The best way is to build layers of scent directly on your skin, preferably warm, slightly damp skin when you just come out of the shower. The warm water opens your pores and allows your perfume to be absorbed into your skin.
If you find you showered the night before and need to apply perfume in the morning, keep in mind the molecules in fragrance bind to the oils on your skin when applied. If you have dry skin, you have less skin oil for the perfume molecules to grab, so moisturize your skin for longer lasting perfume. Use a solid perfume or lotion first, then “layer on” your fragrance, it will have a better surface to bind to.
The best place to wear fragrance is on the skin at the pulse points: the wrist, behind the ears, inner elbows and the base of the neck. This is where the fragrance will have the most projection due to the fact that the skin warms up here.
Apply your perfume sparingly and don’t be tempted to rub the fragrance (except for perfume oils, you can dab it in) – it’s better to leave it to unfold naturally as it warms up on the skin. If you need to, carry a smaller size bottle with you to reapply later in the day – particularly if you are going out for the evening – this will freshen up the top notes again.
Many people underestimate the power of scent in the hair. Spritz fragrance directly onto your hair or onto your brush and comb it through your hair. Hair carries scent for a really long time. Applying fragrance directly to your hair creates delicious, mysterious wafts that are bound to get you compliments.
]]>It's spooky season and the Halloween scents are back in stock! To celebrate, I am offering a giveaway where 10 lucky winners will receive a mini perfume sample of all 10 Halloween scents.
There are multiple ways to enter the giveaway:
➡️ Leave a blog post comment and let me know your favorite Halloween scent. I will be taking comments from October 1st - October 15th. I do moderate comments to avoid the spammers, so they won't show up right away.
➡️ Place an order. Everyone that places an order between October 1st - October 15th will automatically be entered into the giveaway.
➡️ Like us on Instagram and like and comment on any post or reel.
Here are the 10 Halloween scents you will receive:
I will pick the 10 random winners on October 16th and the winners will be notified by email or DM on October 16th. You have 72 hours to claim your prize ($100 value) before it will be offered to the another person, so please reply as soon as you get my email or DM. This giveaway is only available to US residents. Good luck!
Perfume has been used for centuries to enhance our appearance and make us feel more confident. It can also be a powerful tool for increasing self-esteem and promoting body positivity.
When we wear a perfume that we love, it can make us feel more attractive. This can boost our self-esteem and give us the confidence to take on the day. Perfume can also help us to feel more connected to ourselves and our bodies. When we choose a perfume that reflects our personality and style, it can make us feel more comfortable in our own skin.
Of course, perfume is not a magic bullet for self-esteem and body positivity. It is important to remember that our self-worth is not determined by our appearance. However, perfume can be a helpful tool for boosting our confidence and feeling more positive about ourselves.
Here are a few tips for choosing the right perfume:
The right perfume can help you to feel more confident, attractive, and connected to yourself.
Here are some additional tips:
With our 100% happiness guaranteed perfume samples and the 2 free sniffies with every order, you can use a little trial and error to find the perfect perfume to help you feel your best.
]]>6. Albuquerque, NM 2017-2018: I thought I would explore New Mexico for a year, so I wandered over to Albuquerque. I lived right on the Sandia Mountains at 6000'. I climbed all over the Sandia Mountain range, but also traveled to Santa Fe, Taos and a day trip to Roswell to check out the alien encounters museum. I loved Meow Wolf in Santa Fe and climbed the highest point in NM in Taos, Wheeler Peak. I also took some time to fly to Kauai and hike 16 miles of the legendary Kalalau Trail. If you ever have a chance to see the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, do it. Seeing all the those beautiful hot air balloons take off at dawn was incredible. I also did another IVHQ volunteer trip in New Zealand, focusing on waterway clean-up and ecological restoration. Plus a weekend seeing Hobbiton (a lifelong dream) and the glow worms.
7. Sedona, AZ (again) 2018-2019: I was running out of warm weather mountain places to live, so I thought I'd go back to Sedona for a year. It's one of my favorite places on earth and a hiking wonderland. I did revisit all my favorite trails and found quite a few new ones. I popped over to Chicago to see the Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within seminar and walked on fire. I also headed to Flagstaff to climb the highest peak in AZ, Mount Humphrey. Plus a few day trips exploring more of the Grand Canyon.
