Fragrance Focus: Jo Malone Plum Blossom

Earlier this month Jo Malone released the brand new Blue Skies & Blossoms collection, a 'playful and carefree collection of scents' which saw the release of three of the brands most popular blossom fragrances. Jo Malone, limited edition, blossoms? I was all over it. As soon as I heard the collection had hit the stores I was up to my local boutique to take a sniff of the three limited edition offerings. Honestly I thought they were all stunning but at £86 a pop, buying all three was clearly out the question. A girl can dream right?

I had in my hand three white Jo Malone paper test sticks with each of the new blossom scents sprayed on them, and I could have happily done an eeny-meeny-miny-moe and still walk away satisfied. However one scent did stick out to me most and that was the Plum Blossom cologne: succulent, juicy and so, so feminine. Although it smells nothing like Orange Blossom, Plum Blossom does remind me of it slightly in the way that it is both flowery yet fruity as well. Slightly on the rich side - but still very fresh and not at all 'heavy', this is one of those colognes that is quite distinguishable on the skin. I recommend spraying this behind the ear as the scent settles easily on the skin there and you are often left catching whiffs of its loveliness as your hair moves.

Effortlessly elegant with a subtly flirty edge, Plum Blossom makes me feel rather sweet and ladylike.
Whenever I wear this perfume I get the notion that I ought to whip on a pretty maxi skirt, the sort that flows gracefully when you walk and generally makes you feel like a bit of a feminine goddess. Such a beautiful scent. I'm sure I say this with all my JM's but Plum Blossom could fit any occasion, a real classic and suitable come day or night. Inspired by spring blossoms perhaps but this would work timelessly all year round. This could smell incredibly sexy and edgier with one of the Cologne Intense range - I'm thinking maybe a combination with Oud & Bergamot or Tuberose Angelica... oooh. I'll report back.

And, oh did I mention how much I adore the bottle? Housed with true Jo Malone styled limited edition embellishments, the usually classic silver lid replaced with royal purple and a cute as a button bow. I couldn't be more smitten.

QOTD: Have you taken a look at the Blue Skies and Blossoms collection from Jo Malone?

Fragrance Focus: Jo Malone Orange Blossom

If there's one thing I love the most, it certainly has to be a new fragrance discovery. Especially when its in the form of a Jo Malone Cologne... You wouldn't think it if you looked out the window right now at the rain splashing down, but Spring is on our doorstep here. There are promises of the new season arriving everywhere:, from the daffodils brightly decorating our streets, birds singing outside and the evenings gradually getting lighter. With Spring setting in and influencing my moods, I feel myself drifting away from those rich, spicy colognes I love in Winter in favour of lighter floral options.

Orange Blossom is a bit of a crowd pleaser as its a delightfully fresh balance of both fruity and flowery notes. This is categorized as part of the 'floral' family in Jo Malone's range and while I would agree that there is definitely an element of the blossoms lingering in the scent, I predominantly pick up on the orange. Orange Blossom is such a beautiful fragrance and has an oddly energizing effect that just instantly picks my mood up as soon as its sprayed and it becomes even more delicious as it warms on the skin. I always feel very feminine and sweet whenever I wear this, but not in a sickly sweet way! Unlike some citrus, fruity scents that can come across as a bit cheap and god-forbid smell like a cleaning product - Orange Blossom almost has this creaminess so it is more of like a creamy orange.

A perfect fragrance for these Spring months and following right through to Summer (it would be a gorgeous holiday scent!) I've definitely picked this up at the ideal time as it will be getting plenty of use I can imagine. I would say that this is suitable for daytime wear but is also lovely and special enough to dress up in the evenings too. I love mixing and matching my scents, and for a slightly warmer evening appropriate scent I like it combined with Dark Amber & Ginger Lily - I have this in the 9ml travel size bottle from the Christmas set. Dark Amber & Ginger Lily makes for a more heady and slightly sexier scent. I can imagine that the body wash would be amazing in this range as I love uplifting shower gels! Orange Blossom is definitely my favourite scent at the moment.

