Finding a new perfume

For the last couple of months I’ve been desperate to find my ‘signature scent’. I’ve always loved the idea of everyone associating a specific smell with me, and I think I’ve always associated it as being very sophisticated and grown up. However, finding that scent, as I’ve discovered, is not easy.

Scent is such a personal thing, where something that smells delicious to one person could make another want to gag. I currently wear Jo Malone’s Nectarine blossom and honey cologne, which is light, crisp, and sweet without going anywhere near being sickly. Whilst I love it, the scent doesn’t stay around for long, and I often can’t smell it on myself. I personally wear perfume for myself, where I want to be able to smell it an hour after I’ve applied it.  The cologne also a very basic scent, which means that it’s great for layering (I think it smells great with Jo Malone Rose and Oud), but it doesn’t have the ‘depth’ that some perfumes have.

In my teenage years, like all of my friends, I had a bit of an obsession with Marc Jacobs perfumes (like Daisy and Lola – probably because of the amazing lids on the bottles!). Whilst I can still smell and enjoy them, they definitely bring me back to being 14! I also think that, because everyone used to wear them, that I want to find a perfume that no one else wears, and maybe isn’t easily available on the high street? That does make actually finding one difficult though, especially once you consider that I don’t even really know what I want it to smell like. I love Diptyque’s candles, and have always wanted to be someone who wears their perfumes (it seems like all the bloggers rave about Philosykos). I’m in a weird position where I sometimes love Philosykos (or some of their other perfumes) when I smell it, but then at other times I don’t like it. I just can’t seem to find the right fit.

Sorry this has been a somewhat rambly post – I know I want a perfume that is long lasting, that not many people will own/wear, but I don’t know exactly how I want it to smell! If anyone has any suggestions on what their favourite perfume is, or how to shop for perfume, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

xxx

Too Faced vs Lancome – mascara review

As someone who is obsessed with having the most voluminous, yet still defined lashes, mascara is definitely one of my holy grail products! For me, I want it to look like I’m wearing mascara (I’m not a fan of so natural its barely there for lashes), but it can’t be clumpy. My two favourite mascaras are Too Faced Better than Sex (despite the completely unnecessary name) and Lancome Hypnose Drama, so I thought I’d do a side-by-side comparison of them!

When I  first bought the Too Faced mascara, it was almost impossible to get hold of in the UK, so I had to order it from Sephora, which was annoying as I definitely paid more than I should have after after shipping and customs fees! It’s now available from Debenhams and Selfridges, so much easier to repurchase! In comparison, Lancome is widely available in the UK, being in Boot’s and pretty much every department store.

Next up, price. Too Faced is a clear winner here, being £19 for 8ml, in comparison to £23.50 for 6.5ml for the Lancome. I also think that the packaging of the Too Faced feels a lot more luxurious, as it’s very heavy and made of embossed metal, whereas the Lancome is a simple black plastic tube. I know it shouldn’t make a difference, as it doesn’t effect how good the product is, but it does feel more special to use something in nice packaging, as well as feeling like you’re getting more for your money!

For mascaras that have a very similar effect, in that they are both very volumising, without being clumpy, they have fairly different brushes. Both have ‘fluffy’ synthetic bristles (as opposed to the plastic bristles of Benefit’s ‘They’re Real’), but the Lancome brush is a strange ‘wavy’ shape, in comparison to Too Faced’s being fat at both ends with a thinner bit in the middle. I prefer the shape of Lancome’s, as I find it really easy to grip each lash individually, as well as getting into the corner lashes without smudging it everywhere. The Too Faced brush is slightly bulkier, and so harder to get the corner lashes with, and I also find it harder to not smudge it just below my eyebrows (if that makes sense?!) when I’m applying it. Saying that, the smudging is nothing that can’t be fixed with a little bit of Bioderma on a cotton bud, but can be annoying if I’m in a rush.

I think the Lancome is better at curling the lashes alone, but as I normally use an eyelash curler anyway, that doesn’t make much of a difference to me. It also maybe has slightly better longevity, and never crumbles beneath my eyes, even if I’ve slept in my makeup. The Too Faced is slightly more dramatic, and is probably the most volumising mascara I’ve ever used.

I know I’ve made them sound very similar, but they do slightly different jobs for me, and I’ve somehow justified to myself that I definitely need both in my makeup bag! I tend to wear Lancome day to day, and the Too Faced for evenings out, or for special occasions. I have also been known to layer them, with Lancome on the bottom for curl and separation, and Too Faced on top for intense volume, when I’m feeling especially high maintenance!

I’d love to hear what your favourite mascaras are, and what you think of these ones if you’ve tried them?