Treat Yo' Self

Sorry to leave you guys hanging for so long! It's been a crazy month, dear readers. I do have some good news, though! After months of hard work and interviews, I have been promoted to a new position within my organization! I'm hoping that this new position will leave me with more time, energy, and funding to continue working on this wonderful blog.

I haven't yet decided how I'm going to treat myself in honor of this new stage in my career. I was originally thinking of getting a new tattoo or piercing, and this is something I still want to do, but it may have to wait, depending on some other factors. Namely -- time, money, availability of the artist I want, and the timing of Burning Flipside next month.

I am a firm believer in treating yourself every now and then, so here are a few items I have my eye on!

Product Review: Sweet Anthem Perfume - Annabelle Perfume Oil

Sweet Anthem Perfumes

 While spring hasn't necessarily sprung, it is definitely afoot, and -- I think -- at the forefront of everyone's minds. This has been a wet, cold, nebulous sort of winter for us folks down here in Texas, and it's important to keep your spirits up as those hazy, damp, if slightly warmer, days continue. One way to do that is with scent, and I think that my girls over at Sweet Anthem Perfumes have some decidedly spring-like scents in their repertoire.

As you can probably tell from my previous reviews of Sweet Anthem products, I prefer sweeter, more floral scents, and the next perfume I'd like to share with you is in that same vein. The story of Annabelle Perfume Oil from Sweet Anthem's website speaks of sweltering jasmine and salty sea air, which is just what this delightful oil reminds me of. I've always loved jasmine, as my grandmother and mother both grew heaps of the flowering bush everywhere.

Product Review: Sweet Anthem Perfume - Lucille Perfume Oil

Check out my previous post on Sweet Anthem here!

The second perfume oil I tried out from Sweet Anthem was Lucille. Here is the description from their website:

"From an old Germanic ballad: The linden-maiden rests beneath an illuminated grove / night-blooming jasmine fastened in her hair / Surrounded by the memory of ash and smoke and trove, the linden-worm takes flight / off they climb together, through the salty air...Notes: Amber, Jasmine, Linden Blossom, Rosewood, Sea Salt, Tonka Bean."

Product Review: Sweet Anthem Perfume - Rebecca Perfume Oil

 
Sweet Anthem is just one of the many gems I came across at the Austin Renegade Craft Fair. I passed up the two other perfumeries that caught my eye at the fair, Rebel + Mercury and Imaginary Authors, to try out Sweet Anthem. I even had the pleasure of speaking with perfumer Meredith Smith herself. As if the amazing scents, cruelty-free manifesto, and charming packaging hadn't won me over already, Meredith was sweet, patient, and informative. I'm quite the indecisive shopper and she didn't seem to mind a bit. She even threw together a custom sample packet for me!

My sample set included three scents: Rebecca, Lucille, and Annabelle. Perfume is one of those products that, to me, is notoriously difficult to shop for. Oh, I can oogle and drool over any number of scents online or in-person, but it's hard for me to pull the trigger on a purchase, in part because of the expense of perfume and in part because I've found that high quality perfumes really evolve once you put them on. That's were sample packages like this one come in.