Tokyo Milk Review

Clove Cigarette Lip Elixir
Tainted Love No. 62

The best thing about clove cigarettes was the taste that lingered on your lips after you’d take a drag. Sweet, spicy and heavily fragranced, clove cigarette smoke sunk into your lungs with languid, oily ease. Regular cigarettes always tasted thin, metallic or antiseptic. I haven’t had a clove in almost two years, but I pause to take a deep breath when I catch a hint of that familiar burning sweet scent. Tokyo Milk’s Clove Cigarette Lip Elixir tastes like the sweet residue of a clove cigarette without a strong smoky component. The tin is huge, at least twice as large as I expected. The balm itself is pliable and silky. It takes just as few swipes with the finger to have enough elixir to cover your lips. I found the elixir kept my lips soft and moisturized without leaving behind any waxy residue. The flavor tends to mellow after ten minutes. All I taste is the clove, though there is a slightly cinamonny note here. The only critical remark I can make right now is that the clove taste isn’t balanced with a hint of smokiness, but, perhaps that’s for the best.

Tainted Love does have some common ground with Dead Sexy. Both wear down to a woodsy note, though Tainted Love is much less assertive. Tainted Love begins with a spray of white florals with a hint of Bourbon vanilla. The vanilla is rich and smooth, not sweet or sugary. What emerges after some time passes is a lovely light sandalwood fragrance, overlaid by the orchid. There’s a hint of musk here too that reminds me of Crazylibellule and the Poppies Shanghaijava Musc and Patchouli. I love sandalwood and musk, so this is a winner for me. I found that Tainted Love faded to a very close scent after two or three hours, and was undetectable after four hours, so you may need to reapply. After trying out this sample for a few days, I plan on purchasing the bottle.

A Many-Splintered Thing

I’ll refrain from the obvious Joy Division reference for this Valentine’s Day post. Instead I’ll just borrow a bad pun from Mr. Eldritch. Valentine’s day is an orgy of romantic stereotypes, waxy chocolates and unfelt sentiments. And substituting Lupercalia is already played out. Yeah, if I didn’t look at this holiday with a jaundiced eye, you’d worry. Sometimes I celebrate it, sometimes not, depending on how depleted I feel. I do have plans that I am looking forward to this year, but I’m equally satisfied by staying home and watching a movie. Nonetheless, I do have recommendations should you need dark offerings for that special someone you’ve been cyberstalking.

Hedonist Necklace by Bellalili

This necklace by Bellalili manages to be tough and refined at once. Bellalili’s items combine ornate metal forms with brilliant crystals. I would wear this with anything from a plain black v-neck shirt to a ruffled blouse. It’s big enough to be noticed without crying out for attention. I regularly spy lovelies in Bellalili’s Etsy shop that I admire. Visit Bellalili’s Etsy shop.

Tokyo Milk Tainted Love

Don’t touch me please I cannot stand the way you tease. Tokyo Milk’s Tainted Love has a little less Marc Almond and more vanilla, orchid, white tea and sandalwood. I have Tokyo Milk’s Dead Sexy and wear it often. I haven’t smelled this yet, but it sounds promising. Anything that combines sandalwood and tea is compelling to me. Vanilla is a tricky fragrance note. I can’t stand it in an overly sugary iteration. I’m not sure what has driven the rise of bath and body products that smell like cans of frosting, but that’s the sort of vanilla I avoid. As long as there’s something to dirty up the vanilla a bit, I’m willing to try it. If you haven’t yet smelled the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Snake Oil, do make sure to sniff this magical and delicious combination of vanilla and patchouli. My hope is that Tainted Love mixes a greenish sandalwood with the fresh tea note and the vanilla is warm and complex rather than sweet. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s tried Tainted Love and can describe it a bit.  Visit Tokyo Milk.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.”
– Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This new Penguin Classics hardcover has a gorgeous cover worthy of the decadent tale within. This black and white volume would look elegant on your shelf or table. Books are the best gifts ever, in my mind; and even better if the book is beautiful to look at. I am now reading Huysmans’ A Rebours which is the book that turns Dorian from a sweet boy into a lovely monster. To give your love an interesting reading experience, pair this with the highly underrated Dorian by Will Self.  Buy books at Amazon.com

That concludes my Valentine’s suggestions. No flowers, candy or stuffed animals. These gifts are appropriate whether the object of your desire is male, female or other.

Until next time.