Don’t let people tell you your 30s will be the best time of your life in a tone that suggests your looks will fade so you better find inner peace. Vicki’s Pick is a weekly beauty column that features Vicki’s all-time favourite beauty products and latest discoveries for women in their 30s who plan on staying pretty on the outside for a long, long time. Inner peace is optional.
Spring is not really a thing in Canada unless you live on the West Coast or consider melting snowbanks vomiting up a winter’s worth of cigarette butts and dog poo the same thing as the season’s first blossom. Sure, it’s finally warm enough to wear normal street shoes, but why bother taking your boots off when the sidewalks are so brown with rotting waste that tourists could easily assume we still use chamber pots?
Knowing this, I always try to plan a vacation for March because it’s hands-down my least favourite month due to its lack of long weekends, drawn-out winter misery and an overall filth. (This week I caught myself asking a friend, “Do you think that puke’s from St. Patrick’s Day or early December?”)
This year, however, I put neither the time nor the money aside for such a venture. Double fail! Enter the next best thing: beauty products. I’m usually a fan of more so-called “masculine” fragrances, particularly ones with hints of tobacco. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been all about Kiehl’s Vanilla and Cedarwood Aromatic Mist this winter. I decided to hunt for something a little lighter to make spring smell like it’s actually here – something floral and fruity for a change…
Philosophy’s latest limited edition summer fragrance from the brand’s Grace series got my attention just from the name alone: Philosophy Sunshine Grace eau de toilette. Yes, I thought to myself, I need both sunshine as well the grace required to deal with not having sunshine. The fragrance itself is extremely delicate and boasts notes of freesia, orange blossom and blonde woods. If you ask me, it actually smells like one of those really, really expensive sunscreens that you borrow from a fancy friend at the pool and don’t mind slathering on your face because it’s probably better for your skin than your actual moisturizer.
And that, much more than the floral and fruity undertones, is why Philosophy Sunshine Grace reminds me of summer. Has it made me a happier and more zen person – someone capable of handling the rest of March, at least? Look, if it was so easy to simulate summer like I did in the above photo by simply freezing on my balcony, I’d turn up the heat, throw on a bikini, carve out a coconut to drink from and dance to Rihanna in my living room. On that note, I’ve got to make a quick trip to Loblaws for a couple things before I shut my blinds.
$55 for 60 ml, available for a limited time only at Sephora and select Hudson’s Bay and Shoppers Drug Mart locations.
