Already done: 'The Pretty Perfume' Review!

Well, this post is actually going to be a lot shorter then I intended it to be. You see this post was going to be all about the Beckham perfume, Intimately, the one that I raved about in my recent instagram post.

I was going to dedicate a post right here to this beautiful scent and share with you Girls, just why I love it so.

However, it seems I've already done that ***CLICK HERE TO SEE***.

I stand by everything that I said in this review and my love for this fantastic scent is still well and truly alive. I have been through at least one more, possibly two, bottles since posting last year. I just love this particular scent and can not recommend more that you seek it out and give it a sniff. It is such a pretty perfume and relatively affordable too.

Image from Google Image search here

And now, that I've professed to you that it is not because I'm a fan girl that I love the perfume so, I should whisper that regardless I'm still a bit of a fan of Victoria's style (Again, I may have mentioned this in earlier posts . . . ahem . . . here and here) and I am absolutely loving the looser feel to Victoria's hair at the moment, perfect for the sunshine!

Image from Metro, here



Image from Cosmopolitan, here

I'm on a mission to reconstruct these two seemingly simple (but probably quite intricate) styles this week.

What's your scent of the moment? How are you styling your hair?

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A pretty perfume!

As I mentioned recently, I'm trying to shop the perfume collection that I already have and I have almost finished another bottle.

Intimately by Beckham

This scent has more or less been a constant in my collection for the last three years. Where as I said here that Romance is a scent that I normally get given as a gift, Intimately is the one that I go out and buy for myself.

Intimately is the original women's scent from the Beckham line and three or four bottles later, I still quite like it.

It seems to get a lot of mixed reviews and the negative ones kind of surprise me a little (I do wonder if the Beckham tag has something to do with this) as like the bottle, the fragrance is very classic and safe. I can't imagine it offending anybody.

I find Intimately to be a very pretty, powdery, feminine scent. Indeed, it is a Coty scent and is quite typical of how I see their line. This fragrance is very similar to how I imagined perfume to be when I was a little girl, all pretty and girly.

Some people say Intimately reminds them of the Britney scents. Yes, there is some vanilla in both. However, in the Beckhams, the vanilla is not as obvious (I'm thinking of Britney, Fantasy, here) and is much more concealed in among a lot of other fluttering floral notes.

Oh yes, Intimately flutters!

I love perfumes that flutter and I know this going to sound strange but it is almost like this scent has a rhythm. The notes are not particularly sweet or offensive. There are some floral notes but everything is quite muted and I think it is this rhythm, or flutter, that adds such a pretty air to a scent that could otherwise be slightly too safe and bland.

So does it last, you ask?

Well, again there is mixed reviews on this point but for me, the scent lasts all day without reapplying or going off. This is one scent that I know I can rely on for longetivity and is probably the longest lasting scent that I have ever worn.

For those of you interested, this is the spiel from the Beckham brand:
'Opens with pure fresh flowers, bergamot, rose petals and orange blossom. An exquisite heart of casablanca lily and sublime tuberose, leading to a seductive base of voluptuous vanilla, rich sandalwood and and elegant, sensual musk'

Hmm as much as I love this fragrance, I think this makes Intimately sound slightly more daring, evocative and blatant then it actually is. I read here that this fragrance is 'sophisticated and charming' and I think that this is bang on.

Intimately is just so easy to wear and could be worked for any occasion. I think it is a scent that people notice but it compliments the wearer rather then defining them. Basically it is just a very pretty perfume (that lasts!) and little more then that but then, what else do you want a perfume to be?!

I hope to add another bottle of Intimately to my perfume collection very soon.

Have you tried any of the Beckham fragrances? What do you think of celebrity scents?

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Flora by Gucci.

