Cosy up with Warm Vanilla Sugar

Here in the UK we've had an utterly miserable start to the year with storms followed by rain, storms, rain and more rain, there just seems to be no end to it. On top of that I am also struggling with the lack of sun light - it's dark when you get up and go to work, and it's dark when you finish work and come home. In short, I want to hybernate and not come back out again until April, just in time for Easter so I can enjoy some chocolate eggs. Since that's not really a realistic option, I've turned to things that give me comfort and heat me up from the inside like a cosy evening in. As we all know, these type of evenings have to start with a lovely warming bath and for me the perfect bath products to lift my spirits are from Bath & Body Works (B&BW) Warm Vanilla Sugar range - a sensual but uplifting and deliciously yummy scent that reminds me of home baked cookies.

I really like a B&BW Shower Gel. They have a nice thick and silky consistency that makes you think that it's actually a high end product you're using. You can tell that they contain all sorts of moisturising products like aloe vera, vitamin e and shea butter since the skin feels soft and smooth after the gentle cleanse, and not irritated or stripped back in any way. The scent is surprisingly fresh and sparkling - in addition to warm and sugary vanilla notes, there's also a hint of coconut left on the skin and it prevents the fragrance from getting sickly sweet or heavy. When it comes to body moisturisers I usually prefer butters and creams over lotions, but the B&BW Body Lotion is so rich in shea butter and jojoba oil that it almost has the consistency and feel of a body cream. It feels luxuriously luscious and velvety on the skin, and although the lotion contains oil it absorbs quickly and easily into the skin without leaving any greasiness or shine which is great for when you're in a rush in the mornings. What I like the most is that unlike a lot of body lotions that only skim the surface and then disappears, this really sinks deep into the skin and keeps it feeling soft and hydrated for hrs and hrs afterwards, which is also great for locking in the delicious sugar vanilla cookie scent - making it last even longer.

The Fine Fragrance Mist is perfect as a final layer of scent after the bath, and although these B&BW sprays are usually very light and evaporate quickly, the combination of these particular scent notes linger much longer than usual. When you've first sprayed the mist, it's a very fresh, light and sparkling sugar vanilla scent, but it deepens almost straight away and brings out the notes from the soft, milky coconut and tonka bean together with a slightly dry sandalwood that keeps it from overpowering. It's a beautiful restoring and harmonious scent, perfect for this time of year - the only thing about it is that it makes me crave cookies, but I think I know how to fix that...

I keep hoping that B&BW will open store in the UK, but until then you can find a limited selection of products on The Bath and Body Shop website, or everyone's favorite marketplace - eBay. Now that I'm all wrapped up in a warming, comforting scent after a lovely bath I think I'm all ready to cosy up in front of the TV. So let's see - have I got everything? Snuggly faux fur throw - check, Him Indoors - check, vanilla latte - check, cat - check... yep I'm ready and I'm not going outdoors again until April! 

January empties

This might sound a bit strange for a shopaholic who shows no restraints at all when it comes to buying new things, but often when I get something new it take ages before I actually open it and use it - and that takes quite a lot of restraint I can tell you. Mostly it's because I want to finish something else up first and I also quite enjoy knowing that there's a "shiny new toy" waiting for me when I've been good and disciplined enough to use another product up first. That leads me on to the empties of this month, and since I've been quite good I think I can reward myself with finally opening one of my new goodies.

I don't think there will ever be a monthly empties post where I don't have a dry shampoo since it's a staple item for me, so let's get the dry shampoo out of the way first... I'm sure I'm not the only one who rely on dry shampoo to refresh the hair in between washes, or maybe even use a little for added texture, even if oil control isn't needed. The one I finished the past month was Batiste's Paisley (£2.99) which is quite a rich, flowery and slightly spicy scent. For some reason I can't find it anymore online, although I have seen it in Boots but there are of course so many other lovely Batiste scents to choose from and I've already got my next one lined up.

Last August I did a post on the wonderful Avon Apricot and Shea Butter product range, and since I quickly discovered that it was a very limited edition, I've cherished it and only used it every now and then to make it last as long as possible but the day has now come when I've finished the 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner, Shower Gel and Body Lotion. I only use 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioners every now and then as they can be quite harsh on the hair, but since this one contains shea butter it doesn't strip down the hair and I was surprised at how easy my hair was to detangle after I'd used it. I like a lot of Avon products but I also find that some of the products from the Naturals body care range smell lovely but don't always add a lot of moisture, however this is not at all the case with these. It's probably because of the shea butter, but both the shower gel and body lotion were quite thick and creamy to use and felt really luxurious especially since they made the skin feel very soft and hydrated for a good few hrs after the shower. But let's also talk about the amazing scent for a minute - it's a lovely soft and juicy mix of fresh sweet apricot and subtle vanilla from the shea butter, and it reminds me of a yummy and irresistible ice cream sundae. It's absolutely gorgeous and I so wish that Avon would bring it back - I would be first in line to pick up 10 of each product!

