Summer Beauty Haul | Real Techniques, Hourglass, John Frieda & more

All of a sudden we find ourselves in the middle of May (!) and bloody hell, summers right on the doorstep now. I went shopping yesterday intending to buy only one thing and ended up coming home with a few more bits than I expected to, but lets just call it getting ready for summer...

Jo Malone White Lilac & Rhubarb Scented Candle

Jo Malone White Lilac & Rhubarb Scented Candle | Link

After purchasing my first Jo Malone candle back at the start of the year (Wood Sage & Sea Salt) it seems I've well and truly caught the bug now. I kept seeing the newly released White Lilac & Rhubarb popping up on my social media in recent weeks and I was keen to give it a smell. Firstly how gorgeous is the packaging? The fresh green and floral prints just make me feel so happy and is a perfect reminder that summer is on the way. Secondly which I didn't realize until I saw this in store is that this is actually a charity candle. The proceeds minus VAT go towards community garden projects - you can read more about where the money goes here.

Naturally, this candle smells, incredible. I've only ever really been a candle person during winter as I tend to associate candles with being something cosy however I'm totally converted now and love burning a candle throughout the day to give the house a fresh burst of fragrance. White Lilac & Rhubarb is both sweet and sharp, tangy and subtly floral. Its also a surprisingly clean which gives it a rather uplifting feel when its burning and filling the room. Its so beautiful and unique smelling, I am obsessed. Also even when its not lit if you take the lid off the candle the aroma still lightly fills the room which I love!  I definitely wish that there was a cologne in this as I would be all over that!

QOTD: Have you checked out the new charity candle from Jo Malone?

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 Wood Sage & Sea Salt Scented Candle

Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt Scented Candle | Link

Can you tell I'm on a bit of a Jo Malone fix lately?! I can't seem to get enough. At Christmas I gave the Travel Candle Collection a whirl and it was the first time I had branched into the Jo Malone home wear. Needless to say it gave me a real taste into the decadent world of luxury candles. After sampling a few of the small travel candles  I was certain sure that a JML candle would be working its way into my life before long. 

I recently wrote a post speaking about my family taking on my Nan with dementia to care for her. At the start of February we moved in to my Nan's house, while our own home is getting work done on it ready for us all to return. While the adjustments haven't been easy for me, it has been made more pleasant with some 'home' comforts. Fresh white paint on the walls, a fluffy new bedroom carpet and some cozy touches like fairy lights and of course a new Jo Malone candle has all given me somewhere nice to escape to.

I love the Wood Sage & Sea Salt cologne, its up there as one of my most worn scents its so earthy yet fresh and the candle has the same effect. When lit the candle emits a truly relaxing scent that encapsulates the room, and truly fulfills that homely atmosphere that I'm after. This is such a beautiful candle and I'm addicted to lighting it each night to get my fix of Wood Sage & Sea Salt burning around the home. I find it totally chills me out and puts me in a lovely mellow mood. Similarly to the packaging of the colognes, the candle is subtly sophisticated and classy: embellished by the chic square label with black writing and elegant silver lid. 

QOTD: Have you tried any Jo Malone candles?

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.

Christmas With Jo Malone

In the lead up to Christmas I really enjoy taking a nose at everyone's gift idea posts and videos on YouTube, however rather than adding another one to the mix I thought I would do something a little different. With just a few shopping weekends left I thought I'd sneak in my own little selection of gift ideas, now if you've been reading my blog for a while now you will probably know that I'm a bit of a Jo Malone lover so these are a selection of little luxuries that any beauty lover would enjoy receiving. 

Pomegranate Noir Bath Oil | £17 | Link

With all of the ideas there is the theme of travel sized items however if you really wanted to push the boat out you could always opt for the full sized option to make a really special main gift idea for someone. However the travel sized Pomegranate Noir Bath Oil would make a lovely luxurious stocking filler, it comes in its very own little Jo Malone box with the festive red ribbon, as do all the items mentioned below so you wouldn't even need to do any wrapping. I recently reviewed the fragrance of Pomegranate Noir, and for any Jo Malone lover I think the bath oil would be a beautiful gift for an added element of pampering. The addition of the bath oil will also layer the fragrance making it last even longer.

Travel Candle Collection | £62 | Link

As part of the Christmas gift sets there is a travel candle collection with three delicious winter inspired scents. I think that this set would be ideal for anyone who loves their luxury candles or it would even be ideal for someone who maybe hasn't tried any of the Jo Malone candles, like myself as you can sample a nice little selection of the scents this way. The three scents are the famous Pomegranate Noir, Incense and Embers and also the gorgeous Christmas scent which is released each year Pine & Eucalyptus.

Also new in and for a limited time only are the collection of 9ml fragrances, which again are a perfect idea for maybe those who are new to Jo Malone as this way you can experiment around with the different selection of scents. Equally these sets are just as gorgeous to any Jo Malone lover as the idea of them is to encourage fragrance combining so you can really have a play around with the exquisite scents to find your own unique combination. These sets come in two different ways you can opt for the selection of five 9ml of the normal colognes or you can go for the set of five cologne intense bottles which I have to show you here.

