Fragrance

Fragrance

Yves Rocher So Elixir Purple EDP

January 28, 2015

My very first Glossybox contained an adorable mini-sized bottle of Yves Rocher So Elixir Purple, and I’ve been lusting after a bottle ever since. Luckily Amie is amazing when it comes to picking me presents directly from my cosmetics wish list and she very kindly bought me a bottle for Christmas. As you can see I’ve already made a tiny dent in it, and honestly I’m such a fan of this fragrance I can’t see it lasting long at all!

So Elixir Purple is described as “an infusion of tuberose, essential oils of vetiver, bergamot, patchouli and benzoin extract“, conjuring thoughts of an incensey deep dark scent that fits very much with the feel of the packaging, however I think it’s a much lighter fragrance; fruity – and very heavy on grape/berry notes at first, and it takes a few hours to settle from the initial burst of sweetness.

There is something quite deep and mysterious about So Elixir Purple – oriental undertones and certainly some woody notes – yet on the surface it’s a very feminine and wearable scent.

The inner-geek in me lives in delight that the bottle looks a little bit like a magic potion, and is small and sturdy enough that I feel like I can put it in my handbag without worrying about it breaking. Not that I really have to though, because the scent is pretty long lasting in truth, and I could still pick up hints of it after a long day at the studio.

Yves Rocher were one of the forerunners in banning their cosmetics from animal testing, use no animal products in any of their ranges (with the exception of honey and bees wax) and go out of their way to try and keep their products as organic as possible, so I’m happy knowing I can indulge in their gorgeous fragrances without worrying my conscience.

So Elixir Purple is currently half price direct from the Yves Rocher website at only £16.75 for the 30ml bottle.

Totally hellbent for getting those gifts that you really really want!

Gem

Fragrance

Christian Lacroix Ambre for her EDP

September 28, 2014

I’ve become quite a fan of Avon perfumes this past year but the new collaboration fragrance with Christian Lacroix has set my heart all a flutter. The official blub reeled me in right away –

Christian Lacroix Ambre is announced as the scent that awakens the senses and imagination, intense, sensual and desirable, belonging to the category of chypre-gourmand fragrances. It opens with mandarin oil and juicy berries, leading to the heart of absolute rose, jasmine and rosewood and the base of amber and liquid caramel.

– and lets be honest, the packaging is very lovely for a budget friendly fragrance! I’d say you can definitely pick out the sweeter mandarin and berry notes, yet it never becomes cheap and fruity. The amber and caramel base keeps it in a decidedly grown-up-with-a-sweet-tooth territory and works so well with the brighter fruitier scents.

I’ve no qualms whatsoever about displaying this next to perfumes that cost quadruple it’s price, and imagine I will be wearing it quite often throughout the impending autumn and winter, in fact I’ve only had the bottle for a week and I’ve already made a fair dent in it!

I find you do have to build up quite a bit to get it to last all day, but I’ve always been quite trigger happy with fragrance so that’s never a problem for me! I’m hoping we will be seeing a shower gel/moisturiser launched at some point, as I find laying and building up Avon fragrances helps a lot.

Christian Lacroix Ambre is available exclusively from Avon and will be launched officially in Brochure 17 for £20 including the lovely cosmetics bag and three full size Avon products as a free gift. If you’re too impatient to wait there are a good few dotted around on Amazon and Ebay right now.

Totally hellbent for designer fragrance that is very easy on the eye, nose and purse

– Gem

Fragrance

The Body Shop Early Harvest Raspberry Eau De Toilette Review

August 26, 2014

A while ago now I picked up the Early Harvest Raspberry Eau De Toilette from The Body Shop. After being introduced to the Vanilla body mist by Gem, I’ve been a huge fan of their fragrances and spray’s ever since. They are so versatile and perfect for any occasion.

When I ordered the 30ml sized bottle, I wasn’t expecting it to be so small, but actually I’m more than happy with it’s hand bag friendly size since it means I can now drop it into my bag if I’m out and about. The bottle is nothing fancy, but looks nice enough next to my fragrance collection and has a gorgeous fuscia hue to the bottle.

The fragrance itself is light and fruity without being too overpowering. It has the signature raspberry smell of The Body Shop and the couple of times I’ve worn it, I’ve found the longevity to be pretty good. I think this is definitely a more summer scent and I think I will be drawn back to my Vanilla body mist once the sun decides it’s had enough of this year. Having said that I reckon I’ll get a few more uses out of it before then.

