Friday Favourites – Christmas Gift Sets from Heathcote & Ivory

As regular reader may have gathered from our week of reviewing gift sets, at The Amazing Blog we’re now really getting into the Christmas spirit.  Since one gift doesn’t always work for everyone, we have gathered a selection for our gift set finale, with a trio from one of our favourite brand Heathcote & Ivory

Founded in 2000, this quintessentially British brand Heathcote & Ivory has successfully established itself as a lifestyle brand spread across over 35 countries, with its most unique and recognisable hallmark of bright and floral patterns on all its designs and collections. With an extensive variety of products from home fragrances to bath and body care, there is always something for everyone. If you’re new to The Amazing Blog then see here for some of our other #amazingfinds from this company.

The first item we’re going to talk about today is their Sweet Pea & Honeysuckle Floral Hands & Perfume Pair. This adorable Christmas-themed packaging contains a roll-on perfume gel and hand cream. The 10ml pink flacon of perfume gel is alcohol–free, and the smell is soft and floral with notes of fresh sweet peas and honeysuckle. The 30ml hand and nail cream has an identical scent and is enriched with shea butter, vitamin E, glycerin and pro-vitamin B5 to help keep hands soft, smooth and moisturised during this chilly season. Both products are small and will fit beautifully into a small clutch or travel bag, so if you know anyone who loves travelling this would be the ideal gift. It has a retail price of £8 here.

Next up is the gift set styled as a set of classic Christmas crackers. Young or old, everyone loves opening crackers to see what’s inside. We know that we do. Vintage & Co Grand Circus Let’s Go Cracker Set has themed carton crackers with all the fun of the circus,  each contains a three 30ml tube of hand cream. We love that it’s full of long-lasting festive fragrance notes of pomegranates, ripened red berries, eggnog, mulled wine, vanilla frostings and sweet orange swirls. Each tube contains shea butter, vitamin E and sweet orange essential oil as part of their key ingredients to help keep hands soft and smooth. The texture is thick and creamy, and a little goes a long way. We must quickly point out that the crackers contain three identical hand creams, so no swapsies here. Instead spread the love and make three people very happy with just one purchase here. All for the princely sum of £10!

Finally, we’ve saved the best till last. The Enchanted Forest Beauty Trilogy, with its majestic look, this elegant body care collection opens like a book and weights like a treasure chest. We took a peek and found 150g Bath Salts, 200ml Body Lotion and 100ml Hand Cream. The Bath Salts, have the enchanting scents of forest greens, with relaxing chamomile, bluebells, jasmine and rose; with subtle base notes of sandalwood, cedarwood and sweet vanilla. The Body Lotion quickly absorbs into skin, making it soft to the touch and locks in the shared fragrance. The Hand Cream is the same but enriched with shea butter and vitamin E. Its light non-oily texture leaves hands feeling soft and moisturised. Best of all we love that this Beauty Trilogy box can be reused to store papers, photos and memories – what a gift! If you wish to treat someone you love we recommend you buy this gift set here for only £18. We love the originality and affordability of the Heathcote & Ivory gift sets – they never fail to disappoint!

JUL ET MAD Paris - The Stairway to Heaven

Have you like us at The Amazing Blog, a burning desire to rush off to the mountains for snow, fresh clean air and spiritual tranquility?  Then let us introduce to The Stairway to Heaven the latest fragrance launch from one of the favourite perfume houses JUL ET MAD Paris. Taking their inspiration from the vast beauty of the snowy mountain tops of the Himalayas – it’s no surprise that when you close your eyes, this heady scent will help to transport you on a sensory journey there. Regular readers may remember that we’ve previously reviewed their other delicious fragrances Aqua Sextius and Nea.

JUL ET MAD Paris was formed after a fortunate and unexpected encounter with the founders Julien (JUL) and Madalina (MAD) on the streets of Paris. This led onto the creation of a brand that has launched many cult fragrance collections such as Les Classiques and Les WHITE. Stairway to Heaven is their second collaboration with perfumer Cecile Zarokian, who has already gone on to create over a hundred fragrances for various brands in the European and Middle-East perfume sector.

We think that Stairway to Heaven is very special indeed. This Himalayas inspired perfume is built around a complex range of 8 different white musks. They describe it as: “Luminous ‘second-skin’ perfume, a veritable mantle of softness and lightness. The original composition is characterised by a dual whiteness: pure and immaculate, but warming and enveloping. A slightly gourmand and fruity accord contributes to its addictive effect, while accents of precious woods, amber and incense complete in a most lavish manner this astonishingly rich fragrance.” We couldn’t agree more and think it’s just magical…. And yet another wonderful creation from this inspired couple.

Whether you are looking for a new fragrance or a Christmas gift, we think that this 50ml pale blue fragrance, housed in a beautiful silver-plated multi-faceted bottle, will not disappoint. Retailing at 145 €/ £135, see here, to purchase.

