Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Byroe Skincare


I was introduced to Byroe this past Summer and it's been love . The brand calls it Superfood skincare as they use  upcycled fruits and vegetables in their formulas.


Three that  I am  loving right now are:

Truffle Eye Serum-  The Mom also signs off on this one. She just told me she's almost done hers. Ok, but I'm not giving my tube up.  The lightweight creamy serum moisturizes well with three different hyaluronic acids,  shea butter and  avocado peptides, smoothes a little and feels so silky on the eye area. It works well under makeup or at night. I use it both times of day.  It's also  the rare eye treatment that comes in a 1 oz tube  so it lasts longer and a little goes a long way , you don't need to apply a lot. 

 Pumpkin Pro Retinol Cream - One of their newer products, this uses upcycled  vitamin rich pumpkin along with   retinol derived from calendula ,  bakuchiol  and  botanical oils and extracts.  It's very  hydrating , thick ( and orange) but doesn't stay sticky or heavy on skin  and is very gentle.   It can be used day and night ,a great multi tasker to get treatment and moisture in one. The Mom was out of face cream a couple weeks ago so I gave her the remainder of my jar and while she was not sure about pumpkin before trying it, she  absolutely loves it . It's been  smoothing and hydrating but gentle and is another product where you don't need a lot .  Plus slathering on the orange tinted cream is kind of fun. 

 Kiwi Detox Gel  Cleanser- I love a good green gel cleanser and I swear even though I know cleansers aren't on your face long enough to do a  lot beyond cleanse, my skin feels smoother after using this. There's  BHA in salicylic acid, AHA in citric acid and PHA in gluconolactone in there for smoothing.  Arnica to soothe and a list of vegetable and fruits extracts inlcuding Kiwi . It's very easy on skin,  works well for oily/combo skin with no dryness / tightness.   Plus it looks and smells good . 

You can find a lot more info at the brand's site https://byroe.com/



*products provided for testing

Monday, February 19, 2024

Estee Lauder Legacy Collection Perfumes


I was very glad to get a set of samples of the new Estee Lauder Legacy collection from my friend Kathy . I will admit to not being overly familiar with many of the originals, the only one I own is an older solid of White Linen, which is in the jeweled rocking horse. I can't even remember when I tried the others. So I can't compare the new vs old well. I've got my quick takes on the line. 

Knowing Legacy- I have an original bottle of Knowing  but I haven't found it yet. The Legacy version  brings a feel of smoky leather, blackberry underneath rose with a lot of patchouli and sandalwood. It has a lot of sillage, one spray of this sample lasted hours. 

 Estee Legacy- Floral and chypre like. Pretty , bright, a warm aldehydic floral embrace. The florals include carnation which gives a good hit of spice, jasmine , ylang, ylang and rose. I get wafts of all of those and the honey note while not prominent adds a touch of sweetness that lasts . It dries down sweetish, floral and musky with good sillage as they all have. This is my favorite of the quintet. 



 Private Collection Legacy- Mossy, chypre like, green, aldehydes. A very old school , cool, metallic feeling to it. This one has galbanum, rose, sage, basil, oakmoss and you can clearly smell many of those herbal notes as well as the oakmoss. It's aromatic, very elegant & high end smelling and dries down soft, close to skin with light sillage. 

 White Linen Legacy - Fruit , powder , aldehydes. The rose here is very powdery, vintage lipstick like with a lot of vetiver and labdanum . As it dries down it's more a soft focus rose with the aldehydes in the background . White Linen is the only one of these I have. It's an older solid but mine smells a bit warmer and more woodsy and strong than the Legacy version. This one is a good example of just how robust these scents are. It was still on my hand after rubbing with astringent & a shower later. 

 Azuree Legacy- Bold right off, this has big sillage, a power scent. Chypre like and very herbal with a lot of spices. There's sage and oakmoss , plus clove and patchouli. Jasmine is listed as note but it's in the background. Malle had them add cumin and in the drydown it's there . This is spicy & dusty leather on me.

It's going to be interesting to see how/if these appeal to younger buyers which I imagine is at least part if not mainly the goal here. The modern updates are well done but will these still very old school type scents attract them ? I would love to see younger enthusiasts embrace or at least know some of the scents that are considered "old" now. And will those faithful to the originals gravitate towards Legacy versions ? I think they should give them a try or sniff. You can have both versions.
As a brand and as a company Lauder is having some trouble right now. Sales are down. While they have great products they haven't managed to capture the younger clientele or grab a lot of anyone's attention . The brand is in need of it's own reboot in a way. The beauty marketplace is crowded and there hasn't been anything innovative or unique coming from EL in awhile Will this new line do it ?


The Legacy line is on sale now and bottles are $ 280 each at Bergdorfs 



* this post contains an affliate link

Monday, October 30, 2023

Payot Lisse Skincare Cream and Serum

It's been awhile since I used Payot @payotus skincare but back when I did I loved it. Still do. Payot, if you're not familiar is a historic over 100 year old French brand most often found in their famous pharmacies but also available here in the US via their website.

Two new products housed in the signature curved glass containers are the Plumping Booster Serum and Wrinkle Smoothing Cream from their Lisse line. The Mom has been asking for a new moisturizing cream so that went right to her. I went with the serum.

The Wrinkle Smoothing Cream is a lovely, light but very moisturizing, whipped feel traditional face cream with hyaluronic acid , glycerin and herbal extracts like wild pansy Mom loves it. She said it's not greasy or heavy and does seem to smooth some.

The Plumping Booster Serum is neat in that it's a jarred serum and has a bouncy gel cream feel to it. It's very lightly moisturizing, and dries fast making it great for under makeup or under the cream. It has a higher dose of hyaluronic acid according to the brand along with herbal extracts . This has been nice for the warmer weather, it's very humid here so I only use a serum .

Both of these are fragranced, it's a soft herbal floral scent , not too strong but not light either. Very soothing and fresh I think .

Payot uses varying percentages of natural origin ingredients in their products, the actual number is noted on the boxes which are made of recycled paper and the Lisse jars of 20 % recycled glass.

These are bringing a certain touche à la français to our vanities and I'm here for it.

More at : https://us.payot.com/

The cream and serum are $58 each. 

The Serum 











 

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Burberry Goddess



Goddess is the new Burberry scent and it's going to be their newest pillar fragrance.  The vanilla and lavender scent comes in a hefty square bottle which reminds me of a few men's fragrances and the medallion is metal not a label . 

Like florals for spring, vanilla and lavender isn't reinventing the wheel, but it's also a popular combo. 
I personally am not a big vanilla fan. Most people are but I'm fine with to being the odd woman out.  It isn't the first time. Maybe I don't love vanilla but I knew this was going to be a big release into fall and so I still wanted to try it. 

It is very vanilla right off but not as much a creamy gourmand one. Lighter and less foody, even a bit sharp,  but still very much vanilla. They say they have used 3 different vanillas ( one per the perfumer Amandine Clerc- Marie   is "  Firgood™ , also known as vanilla caviar, used for the first time in a fragrance. This innovative new ingredient adds a sweet, rich, and animalic vanilla) along with the lavender and  it also smells somewhat woodsy. Warm woods along with some super light ginger . The lavender does show up as an aromatic waft throughout  but isn't strong. 

There are other scents out there with  a similar scent profile. I don't have many of those handy so I can't compare but if you do and give this a sniff, I'd love to hear  your thoughts. 

Goddess is pretty enough and leans a little masculine at times. Sillage is medium.   I think it  will blossom more in the cold when it will be cozier but regardless, it will be popular .   

It does come in a purse size which I'm always for and the bottle is refillable.