Fragrance Friday- Anthousa Home Ambiance

Every Friday I head out to buy some fresh flowers and some times a new candle for The Beauty Library and my home! I love the smell and look of fresh flowers! For a change, I decided to also buy a new home ambiance perfume by Anthousa!

Inspired by it's name, meaning, "the perfect bloom", Anthousa perfumes are a collection of home scents that have been uniquely created to add fragrance and beauty to any living environment and they make the most perfect hostess gift!

Anthousa has a collection of many different scents but my favorite is the Fig Leaf and Bitter Almond--a delicate, sweet-green, herbaceous woody blend is intermingled with notes of cedar wood, vitivert and moss. A fresh fig quotation is blended with clean sweet bitter almond! Just Delightful!

Each beautiful vase comes with bamboo reeds and lasts for 3 months! You can reverse the sticks to refreshen the scent! Available at Beauty Habit. $78

Happy Friday!

Xo

TREND Tuesday-Summer Must-Haves

Beach Cover-Up by Debbie Katz $57

Aviator Sunglasses by Rayban $99

Pressed Bronzer by Laura Mercier $32

OPI Nail Laquer in Congo-line Coral $5.99

Trish McEvoy Luxe Balm $28

Ouidad Botanical Boost $17

Havaina Flip Flops $24

Coppertone Continuous Spray $9.99

BAGGU Bags $8

Fragrance Friday

One of my obsessions, besides shoes, is perfume and candles. From my earlier days in retail cosmetics, I relished any chance I had to get fragrance as gratis. Now that I have to buy it myself, I don't change my scent quite as often but I still feel there is nothing more special then buying or receiving a new bottle of perfume or a candle. Scents create a mood. A smell can bring you right back to specific time or memory. When I smell a certain perfume, I might think of a girlfriend growing up or visits with my grandmother.

One of my most favorite perfumes of all time is Spring Flowers by CREED. Creed, based in Paris, is today led by Oliver Creed, sixth generation master perfumer. I don't usually like smells that are too floral but this one has just the right mix of fruit, floral and musk. You only need one spritz to last all day.

Spring Flowers was created in the mid-eighties for Audry Hepburn and released to the public three years after her death in 1996.

Fragrant notes: Peach, Apricot, Apple, Melon, Rose, Jasmine and Musk

$115 for 1.0oz at Neiman Marcus

Enjoy a festive hymn to Spring and Femininity!

Meeting Carrie Roseman

Recently I had the pleasure of crossing paths with the lovely and talented Carrie Roseman. Carrie is a destination event, lifestyle, portrait and landscape photographer from Mystic CT. We met about a month ago at a very unique bridal event in Stonington, CT- Weddings the Creative Process. I was instantly connected to Carrie's warm and positive energy. Although we only had a chance to meet briefly that day, a short time later, I saw the pictures (posted on STYLE ME PRETTY) that Carrie captured of me and hair stylist, Kelly Sharkey during our "art of makeup" presentation (above) and so many more stunning photos of the event. She truly has a great skill and an eye for detail. I knew I wanted to get to know her more! I invited Carrie to The Beauty Library this week to discuss working together for a photo shoot in my new space. From the moment she walked in, she beamed with excitement for me and my new digs! Her passionate aura is contagious! Our meeting was so much fun as we bounced around all of our creative ideas! I can't wait to work together later this summer! Stay tuned for some amazing photographs! In the mean time, you have to check out Carrie's blog and see more of her incredible work!

TREND Tuesday--Get the GLOW!

Spring is here and it's time to put away the long pants and break out your skirts ladies! But wait, not with those scary white legs! I love this! Nivea recentlycame out with a new lotion-- NIVEA Sunkissed Beautiful Legs. With consistent use, it gradually builds a soft, natural looking tan on your legs while minimizing the growth of hair! What a dream and at a bargain price. You can find this gem of a product on-line at drugstore.com for $9.99

TREND Tuesday- Head Bands

I'm loving this silk bow head band ($56) that Blair Waldorf (from Gossip Girl) is wearing! You can find this one by Susan Daniels and many more fun styles at winknyc.com

A personal shopping experience...

Yesterday afternoon I met my girlfriend, Sarah True of TRUE EVENTS in West Farms for a "beauty" personal shopping experience. Oh, what fun we had! Our little adventure started in the Nordstrom cosmetics department where we searched and played with products that would work best for Sarah. Our mission was to find products with great staying power. After a quick stop for lunch we carried on at Sephora where we behaved like two kids in a candy store! Here, I showed Sarah one of my most favorite makeup lines- BENEFIT.

Benefit products have a wacky and whimsical packaging style. The quality is great too! I introduced her to Posie Tint, a poppy hued stain that works on both the lips and the cheeks. It was love at first sight for Miss Sarah. { history note-- the legendary Benetint, a rose colored tint was originally concocted in 1977 for an exotic dancer who requested something to make her nipples look pretty and pink}

After a few hours of good, girly fun, Sarah headed off with all of her new products (and all the right tips for applying them) in tow! Mission accomplished. As for me, there is nothing more rewarding than helping a friend look good and feel empowered by her makeup products. What a GREAT day!

Trend Tuesday- SEDUCTIVE EYES, nude lips

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with my dear friend and makeup artist, Rachael Gener at her new, exciting position with Dolce and Gabbana in New York City.

Recently, D&G launched a luxe makeup line that lives exclusively at Saks Beverly Hills and Fifth Avenue. The new installation is so glamorous, shiny gold counters with sleek black trim and ornate chrystal chandeliers hanging throughout.

The new face of the company is the provocative, yet somehow innocent, Scarlett Johansson. The ad campaign is so sultry-sexy and reminded me that another trend we will see a lot of this season, is the bold eye and soft lip. The lipstick Scarlett is wearing in this photo is called "nude" and like all of the lipsticks ($30) in the collection, it is rose-scented (an aroma that reminds Mr. Gabanna of his grandmother).

On May 16th, famous artist to the stars, Pat McGrath will make an appearance at the D&G counter in NYC. This is so amazing, I wish I could be there myself! Call soon to book your appointment!