Secret Clinical Strength Advanced Solid Antiperspirant/Deodorant

Yes, I know women don't sweat. They glisten. Whatever you call it, we are all familiar with the good fight against stink and underarm stains. Frankly, there are very few topics more boring than this, which is why I rarely blog about deodorants. I go to Target, scan the shelves to see if there's anything new and usually end up buying a solid or a gel from the men's section. The masculine products are usually quite effective and they tend to smell better than those tropical cucumber orchard things manufactured for women.

But I got curious enough about the idea of Secret's Clinical Strength line which promises to be comparable to prescription strength products. These deodorants/antiperspirants contain a high dosage (20%) of the active ingredient and a supposedly more effective formula. The instructions say to apply the product at night, right before bedtime because during the night the sweating mechanism slows down and the formula was designed to be activated and take advantage of the body’s natural temperature variations and react with the skin for an improved performance.  They claim it  will protect you the whole next day even if you bathe or shower the next morning.

I was a bit wary, but surprisingly they were right. Not that it matters much when I ignore the instructions and apply right after showering, but it's definitely very effective when applied the night before, no matter what you do the next day or how warm the weather gets. Ever since I started using Clinical Strength, I no longer had to think about my deodorant and never experienced wetness, ripeness and all the other joys that come with having underarms.

Bottom Line: If only there was a cure to the white deodorant residue on black camisoles my world be that much more complete.

Secret Clinical Strength Advanced Solid Antiperspirant/Deodorant is available from most drugstores for about $11.50. It might be found online for a little less.

Image: A 1977 ad for Secret deodorant featuring Cheryl Tiegs from pzrservices.typepad.com

Chantecaille Les Delices Lip Gloss Palette

Chantecaille's lip gloss palettes are pure joy for those of us who love mixing colors and playing with brushes and shades until we get that perfect hue. Of course, each of the colors in the set is gorgeous by itself and can be worn alone- I actually own a full size pan of Campari. But it's more fun to dip and blend, right?

Chantecaille lip glosses are soft, smooth and moisturizing without ever being sticky. They might be sheer, but still rich in pigment and their shine (and shimmer, when applicable) is understated and elegant. Les Delices is the darker of the two palettes available (Les Sorbets is focused on pink), but you can lighten up any of the heavier colors by mixing it with the shimmery gold Cristal. You can also build the color and coverage by using the three darkest ones together, and each one of them can also be worn over a lipstick.

The gloss brush that comes in the sleek compact is excellent, and as far as I can tell it's a short-handle version of their full size, $30 brush. It adds quite a bit of value to this palette.

Bottom line: Beautiful and versatile.

Chantecaille Les Delices Lip Gloss Palette ($69) is available from most top department stores, online and at the counter. I bought mine from Neiman Marcus.

All photos are mine.

Viktor & Rolf - Flowerbomb

I don't know why it's called Flowerbomb. Yes, the official list of notes suggests all kinds of flowers, such as jasmine, rose, orchid and freesia, but every time I tried this Viktor & Rolf creation in the last five years, I got baby Angel.

It's the fruity patchouli, of course. I do smell the plastic rose note, but even that one feels fruity and Barbie Pink instead of something found in nature. Flowerbomb is not as cluttered and violent as Angel, but it has that  sweet junk food vibe. I mentally place it in the same category with Miss Dior Cherie, Hanae Mori and Coco Mademoiselle, only more pretentious than the first two and less calculated than Chanel. They all follow a similar formula for what is considered young and yummy- chocolate-fruit-musky drydown. The fruit in Flowerbomb is a bit more abstract. Sometimes it reminds me of strawberries, other times it's peachy. The musk is the same one you find floating in the air of most department stores. It bores me to death.

The best thing I can say about Viktor & Rolf's contribution to the genre is that it shows a little more restraint. Maybe it does have more floral notes in the heart that give Flowerbomb some delicacy and keep it from fumigating cubicles and elevators all over creation. It's not a bad representative of this style and the generation that wears it, I just don't like it very much.

Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf ($100, 1.7 oz) is available from Sephora and most department stores, and judging by the number of samples I tested for this review, they are easy to come by.

Photos: Flowerbomb anniversary cake from trendland.net, Judith Leiber strawberry cupcake clutch from neimanmarcus.com.