Perfume Books Part 1.

Hi Everybody,

As much as I love perfumes, I also like reading about them too. People’s views on scents and how they describe them is always interesting and these 3 books I have chosen are the man’s view!

The Diary of a Nose is by the renowned parfumeur, Jean-Claude Ellena. His creations include, not just for Hermes, but for Frederic Malle and L’Artisan Parfumeur. This is a slight diary of the year 2009-2010 and is a fascinating sneak peek into his life, creations and the view of a master perfume maker. The description in words by him is as delicate as his perfume creations. A lovely read.

Parfums by Philippe Claudel is a remembrance of smells from childhood to adulthood. Funny and sad in equal measure in short chapters , it describes how scent is around us everywhere and everyday. Scent can be memorized into moments and memories. Sex, fried bacon, hotel rooms and old age, it’s all here in this slim volume of prose.

The Book of Perfumes by John Oakes is A-Z of past and present perfumes. Published in 1996 some perfumes reviewed are now longer available 20 years later.( I have to say that I did look on Ebay when he describes a perfume that interests me!)In short chapters he describes the history of the perfume, the scent itself, and how to wear it. He also goes into what kind of woman can wear it, the materials of clothes that goes with it and even the colours that match it! He is of strong opinions and some people may disagree but his knowledge is impressive and he obviously has a good nose!

I hope this inspires you to buy these books and look at the world of scents into a different way thanks to these gentlemen in their very individual way. I think below sums it up;

Smell is a word, perfume is literature.

Rxx

 

Balance Me Congested Skin Serum.

Hi Everybody,

I discovered this product when I went to the Glamour Magazine festival in March and I received a goodie bag. I was delighted to receive a small sample bottle of it. I immediately started to use this to see if my skin improves as I do suffer from breakouts from time to time.

When visiting my local Waitrose store I found that they had a large selection of Balance Me products. I found the larger size bottle (only 15ml!) for £16. It does seem quite a lot for a small amount.

The serum is for all skin types and it is to be used to help the skin from blemishes, calms redness and to sooth the skin. It also unblocks pores and blackheads. In just a few days, I could see that my blackheads on my nose were disappearing and that redness from my chin area were less aggravated. Spots were still coming through but not so angry and often. The spots didn’t last so long when I applied serum on them. I will point out that I used the serum every single day, twice a day from March till the end of April.

The serum has a slight, herbal scent but not so overbearing. The ingredients include Spruce Knot for redness as soon as a blemish begins to show whilst Kanuka Essential Oil clears congestion with its gentle properties. Roman Chamomile for soothing and lavender for calming. I didn’t suffer from allergy and didn’t dry my skin. It is also a lightweight and absorbed very quickly into the skin.

Now I used my bottle up, I will have to buy another bottle as I can see the difference in my skin without using it! A  wonderful product, well worth every penny of the £16.00. My only gripe is the fact it needs to be in a larger bottle. 30ml would be perfect. I throughly recommend this product.

Rxx

 

Pretty in Pink!

 

From top to bottom:
Chanel Roussy.
Mavala Cherry Pink.
Estee Lauder ‘Wildly Pink’.
Bourjois ‘Oh My Doll’.
Mavala Tropic.
The Body Shop No 14.
Lancome No 302.
MAC Chatterbox.
MAC Lustering.

Hi Everybody,

I like pink. pink is the color most often associated with love, beauty, charm, tenderness, sweetness, and femininity, It can cover so many variety of shades, in fact there is 29,000 shades of pink! How awesome is that, I never thought there would be so many shades. I have a modest collection of pink lipsticks so I decided to show some of my pink lipsticks that I use on a regular basis. I found that pink lipstick suits my complexion and is easy to wear on a daily basis.

Chanel Rouge Coco ‘Roussy’ is a soft raspberry pink, it is creamy and easy to apply. It doesn’t your lips either. One of the best packaging for lipsticks, it feels quality.

Lancome L’Absolu Nu ‘Rose Ideal’ is a sheer plummy pink, does have a nice scent. Like the Chanel it doesn’t dry your lips. It isn’t long-lasting so you need to re-apply it. Lovely colour.

Estee Lauder Pure Colour ‘Wildly Pink’ is deeper in colour, more purple in shade. It is very long-lasting, never needed to re-apply with it and doesn’t dry my lips. It doesn’t smudge at all. I was very impressed with this one. I have never tried Estee Lauder lipsticks before and after using this one, it won’t be my last.

Body Shop Colour Crash in No 14 is a bright electric pink. Another lipstick that stays beautiful all day on the lips. This is a glossy lipstick, it almost feels like lip gloss when you apply it. Very good quality for the price.

Bourjois Shine Edition ‘Oh My Doll’ is a Barbie doll pink with a slight shimmer to it. It would like nice with a smoky eye look. Normal longevity for a lipstick at this price.

MAC ‘Lustering’ is a berry pink colour. A nice everyday colour without drying out your lips.

MAC Amplified ‘Chatterbox’ is a very pigmented bright red-pink (according to MAC), slightly drying on my lips and I had to apply lip balm before applying with it. Nice bright colour.

Mavala ‘Cherry Pink’ really is a cherry-pink colour!It is a nice pigmented colour with added shea and Vitamin E for hydrating your lips. Good longevity and smells nice too.

Mavala ‘Tropic’ is a coral pink and is a really nice colour, so summery. Like ‘Cherry Pink’ it has added shea and Vitamin E for hydrating your lips.

