Juicy Couture's Eau de Parfum

I've never been a fan of Juicy Couture's - partly because its style doesn't appeal to me so much. I've always seen it a a chav-ish attempt at fashion (look at their pieces and you'll see what I mean!). Although, that being said, there are a things I do like about Juicy Couture, one of which is their Eau de Parfum below...

I was lucky enough to grab this last remaining box at the Boxing day sales for half price!

I haven't tried the Body Sorbet yet, although I assume this is another name for lotion.

The bottle of this perfume looks refreshing, different, young and bursting with the scents it contains.

It's a fun chore opening and closing the bottle top ^.^

The scent is slightly sweet, slightly musky but its main composition is a delicate blend of floral notes - reminding one of a bouquet of flowers (it's almost as if you've carefully selected every flower in the bouquet yourself). I'm not fond of florals, yet this has a more friendly approach to its floral notes...which makes it pleasant to the wearer...

The downside is I can't say I'm able to wear this perfume any time I want. It'll depend on my mood. Due to its floral notes, I'd definitely avoid this if I had a headache!

It's a wonderful, refreshing fragrance for spring (and summer), reminding one of every leaf and flower that will soon bloom under the warm rays of the sun.

If you happen to find this for a decent enough price... it's a good way to start off spring time =)

Its average price now (for 50ml) is around £46, for just the perfume alone. So for those who want to get their hands on this, I'd wait and look out for any promotions (of course there's ebay too ^.^)

Liking this distinct feature of the bottle.

P.S. The fragrance does last for a long time but might need top ups depending on the wearer as it settles to a light fine blend of notes, which I prefer much more than its top notes because it's as if only you can smell it and no one else around you can! Although, of course, this depends on how much you spray on.

The Queen of Persia

*OFFTOPIC*
DOCUMENTARY THOUGHTS...!

As this might be a sensitive topic to some, read the following first(!):

Let me begin by declaring that I have no knowledge on the Iranian Revolution - although, its history is one of the many which interests me.

So all the little knowledge that I have absorbed was from a documentary called The Queen of Persia.

For all of you who are curious about the Iranian Revolution, particularly the royal family and for those of you who already know about its history, this documentary is a personal, intriguing insight into the life of Farah Diba, who once ruled Iran alongside the Shah and was forced into exile when the revolution took place.

I feel that this documentary highlights both sides of the story - why people are for or against the Shah and his regime during the revolution. Yet, I think that because this focuses on Farah, it's more of a one sided story - and I am one of those people who always wants to gain knowledge on both sides of a story before making any conclusions!

Iranian director Nahid Persson Sarvestani manages to gain exclusive access into the Farah's life. 30 years ago, Nahid protested against the Shah; though initially she doesn't mention this to Farah. Throughout her own childhood, she always held a fascination to the royal family's lifestyle, particularly Farah, who in Nahid's eyes (as well as other poor people) had everything one could wish for. Nahid seemed to have always been curious about Farah, following her life on TV at a young age, and then online after the exile.

The documentary also lights up on Nahid's own personal life, showing how she had to take refuge in different countries as a consequence of the revolution.

Throughout the documentary, Nahid initially attempts to hide her past by not revealing to Farah she protested against her (which held some kind of suspense throughout the documentary). The first time Farah does agree to meet Nahid, I felt very curious of how Farah would be like after so many years... how would her home be like? what would she dress like? how she would speak like? I had a lot of questions...

I wanted to watch this documentary over two days, but I was soo fascinated and more curious the more I watched... that I ended up watching it till the end...!

Initially, I assumed (naturally of course!) that Nahid will end up disliking Farah because of everything that's happened in the past. Nahid ended up losing her brother after he was accused of supporting the overthrow of the Shah.

On their first meeting, Nahid asks Farah a couple of questions. From that point on, they arrange other meetings to film and manage to form a light bond of friendship. Only for that bond to be broken as Farah managed to find out about Nahid's past and starts to doubt exactly what the documentary is about and what Nahid's intentions really are. And the documentary is then put on hold.... until 6 months go by and Nahid sends Farah a trailer for the documentary she has put together so far, in hope to convince her once more that her intentions for filming her are truly genuine and there is no catch. Farah agrees to film once more and the documentary continues...

The rest of the documentary becomes more and more personal, shedding some light on different aspects of Farah's life. The camera follows her to personal and public events and we get to watch her as she is. We almost feel attached to her in some way... Even Nahid starts to get confused about where her documentary is heading at this point, as she witnesses that Farah isn't actually who she was expecting her to be. Nahid befriends Farah and starts to feel very close and comfortable with her.

