.:: CybeleSays ::.

These are really helping me enjoy summer this year! Have you made any adjustments due to the heat and humidity? Give these ones some consideration.

ELIZABETH ARDEN Pure Finish Mineral Cheekcolor in Sunkissed Coral ($28 @ elizabetharden.com) – If this one could talk, it would say, "I am the color of the decade!" Coral again is a big summer color and it's so gorg on the skin and really enhances a nice tan.

ORLANE Super-Moisturizing Tinted Cream ($75/1.7oz @ neimanmarcus.com) – it’s way too hot to put on a full mask of foundation so why not use a two-fer like this? It combines a deeply moisturizing face cream with a slight tint. Available in 3 shades.

NYX COSMETICS Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Sky Blue and Extreme Green ($4.50 @ nyxcosmetics.com) – colored liquid liners are hot these days and these do like the Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney duo and “Stay, Stay, Stay.” (I know it’s Say, Say, Say but Stay works better for this piece!).

LUSH 'Dirty' Springwash Shower Gel ($9.95/3.3oz, $17.95/8.8oz, $26.95/16.9oz @ lushusa.com) – I really wasn’t feeling their Dirty collection of products but this shower gel seems like a lighter version of the rest, according to my nose and it has a hint of spearmint oil in it.

SMASHBOX Photo Finish Luminizing Foundation Primer ($17 @ smashbox.com) – who wants their makeup to slide after applying? Summertime is great for this one as it gives a nice sheen, whilst helping makeup stay, stay, stay! And this one has some good-for-skin ingredients like grape seed extract and vitamins A, C and E.

VICTORIA’S SECRET Sheer Love Ultra-Moisturizing Hand and Body Cream from the VS Fantasies Collection ($12/6.7oz @ victoriassecret.com) – a scented cream is the perfect way to kiss the skin with fragrance without overdoing it. This one is a mix of fresh white cotton and luminous pink lily and contains avocado, zsweet almond oil and my favorite ingredient, honey.

The Victoria's Secret item contains mineral oil, which is seen by some as an ingredient of concern. The Lush product contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, which is seen by some as an ingredient of concern. Read more about these and other ingredients here.

Read my ingredient disclaimer here.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

I always knew that the VICTORIA’S SECRET brand was serious about their perfume line but did you know that the Bombshell line won three Fifi Awards in 2011? Fragrance of the Year, Best Packaging of the Year, Women’s and Consumer Choice Fragrance of the Year. Wow, that is no small feat considering the Fifis are the Oscars of the fragrance industry!

And their latest addition to the line? Bombshell Summer and this one is very fruity – purple passion fruit, Moscato d’Asti Italian grapes, Shangri-la Yellow Peonies topped off by Vanilla Orchid and Italian Sunstruck Pine. And it’s available in a few different forms – Eau de Parfum ($45/1.7oz), Body Mist ($24/8.4oz), and Body Lotion ($20/6.7oz).

So if you need a new womanly fragrance that’s not going to break the bank, pop in your local Victoria’s Secret store or visit them online @ victoriassecret.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided for review purposes.

I think you can tell from yesterday’s post that I’m ready for summer! Are you yet? Have your fragrance picked out yet? Here are some recommendations.

CLEAN Summer Escape ($49/2.14oz @ sephora.com) – this one nails it when it comes to what summer smells like – crisp bergamot, beach grass, mandarin orange, water lily, cotton blossom, and coconut water, among others.

COACH Eau de Toilette Spray Summer Edition ($65/1.7oz @ dillards.com) – fresh and fruity with notes of mandarin, fresh raspberries and guava along with freesia and violet leaves.

SPACE NK Laughter Jour Eau de Toilette ($60/50ml only @ spacenk.com) – fruity floral with standouts of peonies, jasmine, green pear and rose.

VICTORIA’S SECRET Sexy Little Thing Noir Love Me Eau de Parfum ($49/1.7oz @ victoriassecret.com) – soooo sexy! This one mixes wild berries with Madagascar orchid and musk. Hello. Hot. Summer. Nights!

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

We’ve all heard of beauty products that can make you more attracted to the opposite sex and the latest brand to harness it is VICTORIA’S SECRET. Each product in the Attractions collection contains their exclusive EverTempt fragrance cocktail, which is a special blend of notes they claim that creates an almost pheromone-like allure. Each comes in a Fragrance Mist ($20/8.4oz), Nourishing Body Lotion ($18/9.6oz), Indulgent Body Cream ($20/6.7oz) and a Daily Body Wash ($18/10.1oz).

Wild One – midnight raspberry and sexy lily.
Sweet Craving – warm and tempting praline.
Glam Goddess – naked musk and sensual freesia.
Love Bitten – forbidden apple and sultry woods.

So do they work? Well, I can’t tell but I know that evertime I wear the Wild One Fragrance Mist my SO says, without fail, “I like the way you smell today.”

