The Body Shop White Musk Libertine

I have to confess I had never smelt a Body Shop fragrance until Christmas Day, when I go into the Body Shop I usually head for the body care or lip balms and ignore the scents.
For Christmas, I received the heart shaped tin with the White Musk Libertine Body Mist and the Eau de Toilette. I think its sold out now because I can’t find it on the website but it might still be available in store.
Both of the products smell divine, it smells musky but its really feminine and girly but not sweet and sickly. It’s quite a fresh, clean scent. I like this scent because it’s a light fragrance, I’m not a fan of heavy and almost overpowering scents.  I’ve been using both of scents daily since Christmas. The Mist is like a lighter version of the EDT but both are equally lovely.
I’m really pleased to have received this for Christmas because I would never have discovered it and I’m pleased I did because I think I’ll be repurchasing it when this duo runs out.

Have you tried the Body Shop Musk range? What did you get for Christmas?
http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/fragrance/for-her/white-musk-libertine-body-mist.aspx
http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/fragrance/for-her/white-musk-libertine-eau-de-toilette.aspx

Estee Lauder Modern Muse EDP Review

Modern Muse is perhaps the most interesting perfume launch of the year, unlike most perfumes which just launch with a description of the scent, Modern Muse has a concept behind the perfume. This year I’ve discovered a lot of perfumes but I think this one is my favourite.

This perfume isn’t just one perfume, it’s a blend of two accords – Sparkling Jasmine and Sleek Wood to create a perfume which is representative of the different elements of a woman’s life so the Jasmine is the feminine side and the Wood represents female independence.

The perfume is a floral but it’s not old fashioned, it’s modern and chic and a little bit fruity with a slight sweetness. The base notes of patchouli, amber and musk makes the perfume very modern and appropriate for day and night but the top and middle notes of various fruits and flowers make it feminine and appropriate for wearing it during the day. One of the base notes is vanilla and I usually avoid perfumes with vanilla because they tend to be very sweet and little bit generic smelling but this does not smell like vanilla in any way, so if you avoid vanilla like me, try this perfume. The sillage is really good, I’ve wore for it over ten hours and I could still smell and other people could smell it and I love the design of the bottle, the blush pink and black is very feminine and pretty for a dressing table.

Prices start at £44  and is available from all Estee Lauder Counters. http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/11483/27307/Product-Catalog/Fragrance/For-Women/Modern-Muse/Modern-Muse/Eau-De-Parfum-Spray/index.tmpl

Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede

No-one does fragrance like Jo Malone, the combination are really simple but absolutely beautiful, English Pear and Freesia is one of my all time favourites but all of the fragrances are gorgeous and the latest edition is no disappointment.
Fresh, light floral scents are my favourite type of perfumes, but I know a lot people avoid floral perfumes because they think floral are overpowering and maybe a granny-like but I think this one will appeal to a lot of people. The red apple top note gives the scent a really fresh crispness but the peony keeps it floral and feminine but the suede base note makes it sophisticated and grown up, almost a little masculine. I think once it settles down, it’s floral with a musky undertone. In terms of longevity, it’s similar to other Jo Malone perfumes, I can get around five hours without topping up.
I really like this perfume and it’s became one of my all time favourite scents, it’s just what you expect from Jo Malone and I really recommend going to counter to see whet you think.

http://www.jomalone.co.uk/product/11563/27028/Fragrances/The-Collections/Floral/Peony-Blush-Suede/Peony-Blush-Suede/Cologne/index.tmpl

Lancome La Vie est Belle Légère EDP

Lancôme latest edition their perfume range is Lancome La Vie est Belle Légère EDP which is a summer version to La Vie Est Belle. The bottle is identical to the original La Vie est Belle, a glass bottle finished with a chiffon ribbon.

The Légère version smells very similar to the original but it’s lighter and more summary but I would this perfume all year round. Most fragrances with vanilla notes tend to settle a very sweet, sometime sickly scent but, on me, the vanilla is almost undetectable. It settles to be musky and powdery, whereas the original was quite sweet and the patchouli was the strongest note. When it’s first sprayed, the initial smell was quite fruity but then it dries a lovely, powdery musk. It’s not as strong as the original but that’s not to say it’s very weak, it’s more musky and powdery. The longevity is really good, I got eight hours before it faded to nothing.

I think this is one of nicest fragrances launched this year and I think it will appeal to both those who were fans of the original and those who weren’t so keen because it’s similar to the original but it’s a lot lighter.

Prices start at £39

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No. 100

Liz Earle is one of my favourite brands but I’ll bore you anymore with my love of the brand anymore. The Liz Earle fragrances often get overlooked and they shouldn’t, they smell gorgeous.

The first fragrance, Botanical Essence No. 1 was fruity and zesty, No. 15 was more musky and suited to evening wear and the latest one is a beautiful floral.

Floral fragrances are my favourite, I’m not a fan of heavy scents, I like light, feminine floral perfumes.

No. 100 was formulated by Alienor Massnet and was developed in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society for the 100 year anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show. I think the partnership has produced a fragrance which smells just like the Chelsea Flower Show, it’s like a flower garden in a bottle. It’s divine.

