2013: SMELLING GOOD SO FAR

On today's agenda is all the beautiful smelly stuff that I was very kindly gifted for Christmas. My feelings on all of it so far is that 2013 is definitely going to be a year of smelling good! Specifically though, because if I talked about everything I that smelt nice this post would go on for too long, I'm going to be showing you the three perfumes/eau de toilettes that are being adopted as my scents for this new year. 

Elie Saab: Le Parfum

I smelt a sample of Elie Saabs's Eau de Parfum in a magazine a couple of months ago and I really did fall in love with it. It smells sophisticated without feeling too old and it's scent is strong and lasts well without being overpowering. It's almost impossible to describe scents as I really do think they're quite a personal thing. Sitting here writing this I'm sniffing the scent with a sort of exasperated look of 'AH! It smells good but defies words' sort of facial expression. This is going to be my evening perfume, not because it isn't day appropriate but because for me wearing it makes me feel quite sexy, and limiting it to the evenings somehow makes it smell even more seductive to me (and hopefully to everyone around me, haha).  The bottle is also gorgeous, so if you're a sucker for pretty packaging don't give this one a miss.

Cacharel: Lou Lou

Lou Lou is a fragrance that I feel is quite under appreciated. I was introduced to Cacharel by my father who first bought me Anais Anais which in time led me to discover it's slightly more sophisticated sister perfume. Lou Lou has quite a strong, deep scent which again isn't overpowering but isn't too delicate or 'fresh' either. It's described as 'oriental floral' and with base notes of Sandalwood, Vanilla and Incense and top notes of Jasmine, Orange, Mimosa and Tiare Lily I can see why. Lou Lou really is the perfect blend of these scents, the top notes stop the base notes being too woody and heavy but the base notes keep the top notes from being too delicately floral. This is a perfume I have repurchased a few times and will continue to repurchase (it is especially useful to note that this perfume can often be bought really cheaply in offers- mine was bought for me by my best friend Tom for just £10 in Superdrug). This will probably be my  most worn 'day scent' as although the bottle isn't the prettiest it is very sturdy and I know it can survive the war-zone that is my handbag.

The Body Shop: Atlas Mountain Rose

As much as I love musky, woody scents I'm also a sucker for Rose or Jasmine fragrances. This Body Shop  Atlas Mountain Rose Eau de Toilette is just the most gorgeous, light, girly, fresh fragrance that is a lovely contrast to my other two. Especially on days when I'm not wearing much make-up or am just feeling a little bit more girly I do like to wear a lighter, more delicate scent. Atlas Mountain Rose lasts really well, especially for an Eau de Toilette, and I do like the bottle quite a bit. I don't think I'd pop this in my handbag as readily as the Cacharel perfume but at the same time it is still sturdy enough to survive my clumsiness. Definitely worth spritzing yourself with a little bit of this next time you're in a Body Shop store, those rose lovers out there might well like this although is is very distinctly just a rose scent and smells a little bit flatter than other more complex fragrances. I'm still a fan though!

So there you have it, those are my three new scents for 2013, although we'll have to see how long they last me!

What perfumes are you loving right now?

Angelica

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SHARING SOME TV LOVE: Lena Dunam and 'Girls'

[image taken from http://www.sheknows.com]

This post is for all of you who have missed out on the HBO's television show Girls. As it is the start of a new year I feel compelled to share the good things that 2012 brought into my life and Lena Dunam, and her amazing writing and directing, is top of my share list right now.

I discovered Girls when I came home for at the beginning of December and found a film called Tiny Furniture recorded on my family's Sky+ box. My dad highly recommended it to me and I very soon found myself utterly engrossed by it. Dunham plays a recent graduate who has just moved home and the script, direction and acting are really superb. After watching the film a couple of times I then moved onto watching Girls, of which I already had quite high hopes.

Girls is also written and directed by Dunham and she also plays the main character, Hannah, who I found myself coming to like more and more as the series went on. The first couple of episodes didn't hook me in to the show as quickly as I would have liked (but I think this was just my personal reaction as other people I've spoken to were instantly enthralled by the show). However, since coming home for Christmas I've watched the entire series twice, I just can't get enough of it. The characters are flawed and they feel real, the dialogue is witty but not overdone and the relationships are touching. It's one of those shows where you start to really care about the characters and the writing never fails to entertain you either in it's humour or in it's provision of realistic and relatable scenarios.

