British Beauty Blogger Is Away

The Perfume Diaries

Dior Dress
Ferragamo ShoeThe first Shalimar bottle design; complete with mercury laden lid. Eek!

Not being madly a perfume person, I was kind of sceptical about being taken on a guided tour of Harrods fragrance exhibition, running from now until 2nd October. Like, how interesting can old bottles be? Roja Dove (yes, he of the already notorious and yet to be released Sun-scent, Buzz) conducted the tour for a group of bloggers. I have to hand it to him - he was fascinating; in fact, the entire collection is fascinating but Roja brought it to life superbly. His knowledge is just exemplary. Immaculate. However, even without a guided tour, the collection is amazing. Cleverly, they've illustrated the exhibition with some non-perfume items, including a Halston dress from the '80s, a vintage Dior dress and the giant Ferragamo shoe.

I'm not going to go through a great long post detailing exactly what you'll see because it will only spoil things if you are visiting, but I can say for fragrance lovers, it is truly a treat.

A couple of things really stood out to me that ably illustrate the turmoils, passions and massive egos that embody the fragrance world..the first, when Van Cleef & Arpels launched their fragrance it was the first jewellery house to do so. Naturally, and to stamp their claim to fame for ever, they called it First. Cartier quickly followed suit with a fragrance and while they couldn't ever be first, they named it Must. In essence, two fingers to Van Cleef and Arpels because while their's might have been first, Cartier's was the one that you Must have.

Secondly, Worth's hidden poem; so simple, but incredibly moving. Launched over a period of years, the translation of their names becomes: In the night (Dans La Nuit, 1924), Just before dawn (Vers La jour, 1925), Because I can't bear to say goodbye (Sans adieu, 1929), I will return (Je Reviens 1932), To you (Vers Toi 1934).

Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood

I'll admit straight away that I haven't tried this fragrance yet but in theory, it sounds like a goodie. If you're a fan of 'florientals' you certainly will want to get a sample as the notes of black rose, carnal violet (is that an actual violet variety or just saying that violet is carnal?? the ambiguities of a press release..) and ylang ylang sound nothing short of delish.

It hits Selfridges counters on 24th September, from £35.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture: The Stand Outs

Although the new YSL Rouge Pur lipstick comes in 18 colours, I've picked out my favourites above for their out and out glamness and originality. Quite how many will be brave enough to wear white Rouge Blanc remains to be seen (in fact, I think you can use it to adjust your choice of red). The range is designed by YSL Creative Director Stefano Pilati in new-gold coloured cases.

The best thing about this range is that it takes into account three distinct skin tones - light skin, olive skin and huzzah!! - black skin! About time, too. Rouge Noir is actually a kind of cola brown - true black would be just too harsh, and the predicted big seller is red La Rouge.

They launch exclusively at Selfridges on Friday. £22.

M Lab Hand Treatment

Ever since I used M Lab's body cream (saved for special occasions) I've been a fan of this range - even at the wince-making prices. On holiday I managed to sun-ravage my hands into some kind of mock-croc state - weirdly, nowhere else suffered the same fate but had the same amount of sun. Although I'd half-heartedly used M Lab Hand Treatment pre-holiday, I thought I'd give it another go to see if I could rid myself of 80 year old hands. I've been treating the dryness with a facial oil - more of which I will post about later - but adding the Hand Treatment over the top literally gave an overnight result. My hands looked this morning the age they should! The dryness - okay, lets call it by it's proper name - wrinkles - has considerably smoothed away. And, I mean considerably. It's probably the peptides that did it, because while the formula contains skin brighteners, you wouldn't expect an overnight result. Or maybe it was the collagen boosts with lipo-filling action (nope, no idea what that is, but I'll assume it fills in the creases). Whatever, it was a spectacular improvement. At £55, I'd expect something approaching a miracle, and sure enough, as I've found with all M Lab products, it really did deliver.

M Lab uses highly active ingredients (67%) and plenty of them, so the range isn't for everyone - particularly if you are sensitive to actives, but I'm really happy that I've managed to rejuvenate my dreadful hands. The formula is also very moisturising and gives a bit too much sheen for a while. It soon goes away, but I prefer it as a night treatment, although as I'm about to pop off for a sunny weekend break, I might take advantage of the SPF20 and try and prevent OAP hands again!

It's available from www.harrods.com

Dead Sea Spa Magik Bath Salts

I get sent a lot of products from this range and never really give them much attention, but this one simple sachet of Dead Sea Salts is a little mineral packed marvel. It claims to alleviate dry and flaky skin conditions, improve and soften the skin, relieve aching joints and relax the body. All I can say is that I have had terrible back ache and very painful wrists (from typing)...and the salts really had a good effect. I’ve had plenty of hot baths that didn’t relieve the symptoms other than briefly so I can only attribute the fact that my back felt looser and relaxed and, more importantly, my wrists were pain free for a period of time for the first time in days to the addition of the salts. The effects lasted well into the next day putting the salt bath over and above a regular bath. And, at £3.50 a box, and 21 different minerals, there's nothing bank breaking about it, either, so this is definitely going to be a winter regular for me.

Shiffa Soothing Body Oil

Dubai skincare range Shiffa looks, feels and acts hugely premium. The packaging is beautiful – I loved the way the inner box opens out to reveal product information, and a duck egg blue ribbon just adds to the luxury look of the blue and cream boxes. The oil is gorgeous; easy to apply, it sinks into the skin without leaving any greasy residue and really does add softness. The only thing about it is the smell; it smells like a million and one other oils (citrus/herbal from orange oil, nutmeg, bergamot) and that feels at odds with everything else about the brand which in essence is quite different. I’d definitely gift this range if I wanted to treat a friend to a beautiful and pampering experience, but I would have loved it to smell of something less predictable. It uses hazelnut oil for repairing and jojoba to soften abd costs £51.75. I’m told that Shiffa Healing Balm is the product from the range that is getting beauty press most excited.