I saw this perfume tag on Miss Prissypants, and I just couldn’t resist.

1. Fragrance with the most memories attached?

Perfumes, on the whole, hold quite powerful memories for me. After each business trip, my father would gift my mother a bottle of the latest perfume there is out there. She now has drawers-ful of perfumes which I’m most envious of. As I grew older, my father did the same for me. The first perfume he ever gave me was a set of Elizabeth Arden True Love perfume and body lotion.

A few fragrances that evoke some powerful memories:

Elizabeth Arden’s Fifth Avenue – A classic. A gift from my father to my mother. I loved it so much, that I would sneak into her room every morning and squirt on my pinafore before I left for school.

Cristalle by Chanel – My father was on a business trip to Japan when he bought this for me. Incidentally, I was also in Japan at that time. He walked into my office (we work for the same company at that time), and handed me the duty-free paper bag with the perfume in it. My female Japanese colleagues were green with envy that day. One of them even told “you have such a good father. My father has never given me anything like that, much less a Chanel perfume!”.

Davidoff Cool Water – The first fragrance for me I ever bought, and it was for my first boyfriend.

My Givenchy by Givenchy – The first bottle of fragrance (that isn’t the usual el-cheapo stuff I’d buy) I bought at Narita Airport, Japan. I had one hell of a time of training then, and this was a gift to myself for enduring the time of loneliness in Japan.

2. Your most-loved perfume bottle?

I don’t have the ONE perfume bottle that I love, but there are a few that are my favourite.

Estee Lauder’s Beyond Paradise. Another gift from daddy dearest. Don’t really fancy the scent, but loved the shimmery bottle.
Chanel No.5. A classic apothecary bottle. LOVE it.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Féerie. What a delightful bottle.

3. Which perfume do you wish was still produced?

Chris 1947 by Dior. I was 17 when my aunt gave this to me. I absolutely adored the scent back then, and bugged my mum for one for Christmas. In the end, my aunt (her sister) gave me one for Christmas. ‘Tis a pity they don’t make this anymore. I read this on Paris‘ blog, and it brought back a wave of Form Five memories.

4. Favourite perfume advertising campaign?

Unfortunately, I never did pay much attention to perfume advertising campaigns till recently. Most of the advertising campaigns these days involved fragrances by celebrities, and I was never keen on those. I did like the very expensive Chanel No 5 advertisement by Nicole Kidman though (Kiera Knightley’s, not so much).

5. Best perfume-related discovery?

Can’t think of any at the moment.

6. Perfume that you expected to love but didn’t?

Estee Lauder’s Pleasures. Heard such rave reviews from family and friends. My mum even gave me a bottle, and so did an ex-boyfriend. I just find it too cloying for my taste.

7. Perfume you would give your left arm for?

I don’t think there’s any perfume that I’d want to that extent, but if I have to name one, it would definitely be the Chanel No 5.

8. Top 5 favourite perfume notes?

Err, I’m afraid I don’t know enough about perfumes to actually derive favourite top notes, so I’d say, anything floral? 😛

9. Perfume you wish would die a horrible death?

CK One by Calvin Klein. Obsession by Calvin Klein. Oh gawd, anything by Calvin Klein. Back in the day, every Tom, Dick and Harry was wearing CK. In crowds, the smell was revolting.

10. Next perfumes on your “to buy” list?

I wouldn’t let myself buy anything perfume because I have so many unfinished ones. But these are definitely on my wishlist – Chanel’s Chance Eue Tendre, Marc Jacobs Daisy (I’ve been wanting this for AGES!) and Marc Jacobs Cucumber. For Christmas, perhaps?

A few nights ago, I was about to hit the shower. Picking my good ol’ shower cap, I was just about to put it on, when I realised, to my horror, that there were green mouldy bits growing on the elastic and several spots of them on the outside!

EEEUUUUWWW.

I don’t wash my hair daily, but on alternate days. The days I don’t wet my hair, I would secure ’em in a shower cap. In my new home, I placed the shower cap on a hook outside the glass screen. Unfortunately, the ventilation fan in the bathroom is rather weak, which kept the bathroom walls and surfaces rather moist (okay, who else hates that word?) most of the time.

The incessant moisture must have encouraged the growth of icky green mould on my shower cap. I threw it in the bin without another thought.

So there you go. A kind reminder for those of you who use shower caps, that it’s time to check if it’s clean and free of the green stuff. It’s a good idea to change it every couple of months or so. Or at least, give your shower cap a good wash weekly.

I’ll be sure to keep my shower cap nice and dry from now on.

*shudder at the thought of the mould*

We’ve all heard good things about Aveeno’s bodycare products. I love the handcream, and have not problems with the bodywash either. When Aveeno launched its skincare range, I knew I had to try out at least one item from the line. Just to be safe, the first thing I tried out was the Positively Radiant Cleanser.

Now you’d think that with such a name, one would have glowy, glowy skin after use, right?

Description:

Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser has a moisture-rich soy formula that works to cleanse whilst lifting away impurities such as dirt, oil and makeup. The Radiant Cleanser doesn’t over dry the skin, leaving it with a naturally radiant finish.

I’m afraid, me no likey this cleanser. First of all, let’s talk about the scent. It smells of lemons. Perhaps you citrus lovers out there wouldn’t have any problems with the smell, I don’t know. I’m a fan of citrus scents, especially oranges, but this cleanser just reminded me of this.

I kid you not. Once, after a shower, I had to clean up some dishes left on the sink. I swear, my hands smelled like my face, and it wasn’t a good thing.

Next, the ingredients. I don’t know if you can tell from the photograph above, but when the gel cleanser is dispensed, it was shimmery. Very much like makeup, where you have very tiny bits of glitter in them. The very wee bits of glitter is mica, which is an ingredient in the cleanser. Perhaps that’s why they called it a “Positively Radiant” cleanser, in hopes that it’ll light up your face with shimmer. Other than an aesthetics factor, it doesn’t play any role in cleansing the skin. Water washes it off after a few seconds anyway.

On the whole, it’s an adequate cleanser. It removes all traces of dirt and makeup and doesn’t leave the skin feeling tight and dry, as good cleansers should. As for evening out skin tone as described, nope, I don’t see it.

Would I repurchase? Nah.

Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser retails at AU$13.99 for 200ml, and is available at leading pharmacies and supermarkets.

What I like about it: Cleanses the skin well without drying the skin out. Cheap as chips.

What I do not like about it: Smells like dishwashing liquid, didn’t find mica in cleansers necessary.