Chanel No5 Eau Première Twist and Spray

Some women have a 'signature' scent. I have what I like to call my 'wardrobe' of scent. While the idea of having that one fragrance is very romantic in that people smell it and automatically think of you, I get bored. I can't imagine wearing the same dress or lipstick every day and I like to match my fragrance to my mood. 

Ironically enough, Chanel No5 is probably the fragrance in which the largest number of women wear as their signature (no evidence, purely speculation and hearsay on my part). I go through phases with my fragrance collection and right now I am most definitely in a No5 phase. 

No5 Eau Première is my preferred interpretation of the classic and, at least until September, is the most recent interpretation. While the mood may take me to classic No5 Parfum every so often, it is a very instinctual interpretation. What I mean by that is on the days in which I wear it I know that I will be wearing it. I don't stand and select a fragrance. I just reach for the parfum without thinking. 

Back to Eau Première. This is my fragrance when I am feeling undecided. It has a mixture of freshness and floral which appeals to my nose when I'm unsure of what I want. When I wear this fragrance it turns light and powdery on my skin which leaves a very 'natural' smell. You would be forgiven for thinking that I wasn't even wearing fragrance as it smells as though it could just be my skin. I suppose that was the goal when the initial interpretation was being created 'a woman's perfume, with a woman's scent' as Chanel herself requested. I like the twist and spray bottles in particular as they are great for carrying in your handbag or for travelling. As you can see in the photographs you have the atomiser and 3 vials of 20ml each fragrance. Meaning that you can swap the vial when you run out.  

I have always loved this video, so I thought that this was an appropriate time to share it with you!

Do you have a favourite interpretation of No5? 

 

Vanilla Scents

I love a sweet scented perfume. While my ultimate favourite is Jimmy Choo EDP I don't like to wear it as an everyday fragrance. Daft this may sound to you, but I don't really like wearing a 'good' perfume for mundane things, much like days where your hair looks amazing and you have no plans, it seems like a bit of a waste to me. So rather than wearing my more expensive perfume, I look for similarly sweet scents for days where I am working or popping to the shops. 

I first tried The Body Shop's Madagascan Vanilla Flower  about 3 (I think!) years ago and this is now my 5th bottle. Yeah, I quite like this one! This one is my favourite for everyday wear. It is very sweet and smells very warm and welcoming. It is kind of like coming in out of the cold to a warm duvet and a cupcake. It just makes you relax and feel calm. This is a very sweet scent so if you are the type of person who struggles with overly sweet fragrances then I would definitely steer clear of this one. 

I picked up the solid version of Lush's Vanillary before going on holiday to take as my perfume while travelling as I could throw it in my hand luggage and not worry about it using up liquid allowance and I didn't spend the entire flight worrying that glass bottles had exploded in my case in the hold (yes, I am that person). The addition of jasmine to this fragrance does make it quite different from The Body Shop's scent. It gives it a little more complexity which is nice, however I find that I don't get the same satisfaction from this scent. After coming home from holiday this has, I am afraid to say, been demoted to a hair butter. Yes, a hair butter. If you warm some of the product up between your finger tips and rub it into the ends of your hair is works brilliantly at smoothing the ends and does give your hair a nice scent too. It just isn't as nice as Madagascan Vanilla Flower.

All in all, as far as my budget vanilla scents go, The Body Shop are the outright winners. While Vanillary is a good contender for Lush it just doesn't have that same comforting effect on me. 

Which of these two is your favourite?  

My Favourite Perfume

I rotate through seven different perfumes and I love them all equally. I go through phases of loving one in particular and then move on to another without much thought. I tend not to really like spending a great deal on perfume - two of the higher-end perfumes pictured above were gifts to me and I absolutely love them - I just struggle to justify paying £50+ on perfume for myself when I like Soap and Glory's Mist You Madly body spray just as much. 

So, going from left to right we start off with a scent from Next this one is Milan and admittedly this was a recent impulse purchase. I was in Next with my mum and we stopped to have a sniff at their fragrance range and I was pleasantly surprised by them all - but I liked this one best, it is fresh yet woody and wonderfully feminine. At £8 one can hardly complain. I like this so much that I am considering getting it in the reed diffuser to place in our living room. We shall see.

Next we go to the wonderful Dita Von Teese's original fragrance which is such a warm and inviting scent. A mixture of the pepper top notes, the heart of rose and base notes of sandalwood and musk make this such a comforting and gloriously womanly scent. It is made even more feminine by the puff which you use to spray the perfume. This is such a gorgeous scent, I really love it and I definitely do not grudge paying £19.99 a bottle for this - it is glorious.

The Body Shop's Lychee Blossom has unfortunately been discontinued it was reduced to (I believe) £5 per bottle when I purchased this. It is a light, fruity scent which I wear to work as it is not too over powering and keeps a fresh scent all day.

Another from the Body Shop, Madagascan Vanilla Flower is a gorgeous scent which is a warm, floral and sweet scent. This is my second bottle of this one and I like to wear it, again, to work as it is not over powering and lasts very well through the day. Another great price at £15 as well. You really cannot argue with it!

Onto the big guns now. Jimmy Choo's original fragrance was one where I heard it was by Jimmy Choo, saw the packaging and didn't even want to sniff it. I thought it would be horrible. However, when working in the perfume department in Boots, I got a whiff. Oh my, what I had been missing.It has fresh top notes, which are mixed with a heart of tiger orchid and a base of patchouli and toffee. It is wonderfully sweet and it is just divine. This is also a second bottle, however both bottles have been gifts. It is a bold £49 for this which is not a price tag that I justify paying for myself, however as a gift it has been a welcome addition to my fragrance collection.

Lolita Lempicka's self-titled fragrance is a beautiful mix of citrus top notes entwined with frankincense and jasmine with a base of violet wood. A beautifully wholesome scent which is the perfect balance of different notes which make this one which I find hard to place. It is definitive scent like any of the Theirry Muglar fragrances but it's understated sophistication is a particular draw for me. Everyone always asks which perfume I am wearing when I wear it. It is so beautiful and a small bottle is £24.50 which I find to be fairly reasonable or a higher-end perfume.

Last up was a recent gift from my mum. Marc Jacobs Daisy Sunshine  is a fabulously summery scent. With a mix of fruity top notes (guava, red current and mandarin) upon an array of floral notes at the heart and a woody base make this summer in a bottle as far as I am concerned. It is sweet but very fresh which I love in a summer scent. How much wear I will have as we get deeper into the colder months I am yet unsure, however I might use it when I need a bit of sunshine in my life in the midst of the Scottish winter!It currently has £15 off, making it £30 at Boots which I think is a reasonable price for this scent. Especially if you need a reminder of the summer.