July Favourites ’17

Woohoo it’s getting closer to my holiday now which is really exciting! July went by super quick to be honest and it took me ages to remember what happened throughout the month, let alone what products I was loving. 😛

Finally I came up with some beauty products I loved, but it wasn’t easy! This also includes my non beauty favourites too!

• NSPA Fruits Blueberry Shower and Bath Gel.

This has been a shower gel I’ve really enjoyed using throughout the month, which I’m sure you can tell from the fact that it’s pretty much empty now! I reviewed this shower gel as well as two others here a month or two ago. Blueberry scented things are a definite must have for me, as it’s my favourite fruit! Also you can’t go wrong if the colour blue or purple comes with it too. This shower and bath gel has a light but fragrant scent to it and it’s really refreshing too, which makes it a perfect shower and bath gel to use throughout the summer. I mostly used this as a shower gel, but occasionally I did also use it in the bath which created some lovely soft bubbles. I have the strawberry one to use up next!

• L’Oreal Paris Pure Clay Blemish Rescue Face Mask.

This is a face mask I have really been loving using since I bought it and in a short period of time I have noticed such a huge difference to my skin! It’s made me really happy! I broke out so badly towards the end of July and I was gutted, but after using this mask again it really did help calm my skin down and pretty much make my spots go away in a matter of days. I cannot recommend this face mask enough to people with spot prone skin and oily skin. You can read my review for it here!

• Maybelline Color Drama Intense Lip Paint in Vamped Up.

You know when you rediscover a lip product you used to love? Yeah I did this  in July with this gorgeous purple lip paint! It’s one of my favourite purple lipsticks I own and it’s also one of the best types of lipstick to apply to! Granted due to the dark purple shade you need to use a lip liner with it. I wore it out for a day of shopping with Dane and popped some blue highlighter on the top to give it a pop of colour! I love the combination so damn much! I’ll definitely be packing this lipstick with me for my holiday as I really want to recreate the look whilst I’m in Fuerteventura!

• The Body Shop Peppermint Intensive Cooling Foot Rescue. 

Now as weird as it’ll sound I haven’t just been using this on my feet, but I’ve been mostly using this on my hands. I’ve heard of people saying they use it on their hands when they’re in need of some series TLC and I never got why. Now I do! I gave it a go randomly when my hands were really sore and dry and since then after using this daily before work my hands have really thanked me for it. They’re lovely and soft and to be fair after using my hands smell minty and gorgeous! Can’t go wrong with that. I’ve also been using this on both mine and Dane’s feet to keep them lovely and soft. I want to try and keep my feet looking good before the holiday! 😛

• Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb EDP.

This is by far one of my favourite perfumes I own (it’s in my top 10) and it’s one I go back to once in a while. It’s one of those scents that just smells really good and is one that will get heads turning if someone walks past you with it on. I like to think that happens when I wear it in all fairness. 😛 It’s more of a winter scent for myself but I don’t know, I just fancied wearing it one day last month and it stuck for over a week. I try not to use it too much though considering it’s one of my favourites. I want to use my least favourite scents up first! 😛

So now my beauty favourites are done, time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Favourite TV Show – Preacher and One Punch Man.

Holy shit I have so much to say about Preacher! It’s a show I wasn’t sure I would like last year when me and Dane started watching it, but it’s fast turned into a show I adore. To be honest what got me to watch it was when Dane told me that Joseph Gilgun was in it as an Irish vampire. Was instantly hooked. 😛 For those of you who don’t know who Gilgun is, he’s in the gif above as his character in Preacher, Cassidy. He’s always Woody in This Is England and Ruddy in Misfits, as well as many more TV shows and films. I’ll pop a synopsis here because it’ll explain it better than I could. 😛

Fulfilling a promise to his deceased father, one-time outlaw Jesse Custer returns home to West Texas to take over his dad’s church. Jesse’s mission, however, becomes twisted when his body is overcome by a cryptic force that unleashes within him a highly unconventional power. Together with hell-raising ex-girlfriend Tulip and Irish vagabond Cassidy, the preacher-in-training embarks on a journey to find God in a world inhabited by holy, hellish, and everything-in-between characters. The darkly comedic “Preacher” is based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s popular 1990s comic book franchise of the same name. Executive producers include Sam Catlin (“Breaking Bad”), and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (“Superbad,” “Neighbors”).

