Regina Harris Perfume Oils

Reading fragrance reviews is fascinating and frustrating. The combination of body chemistry and evoked associations are just as important as the golden liquid in the bottle. Memories and perceptions are so strong and personal, and that's what makes us accept or reject a fragrance.

I've read a couple of reviews condemning my beloved Tiffany as "an old lady smell". It's been one of my signature smells since I was 22, and I'm never without a bottle. I can't even write a review of it- I can't analyze something that is so much a part of me. All I can say is that I'd never associate it with old age, that it's good and if you're not familiar with it, I recommend that you check it.

However, this isn't about Tiffany, but about two fragrances that immediately made me think "old fashioned". I tested Regina Harris' two perfume oils: Frankincense - Myrrh - Rose Maroc and Amber-Vanilla (no points for name creativity, that's for sure). Both bottles are gorgeous and look like nothing else I've seen. They are both oils, and very thick. I love how it sinks into my skin and embeds the scent instead of spreading it into the air. But that's really all the good points I can find.

Frankincense - Myrrh - Rose Maroc is a dark, congac colored oil. You need to be careful with it, as it would stain your clothes. I put it on and the first thing that popped into my mind is "ancient". I'm not sure what it was, probably the myrrh, as I haven't smelled anything like that in many, many years. I can't recall which grandma figure from my childhood wore something like that. I'm half tempted to send the rest of my sample to my mom so she can try to remember. Maybe I should. I can't see myself trying it on again.

The rose part of the scent evaporated quickly. And it was for the best, as even the rose note was not fresh and floral, but more like a rose scented powder spilled inside the lady's battered, fading purse (black leather with a metal clasp that is peeling off). The dry-down was a bit better, but still very myrrhish and unsexy.

Amber-Vanilla is lighter, both in color and in feeling. But not any younger. I didn't find it offensive, but not very exciting, either. The vanilla is non-existent on me. I couldn't smell even a trace. On my skin it smelled like old fashioned, good quality bar of soap. Something that you'd get as a gift from someone who got back from Paris in the 70s. It's a nice smell, very clean and elegant, but in a very dated way. The dry-down was the same soap, just a bit spicier.

My husband actually liked the Amber-Vanilla. He found the cleanliness very appealing and said that it reminded him of something he can't trace back. It's probably a long forgotten pleasant childhood memory. My problem is that I don't want to smell like the old sachets that scented my mother's lingerie drawer in the 70s.

Edit- More about Amber-Vanilla:
Since my husband was so fond of it, I decided to give Amber-Vanilla another chance. I used more of it, so I can smell and feel how it develops on my skin and wore it all evening and through the night. This time, the soapy sharpness faded after about two hours into a more deep but still very clean amber. An hour or two later the vanilla note has finally showed up and it is, indeed, a very beautiful one. Not a foody vanilla, it's has a hint of spice instead of straightforward sweetness. And it has a very impressive staying power. It still lingers the morning after.
I see a full-sized bottle in my future.

And another edit: How things change.

The Great Eyeliner Hunt II- On the High-End

Eyeliner is without a doubt my "desert island" product. It's the one thing that I can't do without and must have one in every possible color and texture. I don't think that I'm alone in that obsession. Just ask Cleopatra. Or Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes.




In previous posts I've mentioned some of my most frequently used liners. This is a good opportunity to give them center stage.

Sue Devitt's thick pencil in Gold Reef-I usually prefer thin pencils, as they are better as "liners", and I don't like thick, dark lines over my eye. But this color is magical- it does give contour and definition to the lash line, but it's light enough to not look like something out of Courtney Love's makeup drawer. It's a perfect bronze that works well as a shadow as well as a liner, which is why I love it as part of my "no effort" look.

The pencil glides easily over the lid. It's soft enough and doesn't pull the skin, precise despite the thickness and doesn't smudge or bleed. It stays in place for long hours, fades a little by the end of the day (especially if I don't use shadow to keep it in place) but doesn't migrate. It has an eye shadow applicator sponge on its other end that works well for smudging and blending, which I especially like for its narrow tip. It's a great liner and I keep promising myself to get it in some other colors. It didn't work well with the sharpener I had (a cheap one from target), so I had to purchase the Sue Devitt sharpener from Sephora. It was well worth it, because it sharpens well all my other lip and eye pencils.




Another liner in my collection is Chanel Precision Eye Definer (Le Crayon Yeux)in Blue Jean. This color appeared a couple of years ago together with a beautiful eye shadow compact that was also called Blue Jean and contained four different shades of blue. It was the perfect example of how blue eye shadow can be beautiful, flattering and not make you feel like it's 1980 all over again.

The liner is a very dark navy with a slight hint of metallic (that I find unnecessary). It's not very blue and can be easily worn for daytime. It's almost a "light black", so it doesn't scream "I'm wearing blue eye makeup". The color stays put all day, doesn't bleed or smudge, even when I accidentally rub my eyes.

Its two drawbacks are the slanted sponge applicator that isn't very effective (it's of the smooth, rubbery variety. Not the porous one that I think works better for blending and smudging), and the texture of the pencil itself. I'd expect a high-end product to feel better on my skin- it's too hard and unyielding, resulting in some skin pulling when applying it. My personal preference is for creamy pencils, even if it means less staying power. I use it because I like the color, but when it's time, I'll be looking for a navy pencil from another line.

The Great Eyeliner Hunt I- An Ode to the Discontinued

Following the steps of The Great Mascara Hunt, Blogger Jilbean has started a similar quest for eyeliner and has invited me to participate. This should be fun and produce many reviwes. I'm willing to bet that I'm not the only one around here who finds the liner to be the most essential item in her arsenal (and has about 20 different ones at any given point).

Eyeliner was the first makeup product that I ever wore. Even before lip color. Probably because my mother never liked lipstick and had none, while a black pencil liner was always present. For some reason. the girls in my class belonged to the school of thought that promoted using said black liner on the inside of the lower lashes. The eighties for us were, apparently, all about scary raccoon eyes.

Liquid liner, the kind you apply with a thin brush was very "out" and remained so until around 1988 where the first precise eyeliners that came in the form of a felt-tip pen took the market by storm (and are still here with us. Who doesn't own at least one Lancome Artliner?). My first one was a black Helena Rubenstein (I hear that you can stil buy them in Europe and Asia, sadly the brand is no longer available here in the US). While I've never (to this day) managed to gain the skill of applying a regular liquid liner, those pen-like applicators were easy to use, and even I learned to draw a nice, even line. I was no longer defining my lower lashes, but black was still the only color I used.

Then came 1990 and I discovered colors and subtlety. My first ever trip to the Clinique counter has resulted in discovering brown. I got the Charcoal Brown eyeshading pencil, that despite its name was much more of an eyeliner than a shadowing pencil, being thin, not very smudgy, it stayed put for hours, never bled and was suitable for drawing thin lines. This was my staple and no-effort liner for years. Still is, actually, but to my dismay, the whole line (not just the color) has been discontinued. You can still find it on ebay here and there, and for a hefty price. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks that this was a perfect color.

It was brown, but a cool one, not warm, because of the charcoal element. It was perfect with my skin tone. Dark or deep and rich browns are good on me, as are greys- charcoal, silver, smoke and slate. But this color that combined the best of both groups looked perfect and blended well with almost any other eye makeup I used.

Part of my Great Hunt will be about finding a suitable replacement.