Sandra‘s Closet

I cannot believe that it is already October. Time just flies… we were so blessed this year with beautiful weather that I can hardly imagine that we will soon be freezing.

What I love about fall the most is that I enjoy being at home and making myself cozy. I love to spray my house with a yummy room scent that welcomes me every day with summer memories.

LALIQUE Voyage de Parfumeur
Vanille Room Spray

A delicate, delicious aroma of the sweetest of orchids: vanilla – pairing it with a sandalwood heart and a musky amber base for a delectable, enveloping and mouth-watering effect.
CHF 65.00 (100ml)

There are also three new scents on the market that you shouldn’t miss: Yuzu, Figuier and Santal.

In my beauty closet, fall starts when I exchange my fragrances for more opulent ones. One scent I have been loving since many years is:

MUSK RAVAGEUR by Maurice Roucel
Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

This beautiful oriental rich scent has a intense, warm base of vanilla, amber and musk with top notes of bergamot, tangerine and cinnamon. Complex and lasting, it’s perfect for anyone who loves sensual and powerful fragrances.

TO SHOP MUSK RAVAGEUR ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

Moreover, there are two new fragrances on the market that caught my attention. If you get a chance, I recommend trying them – they are both really beautiful. There’s no reason buying a gift shouldn’t be a treat for you, too:-)!

BVLGARI GOLDEA
The Roman Night Absolute

Created by  Alberto Morillas, this scent is a hypnotic modern elixir, a chypre musk with exhilarating power. Orange blossom and black plum provide a stunningly unexpected opening. The majestic floral heart electrifies you with an addictive absolute encapsulation of sensuality. Mysterious and magnetic, blended with black musk, the chypre accord stirs under bewitching patchouli and crystal moss while exuding the scent of infinity.
Eau de Parfum Sensuelle
CHF 78.00 (30ml), CHF 117.00 (50ml) and CHF 140.00 (75ml)

DOLCE & GABBANA
The Only One

A new fragrance that captures the essence of sophisticated and hypnotizing femininity. The Only One’s signature lies in the surprising combination of violet and coffee giving life to an enchanting floral scent. The fragrance is an interesting play of opposites; it is from this fusion of the unexpected that it draws its appeal. The violet opens the fragrance, combining with subtle touches of bergamot to create a lively, surprizing and juicy bouquet. At the heart, seductive notes of rich coffee are blended with charming iris. Finally, the warm base of vanilla and patchouli lends a tactile, comforting quality, enveloping the senses in an opulent embrace.
Eau de Parfum
CHF 86.00 (30ml), CHF 114.00 (50ml) and CHF 159.00 (100ml)

When the fall season starts, I tend to wear darker lip colors – preferably in red. A new generation of care lipsticks with an ultra-silky texture that envelop the lips with a fine, smoothing, contouring and hydrating film. Perfect for the cold season.

SISLEY
Le Phyto Rouge

The intensity of a lipstick combined with a balm-like sensation in an exceptional skin care formula and a stunning packaging that makes it a real beauty accessory. Thanks to the «Hydrobooster Complex» composed of microspheres of hyaluronic acid and konjac glucomannans, lips are immediately plumped up, voluptuous and smoothed.
CHF 53.00 each

TO SHOP SISLEY LE PHYTO ROUGE ONLINE, CLICK HERE PLEASE.

LoL, Sandra

Photo: © Sandra Bauknecht
Stills: Courtesy of the Brands

For all fragrance addicts, this is great news: AJ ARABIA is a new perfumery house founded by Ali Aljaberi in Abu Dhabi. Original fragrances that combine the best of French perfumery with the treasures of the Arabian Desert, in a breathtaking packaging inspired by the beautiful Arabian architecture.

The fragrances will be numbered rather than named, and are designed to be worn by both men and women.

AJ ARABIA BLACK COLLECTION I
«Arabian hospitality in a bottle»

Top Notes: Cinnamon, Cardamom
Heart Notes: Incense, Cypress
Base Notes: Sandal Wood, Musk, Cedar Wood

AJ ARABIA BLACK COLLECTION II
«Sweet Arabian seduction»

Top Notes: Plum, Mandarin
Heart Notes: Rose, Sandalwood
Base Notes: Musk, Vanilla, Moss

I personally love the second oriental fragrance, Black Collection II, that features fruity top notes, a woody-floral heart and a classic dry-down. This delicate and fragrant perfume with its enticing aromas takes you on a journey to the marvelous heritage of the Middle East.

Both fragrances (50ml) are available exclusively in Zurich at Perfumery Osswald for CHF 396.- each.

Speaking of Abu Dhabi, don’t forget to enter the amazing contest with Etihad HERE. For more information about the ultimate shopping experience that you can win with me in Abu Dhabi, click here for the previous post.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of AJ ARABIA

Three new oriental fragrances that might reveal the Scheherazade in you hit the shelves this fall. Not only fans of the One Thousand and One Nights will love the precious essences of amber, vanilla, patchouli and rose.

Enjoy those scents that will at once transport you to warmer climes and enchanting Eastern places in thought.

Armani Privé – Haute Couture Fragrances
ROSE D’ARABIE “L’Or du Désert”

Giorgio Armani presents a limited edition of its Rose d’Arabie fragrance of the Armani/Privé line of couture perfumes in “La Collection des Mille et Une Nuits”. The sensual fragrance features amber and patchouli as well as saffron and Damask rose extracts. Elusive gold flecks mingle with the fragrance, dancing and twirling like desert winds so that its name L’Or du Désert is very suitable. The beautiful gold dust will leave a subtle shimmer on the perfumed skin.
EDP 100 ml – CHF 330.- Limited Edition available end of October 2012.

