Gingerbomb

what can i do?

gingerbomb — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:48:02 +0000

Over the years I have learned a few things. Specifically regarding makeup and perfume, I have found that they can be used as tools hand-in-hand with all sorts of coping mechanisms. When I feel lost in the middle of the day, sometimes a swipe of lipstick can- if not set me straight- point me in the right direction. If I need a boost, a spritz of perfume can do the trick. But the magic can only go so far. There are days that are hopeless, days where no cosmetic can lift the pall. There are days so heartsick, no perfume can sweeten them. After all, these potions are superficial. Sometimes that is enough…but at the end of the day, when all that’s left of the mascara and lipstick is a smeared tissue in the trash basket, I am left with the same old hole in my heart. So forgive me, but I am going to take a break from my posts, for a while. I will still do my best to break down the notes in new perfumes, and will still revel in the perfection of my favorite lipstick. But I need to pull back a bit, turn inward…hibernate. Hopefully I can focus on my artmaking and fiction writing and will come out of it feeling strong and secure. Though despair has been dogging me for way too long, I can still hope, even if it’s a weak, half-hearted sort of hope. So with a mist of sweet scent and a kiss from cherry lips, this is Gingerbomb, over and out.

“What Can I Do?” by Antony and the Johnsons with Rufus Wainwright.

it’s only a flesh wound lambchop

gingerbomb — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:50:47 +0000

I have to admit, it has taken me a good long while to try out L L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani. I tend to be a bit leery of celebrity-powered brands, but I do think Miss Gwen is pretty cool and stylish and so I finally pulled out the vial of perfume from my drawer of miracles (the 2nd drawer down in the bathroom). I did try it first on a tissue, and liked it enough to try it on my wrists. Mmmmmmm, I tell you, mmmmm. Although I knew I liked it, I couldn’t tell if it was a floral or more of a fruity scent. So I have decided that it is…both! Upon application I am first aware of muguet (lily of the valley) and sweet pea, as well as other floral notes, such as hyacinth, freesia, jasmine, orange blossom, and heliotrope. Slightly further in I detect fresh green notes and violet leaves. Finally, it’s the drydown that I have really fallen for: notes of pear, musk, frangipani, and peach. At first it is a bit on the sweet side, but after awhile the initial sweetness fades away and is tempered by the green and fruity notes. I was thinking that this perfume would be great for the spring and summer, but I am afraid I won’t be able to wait that long to buy it. The L L.A.M.B. rollerball goes for $25, which I think is a great price for such deliciousness. And I am now an even bigger fan of Gwen Stefani, who definitely knows a thing or two about cool.

no alarms and no surprises, please

gingerbomb — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:20:42 +0000

Happy New Year! It’s 2010, and you know what? My resolutions are the same I’ve been making for the past five years. Ugh! So I want to change that up a little. I still want to lose weight and finally get my studio organized, but I want to think bigger than that. I had such a great time before Christmas, picking out gifts for my loved ones, and this year I want to give more than I take. I want to be kinder and more patient. I want to create more art, actually as much as possible. I want to let aggravations roll off my back. I want a more peaceful life.

So how’s that for New Year’s Resolutions? A tall order, for sure, but they all go hand in hand. Hopefully they will even help me get through this winter. Today I have errands to run and I just don’t even want to go outside into the cold. I have, however, armed myself with a secret weapon: Prada parfum. I know I have writen about it before, but wearing it is like adding another sweater. It is instant warmth. It’s like magic! To be fair, it is a heavy, dense scent, but so perfect for these cold days and nights. It has rubbed off onto my armwarmers and I keep sniffing them because they smell so good. It still astounds me that I am so fond of a perfume that is so heavy on the patchouli…but mine is not to wonder why. Soon I will be out there in the world that is too big, just to buy some toothpaste and Listerine…I don’t want to go. I just hope this winter gets by us quickly. I will stay bundled up with a good book as much as possible, and of course under the veil of my winter perfume.

