Category: Fragrance

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] This is my second Boy Smells candle – the first was Neopeche, a luminous floral spice combination that I love. Agua De Jardin, as you can probably guess by its name, is inspired by cool and lush outdoor sanctuaries – places where you can hear smell the calming nature around you. I’ve got to…

[unpaid/sample] Writing about Valentine’s day seems to be a bit outdated now – or maybe I’ve just done it too many times – but who I am to stand in the way of a good gift, regardless of the day? There’s a great slogan sweatshirt going around that says, ‘I can buy my own flowers’,…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad]  You can enter a whole world of gemstone mythology with the Bvlgari Le Gemme collection – Snake Jasper, which is the stone that inspires the fragrance, is a protective, regenerative and calming stone that can help you be more intellectually agile and decisive amongst many other things including the treatment of snake bites.  I…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] It’s ages since I’ve seen & Other Stories but readers often recommend their fragrances and I can see why now. The first spritz of Midnight Encore is absolutely full of identifiable notes – definitely pepper (which might give you a nose twitch), definitely fresh fig leaves, definitely smooth woods and the coconut water certainly…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I don’t remember the original iteration of  Turquatic which I think was around 2011 but if ever a brand was well placed to make decent fragrance, it’s MAC. They’re part of Estee Lauder group of companies so they have fragrance noses and manufacturing at their fingertips. While this doesn’t light any major olfactory fires…

[unpaid/affiliate] I’ve seen the By Far fragrance brand several times in Selfridges and found myself very drawn to it in terms of looks but these days I don’t really want to buy my fragrance from a counter – I need some time to think and to try without having notes thrown at me or feeling…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] When I asked to be kept up to date with Marks & Spencer beauty, I didn’t expect to be sent two random fragrances as a representation of what the store has to offer. Come on, we know it’s so much more and we are ready to hear about it! But, in a case of…

Hmm, what can I say about Mira Vanilla & Praline from NaturElle? I just have to dive straight in and say that wild horses could not drag me to wear this fragrance. I have, by and large, made my peace with vanilla but I cannot wear anything that smells of cakes so it’s a very…

[unpaid/sample] I have to start sometime with festive-ish goodies because things are piling up so I thought I’d begin with one of my favourite candle and fragrance brands, Jo Loves. There’s an option to create your own ‘shot box’ by choosing three small size scented candles either for yourself or as a gift. My sample…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] Definitely off season but absolutely none the worse for it – this scented candle from Matthew Williamson is warm and earthy, shot through with sunshine notes such as bergamot and lemon. It’s fully scented my kitchen and dining room within the hour and coming in through the front door, it’s the first thing I…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] For those who don’t celebrate Christmas or don’t like obvious associated fragrances, I think that the Jo Loves Eucalyptus & Cedar Woods A Lifestyle Fragrance strikes a good balance between being wintery and embracing while only hinting at festivities. My first impression of Jo Loves Eucalyptus & Cedar Woods is freshness – it’s a…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] So much of Jo Malone London Christmas 2022 is about the packaging – snowballs and dots with frosted glass and sumptuous ribbons. I’ve noticed that the brand is doing TV advertising – we can turn the clock back only two or three years to see industry article after article on how social media advertising…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] Neom has one of the strongest gift collections that I’ve seen this season. The candle set I’m featuring is selling out or low stock everywhere I look. The brand has used the bright colours we crave to see when evenings are dark – I am not leaning into dark and moody this year –…

[unpaid/affiliate] I’m aware that I’ve got some pricy candles coming up but I was in my local M&S on Saturday and got chatting with a lady by the candle display who was extolling the virtues of an M&S candle when another lady joined us asking what the gorgeous smell was. It turned out to be…

[unpaid/sample] We are very definitely in the land of luxury here with Guerlain’s new hand soaps, but oh my, these are very tempting. I should first say that each one is housed in a glass bottle so afterwards you could fill it with anything you like (although Guerlain refills will be available any time from…