January Favourites

I seem to have quite a few favourites this month, I guess because some of these were Christmas or Post Christmas purchases and they all still seem very shiny and new!

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash

I haven’t managed to review this yet but I am finding it great for my oily / combination skin as it cleans without stripping away oils and really makes my skin feel very clean.  I’m not sure how good it would be for drier skins though.

Tom Ford Violet Blonde

A Christmas present from my lovely hubby!  This is more of a weekend scent for me, reminding me of holidays and trips away.  I won’t embarrass myself by trying to describe the notes, but needless to say it is gorgeous!

Top Shop Cream Blush in Neon Rose – I reviewed this here as part of my cream blush post and was reminded of it when The Sunday Girl posted about it recently.  I love the way that it is not a traditional cream blush formulation, as it changes from a cream to a powder on the skin and lasts all day.  Only the tiniest amount is needed!

Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume Mascara – review here

This is my current favourite mascara (and boy do I have a lot of mascara!).  A great natural look, no flaking or smudging and the most important thing-  no CRISPY LASHES!

Mac Matchmaster in 3.0 - review here I have been wearing this foundation a lot recently and although I did find it a little too dark initially, I have been wearing it with a little of the Nars Orgasm Illuminator to tone it down a little and give a more radiant look.

Kiehl's Eye Alert – review here

I really enjoyed using this eye cream which I bought on a  whim from a blog sale.  I’m almost finished it and currently deciding whether to repurchase at full price or to finish off my Liz Earle eye cream which I wasn’t as enamoured with.

Laura Mercier Lip Gloss in Mauve 

This is my first Laura Mercier gloss and I very much like it.  A great my-lips- but-better shade, it has a gorgeous cocoa butter scent and is a great shade to go with lots of looks.  This was a limited edition product I think with the Space NK gift set, but based on the quality of this gloss, I will be investigating others from her line.

Chanel Illusion d’ Ombre in Emerveille - review here

This has been included in my monthly favourites previously and I am still enjoying the ease at which I can smooth this on with my fingers, add some mascara and I have an easy eye look in less than a minute, with no complex blending of several different shades. 

What were your favourites this month?  See anything above that catches your eye?

December Empties!

 

Despite being away for 2 weeks of December, I don't think I have done too badly with getting through my stash last month.  Although Christmas and sale shopping has increased it again...!

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo - A great cleansing shampoo that I have been using several times a week. I bought it as it was SLS-free and I have been trying to use less chemicals in my beauty routine. However I won't be repurchasing as although it was fine, I don't think it is HG material.

Garnier Fresh Essentials Eye Make Up Remover - a repurchase and I will be buying this again.  It removes my make up very effectively whilst being gentle at the same time.  It doesn't sting, cloud my eyes or leave an oily residue which makes it a winner in my books!

Marks & Spencer Almond Hand Cream - I can't remember when I got this but it has been lurking around for ages as I found it too greasy to use on my hands as it doesn't sink in easily.  I've been using it on my scaly elbows instead and I am glad to have finished it.

Green & Spring Indulging Shower and Bath Foam - A nice relaxing rose fragrance which I used as a shower gel rather than a bath foam.  It was pleasant but I didn't feel that it was unique enough to warrant buying a full-sized bottle.

Dove Deeply Nourishing Body Wash - I have a feeling this came with an ASOS order some time ago.  Nice to use but not remarkable, although it left me skin feeling soft and not dry like some shower gels can.  There was no discernible scent which may be a plus for some people, but I like my morning shower to have an invigorating scent to wake me up!

The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub - I reviewed this here and it was pleasant but not 'scrubby' enough for me, plus I found the scent a little overpowering (I'm never happy!).

DP London Handcream - this was a sample I was sent a wee while ago.  It did the job and sank in easily but was not interesting enough to make me want to purchase the full size, especially as I have several handcreams on the go at the moment.

Dermologica Age Smart Lip Renewal Complex - I didn't feel this did much really, perhaps there wasn't enough contained in the tube to form a proper option and to test it fully but I did get about a week's application.  As it is meant to help prevent the signs of ageing and minimise contour lines, I feel I may be a bit younger than the target age group for the product. 

Tom Ford Violet Blonde EDP - This was a sample that I fell in love with almost instantly.   I'm hopeless at describing perfumes so I won't attempt to, however if you get a chance to spritz this, do so as I have had so many compliments on it.  It is now one of my current favourites along with Prada Candy and I received a full-sized bottle for Christmas.

Victoria

x

Christmas and December Gifts and Purchases!

 

Its a little late but as I was away visiting various family members for the past 2 weeks, I haven't had a chance to show you these yet.  I was very lucky at Christmas and received quite a few lovely gifts. I've also made a few purchases recently from Buyapowa (again!) which are also included above.

I will be doing reviews of some of these products soon when I have had a chance to test them out properly, but please let me know if there are any in particular you would like to know more about.

Fragrances

I tend not to buy perfumes myself so had asked for several of these as gifts.

Prada Candy  - I love this!  It is very sweet but not in a sickly way and the bottle is gorgeous

Tom Ford Violet Blonde - I had a sample of this and promptly fell in love with it.  I had been leaving hints for hubby about this and amazingly it appeared under the tree on Christmas morning!

Jo Malone Honey and Nectarine - another one I had a sample of and loved.  I adore  sweet smelling perfume, and pretty much everything Jo Malone makes I like!