We are able to see Farah mourning for her loved ones, leading a busy life as she tries to answer her fan mails, organising and attending charity events... it's almost as if everyday and every hour is filled with her having something important to do. Which was very surprising, because I assumed that for someone in exile, they would most likely live a life in hiding.

But Farah manages to divide her time in 2 countries - Paris and Washington D.C.

Like Nahid, Farah was nothing like the person I began painting a picture of before watching the documentary. She has shown herself to be a humble, generous, dignified, inspirational and a strong woman. To this day, she defends her late husband's doing vigorously maintain his image. You can feel how passionate she is about her country and just how much she misses it. At the age of over 70 years old now, I can only imagine exactly what she has been through... and that is why I am planning to read this book!

I'm also looking to read the other side of the story...but still deciding which book to get on that (any suggestions?). The book below got a lot of mixed reviews - either they were very good or really bad!

You can watch the documentary here. Or go to channel 4's website and type in 'Queen of Persia' in the search box.

Images from:

http://connect.in.com/farah-diba/images-farah-diba-farah-diba-im--1-383602067368.html

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/254158/photo201.html

http://www.shelfari.com/books/68379/An-Enduring-Love-My-Life-with-the-Shah---A-Memoir/tags

Toujours Glamour by Moschino

Toujours Glamour by Moschino is a wonderful easy going casual wear fragrance aimed at those who love citrus based scents or lily of the valley.

The top notes are (what I make out to be)...a mix of lime, lemon & strong dominant notes of lily of the valley.

After it settles, you can just about make out a jasmine scent (it would have been better if they strengthened the jasmine concentration in this perfume as jasmine usually stays for a long period of time!), a hint of bitter note lurking somewhere, cardamom spice... I think that sums up the scent of this perfume...(not particularly interesting, which is why I'd label it casual).

You would most likely need top ups for this perfume as the staying power isn't great - I'd say it'll last you 4-5 hours. I just realised it's an Eau de Toilette, so perhaps that's why!

My final verdict: Let's just say the bottle is better than the scent =P

The original perfume is better (in my opinion) but this version gives it a good spicy twist...

...Fruity, musky & bitter!

Girls Next Door on Crescent Row - featuring: Rita, Eva, Lee Lee & Carmella ... Unique, Free & Beautiful ... by Benefit !

I got this at Boxing Day's sales after wanting a collection of these for a while now. I remember testing these a long while ago and each of the fragrance always left a wonderful impression to me. So I spotted all 4 fragrances in a set and had to grab it!

However, after I bought it and smelt them again...and again...and again...I felt like I made a mistake buying these because I'm suddenly not so into the scents (strange huh? >.>)

The packaging as you can see is beautiful, very girly & arty. It's a nice present to give because of the whole presentation of it.

I'm impressed...!

Each mini bottle is 10 ml. You can't spray these on so to apply, you'd have to rub it on your wrists and apply the fragrance. These are very handy for handbags - practical and easy to open, just twist and lift its secure top and it's ready to use...

At the back of the box, there's a little story on each fragrance, which I thought was pretty cool! If you want, you can have a little bit of fun and decide which character's description fits a friend and send the relevant mini fragrance to them as a gift to see if you got it right. Though that would be a bit like russian roulette I'd say =P (haha...)

Okay, so a description of each of the scents....(I should have known they'd all have a heavy floral scent!)

Eva - To me, this is definitely the best out of the 4. It smells fresh, not too overpowering, with a good balance of floral and cologne type of scents. As part of its name mentions 'Garden Good & Eva' somehow reminds me of a garden blossoming with flowers.

Rita - This used to be the best out of the 4 on first impressions. Although...after I tried to let it settle to its middle notes...I just couldn't bear it any longer! The scents of coconut, herbal & floral don't go together for me. It gave me a headache... I found it too conflicting, too overpowering & even managed to remind me of coconut hair oil =/ (hah...)

Carmella - This smells a bit herbal to me. You can make out strong scents of caramel (herbal caramel perhaps?? If you can imagine that...) and a strong floral scent which almost attempts to mask the caramel scent. So good choice for a name - Carmella. I couldn't stand the top notes so I wasn't able to smell the rest...

Lee Lee - This is the least floral scenting bottle out of the 4. It smells fresher, lighter and reminds me a bit of cologne. I'd describe it as more of a masculine scent with a hint of distinct floral note...

To summarise...I would recommend getting this set as long as you sample each one of them properly! Let them sit on your skin for a few hours and decide then whether you love it or hate it.

I don't think it's for someone who's not into floral scents. But for those who love floral scents...this might just be the perfect combination of fragrance to opt for.

Give it a try for yourself!

Lush New Year with 212 anyone...?

With the bank holiday gone by, I think it has finally dawned on me that 2011 is here and it is now Tuesday the 4th of January!