Tiiya Alanoud Alattiya - Rose Oud Epiphany Eau de Parfum

Every so often you smell a perfume that transports you to another time or place. At The Amazing Blog we instantly felt transported to exotic Arabian nights after closing our eyes and a little spritz of Tiiya Alanoud Alattiya’s RoseOud Epiphany Eau De Parfum and we relished every fragrant moment.

The founder Alanoud Alattiya is a graduate from the UCL Museum and Gallery Practice Masters program. By day she is a museum practitioner and by evenings a couturier. She grew up in a household fully immersed in couture, with her mother being one of the first women to wear Christian Dior in the Arabian Gulf. it was just a decade ago, that her career in couture designing amongst members of elite society was frowned upon. However, her first cousin, His Highness The Father Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani built a platform of newer social meaning and understanding, allowing her creativity to be celebrated.

Regular reader will remember that we recently wrote about her Concentrated Eye Cream here, but today we wanted to tell you about her Epiphany Rose Oud Eau de Parfum. After applying a spritz of this perfume, we immediately felt the warmth and essence of the luxurious Persian Gulf. The Arabic oud’s woody deep scent mixes with the sweet floral notes of rose oil to create an elegant fragrance. Oud oil is estimated as being worth 1.5 times the amount of gold. This ‘liquid gold’ gives the Rose Oud Epiphany perfume a complex aroma and mythical essence of the East. Trust us when we say that with the Epiphany perfume, a little goes a long way. It lingered on the skin all day and then some. If you too want to smell like luxury, the Tiiya Alanoud Alattiya Rose Oud Epiphany Eau de Parfum 100ml can be your too, if you purchased here for £120.

April Aromatics – Rose L'Orange

It’s always exciting to search for that special fragrance, that you can claim as your very own. Here at The Amazing Blog one of us has found their ideal feminine summer fragrance, Rose L’Orange, the perfect combination for our balmy summer and from one of our favourite fragrance houses. We are excited to be reviewing once again, April Aromatics. April Aromatics is a fabulous organic perfume brand, which we discovered for a past Friday Favourites, see here. The creator, Tanja Bochnig’s mission is as follows: “To create perfumes that not only smell good but make you feel good, from the inside out.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

April Aromatics takes a holistic approach to their fragrances and instil the scents with essences, together with semiprecious stones, which help to give the wearer both harmony and vibrancy. This mind body and soul approach is what makes their scents particularly special and unique. We also like that wherever possible, the ingredients are pure and natural, no animal ingredients are used (except beeswax), and the Eau de Parfums contain essences based on a blend of grape spirit.

Out of the fifteen Eau de Parfums, we asked to try the soft sweet and flowery scent, Rose L’Orange. Once applied, the fragrance mixes with the warmth of the skin and exudes a delicious fresh floral and fruity sophistication. Beautifully blended, both the rose and citrus are in tandem, gently lingering in perfect harmony, not overpowering each other. The undernote of vanilla tames the sweet mixture of rose otto, centifolia, neroli, and mandarin, making it easy to wear from day to night. It is equally suited to wear during our crazily humid 30-degree British summer, as it is soothing, refreshing and grounding. Rose L’Orange contains 100% natural and source-able extracts, together with organic alcohol. The bottle is in a simple cylinder shape, dressed up by the silver lettering on the label. With a turn of the container, the semiprecious stones of clear crystal and Herkimer quartz (a powerful five hundred-million-year-old amplifier of spiritual energy) gently rattle against the glass, evoking not just the sense of smell, but the hearing as well. There is definitely something very moreish about this fragrance.You can purchase April Aromatics’ Rose L’Orange 30ml here for €169.00.

Friday Favourites: Perfume boxes

The scent of a perfume often reveals a person’s personality. Finding the right fragrance that embodies who we are is a struggle. With so many fragrances out there, it can feel impossible to narrow it down. The Amazing Blog has rounded up some fantastic fragrances that we are sure you will love. Whether you prefer a sensual, floral or bold scent, there is something that will suit you. These Discovery and Sample sets are also the perfect gift!

JO LOVES FRANGRANCE DISCOVERY GIFT EXPERIENCE

The famous Jo Malone rules the fragrance market, and for good reason! Jo started her fast-growing company, Jo Malone London, in her London kitchen. This scent mixologist gained huge recognition for her accomplishments, leading to her selling the company to Estée Lauder Companies in 1999 where she worked as the Creative Director until 2006.

Jo Malone is back with her new company Jo Loves, inspired by her beloved memories. We are so excited to see new beautiful and high-quality fragrances from her! The Jo Loves Fragrance Discovery Gift Experience is a wonderful way to explore some of Jo Malone’s long-lasting incredible scents to find one that best suits you. The Fragrance Discovery Gift Experience consists of ten 2ml vials. The best part? Jo Loves will send you your favourite fragrance in the form of a 50ml bottle of Eau de Toilette. The fragrances include Pomelo, White Rose & Lemon Leaves, Mandarin, Smoked Plum & Leather, Red Truffle 21, Shards of Cedar & Red Thyme, No. 42 The Flower Shop, Gardenia, Pink Vetiver, and Green Orange & Coriander. With this wide array of aromas to test and choose from, you are sure to fall in love with at least one!

