From my garden - again! I just can't get enough of these beautiful hydrangeas. We finally got some rain - quite a downpour - this week. Had the rain not come, I would have been dragging hoses around to give my plants a drink. Please remember to put out water for wildlife. If it's hot or dry, they need it.This was a slow week in more ways than one. Time always passes slowly when you are "willing" new collections to arrive at the stores. I shared a few sneak peeks with you - some of the beautiful fall makeup and fragrance I'll be purchasing (soon, I hope). Some would say we are in the dog days of summer.
Did you know that Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July, Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.
The conjunctio
n of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the “precession of the equinoxes” (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Charlie had something to say about that. Something about a cat star...I received my Beautyhabit order this week, and I can't wait to tell you about two new fragrances I purchased - and love. I've been having a fragrance blast here over the last few weeks, and I'm learning as I sniff. While I may not choose to live in some of the more exotic fragrances I've tried, I am trying to sharpen my ability to identify notes in unusual blends. One sweet reader sent me a box full of fragrance samples. She has opened my eyes to new lines and new genres, and I'm extremely grateful.
Then, there was the news I got from WWD this morning. Justin Bieber's new women's fragrance, Someday, was the top-selling "prestige" fragrance in the U.S. in the two-week period ending July 2 and is on target to be #1 this year. I am so out of touch! Billed as a "fruity gourmand" scent, Someday was created to appeal to the 14-18-year-old set. Save me.
It's time for The Friday Forum, our open chat. Did you find any deals you couldn't resist this week? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers have moved on.
Don't forget to enter the giveaway contest for M·A·C's Possessed by Pink Lip Kit! The deadline is tomorrow, July 15, at midnight. If you don't enter, you can't win.
Photos by Best Things in Beauty
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11 comments:
You can keep those garden shots coming, Charlestongirl. I never tire of them. And as for the pics of our favorite Jungle Boy, well what can I say? He's our favorite shinning star and, yes, he does have a constellation--Leo! Intrepid, brave, courageous, cunning, mama's boy--oops! How did that slip in there? ;-) He's such a mischievous love if ever there was one. Actually, a constellation was named Felis the Cat by Jérôme Lalande in 1799 in part because he felt sorry for cats. Somehow, a constellation named out of pity doesn't seem Charlie's style, so let's stick with the mighty Leo and not tell Charlie about poor Felis.
No new beauty purchases this week which is more than OK since I'm still totally enthralled by Byzance and Le Blanc. Those two collections seem to be the basis for all of my looks right now. Once the fall collections hit counter, though, I know that my interest will be renewed as it always is. I'm particularly fond of fall and holiday collections: clothing, accessories, makeup. Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I always experience a surge of energy and a renewal of enthusiasm for life in general that makes me want to reach out and embrace mankind with hope and altruism. Does that sound too terribly 1960's? Hey, dude. Peace, love, flower power :-)
Hi Charlestongirl! Thanks for the photo of your gorgeous flowers (like Eileen I never tire of them) and for explaining the dog days: I have always wondered why Summer sultry weather was called dog days, now I know:-)
And yes of course Charlie IS a cat star...mine are not listening:-)
Here nothing new: new make-up starts appearing after August 15th when people are thinking of what we call "la rentrée". Then all of a sudden the new Fall things appear everywhere! Now it's all about Summer
Hi Eileen,
Charlie sends a purr. He feels like a lion sometimes (and clearly roars like one), so he loved the message. We won't mention Felis to him.
Byzance should keep us all occupied for a few weeks! Unfortunately, my attention as been kidnapped by all the colors that will arrive before fall begins. She sighs...
Hi Clarisse,
It should be all about summer! I do remember when the fall collections appeared in late August/early September, but those were the days of fewer collections. Now, many companies have caved to the short attention span of Americans. :)
Charlie sends cat kisses to your two little guys.
Good thing the expression is "dog days," since Charlie loves them. I'd like to think he would be thrilled to have a dog buddy.
Great thought about hydrating local wildlife -- the bunnies in my garden have looked a little parched! Time for carrots & Evian :).
Has it been a month yet? Is it time for a Biodynamic Lifting Serum update?
Hi Laetitia!
I was unhappy to find my big copper bird basin turned over this morning. I'll bet the guy who cuts the grass did it. It was filled with lovely rain water.
I like the new Chantecaille serum. I'm wearing it almost every day. It is nicely hydrating and plays well with makeup. If I didn't test so many serums, I could live in it. :)
I love your thoughtful reminders about water for wildlife when the heat sets in. We water our gardens. Why wouldn't we provide water for the birds and small animals that share our yards? We have a Mediterranean style home and so, in addition to the requisite birdbath, we have a fountain set in a reflection pond in the front of our home. (No chlorine or other chemicals in the water.) In the morning, before the evidence has had a chance to dry, it gladdens my heart to see the variety of paw prints around the "drinking hole". That's one of the little bits of heaven that graces my life. If that isn't one of the best things in beauty, then I don't know what is :-)
Eileen, I adore seeing the paw prints at my gardening watering holes! I know my foxes drink there every night.
Those little guys are getting so tame, they wait for breakfast every morning between 5:00 and 5:15! Sleep in? No chance. My conscience tells me to get up and feed the foxes.
I love it! Mama Charlestongirl up at dawn's early light to feed the foxes :-) You really are a dear heart <3
I just got back from an impromptu makeup session at Chanel and ended up adding Mirifique to my Chanel collection. It really does make a pretty evening liner. I wasn't all that impressed with it until I actually saw it on my eyes. The multi-colored sparkles in the pitch black base add a bit of summer magic that I find quite enchanting. I know the younger gals will use it to re-create that sexy, multi-dimensional smoky eye that Chanel recently sent down the runway, but since I have "cadaver eyes" (deep set), there is no way I can ever get away with that. A bit of sparkly, smudgy liner along the lash line still works, though.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Eileen, there is one silly fox who doesn't want dog food. He wants peanuts! So he waits until I put out the peanuts for the squirrels and birds and then goes to all the ground stations and scarfs up peanuts! He has done it for years. I know him because he has black legs.
Sometimes I think he spends the day. When he does, the other animals don't empty the feeders. I suspect he sleeps behind a hydrangea up against the porch in the back. Once I came around the corner in the afternoon, and someone large split from there at the speed of light. :) Never saw him, just heard him.
The Chanel discovery sounds fun! Isn't it a blast to have your eyes opened...in more ways than one?
This morning I saw in the Post that there was a party at Nectar Tuesday night for "the famous types" in DC. Darn! Now feel relegated to the press pack. :) That would have been fun!
I would love to work in PR, but I'd starve. So many young gals are willing to work for starter salaries, I can't compete. There's the mortgage, car, lifestyle, fox food, all my luxuries (like flowers just because)...don't want to give it up.
I hope Nectar succeeds. DC doesn't have any place quite like it. LA we're not.
Charlie is a great charmer!
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