QOTD: Have you smelt Orange Blossom?

Jo Malone Rock The Ages Preview | Tudor Rose & Amber

Its no secret that I am a Jo Malone girl. So when I was shopping at my local boutique and chatting to one of the girls in there about how much I love the brand I was beyond chuffed to be invited to an exclusive event this morning to preview the latest collection Rock The Ages. The new collection is aimed at depicting different periods of British history, and a select group of us got to sample each of the new releases and learn a little bit about each fragrance today. It was really nice to hear about each new release, the inspiration behind it and all of the ingredients that have gone into them. We were also lucky enough to be given the opportunity to make purchases ahead of the official release which was very exciting too!

There are four new exclusive, limited edition releases and also a re-release of Pomegranate Noir in beautiful gold packaging. As you can see these new colognes have been released in special packaging instead of the classic Jo Malone bottles to reflect the individual fragrance. Once we had been talked through each new release (we were given the little cards to initially smell the fragrance first) we then had the opportunity to sample them on our skin and do some fragrance combing with the Jo Malone scents we already have.
  
The two fragrances the stood out most to me were the Tudor Rose & Amber and Geranium & Verbena. I had a play around with both of these two fragrances but decided that I liked the Tudor Rose & Amber best plus I felt that it will go well with the JM colognes I had at home.

As the name suggests this is based around the Tudor period meaning that this is quite a rich, lavish scent. I won't be able to remember all the ingredients but the ones that stuck out in my memory are Tudor rose, pink pepper and ginger so its both floral and spicy which is a combination I tend to love best in a fragrance. Tudor Rose & Amber really captures a velvety texture hence the velvet embellishment on the lid. I think this will go beautifully with Velvet Rose & Oud to add even more edge and sensuality.I also think it has a very similar vibe to Pomegranate Noir so I can imagine it will be popular with people who love that cologne, plus it would be a lovely combination of the two fragrances to play around with.

As a general statement I would say that this collection is very unique and interesting, I love the concept behind it and think it will be pretty popular when it is released in stores and online. It was a lovely morning at my local boutique (see some more pictures of the morning on my instagram @graceyblossom) that I was very glad I got the chance to attend the preview. I'm so pleased with my latest Jo Malone addition, and the first limited edition fragrance to add to my collection! :)

Jo Malone Rock The Ages - Available to purchase in store from March.

Fragrance Focus: Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir

Swoon. Its the ultimate scent of the season. Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone. If you've never had the pleasure of smelling it, just imagine Christmas caught in a bottle and you'll be somewhere along the right tracks. This is just about the most festive, nostalgic smelling cologne you could possibly imagine. Pomegranate Noir comes under the 'fruity' category according to Jo Malone, but I personally think its more of a woody scent. To me this is very earthy and recalls memories of walking through a forest of pine trees on a chilly winter morning.

It reminds me so much of all the rich spices of Christmas that send me straight back to my childhood and of the excited anticipation of festive celebrations.The pomegranate keeps the cologne very fresh and zingy, although its quite a heavy intoxicating scent the zestiness stops it from being dragged down by the woody notes. I would so recommend this scent to all the festive lovers out there as this truly captures the scent of Christmas and winter. This is such a classic perfume that you could go back to year after year after year and it will still evoke those sensual feelings of the season. Ideal for men or women, and I love layering this with English Pear and Freesia to give it a lighter and more laid back feel.

Pomegranate Noir is everything and I know I'm going to be wearing this all month long especially leading up to the festivities, I'm look forward to wearing this when doing my Christmas shopping and wrapping my gifts for loved ones and then especially on the big day to truly soak up what is the most wonderful time of the year.

QOTD: Do you love Pomegranate Noir?

Fragrance Focus: YSL Black Opium

 

The perfume hoarder in me strikes again. I'd heard a lot about this new release from Yves Saint Laurent and of course I had to take a whiff of it for myself to see what it was all about. I wasn't expecting that Black Opium would be for me, since I knew that the classic Opium from YSL was something that's popular amongst the likes of my mum's generation. However Black Opium has been revamped and comes in a stunning black glittery bottle that sings out that the festive season is approaching - I can imagine that this will be on many a Christmas wish list this December.