PERFUME CALLIGRAPHY by Aramis

Aramis goes Arabic with its newly launched unisex scent Perfume Calligraphy, that is geared towards the Middle Eastern market. Full of eastern promise and inspired by the beauty of the written word, the fragrance and its bottle, both reflect a perfect pairing of ancient crafts and high quality ingredients such as oud and rose. Additional notes include cardamom, lemon, cinnamon, myrrh, saffron, patchouli, amber and musk.
EDT 100ml – CHF 168.- in stores now.

L’AMBRE DES MERVEILLES by Hermès

“Lucent, translucent, luminous, generous, solid, indestructible, if the legend is true, if beads of yellow amber are the tears of the gods, they are tears of joy.”

The newest Hermès fragrance L’Ambre des Merveilles is full of magic and mystery. This extremely beautiful scent includes notes of amber, labdanum, vanilla and patchouli. The idea behind his latest interpretation L’Ambre, as in-house nose Jean-Claude Ellena explains, was “to make the woman more sensual and mysterious. For this new chapter, I wanted to relate one of the mysteries of amber, hovering between a delicious treat and sensuality, where vanilla meets the warmth of labdanum, and the moist quality of patchouli.” After a spritz or two, it is obvious that this fragrance does just that in perfection.
EDP 50ml (CHF 128.-) and 100ml (CHF 182.-) in stores now.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Giorgio Armani, Aramis and Hermès

Guerlain‘s inspiration behind their beautiful Holiday 2011 makeup look “Belle de Nuit” is truly worth reading it and might leave you intrigued. Enjoy!

“During the 1920’s and 1930’s, pioneers in aviation accomplished unimaginable feats and these brave pilots became instant, worldwide heroes. It was during this revolutionary period, in 1933, that Jacques Guerlain composed the legendary perfume Vol de Nuit, meaning “Night Flight,” as a tribute to the most famous women aviators of his time. Named for the second book written by his close friend Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Guerlain’s creation was a bold oriental fragrance that served as ode to all fearless women. Comprised of woody, vanilla and powdery iris notes, Vol de Nuit was for the woman who laughs in the face of fear, for whom nothing is impossible.

For Guerlain’s Holiday 2011 make-up collection Belle de Nuit, Creative Director Oliver Échaudemaison takes his inspiration from this legendary fragrance. Evoking the changing shades of the night sky, he created daring tones that are both dark and dramatic with mesmerizing iridescent accents. With lacquered and blue-green details, the products are encased within boxes that reveal the blue and black zebra motif found on the original Vol de Nuit box design. Belle de Nuit is a sophisticated and enchanting limited edition collection that is as fleeting as nightfall.”

Let’s take a closer look at those very luxurious limited-edition pieces:

Vol de Nuit Poudre Iridescente Parfumée – Face & Body – CHF 111.-

The star product is a combination of a luminous powder and a fragrance that wraps the skin with a veil of iridescent shimmer while being deliciously fragranced by the notes of Vol de Nuit. The universal pale pink shade is accentuated with blue-green and silvery hues to leave the face, body and hair sparkling. The bottle reinterprets that of the original Vol de Nuit, which was revolutionary at the time by being the first to combine glass and metal.

Météorites Perles de Nuit Poudre Lumière – Eclat Pur – CHF 74.-

The cult favorite is back and reinvented this holiday season. Although the formula remains untouched, Météorites Perles de Nuit leaves the face glowing and radiant with a new tailor-made harmony. Five perfectly smooth pearls correct, illuminate and even out the skin. It is composed of pink pearls to capture light, white to illuminate the complexion, gold to reflect light, orange to boost radiance and silver to add shimmer without whitening the skin.

Parure de Nuit – Poudre Pressée & Blush – CHF 97.-

Parure de Nuit is a face powder and blush in one and uses pale pink, white, deep pink and blue green to harmonise skin tone. It comes with a super-soft brush so you can softly sweep across all the shades for face illumination. So pretty!

Ecrin 4 Couleurs N° 10 Les Ombres de Nuit – CHF 80.-

Guerlain has developed a new color harmony made especially for night owls that creates smoky, seductive and spellbinding eyes. An iridescent texture of green, blue and grey pearlescent particles release luminous color with an extremely metallic finish and is combined with an extra-matte black shadow for a precise, intense liner effect.

Rouge Automatique – Le Rouge Hydratant Longue Tenue – CHF 54.-

The thirties icon Rouge Automatique is back and is more modern and attractive than ever. The Art Déco inspired case opens and closes at the flick of a hand revealing two new shades for holiday. Seductive, yet innocent, in Rouge Automatique, Guerlain has created a second-skin texture allowing for long-lasting wear.

Two limited edition shades:
169 Flirt d’un Jour: A soft and luminous pink, evocative of passionate kisses.
170 Nuit d’Amour: A surprising black red that reveals an intense plum color on the lips (above).

Opening a Guerlain product feels like opening a present, so have fun indulging yourself in pure luxury. The collection is available now.

My beauty must-have: Vol de Nuit Poudre Iridescente Parfumée that will add the perfect sparkle to every festive outfit.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Guerlain