Gucci Rush is ok. Gucci Eau de Parfum 2 is lovely. Gucci Rush 2 is amazing. So I guess it is fair to say that I am quite partial to a perfume from Gucci! I lusted after the latest addition to their perfume family, Flora, for what felt like the longest time. The name Gucci was enough to draw me to the perfume counter within hours of hearing of the perfume for the first time (I do like my perfume!) and once there, I had to literally shake myself to walk away from the counter empty handed. The little gold bottle with it's cute little bow sat there tempting me, calling to my hands as the fresh, pretty, floral scent filled my nostrils. It smelt lovely but then most perfumes do at the counters and I did have more then enough perfume so with heavy feet I dragged myself away from the beckoning bottle. However, it was impossible to forget this perfume. The tester that I had squirted lasted all night and made me feel like a lady. So all I could do was add it to my birthday list and yay, Mum read the list and a few weeks later, the fragrance was mine. Thank you, Mum and Dad! I wore it straight out to b'day dinner and maybe once or twice after that. It smelt gorgeous. Almost too so and I started saving it. It became 'My Special Perfume' but with few days special enough for Flora, I instead found myself wearing Princess, Diesel or simply body lotion instead. However, I have now ran out of Princess and as Diesel is not so summery, I've found myself wearing Flora a lot again. Every day is special, right?! I really like Flora. It contains Sandalwood, Patochuoli and Pink Pepper (I think!) but it is different from the other Gucci perfumes which I would say are maybe slightly younger and more casual. Flora is not purely musk but there is a certain tinge of darker, heavier notes intespersed amongst the floral flashes and the more subtle hints of fruit. The perfume has something of an assurance about it. The scent lasts a long time and does not really change much over time. Maybe in the first five or ten minutes, it settles down a bit but after that it stays pretty much the same. Sometimes I think a perfume that only smells good when you've just sprayed it cheapens itself when the good has worn off and you are left with the cheap undertones. I would prefer a perfume that only lasts 2 hours if it remains true over that period then one that lasts a whole day but 22 hours of that is just cheap smelling residue. Nothing about Flora is cheap and I'd imagine most grown up girlies would be comfortable wearing it. It seems to muster some class about it in the way that Chanel No 5 does but it is more contemporary and subtle. I actually prefer it to how I remember my New York scent, Chanel Allure, used to smell. Flora is a very, very pretty scent which I find hard to imagine could nauseate or offend anybody but hey, tell me if I'm wrong. We are all different. Of course, perfumes come in bottles of all shapes and sizes. Well, the prettiest perfumes deserve the prettiest bottles and I do think Gucci have delivered here. The bottle is simple and rectangular with a nice little Gucci tie around it's neck. This is very fitting as Flora is actually named after a very popular Gucci print. The design was used to produce a custom scarf for Princess Grace (the Princess of Princesses) of Monaco about 50 years ago. The design was so loved by Princess Grace and ladies everywhere, that Gucci have produced many other Flora products such as handbags and glasses over the years and now we have the Flora perfume which does it predecessors more then proud. I think if you look carefully, you will see the pattern in some of the ads for the perfume. And yes, I am still very curious about some of the summery scents springing in to the shops at the moment-Daisy In The Air, Ghost Captivation-but I'm also really, really enjoying my Flora (and of course, Stunning is still on stand by) so just maybe I will be able to resist. Er, yeah . . ! 30ml of the Eau de Parfum currently costs £35 from Boots online. So Girls, what scents am I missing out on? And, don't forget the details. I could talk about perfumes for hours even though to talk about it in a way that makes sense to others is quite hard to do. I hope you  have got something out of this post. In my long winded way, I guess I am just saying Flora is certainly worth testing next time you are at the perfume counter and from there on in, it is up to you! X

Surprizingly Stunning!

I have never being a big fan of celebrity perfumes. I think I have only ever owned two, Kate from Kate Moss and Intimately from the Beckhams. Ooh actually, I think there are two versions of Intimately. I love both.
Admittedly I have gone through more then one bottle of the Moss one and I adore the Beckham ones so much but they are lonely celebrity ones surrounded by Givenchy, Gucci, Elizabeth Arden, Valentino and Ralph Lauren. So how did I come to Stunning? Well I love the scent of Soap and Glory especially the pink glimmer spray. I have blogged before, about how I would encase myself in body lotion and then spray the Soap and Glory glimmer to get the scent instead of wearing fragrance. I think it was on You Tube, somebody reviewed the Soap and Glory products and said that they smelt like Miss Dior Cherie. Of course, being the Soap and Glory and Perfume fanatic that I am, Miss Dior Cherie went straight on to my wish list but fell in to a more expensive bracket so when I heard Lollipop26 and others rave about what a dupe Stunning was for Miss Dior Cherie, I decided to take a short cut and yay, what a great idea!
I can not compare this gorgeous, fresh, sweet and actually surprisingly 'innocent' (when you consider the celebrity endorsement) scent to Miss Dior Cherie because I have never used it but it does smell just like the best Soap and Glory products. I really do love this so much and have worn it at some point every day this week. It has shoved me out of my perfume stalemate and reminded me not to judge a perfume solely on it's branding or packaging.
Testament to this, is Fantasy. Another recommendation from Lollipop26. Of course, I have been aware of all the Britney Spear branded perfumes but I've never even been tempted to test them because I really do not like the werid alien-ship tacky bottles. And what are the strange 3d spots that stick out all about? However for about £12, I decided to give it a chance and actually I really like the Fantasy scent. At the moment, I prefer Stunning just because it is not quite as dark or maybe as musky as Fantasy. The novelty of the new season (and the sunshine)has not yet worn off so I am currently embracing all things sweet and fresh but as soon as Spring becomes boring, I think Fantasy will be one of the first perfumes I turn to.
Stunning is not that expensive. It cost me about £14 in Superdrug last week. I know tastes differs but if you are looking for a new scent and want something easy to wear and quite girlie then it might be worth giving this gorgeous scent a shot? I find it hard to imagine anybody really detesting it.
I adore perfume but this year, have been disillisioned and almost disappointed by some the scents I have collected. I feel like Stunning and Fantasy have revived my love for all things scent-iful again so do any of you have any perfume likeys to share with me?

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