 

The scent of Black Opium is one that I can only describe as sexy and a little bit out there it definitely has an edgy feel to it that fits in well to the idea of 'black' in its name - the perfume has a slightly dark and mysterious vibe to it. Although Black Opium is quite a bold dare to wear scent, don't be fooled into thinking that its not for you because it has just the right amount of sweetness, with a hit of floral and also a spiciness to it which combined together makes for a very alluring signature. The warmth and spiciness of Black Opium make this an ideal fragrance for the fall months, as I think you can better appreciate the rich, powerful notes to it. This is exceptionally beautiful once its heated on the skin for a few hours too and adds to that enticing, mysterious nature of the perfume. 

 

The wear time is exceptionally good because of how strong the scent is - its one of those perfumes that will sink in gracefully to your clothes or hair and lingers for hours. However if you're anything like me and always feel that a freshen up is necessary The Perfume Shop are currently selling this as part of a gift set with a 10ml handbag size edition which I think is absolute genius! For the same price as the 30ml bottle [£43.50] you can get an extra 10ml worth of perfume and it comes in a stunning gold gift box. I think that this would make an ideal gift for someone or a festive treat to yourself to wear to all those upcoming festive celebrations.

 

QOTD: Have you tried YSL Black Opium?



Fragrance Focus: Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud

 I truly love those days in the year where the seasons are on the brink of change once again. You can see glimmers of the new season arriving in the colours on the trees, catch a hint of it in the way the light becomes slowly darker or brighter day by day. Other times you can just sense it in the air around you. Autumn has to be one of my favourite seasons, if not my favourite... although I'm pretty sure I say that about all the seasons at some point. However there is just something I find incredibly stunning about autumn, and the idea of crisp autumn leaves falling on the ground brings me more excitement than I care to admit to.

With the changing seasons comes a shift in your own moods and tastes, and one product that has had me truly anticipate autumn has to be this Cologne from Jo Malone. Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud is part of the Cologne Intense line, which offer a slightly more decadent range of colognes with richer ingredients. Slightly more expensive than the normal range from Jo Malone, the Cologne intense perfumes come in these exquisite yet somehow simplistic black bottles that look so stand out on your dressing table. I am obsessed with the packaging of all Jo Malone's products to be honest.

Velvet Rose & Oud is a rich and sensual cologne perfect to relish yourself in during the fall. I didn't really fall in love with Red Roses from Jo Malone of which I had a couple of tester samples for. When I tried Red Roses on I would find myself thinking, 'it needs something else' I don't know, it just didn't work for me which is surprising as I love rose scents. So when I saw the Velvet Rose & Oud I was quite excited to have a smell of it.

Velvet Rose. Not just any old rose but velvet, and yes I really do think that the silkiness of the velvet in its name comes across. First of all you get this elegant, smooth flow of roses followed by a darker edge that is slightly woody courtesy of the Oud. There is definitely something extremely enticing about this perfume, especially as it heats on the skin creating a musky concoction to swoon over.

A scent best saved for the cooler months so you can fully enjoy the richness of its ingredients, and not really something you would want to wear on a day to day basis as it is so heady and sensual - not to mention you want to keep an item like this a little bit precious. This is ideal for evening wear, or for special occasions. As you may know, Jo Malone encourages fragrance combining meaning mixing up your own creation of scents and I have tried pairing this with my English Pear and Freesia which I think freshens this Cologne right up and achieves a far more day time appropriate scent. I'm excited to explore this fragrance some more in the upcoming months....

 

QOTD: What has you excited for autumn?

