Fan di Fendi? Oh yes, I'm definitely a fan!

Before we look at this gem of a scent, Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche that I've been wearing religiously for the past week, which is a bit of a record for me I thought I would talk a little bit about today since it's one of the most important and popular holidays of the year in Sweden, it is - Midsummer's Eve! Originally it's a pagan fertility celebration of the summer solstice, but today we celebrate it more because it's the official start to summer and we have the the shortest nights of the year, where in some parts of the country you can still see the sun at midnight - an incredibly beautiful sight. At Midsummer the whole country stops, cities and towns are empty as a lot of people go to the countryside or the coast to join in the celebrations, which might seem a little bit "exotic" if you haven't seen them before - just ask Him Indoors about his first encounter with Midsummer, but to sum it up it's all about lots of food, dancing and drinking. When I was a child we would always start the day with picking wild flowers to make a wreath for my hair, and also because according to tradition girls who haven't yet found their other half, should put seven different wild flowers under their pillow, and they'll dream of their future husband - sweet isn't it, and I seem to remember ruining many pillow cases that way... There's also always the equivalent of a May pole with flowers and leaves, that we dance around and you'll see people dressed up in traditional clothing from the different Swedish counties, and this is when the infamous "frog dance" takes place. Having worked up an appetite, there's usually a feast of traditional Midsummer food; pickled herring in lots of different sauces, sour cream, chives, new potatoes, dill and strawberries. Midsummer's Eve is usually a great relaxing day with your friends and family and if I've made you curious about this well loved Swedish tradition or the "frog dance", you should have a look at this short and hilarious You Tube video.

 

 Traditional Midsummer's Eve celebrations

Midnight Sun 

A fragrance which for me perfectly captures Midsummer is the beautiful Fan Di Fendi Eau Fraiche EdT (£32.75). Before I got the Eau Fraiche I had tried many of Fendi's previous scents, but none of them were right for me, and with their spicy, balsamic wooden notes I found them quite heavy and to be honest - a bit old fashioned. But when I first tested Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche I was totally surprised at how different it was from the others and I was immediately completely hooked. The scent comes in a stylish and minimalist chic bottle with the classic Fendi logo at the front in a light green color, hinting to its fresh and harmonious character. It's a gorgeously well balanced blend of feminine sensual white flowers including jasmine, zesty fresh citrus and bergamot, green tea, soft orange blossom, and a warm but not overwhelming hint of cardamom.  

Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche is a gorgeously well balanced blend of feminine sensual white flowers including jasmine, zesty fresh citrus and bergamot, green tea, soft orange blossom, and a warm but not overwhelming hint of cardamom. It's a very unexpected, contemporary scent and on a hot summer day, its airy greenness is a perfect cooling and comforting scent that is also very refined and graceful. I absolutely adore this scent and am so glad that I decided to test it, despite my previous experience of Fendi fragrances and now I definitely call myself a Fan! It's not always easy to get hold of Fendi scents and I actually bought mine at duty free early this year, but you can find Fendi in Harrods and online at Allbeauty.com where they also offer free UK delivery. Although I only have a small May pole for the table and we won't actually be doing any silly dancing, I've got the food and drink all planned and smelling sweetly I'm off to start celebrating Midsummer. Have a Glad midsommar - Happy Midsummer everyone! Xx

All good things come to those who duty free

As you may know I have been away from the UK for a while to visit my family, and when I came back not only was Him Indoors away on his travels and  I got back to an empty house - but my cat completely ignored me for about 24 hrs.... I was not feeling the love.. Well good thing I had a gianormous duty free haul to be happy about instead. It's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for me to have this heaven called duty free and not buy a single thing, but even I will admit that I went completely over board this time around. I tell myself that I do these things to relax before flying or so that you won't have to splurge... and if I chant those excuses aloud enough times, it makes it real. Anyway, let's just look at what I got over the last few days and I'll split the products into three groups; perfumes, skincare and makeup, but please note that this is just a teaser and that I will post detailed reviews of the products as I work my way through them.

Let's start with the perfumes, and the first one is so brand new that it's not even available in the shops quite yet, although it's supposed to be as of March - and it's the stunning Exotica from Roberto Cavalli. It's a lovely tropical and fruity scent and slightly floral scent and I have a feeling this will be one of my favorites this season. Next perfume is fairly new, it's the Elie Saab L'Eau Couture EdT (£31) which is a light and fresh, sophisticated spring like scent - and what a beautiful classic bottle! Last in the perfume bunch is Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche (£33) which is a beautiful green, spicy and fresh scent - very comforting and harmonious.

First in the skincare group is a great little kit that would make a fab present for someone, myself e.g... the Ole Henriksen The Whole Truth Kit (£45) contains three full sized anti ageing products - serum, moisturiser and an eye cream, to revitalise and brighten the skin, and I'm very excited to testing this out. I also got a new night cream that I had had my eye on for a long time, Origins High Potency Night-a-Mins (£34) which is supposed to add radiance to the skin and make it look wonderful and refreshed in the morning. I have high hopes for this and fingers crossed it lives up to my expectations.

On to the really fun bits - makeup! My favorite designers are Dolce & Gabbana - I love the passion, opulence, sensual playfulness and very distinct point of view of their designs and I have finally taken the plunge into their makeup range, which proved to be a slippery slope for me into complete decadence starting with the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad (£39.50) in Stromboli which has a beautiful bronzed, warm and earthy range of shades - stunning! That lead to a Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick (£24) in Cosmopolitan, which is a gorgeous creamy coral shade, a bit similar to MAC Vegas Volt which is another favorite of mine and I think it'll go beautifully with the warm quad. As a bonus I threw in Dolce & Gabbana's The Intense Nail Lacquer (£18.50) in Ibisco, which is a fresh and lovely warm pink and I'm really curious to see what the formula is like. i haven't even tried a single product yet and already I suspect that this is just the beginning of a new brand addiction. Last of the makeup is YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Luxurious Mascara (£23) in Brown for beautiful long lashes. Even though I adore the Baby Doll formula I wanted to try something different and having heard wonderful things about Volume Effet, I decided to take a bit of a risk and buy it, and if it's even half as good as the Baby Doll mascara, I'm on to a winner.

Let me know in the comments section which product you would like me to review first, and your wish is my command! Before you feel too sorry for me coming back to an empty house I guess I also have to mention that Him Indoors did eventually show up with a lovely bouquet of flowers, and the cat did come around and showered me with love - so I guess all good things to those who wait... or duty free...