So if you haven't already, I would highly recommend watching some of Girls, and if you like it I'd also really recommend Tiny Furniture (although it isn't quite as polished as Girls- but it is great nonetheless).

Check out the trailer for Girls Series One on youtube here (and you can read about the series on HBO's website here) and keep your eyes peeled for series two which starts on January 14th- I'm already getting excited about it!

Angelica

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NEW YEAR'S GIVEAWAY

I'm still chirping on about the New Year and am using it as my excuse for my second giveaway. I got quite a lot of L'Occitane products for Christmas (I'm having such brand love for them right now) and with two online purchases being made I just happened to get a duplicate free gift of a gorgeous travel set. As much as I adore the set, keeping both of them seems a little bit greedy of me especially as I have so many products to get through as it is. This means that I'm putting one up as a little Giveaway prize so that one of you lovelies can win at the end of the month!

As you can see it comes in a really pretty, pink bag which can be used to store the products or as a make-up or travel bag for your other toiletries. Included in the bag are the following products; Pivoine Flora Shower Gel (75ml), Almond Shower Oil (35ml), Verbena Shower Gel (50ml), L'Occitane's famous Shea Hand and Foot Creams (10ml each), Verbena Soap (25g) and two of L'Occitane Immortelle Collection- the Essential Wtaer (30ml) and the Precious Cream (15ml). 

My favourite products in this travel set have to be the Almond Shower Oil which I'm fully in love with and the Verbena products- this is a range I hadn't tried before and the citrussy scent is really gorgeous!

This giveaway is UK only (sorry to all my international followers) and the only requirements for entry are that you follow me via GFC and that you leave your email address so that I can contact you should you win! The giveaway closes on January 31st and I will be moderating entries so please do not say you have done something that you haven't as your entries will be removed.

Good luck! 

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MY 31 DAY NO-FOUNDATION CHALLENGE

Post-shower, completely make-up free!

Hello everyone, and happy New Year!

This is my first post of 2013 and I thought I'd set myself a challenge rather than some resolutions as I think I'm more likely to be successful this way! I've decided that January is going to be a foundation-free month- this means that I'm not going to wear any foundation, powder, concealer, bb cream etc. I'm still going to wear eye make-up (I don't know if I could go a month without mascara!) and lip products (and maybe a hint of blush/highlighter where I feel it is needed) but, in general, my skin is going to have a well deserved break. 

This was actually inspired by me leaving my foundation up in Leeds when I came home for Christmas. I didn't rush out to buy more and going 'bare faced' didn't really affect how I felt about myself- which surprised me! On top of this, my skin has evened out (I suffer from perpetually rosy cheeks- but they have really improved) and my pores have cleared up considerably and reduced in size. So, to continue this fortnight of good skin that I've been having I thought I would see if I could survive an entire month without any base products. 

I'm going to take photos of how I wear my other make-up throughout the month and I'm going to do weekly catch-ups to let you know how it's going and how I feel about the challenge as it progresses. I'm feeling really positive about it (but then again I don't have any significant blemishes right now, maybe that will change if I get a spot or two...) and I think it's a nice way to start a new year. 

I will of course have an arsenal of lovely (mostly natural) skin care products that will be my knights in shining armour, so this challenge is also a great way for you and I to see how well they really work. The products I'll be using daily starting from this week include:

The Body Shop's Tea Tree Exfoliator
Laid Bare's DIY Two in One Cleanser and Toner

The Body Shop's Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream (I'll use this on my t-zone in the morning)

The Body Shop's Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment (I'll use this on my t-zone in the evening)

Superdrug's Optimum PhytoCellTec Skin Renewal Eye Cream* (I use this just around my eyes, morning and night)

The Body Shop's Tea Tree Pore Minimiser (I'm going to be using this on my t-zone instead of make-up)

My routine is quite heavy on the Body Shop products (sorry about that, but I love them!) and I haven't quite worked out what moisturiser I'll be using on my cheeks (mainly in the evenings) yet, but I'll let you know what I've decided upon in the Week One Challenge Catch Up! After this month is up I may well do individual reviews of the products I've used to summarise how well they worked for me :) Until then, keep your eyes peeled for my first Catch Up post which I'll be putting up on the 8th! 

I'd love to hear about any Challenges any of you have set for yourself and your thoughts about mine! 

Angelica

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