Somehow I didn't feel 2010 has quite passed ... until this morning (is it just me?)

I normally fill in my diary the day before new year, with the exception of this year where I bought my diary only 2 days ago; and I completely forgot about any New Year's resolution (bizarrely enough!).

So I reached out for my new diary and off I began filling it out... ahhh =] the start of a new leaf... and Spring is just around the corner!

Before the VAT increase, I decided to opt for some Lush goodies I need - namely a conditioner and a free face mask!

I've decided to spend on only necessary things this year and save the pennies! =P (And no, this isn't a resolution I've made. I think for a lot of us it's a habit or skill we have to learn or develop - to be 'wise spenders').

I got an edition of the latest Lush Times, which I haven't read through yet (if you want to read it, I think there is an online version of it - check out their website).

Have you heard?

The founders of Lush got a spectacular recognition award, obtaining an OBE! This just shows how much LUSH has grown as a company, not just in the UK, but worldwide. I checked their store locations and they have a LUSH at countries you wouldn't guess, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Philippines etc.

One of the things I like about LUSH's success is that they seem to achieve success in a humble way, through launching animal cruelty campaigns, to being concerned about the environment. You can sense just how passionate they are about what they do and what they believe in.

As far as I know, I don't think LUSH uses advertising for their company. Most of their success and expansion happens through word of mouth and networking sites such as blogs or youtube etc.

All in all - it's very rare nowadays to find a decent company who tries to succeed in a humble approach...

Lush offer a free face mask for every 5 empty black pots. I've managed to collect 5 of them: 2x Retread Conditioner (my favourite conditioner), 2x Love lettuce (my favourite face mask), 1x Cupcake (which is a great face mask but not my favourite as it doesn't have exfoliating bits in it).

I exchanged it for the 'Brazened Honey' face mask. On the first trial, I found this very gentle on the skin. It has the exfoliating scrub bits which I like. It smells wonderful. And it makes one's face glow and supple soft upon washing it off. This might just be better if not as good as the Love Lettuce face mask.

And finally, a quick review on the 212 Sexy perfume by Carolina Herrera. I've been wanting to get its original version for the longest time (which comes in a white bottle). However, I avoided getting that because some reviews commented on how putrid it smells! Although I don't quite agree...

212 Sexy featured below is a twist of its original version. It smells more spicy on its top notes. I can almost make out some kind of ginger smell (??) and pepper. Frankly, I don't like the top notes but what I do like is.............the notes it settles to right after that!

It smells almost like a personal fragrance, calm and light... I make out hints of musk and vanilla.

This is a great perfume for those who don't want to be spraying themselves with over powering perfumes. To me, it's almost as if only the wearer can smell the perfume after the top notes settle down - which is another reason I described it as a personal fragrance.

Nina by Nina Ricci - A fragrance for one who loves the sweetest of things

Nina by Nina Ricci is a yummy, fresh fragrance, concentrated in apple scents. It combines very sweet blends of all the types of apples you can imagine!

Think all the kinds of green and red apples and add a hint of sweet candy-like scent...

On application, the top notes feel overpowering but immediately these sink to its natural light notes and cling on for many hours, making the need for top ups less frequent or not needed at all.

This is one fragrance that will generally be likeable by all women - particularly those who favour sweet scented scents.

I like this perfume because it suits any occasion, any mood and any age...And it avoids all the floral scents (which I'm not a huge fan of).

It almost seems to play with your olfactory senses throughout the day, which can bring one's mood up a notch =P

The mini bottle is handy for top ups. You cannot spray it on but you're able to rub it between your wrists and apply it wherever you want. One small blob of the lotion's scent lasts the entire day.

A Happy New Year to Everyone!

Just before the New Year, I got my 2 of favourite teas (Strawberry Cream & Almond Vanilla Green tea) to sip alongside a Panettone ...

They finally had the Almond Vanilla Green tea in stock! After months of constantly asking if this was in stock...I was in luck yesterday!

Patisserie Valerie had a delicious Panettone, carefully wrapped...

It goes so well with any tea =P . One of the reasons I like Panettone's is due to its light weight. It doesn't feel heavy when you eat it...so you don't feel so full or sick afterwards. It's not too sweet either. It's a wonderful treat for any time of the day.

And then...I went to watch the fireworks!

Although...Last year I managed to take much better picture than this year because I was closer to the London Eye and I had a good angle.

This time I was far off =( but nevertheless...I tried to take the best pictures I could! I had to raise my hand as high as I could...which was excruciatingly exhausting for a whole 10 minutes. Not to mention I had to hold it very still because my Canon is very poor at taking pictures in the dark >.< !

ENJOY looking through them ^.^

...and a Happy New Year to Everyone reading this post ! =)