Scathingly Brilliant

Saturday, January 5, 2019

my top five favorite: perfumes

I feel like this one is going to be tough to explain *why* exactly these are my favorites. Scent is just such a hard thing to describe. But if you're at a perfume counter anytime soon, I highly recommend testing these out!

Acqua di Gioia by Giorgio Armani - This is pretty much the only perfume that I wear in the summer. It's really light and fresh it and just makes me feel like I'm about to go to the beach every single day.

Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent - For the longest time this was the only perfume that I wore. I got it right before my trip to Paris and Rome in 2016 and it's always reminded me of that trip ever since. It started smelling different on me after I got sick in December 2017, I guess my body chemistry was off, and I started experimenting with some other scents. I tried it again late last year though and it smells good on me again (yay!) so it's back in my daily rotation again :)

Princess by Kilian - I got this as a sample in a Sephora order a few months ago and completely fell in love with the scent! I can't describe exactly how it smells except that for some reason it is very nostalgic to me. Not in a "this smells like the body spray I got at CVS when I was 13" way and also not in a "my old lady relatives smelled like this when I was little" way -- I honestly can't pinpoint what it is, but it reminds me of being ~14 and I like it.

Replica By the Fireplace by Maison Margiela - This is my all-time favorite scent right now. You know Bath and Body Works Marshmallow Fireside candle? It smells exactly like that, except as a sophisticated smoky perfume and not a candle. I way over-spray this whenever I wear it because I just want to be able to smell it on myself all day long.

Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford - One of my favorite youtubers mentioned this last year and I immediately got a sample, loved it, and then quietly lusted after a full bottle for about 12 months until the Sephora Rouge sale cracked my willpower and I finally got a little 30ML bottle for myself. I only wear this one once in a blue moon because it's so expensive, but man it smells so good. It's a really unique vanilla scent and I adore it!

Honorable mention -- my favorite actor, Alain Delon, used to have a line of perfumes and I HAD to own one. I got this off of ebay and it's definitely old and does NOT smell good but the bottle has his name on it so it has a very prominent spot in my perfume tray. It's called Samourai Woman (after his film Le Samourai) and the bottle is really pretty. I'd love to know how it smelled when it was new :)

Friday, January 4, 2019

DIY water bottle tripod

Last year I recorded one second of video everyday (using this app) and after a couple months of trying (and usually failing) to prop up my phone on various surfaces, I realized that I needed some kind of tripod that I could carry with me. Something to have on hand whenever a "one second" opportunity arose. I didn't want to weigh down my bag with a portable tripod, so I decided to work with what I already carry everywhere - a water bottle! This is honestly the easiest DIY on earth and it works so well. I made two "tripods" using my 16oz bottle that I take with me when I go out, and my 40oz bottle that I drink from at home.

Materials needed:

A water bottle
(If you don't already have one, here is a 16oz bottle, and here's a 40oz bottle)
A cell phone - pretty floral case optional ;)
An adhesive phone ring
An adhesive ring mount

Attach the phone ring to the back of your phone case, and attach the ring mount near the top of your water bottle. Let the adhesive cure for about 12 hours before hanging your phone from the mount. Since these rings swivel around, you can take video and photo horizontally or vertically.

And that's it! SO EASY! And it makes taking pictures and video a hundred times easier, especially if you're planning on trying to do the one second a day challenge this year. It also makes it easier to get selfies with your cat ;)

Thursday, January 3, 2019

cool confusion

Ah, January third, that awkward time when I start dressing for Valentine's Day way too early and yet I also still have all of my Christmas decorations up.

Honestly I think Valentine's Day is the only thing that keeps me from having Christmas decorations up way into March or April. If it wasn't for the prospect of having another holiday to get excited about, you'd have to literally pry Christmas ornaments from my hands to get them out of my room. The main thing that I end up missing is the lights. I have fairy lights on my poster bed frame but there's really nothing like seeing the glow that comes from your tree each night. Sigh.