It’s an amazing show based off of a comic book and if you’re up for watching a show with some dark humour and some talented British/Irish actors then I recommend you watch it! It’s only available on Amazon Prime however as it’s an exclusive for there, but it’s definitely worth buying alone to watch the show for a month or two.

Image taken from tumblr.com

Dane recently bought the One Punch Man blu-ray so OF COURSE we  had to binge watch it! I was never really into One Punch Man when the “craze” around it started, but I remember Dane putting it on for us to watch online and I loved it! So it was somewhat nostalgic when re watching it. We watched it originally not long after moved into the house so it reminds me of that time. I love the gif above of Saitama dancing. SO KAWAII!!!

Image taken from nerd901.com

Favourite Film – Spider-Man: Homecoming.

I was so excited about seeing this film because in comparison to the two previous Spider-Men I actually had high hopes for this one. I’ll say it, Tom Holland did an amazing job as Peter Parker and it’s just how I would have imagined back in 2003 when I was playing the PlayStation Spider-Man game. I just loved the movie so much, but not enough to get all die hard fan about it. I’m glad we went to watch it a few days after it came out too. We made a proper late night movie date night with it, which I loved. I can’t wait for Venom to come out now, I hope Tom Hardy does the part too. This is going to be an exciting part of Marvel!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Favourite Book – Your Name manga and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid manga.

I said last month how I hadn’t been reading much, and that certainly wasn’t a lie. This month however I haven’t read LOADS but I’ve read more! I finished off the first volume of Your Name and I honestly can’t wait for volume 2 to come out in November!

As well as that I’ve continued on with reading the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid series and I’m currently reading volume 3. I guess I’m trying to make my manga last as long as I possibly can. I still have K-ON! to read, which I was trying to save for holiday but I doubt I will now. I’ve also started to buy the Persona 3 manga series so I’ll be reading those as soon as I can get my hands on the rest of them!

Favourite Song/Album – Flyleaf New Horizons.

You know when you forget all about a band you love? Well I did that recently with Flyleaf. They’re a band I discovered during my final year of university and have followed them for almost 10 years now. My favourite album is definitely New Horizons due to how the songs all sound. You have a mixture of dancey songs in there as well as serious. I just find I love all the songs and I don’t even want to skip one to hear another. My favourite song from the album has to be… “Bury Your Heart”. Either that or “Stand”. That being said though I love all the songs off of the album.

Image taken from weheartit.com

Favourite Game – Persona 5…

YES PERSONA 5 IS STILL MY FAVOURITE. FUCK YOU! 😛

I’m sorry but yes I am still playing this game as I’m 1. taking my time playing it because I want it to last as long as humanly possible and 2. I fucking love it. I honestly haven’t loved a game for years and I am relishing in it right now. I have bought Persona 4 Golden to play when I’m on holiday and I can see me buying another Persona game on my PS Vita in the future. SPEAKING OF! I bought a PS Vita at the start of the month when I got paid and it’s definitely something I am so glad I bought. It means if I want to play Persona 5 when Dane wants to play on his Xbox One I can just pop it on the Vita. It’s amazing quality too, which makes me happy.

Now I’ve spoken about it I must go and play it… 😛

So those are my favourites from last month. What products were you loving? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care all and here’s to another month!

The Fragrance Shop Discover Club 5th Edition – Review*

This post and review is a rather exciting one… It’s my first review to have a * next to it. Yep, this is my first product sent to review and boy is it amazing and as the title reads, it’s The Fragrance Shop Discover Club 5th Edition*.

I was asked by the lovely Steph at Sparkle PR to review this and I gladly accepted! I love reviewing things and I also love perfume, so this was just my ideal first product to review on my blog.

I test ran the Discovery Club box over a week and over the week I really couldn’t wait to tell you all about this! First of all I shall talk about the box itself and what it’s all about and then I shall go onto the perfumes for both women and men that I received in my Discover Box!

So, without further ado, let’s get on with this review, which I warn you is going to be VERY long, but well worth a read!

The Discovery Box has been available for a year now, this being the 5th box. Boxes cost £5 each and you receive a new box every quarter, which you can cancel receiving at any time!

Inside the box you usually receive 5 perfume samples for both men and women, but with box number 5, you will receive 9! As well as that you also receive a booklet with some further information about the Discover Club, as well as vouchers for each perfume inside of the box itself. The vouchers are all worth £5, so with 9 samples you have £45 worth of savings in there!

So for £5 a box, could it get any better?!

