The Perfume Society: Precious Perfumes Discovery Box

It's been a while since I bought a Perfume Society Discovery Box. Precious Perfumes Discovery Box costs £17.50 for non-members and £12.50 for members plus P&P. But.... they are currently offering free P&P as a Black Friday Deal which ends on Monday at 10.00am. Use code "thankyou". 

Pick yours up HERE.

Inside is:

Charlotte Tilbury Scent of a Dream EdP 1.5ml which is a CHYPRE FLORAL. It has top notes of Joy accord (lemon, peach, black pepper, saffron, mandarin & bergamot) with a heart of Fleurotic accord (tuberose, jasmine, patchouli, frankincense, lily of the valley, orange flower, rose, magnolia) with base notes of Psycho active accord (fire tree, Iso E super, hedione, ambroxan, precious woods, cistus, amber, musks). I rather like this one!

Miller Harris Etui Noir EdP 2ml (which I've tried before and love!) and is from the LEATHER family and has top notes of bergamot, tangerine, elemi gum with a heart of Moroccan iris butter, incense, cashmere wood and a base of Indonesian patchouli, Haitian vetiver, leather, amber, birch and labdanum.

From Maison Francis Kurkdjian we have Baccarat Rouge 540 EdP 2ml which is from the FLORIENTAL fragrance family which has top notes of jasmine and saffron, a heart of amberwood and base notes of fir, resin and cedar. The perfume began as an exclusive commission for French crystal house Baccarat who wanted to offer a limited run of 250 flacons to honour their 250th anniversary.

Bvlgari's Rose Goldea EdP 1.5ml is from the FLORAL family and is deeply rosey and floral. It has top notes of pomegranate, musk, rose and bergamot with a heart of damask rose, jasmine, peony and peach and base notes of musk, olibanum, sandalwood and vanilla. Love this one!

Nejma 7 EdP 1.5ml is from the GOURMAND family. This is a perfume house I've never heard of before. It's extremely mouthwatering!  With top notes of pink grapefruit, green mandarin and Calabrian citrus a heart of neroli flower, cacao and coconut with a base of oudh, white musk and patchouli. Again, love this one!

Versace Eros Pour Femme EdT 5ml is from the FLORAL FRUITY family and has top notes of lemon, mandarin, raspberry, white currant with a heart of jasmine, freesia, magnolia and orange blossom with base notes of patchouli, exotic woods, ambrox and musk. This is really beautiful - it's fresh and fruity with a floral heart. Love the cute little bottle too.

I've already had the pleasure of trying latest launch from Beaufort London. Fathom V EdP 2ml (in Bloom Perfumery's October Sample Pack) which is from the FOUGERE family and has top notes of earth, green leaves, aquatic notes, a heart of cumin, lily and black pepper with base notes of vetiver, moss and salt. Huge fan of this brand and love this.

From Ormonde Jayne we have Tsarina EdP 2ml which is from the FLORIENTAL fragrance family. It has top notes of mandarin, bergamot, coriander and cassis with a heart of hedoine, freesia, jasmine, sambac, iris and suede with base notes of sandalwood, cedar, vanilla bean, labdanum and musk. This is beautiful with spicy, rich and warm woody and slightly sweet notes. Simply stunning!

The final perfume in the box is Hermes Galop D'Hermes Pure Perfume 4ml which is from the FLORIENTAL family. It has notes of quince, rose, saffron and leather. Again, I love this one!

Extras as always are fab!

We have a 30ml bottle of Molton Brown's newest launch Rosa Absolute Bath & Shower Gel. I've been itching to try this so I'm delighted to find a small bottle in the box. It has notes of blackcurrant, geranium, Italian rose and patchouli.

And a full size bottle of Nails Inc Electric Avenue polish which is perfect for party nails and worth £15!

I'm absolutely delighted with the contents of the box. Did you pick one up or will you?

The Perfume Society: Jet Set Box

I couldn't resist the latest The Perfume Society box "Jet Set". It is packed full of generous samples to keep you going all through summer.  For Subscribers the box costs £10 including P&P (subscribe for a year for £25 and this includes a welcome Discovery box - see more details HERE).

I'm a huge Creed Virgin Island Water (2.5ml EDP) fan having once owned a full size bottle! It's a lush fresh scent with notes of lime, mandarin, coconut, white bergamot, hibiscus, ylang-ylang, ginger jasmine, musk, tropical woods, sugar cane and white rum. It has a real tropical coconut lime scent turning to exotic floral notes with the dry down of white rum and sugar cane. Love! Now need to save up for FS bottle!

