Claire's Perfume Collection

I have a funny mix of perfumes as many were bought as gifts and so weren’t chosen by me. My taste leans more towards darker, woodier evening scents. I am more excited about the New Illamasqua Fragrance ‘Freak’ than I can stand, can’t wait to have a sniff! In the mean time here is a quick rundown of the fragrances I currently own. And I do mean quick. It’s not like you can sniff them on here.

From left to right: (Full size bottled)

Elizabeth Arden Sunflower – This was a gift and not a fragrance I would normally gravitate towards. I has a strong floral sunflower (shocking I know) scent. It’s nice on balmy summer days.

Ghost Cherish – Another gift, this is a soft powdery almost soapy scent. It’s perfect to wear during the day as it is completely non intrusive. Subtle and feminine but not knocks your socks off amazing.

Katy Perry Purr – I am the first to admit that I am a total snob when it comes for celebrity fragrances. I find most are sickly sweet and overpowering. This is much more interesting though. It’s quite fruity but darker than most celeb scents. It’s a little sweet but not sickly.

Lola by Marc Jacobs – This has a special place in my heart as it is the perfume I wore on my wedding day. It’s another dark fruity fragrance with more than a little vanilla and a touch of spice. It just smells delicious and is one of those fragrances that just works with my body chemistry.

Noa by Chacharel – I wore this to death as a teenager and was recently given this bottle by my sister. It’s a very floral, the blurb says peony which sounds about right. It just doesn’t seem to sit as well on my skin anymore. I wear it and the fragrance holds a lot of memories for me but it’s no longer a favourite.

From left to right: (Samples)

Absolutely Givenchy – A sweeter soapier scent which last about 5 minutes on my skin before disappearing completely...

Lancome Hypnose – A very spicy, woody scent that’s a little alcoholic at first but it mellows quickly.

J’adore Dior – Not one I ever reach for actually. It’s supposed to be fruity and floral but it smells a little bland to me.

Estee Lauder Pleasure – Bizarrely all I can smell in this is gardenia although it isn’t even mentioned in the scent description! I’m not a fan.

Dior Addict – A slightly warmer scent with more than a little vanilla in it. I think I’m going to use this a bit more this Autumn.

Miss Dior Cherie (front) – Girly but not sickly, floral but spicy. I do actually like this one a lot.

I’m aware my scent descriptions suck but I was strapped for space. I tend to have a very good sense of smell so I don’t wear a lot of perfume, half a spritz is enough for me so it takes me a while to get through a bottle. As you can tell from this lot! x

Happy Chanukkah to me, from Sephora

Sephora has been sending gift certificates to its VIB customers by mail and online and I must must spend WAY to much there since I received three of them, one by mail and two via email, despite having only one account with them. I picked up a few basic skin care refills along with these lovely products:

• Philosophy Unconditional Love Spray Fragrance To Go-lovely scent but barely lasts five minutes ($15)
  
• Pangea Organics Pyrenees Lavender with Cardamom Lip Care lip balm- fabulous ingredients and the lavender scent isn't overwhelming which was a pleasant surprise. Totally not greasy or goopy but with soothing and healing( $12)
• Sephora Nano Lip Liner in Queen Quartz-the perfect shimmery pale pink nude ($5)
• Bare Escentuals Buxom Gloss in Sugar mini- a sheer sparkling pinky brown with a minty tingle (free with code BUXOMKISS)

Queen Quartz and Sugar with flash:

For those still trying to spend your cards, here are some current specials:

Urban Decay Get Baked Eye Shadow Kit is now only $18! It features four eye shadows, mini 24/7 liner in Bourbon and a mini Primer Potion in Sin.

Korres Sugar and Spice Set, which is down to $8! Included are 3 min shower gels in Hot Spiced Chocolate, Honey Spice and Sugar Glazed Clementine.

Travel size (.34 oz) Bliss The Youth As We Know It moisturizer for only $10

philosophy amazing grace - another obsession

It started with an EDT which was swiftly followed by an EDP

And then there was an explosion of products with  the Amazing Grace moniker

So from right to left:

Foot Cream - maybe a tad decadent but extremely moisturising.

EDP - stronger and longer lasting than the EDT (well duh!) but not full on in anyway, warmer I would say.

Perfume Oil - in a roller ball, strength similar to the EDP.

Shampoo/Shower/Bath - extra large almost a litre, this really does work as a shampoo which suprised me.

Body Lotion - extra large almost a litre, when I am feeling flush this is my body lotion of choice, this size lasts me about 3 months of twice daily application but I am overly generous in my application but it does deliver.

Body Spritz - a bit like Fabreeze (not how it smells) but in your favourite perfume.

Body Scrub - this has to be the best body scrub I have ever used, it has a base of glycerine which means that it is quite sticky - a good thing because it sticks to the body and can be worked in whilst the shower is running.

EDT - light enough to cope with my tendancy to overspray, it is both an "on the skin" scent as well as an "on fabric only" scent.

Hand Cream - effective, not just a generic hand cream with the scent bunged on top as an afterthought.

"But what does it smell like???" Well it is clearly floral, light, a bit fizzy, initially it can smell a bit sharp and the dry down remains fresh. If one thinks of freshly laundered clothes steeped in white flowers then one is not far out, but there is no single flower note that I can recognise. When I wear this the compliments are "you smell nice" and that is good enough for me.

A Few Perfumes

I have a love of perfumes but they don't always love me. I long for the heady swoony deep and meaningful aromas of Guerlain and indeed for years of my youth wore Jardins de Bagatelle until in the early '90s it seemed as if this melony scent was replicated everywhere and I went right off it.

I also get perfume headaches and suffer from asthma and because I get up close and personal with poorly people in hospital, it is important that I don't smell like a siren.

So here are a few of my favourites:

Philosophy Amazing Grace - light, a bit fizzy, sort of candy flossy. All of the Philosophy scents hint at clean washing but this one has the edge for me. The bonus is that I can splash it all over a la Henry Cooper (cue over 40's memory) without knocking everyone out in the silage.

Jennifer Anniston Eau de Parfum - I have been pleasantly suprised by this, a bit of the parma violets about it, but light and airy with enough about it to not smell generic.

Jovan White Musk - so good I have back ups. I am not particularly good with musk, it has the ability to slightly turn my stomach. I bought this blind due to the reviews on MUA and the initial excited spray evoked wet dog with a hint of mange and I turned away in disgust. But on later investigation it had turned into soft buttery warmth. I have had comments with this perfume.

Liz Earle Essence No 1 - this is suprisingly citrusy and there is definate neroli running through this which like musk has that ability to make me feel a bit sick, but it is a pretty, soft scent. I love the packaging and the heavy glass bottle.

Prada Infusion d'Iris and L'eau Iris EDT - both these fragrances are definate warm sun soaked linen on the washing line. I skirted around this fragrance for a long time because I was scared that it would not be anything much. I can only say that for me this is so beautiful it can make me cry.