So onto what samples are in the 5th Edition, I know I pretty much love them all.

This box is called the “Christmas Classics Box” and boy did they put in some classics! I love this box and it contains one perfume I own, one I have wanted since the day it came out, two I own in their EDP versions and some I have smelt in the past and thought about buying in the future, but as of yet, never have.

As I mentioned, there are 9 samples in this box, 6 are for women and 3 are for men so he can have something too! As well as that they’re all EDT scents, which makes a pleasant change for myself, as a majority of my perfumes are infact EDP’s. It was a real treat trying out all the scents in this box over a week and I rather liked the males ones on my boyfriend too.

For women you have:

Jean Paul Gaultier – ”Classique”
Nina Ricci – Nina
Gucci – Gucci Guilty
Thierry Mugler – Angel
Thierry Mugler – Alien
Givenchy – Very Irrésistible

For men you have:

HUGO BOSS – HUGO MAN
HUGO BOSS – BOSS BOTTLED
Issey Miyake – L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme

Now there are a hell of a lot of samples for me to talk about here, but I’m going to try and keep each one as short as possible, but at the same time making sure to talk about everything.

Female perfume samples:

Jean Paul Gaultier – ”Classique”

Launched in 1993, Classique has become a true icon in the fragrance world. The supremely seductive oriental floral fragrance pays homage to the beauty of women with its corset inspired design. A sweet and bold EDT.

An old friend of mine used to own this and before a night out I gave it a spritz on my neck and I can tell you the scent lasted all night, which impressed me seeing as this perfume is an EDT. It’s a very warm scent and something I’d personally only use during the autumn and winter months. As well as warm, it is somewhat musky and this is down to its base notes containing vanilla and amber. It’s a very grown up and seductive perfume, one to definitely use for Valentine’s Day or a romantic evening. I have contemplated buying this in the past but never made the plunge, maybe soon I will.

Nina Ricci – Nina

A magical scent captured inside a glass apple. Nina offers charm and enchantment with a dash of seduction in what is a fresh floral fruity fragrance.

A few Christmases ago, my brother actually bought me a 30ml size of this and I still own it, even though it is running out! This is a beautiful light perfume and perfect for anyone who doesn’t like anything heavy, but wants something that will stand out. I find that the bottle for this is misleading, as whilst DKNY – Be Delicious is in an apple shape bottle and smells of apples, this doesn’t in my opinion. This being said it does contain red toffee apple in its heart notes but alongside that there are also some lemon and lime top notes to give it a slight zesty scent. What makes this perfume different from Be Delicious is the base notes, which contain cotton musk to give it a slight musky smell, but at the same time this keeps its citrus scents. It’s a beautiful perfume and I can definitely see me buying this again and with a 30ml bottle costing less than £30.00 (£27.99) it’s well worth buying!

Gucci – Gucci Guilty

Gucci takes as a catalyst its iconic entwined G’s and brings us a heroine who regards this emblem as an incitement to subvert. For this most contemporary of rebels, Gucci is the brand of sex and power. In Gucci Guilty, this woman discovers the very scent of defiance.

I have wanted this perfume ever since it came out! Alongside Thierry Mugler and Chanel, Gucci is next to them in my top 3 for favourite perfumes. I smelt this when it first came out and eventually over time whenever I have been near a Gucci counter I have looked at this perfume and smelt it and just wanting to buy it… But I never have. This is a gorgeous floral EDT perfume, which lasts just as long as an EDP and as well as it being floral, Gucci describe this as a “modern and daring Oriental Floral” which is right up my street! The notes for this fit to the type of fragrance it is with the top notes being mandarin and pink pepper, heart notes being peach, lilac and geranium and finally the base notes being amber, patchouli, and more lilac, and geranium.  I have to say that this perfume no longer reminds me of Envy Me, but of an aftershave my boyfriend owns, so when I wore this one of the days at work last week, it just reminded me of him. This is a gorgeous scent and will have heads turning! I need to have this in my perfume collection by the end of the year.

Thierry Mugler – Angel

Angel, the first fragrance by Thierry Mugler, is a voluptuous oriental gourmand with a truly beautiful bottle resembling dazzling stars cut from a night blue sky.

