Honey from Marc Jacobs

Image from www.parfumerie.nl

We've had a rickshaw at the office and every bus seems to have the yellow and black polka dot bottle and packaging of the new Honey fragrance from Marc Jacobs, so with my love for honey fragrances, fresh citrus smells and all things to do with bees, I had to swing by John Lewis and squirt myself.

Okay it was a very hot day and the sales assistant did catch me putting some behind my ears which was a bit embarrassing but I have to say I really love it.

It's more citrus-y than overly honeyed which is a good thing as I was a little concerned it might be too sweet and cloying. Far from it - it's fresh with a subtle tang of honey. I felt I was walking a lane through fields of flours on a Greek Island.

The notes that make up the fragrance are

Top Note – Pear, Juicy Mandarin

Mid Note – Orange Blossom, Peach Nectar, Apricot, Honeysuckle

Base Note – Honey, Golden Vanilla, Smooth Woods

I want some!

Honey from Marc Jacobs, 50ml £49.50

L'Occitane Verbena fragrance for Spring

I was given a bottle of this a while back but have dug it out again as it's just such a lovely, lovely refreshing fragrance for Spring. I love this brand. The heritage, the mix of fragrances, the fact that everything about it makes me think of Province in the Summer.

The verbena is from Corsica and the scent smells of freshly picked green verbena leaves that have a wonderfully refreshing lemony scent. These have a base of geranium and lemon tree - delicious and as I say the fragrance of holidays.

Treat yourself to a bottle for Easter - much less fattening than an Easter egg....

Verbena Eau de Toilette from L'Occitane, £39.

Mahina - new fragrance from Molton Brown

We were lucky enough to be hosted (along with fellow Handpicked Media bloggers) to an evening with Molton Brown at Vanilla, London. It's the perfect venue as it's central and a blank canvas for showcasing beauty products so this certainly wasn't our first event there but I must admit the gorgeous colours of the Molton Brown bottles looked perfect in this setting.

Molton Brown is a brand we should be really proud of. English through and through you'll never find them adding anything tested on animals, they only use precious and potent ingredients and they are truly inspired by the world and all it's glories. And as someone commented on my instagram at the event - they have many imitators but no-one does it quite as well as they do...

I am now sitting here typing this and smelling the most heavenly fragrance, Mahina, which becomes a new member of the Molton Brown range of fine fragrances in January 2013. I was lucky enough to be given a sample in the goody bag and I am hooked!

This addition to the fine fragrance collection, Navigations Through Scent is named after a region of the laid back, sun-drenched island of Tahiti  - and through this scent I am almost there. The top notes are ylang-ylang and fresh orange blossom and it also fuses tiare flower, grown in abundance in Tahiti, with base notes of vanilla and cedarwood. The overall floral scent is citrussy and not sweet and as the Principal Perfumer for Molton Brown, Jennifer Jambon, explains 'Mahina is a bright, happy fragrance inspired by the idyllic white beaches of Tahiti. The blend of fresh citrus orange flower and ylang-ylang combined with the white floral heart of the tiare flower creates a beautifully balanced floral fragrance for both men and women.'

I will be investing in more because my sample will be finished by January at this rate!



Mahina is unisex and available from January for £60 (50ml)

Scent Diffusers to lift the spirits

Don't know how you are finding the weather is affecting everything you do, but one of the more unpleasant side effects of a wet summer is the fact that we don't get a chance to air our homes. My windows haven't been opened and usually I have the back door open all evening - no chance at the moment. Which means that everything is musty and fuggy in the manor....

I am lucky that for my birthday I was bought a couple of gorgeous air freshener reed kits and they have made a big difference - and added a bit of style too. The one above is a beautiful decoration in it's own right from Ashleigh & Burwood and has a wonderful moroccan spiced fragrance.

The one below is equally as good from The White Company and is a driftwood fragrance, perfect for the bedroom, to really lift the spirits...

BOOM! Big explosions with Viktor and Rolf for Spicebomb!

A new male fragrance which had us all a tweeting like mad this week launched itself onto some 40 bloggers in a car park in W1. Yes you heard right, a car park.

We were all lulled into a false sense of security over champagne at The Charlotte Street Hotel (very nice too) but were then marched round the corner by men in black to an undercover car park complete with large industrial and cranky lift and no heating.

