Beautifinous.

Everyone! It's hot in the UK! Isn't that fantastic!? I really hope that you're all staying hydrated. Today's post though isn't going to be focusing on that though, but it will be focusing on keeping your skin hydrated. In addition, there was a wee holiday that happened over the weekend (Father's Day, I'm looking at you), and there is an item I was hoping to review for you in time for it. Alas, it didn't arrive on time, but I'm still going to be reviewing it for the men out there or for the men in your life anyway (if you fancy treating them)!

Crabtree & Evelyn Florentine Freesia Body Lotion

I recently reviewed the La Source collection by Crabtree & Evelyn that is perfect for summer, and today I bring you two more items that are also great for summer. The Florentine Freesia Body Lotion and the Moroccan Myrrh Cologne for men are two different but equally exciting items. I'll begin by explaining them briefly and then I'll jump into more depth afterwards. Info on where to purchase both items is at the end of the post.

The Florentine Freesia Body Lotion is a limited edition body lotion from the Heritage collection. The Heritage collection is based around three different flowers: Freesia, Violet and Jasmine. Each flower has a number of products that are scented with their corresponding flower. The Florentine Freesia items are scented with freesia, orange, pear and amber and come as the Body Lotion we're looking at today as well as the Bath and Shower Gel, Hand Therapy, Flower Water and Body Cream.

The Moroccan Myrrh Cologne is a fresh yet spicy composition for men that comes in a 100ml bottle size only. I can only describe it as being perfect for summer if you're the type of guy/your recipient is the type of guy who likes a bit of spice and zest.

Crabtree & Evelyn La Source

and the Hydra Marine Nourishing Oil. Today I have three products from the collection to show you, including the new Eau de La Source EDT. Alongside that, I have the Miracle Moisturising Hand Scrub and the Overnight Hand Therapy Cream.

"We’ve created this range to smell like the real deal. The refreshing scent of crisp, fresh mint is blended with a twist of freshly squeezed lime to invigorate your senses. This zingy body cocktail is perfectly complimented by crisp and cooling textures. Serving up everything from frosty body sorbets to cool body splashes, this Limited Edition range is sure to inject hot summer days with an icy blast of invigoration, and will leave skin feeling summer-ready long after the sun goes down.” (Source: The Body Shop Press Release)

The Body Shop are soon to be introducing a new collection of products to their already vast selection: the Fuji Green Tea range.

It is inspired by the use of green tea in bathing to detoxify the skin, something that Japanese women have been doing for generations.
"We all know that green tea has antioxidant qualities. With its detoxifying health benefits, green tea has been revered for over 400 years in social and cultural activities, including the Japanese Tea Ceremony.

But did you know that some Japanese women apply it to their skin and bathe in it? It’s a skincare secret that’s been part of beauty regimes for generations, believed to help retain moisture and tighten pores.

We’ve taken this knowledge a step further, creating Fuji Green Tea™ range, the first body range infused with real green tea leaves and their benefits. We’ve been picky though, quite literally. Our green tea comes from the heartland of Japan, the pristine Mount Fuji region. Here, our experts hand-pick the finest shoots to capture the potent antioxidant power. We infuse this in to our range to replenish and refresh with pure moisture for healthier-feeling skin." (Source - The Body Shop  Fuji Green Tea range press release)

Click read more to see the range!

The Discovery Club by The Fragrance Shop is a UK based beauty box that is usually made up of five-six perfume samples and one or two aftershave samples (this can vary from box to box).

Included within the box is also an information booklet that provides info on each of the fragrances and also contains money off vouchers for each of the perfumes included if you decide to purchase a full size bottle. You usually receive £5 off each fragrance but occasionally you receive a £10 off voucher!

Birchbox is a monthly beauty box that includes 5-6 deluxe samples of beauty and lifestyle products that are tailored to you.

You get to discover new products and test them out in the comfort of your own home with no pressure to buy the full product if you don’t like it! However, if you do enjoy it, you can purchase the full sizes from the Birchbox store with the most recent month’s brands being available with free delivery (min. £10 spend)!

The theme of the March Birchbox is 'Do Try This At Home,' and Birchbox have therefore collaborated with homeware store Habitat. The in-box tips are based upon spring-cleaning your every day and inside there is also a 20% off voucher for Habitat.

Here is what arrived in my box this month:

The Discovery Club by The Fragrance Shop is a UK based beauty box that is usually made up of five perfume samples and one or two aftershave samples (this can vary from box to box).

Included within the box is also an information booklet that provides info on each of the fragrances and also contains money off vouchers for each of the perfumes included if you decide to purchase a full size bottle. You usually receive £5 off each fragrance but occasionally you receive a £10 off voucher!


It is delivered each quarter and only costs £5 per box, £10 for a 2 box, 6 month subscription or £20 for the year.

This latest Discovery Club box has been boosted with a total of ten samples for the festive season, seven for women and three for men, as well as a miniature perfume to celebrate two years of the Discovery Club!

The 2014 Winter box is also themed around the classics.

Birchbox is a monthly beauty box that includes 5-6 deluxe samples of beauty and lifestyle products that are tailored to you.

You get to discover new products and test them out in the comfort of your own home with no pressure to buy the full product if you don’t like it! However, if you do enjoy it, you can purchase the full sizes from the Birchbox store with the most recent month’s brands being available with free delivery (min. £10 spend)! 



The theme of this box is 'Cosy at Home,' which is precisely what we all crave around this time of year. I also think that they've pretty much got the products spot on for the theme, so kudos to Birchbox!

Along with this, this box contains two full-size products, so it really feels like a treat. For example, for £12 (the price of the box + delivery), I received a full-size product worth £32 and another worth £11.95. 

When it comes to Christmas, beauty gifts are a very common choice, and why not? Everybody loves a bit of pampering!