The lovely Caudalie Beauty Elixir (£25.59) has been a part of my daily beauty routine for a few years now and I finish both my morning and evening cleanse with a refreshing spritz of this amazing facial spray and I love it so much that I actually carry it with me in my handbag and use it throughout the day too. Why do I love it? - well I'm glad you asked... First of all the dispenser sprays just the right amount to add moisture but without making your skin wet, and it settles on your skin in a fine mist that adds radiance and hydration. Secondly, the scent is wonderfully aromatic with lovely zingy mint, warm rosemary, a hint of orange peel and subtle rose - divine, and lastly it really perks up not only my skin, but my mood too - so what's not to love? It's an indulgent treat but after all, we all need a little indulgence in our lives.

Over winter I've really focused on hydrating my skin and that goes for not just my face, but my body, hands and feet too. It's oh so easy to ignore the tootsies so I quite like to have a really pampering, lovely cream to motivate me to being nice to my feet, and the lotion I've used the most is Burt's Bees Peppermint Foot Lotion (£12.99) which has a lovely fresh and icy cool scent of menthol and peppermint oil. It's quite a milky lotion, and not as rich and buttery as I would usually go for, but it absorbs quickly, nourishes and hydrates the skin as well as locks in moisture. The feet feel so refreshed and energized after using it, and it's a great excuse to put on some cute socks afterwards to help the skin soak up all the moisture even more.

Since I wanted to make some space in the perfume drawer for any goodies that Santa might bring me in December, I made a real effort to finish up some perfumes that only had a little bit left in them. This meant that I had to do something I don't do very often - wear the same perfume several days in a row, and this herculean task meant that in the end I actually finished off my Marc Jacobs Honey (£33.15). Contrary to what you might, think this is a very sunny, playful scent with lots of fruity notes; fresh pear, sweet and juicy mandarin and orange with only a subtle golden honey sweetness to it. At the same time it's soft, warm and inviting and not sharp or zingy in any way. For me it's a lovely balanced and uncomplicated scent and while it probably is a typical summer scent I think it works just as well in the winter since the cooler temperatures really brings out the crispness of the fruit. It's a delicious and sparkling scent that I've definitely enjoyed wearing, but for me it's a little bit on the light side and for that reason I don't think I'll be repurchasing it at the moment. 

As you may remember I bought a lot of Lily-Flame candles (£8.50) before Christmas that have filled the house with different wonderful festive scents that I hadn't tried before. I love candles that have a very distinct scent and that really capture a mood, and Christmas Spice did just that. It's a homely, warm and welcoming scent of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves - absolutely lovely. I've raved about Lily Flame candles before - they have a great range of scents to choose from, look good enough to eat, are very reasonably priced and last but not almost most importantly, the burn so well. Burning time is about 35 hrs and they burn really REALLY well - from side to side, completely down to the bottom of the tin with no waste at akk as you can see in the photo, now THIS is how a candle should burn in my view. If you haven't tried Lily Flame candles yet I highly recommend them and have actually just placed a new order for more scents to take us into spring.

The last product of this month's empties is the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (£9), which over the party season has been absolutely brilliant at helping my makeup stay on longer. It's a nice, non perfumed spray that somehow mysteriously lowers the temperature of the makeup, so that it stays in place without any smudging or shine. It feels lovely and cooling on the skin and I've used about 4-5 spritzes of it both after foundation (but before powder) and once I've finished my makeup completely. The only thing I would say is that the spritzer isn't brilliant and instead of a fine mist, it's a bit more watery so I spray this quite a bit away from my face and then lean into it, if you see what I mean. Despite this I still really enjoy it and will definitely repurchase it and this time, I'll go straight for the big size.

That's the end of the empties, time to start over on the batch for next month and I've set myself a goal - to finish up even more products for February's post. Do you think I'll manage? - well there's always the prospect of starting to use a shiny new product to keep me motivated...

November empties

If I may say so myself I have been SOOO good this month, finishing up quite a lot of products. It's not that I don't like the stuff that I already have and want to get rid of it, it's just that I like to try new things more and I can't try those things until I've finished others.... oh dear - it's tough being a beauty junkie.