The next two which caught my attention were the duo from The Library of Fragrance - Salt Air and Pina Colada - these are both very generous 15ml sprays and you can combine them making them perfect for summer holidays. Salt Air is fresh and breezy with notes of Sea Salt, Amber and Musk and is reminiscent of being beside the sea with the tangy salt air. Perfect to wear alone or combine with Pina Colada, a tropical blast of pineapple, rum and coconut (what's not to love!)  The scent is super fruity and exotic. Love both of these.

My next favourite is the super cute Thierry Mugler Angel eau Sucree (1.2ml EDT) which is wrapped up like a packet of parma violets in silvery striped paper (a bit like how Bond No.9 samples are wrapped). This fruity gourmand scent is delicious. You can tell straight away it is from the "Angel" family but it is lighter, softer and fruitier.  It has notes of red fruit sorbet, carmelised meringue, vanilla and patchouli. Another one I love!

Also catching my eye is Shay & Blue's Blood Oranges (2ml) which I already own. Ripe and juicy oranges are layered with leather, musk, dark woods and amber. It is fresh and fruity and perfect for summer evenings.

Oooh a rose scent too! L'Artisan's latest launch Rose Privee (1.5ml EDP) which is pretty special. It has top notes of cassis, green mandarin, basil and violet leaf with a heart of May rose, carnation, magnolia and lilac with base notes of hay, patchouli and musk.  In the month of May in Grasse, May Roses bloom and this scent uses them in their most concentrated form.  Full size is now firmly on the wishlist - it's a delight.

The final three I'm not really too excited about to be honest. We have Elie Saab Le Parfum (0.8ml EDP) which comes from the floral family. It has notes of orange blossom, jasmine, grandiflorum, jasmine sambac, patchouli, cedarwood, rose and honey.  It is a light floral with honey and woody notes.

Paco Rabanne Lady Million Eau My Gold! (1.5ml EDT) has notes of mango, grapefruit, neroli essence, orange blossom, violet leaf, amber musk and cedarwood. I find it a bit strong for my personal taste.

The final scent in the box is Versace Eros Pour Femme (1ml EDP) and has notes of bergamot, pomegranate, peony, jasmine, lemon flower, musk, ambrox and warm woods. I find it a bit powdery/strong for my taste.

The final item is Ultrasun Face High SPF30 Anti-Ageing Formula Protective Cream (25ml - worth £10) I'll be popping it in my holiday bag.

I'm delighted with this great value box with only a couple of scents which aren't really me. Did you pick up the box? What are your thoughts as to the contents?

The Perfume Society: VIP Subscriber

I picked up The Perfume Society's Holiday Discovery Box back in November and loved it! Just after Christmas and before my spending ban kicked in (broke it already!) I signed up to be a member which costs £25 a year. For this you receive an introductory box full of trial sizes and samples, get online issues of a fab magazine - The Scented Letter, smelling strips, a notebook, fragrance notes postcards and a hand cream. You can also buy the forthcoming discovery boxes for £10.

Inside is:

Versace Crystal Noir EDT 5ml - this is an ORIENTAL scent with notes of blackcurrant, black fig, violet, frangipani, tuberose, jasmine, cashmeran, vanilla pod, heliotropine and sandalwood. This is gorgeous! Sweet and Floral with a tiny bit of wood. One of my favourites!

Miller Harris Fleur de Sel EDP 1.6ml - from the CHYPRE fragrance family. I've tried this scent before and loved it.  It has notes of red thyme oil, clary sage, angelica, iris, narcissus, ambrette seed, rose, vetiver, oakmoss, leather, patchouli and labdanum. A "deeply sensual and earthy fragrance, with astringent salt at its heart".

Chloe EDP 1.2ml - from the FLORAL family. It has top notes of pink peony, freesia and lychee with heart notes of magnolia flower, lily of the valley, rose and freesia with base notes of cedarwood, amber and honey.  This is a true floral and very feminine.

DALI WILD EDT 6.5ml - from the WOODY fragrance family. This is a really powerful and strong scent. It has top notes of yuzu, green notes, tuberose and gardenia with middle notes of jasmine and magnolia and base notes of mahogany, zebrano and woods.

Paco Rabanne Lady Million EDP 1.5ml - from the FLORIENTAL family. This is my first try of this best seller.  It contains notes of bitter orange, raspberry, neroli, jasmine, gardenia, patchouli, amber and honey. It's lovely.

Atkinsons 24 Old Bond Street Eau de Cologne 2ml - A FRESH perfume.  It contains notes of juniper, cardamon, rose, black tea, Turkish rose absolute, whisky, cade oil and cedar. I love this one!  It starts off really fresh with hints of juniper mellowing to a smokey scent.

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Noir EDP 1.5ml - from the GOURMAND fragrance family.  When first sprayed it has a rich and fruity sweet scent. It is very girly and contains notes of wild berries, mandarin, strawberry, honeysuckle, gardenia petals, jasmine sambac, amber, caramel and vanilla. I love it.

