Veil #2

I found my reception veil. It is shorter, so it'll be easier to move. I decided to go for a mantilla look.

Exotic Garden

As of late, I have been having a total dry spell when it comes to fragrance. Nothing has been smelling very good. I am fairly certain it correlates with my allergies... everything smells off, and even nauseating! So, when Tussah brought out samples of lovely gingery scents for the Cleveland gang to sample, I was not hopeful.

I am usually drawn to ginger-y scents, but with my streak of bad luck (even my all time favorite L'Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons is total badness on me) I just expected a disaster. But one of the scents, Hermes Un Jardin Apres La Mousson was tolerable, even pleasant, from top to bottom. The interesting thing was that (to me) it has a very green quality to it (maybe vetiver), and I usually don't like that sort of fragrance. On me, is a bit more like fresh cut ginger. The website describes it as "vegetal, floral, and spicy." I am not sure why, but there is something aquatic/ozone about it. (I'm not very good at this.) The notes are cardamom, coriander, pepper, ginger, ginger flower, and vetiver.

The other scent I tried was Serge Lutens Five O' Clock Au Gingembre. That was very delightful as well, but that's for a different post.

I want to believe again...

I can't believe the X Files Movie will actually be released after so many years...
Well, I do believe, but you know what I mean! I was a complete X-Phile back in the day. The latter years were somewhat disappointing, once Mulder left though.

However, I was never a "shipper!" (a.k.a. a fan who wanted a romantic relationship between Mulder and Scully.) I was happy w/ the hints of "something more" here and there. I'm very interested to see how this movie will treat their relationship.

Well, the movie comes out on 7/25/08. The trailer just came out on the xfiles.com website today! I can't wait to see what conspiracy theories await.

Image from X-Files Website.

Koneko's Current Objets du Desir

When I was in Chicago a couple weeks ago, I finally saw one of the items in the L'Artisan line that my koneko mind had been daydreaming of for many moons: The Amber Ball. It comes in a variety of sizes. These beautifully ornate terra cotta balls are filled with an amber scent which does not get that dreaded flat or play-doh-y quality. Just the right balance of sweet, pungent, and warmth without being overly heady.

I didn't get one, but I have a feeling I need this. Thank goodness for the L'Artisan store!!

The Cat's Meow Review on Organic Fragrance: L'Artisan Jatamansi

L'Artisan L'Eau de Jatamansi

This fragrance hails from the organic, eco-friendly line from L'Artisan. Ecocert and Cosmebio (2 organization I had no idea existed!) certify that the ingredients are at least 79.51% organic. Contained in a lovely, frosted white bottle small black lettering, the design gives a connotation of purity and elegant simplicity to the fragrance inside.

The name Jatamansi hails from the Sanskrit word for "spikenard."

The actual fragrance has a lovely burst of citrus. I am not a grapefruit person, but I definitely like bergamot, and the combination is just the right blend of sweetness and piquancy. There is a hint of spicy, and it seems to just anchor the scents a little bit. If it stayed this way, I'd be happy. If it stayed this way, it'd probably be boring though, to more sophisticated noses, LOL. So, it starts to dry down... to something predominantly citrus with a hint of cedar-y wood and incense. Then it vanishes. I don't get the floral middle notes at all.

According to osmoz, the notes are:
Top notes: grapefruit, bergamot, cardamom, sclary sage
Middle notes: spikenard, rose, ylang-ylang
Base note: vetiver, saintwood, sandalwood, papyrus, frankincense

I've heard this scent compared to an orange-ginger fragrance. I think I get a little less spice and wood-notes on me. The latter are just hints.

Bottom line: A pretty sparkling scent that quickly softens to a glow. Then without warning, it's snuffed out.

Thought this review was very fitting, with all the green products being reviewed for the Totally Green Sweepstakes!

Koneko's Invisalign Diary: Week 8.5

Here's another update... in close-up! (warning... could be scary!)

First, a look at Week 3 for Comparison:

Here are some photos from Week 8:

(this is the same view as above. You can see the overbite still needs improvement, but the crowding of the teeth is so much better! Yes, I know I have huge teeth!)

From a slightly different perspective: large teeth lined up nice and straight.

front view looks quite decent!

If all goes well, then my smile will be ready for the wedding!!!

April showers bring May flowers!

April showers bring May flowers!

And the best kind are the eating kind.
I have always been a fan of edible flowers. I sometimes bake with them (roses, orange blossom, and lavender so far!)

