand, so I used some of my Boots points on the Bronze [eyeshadow] Palette from them - I really liked it and ended up buying the Classic Matte palette soon after. I then got a LE set of products while  Christmas shopping [Boots still stocks it], and I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I like those products too - especially the mascara. Since I've gained confidence in the brand, I recently decided to take the plunge and try their new foundation which I'd been noticing loads of rave reviews for...

... I have very dry skin, so if I bother with a base I wear Huda Beauty GloWish Skin Tint, or every now and then I'll go for a BB cream - it's been several years since I've actually bought a medium+ foundation base before this.

Wish me luck 🙏 

A hug from a rose... [reviewing Molecule 04 edt, by Escentric Molecules]

"What I love about Javanol is its almost psychedelic freshness. It smells as if liquid metallic grapefruit peel were poured over a bed of velvety cream-coloured roses" - Geza Schoen  

 

Molecule 04 consists of Javanol, pure and singular. It is a sandalwood-type molecule that retains the radiance and endurance of natural sandalwood but is sheer and transparent like no sandalwood in nature.

Javanol is like Iso E Super, the molecule in Molecules 01, in some ways. Like Iso E Super, it comes and goes. The person wearing it loses the ability to smell it after a short while, only to re-connect with it later.

After beginning to test Escentric 01 for my last post, I remembered them that I'd received a different Escqentric Molecules fragrance in the Flannels 2022 Beauty Advent Calendar - I'd put it in a storage box that I use for spare bodycare to test later, but then forgot all about it as it soon became buried under other stuff.

I think that it's beyond time for me to dig it out and give it a fair chance to impress me...