The Best of 2005

Happy Early New Year's! Visit these fabulous sites for a wonderful compilation of items that have captured the attention of fellow beauty, skincare, fragrance, and fashion-philes this past year! 2005 has been an awesome year of intriguing finds, and you just know that 2006 will bring us more excitement!
Meow!

• An Alabaster Brow


• Beauty Addict


• Blogdorf Goodman


• Bois de Jasmin


• Brain Trapped in Girl's Body


• c'est chic


• Crazy Jay Blue


• The Great She Elephant


• Hrmph


• Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary


• Legerdenez


• Make a Mental Note


• Monkey Posh


• Mother Hen's Place


• my life my words my mind


• no one knows why the wolf laughs


• Now Smell This


• ¡Ombligo!
  


• Peppermint Patty


• Perfume-Smellin' Things


• Scentzilla!


• She'll be feverish after so much thinking


• Slap of the Day


• Victoria's Own

Koneko's Best of 2005 List

I initially started a "Best of All Time" list, but a "Best of 2005" list is much more fun for the end of the year! So the former will have to wait another time! FYI, this list is a list of items that koneko has just recently "discovered" and started to use in 2005, not necessarily released in 2005. This list is going to be a bit unwieldy (but hello, look at my blog-writing style, and the whole set-up of my blog, you KNEW this was going to happen, koneko-friends!) so I'll try to set it up in a somewhat organized manner...

Best of... Fragrances!
For the koneko, 2005 will be the year of Marc Jacobs. This beautiful gardenia scent is not too heady, and has the the fresh quality of flowing water and green nuances to tone down the creamy sweetness of the beautiful gardenia bud.
Runner-ups:
Dior Addict 2, Boucheron Trouble Eau Legere Nacree, Armani Prive Luxe Collection: Bois d'Encens, Tipton Charles Sandalwood, Serendipitous.
Special:Red Flower candles

Best of... Skincare!
- Amore Pacific Intensive Vitalizing Eye Serum - I can actually feel it work.
- Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Roll-On deoderant - My sensitive skin gets a breather from anti-perspirants every once in a while!

Best of... Fashion!
- BCBG Max Azria dresses! His styles really suited me this year!
- Hollywood Fashion Tape - how did I ever get along without this?! Those "I love this shirt but it always looks a bit awkward when I move in a certain way" moments are OVER! It really makes an outfit "finished!"
- Dansko clogs - my feet and legs are thanking me everyday.

Best of... Books!
- The Lucky Manual to Shopping- I read quite a few "fun" books this year, but this one was fun AND useful! I'm not the best with clothes, and this is essential for those who are more in the know for skincare, cosmetics, fragrances, and other concoctions but not sure what to do once all that stuff is on the skin...

Best of... Beauty!
- Nars Brush #19 - a wonderful tool for blending perfection
- Prada Beauty Reviving Concealer/Tint- for the undereye- perfect if you have mild darkness to conceal as it's a light-as-air gel-cream formula which blends like a dream. You're in luck if you match one of the three shades!
- Caron Poudre Peau Fine - radiant and light application
- Prada Tinted Lip balm (#4)- perfect "just bit into a berry" sort of look
- Armani Limited Edition Midnight White Eye Mania palette - the perfect wintry eye that's not stark white and frigid
- Shu Uemura False Eye lash flares (individuals) - the only things better are 1) the extensions (which last for weeks) are divine! and 2) having your own naturally lush lashes
- Prada Hydrating Compact Powder SPF 15 - nice powder foundation which gives a "creamy" look to skin. And what a compact!
- Milani Mango Tango blush- (powder version of Nars Cactus Flower)
- MAC Fluidline- tons of wonderful colors to choose from, and stays on quite well.
- Armani Midnight Lip Shimmers- so much sparkle! I especially love #4, a vibrant sheer poppy color. It makes my teeth look unbelievably white!
- Sanrio Hello Kitty flavored lip gloss- totally affordable lipgloss with tons of glimmery prettiness comparable to Armani's Midnight lip shimmers and with sweet watermelon flavor too! How cute can you get?!
- BeneFit Dandelion blush- instant glow

Best of... Music!
If koneko had a theme song for this year, it'd be a toss up between 3 songs: an anime song called Inner Universe (the opening song for the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Volume 1), the frivolously fun Gwen Stefani song Rich Girl, and the kittenishly playful song Dontcha by the Pussycat Dolls! Yes, I'm lame.