It's time for another limited edition annual collection: Vosges Fleur. This is my favorite seasonal collection. The Siam Citron is my fave. But Platanos and Mirabelle come close, tied at second!

Flavors:
Siam Citron (4): jasmine tea + lemongrass + fresh coconut + white chocolate + organic marigold petal

Mirabelle Orange (4): mirabelle plums + orange flower water + 65% dark chocolate + organic nasturtium petal

Rose Vert (4): tarragon + rose water + 65% dark chocolate + organic red rose petal

Platanos y Orchidus (4): orchid vanilla + caramelized bananas + Jamaican rum + 41% deep milk chocolate + organic purple orchid flower

Can you tell I am obsessed? I promise, new topic!

Vosges goes green...

The Green Collection from Vosges is out now, and the perfect way to celebrate the return of spring. This collection of 4 delectable truffles is available for a short time each year, in limited edition. They are composed from Asian-based ingredients, and are based on Ayurvedic doshas. There are 3 (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) and one is supposed to dominate in a person. Certain spices are related to certain doshas. According to the practice, you seek the proper spices in order to achieve balance.

The flavors are:
Ellateria (2): Indian green cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy seeds
Kaffir (2): Thai kaffir lime + fresh coconut + dark chocolate
Kayoko (3): Japanese macha green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom petals
Buddha's Leaf (2): Malaysian pandan leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder

My favorite is very predictable: the Kayoko, of course! ;-)

But Vosges isn't just going green on a "seasonal" basis... it has become a part of their philosophy. So as part of the "Totally Green Series" I wanted to write about how Vosges is taking its part in making a difference!

Vosges has been trying to become more green in terms of manufacturing processes. They use "100% renewable energy" to manufacture those delicious chocolates! They have been officially approved as an organic manufacturing facility. They thought of lots of things... even down to sun shades on the windows decrease the amount of work needed by the cooling system to help save energy. They use ingredients from organic farms which are supposed to be kinder to the environment and to wildlife. Those pretty, pretty purple boxes are made of 100% recycled paperboard. The staff even uses homemade recycled paper pads when they take orders!

It's really wonderful to know you can still have fashionable "haut chocolate" which does not spare quality, while being eco-kind and eco-responsible. THAT'S pretty.

The Mad Hatter Obsesses

I have always had a penchant for pretty millinery fashions. I was quite bald for the first year of my life, so my mother invested in bonnets. They suited me well enough, so I continued this trend. I also find them quite necessary. After all, you need to protect your skin as best as you can when you're outdoors! ;-)

Every season I go a little ga-ga over the new hats for the season. Last fall, when we were in New York, I couldn't get over the cloche-style hats coming out for the winter season. I usually hate cold weather and am not a fan of cold weather fashion but at least the hats are fun!

And that's another fun thing about hats... they are fashionable in all seasons! I am loving the new warm-season hats that are coming out. I need to restrain myself from buying the Maude hat below. It has Koneko all over it. As does Felicia...

Maude

Tara

FeliciaKaree

Koneko's Invisalign Diary: Week 3

After I wore my aligners for 3 weeks (so, this would be me in the middle of the 1st week of my 2nd set of aligners) this is how my teeth looked. This is a decent photo that shows how my teeth are not straight at all! You have a hint of how they angle out at an unpleasant angle as well.

However, if you compare it to the "before" photos, you might notice from the shadows that the teeth are somewhat straighter.

I will take some Week 8 photos soon. You'll see there are some major changes!!

Birthday Candles

Happy Birthday to me!

This year, my birthday was very low key. Wedding planning has taken centerstage.

However, I did get a chance to visit the L'Artisan boutique in Chicago... finally! I was so excited. L'Artisan is probably my favorite fragrance line. La Chasse aux Papillions is my first love, and I still reach for it as a great stand by.

I had a great time in the Chicago boutique. The SA was very excited about the line, which always makes visiting a shop a much more enjoyable experience. One line expecially caught my eye: The new organic line from L'Artisan, Jatamansi. What perfect timing to get to know this line, right when I'm doing a series of Green Beauty posts!

I fell in love instantly with the scent of the Jatamansi candle. L’Eau de Jatamansi and the rest of the bodycare products boast a natural and holistic approach to beauty and skincare. It is composed of extremely high percentages of organic ingredients and pure essential oils. The result is a well-balanced scent which I can only describe as beautiful. I think that I need the candle for sure, and will keep testing the fragrance!