This is an iconic perfume and one that either perfume lovers love, or hate. I know my friend Poppy hates it, whilst I love it! I have the EDP version of this, so to be able to try out an EDT was a nice change and in one way pleasant. An EDP can sometimes be too much, but that depends on how much you apply! This was the first fragrance by Thierry Mugler and to be honest, I don’t think he needed to bring anymore out! Although I’m glad as Alien is amazing and one of my favourites. BUT ignoring that, this is a mouth-watering perfume and contains yummy heart notes of fruit and honey and even yummier base notes of vanilla, chocolate and caramel. Angel is a scent that cannot be forgotten and is extremely unique, the perfect scent for anyone going on a first date, he’d never forget you.

Thierry Mugler – Alien

Distinctive and mysterious, yet comforting and soft. The EDT conveys passion, sensuality and the essence of absolute femininity with a rich floral woody with a magical trail for a fragrance that is truly out of this world.

Probably my all time favourite perfume, although the version I own is the EDP. Another unique smelling perfume and the second fragrance by Thierry Mugler. The EDT version of this is a lot softer than the EDP and yet lasts just as long on the skin, which was a lovely surprise. This is a citrus fragrance mixed with musk, which is really nice! The top notes contain mandarin orange and citrus, whilst heart notes and base notes contain jasmine and amber. There isn’t much I can say about this perfume, other than how much I love it already in its EDP version, as well as its EDT! This is will be perfect for summer when I just want something light to wear and with a 30ml bottle I can quickly throw it into my bag to spritz whilst out and about. Therefore I can really see me buying this with my £5 voucher! It costs £31.50 for a 30ml size and with my £5.00 voucher it’ll only cost me £26.50… Bargain, much?!

Givenchy – Very Irrésistible

A very dynamic sensual fragrance possessing the elegant floral top notes of rose and the exotic daring combination of peony and rose fantasia. A very appealing feminine scent by Givenchy.

This is probably the only women’s perfume sample in this box that I’d never smelt before until spraying the sample onto my skin. It was the first one I tried and I have to say, I really do like it. It’s a lovely light floral scent and something that can be worn whenever, whatever time of day! This contains lovely notes, top notes including star anise flower and verbena leaf, heart notes including rose garden, peony and centifolia rose, and finally base notes including more rose with passion, fantasia and emotion rose. For a floral perfume it does have some slight zesty scents in there and that’s due to the top notes. I really quite like this perfume and it’d be lovely to spritz on during the warm summer months. This is another perfume I have been contemplating buying with my £5.00 voucher as the 30ml costs £34.50 without the voucher, so with it this would only cost £29.50!

Male perfume samples:

HUGO BOSS – HUGO MAN

Fresh, sharp and extremely masculine, HUGO is about living life on your own terms with a certain irreverence. It is created not for those who go with the trend of the moment, but for those who seek a style of their own. The chunky glass bottled is topped off with a masculine metal topper, capturing a fresh, lively scent.

Although I don’t wear male perfumes, HUGO BOSS is one of my favourites on mine, alongside Paco Rabbane, Chanel and Diesel. I’ve never smelt this one before until opening the sample to give it a sniff and boy, do I want my boyfriend to pick this up! It’s a gorgeous, fresh, and very masculine smell, it’s the sort of scent that when you smell it on a man, your knees tremble! Jared Leto does the advertisements for this aftershave, which is just perfect really. 😛 But aside from that! The notes for this aftershave are lovely! Top notes contain grapefruit, green apple and mint, which quite frankly make my mouth water! Heart notes contain lavender and jasmine, which sound rather feminine and finally the base notes contain musk and pine needles. Overall this perfume sounds delicious but also smells delicious too! This would make a perfect Valentine’s Day presents for your loved one, or even a Christmas or birthday present. If my boyfriend doesn’t buy this for himself, I know I will! To me he looks gorgeous, so for him to smell like it too, is just an added bonus. 😉 This only comes in one size of 40ml, but for £26.50 a bottle it’s damn cheap, but for the money it smells beautiful!

HUGO BOSS – BOSS BOTTLED

A true male iconic fragrance that remains as popular now as its launch in 1994. The juice is fresh and sharp with a warm woody base whilst the bottle offers a sleek, uncomplicated but very masculine look.