I bought this for £6 with a few other items a fair few months ago but it’s been sat in the “to be reviewed” box waiting for me to give it some much deserved attention. Unfortunately the Raspberry Eau De Toilette isn’t available from The Body Shop at the moment, but I expect they will re launch this again in Spring next year. You can check out the other fragrances available via their website here though where they generally retail for around £8.50.

I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for some of the other fragrances from The Body Shop and adding them to my collection.

Totally hellbent for fruity fragrances that fit in my bag

-Pants

Fragrance

Lady Gaga Fame EDP Review

May 28, 2014

I’ve got a secret to confess. I love Lady Gaga.

I really disliked her at first, but one day after some intoxicating substances my drummer decided to convince me of her merit and somewhere along the line of that night I became a Gaga convert. I had absolutely zero interest in this perfume before that day, but recently it’s been skirting higher and higher up my wishlist till I saw it on offer for only £10.00 in Superdrug and couldn’t resist.

First up I have to say the bottle was a big draw for me, I love the golden claws and black liquid (though it’s worth noting it’s clear once sprayed on the skin – magic!) and think it looks slightly dangerous in the most fabulous way. When I saw the design I was definitely expecting quite a dark, musky quirky scent, but actually the perfume itself was really something quite normal in comparison!

The official description says “Tears of Belladonna, Crushed Heart of Tiger Orchidea with a Black Veil of Incense, Pulverized Apricot and the combative essences of Saffron and Honey Drops”

I’d say it’s not nearly as dark and complex as the blurb suggests. Don’t get me wrong – it’s lovely…but that’s the thing, I sort of wanted it to be not lovely. I wanted something heavy and unique, this is very very sweet and fruity, you can definitely pick out the apricot!

Wear time unfortunately is only a few hours, but I’d think layering it up would give it a little longer.

Am I gaga about it? Hrm, yes in a lot of ways I really love this perfume, but I just wanted something with a little more edge.

Currently only £10.00 from Superdrug.

Totally hellbent for HOW DOES IT GO FROM BLACK TO CLEAR?! HOW DOES IT DO IT! SORCERY!

– Gem

Fragrance

Avon Pur Blanca EDT Perfume Set Review

April 17, 2014

When it comes to perfume I’m usually drawn to the more outspoken and sweet fragrances, and especially those with bright and beautiful bottles. Pur Blanca goes against everything I would normally choose; it’s clean light and simple and the bottle is very plain. Still somehow I’ve come to be quite fond of Pur Blanca and have made a sizeable dent in it already!

I’d agree with the official description of “A delicate blend of pure white freesia and ylang ylang over peony, rose and waterlily”, though sometimes I find it leans heavily towards rose above the other ingredients.

I purchased this set as it was on special offer, and for the price of the perfume alone I also received a body spray, roll on deodorant (?!) and body cream. I do think it’s a bit strange to include a roll-on in a perfume set and unfortunately the deodorant is pretty rubbish at it’s job. The body spray and moisturiser however are essential as the biggest downside of Pur Blanca is it’s staying power. The EDT itself doesn’t last longer than a few hours, but layering the scent gives you a little longer – three to four maximum though.

If you’re after something clean smelling with no frills then I’d definitely suggest checking this out! It’s one of the older more stable Avon fragrances so you can find it in practically every brochure! If you happen to pick an unlucky month or don’t have a local Avon representative you can order it from the Avon website for £11 (however the deodorant, body spray and moisture lotion are not included!)

Totally hellbent for something a little more toned down once in a while

– Gem

Fragrance

Ghost Enchanted Bloom EDT Review

April 1, 2014

This gorgeous perfume has grown on me so quickly to become my absolute favourite daytime scent. I find it very fresh, feminine and floral without being too sugary sweet. The bottle is simple but very pretty with etched flowers, but is it a good or bad thing that I like how slim it is because I’m running out of space on my perfume storage?

The official description lists “Top notes of violet leaf, bergamot and cranberry, leading to the heart of jasmine, water lily and freesia. Caviar peach, musk and amber complete the fragrant composition with a seductive trail.” but I don’t think it really seems that complex as it feels very light to wear. It is however very long lasting, and I could still pick up traces of it after a long day at work.

Overall Ghost Enchanted Bloom is a very light romantic scent that is perfect as the days get longer and warmer, I expect to be wearing this well through the summer!

What’s your favourite summery scent?

