Sense and sensitivity

Dear Ms. Tingting,

What feminine scents are “in” for this season?

Che-Che Cachin

The best scents out this season combine the fragrance of flowers. I love flower-scented perfumes, with the clean flower scents mixed with vanilla.

To find inspiration for So de la Renta, a sheer, white-floral fragrance, designer Oscar de la Renta turned to his garden, plucking a delicate bouquet of Connecticut peony and white gardenia and mixing it with watermelon and vanilla.

Drawing from her own backyard, Jil Sander based the frosted bottle for JIL on her modern-art collection of minimal lawn sculpture, taking a classically masculine item and feminizing it by wrapping the essence in a delicious confection of amber, vanilla, and raspberry.

White, a sparkling eau de toilette from Comme des Garcons, cuts the sweetness of mayrose with a dash of cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg.

Bulgari’s new Eau Fraiche offers a soft take on the legendary jewelry house’s Bulgari pour Femme, a velvety note of jasmine tea tinged with magnolia and orange blossom.

Avon’s Starring strikes a feminine note with sheer, lush ginger lily and osmanthus flower.

Liz Clairborne’s Lizsport evokes just cut grass and a spray off a waterfall, along with a gorgeous mix of flowers, from peonies and roses to lilies and jasmine.

Tingting

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Rx for perfume overdose

Dear Rissa,

I regularly wear perfume. Sometimes, I end up spraying too much and realize it only once I’ve left the house. What can I do to quickly remedy this?

China G.

Don’t worry. We all have made that mistake. But it’s one that can be easily fixed. When you end up spritzing too much of your favorite scent, rub the areas where you applied too much perfume with a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol. This will help remove a fragrance’s concentrated oil base. Another handy trick is to rub the skin with unscented baby wipes. This will also easily fix a perfume overdose. If you had oversprayed perfume on your clothing, blast the fabric with a hair dryer for around 30 seconds to help vaporize the overpowering scent.

As the late etiquette guru Emily Post, explained in her book, “When you use perfume or cologne, take a ‘moderation in all things’ approach. In close quarters, heavy scents can irritate others and cause some people to have allergic reactions.” A person’s scent should be subtle and intriguing — not overpowering. At the end of the day, you want your perfume to enhance your appeal rather than detracting from it.

To avoid the same mistake, you can next time apply perfume or cologne more lightly. Anyway, you can always easily reapply your scent throughout the day. You should also consider testing new fragrances before wearing it to places like work. Keep in mind also that body chemistry can intensify the power of some fragrances.

Rissa

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Shades of things to come

Dear Lucy,

I want a lipstick in shades of pink and orange that will look luscious on my lips, but I do not want anything too expensive. Do you have a particular brand and shade you can recommend?

I am also looking for a nice watch, something huge but still feminine. I do have a budget for the watch so I know this early that I will be getting a good brand. Where do I start looking? What is your favorite brand?

Anjoy

My newest favorite in terms of lipstick is Face Shop’s Colour Shimmer lipsticks. They come in the most delicious colors although my top picks are these shades: pink 105 and orange 203. I mix them with my clear gloss and my lips look lovely. The best part about it is that they are so reasonably priced!

For watches, it has always been Omega for me. I have been in love with it ever since I saw my dad’s Omega watch when I was a little girl. And with the new designs available, there is even more about it to love! Check out Nicole Kidman’s choice, a Speedmaster with black leather straps and diamonds all around its white face. It is big and beautiful, and if you really want big and beautiful, I would say this is for you!

Lucy

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Send e-mail to tingtingcojuangco @yahoo.com, ltg@pldtdsl.com, and stylesos_rissa@yahoo.com.

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