Since the contents of my purse are always changing, I have decided to make this a monthly feature! Please feel free to share the beauty products, reading materials, and random chotchkes lurking in your purse, too!
Perfume
I have been blessed with an absolute plethora of perfume fairy godparents this month. When a wonderful friend of my mother’s heard that I had started a perfume blog, she sent me about 50 vintage men’s fragrance samples, including the pictured Yves Saint Laurent Live Jazz and Opium Pour Homme. I’ve been interested in Rochas Tocade ever since learning that my boyfriend’s mother wears it, so the lovely Thomas of The Candy Perfume Boy sent me a sample. I finally have the opportunity to try the Ormande Jayne and Sonoma Scent Studio lines, thanks to the samples graciously provided to me by Natalie of Another Perfume Blog and reader Sharon. Kathleen of No Disassemble Charlie No. 5 picked up this sample of Diptyque Eau Rose on her recent New York City trip. Finally, I picked up this tiny size of Kate Walsh Boyfriend at Sephora this week in an effort to forget about the existence of her horrid new Billionaire Boyfriend.
Reading Materials
As you can see from the tail, my kitteh Zelda was quite determined to participate in this photo shoot. Just look at the impudent little thing!
Anyway, here we have a copy of the newest Lush Times (which promises a “bigger, better, and sexier” website for their fragrances this February), a brochure for Tel Aviv University study abroad programs that was handed out during Hebrew class, and some virology comics! As regular readers know, one of my favorite study methods is making crudely-drawn comics to help me absorb the material. Here’s a closer view of the virology comics:
For anyone wondering, these adorable spider-like guys are bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria). Fight the economic oppression, little bacteriophages!
Miscellaneous
This past week was sorority recruitment at Hopkins! Unfortunately for my sorority, Pi Phi, my pitiful social skills did not disqualify me from participating. This delightfully sparkly name tag helped identify me as one of the Pi Phi Angels to the potential new members. While we’re on the subject of sparkly things, the pictured ring is one of my many, many pieces of jewelry by Israeli jeweler Michal Negrin. Her stuff is of surprisingly poor quality (those damn crystals are always falling out), but I can never resist her twee, retro aesthetic. The precious mini packages of coffee are part of a Starbucks sampler set. I’m particularly excited to try the darker Sumatra.
SCENTS OF SELF 
Oh that’s a cool feature!
Loved taking a peek, thanks! 🙂
My pleasure! Thank you so much for reading!
Pi, Pi Beta Phi
P-I-P-H-I, Pi Phi
P for Pi for Beta Phi
for I just love Pi Beta Phi!
Hope rush went well!! (er, recruitment.)
With all the perfume in your purse, do they go bust frequently? I’m just curious. I’m always kind of scared to carry perfume in my purse unless it’s a solid.
I have never once successfully executed that cheer. It’s such a tongue twister!
I have only ever had one sample go rogue, but I also don’t just throw them into the purse. I keep them in a small, soft pouch. There’s a risk, of course, but I think it’s pretty minimal.
I should invest in a pouch…
I’m glad to see that the Tocade reached you safe and sound 😀
Thank you so much for the Tocade and the other samples! Your package positively made my day!
I’m glad to hear it, and you are most welcome!
I love seeing Zelda’s tail on the reading materials. It is a law of the universe that where there is printed matter and important documentation, there will be the body part of a cat, if not the whole cat indeed, squarely obliterating it.
This holds true for virtual printed matter, too! Zelda LOVES blocking the computer screen. When I’m using the laptop is the ONLY time she will sit on my lap!
You are quite right – I fight a constant battle against keyboard fluff on this desktop PC!
Silvia can’t jump up on the ‘puter desk anymore, or she’d do it. It sucks to get old.
Zelda is beautiful… 🙂
Thank you! She is very lucky that she is so gorgeous, it is hard to stay grumpy at something so cute.
The contents of my purse is ever changing as well, especially considering that I switch between 3 bags on a regular basis due to carrying a tote during the week & then just fishing out what I need to carry & depositing them into another bag on the weekend. This prevents the problem I used to have where I once found 47 tubes of lipstick/gloss in the bottom of my purse. 2/3 of them were red. I have a problem.
Currently, my tote has a pair of red Michael Kors heels as I like wearing heels in my office, but hate risking the grates/uneven pavement in DC as well as the cold, a mini of Tom Ford Violet Blonde, a tube of black Illamasqua lipstick — I don’t know why I’m carrying this — a tube of black lipgloss — wearing this currently, it’s not really black when worn — a tube of Bite red lipstick, & 3 other tubes of various nude coloured gloss. A compact of Illamasqua concealer. A mini bottle of iridescent glitter nail polish, a nail file. One pair of red leather gloves. A vintage Mont Blanc pen set & patent leather case & fountain pen ink refills. A pair of white vintage Versace cat-eye sunglasses. For reading material I’ve been attempting to read A Nervous Splendour: Vienna 1888/1889 by Frederic Morton. It’s really just sitting in my bag because I tend to sleep like a cat on the Metro. And the most random object I have in my purse right now is a Chinese good luck charm that my mother-in-law gave me for Chinese New Year. She spent too much time in Asia & keeps with the tradition even now.
Also, I love Zelda so much.
And the award for the most heartrendingly glamorous purse goes to….
Can I have the contents of your purse please?
DUDE I KNOW
I absolutely love Negrin, I can never resist that ‘capriccios’ and I do own many things, too!! I usually fall in love with something every time I come across it here in Barcelona, must keep myself under control now because I’m going to be settled here five days a week. It’s hard to be a saint in the city! XD
I have similar necklace to this one: http://i.tfcdn.com/img2/BUWCF0QAY3ohzMCQlVqemlNUGZ-YlxJfnliSnJFazJBRUlJgpa9vZGisZ6FnaGqsZ2ahX5CZrG9oYGBoaGJgZqALZOga6WUVpAMA/fyVMtP8A
I’m just coming from my very first internship day and I’m really exhausted…
What an adorable necklace! I love Negrin’s rings, earrings, and the random little things like notebooks. I’m so honored that you took the time to comment after your internship! How did it go??
well… it’s… challenging by now, I’m abit scared!… I hope I’ll improving my knowledge day after day!! It’s so different when you are just putting all your skills …on paper!
Did I mention you I’m on Librarianship/Documentarism? so I’m doing my internship in Biblioteca de Catalunya’s Music/Musicology section, and it’s not easy cataloguing such a lot of unusual/antique old books and papers and material and so on… that’s something I haven’t learnt specifically yet.
We catalogue according to the Library of Congress rules. 😉
Go librarians! Both my parents worked at the Library of Congress and I have 2 friends getting their MLA’s now. Good luck on your internship!
whoops – meant MLS, not MLA.
You are going to do so great!!!
Thanks a lot, Odonata!!!!! 🙂 Your parents are my heroes!