Best of... Movies!
- Batman Begins -
- Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Best of... chocolate!
- Dagoba Organic chocolate: Lavender with blueberries. The only other thing the koneko could possibly think of that would make this perfect would be to add jasmine and matcha to this, but that'd probably overdo it. Or kill the koneko from too much happiness!
- Matcha flavored KitKat from Japan (alas, discontinued!), and Dark Chocolate Kitkat (also d/c'ed)

Top Ten of Summer 2005

The Top Ten of Summer!!

Decisions, decisions! Well, I know it's been a hot summer, and although I've been mostly indoors lately, in frigid air-conditioned buildings, when I actually do get outdoors, the heat has been absolutely stifling, and the humidity is so high, you can almost feel the thickness of the moisture as you pass your hand through the air! And need I remind y'all of the unbearable action of entering into a car that's been sitting in a sunny parking lot for many an hour? Aiya! Now I know what chocolate chip cookies feel like when they are in the oven! Well, I want to smell as yummy as a cookie in this sort of weather, but of course the fragrances have to stand up to the smothering heat!

1) L'Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons- it's still #1 in my book. Light and floral, it's a very happy carefree scent, and just epitomizes the way summer should be... linden, orange blossom and tuberoses...
2) Jo Malone Orange Blossom- more citrus than floral, and quite fresh! Works well alone or to layer with other scents (esp. heavier white florals) to give them a lift.
3) Marc Jacobs- my current default fragrance; the creamy lovely scent of a gardenia bud just about to open. There really is a cool watery quality to this scent. Think of a summer evening with gardenia bushes and a lovely cool pond nearby.
4) Boucheron Trouble Eau Legere Nacree- still has the warmth and oomph I want for a come-hither fragrance (after all, we all must have a come hither scent, just not overly-smoldering in the heat!), yet just lightened a touch so as not to smother in the warmer weather. The shimmer is a cute touch, but not that noticeable. A nice opening with citrus and jasmin sambac with a good soft base of amber and vanilla.
5) Blue Mediterraneo Arancia- delightfully cool and refreshing citrus scent with the right balance of piquancy and sweetness. Like you just peeled a clementine.
6) Etro Vicolo Fiore- summer nights by a pond inundated with the loveliest lotus and lily pads
7) Chanel Gardenia- Quintessential and elegant. Just the right balance with jasmine predominates this scent with a subtley warm base.
8) Frederic Malle En Passant- Lilac, lilac everywhere! But with a wonderfully refreshing coolness from a cucumber accord.
9) Demeter Gingerale- That lovely smell when you open up a can of fizzy lemon-lime soda... it's perfect in this concoction! Fun, fun, fun!
10) Dior Addict 2- (aha! I didn't tell you that I finally got to try this one, did I? More about this later!) The initial blast of refreshing citrus softens into a fun, fruity scent which isn't overly sugary sweet. And the pink bottle is just too cute!

Keep cool, kitten-friends!

Want to see more Top 10 Summer Fragrance lists? Check out An
Alabaster Brow, Bois
de Jasmin, Blogdorf
Goodman, Brain
Trapped in Girl's Body, C'est
Chic, Koneko's
*Mostly* Beauty Diary, Life
in Paris, Now
Smell This, Make
a Mental Note, Ombligo!,
Seldom
Nice Nowadays, Self-Styled
Siren, She’ll
Be Feverish After So Much Thinking and This
Bananafish Smells Like Leaves.