Beauty, Bargains and Beyond

  *I received this product for free but the opinions are my own. When we were kids me and my sisters loved to make our own perfume by collecting rose petals and putting them in a bucket of water. If I recall correctly, it never worked out very well, but we had great fun anyway. The  Kikkerland Huckleberry Make Your Own Perfume* kit comes with a bottle and atomiser lid, a mess bag and some labels. All kids need to do is pick some flowers, put them in a mesh bag, let them soak in the water filled bottle and hey presto, you have made your very own perfume. Its a tad more hi-tech than back in my day, but its great fun to do. Huckleberry is a line of toys and tools which have been designed to encourage kids to interact with the outside world. Social media and online gaming can encourage kids to stay holed up inside, stuck to their screens, rather than appreciating nature and the world around them. This great little kit allows them to appreciate and learn about flowers while creatin...

If you are looking for a cheap and cheerful stocking filler this Christmas then you should check out the Eau De Toilette fragrances from Marks & Spencer.  There are loads to choose from with the 100ml bottle costing £9.50 - £12.50 or you can pick up the discovery size fragrances which are just £5 for 30ml. If you can't decide which scent to buy, then for £5 each you can pick up a few different ones to try out. I bought the Pink Pepper which is a creamy, sweet and spicy scent which has notes of pink pepper, jasmine and vanilla. I also bought the Warm Neroli which has notes of neroli, bergamot and musk. This one is a warm, musky, citrus scent which I really like. Both are perfect for day or night and last a decent amount of time for such a bargain price. For such a great price, I am planning on buying a few more. The next ones on my wish list are White Coconut, Seasalt & Neroli and Velvet Rose.   Leigh 💜 I purchased this product with my own money

I was lucky enough to win this lovely Walden A Little Star-Dust natural perfume a while back on a blog giveaway run by the lovely Sandra over at Beauty Balm (definitely check this blog out if you love natural products).  A Little Star-Dust is a wonderful blend of Ylang Ylang, Iris and Jasmine with a touch of Amyris and Tonka Bean. The result on my skin is a sweet, creamy smoky scent that is perfect for summer evenings.  It lasts a good couple of hours on my skin, which is about normal for me. Walden Natural Perfume (named for Henry David Thoreau's book 'Walden') make their fragrances by hand in small batches using 100% natural ingredients. The  15ml  eau de parfum costs £18 and the  50ml costs £40. If you sign up to the Walden Perfumes newsletter you can get 30% off your first order.  You can also buy Walden Perfume from Love Lula . This is my first experience with a natural perfume and it won't be my last.         ...

When I was browsing in Primark recently, I noticed a stand with perfumes, hand washes and hand creams that had a bit of a Jo Malone vibe about it.  I instantly started spraying the perfumes and realised it was more than just a vibe, some of the perfumes are dupes for actual Jo Malone perfumes.  The Eau De Parfum comes in 20ml sprays for £3 and 100ml sprays for £8.  For these bargainous prices I bought 5 of the 20ml sprays to try out and I am really happy that I did.  Here's what I bought: The outer packaging is very sleek and definitely makes the perfumes look more expensive than they are.  I like the fact that the 20ml perfumes come in spray form, rather than roll-on and for £3 you can afford to pick up all of the fragrances to try out.  There was one fragrance that I didn't purchase on the day which had vanilla in the title, but I might pick that one up next time I go to Primark. Pomegranate & Black Tea - this is very similar to Jo Malone Po...

A long while ago I blogged about my current perfume collection here .  I'm not sure if I'm posting this to shame myself into using them more as I have so many, or just to have a chance to go back and smell them and remember why I bought them in the first place.  I love buying them, mostly in sales or duty free, but I don't like to have loads open at the same time so just end up having them on my shelves but never using them.  Anyway I'll post about the remainder of my collection and then if I really want to admit to my problem I'll post a photo of the box sets that are either under my bed and on top of my wardrobe (yes it really is that bad). Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Cologne 30ml - I had wanted to buy a Jo Malone Perfume for ages but whenever it came to parting with some cold hard cash I just couldn't do it.  Then I saw this one for sale on one of the swapping facebook pages and went for it and was really pleased that I did.  Its a strong ...