Thank goodness we were forwarned about wrapping up. Huddled in the dark in front of a large screen we waited... and then there was a large explosion and the air was filled with tiny pieces of metallic confetti and the scent of Viktor & Rolf's new fragrance, Spicebomb.

This was not ordinary way to spend a Wednesday night but I am happy to have more of these please!
What a way to launch a fragrance, the male counterpart to Flowerbomb which I do wear as a daytime staple. The evening continued with plum cocktails with bits of floating gold was it? I'm pretty sure it was but after the third glass it all went a bit hazy. I do remember that even some of the canapes had hidden popping candy. Anyway enough of the treats and what about the fragrance? Well, and it wasn't just the alcohol talking, everyone loved it! It's the right balance of ingredients and is quite irresistable...

The bottle is definitely made for boys although the fragrance will be worn by everyone I'm sure.

I can't describe it better than they do themselves so here you go -

Spicebomb is born of the incendiary encounter between two accords with virtually opposing tones: the first is irresistibly addictive, blending a heart of incandescent spices – chilli and saffron – with the all-masculine roundness of leather and tobacco, along with the distinguished brute strength of vetiver. The second is explosive, fusing fresh zesty notes of bergamot and grapefruit, while cold spices – elemi and pink pepper –leave the mark of their icy bite.

Spicebomb is a burst of spices tamed by an enveloping freshness, a controlled surge of power.

So now you know. On sale at Harrods now and nationwide from March 7th 2012 Spicebomb by Viktor & Rolf is £45 for 50ml and £60 for 90ml.
Photos by Karen Hatch.

I can't believe that Aromatics Elixir is 40!

I really like this fragrance - my best friend wore it and my sister-in-law wore it for years (and may still do to be honest I just haven't asked her). It was what you chose when you were buying your first proper fragrance and didn't want to smell like your mum by wearing Chanel no.5. So it was a bit of a shock when a bottle came into the office to celebrate 40 years of the fragrance and everyone said 'Oh it reminds me of my mum!'

That told me then...

It still is a really nice fragrance for daytime (well I think so anyway) so here is some of it's amazing heritage as told by the brand.

'AROMATICS ELIXIR is a bracing green chypre - at once visceral and intellectual - as powerfully womanly as it is vibrantly unorthodox. Its starkly severe quality is offset by a sultry warmth. The result is complex, uncompromising, formidable.

· Top notes: a heady rush of sparklingly herbaceous verbena, coriander, clary sage and chamomile.

· Heart notes: a plush embrace of Bulgarian rose, carnal jasmine and sensual ylang-ylang.

· Base notes: a fist of patchouli, laced with oakmoss, sandalwood, lavish Florentine orris and leathery labdanum, exuding a smoky, incense-rich trail of balsamic benzoin resin and earthy vetiver.'

And in the past 10 years 19.7 million bottles have been sold so it's still pretty popular and not just amongst the older generation (which almost but not quite includes me *ahem*)...

So to celebrate they've given it a bit of an update which goes something like this..

'To celebrate AROMATICS ELIXIR’s 40^th anniversary, Clinique has commissioned a limited-edition tribute to its classic creation.

AROMATICS ELIXIR PERFUMER’S RESERVE uses cutting-edge molecular distillation technology from Grasse’s renowned Laboratoire Monique Rémy (LMR) to create a fresher, smoother, modern interpretation of Chant’s original.

· Rose, jasmine, myrrh and patchouli notes are cleaner, lighter, with a contemporary transparency.

· The addition of orange flower absolute and peach lends a creamy luminosity.

· The fragrance’s intoxicating sillage becomes tender, subdued - a whisper rather than a shout.'

Sounds cool - look out for it nationwide from October 7th or buy online from Clinique.

J'Adore - the latest film where Charlize Theron looks STUPIDLY beautiful!

It's almost impossible not to find fault with this film. It has the Hollywood glamour of a by-gone age brought to life with vignettes of Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, and Grace Kelly interspersed with all the glitter of a back-stage fantasy at a Dior show. Chalize Theron looks absolutely amazing - and I mean amazing... Although J'Adore has been around for years and is a fragrance many will associate with another generation, this type of advertising works as well today as it always has done. In a time when we are all suffering from 'advertising fatigue' I was sold hook, line and sinker because if I wear this fragrance I will become one of these women... definitely!