The top notes Damask Rose, Orange Flower, Indian Jasmine, the heart notes are Cypress, Sandalwood and Bourbon Vanilla and the base notes are Mandarin and Bergamot. On me it smells like roses but a grown up, feminine smell not like the cheap perfume. I’m not a fan of vanilla in perfume because I think it makes the smell too sweet and sickly but I can’t smell the vanilla, its more woody. The sillage is very good, it lasts well on my skin and fades away to nothing after about five hours, which on me is brilliant. I like it fades to nothing, some floral fragrances can leave behind a stale smell when they have evaporated.

A tiny note on the packaging, the bottle is similar to the other two fragrances, very simple and classic in design. I really love the box it comes in, I like the bands of flowers with the white stripes, it looks lovely on my dressing table.

Overall, I really love the perfume and I’m delighted Liz Earle has branched into floral fragrances. Also if you buy any of the fragrances this month, you will get free delivery on the Liz Earle website.

http://uk.lizearle.com/fragrance/liz-earle-botanical-essence-no100.html

Jo Loves Gardenia

I love Jo Malone fragrances, both Jo Malone and Jo Loves gets an incredible amount of press and for good reason, they’re just gorgeous. I really love single-note perfumes and simplicity of them but sometimes they don’t smell true to the ingredients, this is never the case with any of Jo Malone’s fragrances.

Gardenia is one of my favourite perfume ingredients, it obviously smells floral but its not overly sweet.

Jo Loves Gardenia has top notes of Italian bergamot and gardenia leaves, the heart notes are ylang, ylang, gardenia blossom, white narcissus, sambac jasmine and coumarin and finally the base notes are heliotrope and musk. I personally can only smell gardenia, which I really like, its a pure, simple scent which smells opulent and luxurious. The scent settles to be quite soft but still noticeable. Its not the most long-lasting perfume I’ve ever used but I’ve never found a gardenia perfume to last very long on the skin, so I would invest in a travelo, to top up the smell during the day and night.

Its available from Jo Loves and is £45 for 30ml and £95 for 100ml, it is quite expensive compared to a lot of mass market perfumes but you can depend of Jo Malone perfumes to use the best ingredients, so you know you’re paying for quality.

Givenchy Dahlia Noir L’Eau EDT

Dahlia Noir launched around two years ago and I liked it but it wasn’t very long-lasting, Dahlia Noir L’Eau is part of the same range but is more spicy than Dehlia Noir (it was quite sweet).

The top notes are citron and neroli, the heart note is rose and the base note is patchouli, cedar and musk. Its designed to be feminine with the rose but fruity and spicy, therefore more grown-up and mature.

When it first sprayed, the citron is the only component, I could smell. On me that’s the most I can get, it fades within an hour but it can be different on other people. It didn’t last long for it to settle but I don’t think it smells particularly unique and distinctive but maybe it would, if it lasted longer, I found it quite disappointing.

Overall, have a smell and see what you think, it might be more long lasting on other people.

There is currently 10% on Escentuals http://www.escentual.com/givenchy/dahlianoirleau002/.

Chloe See by Chloe EDP

Chloe make gorgeous soft, floral fragrances that smell clean and fresh but grown up and sophisticated at the same time.

See by Chloe has top notes of bergamot and apple blossom, the heart notes are jasmine and ylang-ylang and the base notes are musk, sandalwood and vanilla.

Despite having musk as a middle note of musk, its heavy at all, its soft and powdery. When its first sprayed its smells fruity but warm and little spicy because of the bergamot. After the initial spray, the apple blossom remains at the forefront but it doesn’t become a sickly, sweet smell because of the musk and sandalwood. It finally dries to a woody floral with no hint of vanilla, it’s not overly sweet, just fresh. The smell is typical of Chloe fragrances in the sense it soft and light, it smells just like a perfumed body wash or cream, it’s not strong and punchy, its powdery and perfect for spring. It also has good staying power, I six hours before it disappeared. I think its pretty unique, in a market where floral perfumes usually stink of vanilla, this stays fruity but doesn’t get annoying and it doesn’t smell cheap and synthetic.

I like the bottle, it’s a normal shape and it looks quite old-fashioned, which I really like.

Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! Sunsheer

I’m irritatingly fussy when it comes to perfume, I love perfume but I struggle to find a perfume I love.

I love Marc Jacobs fragrances but I really love this one. I don’t like very heavy, musky perfumes, I prefer light, floral perfumes all year round. The only heavy perfume I like is, Coco Chanel.

Oh Lola! Sunsheer is part of the Sunshine Collection, its lighter than Oh Lola! but a bit more fruity. It’s a subtle day fragrance but you can definitely smell it (it’s not so light, it’s nothing) but it’s not overpowering. When I first sprayed it, I immediately smelt the fruity side of it but when I left it to dry the vanilla becomes far more noticeable and fruitiness more subtle. It leaves quite a sweet smell but not sickly sweet like Viktor and Rolf’s Flowerbomb. Lastly, it’s really long-lasting, after eight hours I could smell which for is amazing because I find a lot of perfumes fade on me within about two hours.

Obviously because it Marc  Jacobs the design of the bottle is brilliant and looks great on a dressing table.

I really recommend this fragrance if you like fruity and floral perfumes which aren’t overpowering.

Currently on offer on Escentuals at 15% off. http://www.escentual.com/marc-jacobs/mj_ohlola_008/