Vintage Perfume Bottles

What a scent-sational week it's been! I hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane through fragrance and all our scented craft projects this week. 

This got me thinking about a new blah to TADA! collection I might want to start. Vintage perfume bottles, perhaps? 

I found these pictures on Pinterest. They made me all excited about perfume bottles, whilst empty, to build a thought-provoking vignette on a dressing table:

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

Questions like "Who owned them?" or "When and where was the scent made?" are begging to be asked. 

Maybe I will begin hunting for them on my next trip to the flea market. Wish me luck. And, oh, have a happy weekend!

Scented Surprise

Happy Thursday!

When you open a magazine and find a page with a perfume strip, do you have the urge to open it and sniff? I do!

Same with those inserts that tumble out from a catalog,

which I think are pricey to produce.

Here's how I give them the blah to TADA! make-over:

I turn them into scented confetti using a craft punch.

I make sure to punch where the perfume is strongest.

Then I put the confetti inside cards and letters ready to be mailed. That way, it's a scented surprise to the person opening it, with a shower of hearts as a bonus!

Mini Message in a Bottle

I'm a big fan of freebies, especially sample sizes of cosmetics and perfume. I think items like these should be tested before a purchase is made -- you'll never know how it will react to your skin or natural scent. 

Tiny bottles like these are also very handy when all you have is an evening clutch but still want to be sweet-smelling all night. When the vial's contents have been consumed, here's how I transform it from blah to TADA!:

I turn it into a positive pendant, strung

on a silver chain.

I've discovered that at the start of the year, some people choose a "power word" instead of making a long list of resolutions. It's a word that they want to hang on to or to be more of in the new year. These are some of those words. 

 Insert the word in the dry and empty perfume vial.

It's now a message in a bottle.

It's a message to yourself.

Seal with a small cork and super glue, followed by jewelry findings and a chain. Wear it daily and by the end of the year, you've hopefully become one with your power word.

Perfume Strips

One of the fun areas of a department store is the perfume section. Sure, the selection can be overwhelming, but what a treat to check out the beautiful packaging and determine which celebrity has a new fragrance. I also like how we can test the scents and leave the store smelling fresh and fine without having to purchase anything!

Most stores have these plain white strips to aid in testing perfume. Simply spray on the paper and take this home with you to help you choose a favorite.   

When I stepped into Hendri Bendel, they had these perfume test strips for selected scents. How fabulous! I would love to paint like that. Also, each girl represented the essence of each cologne.  I think I want to be as chic as Gardenia and Vanilla girl!

Just a sample of how something simple as test strips can go from blah to TADA!

Scent Memory

Hi everyone! I hope you had a restful weekend. This week, let's talk about scents, or more specifically, perfume. Maybe like me, you associate fragrance with different stages in your life?  

As a little girl, I remember Mom putting this on me after a bath. It was refreshing and it invited whiffs and kisses from my parents, aunts and uncles. Everyone can't seem to resist the smell of a baby, right? I associate this scent with being looked after, as well as sunny, carefree afternoons filled with playtime and imagination. 

As a teenager, I was quite observant of people I admired like my Auntie A and Auntie E. They were the epitome of style. I would watch them put on make-up, get dressed for parties, and spray on expensive cologne before leaving the house. "One day I want to be like them," I said to myself.  

When I went to parties myself, I would borrow some of their clothes and feel so grown-up. As a finishing touch, I needed a scent. No, the Johnson's cologne of my childhood would not do. I dared not ask my style icon aunties if I could pilfer their perfume stash. And I couldn't afford real perfume so I settled for this, an impostor scent. Inexpensive as it was, it captured the scent of a glamorous woman. Whenever I wore it, I had some swagger, like the spirit of my aunties giving me the license to have a wonderful time.

When I saw a bottle of this at the store, I bought one without hesitation. I was in disbelief that they were still manufactured, plus it was only 99 cents! I immediately uncapped it, sprayed it on my wrists and a flood of memories came back -- high school mixers, milestone birthdays, the confusion between infatuation and falling in love.        

Here's another cologne that I truly loved. They don't make it anymore {what a blah}, but it was my signature scent for some time. I thought it was calm, approachable and optimistic. 

The cologne Romance is pretty special. It's what I wore on my wedding day. I still wear it on important occasions and it continues to make me giddy. It evokes promises kept, emotion that is expressed freely and the thought that the best is yet to be.

Fascinating how fragrance can turn your day from blah to TADA! 

How about you, what scents bring back good memories?

My First Aid Kit

I must admit, I'm a bit of a control freak and a nerdy girl scout. Yesterday, I made a list to create the ideal first aid kit. You see, it bums me out to discover that I've run out of allergy medication in the middle of the night and the nearest drugstore is closed. Or to get a cut and the only band-aid I have isn't the right one.

Not too long ago, our first aid needs could be found in the medicine cupboard in the bathroom. But I decided to change that. I simplified and put everything in a plastic box:

It's easy to rummage through, can be taken anywhere {even on a road trip}, and can be kept on a tall shelf, away from children.

It has the essentials, expiration dates have been checked, and I can easily tell when I'm running low on tablets or ointments.

I removed the packaged pills from their boxes and put them in these zipper bags {I do love a well-sealed container}. It's easier to see the contents and saves me some space.

I made sure to save the labels. I cut these out {as well as the drug facts/dosage tips} from the box and put these inside the plastic bag together with the medicine.

I'm mighty proud of my kit, but it's looking a little blah, no?

 With a little help from some printed tape...

I added a crafty spin to make my kit a bit more legit.

TADA!

First Aid Kit Essentails

Here's another item that every home should have: a first aid kit.

This visual peg shows you the essentials, but for a more extensive list, check it out here, here and here. With a first aid kit on hand, you're ready to turn blah to TADA!