Today’s Finds (05/06/2011)

It’s been a long time since the last edition of Today’s Finds!

I’m making the most of my short vacation. Instead of vegetating in front of the computer (as I have been doing for the past three summers), I’ve made it a point to do something more productive/relevant yet enjoyable every day. Last Wednesday, I walked from campus to Robinson’s (twice!) under the blistering sun and found my way to Café Antonio where I finished this book I started reading in September (eight months!!!) The next day I spent the night in the city. I was supposed to start reading The Hunger Games at a coffee shop but, stupidity of all stupidities, I accidentally packed book #2, Catching Fire! Thank god I brought my tablet with me so I just caught up on The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition. On Friday I enjoyed a breakfast buffet (might blog about this soon) and spent the day at the mall without shelling out on anything major. Here are some of Friday’s finds:

1. Comme des Garçons Scents

It’s been a while since I checked out fragrances. I’ve declared an indefinite moratorium on buying perfume/cologne after acquiring several bottles last year, almost all of them still unopened. But I passed by this shelf dedicated to Comme des Garçons fragrances at the department store and the interesting, minimalist packaging was begging for attention.

The brand carries a wide range of scents, from woody to citrus blends. But I found Odeur 71 to be the most intriguing. The display card read, “The second anti-perfume. A deepening of the research into solid phase micro technology cloning inorganic smells from modern daily life and mixing them with natural ingredients.” Check it out: smell of dust on a hot light-bulb, warm photocopier toner, hot metal, a toaster, freshly welded aluminum, the ink in a fountain pen, fresh pencil shavings, wood and moss, bay leaves and bamboo, white pepper, hyacinth, and lettuce juice. I’m not sure I would wear it but it definitely smelled anti-perfume, in a good way!

What I would definitely wear is Comme des Garçons’s Play.

I absolutely loved how this smelled mainly because I haven’t quite come across anything like it. It’s hard to put into words what it smells like so let me borrow a line or two from Lucky Scent:

Just when you think you have Play pegged, the unexpected saffron and sea notes bring a whole new breeze of freshness and warmth, turning this into a bottle of super attractive, lighthearted fun. You know how sometimes you smell a fragrance and you mentally conjure an image of a wearer? Play transcends that…we can honestly say there’s not a person no matter the age, hair color, gender or personality that this wouldn’t smell absolutely perfect on.

It’s priced between 5-6K pesos. It’s definitely more than what I would spend on perfume but, at the same time, it isn’t as absurdly priced as Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis (~10K). Ah, that’s what makes products priced in the middle so annoying. They’re beyond one’s budget but not too much to be considered far out and merely within “aspirational” territory.

2. 11,002 Things to be Miserable About

Imagine my joy when I spotted this book! It’s perfect for pessimists, cynics, and skeptics alike! The product description reads:

11,002 Things to Be Miserable Aboutis a list of all the reasons NOT to wake up in the morning. Ironically enough, when you put all of them under one cover, it’s actually very funny. This decidedly absurd inventory of misery is perfect for sardonic and disaffected youth, for people seeking gifts for Traumatic Event Birthdays (like 21, 25, 30, 40, and, well, anything after 40), and for anyone else with an offbeat sense of humor. Enjoy.

I wanted to buy it out of sheer frivolity but was disappointed to find that it was merely a list of 11,002 things. Still, the authors enumerated a number of truly miserable — some, even funny — things. Official praise for the book was hilarious! I couldn’t find it on the web though and unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of the back cover, where it was printed.

3. Margarita Madness at Chili’s

I’ve waited all year for this! Especially after my tragic margarita attempt last November!

I don’t really drink so my body is not that accustomed to alcohol. But this margarita was SO GOOD that I treated it like slurpee. My friend was like, easy! After my second glass my face was beet red and I couldn’t breathe. It didn’t help that I’d had too much to eat. But I still went for a third glass! I’m definitely doing this again before the promo ends May 31st.