8. Knoxville, TN 2019-2020: My sister and her family live in Knoxville, so I thought I'd try some east coast Smoky Mountain hiking for a year. We traveled to France for a family trip and my niece came for a visit where we checked out Dollywood and the highest peak in TN, Clingmans Dome. I also managed to fit in an IVHQ volunteer trip to Costa Rica (childcare and working on a sustainable coffee farm) before Covid hit. Well, we all know what happened next.
9. Irvine, CA (again) 2020-2022: Still in Covid, I made the cross country trek back to Irvine, I have family here and wanted to be near them. Unfortunately I got really, really sick in November 2020 and was fighting for wellness until July 2021 (not Covid, but still scary, especially during Covid and I was immunocompromised). Not much travel or hiking happened during this time as all my energy was focused on getting healthy again, which I am. I did do a week in Yellowstone and a week in Joshua Tree. But, I finally decided to pause the nomad life for awhile and bought a home. I'll be moving there in March, 2022.
10. 2022 - After exploring these fantastic cities, I decided to stay in one place and bought a house in Henderson, NV. I wanted to be in the mountains, in warm weather and near an international airport. Now with COVID hopefully in our rear view mirror, I've got a ton of adventures planned. And I get to explore my new city and state.
When I decided to try this, I never knew what a fantastic journey it would be. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about my wanderings, you can email me at sales@somethinspecial.com anytime or leave a comment below.
I've also decided to update my adventures as I have them and share my love of traveling and exploring the world.
July 2022 - I spent 10 days hiking all over Moab, UT and the Grand Canyon/North Rim. I saw the Delicate Arch in the Arches National Park (did you know this is on the Utah license plate?) and hiked a bunch of trails in The Canyonlands National Park. I've been to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon many times, but never the North Rim. It was about 10 degrees cooler and with only about 10% of the crowd! I loved hiking along the rim and staying in their rustic cabins right on the rim with no cell service, Wi-Fi, no TV and all the peace and quiet you could ever want.
January 2023 - When your sister asks if you want to go to Norway, you tell her you’re already packed. We met up in Oslo and took a train to Flam to gape at the Fjords. Another train ride to Bergen to visit the Bryggen UNESCO site and marvel at the 1000 year old city. A quick plane ride to Tromso and time to chase the Northern Lights. We were lucky enough to see them twice on a snowmobiling excursion and on a bus ride that took us to Finland and back. We took turns dog sledding in the gorgeous snowy hills and spent the evening on a fishing boat. We got to experience the Polar Nights and only saw about 30 minutes of daylight the entire 3 days in Tromso. The Norwegians were friendly and kind and answered all our questions patiently. They all said the same thing, you have to come back in summer, so now it’s definitely on the very long and getting longer travel list. Skål!
June 2023 - I hiked around some more Utah parks with a 10 day hiking trip to Hanksville and Kanab. I checked off Goblin Valley State Park, Capital Reef National Park, Grand Staircase Escalante, Bryce (again) and Zion (again). I find that hiking for 8 days straight resets my brain and I really sleep well at night. I highly recommend disconnecting from technology and immersing in nature every chance you get.
December 2023-January 2024 - I did an ocean expedition to Antarctica and it’s hard to explain all the feelings happening when you are walking among the penguins and seals on the bottom of the world. The penguins are completely unafraid of us and just going about their daily lives. It was wonderful to see one place in the world where we haven’t completely destroyed our relationship with the indigenous wildlife population. The glaciers, the icebergs, the blinding white snow, the fresh unpolluted air, the absolute quiet and the completely clear pristine water made it one of the most magical places on earth for me.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
Sue
It's the holiday season and the Christmas scents are back in stock! To celebrate, I am offering a giveaway where 10 lucky winners will receive a mini perfume sample of all 12 Christmas scents.
There are 2 ways to enter the giveaway:
1. Leave a blog post comment and let me know your favorite Christmas scent. I will be taking comments from November 1st - November 15th. I do moderate comments to avoid the spammers, so they won't show up right away.
2. Place an order. Everyone that places an order between November 1st - November 15th will automatically be entered into the giveaway.
If you are one of the winners, here are the 12 scents you will receive:
Christmas Memories: 🎄 Get instantly transported into the Christmas mood with this blend of orange peel and cranberry sauce; surrounded by cinnamon sticks and freshly ground cloves; finishing with the scent of brisk evergreen and pine cones.
