With all good intentions

This year I thought I would be organised and not have the normal frantic running around on Christmas week looking for gifts for people. August came and I thought I would get started, for anyone that knows me,don’t look so shocked I am not a ditsy scat brained airhead all of the time!.
As one of my first ports of call I decided to wander over to  Grandma Polly’s Attic, for those of you not familiar with this lovely online shop that provide excellent customer service; they stock Me To You Bears, Blue Nosed Friends, TV & Disney Characters and a host of other cute and lovely gift ideas.
The things I had found where some Dora Design paperweights which were a very reasonable £7.99 each. But! Such was my indecision I ended up choosing 3.
The first one being Brutus the Bulldog, now he is lovely and not pugnacious looking at all, he is made from suedette and has a rather nice button detail on his legs, he is a nice size 4.5"which is perfect for sitting on a desk or shelf, to be honest I kept him (so much for Christmas shopping)and he sits on a shelf happily looking over my PC.

The other 2 paperweights that I purchased were Fat Cat, now she is sweet and fat just as an overweight cat should be and is made of faux leather and suedette with the same rather nice button detail on her legs, who will be very much enjoyed by the intended recipient as she is the perfect gift for that cat lover.

Last but not least comes my favourite Lavinia the Ladybird, now she is gorgeous she has the typical ladybird black head with 2 sweet brocade antennae and body which appears to be made of a velvet material, her wings are a very pretty brocade complete with the trademark black dots and when you look at her face she appears to be smiling. These lovely and very functional paperweights also have the added bonus in that they are beautifully scented with lavender and they come gift boxed (so easy to wrap when I get round to it!).

I must add that Dora designs are all very high quality and if you are looking for an original and useful gift these paperweights are perfect. To conclude my Christmas shopping is not yet complete despite my good intentions and early start,but never mind there is always next year.

This is Y

As one of our best selling fragrances, I had to try this, but first a bit of history (taking its name from YSL`s first initial) Y was launched by Yves Saint Laurent in 1964, the designer renowned for his beautiful haute couture clothing.The nose behind this is Jean Amic, This launch was the start of a beautiful fragrance story, his best known fragrances being Rive Gauche (1971) and the iconic Opium (1977).


Y is a green chypre fragrance, chypre being something that people either love, hate or associate with old ladies, this is not, it is a beautiful clean green chypre that contains Top notes of Greens, aldehydes, peach, gardenia, mirabelle and honeysuckle, heart notes of Bulgarian rose, jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang, orris, hyacinth, Base notes of Oakmoss, amber, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, civet.Y is elegant and has quiet class, without being dull or boring.



Y in my eyes Y is the shy big sister, she doesn`t want to intrude but feels she has to be there, standing quietly in the background..but every so often she likes to make her presence known, unlike her little sister Opium she would never dare enter the room before you, anyone that wears Y will understand this. It has been said that wearing Y is like having a favourite piece of clothing, something that is comforting and makes you feel nice!, which is very true


Y is not for diva or vamp days, it is not the fragrance you seduce with, but can be sexy in its own gentle way, it is a fragrance for the days that you want to smell nice and not be conscious that you are wearing perfume.


So to end Y has found a very welcome place in my ever growing perfume collection and will stay there for some time.

                                                         

Yves Saint Laurent Opium More than just a fragrance

Love it or hate it there is just something so wonderful about Opium,from it`s launch in 1977,just before the power dressing of the 80s to now, Opium remains much loved and a stable in a lot of peoples perfume collections.After Opiums launch Estee Lauder followed on the spicy fragrance trail with Cinnabar and it was suggested that the good girls wore Cinnabar and the bad girls wore Opium.Whether that is true or not everyone has their memories of this great and much talked about fragrance. Mine was at 19 and I wanted a 'grown up perfume',little did I realise is that you don`t need a heavy hand with Opium a small spray is sufficient and more often than not my perfume used to enter the room before I did!. Opium is brash and loud and makes no apology for being so,This is a spicy oriental fragrance that perfect for Autumn/Winter it has great sillage and longevity,this is a wonderful powerhouse that brings back memories of high heels,shoulder pads and all that was good about the 80`s.Iconic and classic and oh so very grown up Opium is a fragrance that I enjoy and appreciate now far more than when I first wore it.


