Gourmand Gifting

It's the 1st of December today, so it's officially ok to start getting jiggy about Christmas. For many this jigginess starts after Bonfire Night (5th of November for those unfamiliar with our bizarre Brit tradition), but for me it's today that marks the beginning of the festive season. I'm now 'officially' allowed bring my Nigella Christmas book off the shelf and into the kitchen, I can burn cinnamon and spice candles and incense, I can put up fairy lights, and I can dig out everything sequined and glittered which has been in hibernation for the rest of the year. Officially.

So, I'm celebrating the start of Christmas with a little dedication to all the wonderful scented (and flavoured) offerings which you may gift to your loved ones or perhaps even self-gift, which sounds a lot more philanthropic than just saying 'I bought this for me'....
'I've gifted this to myself' is simply an acknowledgment of your rights as an individual worthy of receiving wonderful things. You are asserting your self-worth.
Therefore, self-gift and be happy.

The inspiration for all this was my little unexpected visit to Godiva today.  I paused by window, captivated by the small blocks of sugar-encrusted marzipan which was so enticingly displayed on crystal cake stands. Some were plain, some had walnuts encasing them. Before I knew it I was leaving the store with two pieces of each in a little bag.

Godiva Marzipain with walnuts..... pure angel food

 I stood in the rain and took a bite....and then I tasted all that was good in the world. The sweet, comforting warmth and delicate perfume that only almonds and sugar could provide, so redolent of Christmas and all it's joys. As I walked along the road I savoured every bite and it was all I could do to stop myself from devouring Mr P's share.


So, almonds and Christmas. It's a very classic partnership,  and in fact, all nuts seem to come out at Christmas, both literally and metaphorically...

In homage to all things 'nutty' and delicious here are my favourite gourmand treats for Christmas:

First up is L'Occitane's incredible Almond (Amande) range. In my opinion the range is one of the best that they do and the products really are wonderful. Ironically my favourite of them all is the one I've never actually possessed in a full size, it being one of the most expensive body creams they do, if not the most expensive. The Milk Concentrate (Concentre de Lait) is a lush, lightly whipped body cream with a scent I can only describe as almond perfection. It captures the freshness of the almond as a fruit as well as the more creamy, gourmand quality you would normally find in almond scented goodies. It smooths the skin like no other cream I've ever tried and my skin is at it's softest whenever I've had the fortune to use the numerous samples I've been given.

 The almond shower oil (£16) is a luxurious treat for the skin, especially dry skin. It feels sublime to wash with and leaves the skin feeling silky and fragrant. Wonderful stuff. It's less scented than the body cream so you'll never be overpowered with almond if you choose to use both.

 The Delicious Paste (£26 )is a gorgeous body exfoliator which manages to be gentle yet rough enough to actually give results. This leaves me feeling like a GODDESS. I've bought this (sorry, I mean self-gifted this) numerous times. :P

For those in Italy (and elsewhere) lucky enough to have access to the amazing L'Erbolario range you're in for a treat. Their almond (Mandorla) range is incredible.

I particularly recommend the body cream and soap. The scent is that of a sweeter, headier almond than the the L'Occitane and is more of a one-note fragrance. For me this is the ultimate winter/Christmas scent. L'Erbolario bring out new fragrance ranges frequently, but this, along with the divine Narcissus range (Narciso) is my favourite.

Do I really need to mention Lush again? Well.... Snowcake, obviously. Just do it people.
All of Lush's Christmas offerings are pretty wonderful and in fact, Christmas seems to bring out the best in Lush's creative team. Take your pick of numerous bath bombs, bubble bar slices, soaps etc and make your own gift to someone. Alternatively there are some gorgeously imaginative ready packaged gifts. Here is my favourite.... someone I know will be receiving this from me ;)

Innit dinky??? Extra points for usefulness as the tin would make a super-cool trinket box.

Perfume wise, I'm totally in love with Diesel's new offering, Loverdose. It's a total vanilla-licorice overload but I LOVE it. It's a classic gourmand (sorry I keep using that word, but it basically means something that's edibly sweet, so very appropriate here) and I think that many will love it. Many will also hate it precisely for that reason, but I'll have you know that I normally don't like overly sweet perfume but this one has me hooked. Mr P loves it too. Babies also seem to like it.... (long story!)...

 I've actually asked for this for Christmas.... let's see if the Brothers P come up with the goods!

Another sweet offering comes by way of Zara Chocolate eau de toilette. There are two seemingly Christmas perfumes in Zara at the moment, Chocolate and Cherry.

Cherry smells like a hasty Duty Free till dash en route to Magaluf. Avoid.