Christmas Wreath: 🟢 Ring in the holidays with this traditional and welcoming scent. Fresh cut boughs of pine, balsam, holly berry and earthy pine cones.
Country Christmas: 🌲 A truly festive blend of bayberries, cranberries, and apples, with spicy nuances of nutmeg and cloves with a top note of orange zests.
Crackling Firewood: 🔥 This fragrance begins with top notes of pine, balsam and citrus bergamot; leading to middle notes of white flowers and earthy sandalwood; sitting on base notes of woodsy patchouli and violet.
Frosted Snowdrop: ☃️ This fragrance embraces a romantic musk and sandalwood background, while providing the aroma of delicate winter flowers. Compare to Frosted Snowdrop by Bath & Body Works.
Pink Evergreen: 🎀 Fun notes of pink berries, green apple and whipped sugar blend with frosted evergreen for a fresh, unique holiday scent.
Sleigh Ride: 🛷 A merry and festive fusion of pine, apples and cinnamon, bayberry, holly and a hint of creamy vanilla.
Snowflakes & Cashmere: ❄️ The magic of winter is in the air - immerse yourself in this cozy blend of cashmere cream, shimmering vanilla, frosted clementine, golden amber and caramel woods. Compare to the Bath & Body Works scent.
Sugar Fairy: 🧚 The smell of sweet sugar, cotton candy, pear drops, vanilla and cherry. It's like being sprinkled with sugar dust from the sugar fairy. Inspired by Snow Fairy by Lush.
Sugar Plum Fairy: 💜 A charming fragrance filled with surprises to delight all of the senses including plums, dark cherries and sweet oranges enhanced with peppery woody undertones.
Thankful: 🦃 This outdoorsy and woodsy scent starts with balsam, citrus, jasmine and patchouli. Delightfully rounds down on a base of the smoky notes of frankincense and myrrh. Compare to the Bath & Body Works Scent.
Vanilla Bean Cookies: 🍪 Turn your days into relaxing, comforting cozy feelings of sugar cookies coming straight from the oven. The scent is a delicious blend of caramel, vanilla, and rich comforting cream. Compare to Vanilla Bean Noel by Bath & Body Works.
Your perfume samples will be packaged in a cute reusable Christmas themed gift bag. I will pick the 10 random winners on November 16th and the winners will be notified by email on November 16th. You have 72 hours to claim your prize ($96 value) before it will be offered to another person, so please reply as soon as you get my email. This giveaway is only available to US residents. Good luck!
2. Conditioner: I follow with my reconstructive hair conditioner, which also contains some extra botanicals to keep your hair healthy and strong. I leave it on for about 3-4 minutes, longer if I'm shaving my legs. Then rinse.
3. Pat Dry: Use your towel to pat your hair dry, don't rub or pull. If you have longer hair, you can gently squeeze out excess moisture.
4. Bamboo Comb: Gently comb your hair with a wide tooth sandalwood comb. The wide tooth design will not pull or break your hair and it's plastic-free and biodegradable. If you use the detangling spray before combing, you will not have any snarls, therefore decreasing hair breakage.
5. Hair Gel (optional): I have thin, frizzy, mind of its own hair, so applying a bit of conditioning hair gel on wet hair helps me to style and shape it.
6. Blow Dry (optional): I only blow dry when I have an event to go to, I usually just let it air dry. I try to use the lowest heat setting, but if I'm in a hurry, I'll need to use the higher heat. A conditioning detangler spray and conditioning hair gel helps protect my hair if I need to do this. I do use a round bristle brush to help with styling.
7. Hairspray (optional): Once again, my hair has a mind of its own and tons of cowlicks, I use the Giovanni LA Hold Hair Spritz. It has no sulfates, parabens and it's non-aerosol, vegan and cruelty-free. TIP: It has a light scent, so I open the bottle and put in a few drops of my favorite perfume oil.
When I wake up to crazy bed head every single morning, I use a gentle to my hair bamboo bristle brush to get it under control and get a little scalp massage.
Finally, I love that I can scent all the above products with my favorite perfume oil. It will blend with the perfume I put on my skin for the day. And my hair smells amazing.