Jack & Jack Covent Garden EdP

Actor Richard E Grant has always wanted to create his own perfume. Encouraged by Anya Hindmarch he set of on a journey to do just that. 

He met with various knowledgeable people in the industry including Lyn Harris of Miller Harris, Roja Dove, representatives at Robertet and finally IFF Perfume and nose Alienor Massenet with whom he took his ideas forward and they helped him to present them to Liberty. 

Richard wanted his British creation to be in a box with Union Jack bunting/flags but the team eventually decided on red boxes with the perfume inside being in a printed Union Jack bunting calico bag with a luggage label to be personalised once opened.

I've been testing out the two samples* and here are my thoughts:

Jack EdP (£95 for 100ml) an award winning scent which is an earthy citrus and is suitable for both men and women. It has top notes of Lime, Marijuana and Mandarin, a heart of Clove, Pepper and Nutmeg and a base of Oud, Vetivert, White Musk, Tobacco Absolute and Olibanum Resin. I find it slightly too masculine for my tastes.

However, I love (again unisex) Jack Covent Garden EdP (£95 for 100ml) as it's sweeter and fresher. It is inspired by the fruit, veg and flower market which was at Covent Garden. It has top notes of Orange, Lime and Ginger, a heart of Pink Peppercorn, Rose and Pimento with a base of carrot, orris and musk.

You can also pick up candles in both scents (£45 - 40 hours burn time) at Liberty and online.

*complimentary samples

Spending Ban: Updates & Wants #4

At the tail end of last week Liberty offered their fabulous Gift With Purchase worth £350 with a £150 spend - I was sorely tempted to break the ban! Luckily it sold out online so my spending ban is safe for another week! 

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Having just come across Edinburgh based Lucky Cloud Botanical Skincare I'm adding Coconut Lip Butter (£4) and Hydrating Body Butter - Sweet Orange & Vanilla (120ml - £15) to the wishlist. In fact the whole range looks lovely!  See here.

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Another new to me brand is LIHA - I'm fancying their IDAN Oil (30ml - £16) a natural cold pressed coconut oil which has a Tuberose flower immersed to give the oil a beautiful deep floral scent. Use it on your face, hair and body. It sounds lush! 

If you are on a spending ban how is it going?

London Trip

Last weekend (I can't believe it's been a whole week!) me and hubby had a long weekend in London.  It was primarily for David to watch his favourite team Miami Dolphins play at Wembley but we managed to fit in meeting friends, shopping, eating and drinking and generally spending lots of money!

As we were travelling light I didn't actually buy any beauty products but I sampled lots and now I have got a huge wishlist.  It was great to see and try products I normally can only buy online without testing first. 

We stayed at St James' Court Hotel for two nights. It was lovely and really central.

We ate lunch in the courtyard and David had a delicious spiced fish burger with sweet potato wedges.

I was super excited to meet Nardine (@Miss_Nardine), Sam (HoneyGoLightly) and Grace (all that slap).  Nardine came up to the hotel to meet us and show us the way to Grace Bar where we were meeting the others.

Nardine and me

me, Sam, Grace, Nardine

What a great night we had! So lovely to meet the girls.  Lots of cocktails, fizz, some food and chat.

Next day, we got up quite early to go look at the shops and stopped by - Content Beauty & Wellbeing (I loved it) Whole Foods Market, Miller Harris, Liberty and Fortnum & Mason to name a few.

in whole food market

Halloween goodies in Fortnum & Mason

We ate lunch at Mishkins (25 Catherine St, WC2B 5JS) It's a "kind-of Jewish deli" with cocktails.  I had a spiced negroni (delish) and a half brick lane salt beef sandwich. We shared a side of onion rings.  Would recommend!

We chose some Pierre Herme mararons at Selfridges and my favourites were Jasmine Tea and Passionfruit with chocolate.

We headed back to the hotel and had a Champagne Flight Experience which was three champagnes with matching canapes!  Was a really great experience and delicious.

David had booked dinner at Caxton Grill at St Ermin's Hotel which is a 5 minute walk from where we were staying.  The food was great and we both thoroughly enjoyed our dinner (next time it's definitely the tasting menu!)  My favourite course was the main which was Beef Fillet with garlic, barley and parmesan. 

Sunday saw us head to Wembley Stadium for the American Football. David's team Miami Dolphins were playing Oakland Raiders. There was a great atmosphere with over 83k in attendance and his team won!

Before boarding our flight home on Monday we had lunch at Plane Food, Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant at Terminal 5 at Heathrow.  I ate one of the best Chicken Caesar salads I've ever had and a super spicy Bloody Mary.

David had Cranahan with figs for pudding and it was super yummy. Who'd believe this amazing food is served at the airport!

All in all a great weekend and I can't wait to go back!

Liberty London Beauty Loyalty Card

While flicking through Harper's Bazaar's August issue I came across an exciting new loyalty card scheme.  Liberty in London have launched a new beauty loyalty card.  Receive £5 voucher every time you spend £150 - plus invitations to exclusive events, top insider tips and special treats and beauty gifts in-store.  For more information click here.

Liberty's beauty hall stocks brands such as - Le Labo, Byredo, Oskia, Frederic Malle, Serge Lutens and Miller Harris to name a few.

Harper's Bazaar has a great subscription offer currently running with a free Liberty Gift bag worth £137 - limited to first 150 orders.  It contains sample sized products from Decleor, Margaret Dabbs, ESPA and Dermalogica - although contents may vary.

Click here to sign up - 12 issues for £30 plus gift bag (first 150 subscribers)