Chocolate on the other hand is yummy and sweet but in a grown-up way. It's more of a milky-vanillary chocolate but warming and comforting all the same. Would be lovely spritzed onto woolly scarves and hats so you can snuggle in all it's milk-chocolate goodness :)
Best of all, it's only €4.95 for 10ml. It would make a lovely little stocking-filler. Sorry I can't seem to find a photo of this one....

I hope that's provided a little gift inspiration and brought about warm, cosy feelings of Yuletide.

If I had to choose one thing from here I'd just be really, really happy with a big box of what inspired me to write this in the first place.

Hint, hint Mr P... there's a Godiva down the road don't you know.

Fragrant offerings

aka.... my perfume collection.

Pandora's perfumes

Recently I've really loved reading about perfume, especially other girls' perfume collections.
Perfume is one of those incredibly subjective things, but the market is so swamped that I always find it useful to find out what others like too, so that I can organise my 'sniffing' trips accordingly! 

My journey with fragrance began when I was about 12. I bought a tiny bottle of Joy by Jean Patou on a school trip to Boulogne. I barely spoke French but I somehow managed to walk into this very posh department store and come away with an exquisitely gift-wrapped bottle of what was once heralded 'the most expensive perfume in the world'. I made that bottle last for years and I still have that gift wrapping, treasured in the back of an old diary as if it were made of gold leaf.

Precocious... moi???

So on to the here and now and my current collection is, I think at least, quite modest. Most of my scents of choice are quite light, fresh and floral. Boring? Maybe. I'd like to be one of those people with eclectic taste in perfume, the kind of perfume that costs about £150 a bottle and contains essence of leather, tobacco, rare Amazonian wood, extract of burnt power cables, and antelope flea musk. But thou must be true to thyself and I would be lying to myself if I said that I actually would wear most of the fragrances sold in an 'haute parfumerie', although Mr P is quite partial to a bit of antelope flea musk.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle - Moisture Mist

Some fragrances I like to wear in other incarnations. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle is a prime example. I find the perfume too strong sometimes, it hits my nasal passages like a bullet as an eau de parfum, but as a body spray, like this moisture mist here, it's just gorgeous. It smells instantly like the perfume dry-down which is much, much nicer than the somewhat abrasive top notes you get at first spritz of the perfume itself. I love wearing this. It makes me feel sensual and polished all at once. 

Bulgari Omnia Crystalline

 If I had one signature scent then this would probably be it. Bulgari Omnia Crystalline. This also happens to be Mr P's favourite. In fact he bought me my first bottle of this for my birthday many years ago. I loved it instantly. I ask myself how on earth he managed to find such an amazing perfume, amongst the myriad of scents out there. But he did, bless him. This I would describe as an 'aquatic floral. There is a fresh crispness to the smell with a slight woodiness which is prevented from being too masculine by the presence of a floral note, which according to the description must be the lotus flower. It was apparently designed for the Japanese market where fresh, light fragrances are extremely popular and at one time it was the best-selling perfume there (my source for this info is here). On me this dries down to what I can only describe as smelling like me but better! Like I'm always shower fresh. I know I will always buy this.

Elie Saab Le Parfum

 This was a birthday gift and the newest perfume I own. It's actually very different from any of the other scents I have. It's much, much stronger than I'm used to but it's perhaps the most interesting and complex perfume I have. There are so many different elements to this. To me it's a leathery sophisticated floral with hints of tea. Yes, I smell tea in it. I'm weird though, so you will probably not smell tea. This is sex in a bottle. It's very heady and must be used with a light hand. I would put this on the nape of the neck and behind my knees and in the crease of my elbow. This is for special evenings, to be worn with jewellery and heels.... and possibly nothing else ;)

Jo Malone - Nutmeg & Ginger and White Jasmine & Mint

Ah, Jo, how I love you. I don't think there is a fragrance of yours I don't love. Except Pomegranate Noir, that one just gave me a headache. Here we have Nutmeg and Ginger, and White Jasmine and Mint. This is my 3rd bottle of White Jasmine and Mint. I wore it on my wedding day layered with Nectarine Blossom and Honey. Nutmeg and Ginger is perfect for cooler weather days, it's spiciness and warmth being a great comfort to me. White Jasmine and Mint I'm currently on a break from but will embrace once more with open arms in the spring. 

Zara White

Here we have one beauty rule broken: Don't buy cheap perfume.
Zara White is cheap, but it doesn' t smell cheap. Honestly. It's very fresh and crisp, citrus and ozonic at the same time, but it dries down to a more floral base. The packaging is very meh... but for freshening up quickly without offending anyone then this is more than fine. It fades over a couple of hours but at €4.99 who cares. NB, most of the Zara perfumes are lovely! White Jasmine in particular, that will probably be my next cheapo fragrance fix.

