Review: Crabtree & Evelyn Soaps

I have been using Lush soaps for the longest time now - has it been more than 2 years?! I believe so. I wanted to try out new soaps for a change, not that I'm tired of Lush (Lush is great!). I headed to Crabtree & Evelyn to find out what impression their soaps would leave me with. They're known for luxury pampering bath and body products and they also have oils for oil burners and diffusers.

These are the first products I have bought from the shop. Here's my review (apologies the pictures are quite dark, I didn't have enough light):

From left to right: Pomegranate Soap with Argan & Grapeseed Oil and Lime Glycerine Soap

First impressions
The Pomegranate soap smells wonderful, fruity, light and refreshing. The shop assistant allowed me to trial its lotion on my hands and that was when I decided, out of all the soaps, this is my first choice.

The Result
This lathers up very well. I liked this and I felt that one of the things some Lush soaps lack in, is the fact that they don't lather up so much, which is a shame because they have so many nice soaps!
The scent is amazing. Although overall I have to say I was disappointed it didn't last long. I want a soap that will leave me with a lasting impression and one that lingers on one's skin for hours. This didn't make that mark. I wouldn't say I don't recommend this as soaps work differently on each of our skins. For those of you who do end up trying it and finding out its scent stays on your skin for longer, you're the lucky ones because it smells divine!

So I'll give it a 5/10 rating purely based on its result.

First Impressions
It was so many years back since I tried a Glycerine soap and it was for this reason I wanted one. Having smelt all the glycerine soaps instore, this Lime soap reminded me of a scent many years back. I still can't quite remember where I smelt it but the oddest thing is, it leaves me with a happy feeling. And that was when I decided I'll get this soap.

The Result
The scent is the main thing I like about this soap. It also lathers up well. Though again, the after-effect of this soap didn't impress me, so if I were to get this soap again, it'll be purely for its scent. My rating for this would also have to be 5/10 based on its result only.

Success and Tea

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all well reading this post. I have been very busy lately and could not get around to signing in on blogger since my last post. But I will try to blog more often - so apologies for my late post and my lack of comments and visits on your blogs. I will try my best to fix my timetable so that I can have some 'me' time, which includes blogging and reading all of your blogs.

With university over with, like a lot of graduates, I have been considering the paths I want to take and it is proving very tricky. The fact that there are so many opportunities out there can be confusing, but I have narrowed down my fields of interests. There is also an option to do a Master's degree, a PHD (no thanks!) and professional qualifications... or maybe just dive in and apply for jobs. So it is a tough choice and I'm curious to see where my fate will take me! It's not that I haven't thought about where I want to end up over the years. I did. But time passes by so quickly, before you know it you have to take the next leap... -.-

Anyway, since my last blog post, I passed my driving test (at long last...) ! =D As a gift, I was given these macaroons from PAULs to celebrate the success on the same day.




Last week I visited Laduree and got this Thé Jardin Bleu Royal to unwind during my stressful schedule. It's a herbal tea and smells/tastes delightful - perfect for before bedtimes or as an afternoon tea break.

30 mosques in 30 days

I stumbled onto this article on the BBC and found it thrilling and interesting.

30 mosques in 30 days, as the name suggests, is about 2 young men who embark on a road trip in America, visiting 30 mosques in 30 days during ramadhan.
They blog about each day here. I have briefly looked at it and will be reading their blog. Do check it out!
They write about their experiences, such as the people they have encountered, the mosque they visited etc.
What I learnt and found incredible was the fact that they started their blog 3 years ago and managed to make the whole '30 mosques in 30 days' possible, resulting in inspiring people to embark on their own journeys too; 2 of them also have their own blogs:

Pinkmosques.com - by 3 Muslimas in Indonesia

30 Masjids - by Himy Syed in Canada


Source

The Radley Gracefield Bag

I got this cute handbag as one of my Eid presents and I thought I should blog about it. It's my first Radley handbag (and product) and its name accompanies it very well - 'Gracefield' - it does look very feminine and chic!

I am impressed with the quality of the bag. The stitching is perfect (I am very fussy when it comes to that, that is at least when I am spending for something expensive. It's only reasonable to expect the stitching to be perfect in that case!), the leather is beautiful. You might find that some Radley bags have a more finer/thinner leather. I usually don't like this because I can be very clumsy and I want to know that my bag will survive scratches and discolouration, so when I felt the tough leather on this bag, I was well pleased.

For those of you who want to find out more about this bag, the official link is here.

What I like about this bag are the following ....
- it looks chic chic chic, which means I can wear it to any occasion. You can carry it on your shoulder or detach the strap to carry it as a handbag rather than a shoulder bag. This type of feature in a bag usually attracts me because I can convert it from a casual bag to a more formal one. With large bags this might not work so well...
- I like its deep brown colour. They called it 'Chimney Brown'. Other available colours are Black and Prussian Blue. I wanted the brown one the most because it's perfect for autumn and you can see all its details very well.
- It's surprisingly spacious ! I have to say, I was surprised which how much I was able to fit in. I do prefer larger bags although nowadays I opt for medium sized bags because they're more practical for me. And if all my things fit in the bag, then hey, why not? =P
- The dog tag attached to it is cute and adds that extra cuteness to the bag.

I was told this was the last bag on the shelf in this colour. I'm not surprised.

{This is the same bag I brought with me to the theatre to watch Richard III, starring Kevin Spacey and Maureen Anderman. The performances were thrilling! =D The only thing that was lacking was my understanding of the Shakespearean dialogue. I have never read Richard III before the show, so it was a challenge analysing every line for almost 3 hours, but of course, it was so much fun too!}

I leave you with pictures of this beautiful bag! ^.^

It came with a key chain too!

These type of wrapping paper are my favourite. They remind me of the likes of Penhaligon and Laduree.