It will be very difficult to pick just one and if you mixed all the colours and all the different formulas you would get the world’s best pink lipstick!

Rxx

 

 

Lanvin ‘Jeanne’ EDP.

Hi Everybody,

I don’t see many reviews of Lanvin Perfume and I don’t understand why.  A great fashion house with a great history yet their beautiful feminine perfumes don’t seem to be under people’s radar.

Jeanne was created by Anne Flipo ( creator of amongst others, Acqua di Gioia for Armani, Jo Malone Garden Collection and one of my favourites, Lancome’s La Vie Est Bella) in 2008.

The bottle is a rectangle shape bottle with the motif of Jeanne Lanvin and her daughter going to a ball on the top of the cap. The label is a piece of material stitched with Jeanne Lanvin.  It is finished with a delicate piece of pink fabric.

The perfume is a light, delicate floral fragrance.  The peony, freesia and rose is at the beginning but you can also feel raspberry and pear too. It is subtle, delicate even discreet fragrance and not overpowering in the least. It is a perfect spring/summer scent and not overtly sweet. Because of this it is not a long-lasting fragrance and therefore you do need to re-spray perfume. Who cares though it is a still a lovely perfume. You can also try the new ‘sister’ fragrance Jeanne Lanvin Scandal which is a sweet,fruity, floral scent and is a complete opposite to this!

Rxx

 

 

Latest in Beauty ‘The Beauty Retreat Box’

Hi Everybody,

This edition is a very interesting box of pampering, relaxing products. I have only tried one of the products in this box before. They always come up with a great, diverse of products for their boxes.

The box contains ten products. Rituals Hammam Delight Foaming Shower Gel. I wonder how foamy it will be! Bamford Geranium, Lavender and Peppermint Body Wash. I feel you will wake up after all that zingy peppermint! Tisserand Sweet Dreams Bath Oil. I have never tried bath oils before so I wonder if I will fall asleep easily after using this? Mauli Himalayan Healing Salts. Salt is a long time healing ritual so I wonder if it will change me from a shower girl to a bath girl! Korres Bergamot & Pear Body Milk. Smells divine, worth buying a big bottle for the scent alone! Beatitude Joy Body Oil. Smells good, I wonder how good it will be on the body? Skyn Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels. Looking forward to trying these for your eyes. Exuviance Purifying Clay Masque. This looks good to purify and invigorate the skin. Malin+Goetz Trio Set. Contains Face cleanser, lip moisturizer and face moisturizer. I have tried the face cleanser and lip moisturizer before and I was impressed. Amphora Aromatics Orange & Clove Candle. A really spicy scent. This is more of a Christmas scent and not really in keeping for a spring/summer box in my view.

I think these boxes are great value for £20.00. You can use them if you are travelling somewhere or it would make a lovely present for somebody. You can buy the boxes and not feel any disappointment if something doesn’t work on you.

Rxx

April Favourites!

Hi Everybody,

Another month flies by and I have a few favourites to talk about this month. Closer to the summer and the warmth!

SKINCARE

Rodial Stem Cell Cleansing Cream – This was a freebie with a magazine purchase. I really like this, you can use this as a cleanser or as a mask so its a 2-in-1 product. This is for dehydrated skin and I applied on my dry skin and massaged it in and removed with a damp muslin cloth. It really made a difference to my skin and will buy this again.

Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser – This is different from Rodial as there is a gritiness to this product. It slightly dried my skin and I did need to moisturise my skin afterwards. I did like it as an exfoliator and I am impressed by its cleanser abilities.

NUXE Creme Fraiche 24 hr Soothing & Moisturizing Cream – First of all it doesn’t smell that nice but it absorbed into the skin easily,  it was non-greasy and my skin felt moisturized afterwards. A good prep before applying your make-up. I will purchase again.

Origins Make a Difference Rejuventating Hand Treatment – This is my everyday hand cream for my handbag. It absorbs easily and has a lovely scent. This is so good as my hands feel soft and hydrated.

 

MAKE-UP

YSL Blush Volupte Heart of Light Powder Blush in ‘no 5 favourite’ – I did a review of this in February and the love of this blush hasn’t died! This is a beautiful pink with great pigment and looks beautiful on the cheeks. And of course the packaging is top-class.

LIP GLOSS LOVE!

Laura Mercier Lip Glace in’Pink Pop’ – This is a delicious pink colour, the lips look great with this colour and it is so long lasting!  Smells nice as well.

NARS ‘Gold Digger’ – This is a nice champagne colour with a slightly sticky consistency and with added sparkles to it. It is quite long-lasting and a very nice product.

Dolce & Gabbana ‘Pink Diamond’ – Not pink to me but a dusty purple! It also has sparkles within it. This smells nice and the colour is quite unusual on the lips.

Accessories 

Real Techniques Blush Brush – This is a good size for the hand. I like this as it has a nice pointed, tapered brush head. The bristles are so soft to the touch. I think this could be a multi-task brush as the head is quite large so I think you could any kind of powders with this.

Body Shop  Cleansing Brush –  I discovered this beautiful wooden brush at the Eastbourne store and I had to buy it for the soft brushes.  It is great when in the shower and you apply some cleanser on the brush and massage into the skin. It is the perfect size for your hand and it is so gentle to the skin you wonder why you didn’t buy it before! You dry this under room temperature and is a great travel companion as it is so compact.

 

Rxx