Just to add the packaging has not changed greatly and the fragrance notes remain the same which are the following Top Notes Mandarin orange, Bergamot, Lily of the valley.Middle Notes Jasmine, Carnation, Myrrh.Base Notes Vanilla, Patchouli, Opoponaux, Amber.
From the Yves Saint Laurent Website
Discover the myth of OPIUM reinvented.
A perfume of an outrageous and evocative name, Opium is a gate open on a fantasy world, a trip to the unknown, to an extraordinary elsewhere, mysterious, full of sensations and emotions.
Back to the roots of Opium, the new aesthetic of the Eau de Parfum bottle refers to the original inrö.
It glorifies mystery, voluptuousness and modernity of the item.
FRAGRANCE
In the heart of this bottle in the form of an inrô, the opening of Mandarin, Bergamot and Lily of the valley reveals middle notes of Jasmine, Carnation and Myrrh. Then the deeper aromas of Vanilla, Amber, Sweet Myrrh and Patchouli melt on your skin leaving a trail that arouses desire.
The spicy oriental harmony comes into its own in extreme sensuality.

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes, Middle Notes, Base Notes,Sounds almost like music doesn`t it,well it is partly true as perfume is composed of different notes that all compliment and blend with each other to give you the complete blended scent or fragrance. 
Top Notes The initial spray  contains the top notes, these are the first thing that you will smell,sometimes you can be immediately put off or can think this is nice,these normally fade between 5-30 minutes after spraying.After which you are presented with the middle or heart notes which forms the main basis of the fragrance and will often define the type,these often appear 10-30 mins from spraying,following these you have the base notes which is the foundation of the fragrance.Do you, after a few hours when your fragrance seems to have disappeared get this lovely aroma?these are the base notes and depending on the fragrance strength these can last for hours.
This is a very basic explanation of fragrance notes and why it is important when trying a new fragrance to give it time to settle before making a decision on whether to buy or not.

Fragrance Layering

Fragrance layering/combining is an interesting and wonderful concept and not a new idea by any means. Fragrance layering prolongs our fragrance and lets us enjoy it for longer.
 Many people layer their bath and body products to make a fragrance/scent last longer. The best way to start is with a shower gel/bath oil or body wash, if your skin tends to be on the dry side try and use a body cream, for oilier skins a body lotion. Both of these products will help lock in moisture and leave the skin lightly scented with the fragrance. During the hotter months talc can be added and is especially good for those who perspire a lot. Finish off with your Eau de parfum or Eau de toilette.

 Fragrance combining is a different concept  and Jo Malone is the market leader in fragrance combining, every fragrance that is created by her can be worn alone or beautifully combined with another fragrance

Some people will combine their perfume to make it smell different, for example she wants to be a diva at night so wears her loud perfume and heels, Now the man on the tube, the elderly lady in the bus queue may not appreciate that loud fragrance that she loves so much, so some lavender oil is added and a new more subtle fragrance is born!.

 Layering and combining can be done with many different scents Why not try a different body lotion before you apply your favourite perfume or if you have grown tired of a fragrance, spray some on let it dry and spray another over the top and see what result you get!.

Choosing a fragrance

Wearing the right perfume is just as important as wearing a colour that suits you!,many people will just squirt on a scent just because they think it smells nice from the bottle or on the sample paper that you find on many fragrance counters,


When making this choice you need to give the notes time to develop,this can be upto an hour.The initial spray which contains the top notes is the first thing that you will smell,sometimes you can be immediately put off or can think this is nice,these normally fade between 5-30 minutes after spraying and you are then presented with the middle or heart note which forms the main basis of the fragrance and will often define the type,these often appear 10-30 mins from spraying,following these you have the base notes which is the foundation of the fragrance,Do you, after a few hours when your fragrance seems to have disappeared get this lovely aroma?these are the base notes and depending on the fragrance strength these can last for hours.

We can often be swayed by the glossy advert in magazine or the wonderful display at the fragrance counter or the great special offer with ££s off the RRP and end up with an expensive mistake.

When seeking out a new fragrance get into the habit of having a spray of a tester fragrance,dont spray on the sample card spray it on your wrists, leave it a while and see what you think.

Mothers Day 2010

Mothering Sunday is traditionally a time when children honour and give thanks their mothers,in the UK it always falls on the fourth Sunday in lent, this year that will be Sunday 14th March.
Mothers day traditions were first traced from the middle ages when children of a very young age would leave home to work in neighbouring villages for the noblefolk and be allowed to return home during lent before the busy time of Easter,very often their employers would give them a gift of Simnel Cake to take with them, due to the expense of transport the children would walk and along the way gather wild flowers as a gift for  their mothers.The children would only return home for the weekend and attend church with their families on the Sunday,any gifts would be presented to their mothers, lent fasting  put aside for the day and feasts had.This was the poor peoples Easter Celebration which later became known as Mothering Sunday.
In modern times not much has changed,except that instead of wild flowers and simnel cake,gifts of fresh flowers,gift baskets perfume,chocolates and other special goodies are given,cards are also made or purchased.


When choosing a Mothers Day gift it need not be extravagant or huge,sometimes just being extra thoughtful or giving time can be enough,don`t forget that mums like to be spoilt,why not cook lunch,or breakfast in bed?.


To Mum`s everywhere Happy Mother`s Day!