The first items I've been good to finish are a Shower gel, Body Lotion and a Body Mist from Bath & Body Works' Secret Wonderland range. I've mentioned before that I really like the shower gels and body lotions because they feel so luxurious and gentle on your skin, and since they contain vitamin E and shea butter they also make the skin very smooth and moisturised. Secret Wonderland is a juicy sweet and fruity scent of different sun kissed berries - strawberries, raspberries and goji berries rounded with subtle gardenia, jasmine, creamy vanilla and lovely warm musk. It's a very whimsical and romantic fragrance that makes you think of late summer. I've really enjoyed wearing it and I will definitely get it again when I get the chance.

I love to use serums as part of my skin care routine and this month I finished up Estée Lauder's Perfectionist serum. It's a silky and intense anti-wrinkle repair serum with a slightly lilac tint, that you can use both during the day or evening. Because of it's firming qualities and since it firms up the skin almost immediately I've mainly used a tiny bit under my moisturiser during the day. It's made my skin look really relaxed and plump, and since I'm all about plumping and nourishing when it comes to skin care this has been wonderful to use, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with tendencies towards dehydrated skin for an extra boost in the morning or in the evening before going out.

I also finished up another product to nourish and restore the skin after the time I spent in the sun this summer - Origins Starting Over. This moisturiser is packed with mimosa which is great at stimulating the creation of collagen and protein in the skin cells to keep the skin toned and protected. It has a lovely light consistency, that makes the skin feel supple nourished and refreshed, and the amazing scent of fresh and zesty citrus fruits makes this cream a pleasure to use. Even though Starting Over builds up the skin, for me personally it doesn't give the amount of hydration my skin craves during the autumn and winter, so despite being so lovely I won't be repurchasing this until next Spring.

A few months ago I bought the Revlon Lash Potion Mascara after having read some good reviews of it and to start with I was quite happy with it. The formula was dry already from the start, but I thought that the large brush with triple-grooves gave a good coverage, the lashes looked noticeably thicker, longer and separated. I also found that the mascara lasted well and didn't cause any smudging, so all my first impressions weren't bad. However even though the brush gave good coverage I found that it was a little stiff to work with, and as time went on and the consistency got really gloopy and clumpy it got very difficult to get an even coverage. I know that the consistency of mascaras change throughout their lifetime, but this changed too much for me. What started as a promising mascara, unfortunately ended as a bit of a disappointment and I wont be getting this particular one again.

As the days are getting darker and I'm getting more and more into cozy evenings in front of the TV-with hot chocolate mood I have really sped up my "consumption" of candles. I go through them at lightening speed, which is why I have three empty ones this month. I'll start with some from my favourite candle makers Lily-Flame. By now I must have bought and used about 15 different candles from Lily-Flame and they've never disappointed me. They have a super range of scents with everything from floral to citrus, from fresh clean and natural to foodie inspired and they burn really well. I've mentioned before that this year I'm doing something I've never done before - I'm changing the scents that I wear and  surround me with, to fit the season. With Halloween coming up I can't think of anything more appropriate than a candle called Spook which has adorable little bats on the tin. It's a mix of fudge and toffee apples, which sounds really yummy but unfortunately this candle didn't work for me at all. The scent of the fudge and the toffee was far too buttery, and it completely overtook any crisp freshness from the apples which would have balanced it out - ultimately, for me the scent is almost sickly sweet. But to end on a positive note, the second candle from Lily-Flame amongst the empties is the wonderful Mellow Figs & Garden Mint. It's a mix of mellow earthy fig and crisp cool mint that creates a very welcoming piquant and fresh scent - gorgeous, and I look forward to getting it again! 

The last product in this months empties is a Yankee Candle in Black Cherry. It's a great mix of the sweet and sour from cherries that makes a lovely rich and delicious scent - it smells exactly like real cherries taste. When I got this candle it smelt so strongly before it had even been lit, that you could get months and months scent out of it even without burning it. If like me you like cherries, this is a must have candle and you won't find anything else like it.

Well, that's that for this month, and by the end of this week I'll have the first two empties for December's batch - I really AM doing well and my reward is that I can finally start using some of the products that I have been saving for months!

Escape to a Secret Wonderland with Bath & Body Works

I have to say that we have a pretty great selection of beauty stores in the UK, and the bigger Boots and Superdrugs have a fab range of products. But there are still a few US stores that I really wish were available in the UK - Sephora is one of them and while I've been visiting my family the past few days I've had the chance to spend some quality time in Sephora - oooooh bliss! The other store that I would love, love, LOVE to see opening here is Bath & Body Works (B&BW). They have the most amazing fresh, lovely smelling body care products and candles, and it would be so great to have the products available right here.

