Penhaligon's Bluebell Eau De Toilette

Ya'll my know that a good fragrance is something I hold very dear to my heart. So I was looking into new fragrances, something different from my everyday scents, which are pretty similar to each other. I wanted to try out something totally different. So I found several fragrances that really stood out to me from the lovely Penhaligon's. I want to share my experiences with the different samples of Penhaligon's perfume I ended up with. 

Bluebell sample

This particular one is Bluebell. Here's Penhaligon's marvelous description:

"Blubell is a fine fragrance made in England. using the finest rare ingredients; from hand-squeezed bergamot, to jasmine at twice the price of gold. Our signature Penhaligon’s fragrance bottle is to William Penhaligon's original design: clear glass with a distinctive ribbon-wrapped top" 

"Created in 1978, this is the pure and unadulterated distillation of the scent of bluebell woods. The telltale earthy sweetness of hyacinths rises through the soft citrus Head Notes and mingles with rose, lily and jasmine at the heart. As it settles the flowers give way to spicy clove and cinnamon and the unique textural base note of bittersweet galbanum.

Tremendously evocative of wet earth, moss and rain, it softly detonates across your scent receptors and instantly transports you to the woodland, surrounded by dripping leaves, skin tingling with spring.

Perfumer: M Pickthall"

And although the packaging of a product does not normally sway my desire or feelings about the actual product, I can't help but love the bottle. What a precious looking design, huh? I collect gorgeous perfume bottles, so the beauty of Penhaligon's fragrances & bottles do stand out to me. 

 Bluebell's base notes are galbanum, clove and cinnamon. 

Bluebell's heart notes are hyancith, lily of the valley, cyclamen, jasmine & rose. 

Bluebell's head note is citrus.

According to the way Bluebell mixes with the chemicals in my own skin, the notes listed really change up. 

The way Bluebell smells to me & when mixed with my own skin's chemicals:

  The top notes to me smell only of a ginormous bush of hyanciths. My very first impression was tons of these flowers. This perfume is all floral! 

  After applying it to my skin (4 swipes of the applicator) I began to notice a subtle baby powdery scent. Thankfully, this is sweet enough for my tastes without the powdery scent really showing through. I dislike the scent of baby powder very much. This works though.

  On my skin, the "heart notes" begin to change from feeling as if I'm lying face down in a 5 mile long garden of hyanciths to a big, vivid rose bush. 

  The dry down on my skin are totally rosey, but subtle. I really don't smell much of the other notes at all, but during the phase where the Bluebell fragrance begins mixing with my own, there's a moment where I can almost detect the cinnamon. 

  In the beginning, for about 3 hours, the scent is very noticeable, but not overpowering. With the small swipes on my wrist of the applicator, you can smell me when you're close, but you don't smell me coming. It's enough to where hugging me will definitely cause you to sniff and linger a bit longer. This is how my lovie describes it anyhow.

If you were to stand in front of me with my eyes closed with this Bluebell fragrance, I would truly think you were holding a huge bouqet of flowers. Here's similar to what I picture in my mind when I sniff.  I feel like I'm lying in a field of these:

 What I love most about Bluebell is that it's a very clean and fresh, natural smelling fragrance. It comes so very close to the actual hyancith flower that I can picture them in my mind. There's nothing synthetic smelling about this, which is a rarity. 

Words that come to mind when I smell Bluebell:  Delicate. Absolutely, pure and delicate. I'm talking new born baby wrapped in pastel colors delicate.

Interesting little things :

 Bluebell is said to have been Princess Diana's favorite fragrance. Rumors say that the Queen of England also sported the Bluebell fragrance.

Bluebell to me, is a blend of quality, class and femininity. Very soft and beautiful, even if it isn't something I will want to wear everyday. It's a fragrance that I feel any girl that loves the scent of hyanciths or very floral scents will adore. I've had a friend tell me that Bluebell smells identical to the Bluebell flower, but sadly, I can't say yes or no since I've not been lucky enough to be in a field of Bluebells. I can tell you that my nose screams hyanciths.
