When I was younger I was obsessed with Ryan Reynolds and so much in love with him that the only reason I smelt this back in 2011 was due to the fact that Ryan Reynolds started to do the advertising for it. It smelt lovely at the time but I prefer the NIGHT version to this one, but that’s just me. Also I’m pretty sure my boyfriend owns this and whilst it smells lovely, I prefer other aftershaves to this one. This being said it still smells gorgeous and whilst it is somewhat similar to HUGO MAN, this one is just a tad lighter. The top notes include oakmoss, bergamot, apple and lemon to give it zesty scent. Heart notes include cinnamon and mahogany to give it some warmth and finally base notes include sandalwood and oakwood, with some vanilla to give it a lift. It’s a gorgeous scent and for a 30ml bottle it costs just under £30 at £29.99! I recommend that if you like the smell of this one, to smell the NIGHT version as it smells delicious.

Issey Miyake – L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme

Since 1994, L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme has become a hallmark of sophistication in the world of fragrances. It awakens the senses with its blend of citrus, precious woods and spices. The pure, energising scent is perfect for a modern, independent man.

Top Notes – Fresh and energizing yuzu, a Japanese citron

Heart Notes – Spicy nutmeg and cinnamon

Base Notes – Woody, Masculine amber tobacco, sandalwood and vetiver

I think I’ve heard of this before in the past, but I never gave it another look as with all ignorance, I don’t recognise the name so I can’t be bothered to look at it… Plus it’s for men! The sample I got is the sport version, which isn’t mentioned in the booklet or anywhere for that matter… So I wonder if I was sent the wrong one… Even if I was it doesn’t bother me much, as my boyfriend is being given all the samples anyway. Either way this aftershave is gorgeous! It smells really fresh and reminds me of summer, which is nice of course. As I received the sport version I’ll be mentioning the notes for both and as you can see, I have already mentioned the original versions notes above. I don’t at ALL like the sound of the original and quite frankly I’m glad that I received the sport version as it smells a lot more fresh and citrus than the original, which sounds far too musky and reminds me of a hot car on a winters morning that has too many vanilla scented air fresheners… This was my childhood by the way! SO the notes for sport! Top notes include grapefruit and bergamot to give it its citrus scent, heart notes include nutmeg to give it warmth and freshness, and base notes  include vetvier which give it an elegant smell as well as character and depth. Overall I rather like this aftershave… But I still prefer HUGO MAN more!

So now that I have covered all 9 samples that you receive in the 5th Edition Discover Club box, I’ll let you know which female (okay two female scents, I couldn’t pick one!) and male scents won…

Drum roll anyone?

Jean Paul Gaultier – ”Classique”, Givenchy – Very Irrésistible and HUGO BOSS – HUGO MAN

Out of all the women’s samples, “Classique” lasts the longest out of them all and reminds me of something, that I can’t quite put my finger on, probably something from my childhood! I would love to pick up a bottle of this, but right now I can’t really afford it… Which is a total shame as I have my £5 voucher! I guess I’ll have to pop in store soon and see what bargain I can get.

I couldn’t pick one and the other sample I rather liked was Very Irrésistible! I’d never smelt this before and it was a real treat to smell and try out over the week whilst I was at work. It didn’t last as long as I’d have hoped but I know if I were to keep a small 30ml bottle in my bag I’d be able to spritz this whenever I do so wish. Also I really want a new perfume for summer and I think this could be it!

Finally we have the male sample and I could only pick one! This was the first one I smelt and I don’t think anything else could compete as this just smells divine! It’s a gorgeous fresh and sexy aftershave and one I’m DYING for my boyfriend to buy! I know he said that he liked the idea of buying a new aftershave and as I have vouchers, he may as well use one. This aftershave is pretty affordable and with £5.00 knocked off, it would be a bargain he would be silly to pass up on.

So, after what seems like one of my longest reviews, what do I think of The Fragrance Shops Discover Club 5th Edition? Well I LOVE it and I really can see me subscribing to these since receiving this one.

I had thought about it a year ago when they first came out, but I never did go through with it, which I now regret, but I guess the term, “No time like the present” springs up here and as soon as the 6th Edition is released, I’ll be ordering it straight away!

If you’re interested in the Discover Club 5th Edition, or even the concept of samples in a box, then definitely click this link to head over to The Fragrance Shop’s website to tell you all about it and even order your own!

If you’re planning on getting yourself one, I suggest you do it soon as at the end of February the vouchers in the booklet run out, so I assume a new box would be coming out. But even so, you can always wait and pick up the 6th Edition if you do so wish!

So, what do you think of the Discover Club boxes? Have you ever bought any before, if so, what did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below and if you have any questions, please ask away!

Until next time, take care all!

*Product sent for reviewing purposes.

P.S. Apologies for how long this post was, but I wanted to make sure to cover everything! 😀