So if you’re on the hunt for a mate and also for a new spring scent, why not try these? All available @ victoriassecret.com.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

I’m pretty into the whole color blocking trend for the spring and I’m warming up to it when it comes to  makeup though I really wouldn’t call it “color blocking,” per say. I guess I just mean bright makeup! VICTORIA’S SECRET just came out with their Love Me Wild makeup collection and I’m really feeling their

Radiant Face Trio ($16) and Perfect Lipstick ($14). I just love when a brand gets creative inside the compact like this one swirls the colors. And the punch of this lipstick in Heated is worth the price tag.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

Another day, another holiday collection of beauty products, this time from VICTORIA’S SECRET. It’s their Deluxe Eye Palette in Spellbound from the Midnight Glamour Collection. The deep, deep, deep, deep navy blue shimmer in this palette is so beautiful that I’d just buy it for this one alone! This one will help you get the super smoky eye you’ve been trying to get this whole time. And the other shades are also workable – an ivory, a neutral bronzy brown, a dark silver/grey and a black gel liner. So you can go daytime drama-free to evening siren all in one palette.

And you must see the top of this palette! Each item in this collection has one big crystal on the top of each compact. Fun! $24 @ victoriassecret.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

I’m readjusting my nose right now to fall and the coming season and here are a few that are working great for the transition. They still have summery flowery notes but also have something a little different to makes each appealing for fall.

From L to R clockwise:

VICTORIA’S SECRET Sexy Little Things Noir Tease Eau de Parfum ($45/1.7oz @ victoriassecret.com) – I wasn’t too thrilled with this one upon first, second or third whiff. I was almost ready to write it off as ehh and it just didn’t do as much for me like its sister, when, for some reason, I am suddenly liking it! Classified as an oriental vanilla, I can’t tell if it’s the black vanilla, frozen pear or blooming gardenia that is turning me on, but it’s a go.

ROGER & GALLET Green Tea Fresh Fragrant Water Spray ($21.60/1oz and other sizes @ pcfallon.com) – who doesn’t like the green tea scent? It works for any season and it’s pretty unisex. It contains top notes of yuzu, mandarin orange and grapefruit, middle notes of green tea, white freesia, jasmine and lily of the valley and base notes of cedar wood, gualac wood and amber. This one seems to linger on the skin for quite a while.

EMILIO PUCCI Miss Pucci Eau de Parfum ($53/1oz and other sizes @ sephora.com) – they call this a soft floral that surprisingly works for right now; not quite still-summer but not quite full-on-fall. The notes include that of Sicilian Lemon, Turkish Rose, Comoros Ylang-Ylang, Arabian Jasmine, Tunisian Orange Blossom, Texas Cedar, Florentine Iris and Musk. If you’re looking to make a statement when you walk in a room, this could be one for you.

PRADA Infusion D’Iris Eau de Toilette ($65/6.75oz and other sizes @ nordstrom.com) – from what I understand the brand already has this perfume in a Eau de Parfum version and it has totally different notes and is the next chapter in the sensory history of iris. This one is composed of iris, neroli, lily of the valey, powder violet, heliotrope, cedar and galbanum. And this one comes in a sophisticated frosty glass. Nice touch, P.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

How cute is the packaging for the Denimania Lip Glosses from VICTORIA’S SECRET? These are a super thick gloss with light-reflecting particles to really set lips off and each smells sooo fruity! Choose from 6 different shades like Denimberry, Orangenious or Sugarpants shown here. $7 each or 2/$12, 5/$20 @ victoriassecret.com.

Disclosure: A sample of this item was provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.

Have you ever wondered just how self-tanners work? I mean, if you think about it, the result is quite amazing. So I did a little research and found that the majority of self-tanners include an ingredient called dihydroxyacetone or DHA, a “… colourless 3-carbon sugar that when applied to the skin causes a chemical reaction with amino acids in the surface cells of the skin producing a darkening effect.” (source). So is this the ingredient that makes is smell so bad? From what I can gather, yes. It’s what the reaction (it) smells like. Eww. But like everything in beauty, there is always someone trying to improve what’s out there. Here are two that I think do it well and they are both what I call spray and wash (come off with soap and water), so you won’t have to worry about the smell.

ST. TROPEZ Instant Glow Mousse ($22.50/4oz) and Instant Glow Body Lotion ($18/5oz) both give a realistic sun-kissed tan. @ sttropeztan.com. I’m also liking VICTORIA’S SECRET limited edition Flawless Airbrush Instant Bronze Body Spray ($12/4oz @ victoriassecret.com) from the Beach Sexy Collection. Another one that gives some great natural looking color.

There are just some products that scream summertime and these next two are just doing it for me right now.

VICTORIA’S SECRET Girls’ Night Nourishing Body Cream ($$12/6.7oz @ victoriassecret.com) - It’s a thick lotion spiked with peony and waterlily and so fragrant that you may not need an additional spritz of perfume before heading out! It also contains nourishing skin ingredients like avocado and sweet almond oils. This contains Mineral Oil, which is considered an ingredient of concern by some. More info here. Read my ingredient disclaimer here.

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided to Cybelesays.com for review purposes.