Jo Malone Cologne Collection - this was a surprise present from my parents which I was really pleased to receive.  It contains minis of Grapefruit, Red Roses, Vanilla & Anise, Pomegranate Noir and Wild Bluebell.  I already have Pomegranate Noir but I am looking forward to experimenting and combining some of the others and creating my own bespoke scents.

Make up

Bobbi Brown Anniversary Lip Palette  - a gift from my mum.  I am in love with this, and love every colour I have tried so far.  A review on this will be up soon!

Chanel Smokey Eyes Palette - I bought this just before Christmas.  This is my go-to palette for a smokey eye look and it is the 3rd time I have bought it!  I  never hit pan on any make up but I have been purchasing this for years!

Mac Lipglass in Pink Clash - Another purchase by me.  I hadn't tried any lipglasses before, previously being more of a fan of Mac's lipsticks.  I've been pleasantly surprised by this.

Mac Sheertone Blush in Blushbaby - an impulse purchase but I have been enjoying using it so far.

Eyelure individual lashes - I have slowly been getting used to applying and wearing false lashes and these will be great for a more natural look.

Bobbi Brown dual ended liner in Chocolate and Bronze - a gift from my mother in law who apparently had major difficulties finding this as it was sold out everywhere at the time.  It is so soft and easy to use.

Maybelline The Smoother Skin Retexturising Primer - I've only used this a few times so far but I am quite liking it and you only need a tiny amount for your whole face.

Bath and Body products

After mentioning to everyone how much I love bath bombs I got quite a few for Christmas!  This is fine with me though as I love a relaxing bath and its great fun experimenting with all the different bath bombs, although not as much fun when you have to clean the bath out afterwards!

I received several Christmas-themed lush bath bombs, including the cute Little Christmas Pud and the melting snowman which I am looking forward to trying.  I also received a number of Bomb Cosmetics bath bombs and melts which are also super cute.  

I didn't receive many gift sets this year, but I did receive one from my boss.  From Marks & Spencer it contains hand and nail cream, body lotion, bath milk and shower gel.  Marks & Spencer always do good quality products so I am looking forward to trying these.

I hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year.  

Victoria

x

My Life in Perfume

Perfume is such a personal thing and one which instantly evokes memories and emotions.   I have always used perfume daily, and although I have chopped and changed over the years, there are some that stand out for me and that I still associate with certain periods of my life whenever I smell them.  Some I still wear to this day, others I have moved on from, but they still hold a special place in my heart.

My perfume wearing started at an early age, when I was around 9 or 10 years old.  I vividly remember my Mum’s heady scent of YSL Opium when I was growing up and always associated perfume with heavy sensual notes of amber and patchouli or strong floral and rose scents.  It was therefore a revelation to me when I discovered The Body Shop’s , easy-to-wear fruity and musky perfumes.

http://thevintageperfumevault.blogspot.com

Amongst my favourites were white musk and fuzzy peach.  Both very simple scents but for a 9 year old, that was exactly what I wanted, just so I could play at dress up like my Mum!  I don’t think these are sold by The Body Shop any more.   Still, they fulfilled a purpose and instigated my interest in perfumes for the coming years.

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My teenage years were a mixture of the 1990s CKone which everyone had to have, and Tommy Girl.  CKone’s memorable Kate Moss advert, along with being one of the first, if not the first, mainstream scent to appeal to both men and women, was what made it a must buy for the teenage me.  These days, I don't wear it but I think I still do have a bottle somewhere at the back of the cupboard for when I am feeling retro!   

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 Around this time, another clean, fresh fragrance appeared – Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy Girl.  The 90s were the time for clean minimalism and these perfumes evoked the mood and feel of the time perfectly.

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University was the time when I left home and discovered more about who I was, when I was meeting new people and having new experiences in a strange city.  This was the time that I discovered Gucci Rush and its sweet, almost cloying, scent which I remember my Dad used to say smelt like I had dowsed myself in a fruit cocktail!  This was primarily an evening scent, for mad Uni nights out, and I wore it more of less continuously for the 4 years of my degree.  It was my signature scent of the time, and some of my friends have  said that they still think of me if they catch a sniff of it on someone else!  It is not a sophisticated  fragrance by any means and one I would never wear for work as I  associate it with fun and parties and don’t think it is particularly a formal fragrance which one can wear for a meeting and be taken seriously at, for example.   

I do still own Gucci Rush and wear it, although much less frequently and probably only a few times a month as my mad nights out are few and far between these days!  I would say that it sticks around for quite a while but I’m not sure whether that is because it has good lasting power or because I spray on so much of it – probably the latter!

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When I got married during the summer, I wanted a scent that I would remember and would forever associate with my wedding day.  I didn’t want to go with something like Gucci Rush but rather for something that tied in with my identity and to avoid something overpowering.  After toying with various Jo Malone’s, I eventually plumped for Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb, a popular scent that is very distinctive, but when used sparingly, is not overpowering.  My photographer took a lovely photo of the perfume bottle on my wedding day along with my Mum’s pearls.  Since I wore this for our wedding, my hubby says that every time I wear it, it reminds him of that day, as well as how relieved he was to see me after I turned up half an hour late, ooops!

Now, several months on from that day, I still wear Flowerbomb but have recently become more interested in different, more unusual fragrances.  Current favourites are Prada Candy, which although sweet, I think smells more of burnt sugar than cocktails; Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir, which I think is probably a love it or hate it scent and one I often wear for work if I have an important meeting; and my new love which is on my wishlist for Christmas, Tom Ford Violet Blonde.

Do you associate any particular perfumes with specific moments in your life? 

What are your essential everyday fragrances at the moment and what do you have on your Christmas list?