*this post is sponsored by Moresque Parfum
If you've been following me and have never heard of Moresque before, you probably haven't been paying attention! Last year I was introduced to the parfum brand and included one of their fragrances in my Eid blog post here where I talked about the history of Oud and why it's so popular particular in the Middle East.
For those of you who haven't heard of Moresque, it is a fairly new fragrance house (est. 2015) that fuses art, history and Middle Eastern tradition and its bottles are crafted in Italy. Up until now the fragrance collections I've seen from Moresque have been housed in very distinctive thick, rounded bottles, which are each hand crafted and uniquely designed in Italy and range from £215-£310, only available at Harrods.
The new Secret Collection is being launched exclusively at Fenwick, at a much more affordable price point and I worked with Moresque for the launch event this week to pick a few girls I thought would best appreciate and fit this collection launch (saved on my instagram highlights), which I was thrilled to have the opportunity to do (thank you KGA!).
Read on to see which fragrance is my favourite and which you may like the sound of best...

Fragrant Fridays: Eid Gift Guide - Luxury Fragrances - Ouds

For the longest time I've been meaning to write some fragrance related posts because back in my retail days I did do a couple fragrance jobs which involved some training and I think that it would be valuable information for people to know! Fragrances are very personal and in all honesty it's always best to sample a fragrance rather than read reviews online (there's something inexplicable about how a scent can take us to a special memory or place), but if you know what kind of fragrance notes or scents you usually like, then these posts should hopefully help.
I'm going to start the "Fragrant Fridays" series with this Oud Eid gift guide which has super luxury fragrances in it for someone very very special. This could be a parent, a partner or a super close friend or family member that you really appreciate, (which is who some of these fragrances will be going to this Eid).  Sometimes the average gift isn't enough for someone who's helped you during difficult times and this is where a luxury gift like Oud (that no one else will get) will say it all for you.

Smelly Post

And not in a bad way! Thought I'd do a post about my fragrance collection, as everyone has different tastes in perfume/fragrances, but if you have a similar taste to me in one or more of the fragrances I have, then maybe you can discover other fragrances you may like (cos there's a LOT out there!)

So here's my collection, I did have Dior Addict, Hypnotic Poison & Burberry Brit but I seem to have lost them, I think they're still at my mums!

Left to right:
Top: Victoria's Secret- Love Rocks, Viktor & Rolf- Flowerbomb, Jimmy Choo, Katy Perry- Purr
Middle: Christina Aguilera- By Night, Paco Rabanne- Lady Million, Vera Wang- Princess, Givenchy Ange Ou Demon
Bottom: Paco Rabanne- Black XS, Britney Spears- Midnight Fantasy


Most of my perfume is sweet/vanilla based, coz that's what I love most! The odd one or two are either fruity or musk/spicy like Paco Rabanne Black XS , or Lady Million. I've only got Jimmy Choo this week and it reminds me a lot of Flowerbomb (my number one!), especially the bottle, but the fragrance defo is more spicy.

For those of you with men in your lives or looking for nice smelling male fragrances as gifts, I'd recommend these:

L-R; Top: Dior Homme Intense, Joop Homme, Jean Paul Gaultier- Le Male, Jean Paul Gaultier- Gaultier 2
Bottom: Boss Orange, Paco Rabanne- 1 Million, Diesel- Only The Brave, D&G- The One Gentleman.

Some of them are slightly sweet/warm smelling, Dior Homme Intense reminds me of sugared almonds!

Which of these do you own, if any? And do you have any recommendations for me?!

Have a lovely weekend =)

<3

Totally Guilty!

I have to say, I'm either getting older and my tastes are changing, or I'm a total consumerist and am falling for the advertising gimmicks. I'd rather admit to the former although I'm sure the latter is more close to the truth! *blush*

So Gucci Guilty was released in store, and although the sensual poster of a good looking man and woman were plastered all near the fragrance, I only realised after seeing the video advert who on earth the couple were! None other than the ultra sexy Chris Evans; NO not Billie Pipers ex! God forbid he ever were in the ad, that's a whole other picture!! It was indeed the Fantastic Four's mister "flame on!" and boy does he turn the heat up in this ad!

  

It reminds me of the film Sin City, black and white video, with coloured hair/accessories, and I have to say I'm a big fan of that style, whether art, pictures, or video.

This ad totally made me change my view of the perfume. Originally, when I had smelled it in store, I wasn't too phased by it. The packaging reminded me of the Batman logo as you can probably see below:

 

But on being at work yesterday, Gucci Guilty was at the front of the store and I looked at the product in a new light.. possibly swayed by the giant poster of Chris Evans, which I found in the sample I got:

After smelling it all day, I began to like it more and more.. not only that, the bottle is pretty (and would sit nicely next to my diamond-gold Paco Rabanne) ;)

But I'll be waiting a while before I buy this.. I have too many fragrances already!

<3

Things I'm excited about..

Summer is usually a boring time for me re: fragrances. Summer fragrances are lighter than the original fragrances, and although cheaper, they don't really do it for me.

Now its Autumn though, the good stuff is coming..so many fragrance launches, Givenchy Play for women that looks like an mp3 player (in purple and pink of course):

Calvin Klein Beauty, and the one I'm particularly excited about: Paco Rabanne Lady Million:

Now, working in the beauty department of a well known department store has its perks..I smelled this fragrance weeks before it came out and the tester remained dangerously in the drawer.

I'll be honest, its not my usual cup of fragrance, I usually prefer sweet/vanilla based perfumes (Viktor Rolf Flowerbomb, Vera Wang Princess etc.), but I do love the men's 1 Million fragrance, the design and smell is suave enough to put P.Diddy to shame.

Naturally, I fell in love with the womens fragrance, and again, Paco Rabanne create a bottle shape that represent money, one that appeals to women of course - a diamond (the mens 1 Million is a bar of gold design). 

The smell is floral and woody, with notes of bitter orange, raspberry, neroli, jasmine, gardenia, patchouli, and amber... defo not my usual smell! And just like the male counterpart, too much of this fragrance will give you a headache! 

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Now for my beauty excitement... Urban Decay have launched their Book of Shadows - NYC. I'm sooooooper excited about this one, its got a lot of colours I dont already have (and I already have all the previous book of shadows!)

This one apparently lights up..my friend wasn't too phased by this but I certainly am! This one has gorgeous blues and purples in it, which I dont have much of, plus a few others I don't already have! Hopefully I'll be buying this saturday, or latest tuesday, so I can blog by thursday at least! But that's depending on how fast delivery is :S

<3