Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

If you’ve been eyeing Phlur’s cult favorite fragrances, but your wallet says "No Can Do”, Primark has swooped in with a sweet-smelling solution. The high street giant is now offering affordable dupes that echo the vibe of Phlur’s beloved scents, but without the luxury price tag. These Primark versions capture the essence of Phlur’s minimalist, emotionally evocative fragrances, but retail for under £5, a fraction of the £25+ price tag for a full-size Phlur bottle. I love them because they are affordable and perfect for everyday wear without the guilt of spending a lot of money. They have stylish packaging with sleek bottles that look far more luxe than their price.  They are also great for layering, you can mix and match to create your own signature scent. Whether you’re a fragrance fanatic or just want something fresh for your handbag, Primark’s Phlur inspired perfumes are a savvy way to smell divine on a budget. I picked up the Whipped Cream Eau De Parfum, which costs £5 for 50ml...

I love sales as I can't resist a good bargain.  Recently I popped into Victoria's Secret to have a browse (that's what I always tell myself) and picked up some products from their Tease Dreamer fragrance range.   Now let me start by saying I'm not a big fan of the name, Dreamer by itself would have been fine.  The scent itself is lovely it just reminds me of holidays.  It's got that perfect balance of Coconut, Ocean and Sun.  Just putting it on makes me feel like I'm on my hols.  When I sprayed it to try it out I just knew I had to buy it and when I found out it was on sale I decided to buy the EDP 100ml for £20 from £59, Fragrance Mist 250ml for £7 from £22 and the rollerball 7ml for £7.50 (might have been £7) from £15.  I just couldn't resist. I think the sale is still on so if you are looking for a great summer scent check this one out it's fab. Leigh ...

I thought I would post about some of my favourite things that I'm using at the moment.  I have been a really big fan of Bath & Body Works for quite a number of years since I started visiting America in my twenties.  One of the first shops (after Sephora of course) that I got addicted to was Bath & Body Works.   I love the range of products that they have and the number of different fragrances.  I always seem to have stuck to one main fragrance over the years and initially that was Japanese Cherry Blossom which I loved but I'm a fickle person when it comes to beauty and when I first caught a whiff of Watermelon Lemonade that was it, I was hooked.  It's my absolute favourite scent from B&BW and I can't get enough of the range.  It is a summer fragrance so the whole range is in stock online at the moment here . It's such a lovely light fruity fragrance that smells fabulous, it's the perfect Summer Scent.   There are a great range of pr...

I recently picked up a couple of free sample perfume layering sets at Next.  There are 6 fragrances designed to be worn on their own or layered with each other.  I think this is a great idea and it was nice to see they were offering some free samples so that you can try it out before you commit to buying. There are at least 6 different fragrances available online and in store and I got 5 of them in the little sample kits.  The fragrances are: Aqua - described as Sparkling Ozonic & Powdery Musks Floral Rose - Rose, Jasmine & Muguet Amber Woods - Sandalwood Amber & Orris Fresh Green - Violet Leaf, Apple & Pear Citrus Zest - Bergamot, Green Tea & Lemon Sweet Fruits - Vanilla, Caramel & Cassis (this fragrance wasn't included in the sample set). There are suggestions on layering the scents on the back of the pack which is helpful, but of course you could just freestyle and try out your own combinations.  You ca...

I love to buy at least one Beauty Advent Calendar at Christmas time and one of my favourites is the Marks & Spencer Advent Calendar as it's great value (£35) and it includes products from some of my favourite brands.  I also like that it gives me an opportunity to try out new brands and one of my favourite products from the 2016 calendar was the Shay & Blue Atropa Belladonna Natural Spray Fragrance.  As well as being a generous deluxe size sample (10ml), it also smells amazing. Atropa Belladonna is Italian for beautiful lady and the fragrance itself contains Cassis Berries (top note), Jasmine, White Narcissus (heart note) and Patchouli on a base of rich bourbon vanilla (base note).  This is a deep, rich and sexy scent, but it is not overpowering. Shay & Blue fragrances are hand crafted in England using real flowers, fruits and spices. The Shay & Blue Atropa Belladonna Eau de Parfum costs £30 for 30ml  (£55 for 100ml) on the Shay ...

Gin & Tonic is the 2nd scent that I have tried from The Library of Fragrance. You can read my review of Sunshine here .  I really love this clean, fresh & crisp fragrance. It's the perfect scent for a cold winter day. It's a light, cool citrus fragrance that gives you a wonderful wake up call when you spray it on every morning. I would say this is unisex as it's not sweet or floral.  I have no idea if it's anything like a real gin & tonic, but if this scent is anything to go by I think I will have to give the drink a try. Overall Gin & Tonic is a lovely fresh fragrance that I wear on a daily basis. I have had so many compliments since I first started using Library of Fragrance Gin & Tonic Cologne Spray. The Library of Fragrance colognes can be layered to create unique fragrances and you can find out more about which scents to layer with Gin & Tonic on their website . They cost £15 for 30ml and Boots are currently doing an offer of 2 for ...

I was recently sent a bottle of The Library of Fragrance Sunshine Cologne Spray* to review.  It was really hard to choose which one I wanted to try out as there are so many that appeal to me. These are the ones that piqued my interest. Sunshine Salt Air Fresh Coconut (I hope this one evokes summer holidays) Stable (sounds weird I know, but I love the smell of horses so I am interested to see how it translates into a fragrance) Clean Skin Snow Sunshine was top of my list so I was really pleased when it arrived.  It was very appropriate as it came during the mini heatwave we recently had. Here's how Sunshine is described:   What does our Sunshine smell like? Think of your favourite, most comfortable cotton T-Shirt, warmed by the sun and summer skin, with just a hint of suntan lotion. I like the description and I really love the smell of Sunshine as it evokes memories of hot summer days.  It's fresh and warm and puts me in a good mood...