 

Fragrance Focus: Jimmy Choo Exotic

You may notice a reoccurring theme on my blog that I rather love my fragrances. This fragrance focus post is dedicated to the limited edition Jimmy Choo Extoic women's perfume. This was released last year in 2013 as a spin off from the original Jimmy Choo for women. Jimmy Choo Exotic supports the same iconic circular bottle and square lid but in an all hot pink shade. The limited edition fragrance has been re released this summer this time in a warm orange bottle, (I actually prefer the 2013 bottle I've got) but apart from the outside appearance it is the same perfume or at least very similar as far as I can tell.

This was my favourite summer fragrance last year so when I saw it was released again this summer I knew I would have to feature it in a fragrance focus post. The perfume itself is definitely more of an evening fragrance as its got a rather sexy and sultry edge to it. Its very warm and yet it also has a fruitiness to it as well which makes it slightly rich. You only need a couple of sprays of this and it will last on the skin for hours. I think that the name exotic is pretty much on the money.

 Perfumes and aromas are especially evocative and whenever I smell this perfume it always reminds me of hot summer evenings. I think that this perfume is definitely the sexiest in my collection and its not something I would usually aim for but I do really love it during the summer months and think its worth a sniff next time you're at a perfume counter. I would also recommend this as a perfect holiday scent - I'm going to buy one of those travel atomisers to fill up with this perfume for my holiday as I wont want to be lugging around this 60ml bottle with me.

 

What is your favourite evening scent?

Monthly Favourites: June 2014

It honestly feels like two seconds ago I was writing my May favourites I can't believe June is over already! The summers going fast! Here's what made the cut to my favourite beauty products during the last month. It was a good one for me for beauty faves, starting with a couple of bath and body favourites.

Soap & Glory Scrub of Your Life.
I had a couple of well loved bath and body related items in June and one of which was my all time favourite scrub from S&G which is the Scrub of Your Life. I really like this as I think its affordable, has a nice clean smell and really exfoliates those areas that need a bit more welly to smooth out nice and evenly. I've gone through quite a few of these over the years including the mini travel size versions too so this isnt a new discovery however I do tend to grab it more often during the warmer months when my skins out on show a bit more and want it looking its best.

The Body Shop Raspberry Body Butter.
From an old love from S&G to a new love from The Body Shop - this has actually been one of the standouts of the month for me and it is the Raspberry Body Butter. You may have caught my full post on it  here as I've already expressed my love for this product, this is honestly the most perfect summer scented body moisturiser... if you love raspberry scent as much as I do that is? I'm already close to using it all up. This may well be limited edition so if you're interested get to a Body Shop asap!

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Instant Tan Light Matte.
I never expected to be featuring a tanning product in a favourites post, let alone on my blog at all as I've not really been that girl who fake tans --ever. But I succumbed after trying on a dress in Miss Selfridge and the sight of these two milk bottles sticking out had me trotting off to Boots in a flash. I wanted to start off in the world of tanning products with something relatively inexpensive (and that washed off) as I didn't want to pay out for something that I wasn't sure I would like or use again so ended up trying this from Rimmel. Expect a full review on my thoughts in the next couple of days but it certainly has the thumbs up from me.

Benefit Sun Beam.
Sticking with the theme of glowy shimmery skin another favourite in June was Benefit's Sun Beam. I picked this up from eBay in the mini size and I absolutely love it as a highlighter, it creates the loveliest golden sun kissed glisten to your face that is so spot on for the summer months. I kind of wished I had been brave enough to buy the full size version now but I will probably repurchase it next summer as I can just use this one up in the upcoming months. In case you didn't know this is a liquid highlighter that is supposed to be dotted to the cheeks or brow bones and then blended out. Its easy to use while still creating a gorgeous golden hue to the skin.

See By Chloe Pefume.
My perfume choice of the month was the ever so lovely See By Chloe. This fragrance somehow manages to be fresh, youthful, florally and still remain quite sophisticated at the same time. I've written a full review on this perfume here.

Barry M Gelly Paint in Pink Punch.
Another Barry M Gelly paint to scrape its way into a favourites post this month was this gorgeous shade called Pink Punch. This is almost a neon pink where its so vivid and eye catchingly bright. This has been on my nails and toe nails virtually the whole month of June. I really like the name too as it just reminds me of an exotic and colourful summery bowl of punch.

