Tuesday 24 July 2012

The Evolution Of Fragrance: Back To Its Floral Roots!


Every action provokes a reaction, a fact that is seldom truer than in the fickle world of fragrance.

Our senses are both subjective and sensitive, so to overload them is never going to make them very happy and it seems that the fragrance-wearing population has said enough is enough to all the fruity, floral scents that currently dominate the fragrance world.

While i may love them, for others these saccharine scents appear to be  giving some of us toothache!

Because of this, an opening has been created for serious, sophisticated and complex scents. 

Actress Rita Hayworth with a collection of fragrances
 
Hurrah I hear you cry!

Now days It’s not enough to simply glue a label onto a bottle alluding to its integrity, people want to know that the best ingredients have been sourced to create an intricate and beautifully structured accord.

‘Accord’ How posh, go me!

Elegant, expensive ingredients smell precisely that, and right now the general mood is for the juiciest, darkest and most intense notes.

They are sophisticated, substantial and seductive.

There has been a massive resurgence of white flower scents in the last couple of years: tuberose, gardenia, orange blossom, jasmine and lily of the valley.

Lily of the Valley

Indeed, I had Lily of the valley in my wedding bouquet and it smells divine!

They might sound old fashioned, but they are, in fact, the grandes dames of perfumery.

They’ve been around, they’ve seen it all and they have the power to give authority and old-world elegance to an accord.

A recent addition to Tom Ford’s Private Blend line, Jasmin Rouge, is a fab example of such a fragrance, which is essentially an interpretation of the modern white flowers. 


Ford took time to source sambac jasmine sepals absolute, a rarely used jasmine derivative, which has the sweetest, most heady scent.

Combined with sage, the jasmine takes on a spellbinding dimension.

Tom Ford isn’t the only one!

Valentino has taken its existing Valentina scent and created the Assoluto, concentrating the white flower accord at the fragrance’s heart (tuberose, orange flower, jasmine) and adding to it a more classic chypre base.

Instantly, this fragrance takes the Valentino wearer from girl to woman.

The other old school floral star of this new generation is Rose. 


The current trend is for darker, velvety rose or antique rose, worlds away from some of it’s competitiors.

Givenchy’s new Dahlia Noir is a perfect example of this.


 Using the deepest red roses and combing them with iris and mimosa the perfume is reminiscent of the mythical flower, the black dahlia.

Givenchy’s Creative Director, Riccardo Tisci, describes it as

“a fragrance crafted like a couture gown’’

Who knew so much went into fragrance creation eh!

Dior has also looked to the darker side of the rose for its latest addition to La Collection Privée Christian Dior: Ambre Nuit. 

 
Turkish rose essence was sourced and then “donned in evening wear” by being combined with amber.

In an age in which so many things in life are disposable and replaceable, there is something very rare and dare I say it, beautiful about this return to the ‘old school’ way of creating timeless fragrances. 

*This is a Sponsored Post
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Wednesday 18 July 2012

The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream



Ladies and gents, meet the latest BB Cream offering on the market from The Body Shop

The Body Shop’s All-In-One BB Cream possesses a lightweight formula that provides 24 hour hydration and colour adapts to your skin for a perfect match and smooth finish.



 The innovative formula features pigment filled capsules that burst when applied to the skin, releasing the colour inside.


Despite knowing about the ‘innovative formula’ I still found myself surprised when I squeezed some of the product out on my hand and saw that it was white in colour.


‘what the frick!’ I thought

‘I know I’m pale, but c’mon!’



It wasn’t until I began to rub the cream into my hand that I saw the transformation.


With each stroke of my fingers the cream gradually changed colour.


From a speckled white it turned into a pale flesh colour before finishing up as a gorgeously light, skin tones shade!


Non greasy yet moisturising, the cream felt light on my skin and offered a medium range of coverage.

Available from August the cream comes in 3 shades and retails at £12.
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Monday 16 July 2012

DreamWeave Mascara Giveaway!



You may remember my post several months ago about the amazing mascara I had found called DreamWeave.

In the flick of a wand it transformed my lashes from thin and stumpy to long and luscious. 



 Well, the lovely guys over at DreamWeave have kindly offered my readers the chance to win 1 of 12 mascaras worth £6 each with my giveaway, so you too can have the chance to experience it's magic too!


To enter simply fill in the form below!



The competition is open Internationally and closes on Monday 13th August.
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dr.organic Aloe Vera Shampoo & Conditioner


I rarely write posts about shampoos as I find there is often little I can say about them.

Then I came across this shampoo & conditioner by dr.organic.
I’d seen dr.organic products in Holland & Barrett before but never thought about trying them, then last week there was a ‘Buy one get 1 half price’ offer so in thought I’d give them a try.
 
I loved the fact that the ingredients were organic, free from harsh chemicals and that none of the products have been tested on animals.

 I opted for the Aloe Vera range based on my knowledge of its soothing properties to help calm sensitive, delicate and dry skin.

I bought it online so I wasn’t able to allow my nose to make the decision over which product to buy (which is usually what happens) and I was excited to see what it would be like.

 
I was beyond impressed.

The shampoo and conditioner had a very subtle, fruity and ever so slightly citrus aroma.

Despite being SLS and paraben free, the shampoo lathered up deliciously, leaving my squeaky clean hair.

To be honest, I didn’t expect much from the conditioner. I usually buy super strength stuff to tame and repair my long hair but I was pleasantly surprised.
 

Despite feeling quite watery and thin is comparison to my usual thick conditioner, it worked wonders.

Once blow dried, my hair felt light, smelt fresh and was extremely shiny- I even found that I didn’t have to straighten my hair to get the usual level of shine which was impressive!