To kick off the New year, this is No Surprises, by Radiohead.

all i want for christmas

gingerbomb — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:51:21 +0000

Well, what would really be great is if Chanel would resurrect my favorite shade of Hydrabase lipstick: Rouge Noir. Ahhh, swoon. Everything about this lipstick is perfect, from the way it smells faintly of cold cream, to its not-too-shiny, not-too-matte finish, to the color: a wonderful slightly brownish wine shade. It should no longer surprise me that the cosmetics industry is just as vulnerable to the whims of trend as is the fashion industry, yet I find it frustrating when a product that is so sublime is discontinued, in favor of a more current color or texture. And really, Rouge Noir should have acheived “classic” status. It seems timeless to me, beyond the fickle favor of those who decree what is in and what is out. And yet, there is lies on my bathroom counter, getting smaller- and closer to extinct- with each application. I guess I should just enjoy it while I have it, and hope that I’ll find another lipstick that I think is equally divine…and pray that someone, somewhere has a cache of this stuff which I will find on eBay. After all, tis the season for miracles.

please fall in love with me

gingerbomb — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:50:11 +0000

I always think of foundation as a bare-bones makeup essential, so I have never gotten that excited about any that I have tried. I just buy it, use it daily, then buy more when I run out. I had been using Clinique’s Clarifying Makeup, which was fine, but when I ran out I was unable to find it again. One more beauty product to bite the dust, I guess. Or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough, or long enough, but I didn’t want to make a career out of my search. So I headed to the drugstore, where I picked up a jar of Maybelline New York Dream Matte Mousse foundation. I was optimistic from the get-go, since they have a shade that is actually pale enough to match my complexion. Once I tried it, I was surprised at how much I liked the effect. It is a very lightweight product, and it does two things that I think are perfection: It finishes with a gorgeous matte look, and it makes the pores on my nose virtually disappear. So I can say I really, really dig this product. I might even love it. At the very least, I am an enthusiastic fan.

Here’s Fall in Love With Me, by Tim Booth.

you must have slipped my mind

gingerbomb — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:15:55 +0000

I don’t specifically remember buying Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew, and yet I came across a bottle of it in the back of my bathroom cupboard the other day. The bottle was full, with a vintage-y vibe, and tied with a gold bow. I thought, well, this stuff must be bad, if it was relegated to the back of this cupboard. I honestly couldn’t remember what it smelled like, and so I was surprised to find it completely inoffensive. I went ahead and applied it to my inner wrists. Youth Dew is a spicy oriental that is warm and woody. Its fleeting top notes are rose, jonquil, and lavender. I wish the lavender was more promintent, and more long-lasting. The middle notes are jasmine, muguet (AKA lily of the valley) and spices, with the spices being most prominent. Finally, the bottom notes are moss, vetiver, and patchouli. So yes, I went ahead and tried out this old-fashioned perfume that I had long forgotten. As I said before, it is inoffensive, compared to other scents that send me screaming for the hills, so I had a hard time deciding why I didn’t really love it. As the day wore on and I continued to sniff at my wrists, I kept thinking the perfume smelled kind of old and dusty…like it should be worn by a little old lady with puffy, powdery white hair and wearing a housecoat. So that was it, that was how it ended up on the back of that shelf. It’s just too dusty. Once the scent had dried down to the point where I could hardly detect it, I went ahead and sprayed some Prada over it, just for the sake of my own sanity. Maybe when I am a little old lady with my hair in a bun and a little dog at my feet, I will give this perfume another shot. For now it is back in the cupboard, collecting dust, again.

and now i’m growing old disgracefully

gingerbomb — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:53:59 +0000

The latest scents I have sampled came in a pair: Saint and Sinner by Kat Von D. The viala were simply labeled “A” and “B” and I was supposed to guess which was which. However, merely sniffing at the vials wasn’t enough to tell them apart. So I applied the scents to two tissues, and at first all I could smell was the alcohol. But after the tissues dried I could finally tell them apart…Saint is a cool and- dare I say- beachy perfume. I know the beach is probably the last thing that comes to mind when I think of Kat Von D. But it has that feel to it. The top notes are plum and mandarin, and the heart is composed of tiare flower, caramel and jasmine. The bottom rounds out the scent with vanilla, musk and sandalwood. The end result is a sccent that fits its name…Saint. As for Sinner, it is a warm and spicy counterpart to its more innocent partner, and is slightly more complex. The top notes are orange blossom, and again, mandarin and plum. The middle notes are jasmine, white flowers, and a heavy dose of cinnamon. Finally, the bottom notes are vetiver, patchouli, woods, vanilla, and musk. Honestly, I thought I would like both of these scents more than I do. Kat Von D is one cool chick and I somehow thought that her perfumes would be equally as cool. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad at all. I just don’t like them enough to buy them…but at the same time, I can understand their appeal. And I like the fact that Ms. Von D has created two scents to correspond with opposite facets of personality and mood. Maybe that’s why I like so many different perfumes- I am a moody gal indeed.

