My Fragrance Collection and Favourites!

As some of you wanted to see my fragrance collection I decided to do a blogpost and share some of my beloved perfumes. I love perfumes, and personally I think life would be dull and inexpressive without them. This collection took me years to put together. My oldest fragrance is the Chanel No5, it's probably about seven or eight years old. I use it really sparingly, it's a timeless and classic scent, which I probably wear only a few times a year, predominantly during winter. Generally I love sensual and strong fragrance, full of character and flirtation, with Jasmine and Patchouli notes. When I smell a fragrance I want to be picked up by a tantalising and decadent sensation. Sometimes I don't wear a fragrance for months and then suddenly I start craving it. If I had to pick top five fragrances that I love wearing most they would be:

Chanel Coco - I have almost finished this one, but I only wear it during winter!

Tom Ford Noir de Noir - the sexiest and also the most expensive in my collection.

Tom Ford Grey Vetiver - if a fragrance would be a man, this would be the love of my life. Click here for a full review!

Elie Saab Le Parfum - this is probably the most feminine and pretty smelling fragrance. Click here for a full review!

Reem Acra Reem Acra - Reem Acra is a designer of beautiful wedding dresses and this is her first fragrance, with a middle eastern accent to reflect her roots. Click here for a full review!

There is something about all of them that makes me feel very happy when I smell them on my skin, some sort of chemical reaction that gives me an endorphins rush... They all are Eau de Parfum, the only Eau de Toilette fragrance I own is the YSL Cinema [for a full review click here!], which I almost emptied within a month because Eau de Toilette doesn't last on me. It is a gorgeous and glamorous Hollywood inspired scent. It's a perfect summer scent, I actually purchased it last summer!

LOVE

Elie Saab Le Parfum Scented Body Lotion...

Having recently fallen in love with the Elie Saab Le Parfum eau de parfum, which I suggest you read my review for if you haven't already, I am very happy to also have the Scented Body Lotion joining my nightstand... Not that I am suggesting to wear this fabulously scented body lotion to bed... But I tend to keep fragrances, body lotions, and hand creams I am currently obsessed with on my nightstand... First of all the packaging is beautiful! Usually the fragrance lotions come in some simple looking sad little tube, but this 200ml bottle is stunning enough to become part of your décor, which is rather great when you have a soft spot for decadence... 

Also I have never come across a body lotion that smells exactly like the fragrance! It's amazing... And the main reason I wouldn't wear this body lotion to bed is purely due to it's way too sexy to be able to fall asleep on your own, Mr Barney [my cat] doesn't count... Wearing Elie Saab Le Parfum, sleep will be the last thing on your mind... Layering the same scented body lotion with the fragrance makes it last even longer... It's great for a worthy date, apply this body lotion after a bath and finish of with the fragrance, this will give you the softest and most irresistible skin... The guy will be at your feet, trust me on that one!

LOVE

Loving Right Now...

I was going to round up October with the things I'm loving right now but I was on a tight schedule, so here they are starting off November, shall we...

First of all, I decided to include a book, a best-seller I got last month and have really enjoyed reading... It's by Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist and winner of 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences... The book is called Thinking, Fast and Slow... It's a fantastic book, but also pretty intense in terms of being densely packed with info, you actually need to think a lot when reading it... But it's not written for scientists, it's still readable and actually pretty fun... I had to take a break half way through though, and friends of mine who also were reading it said it's one of the best books they have ever read but also took breaks... Let me just say that reading Vogue after Thinking, Fast and Slow becomes a totally different experience... Nuff said... 

That little beaded Matreshka [aka Russian doll] bracelet I have been wearing non stop through October, you can actually see it in most of my look pics, I got it at River Island for like three quid but I love wearing it with my chunky gold Michael Kors watch, it adds a nice little fun element... Elie Saab, if you read my blog frequently you will know how much I have been enjoying this beautifully sensual fragrance lately, if not check out these features: The Search for the Perfect Fragrance... + Fragrance & Journalism: Each to their Own...

The other two new additions are Deborah Lippmann Forget You glitter nail lacquer, which I have used to create my Halloween inspired nails, you can check it out by clicking here... It's such a fun and festive shade, which is also just perfect for the party season coming up! It's part of the current line and makes a great stocking-filler, if you want to fill up your Christmas stocking with it it's available exclusively at House of Fraser Stores... And the other addition is Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Busy Signal, which is a very pretty chocolate bronze... Makes blue eyes pop! A warm autumnal look coming soon...