Our go-to of the bunch has to be the Smoked Plum & Leather, but you can purchase the set here for £105 to see which one you fancy.

SANA JARDIN DISCOVERY SET

Next up, we’ve got the Sana Jardin Discovery Set. Sana Jardin is the first socially-conscious luxury fragrance brand. They strive to create social change through commerce called The Beyond Sustainability Movement. This movement aims to make female entrepreneurs agents of change in their communities while preserving that commnicity's skills. This set comes with seven vials of 2ml Eau de Parfums. The first fragrance is Berber Blonde No. 1, which has a slightly musky aroma with beautiful notes of Moroccan orange blossom and North African neroli. Tiger By Her Side No. 2 is just as seductive as the name suggests. It has notes of amber, Moroccan rose, patchouli and Somalian Incense. It is the perfect scent for those who want to get in touch with their wild side. Savage Jasime No. 3 is a rather heady, musky scent as well, but with a floral twist from the infusion of Moroccan jasmine.

Sandalwood Temple No. 4 is a blend of East Indian Sandalwood, cedarwood, Madagascan vanilla, neroli, and Haitian vetiver. It all comes together to create a wonderfully seductive scent that is sure to turn heads once others get a whiff. Celestial Patchouli No. 5 has an intense and rich aroma with notes of patchouli, leather, sandalwood. Not only that, there are floral hints of rose and jasmine with a touch of cinnamon bark for an invigorating experience. Nubian Musk No. 6 is another musky scent that is amplified by a bit of vanilla, jasmine, rose, and grapefruit flower. Revolution De La Fleur No. 7 is a tropical and floral fragrance comprised of Moroccan ylang-ylang and frangipani.

If these fragrances have caught your interest, you can purchase the 7 x 2ml vials of Eau de Parfum from Sana Jardin Discovery Set here for £30.

APRIL AROMATICS

One of our newest discoveries is the Deluxe Sample Set from April Aromatics. Founded by perfumer Tanja Bochnig in New York, April Aromatics perfumes are free from animal ingredients (besides beeswax), certified organic or wild-crafted, and contain 100% natural ingredients. In addition, the packaging is recyclable! The April Aromatics 7 Chakra Oil Set was a winner of the 2018 Beauty Shortlist Editors' Choice Award. 

With this set, you receive 10 out of the range of 15 fragrances that they offer. Each Eau de Parfum vial contains 2.5ml of the fragrance, which they say equates to about 28 spritzes. These scents are deliciously intense and super long-lasting. To make the choice a bit easier on you, for the summer evenings, we recommend adding Ray of Light and Rosenlust to your list. These two have unique and evocative aromas that we don’t want to ever run out! Ray of Light has notes of lemon, lime, pink grapefruit, and bergamot. A citrus infusion! Rosenlust contains a soft floral mix of tonka, ambrette, and sandalwood.

You can purchase the Deluxe Sample Set of 10 x 2.5ml vials of Eau de Parfum from April Aromatics here for €111.

EDEN PERFUMES SAMPLE GIFT BOX

If you are looking for an environmentally-conscious scent, then we recommend Eden Perfumes. Eden Perfumes is a family-run vegan company from beautiful Brighton. They say: "Botanical cruelty-free perfumes consciously crafted with respect to the planet and all beings." Their products are 100% vegan and not tested on animals. They have similar, not identical, scents to popular ones on the market with over 200 fragrances to choose from, all of the fragrances come in Eau de Parfum strength, not Eau de Toilette! Unlike many others, Eden Perfumes doesn't contain animal notes, such as musk, milk, and honey.

We tried a Sample Gift Box where you can choose your own three combinations. The one that Eden Perfumes sent us contained these three scents: No. 309 Daisy (a floral, woody musk), No. 420 Ispahan Oud (oriental floral; unisex), and No. 475 Neroli (subtly sweet and citrus aromatic; unisex). While those three scents are wildly different and luxurious, we were drawn to Daisy and felt that with its versatility, it could to be worn day through to night. Eden Perfumes has dozens of scents, all of which are very reasonably priced. We deeply encourage you to see the full range for a little spoiling fragrance spree.

Purchase an Eden Perfumes Gift Box of 3  x 10ml bottles of your choice for £21.60 here. Curious about the scents we highlighted? Then you too can purchase a 30ml bottle of No. 309 Daisy, No. 420 Ispahan Oud, and No. 475 Neroli for £18.00 each.

We'd like to give a special thank you to April Aromatics for sending us a 30ml bottle of Rose L’Orange, which we will be reviewing in August. We hope that we have inspired you with our choices. Now get spritzing!