However, it can be overwhelming when trying to choose the perfect beauty gift. There is so much to choose from which in itself can make a decision difficult, but then there may also be restrictions such as skin types, personal preferences and budget restrictions. Will the product be suitable for dry skin? Will somebody who loves gourmand fragrances enjoy this one? Can I afford it?

What starts off as a simple job can simply make you want to bash your head against a wall - why can’t it just be a little simpler?

Well hopefully this post can help you out. I’ve come up with a list of a whole range of Christmas beauty gift ideas just for you! From fragrance to makeup, skincare to body care. I have also included some extra bits for money saving purposes at the end because let’s admit it, who doesn’t like saving some extra pennies? Hopefully somewhere upon this page will be the perfect gift or the spark of inspiration that you need to find it elsewhere. 

Let’s make somebody’s Christmas!

Avon is a brand that releases an entire array of fragrances each year. However, with people primarily purchasing these fragrances via brochures, it can be difficult to truly get an idea about what each of the scents are like. Also, let’s be honest, rubbing your wrist on a page can only take you so far on the journey of experiencing a perfume.

I’ve decided to type up this post as a way of finding out a bit more information about some of the fragrances which I personally think are worth checking out. With such a wide choice to chose from it can be a little overwhelming, so hopefully what is featured here could help you to find a scent that you will enjoy!  

If you are interested in purchasing a fragrance from Avon and aren’t keen on “blind buying” or making a decision based upon what limited information can be featured on a page of a brochure, I highly recommend asking a rep for a sample. This enables you to get a feel for your chosen perfume and to make a more informed decision upon whether you really want to buy it.

The Discovery Club by The Fragrance Shop is a UK based beauty box made up of five perfume samples and two aftershave samples (this can vary from box to box).

Included within the box is also an information booklet that provides info on each of the fragrances and also contains money off vouchers for each of the perfumes included if you decide to purchase a full size bottle. You usually receive £5 off each fragrance but occasionally you receive a £10 off voucher!



It is delivered each quarter and only costs £5 per box or £20 for the year.

The Discovery Club by The Fragrance Shop is a UK based beauty box made up of five perfume samples and two aftershave samples (this can vary from box to box).



Included within the box is also an information booklet that provides info on each of the fragrances and also contains money off vouchers for each of the perfumes included if you decide to purchase a full size bottle. You usually receive £5 off each fragrance but occasionally you receive a £10 off voucher!





It is delivered each quarter and only costs £5 per box or £20 for the year.

If you type 'Best Summer Perfumes' into Google you will find a whole collection of 'Top 10 sizzling perfumes that you HAVE to try!' type of articles from all of the top magazines. Nine times out of ten these articles show the same fragrances and they all conveniently happen to be new releases. How can you be sure that these are real recommendations and not part of advertising campaigns? I don't think you ever really can be. Therefore, I have spoken to a group of self-proclaimed fragrance fanatics to provide their honest thoughts and opinions on the best summer scents and discovered what they will be wearing over the warmer months. 

Endless Euphoria is the latest perfume release from Calvin Klein. It is a flanker of 2005’s Euphoria and it is categorised as a fruity floral in comparison to Euphoria’s oriental floral/exotic fruity floral.




Euphoria features top notes of pomegranate and persimmon with a heart of lotus and black orchid. The base is a combination of mahogany, black violet and amber. 

Endless Euphoria features top notes of orange, bergamot and cherry blossom. The heart is made up of rose, violet and syringa and it is rounded off with a base consisting of bamboo, sandalwood and musk.





But which one is better?

To help me out with this decision, I called upon the biggest Calvin Klein fragrance fan that I could think of: my mother.

My mum loves CK perfumes. Whenever there is a new release she will be instantly drawn to it over anything else.  However, even though she loves herself a CK perfume, she will still be unashamedly honest and blunt in regards to her thoughts and feelings on each scent. There wasn't anybody else better to ask, plus she got really excited when I proposed the idea to her.

A couple of weeks back I wrote a list for Winter/Spring transitional fragrances. This time I am here with a list of spring perfumes within a wide price range to get you through the season! From low-in-price celebfumes (I just came up with that! Awesome, huh!? Yet again, someone may have already invented that word and if so then I apologise) to your high end designers, there should be a scent on this list suitable to everyone.



If you haven’t read my previous list then I highly recommend that you do. Any perfume marked with an ’S’ or ‘B’ are just as suitable as the ones listed on this list! I haven’t re-listed them because this way gives you more of a choice.

Let’s kick start the list!

The Discovery Club by The Fragrance Shop is a UK based beauty box made up of five perfume samples and two aftershave samples (this can vary from box to box).

Included within the box is also a booklet containing money off vouchers for each of the perfumes in the box if you decide to purchase a full size bottle.

It is delivered each quarter and only costs £5 per box!


When testing a new perfume you really need to be able to try the product on your skin. By doing this, you allow the perfume to mix with your skin chemistry and show you its true fragrance. Simply spraying perfume on a card in a shop will never give you the full picture. Samples are the best way to get a taste of what a perfume has to offer.

The Discovery Club is fantastic because it sends the samples straight to you without you having to hunt them down! Alongside this, they send you the latest releases for each season so you can keep on top of what's new.

Happy Spring Equinox everybody! It is officially spring!

Well, supposedly.

Let’s be truthful here; officially it is spring, but the weather can’t ever make up its mind (here in the UK, anyway). One day it will be spring, the next it’s like we’re back in winter.

This kind of issue creates all sorts of problems: What shoes to wear? It’s too hot for boots now, but too cold for sandals. What clothes to wear? Can we scrap the thick tights yet? Coat or no coat?

SO MANY PROBLEMS!

Not to fear!

I am here to try to help with at least one of those issues - PERFUME.