But what caught my attention the most was its use of organic ingredients. I need to read up more on this!

The grass doesn't have to be greener on the other side

I'm going to continue some reviews on green products, in honor of the Totally Green sweepstakes, held by Total Beauty. If you haven't yet checked it out, scurry over to the website for more details!

Coming up next, I will review a wide array of eco-friendly items from all sort of koneko-happy categories... from beauty products to anime! What's up next?

More detailed reviews on...
- Green Chocolate/foods (Vosges- You CAN eat w/ a gourmet flair and not be all "crunchy!" You can't imagine how happy I was that the chocolates I am obsessed with are also eco-kind!)
- Green fashions (It's in vogue to be eco-trendy!)
- Green Anime (Legendary Hayao Miyazaki has been sending a message about environmental awareness for for years, with his movies Nausicaa and Mononoke Hime)
- Green Wedding Vendors (The trend is for white weddings to go green! There are some really great green-planning tips are out there. We are excited because we picked a photographer who is very environmentally conscious!)
- and more green beauty products, of course!! ;-)

I'm on vacay now in Chicago, but hope to post soon. I'll also have my regular posts too! ;-) (Week 8 of Invisalign, as requested will be up.)

The Starting Line-Up (ie. Koneko's Invisalign Diary: Week Negative Something)

Koneko's Invisalign Diary: Day negative something (before the aligners)

All righty. You asked for it, and here it is. I am finally getting enough gumption to get over my embarrassment and show photos of the pre-treatment teeth.

First, a good photo.









OK, really, I am not delusional. My teeth might look decent here, but it's all about perspective. From a front view with this lighting, my teeth look fine. Unfortunately, in the real world, I can't choose to be seen and photographed from this flattering angle all the time.

Here is a photo from my not-so-good side. It's not the worst photo either. I admit I am too vain to do that. But you can see, with the right shadows, you see the truth about my teeth.

(Sorry this is an edit. The original photo I used won't work-- Blogger!!!--and this is the best I have.)The teeth are facing different directions- it's b/c my teeth are starting to crowd in the front, according to my dentist. And the angle of my top teeth is really bad. They jut out at an unpretty angle.

Not only are my malaligned teeth aesthetically unpleasing, but not great for me healthwise either: my bite is all off, and my lip wouldn't quite close on the left side. See the grainy photo of Ms. Snaggletooth Koneko (not really- my tooth is well in my mouth, but it photographs terribly!)below. Yes, lovely.

Some after photos coming up soon... (I'm in the middle of week 7)

A little blip here and there...

Please pardon the construction!

Sorry everyone... koneko's blog is getting updated (I want to use the new blogger program!) but in order to do so, I need to play with the HTML. The overall structure will stay the same, but the blog could go offline or look weird for a few minutes at a time in the next day.

It's PRETTY easy being green...

And ya thought we only honored our mothers in May! Well, April is the month we honor Mother Earth. Total Beauty has a great way to kick off 2008's celebration. Some people send their mothers to spas for some R&R. Well, Mother Earth could use some of that. What better way than to help her with a little bit of a "detox" treatment... by doing our part to help the environment.

Even as we beautify ourselves, we can make a conscious choice to help the environment! We can choose "green products" that are eco-friendly and organic. We can pick products that use packaging that is bio-degradable. We can use canvas grocery totes... you get the idea!

I am so excited that Total Beauty is joining in this beautiful cause! Their eco-aware "Totally Green Sweepstakes" campaign allows all their readers to participate. It will last April 17 through June 5, 2008. During the event, the main focus is eco-beauty consciousness: better educating women when it comes to beauty choices. Not only that, readers can share their own views on green products! The sweepstakes benefits HealthChild.org, a worldwide charity dedicated to protecting the health and well being of children from harmful environmental exposures.

The Grand Prize is a new 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid car filled with a year’s supply of luxurious green and organic beauty products from Origins Organics, Sephora, Raw Natural Minerals, Suki Skincare, and Tela Beauty Organics.

Visit Total Beauty now! Search for a beauty product and submit a review. For every review, a $1 goes to HealthyChild.org. There are tons of prizes (like a conflict-free diamond from Brilliant Earth and eco-spa trips from Spas of America!) And, each time a review is written, TotalBeauty.com will automatically enter the reviewer in the Totally Green Sweepstakes that will give them the chance to win that grand prize!

Good luck!

Image from wikipedia. Blue Marble photo of Earth from Apollo 17.