And finally two lip products as this is the season for being good to your lips! I have been using Nuxe Nutri-Protecting Lip Care... It's a flattering nude, my lips but better shade - for more info and swatches just click here... And last but by no means least, when I was going through my handbag collection I found Cowshed Lippy Cow Natural Lip Balm... It was a happy occasion as it was gone missing for a while and I had no idea where it was... Some of the ingredients are essential oils of linden blossom, rose geranium and ylang ylang... It doesn't last much on the lips as it's very light and liquid but I am absolutely addicted to the scent and taste, it shoots me right back to the beautiful snowed in Cowshed weekend, the crackling fireplace, the stunning landscape...  

Few years ago I stayed at the award-wining Babington House where the Cowshed Spa was at, in Gloucestershire... I had a few great treatments done, my favourite was the mud treatment... The Mud Room is specifically designed for this treatment, I was provided with I think four or five different types of mud, each of them was intended for a specific part of your body, so I got all muddy and sat there drinking water, then it got steamy and the automated shower went on... And then you put on the proper lux heavy hooded-bathrobe and sit in front of the fire having a cup of tea... Uhh heavily! I was left feeling super relaxed after that treatment, not to mention the super smooth baby skin... Anyways on each trip to the Spa I was stocking up on the products, I still have the hand cream, and few of the massaging oils, they all have a lovely natural herbal scent... And that's how I discovered Cowshed...

LOVE

The Search for the Perfect Fragrance...

For the last month or so I have been searching for the perfect a/w fragrance... That deep, tasteful, sensual scent that makes you go weak at the knees, that is what I was after... Something I could see myself wear in Paris on a cosy Fall's night... I say Paris because I love the city, the vibe, the character, the elegance, and the sexiness of course... But worse comes to worst there is always London... Just kidding, London can be sexy too, in it's own way... So there I was, thinking of perhaps expanding my Tom Ford fragrance collection and investing in another bottle of sexiness... 

Btw the new Chanel Coco Noir I'm not impressed with at all, I thought I would love it but I felt completely indifferent towards it... Looking at the bottle I expected something completely different, something chic and special, instead the fragrance felt a little too young and ordinary... Yesterday it was raining & grey and I thought what could be a better way to spend a miserable Saturday afternoon than hunting down that gorgeous fragrance I've been craving... I usually never take much time choosing a fragrance, but yesterday was different... I needed something very special... I never fall for a new fragrance hype, I don't care how many millions love a certain fragrance if it doesn't hit me it won't go home with me... 

There I was, standing in the middle of a fragrance counter maze completely lost, all I had in mind was Tom Ford Violet Blonde, which I loved last time I tried... At first it felt a little too powdery and perhaps old-lady like, but after a while it smelled very nice on my skin, but I decided to kept my fragrance options open... I found a very nice lady who gave me this wonderful tour and made me try some fragrances I had no idea existed... There were a couple crazy intense fragrances that almost gave me hallucinations, for a second I felt like Marie Antoinette... And then there were a couple that were beautiful but not stunning enough... And then bam(!) Elie Saab Le Parfum... It took my breath away, I was stunned, I loved it... In an instant I was walking down the Paris cobblestone alleys...

Obviously, fragrance is a very subjective matter... The eau de toilette and the eau de parfum to me smell like two completely different fragrances... The lady actually loved the eau de toilette, she said there is something about it that makes her want to smell it all day long... It did nothing for me, abso-lutely nothing... But I felt like that about the eau de parfum, like when you don't want to be separated from someone or something that is of a big sentimental value to you... Elie Saab Le Parfum is just so incredibly sexy and addictive it has this way of hugging you with beautiful decadence and sensuality, which must be coming from the jasmine, patchouli, orange blossom and honey notes... Although it's a sweet and floral scent it remains very chic, very irresistible, and very Vanessa Paradis...

It's always such an interesting journey to your perfect fragrance, you describe which notes you like, which you don't and then after the third or so they start hitting the nail on its head till they bring you to your perfect fragrance... A very exciting process... But I decided before tying the knot with Elie Saab I should try Tom Ford again... Tom Ford fragrances are my all time favourites, they are the strongest, the deepest, and the sexiest... I don't know what happened that day but even Vetiver didn't smell the same to me, I just couldn't allocate Ford's sexy notes... Even after I had two deep breath of coffee beans to clear my senses all I could still think of and smell was Elie Saab...  Elie Saab went right under my skin and stayed there... Of course I had to take it home with me...

LOVE