At £5.39 each these aren’t horribly expensive and I am now well and truly hooked!

You can grab your dr.organic products from Holland & Barrett.
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Thursday 12 July 2012

Fabulicious Beauty


For the past few weeks I have been locked away in my little kitchen, experimenting, designing and creating my own mini range of beauty products and now I need your help!

I can’t say much more for the moment, but I am looking for a number of people to try out my home made, organic  body butters and lip balms.

 
Available in a wide range of fragrances and flavours, my butters and balms are 100% organic, contain a host of wonderful, beneficial ingredients  including Avocado Butter, Shea Butter, Apricot Kernel Oil and vitamin E and are all made with love.

I am looking for people to test out a sample of my lip balms ( 6ml Tester size £1.50) and my body butters (50ml Tester size £2.50) and fill in a brief questionnaire online letting me know what you liked and disliked about the product.


UPDATE:

Due to the overwhelming response from you wonderful peeps, I am currently unable to take any more orders.

HUGE thanks to everyone who has shown an interest and placed an order, I aim to get these out to you by the mid-end of next week.

If you missed out this time, fear not, there's more to come from Fabulicious Beauty very soon!

 

Below you can find a small selection of the different fragrances and flavours you can choose from!


Body Butter

Sweet Vanilla
Bakewell Tart
Cookies &Cream
Apples & Pears
Milk, Oat & Honey
Orange Sherbert


Lip Balm

Pear Drops
Creme Caramel
Key Lime Pie
Toffee Apple
Ice Cream Soda
Amaretto
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Wednesday 11 July 2012

STOOSHE!


Stooshe ‘Who she’? I hear you ask.

How very dare you! 


Stooshe are the new girl band on the block, but boy are this girl band different!

Fresh from supporting the one and only Nicki Minaj on her UK tour, this trio are the epitome of cool

and their music ‘aint half bad either!

So, what exactly does ‘Stooshe’ mean and what makes these girls tick?



 Ladies! How did you come up with the name ‘Stooshe’ and what does it mean?

Well we're from South London where the word 'Stoosh' is used quite often. 

We loved the word but didn’t like the meaning (type it into google guys!), so we researched it and found out it also means a lot of other things, like ‘expensive’, ‘hidden away’, ‘a mystery’.... and we loved the contrast of meanings, so we just added the 'she' on the end for girl power :) 


How would you describe your fabulous style and sound?

 Our style is heavily influenced by Motown, but it is still current and fresh so we call it 'Newtown' lol!

The album is so eclectic and it has a lot of different genres and styles on there as we love to experiment, but there is definitely a running theme of Newtown.



You rock some great looks- have you always had the confidence to look so unique?

Thank you! We have always been quite confident in the way we dress but Stooshe allows us to push all boundaries and have a lot of fun with the fashion world.

We wear bright colours, out there pieces, and we just have fun with it!

We are 3 very different characters, I’m (Karis) very girlie, Court is really quirky and Alex is very glam, and even if we wear the same thing, it looks totally different on all of us because we wear it differently, have totally different hairstyles and make up styles etc.




Alex (top left) Courtney (top right) & Karis (bottom) 

How did it feel to work with Gym Class Hero’s star and Katy Perry’s ex, Travie McCoy on your single Love Me?

It was amazing!!! he is so lovely one of the most humble celebs we've met and worked with. 

He's a label mate too so it was nice to keep it in the family haha!

Travie with the girls!

  
Ok, so,  what’s in your make up bag today?

I’ve always got my whole make up bag with me lol! i carry my foundation, my eye products, my HD Brow kit, my glosses, and a nice blush with me too. You never know when you’re going to need a top up!

The girls with Nicki Minaj


Can you share with us one of your top secret beauty tips?

Everyone gets tired and in this business you don’t get a lot of sleep so we have little tricks to keep us looking awake!

 I use a light concealer under my eye to get rid of any bags, then I use a metallic gold eye shadow in the inside corners of my eyes to make them look a bit more open. I love it! 


 What Make up brands do you love?

I love MAC, I use a lot of their products and I have done for years.

 I also love my HD brow eyebrow palette, 

  
Do you have a beauty Icon?

I love Lana del Rey and Marilyn Monroe, i love their make-up style its very old school and girlie and they use a lot of contour which I love! 

 

What was the best beauty advice you have ever been given?

My make- up artist always tells me to look after my skin and it’s important to prep your skin for make up by using a good face cream and primer.

You may not think it but it makes a big difference.


Black Heart by StooShe is currently number 4 in the iTunes chart and their debut album is set to be released in September this year!

For more info on the girls head over to their website HERE.



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Tuesday 10 July 2012

Benefit bella bamba

The other week you may remember I told you about Benefit’s new Ultra Plush Glosses- 6 stunning lip glosses whose shades compliment their best selling box o’powders.



Well, they’re here and i tried out the bella bamba duo.


I must admit, id not tried to bella bamba blush box (£23.50) before  but i really liked it.


The brightening, pink face powder is laced with shimmering gold undertones that work to make the powder  look more 3D, allowing you to sculpt and hi-light your features.
 

It may look relatively dark in the box, but when applied to the skin is it a far more delicate, pink colour.


I loved the bella bamba ultra plush lip gloss (£13.50)
   

The sheer, bright watermelon gloss smells divine and slides onto your lips like silk.

bella bamba gloss swatched

 Not overly sticky, I love the combination of vivid colour and rich moisture.
 
bella bamba distributed evenly

I couldn’t get over the smell too, so fruity and delicious, if only it was edible!

The Benefit box o’powders and their ultra plush glosses are available now from Benefit.
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