Origins

No, I am not referring to the origin of our species in the title of this post.  By now you all know that I'm not that cerebral.  ;)  Girls, I'm talkin' bout the cosmetic/treatment brand of Origins.  This brand has been around for quite a while, so most of you are probably familiar with it - Origins has outposts in Macy's, and is also found in freestanding shops of its own.  Today I'm going to entice you into the world of Origins fragrance.  Well, only a few of their fragrances, but, I think, the BEST ones. :)  Only the best for my Dear Readers!  All three of you.

As some of you may recall from my Jo Malone post back in the summer, I am extremely picky when it comes to fragrance.  Most of them hold no appeal for me at all.  Brands/scents that make others swoon will get a 'meh', an 'eh', or an outright 'EEEEEEWWWW' from me.  But the ones I like, I like forever, and Origins Ginger Essence is one of my Forever Fragrances.  This scent has been a part of my collection for over ten years, and is actually one that has had to be replaced.  (I wish I could say that I had to replace it because I used it all up, but the sad truth is that I am such a Fragrance 'Ho that I generally have to replace my most beloved scents because they've gone 'bad' from sitting around for too long!  This is the problem when you apply only a small spritz of fragrance in the morning, and own so many that you can rotate through them and not use the same one every single day.  And YES, I have a lot of bottles sitting around that I don't really like, but hate to part with because they were, well, kind of expensive....In recent years I have vastly curtailed my scent-purchasing impulses and re-routed them into yarn-purchasing impulses, but that's another blog entirely - see www.blingmamaknits.wordpress.com for my ditherings on all things knit).

There she is, Ginger Essence in all her glory.  The website describes the fragrance as having "the spicy fire of ginger and the refreshing zeal of bergamot, lemon, and lime.  Well, there you go!  That explains why I've loved this fragrance for so long.  I am a sucker for citrus.  If you love citrus, too, then you will probably enjoy Ginger Essence.  It's not exactly cheap, at $45.00 for the above-pictured bottle, but it's not horribly costly, either.  To go along with it, there is also the Body Souffle in Ginger Essence for $29.00  HOWEVER, I have to tell you that I don't find the Origins Body Souffle products to be wonderfully moisturizing.  :(  Yesterday, as a matter of fact, I re-discovered my jar of Origins Gloomaway hiding amongst my myriad body products......this is a grapefruit-scented body souffle, and, while you might know that I adore true grapefruit-scented products, I have to give only a half-hearted recommendation of this product.  It really did nothing to smoothe my rough and scratchy fingertips, as I would hoping it would.  And the yummy grapefruit scent only lasted five minutes and then it was gone.....double :(

I know that you can't really tell from my crummy picture above, but this product is not as thick and creamy as other body lotions/souffles/butters I've used in the past. It's more thin and water-based.  Maybe it would be good on your legs if they weren't at the Scaly Stage.  But woe unto you if you think this would help your cracked and hurting heels!  Not gonna happen.  In that case, I would recommend massaging in some Josie Maran Argan Oil, or perhaps some L'Occitaine Shea Butter (from the tin).  Even some Carol's Daughter Moisturizing Body Cream, if you happen to have some lying around........my favorite fragrance so far in that line is the Lavender and Vanilla I picked up about a year ago from a HSN show featuring that product line. I've recently seen a few Carol's Daughter products in my local Ulta, and I've also seen it when wandering through the Macy's cosmetics department.  Of course, HSN will have the best prices and 'kits', so if you are interested in Carol's Daughter, check out the HSN website.

This morning I used some Tarte Maracuja Oil on my hands after I was finished applying my face, and my fingertips are feeling much better today than they did yesterday.  You know that your fingertips need help when the yarn you are using to knit does not glide smoothly through them, but instead catches and snags!  LOL  Oh, well, that's the state of your skin in January in Chicago!  Tell me again why I am still living here and not in somewhere like San Diego????  

Speaking of makeup, today I had fun with Smashbox brow powder but can't recall the exact shade - probably a taupe or light brown; Mally concealer in Light; Laura Geller's Ethereal blush; Bobbi Brown's cream eyeshadow in Beach Bronze;  Bare Escentuals Flawless Def mascara in the Volumizing formula; a touch of Bare Escentuals Well Rested on the spots I wanted to hide on my face; Urban Decay lipliner in Midnight Cowboy; and a dab of Clinique's Chubby Stick in Mega Melon on the old kisser.  (And I do mean old!)  

Oh, wait!  I lied.  My blush was Josie Maran's Argan Color Stick in Petal Pink...or is it Pink Petal...not only the lips are old...the brain's of the same vintage!  But, hey, do you think that the brain's aged better since it's never been exposed to Old Sol?  It might be, but while I'm NOT willing to open up the skull to make the comparison, I AM willing to go on record as saying that the Clinique Chubby Stick lip color/balms are fast becoming some of my favorite lip products!  Hie thee to a Clinique counter at your local Ulta and check them out!!!!  I promise you won't be disappointed. :) 

And that's the dirt on fragrance and color for today.  Until next time, Fair Reader!