The Sanctuary Body Spray - patchouli bliss

So it's not strictly a perfume, but The Sanctuary's classic body line has that signature smell which they have developed into a fragrance line in itself. You either love it or hate it. I used to hate it with a passion, but something happened to me in the last year or so and now I can't get enough of the soft powdery patchouli smell. The body butter is divine and I top it off with this lovely body spray which is much lovelier than the actual perfume that they also have in the range.

Baby bottle of Viva La Juicy

Look at this! Innit dinky??? Juicy Couture 'Viva la Juicy' is my wild-card. I didn't commit to buying even a 30ml size, but I do really like this fun, floral gourmand. The balance of sweet to floral is just right. A little goes a long way so this 5ml bottle of cuteness will serve me well. I'm not likely to want a bigger size of this after it's gone but for now it's my night-out scent of choice.

So those are my simple offerings to the temple of scent.

What scents do you all like? Are you more Duty Free or Haute Parfumerie?

An Evening in Paris....

.....found during an afternoon in Brussels.

Postcard of 1950's ad for Bourjois Soir de Paris

Wandering about in Dille & Kamille, a cute home-wares store just off Avenue Louise, I stumbled across a card rack and saw this gorgeous little postcard featuring a vintage ad for Bourjois Soir de Paris perfume.
I adore these kinds of goodies so I bought the postcard and tucked it away somewhere to be framed at a later date in a vintage-style photo frame on my dressing table (that is, when I actually have a proper house with complete with walk-in wardrobe and a glorious vanity unit).... ah, to dream.....

Originally created in 1928,  Soir de Paris is apparently "amber, floral & spicy". I've never seen it around to actually have sniffed it myself, but for some reason I have it in my head as smelling a bit like Estee Lauder's Youth Dew. I'm sure if any of you have come across it you could enlighten me.

Interestingly, Bourjois have a lovely website with a cute voyage through their history complete with adorable pictures of their products in their vintage incarnations. In case you were wondering, those little round pot blushers have been around for a very long time! You can check it out here.

It appears that  you can still buy Soir de Paris. It's online here at Lloyds Pharmacy priced at £16.95.

What do you think an evening in Paris smells like?

Beautiful Birthday Haul!

It was a particularly beauty themed birthday this year and I have some very lovely friends indeed.
I was so touched by everyone's thoughtfulness and generosity so this short post is dedicated to Mr & Mrs PVA, Mr & Mrs BH, and my Godmother, Ms P! 

Elie Saab Perfume

Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara

Burt's Bees Facial Kit, (mask sachet used already by yours truly)

OPI Steady as She Rose and Crown me Already!

I treasure all these lovely things, but I treasure your friendship even more. Soppy but true.

Thank you so much. :)

Wishful thinking

I thought it would be fun to let my imagination run wild and compile a beauty wish-list.

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows. ALL OF THEM. They are amazing and versatile and every colour just stuns. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Illusoire, a purple taupe shot through with sparkle or Epatant, a greyish taupe with a green undertone and incredible sparkle. J'adore!!!!!!

Illusoire

Epatant

 

 

Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter

 

I've wanted this for like, forever. I have my huge MAC Mineralize Skinfinish which works perfectly well but somehow this calls to me.

Jennifer Lopez uses it. Now tell me I don't need it.

Dior Blush in Rose Vintage and Pink in Love

In my humble opinion I don't have enough blushers and I can't chose between these two newbies from the Dior Autumn/Winter Blue Tie collection. They both have a place in my fantasy make-up collection. 

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara

I love the visual for this and the idea behind it....huge doll like batting lashes. Lancome mascaras have never ever let me down. I love the original Hypnose so I'm itching to try this. In fantasy land only because I have at least 4 mascaras to get through first.

Givenchy Dahlia Noir

This surprises me. I had a first sniff of these a few weeks back and thought... meh.... And then I had another sniff last week and thought.... hmmmm.... And then today I spritzed myself with it and thought.......aaaaaaaaaaaaa! It's one of those scents that creeps up on you. It's sweet and smoky at the same time. A floral scent with depth and sensuality. It's sexy but not in your face. I also love the packaging, it's clean and timeless. I think I'd love a body spray or lotion rather than the perfume as I think that this would work beautifully worn all over the body in a delicate layer of scent.

Elie Saab Le Parfum

This surprises me too! I thought I would hate it but it was love at first sniff. It reminds me a bit of the original Michael Kors perfume, so I'm figuring it has similar notes in it. This is seriously sexy and addictive. I couldn't stop smelling the tester. Again it's floral, but with a twist. I think this one is going to be a classic. The bottle is just gorgeous. I'd wear this with a ballgown and with nothing. Is there anything this man can't do?

It's just a coincidence that my birthday is next week. Honestly it is. :)

What's on your fantasy wish-list? Share the desire!