Friday Favourites - Perfume Feature

Here at The Amazing Blog, we know how important a signature fragrance can be to your personal beauty routine. After you've fixed up your hair and applied your makeup, applying a bit of fragrance can be the perfect final touch to your ensemble. We all have a favourite fragrance that won't let us down, but sometimes we want to switch it up, and we're sure you do too. To give you a few suggestions for your next fragrance purchase, we've compiled our four newest discoveries that will please and entice your senses.

The new Heritage Collection perfumes from Crabtree & Evelyn are abolutely fabulous. In particular, our favourite scent was Parisian Millefleurs, which is inspired by floral scents of 18th century France. These include narcissus, rose, tuberose and violet. It comes in a simple glass bottle inside of an elegant baby blue box, which is delicately painted with fresh flowers. This fragrance is a must-have since spring is on the way. We found that it was a bit too strong to wear to the office, but loved wearing it out on dates and out with friends. It costs £31.50 and can be bought on the Crabtree and Evelyn website here.

The perfumes from Rouge Bunny Rouge smell simply amazing, plus they are vegan, phthalate-free and paraben-free. We got a chance to test out two of their lovely fragrances from the Fragrant Confections Collection. Lilt by Rouge Bunny Rouge incorporates the scents of nature, including fig leaves, peach, coconut and violet. It is the perfect balance between fruity and musky. The scent is perfect for any occasion and everyday wear. Incantation by Rouge Bunny Rouge has more of a woody scent with a hint of fruit. The smells of black fruits, fig leaves, mint and rose are infused to create a fragrance that is exquisite. You can purchase Lilt and Incantation on the Rouge Bunny Rouge website for £72 per bottle.

The Organic Glam fragrance collection from The Organic Pharmacy has created yet another enticing fragrance we couldn’t wait to get our hands on. The new scent, called Rose Oud, stands out with top notes of lemon, bergamot and lavender. Of course, notes of rose and oud are included in the mix, as well as jasmine and sandalwood. All of the scents combine beautifully to create a warm and sensual floral amber. The simple design of the bottle is classic, sophisticated and timeless, so it will look elegant atop your vanity. Add this scent to your collection and start your own fragrance love story. Pick up your own bottle here for £139, and feel the romance with every inhale of this glorious blend.

Let the As Sawira fragrance from Penhaligion take you on holiday with one simple spritz of fragrance. An exotic and sensual blend of carefully selected ingredients make this aroma a worthy scent for your vanity. The Moroccan-inspired top notes blend of bergamot, davana, saffron and absinthe had us longing for the beach. The bitter herbal notes combined with the radiant and gentle notes make for a perfectly balanced fragrance combination. With heart notes of rose and jasmine and base notes of sandalwood, myrrh and cedarwood, among others, it brings variety and offers a unique fragrance experience. Every detail of the perfume, from the scent to the vintage-style bottle, is well-thought and beautifully designed. You can get your own bottle here for £150.

Friday Favourites - Nails

Though we love the look of perfectly polished tips, sometimes it’s hard to find a moment to paint our nails, drying time alone being a drain on our precious minutes. To make the pampering process less of a hassle, we here at The Amazing Blog have gathered a few of our favourite varnishes, wraps and treatments. For us, the best polish choices are based on more than just colour, but quality, texture and drying time too. So we've picked out the best of the bunch, all of which meet our rather high standards. With this range of pretty polishes, we’re sure that you’ll persevere and find the time for a quick paint job.Before painting on a slick of your favourite summer polish, it’s important that your cuticles are primped to perfection to ensure a show stopping end result. To keep nail beds supple, we’ve discovered a Lemon Nail & Cuticle Oil from The Apothecary Room. An effective blend of sweet almond oil, lavender to heal and protect cuticles, and lemon to brighten the nail, the oil is completely natural and smells good enough to eat. It comes with a really handy pipette applicator, so that you can control the amount you’re using, as the smallest drop is more than enough. I used the oil on my hands as well as my nails, massaging it into my fingers to make them feel soft and moisturised. It’s the perfect pre-paint treat, and is available here for £9.75.Now that your nails are well and truly prepped, it's time to find the perfect polish. If bright, opaque nails are what you seek, then NARS’ Opaque Nail Polish range is just the thing for you. Consisting of 20 beautiful hues, spanning from purples to oranges, we were lucky enough to try limited edition Libertango, a wonderful fiery tomato red. The lacquer lived up to its name, delivering opaque coverage in just one coat, so much so that I didn’t trouble myself with applying a second. The formula glides on smoothly, and dries to a gorgeous glossy finish. Free from toluene, formaldehyde and DBP, and housed in the NARS signature matte packaging, it looks as vibrant in the bottle as it does on your nails. And with built in UV protection, the vibrancy of these iconic shades won’t fade. The NARS Opaque Nail Polish collection is available to purchase here from £14, with Libertango priced at £14.50.If you’re looking for a little luxury, try Only Fingers and Toes. They were kind enough to send us a beautifully boxed trilogy of polishes, and we thought that they made the perfect summer trio. Comprised of Spanky, a baby pink, Reef, a light orange, and Sunshine, a vibrant yellow, all three shades made us pine for sunnier days to come. Determined to put the polishes through their paces, we tried Sunshine, as, in our experience, yellow polishes are notorious for their streaky coverage. I must say, we were highly impressed by how bright and fresh the colour looked on the nails. The thick brush helped the varnish to glide onto our nails easily, providing even coverage in just a couple of strokes. The trilogy is available to buy online at Harvey Nichols, here, for £42. Alternatively, the polishes are sold separately for £16 each.Another great choice of varnish is Organic Glam. Famed for its natural approach to beauty, The Organic Pharmacy's cosmetic range includes a selection of nail polishes in an array of flattering colours. With their gold motif and demure packaging, we were intrigued by the prospect of a varnish with only three ingredients, and so we gave Sherbet Lemon a try. A peachy shimmer, one coat gives you a sheer, subtle wash, for a beautiful, understated look. If sheer isn’t what you’re after, don’t worry, the varnish builds up really easily for a brighter pop of colour, without ever looking too messy. With its very fast drying formula, this non-toxic range offers the ultimate in ‘glam’ nails. The polishes are available to buy here for £10 each.

If you're looking for a polish that's equally as pretty, but a little more affordable, then Crabtree and Evelyn is the perfect option. We were offered the chance to test their Peony Lacquer. After freshening up our nails, we painted on a quick layer of the polish, and it dried in next to no time. On top of its impressive fast drying formula, we were surprised by how opaque the light polish was, although we applied a second coat out of habit, giving a much bolder effect. After a few days of wear without chipping, we fell even more in love with the polish. You too can fall in love with Crabtree and Evelyn nail polishes, with a variety of colours available here for £6.00.For those more lax in the nail painting department, Lazy Nails' Custom Nail Wraps make a great alternative to the more high maintenance varnish route. Combining the genius of a nail wrap with creative prints, Lazy Nails Custom Nail Wraps make nail care fun, trendy and easy! The line includes striking patterns divided into categories like Around the World, Lace, Nature amongst others. They also offer you the option to Design Your Own nail wraps, which you can do here. A pack of Lazy Nails contains 16 uniquely printed nail wraps as well as a nail wipe, file and manicure stick. With step-by-step instructions for trimming and placement of the perfect manicure, it's the perfect product for the lazy girl. Most Lazy Nails Custom Nail Wraps are only £6.99 and can be found here.

Now, with a few of our favourite nail options to choose from, your nails will be polished to perfection in a matter of minutes.