Another thing that I really like about B&BW is that similarly to Lush they really follow the seasons and holidays and always have lots of wonderful new collections for different times of the year. There are actually quite a few of the B&BW products that are staple items for me e.g. the anti-bacterial pocket gels, hand washes and body mists to layer with other fragrances and today I'll look at one of the latest collections that I've tried - the Secret Wonderland products.

Secret Wonderland is a happy and curious mix of berries and florals and when you first spray it on you'll notice lots of lovely ripe berries like ripe succulent strawberries, sweet raspberries and piquant slightly sour goji berries. The initial smoothie like juicy sweetness then gives way to airy light florals like gardenia and jasmine but the notes that seem to stay with you the longest is a creamy, whipped vanilla combined with simple amber and a tiny bit of soft feminine musk. It's a very fanciful, fairy tale fragrance that I think works really well at this time of year since the warm and slightly spicy amber and vanilla really stand out in the cooler weather, without the scent being being too sickly sweet or too fruity.

I really like to layer a scent, using bodycare products in the same scent and I also find that it's the best way to make a fragrance last throughout the day. The Secret Wonderland Shower gel has a lovely formula that is gentle on the skin and adds lots of moisture since it contains shea butter, aloe and vitamin E as well and while the scent isn't strong it does leave a subtle air of it on your skin, that is further enhanced by using the Body Lotion. Just like the shower gel the body lotion is also packed with moisture and nourishing ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil and vitamin E. Unlike many purse friendly body lotions, the consistency is quite creamy and it absorbs well into the skin, leaving it feeling quite moisturized and I really enjoy how the most prominent scent for me at this stage is the soft musk, taking away any edge from the berries. Last but not least I'll spray generously with the Secret Wonderland Body Mist. This is only a refreshing body mist, so it's not surprising that it won't last you all day, however out of the B&BW scents I've tried this actually lingers a lot longer up til a few hrs, when you layer it with the other products - probably because of the vanilla and amber. I usually use Secret Wonderland when I'm combining with Paco Pabanne's Lady Million which works really well since it picks up on the raspberry notes in the EdT.

Since we don't have a B&BW store in the UK and it's not even possible to order online, those of us who are fans will have to try and source these wonderful products in other places like eBay, Amazon or Bath and Body Shop that has a small selection of B&BW products. 

Bath & Body Works PLEASE open a store in the UK!

FIGment of imagination

As we're approaching autumn I'm finding myself moving away from the very fruity scents that have dominated and filled my summer days, and I'm more drawn to a for me completely new sweetness - the amazing and distinct scent of Figs. Up until a few months ago I had never tried products with figs and now I'm completely addicted to the natural, warm, earthy and slightly syrupy fragrance.

The first product with fig I'll talk about is a lovely candle from Lily Flame - Mellow Figs & Garden Mint. It's a very unusual blend with soft and mellow sophisticated fig, together with fresh and crisp mint. Together they form a scent that's warm, inviting and clean at the same time. Lily Flame candles don't get enough of a mention in blogs or vlogs I think - I love them because they are well scented without being too heavy, they burn well in the tins (without creating a big crater in the middle), they don't soot and you get a lot of burning time for your money. Even if it weren't for all these great qualities I would probably still like them because they are sooo pretty with the different colored marshmallows on top - they look yummy enough to eat!

A brand that I had heard a lot about, but up until a few months ago never really tried - is Korres, which is a Greek brand with the most amazing products based on natural ingredients found in Greek flora, and they are all beautifully scented. When I first tried the Korres shower gel in Fig it was definitely love at first smell. It's a nice and creamy shower gel that doesn't feel as if it's drying out your skin, and it contains aloe, C, E, zinc and antioxidant enzymes to look after the skin's immune system and reduce the signs of ageing. But what really makes it a stand out product, is the amazing genuine scent of sun-kissed sweet and sour figs.

To go with the shower gel there's the wonderful Korres body butter in Fig. It is incredibly moisturising and the consistency is nice and creamy so you really have to massage it in, really toning your skin and increasing circulation at the same time. You can feel how much good the body butter does your skin and you'll still feel moisturised many hrs afterwards. It has exactly the same rich but soft, green, sweet and juicy smell as the shower gel and luckily it stays on your skin for a long time and I really wish they had a perfume with this exact same scent. I know you can get Korres in department stores or online, or why not just pop down to your local Waitrose, and you can find it there as well - all of a sudden I'm actually looking forward to going food shopping... 