MAC Sharon Osbourne Peaches and Cream.
Sorry to feature limited edition items in a favourites but this blush was too gorgeous to not feature. I was so excited to pick this up at my local Mac counter earlier in June. This is such an incredibly pretty product in my favourite blush colour of  pink/peach tones however it really does feature a sort of creaminess that reminds me exactly of strawberries and cream. Its such a beautiful blush.

MAC Morange.
Behold one of my all time favourite Mac lipsticks, Morange. I could sing this lipsticks praises all day long so be ready to be bored. I absolutely love this lipstick. Morange is an amplified lipstick therefore yes that colour in the bullet there, that bright, in your face orange will transfer over to your lips with pretty much one application. Morange is one of the most vivid, bright and fun to wear lipsticks in my collection. Its such a feel good lipstick that is guaranteed to get you a few compliments as it just brightens your entire face up and makes you look so vibrant and summery. What I like about Morange is you can pull this off day or night (if you're brave enough to) as I wore this on my birthday during the day but its also statement enough to wear as an evening lipstick, its so stunning seriously. I think everyone should own at least one out there lipstick like Morange in their collection.

And there we have it my rather bright and fun bunch of June Favourites - what did you love in the last month?

Fragrance Focus: See By Chloé

I'm back with another Fragrance Focus post, but I'm putting this one down to #theessiebuttoneffect though... You may have caught my last review about a month or so ago on the original Chloé perfume which I will link here if you fancy a read but lets just say I wasn't disappointed. And so obviously when innocently browsing Essie Button this pretty little bottle caught my attention rather quickly. I made a mental note to have a whiff next time I was passing my local Boots.

Well lets just say that you know that you're going to love a perfume when the first time you smell it it makes you 'oooh' out loud, well I can guarantee that See By Chloé will make you 'oooh'. As a quick side note I actually decided to order this online from All Beauty which if you haven't heard of is an amazing website that offers some great savings on loads of fragrances (makeup too incase you wondered!) and I saved over £8 which is pretty awesome if you ask me.

Anyway back to the perfume! See By Chloé is literally ideal for these current summer months, I'm going to be really lame at describing but I'm sat here sniffing my arm where the perfume was sprayed hours earlier and the best word that keeps popping up is simply: delicious. I would say its slightly sweet with a sort of fruity and florally scent but what I love is about this is that it still remains very classy. Most sweet, fruity perfumes can seem a bit .. for want of a better word 'girly' but this is just so lovely. Its one of those fragrances that is definitely fun and flirty.

 Just give this a whiff next time you're at a perfume counter and you can thank Essie Button yet again for this beaut of a recommendation.

 

Have you tried See By Chloe? What is your go to summer fragrance?

Fragrance Focus: Chloé Eau De Parfum

I'll be honest here, perfume has been my 'thing' for many, many years now. It was something that I suppose got inherited from both my parents who equally have an admirable collection of frangrances between them. It all started back in the day on holiday when I got treated to Tommy Hilfiger True Star - who remembers that one? My taste in fragrances has come a long way since then and I think even in the last six months it has changed somewhat. My go-to scents have been my Marc Jacobs for quite a while (since I was 16/17 maybe) and after using a few bottles up I decided it was time for a change.

No surprise then that I found my legs walking me to the perfume department in John Lewis. And there it was. Staring me in the face. A display of the most stunning collection of square shaped Chloé bottles embellished with a chic little bow, that seemed to be calling out my name. From the second that the smell of this filled my nose I knew it had to be mine.

On the skin this perfume has a warm yet delicate florally scent, however it has the power to last for hours (I do top it up once or twice throughout the day) - even so I wake up in the morning and can still smell this faintly on my body. It is invigorating but all the while managing to refrain from being over powering. Chloé is versatile enough to be worn during the day time and is still classic enough for evening wear too. Needless to say I have found my new signature scent.

What is your signature scent?