Totally hellbent for finding a new favourite

– Gem

Fragrance

New Avon perfumes 2014 – “Our Story For Her” and “Femme”

February 2, 2014

Avon seem to have a new perfume launch every campaign at the moment, but these two are my favourite picks of the bunch by a mile! I find that Avon fragrance can be a bit hit and miss, especially with the older scents that seem to all smell very similar to me. The newer lines seem to be vastly improved on the classics though, and if you’re looking for purse friendly fragrance with some personality I think you’d do well to take a peek (or a sniff!) at either of these two.

Our Story For Her is part of a very Valentines-ey duo (The other fragrance being the somewhat obviously Our Story For Him). Described as “A romantic blend of sparkling bergamot, sensual jasmine and creamy vanilla” you’d be hard pushed to pick up the boasted citrus tones, as this is heavily leaning towards the Vanilla base.

For me though, it is the heavy vanilla that makes it so appealing. I’ve always been a fan of very sweet scents, and this is the fragrance equivalent of a candy shop.

Currently on special offer in the Avon webstore for only £5.00!

Avon Femme is the newest Avon fragrance at the time of publishing and described as “Pink grapefruit and luscious pear glitter against gardenia blossom, magnolia and waterlilly, and diffuse down into warm amber woods”. I will say that this is a much more complex fragrance than Our Story For Her, and strikes me as being much more mature. It’s a very pretty scent, fruity and feminine without being too sweet or girly. The bottle is very pretty also and wouldn’t look out of place next to far higher price fragrances.

I’d definitely recommend it for those who are after a feminine fragrance that is grown up but still with hints of a fun, flirty undertone.

Avon Femme will be available from the next campaign at the introductory price of £15.00

Totally hellbent for fabulous fragrance that doesn’t break the bank!

– Gem

Fragrance

The Magazine Fragrance, have they finally got it?

November 18, 2013

I’ts not all doom and gloom in the Magazine department, (despite my epic ramblings at Marie Claire) since Gem and I rely heavily on these for new releases of cosmetics and shiny samples for bargainous prices, I find myself getting through an awful lot of them.

Remember the old days of Mags, when there was a “scratch and sniff” page, or you lifted the flap and were encouraged to smell? Only to find that by the time you had got round to reading the last magazine in your mammoth pile, all you did smell was glossy paper covered in ink?

Well time’s have changed when it comes to advertising fragrances in Mags and I have to say … I like it. I’f I’m honest, I never used to bother that much with taking note of fragrances, but since their redesign I’m hooked! Since the key to both Gem and my hearts are through packaging, my previously disinterested self (and bank balance) has reared it’s head at this and is finally taking note. Fragrances I want you all!

It’s not just the perfumes, it’s the advertising that goes with it. Marc Jacobs (who I admit I absolutely adore and my lovely Daddy buys me each year) have a full page advert, covered by a beautiful piece of “daisy” plastic over the top. I’ve already ripped this out and fully intend on using it for all of the crafts.

This new world order of tiny samples, or stuck on envelopes takes me to a new level of fragrance experience. The better the packaging, the more I want to pull the page out and keep it on my “may buy later pile” … and pull out the pages I have! Hold onto your hats ladies, this could be a start of something expensive … not only will I have to save an infinite amount of pennies for cosmetics, but I’m now going to be lusting after perfume!!!

So stay tunes my fellow beauty and fragrance lovers, I fear that 2014 is going to be very smelly indeed.

Totally hellbent for packaging and marketing … always

-Pants

Fragrance

Avon Ultra Sexy EDT

October 20, 2013

I’ll admit it was the burlesque-ey boudoir design that drew me in being the shallow creature that I am, but the fragrance certainly lived up to it’s gorgeous bottle.

Described as “The sexiest fragrance you will ever wear” with “fruity and tempting accords of passion fruit, pear and bergamot. Magnolia in the heart is infused with peach and peony. The base includes golden amber, musk and sweet woods.”

It is very light at first with a definite fruity aroma, but once it settles on the skin it becomes much deeper, muskier and yes sexier!

When purchased at launch you get a free 150ml body soufflé and 125ml shower gel, which rather disappointingly don’t smell much like the perfume at all! The soufflé barely has any scent at all, but at least layered adds a bit more depth to the fragrance.

Avon Ultra Sexy launches in November and will be available for £15 from local representatives or from the Avon webstore.

Totally hellbent for all things boudoir

– Gem