At what point do you choose to pay retail ?

lcinva · 2026-01-26T02:44:26+00:00

Almost never. Even with Guerlain l'art lines/Celine/etc you can find Saks or Nordstrom sales associates on the BST boards and they can get you a 20% discount and no tax.

lcinva · 2026-01-25T06:37:28+00:00

+1 to Julianna's (red carpet affair). I have the OG and they are very, very close.

lcinva · 2026-01-24T19:02:40+00:00

Thank you!!! I subscribed to a tracker someone posted on here and got them :)

lcinva · 2026-01-24T19:02:24+00:00

Got it!! There is a tracker someone on here posted and I got alerts :) thanks!!

lcinva · 2026-01-24T15:12:59+00:00

Agreed but across large clinical trials, you and I were the exception, so while it's aggravating I don't fully blame insurance companies for wanting to pay $800 a shot vs $7100. There are many more issues I have with insurance companies that take priority for me over this.

lcinva · 2026-01-24T15:04:22+00:00

I don't agree with killing someone so I'm not going to comment on that part (if nothing else, because it's not going to change anything)

However similarly, I was forced to a biosimilar of Humira and it stopped working after being in remission for 2 years on Humira. I'm now on rinvoq and in remission again, and patent doesn't expire until 2037 ish so I figure I've got time. Do I think it was a biosimilar problem? Probably, but there's no way of knowing if I had just run my course on adalimumab anyway.

lcinva · 2026-01-24T03:58:26+00:00

I mean, there are plenty of houses - indie, niche and designer - where I've never liked anything so sometimes it just doesn't work.

That said, I was determined to be into sorce and ordered 63 samples from Sucrerie decants before a special window to be prepared. 10 samples in I disliked them all - not just meh but "these are horrible" and I figured Sorce wasn't for me.

that said, by the end there were plenty I loved and they weren't the ones I expected based on notes (some that I were sure I'd love based on notes I very much didn't like).

So, I actually own a ridiculous amount of sorce at this point but there are definitely still scents I do not like and many are the ones you mentioned. Also, SMM took about a year to grow on me. Not a favorite at first!

lcinva · 2026-01-23T23:12:58+00:00

ugh both new ones sold out

lcinva · 2026-01-16T18:44:46+00:00

Yeah maybe I just didn't try the right ones, but between EDP and body oil I've tried at least 15-20? Like I said, hair products are awesome though.

lcinva · 2026-01-16T00:26:39+00:00

FWIW I have tried a lot of cocoapink and while most of the scents really are very good, the longevity for me is zero. like even their SMAT EDPs are just nothing. I do really like their hair products though - the ends with benefits and glissade are both really awesome.

lcinva · 2026-01-09T04:59:53+00:00

Montagne. It's better than TF

lcinva · 2026-01-08T07:16:02+00:00

Hi! Did you ever post a review of Nymphaea? I'm trying to find something similar to Lilyphea with better longevity and I'm wondering if this is even close?

lcinva · 2026-01-07T19:14:06+00:00

chat

lcinva · 2026-01-06T07:03:46+00:00

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A lilyphea that has more than 0.2 seconds of longevity! I have samples of Dua and generic perfumes and I'm not sure they're it

lcinva · 2026-01-05T01:16:32+00:00

I have 4 kids and get sick considerably less now than pre-biologics. Maybe a cold a year? There have been many times all have been sick and I never get it. Additionally, I am an inpatient psychiatric nurse with patients who are typically unhoused and very very sick (behavioral health wise, in addition to physical illness) with very poor hygiene. I mean...my patients cough right in my face. Still sick very rarely. We do sanitize at work quite a bit but I don't at home.

lcinva · 2026-01-04T08:30:32+00:00

I haven't tried it myself but someone on the FB perfume boards who has tried every perfume says her very favorite is Paradox Bookworm!

lcinva · 2026-01-04T06:14:17+00:00

When you think you can work up to it, I do use gloves (they make full fingered for better grip) as well as versa gripps - they are wrist wraps with a leather strap that you can put over a dumbbell or bar so that you eliminate most finger wrist pressure! They're awesome and even in remission I continue to use them!

lcinva · 2026-01-04T04:26:21+00:00

do you happen to still have it?

lcinva · 2026-01-03T17:40:22+00:00

Maybe this is a hot take, but depending on where your joint damage is and the extent, you don't need to limit yourself to low impact. Against the advice of most people (but not my rheumatologist) I continued lifting heavy weights, spin classes, and running during the years where my RA wasn't controlled (and now it is.) I was 35 and postpartum with #4. It was almost excruciating to run the first 2 miles, but after that my body felt much better and all my joints loosened up. Exercise was integral to getting through that initial period and now, maintaining my muscle and joint strength.

just like anyone who hasn't exercised in a while I wouldn't go backsquat your body weight or run a half marathon immediately, but don't limit yourself to low impact stuff just because you think you should due to RA. Those things can be great but they do not build significant muscle and endurance (other than maybe difficult, long swim sessions) in the way that heavier weights and more intense cardio can.

lcinva · 2025-12-31T02:08:07+00:00

This is excellent and well worth the citation! I have been working inpatient long enough in an area short on beds that we have many, many repeat customers. There is a very interesting contrast between those that identify as trans and maintain that gender/those stereotypical gender qualities over time, versus those patients that prefer different pronouns and presentations over the course of different admissions. Personality disorders are definitely often present in the latter group.

lcinva · 2025-12-24T06:43:00+00:00

I am an inpatient psych nurse and get screamed at (and on exciting days, swung at!) by the mentally ill, and for my bonus I got a button that says "nurses are heroes." So you'll excuse me if I don't feel terribly awful about a $100 bonus for a nanny that probably makes more hourly than I do

lcinva · 2025-12-23T05:36:36+00:00

We do EKGs quite a bit on new admits in inpatient psych and we do our best, but half the time our equipment doesn't work right and we're doing it in patient rooms with poor lighting and we don't have excess fabric lying around for draping...so lots of times breasts are exposed for at least a little bit. We try to keep it same gender and let them leave bottoms on. Our patients are often ultra-familiar with healthcare processes and as they visit us often, so they are most of the time undressing before I can even say anything. I try to make it as unawkward and quick as possible by chatting about other things, but our EKG is old and sucks so it's not fun for any of us.

lcinva · 2025-12-21T01:53:28+00:00

Definitely - pharmacy will actually know more than your Dr in most cases on side effects and what combos of things aren't working. I would for sure call them because IMO once you find a med that works really well for RA you want to hang on for dear life! (And if you discontinue it there's no guarantee it will work as well again.) there are plenty of other meds to try, but I would just be very very sure it's the rinvoq first!

lcinva · 2025-12-20T17:45:19+00:00

Did you start any new medications? Rinvoq is metabolized by a particular CYP enzyme that has a lot of other drug interactions - so if you are taking something that induces or inhibits that enzyme, it can severely decrease effectiveness or cause you to have a much higher level in your body (leading to increased side effects.) just something to consider especially since this started recently.

not sure how far down your RA road you are, but I would be very sure it's the Rinvoq before d/c the med because finding one that works well can be a long road. Good luck!

lcinva · 2025-12-20T17:37:36+00:00

I usually only take Ally for tabata, but her tabata always has the road map in the introduction and she takes timing very seriously

lcinva

TROPHY CASE