Cologne Intense Collection | £82 | Link

I believe that this is the first time that the Cologne Intense range have been released in travel size editions, and there is a lovely selection of the line to enjoy. This set includes: Tuberose Angelica, Saffron, Dark Amber and Ginger Lily, Oud & Bergamot, and Velvet Rose & Oud which I have also reviewed before. Either of these sets would make such a beautiful gift to any luxury beauty lover/ perfume addict. I think that the way they come presented is just stunning too, inside the box there is like the red snowy effect, so beautiful.

QOTD: Have any of these gifts tempted you? 

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?

'Duty Free Made Me Do It' Airport Haul

 

 

 

Duty free makeup shopping - ahhh - every beauty blogger's dream come true. Dozens upon dozens of high end beauty brands at a discounted price, how could you possibly resist? Plus when you're off on your old holibobs its basically permission granted that you're allowed to utterly spoil yourself (like we ever need an excuse to do that.)

 

You know that it must be holiday time when you're stood swatching Mac lipsticks at 4:30am with a cheesy grin on your face soon to be walking away with three brand new lipsticks in hand. Now I know that to some people three Mac lipsticks will be nothing or to some it will seem like a ridiculous amount, but this isn't something that I would ever usually do. However when you are getting them at three, nearly four pounds cheaper than usual a girls gotta take advantage! I'm pretty much sorted for autumn lip choices now with Cyber, Twig and Brick-O-La added to my collection.

 

I couldn't go away on holiday without purchasing a new fragrance, I think that its such a lovely way of bringing back memories and then whenever I wear the perfume I can always be reminded of the good times I had. From the moment I sniffed a sample of the new Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt it was love and I knew that I needed it in my life: fresh, energising and so beautiful. Even though I was travelling I had to go for the 100ml bottle as it was such an amazing saving and thankfully I managed to get it to holiday and home safe in one piece and I'm so happy I went for the size I did.

 

The next few items I actually got whilst I was on the plane, the first one being a Style Tangle Teezer. My old teezer was in a right old state and so I thought it was about time to replace it with this. Not only is the print amazing but it also has a protective back meaning I can throw it in my bag. The actual bristly parts are so much firmer and stronger on this brush than my old teezer that it has made brushing my knotty hair even quicker and easier - I'm so glad I picked this up. Lastly on a bit of a whim I decided to get the Glam Glow Mud Mask as I've heard so many people talking about this - I'm super excited to try this out!

 

QOTD: What would Duty Free Shopping make you do?

Autumn Ready Beauty Products

 

There are a handful of beauty products that are leaving me super excited for autumn at the minute. Now don't get me wrong, I love summer and will enjoy one final week of my bronze, bright makeup while on my holiday this Sunday, but I know that the minute I get home I will be diving straight into this lot of goodies!

As soon as I caught a peak of the new BarryM autumn selection of gelly nail paints a few weeks ago I knew a couple would have to end up in my never ending stash of nail varnishes. The colours are all really autumnal and I don't really own any colours similar. What is probably going to be one of those love or hate shades is the dull yellow in Mustard though personally I like it especially if you put it with the grey Chai. But my favourite one out of the three I picked up is definitely the maroony brown in Cocoa I can definitely see this being a staple item throughout the autumn and winter months.

Now I know that a bronzer may be a bit of an unusual one to throw in to an autumn makeup post, but I've wanted The Body Shop Honey Bronzer for so long now and I thought that this would be the perfect time to pick it up. This bronzer is going to be ideal for when I'm a little paler as it really does give you the most natural warm colour, its matte with absolutely no shimmer so it isn't going to look super bronzed on my face during the colder periods. Another matte cheek product that I'm obsessing over is Nars Douceur Blusher - I can see a bit of a theme occuring here - ordinary looking in the pan but stunning when applied. Its a rosy pink with a bit of brown in there and because its matte I find it sculpts the face really beautifully - I'm beyond in love with this.

 Next we have two Mac products that pop up time and time again during autumn. Firstly the eyeshadow Cranberry, a shimmery berry colour that I find to be super flattering with my blue eyes. You wouldn't think it but its quite a versatile shade, it blends out well so it can be less intense or you can build it up if you really want that autumnal berry look. Another popular one from Mac is the lipstick Syrup: hands up if this is an Essie Button inspired purchase in your lipstick collection *raises hand* but the girl just doesn't let us down seriously... I bloody love this lipstick. Its a gorgeous pinky purple that is just so easy to wear and despite its lustre finish it has a good wear time too.

Lastly an indulgently delicious autumnal fragrance from my latest love, Jo Malone it has to be the Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intense. A scent that is both elegant yet sultry at the same time. This is rich and warm and perfect for those winter nights. I won't say too much more as I'm going to do a full review on this in the next few weeks.

 

QOTD: Are you ready for the change of seasons?