Since Korres don't do a body spray or perfume in Fig, I've looked around for other scents with this modest little fruit, and the closest match that I've found is the delicious Figue De Vigne Eau Fraiche from Caudalie. As you may know Caudalie bases all their products on grapes and vines, which is also the case with this fragrance. It's a gorgeous soft and subtle scent of earthy, juicy fig but that has a sparkling, zesty side from bergamot and a woody, green grassiness that grounds it and makes it mellow and rustic. It's a wonderful authentic, pure and slightly melancholic scent that is perfect for autumn, unlike anything I've ever tried. I absolutely love to wear it and have received so many compliments for it. 

As it turns out, not only are figs nice tasting in a salad - they are also rich in calcium, fibres, antioxidants and a long list of minerals that are good for your overall well-being and ultimately, fig scented products smell incredible! Who knew that figs could be so good?

Avon's Apricot & Shea butter products

There are some things that I look forward to every month, e.g. pay day, the new edition of In Style, new nail polishes and the latest Avon book. Every time I get a new book it's time out. I'll make myself a lovely vanilla latte and sit down to go through it - pen in hand, ready to place my order. First I go through all of the brochure quickly to spot "highlights", and then I go back and look at what I've spotted in more detail and make my decision: To order or Not to order. I have tried something from most of the product ranges; perfume, hair products, makeup (LOTS of it) and nail polish - but I have an extra soft spot for the body care products. Avon has this uncanny ability to come up with products in the most amazing, fruity combinations, that to me are sheer temptation and when I spotted Naturals Apricot and Shea Butter products a while back, I knew straight away that I had to try them.

I loved the idea of Apricot and Shea Butter so much that I actually bought 5 products (only 4 shown in the photo); Shower gel, Body lotion, 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner, Leave in treatment and the Room Spray. I've surrounded myself with this scent and it was exactly as beautiful as I thought it would be. It's a gentle, delicious mix of sweet and juicy apricot with luscious shea butter and together it creates a whipped fluffy ice creamy scent. It a tiny bit synthetic, but in a way that makes the apricot smell even fresher than it does in real life.

The shower gel and body lotion are both nice to use, although like with many other body lotions in the Naturals range they don't actually give as much moisture as I would like. The Apricot and Shea butter lotion is a bit thicker than the other body lotions, which is nice since otherwise they tend to be a bit milky and seem to not always absorb properly into the skin. After you've applied the body lotion you'll definitely smell amazing for a while, but for me that moisturised feeling is superficial and it disappears fairly quickly.

I really like the Avon 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioners and I have a few with different lovely scents. It's a great product for when you don't have a lot of time e.g. after a workout, and it cleans your hair well without leaving any residue or drying it out. Personally I only use these 2-in-1 products every now and then, since my hair definitely needs a separate conditioner (a lot of it) and I wouldn't recommend that you only use 2-in-1 products since it can make your hair dry and frizzy. The gorgeous scent is re-enforced if you use the Leave in treatment as well. The consistency is a bit like a thin conditioner, and you should apply a little bit to towel dried hair and then style as usual. It'll leave your hair feeling very soft and silky and you'll smell of irresistible summery apricot ice cream!

I had prepared this post a few days ago, and when I was going to add the most recent links to Avon there's no information about any of these products at all on their web site. Avon is a great affordable option (I think I paid about £10 for all 5 products) and offers some nice products but I REALLY dislike the fact that many items are only available for a very short time, and then they're gone. So if you're interested in this heavenly fresh Apricot and Shea Butter series, check with your Avon representative if they're still available or go on eBay where I know for sure you can find them. 

Carried Away by Bath & Body Works

Carried Away - oh how easy it is for me to get carried away by Bath & Body Works (B&BW) products. In the UK we don't have this temple of all nice smelling things and cute packagings, which is unfortunate for me but my bank balance probably appreciates the breather...

Throughout the years I've still managed to get my paws on some B&BW products via eBay. I think I have an anti-bacterial pocketbac in most handbags, and the Sweet Pea Eau de Toilette is simply lovely. But I wanted to try another scent from their huge range of fragrances and I got Carried Away - literally! And I'm glad I did since it's a fresh, fruity and slightly "creamy" fragrance that make me think of sun warmed strawberries (you can see the full description of notes in the link to the B&BW web site).

Now, I do like both the body mist and the body lotion that I got, but the scent isn't very long lasting. So if you're planning on getting a body mist - be prepared to have to top it up throughout the day. 

B&BW doesn't ship internationally and there's no shop anywhere near me (closest one I believe is in Warsaw), but there are some items available on Amazon and on a website called the Bath and Body Shop.

I haven't given up hope yet that B&BW one day will decide to shop internationally or even better - open a few shops here!