Speaking of Saints and Sinners, here’s Mary, Mary by Chumbawamba.

tricky advertising, fooled me yet again

gingerbomb — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:10:56 +0000

Whilst flipping through a fashion magazine I came across an ad for Juicy Couture’s Viva la Juicy perfume. There was even a little patch to peel back and sample the scent. I really thought I dug it. So I rooted through my drawer full of sample perfume vials and recovered one of the very same perfume, and in my haste I applied it to my arm instead of (more prudently) a tissue. I didn’t think I would need to use the tissue, since I already thought I liked the scent. Well, I was a fool. The real perfume was nowhere near as pleasant as the patch in the magazine. It was a strident, sickeningly sweet floral, heavy on the jasmine and gardenia…oh, and honeysuckle too, because it just wouldn’t have been nearly sweet enough without honeysuckle. They did try to balance the scent out with wild berries, mandarin, amber, caramel, vanilla, and sandalwood…but I just can’t get past those floral notes. This perfume is just way too sweet and nowhere near juicy enough. If I want juicy, I will wear Dewberry from the Body Shop (a wonderful perfume oil with berries and green leaves). If I want floral, I will go with Chanel No. 5 or Prada Infusion d’Iris. But I will never again go near this nearly toxic scent. I was almost surprised I didn’t get a rash on my arm where I had applied the perfume, that’s how awful it was. That said, I am sure there are a lot of people out there who love this scent, and that is OK. Because I learned my lesson years ago, when I loaned a sweater to a friend and it was returned reeking of a perfume that the laundry couldn’t wash away. The lesson was…stay away from the ladies who reek of flowers, and don’t let anyone borrow your clothes. It is a good lesson to have learned. Now if only I could understand how a company can so blatantly misrepresent its product in a magazine…ah hell, it probably isn’t that at all. It’s more likely a simple trick of chemistry. And they did it, they got me. That’s advertising for you.

lean on me, when you’re not strong

gingerbomb — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:57:45 +0000

Although it can be an awful lot of fun to try out different cosmetics and perfumes, lately there are a small, select number that I keep returning to. For lipstick, I find myself reaching for Illamasqua’s Howl. Though it doesn’t really last through a meal, it is otherwise a great and longlasting product, high in pigment and nondrying. The color can’t be beat, too…a great warm tomato red. Since it may very well be the perfect lipstick, for me anyway, there is an even greater chance that (according to Murphy’s Law) it will be discontinued while I am still craving it. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen anytime soon. As for perfume, these days I have been wearing a blend of Pacifica’s Tuscan Blood Orange and Jo Malone’s Nectarine Blossom & Honey. I have been wearing this combination daily for the past…oh…couple of weeks at least. I still visit my other perfumes, and I’ll open a bottle and breathe in, but for some reason I am oddly comforted by this particular fruity-floral blend. The reason I find it odd is that I usually go for the oriental perfumes, heavy on the musks and vanillas. Maybe in a few weeks from now I won’t be able to stop wearing Angel or Kiehl’s Musk. But today I am reveling in the safety of a scent that makes me feel better, not to mention wearing a lipstick that feels familiar and comfortable. I may have woken up this morning feeling uncertain, and a little unsure of myself, but this scent and this lipstick help combat those feelings. They don’t eradicate them, but they really do help somewhat. I may not feel strong exactly…but I am determined to fake it til I make it.

i want candy

gingerbomb — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:55:21 +0000

Sometimes when I buy a new cosmetic it’s like buying candy…sweet and self-indulgent. I bought two new lip products, which I already possessed in different shades. One is Revlon Matte lipstick, in Really Red. This is a great color, it’s a bright, loud red that doesn’t go pink. Of course I love the matte finish, and this proves to be a long-lasting lipstick. But perhaps not as long-lasting as the other product, which is Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Lipcolor, which is a liquid lipstick, in Top Tomato. Again, a very bold red that really does last and holds all the qualities the ads claim. The thought of wearing a full-on red lip during daylight hours can be a little daunting…but then I think of the ads for these lipsticks that caught my attention in the first place, and I decide, if they can do it, what the hell, so can I. What’s the worst that could happen? Someone might think I’ve just had a cherry popsicle? Yeah, I think I can live with that.

Here’s I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow.