New from Victoria's Secret: Secret Garden Fresh Collection

Victoria's Secret has added three limited-edition scents to its Secret Garden Collection, under the Fresh Collection banner:

Sheer Love is a blend of watery fruit and bright blooms. Pretty generic sweet fruity floral, but I did get a hint of, hmmm, possibly children's chewable vitamins, with this one. Personally, I'm not in love, sheer or otherwise.

Leave Me Breathless, composed of ocean breeze notes and freesia, is my favorite of the three. Not too aquatic, not too floral, just right for a post-shower spritz on a hot summer day. Very refreshing.

Almost Nude is a mix of fresh cotton and water lily, or what may be better termed "fabric softener accord." A blend of geen and aquatic notes, with that fresh laundry vibe, it would make a lovely fabric softener indeed, but as a fragrance, I think I'll skip it.

Overall, I'm somewhat underwhelmed by this limited-edition line. I know they're supposed to be light and fresh, but that doesn't have to mean sacrificing all personality. Still, Leave Me Breathless was pretty, and I may end up bringing a bottle home for these hopelessly hot days when heavir fragrances just won't do.

Have you tried the Fresh Collection yet? Love 'em? Hate 'em? And...will you miss them when they're gone?

L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub

Scrublet. It sounds...cute, doesn't it? Like niblet, or capelet, or tartlet. I like it, and I think it was a stroke of genius on L'Oreal's part, coining the word scrublet for its built-in face scrubbing tool.

I've been testing out L'Oreal Skin Expertise Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub. It comes with a scrublet, which has given me ample opportunity to use the word with unnecessary frequency.

Anyhow...the exfoliating scrub. It smells like tangerines and peaches. We're starting off on the right foot, scrub.

It has the texture of a gel cleanser, with small exfoliating particles (apricot seed powder). Normally I prefer my facial scrubs to be a little more condensed, with more exfoliating bits per serving, so to speak, but in this case, the ratio is just right. A denser scrub, with the scrublet, might make for a combination that's too abrasive.

As for the scrublet? First off, it pops in and out of the bottle, which is convenient (and fun). It's made of silicone, so it's soft, and molds nicely to your face and fingertips. This is nice insurance against exerting too much pressure on your delicate skin; the scrublet amps up the performance of the scrub, but you can't scrub too hard since it's so flexible. It did slip out of my wet hands a couple of times, but that's really my only complaint.

As a bonus, this scrub contains salicylic acid, so you can help prevent blemishes as you exfoliate. Still, it's gentle and non-drying. I'm a fan. Scrub on, scrublet!

Inside the Blogger's Studio

Every now and then I get a comment asking me to post pictures of me wearing the different makeup items I review here. I would love to, I really would! But most of the time, I'm not wearing a whole "look" of new makeup that I'd like to be photographed in. Indeed, most of the time, it's more like this:


...testing out completely different makeup on each eye and then taking silly, silly pictures. I'm not the only one who has moments like this! Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog recently answered the door for cute firemen wearing 2 different eye looks.

Or this:


...Winehouse-ifying myself for Halloween.

Or more frequently, this. Not a whole lot of makeup, and probably not very exciting or informative. But if you really wanna know, that's MAC Haute & Naughty mascara (the skinny wand) and MAC Splashing lipglass.

Get the Look: Audrina Patridge

OK, I'm no fan of The Hills or its ilk, but Audrina Patridge has some seriously pretty hair, and I'm loving the honey-colored highlights. And if the Garnier Smoothing Kit used on her here can make my hair look even half as awesome as hers, I'm totally buying it tomorrow.

Audrina visited the Garnier Malibu Beach House and had her hair styled by Marc Mena, who prepped her hair using the Garnier Fructis Blow Dry Perfector 2-Step Smoothing Kit. This is a just-launched product--I can't even find it anywhere online yet--that promises to tame frizz, keep hair smooth and shiny, and enable easier and faster sessions with the blow dryer.

Start with the Smooth-It Serum, which you apply to clean, damp hair and leave in for 20 minutes. Rinse, apply Step 2, the Heat-Activated Perfect-It Cream, then blow-dry or style as usual. It promises to last for up to 7 shampoos, and at about $12, it sounds like a pretty good deal. I'll be keeping my eye out for this in stores!

For Audrina, Marc then added beautiful beach waves and fixed them with Garnier Fructis Anti-Humidity Hairspray.

I don't know about you, but I'm itching for this Blow Dry Perfector to hit shelves! I'll keep you posted when I've tracked it down.

Fall 2010 Collections: Smashbox Masquerade

The Smashbox Fall 2010 collection, Masquerade, is all about rich shades, metallics, and sultry glossed lips. I'm intrigued by the Liquid Liner & Lash Overlay, as it's the first time I've seen an eyeliner repurposed as a lash product. Smashbox suggests that you use it to add a touch of color to the tips of lashes after mascara application, and there's a section of the application wand that's specially designed for this purpose. The colors certainly lend themselves to this usage - the liner is available in teal and bronze.

Soft Lights palettes are always a nice addition to Smashbox collections; not only are they pretty to look at, they really do lend a gorgeous glow to skin. If you already own a couple, though, you might want to hold back - they can become addictive, and then you end up with 5 that are barely used!

Full details on the Masquerade collection, available now:

• Masquerade Eye Shadow Palette ($35) in a range of shades from super subtle soft peach and glowing gold to an ultra dramatic metallic cabernet and shimmering navy. Arranged horizontally in trios so coordination is super easy.

• Masquerade Baked Fusion Soft Lights Palette ($32) in Illusion

• Masquerade Liquid Liner & Lash Overlay ($19) in Teal and Bronze

• Masquerade Creamy Cheek Color & Brush ($29) in Warm Pink, with a built-in blending brush

• Masquerade Lip Enhancing Gloss ($19) in Reveal (golden nude) and Disguise (golden pink)