Nina Ricci L'Air du Temps EDT 1.2ml - I'm not keen on this one - it's a bit too powdery and old fashioned smelling for me.  A FLORAL with notes of peach, bergamot, neroli, aldehydes, carnation, gardenia, rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, musk, sandalwood and iris root.  It was launched in 1948 and is still popular today.

The extra in the box is a Crabtree & Evelyn Lily Hand Cream 25g. Did you join up?  What are your thoughts on the perfumes included?

The Perfume Society: The Holiday Collection Discovery Box

The Perfume Society is a website which shares "everything you ever wanted to know about fragrances".  As well as learning about perfumes you can be one of the first to see the latest launches, get invitations to events, read a super informative e-magazine magazine called The Scented Letter (this is free to VIP Subscribers). Join as a VIP Subscriber for a year for £25. You get the magazine (8 issues a year), invitations to events, a Perfume Discovery Fragrance Edition, special content on the website which is only for subscribers and subsequent Discovery boxes for £10 with free P&P.

As I'm not a subscriber (yet) my The Holiday Collection Discovery Box cost £15 with free P&P.  It is absolutely jam packed with perfume samples and a couple of extra treats.

Inside there are in-depth information cards about each product and a book of blotters - use these before trying the perfume on your skin as the heart and base notes of a perfume are the ones you live with once the top notes subside.

I'll start with a perfume I already love. L'Artisan Mure et Musc EDT 1.5ml - I've been lucky enough to own a bottle of this beautiful scent.  It has top notes of lemon, orange, basil, mint and red berries. A heart of blackberry and jasmine and base notes of patchouli, musks, oak and moss.  I love the fresh blackberry floral notes.  Think a bottle of this is going on the wishlist as I'd forgotten how lovely it is!

Another perfume I adore is Shay & Blue's Atropa Belladonna 2ml - it is an intoxicating scent and I reviewed it here. I'm currently on my second bottle.

The second last scent in the box that I've tried previously is Liz Earle's Botanical Essence No 15 EDP 2ml - a "fresh oriental" with top notes of pink pepper, bergamot and cinnamon leaves, a heart of rose absolute Damascena, cypriol and cedarwood with a base of vanilla bourbon, amberiff, sandalwood and tonka bean. Spicy and warm with floral and earthy notes.

The final perfume I've tried before is Plum by Mary Greenwell EDP 2ml - I didn't love this the first time I tried it but I'll try it again.  It has top notes of peach, bergamot, lemon, plum and blackcurrant with heart notes of gardenia, tuberose, orange blossom, rose and jasmine (I love these notes!) with a base of sandalwood, oak moss, patchouli, amber and white musk.  I'll let you know my thoughts once I've given it another go.

All the rest of the perfumes I haven't tried before. I'll give you an update later as to my thoughts on them when I try them.

Agent Provocateur Fatale EDP 2ml - this has top notes of pink pepper, mango and blackcurrant with a heart of velvet gardenia, orris absolute and patchouli with a base of vanilla, skin musk, chocolate gourmand addiction and labdanum.

Judith Williams I love Milano, Principessa EDP 10ml - this smells beautiful and is a great size!  With top notes of mandarin, green leaf accord and passionfruit, heart notes of jasmine, tuberose and gardenia and base notes of amber, musk, vanilla and solar accord.

L'Occitane Collection de Grasse The Vert & Bigarade EDT 7.5ml - I adore Magnolia & Mure from this range.  This one has top notes of orange and bitter orange, heart notes of green tea and yerba mate with base notes of cedar, thyme and musk.

Versace Crystal Collection - Yellow Diamond, Bright Crystal and Crystal Noir EDT 1ml - two in the trio are florals and one is oriental. They were created to "celebrate the rich and infinite variety of personalities that embody the Versace women".

The extra treats are:

A full size (8ml) nails inc Gel Effect Polish in St James and a 5ml trial size of Sarah Chapman's Skinesis Overnight Facial.

A great box I think. What are your thoughts?

HQ Hair - Freebie Offer

HQ Hair were running an offer recently - buy any product from the shop and get a free goodie bag worth £5 (this was limited to 200).  I bought Pure Fiji Nourishing Exotic Oil  in Coconut (£9.50 for 90ml).  I received this in April's Joliebox (and had tried before in a travel set).  You can use it for massage, as a bath oil, a hair oil and a super moisturising treatment for hands and feet - I love a multi purpose product, love coconut scents and this product in particular.

The freebie contained:

NARS sheer Glow Foundation (4ml) in Sante-Fe 

DuWop Venom Gloss (5ml)

Korres Quercetin & Oak Anti-Ageing & Anti-Wrinkle Light Texture Cream (1.5ml)

Versace Crystal Noir EDT 2ml Vial

Versace Yellow Diamond EDT Vial

Did you get this offer?