*Fore more info on sponsored reviews, see my disclosure page. I was not given any monetary compensation to review any of the products on my page. Everything is done at my own will and I've given nothing more than my true opinion/experience in hopes of helping others. See my honesty pledge at the top of page*

Auric Blends - Incense Seduction and Egyptian and Water Goddesses!

  

  The lovely Auric Blends roll-on perfume oil pictured above is Water Goddess, a really nice, clean scent. Like many other Auric Blends fragrances, Water Goddess too is a scent that mixes so well with most people's skin. Water Goddess smells a lot like the name, water-y. This scent makes me picture a really pretty sparkling waterfall with tons of bright colored flowers all around. It's a truly beautiful scent. It smells so clean.

 Although it's hard to make out, the photo above is of a little packet of Seduction incense by Auric Blends. Like their fragrances, their incense too are handcrafted and smell wondeful. Seduction was a nice scent and filled the room well. I burned it for only 20-30 minutes before the room and other areas of the house had a light hint of Seduction. It's a sweet, but not overpowering sweet scent. It's one of the prettiest incense I've smelled. I've grown very fond of Seduction and would love to have it in a perfume too! I liked the sweet and woody scent it put off. It was very attractive, nothing like a cigar which is what I find most incense to smell of.

Then there's the super popular top-seller Egyptian Goddess. Upon first seeing the bottle I judged it to be very grandma-ish. That's not very nice, but for some reason I always associate fragrances with gold on the bottle as granny perfume! I know, it's terrible of me. The good thing is, I don't ever pass a perfume off without first giving it a chance, or a sniff. Every perfume deserves at least that much, right?

To my surprise Egyptian Goddess, while having a light, very light musky scent to it, reminded me nothing of my granny Lucille - who by the way, actually tends to have good taste in perfume thank you very much.

I'm more of a sweet, floral kind of girl so Egyptian Goddess was new to me and while I was very attracted to the way it smelled on my skin, I was a bit nervous at first of others thinking differently. Fortunately, I haven't recieved any un-kind remarks about my new scent.

It took some getting used to. When wearing it the first several times, it'd catch my attention abrubtly, but I've really grown to enjoy this scent.

To me, it's a very warm, very slightly musky (nothing like White Diamonds if that's the picture you're getting) with woody notes, maybe sandal wood? Or maybe it's just my nose, but I do detect some kind of fresh wood scent in there. It's one of the most unique scents I've ever came across and I like that. One thing that makes it such a rare, but beautiful scent is the mixture of warm musk, something woodsy and floral notes all in one. This perfume really works the mixture. I couldn't imagine many scents with this type of mixture smelling good, but the sound of musk, wood, flowers and powder sound cheap to me. Egyptian Goddess never strikes me as a cheap smell when I sniff it. That's why I say it really works such a rare mixture of scents. If you're into musks, but don't like the overpowering strength of most musks, then Egyptian Goddess is so worth a try, especially at only $7.50!

Auric Blends Perfume Oils and Solids

Auric Blends is company clearly passionate about fragrance. They've been in business since 1993 and for Auric Blends, frangrance is art. A company where every product is specially and uniquely handcrafted, with 4 fragrance products being natural. How beautiful!

  The photo above is of the beautiful roll-on Perfume Oil "Love" by Auric Blends. A very unique, feminine and slightly floral scent that smells amazing on the skin.


  Perfumes smell different on different people's skin. Some perfume smells good in the bottle, but doesn't quite mix well when applied to the skin. When I smelled Love, I really hoped it would smell just as amazing on my skin as it does in the bottle. It did! I love Love!

  In some strange way, the scent really does smell the way I think love would smell. Funny, but the name truly fits! I like that it's a light scent, one where once you get close enough to get a small whiff of it, you want more. It's not like most perfumes I've had. It kind of reminds me of spring & the ocean all in one and to my nose, it has light hints of clean linen. While it's not over powering and doesn't cause a headache, it's the perfect amount. Just enough to fall in love with. It's such a clean, pretty scent if that makes sense.

  The roll-on bottle shown in the photo above is a 1/3 ounce bottle of Love. It's enough to last quite a while. I love the roll-on perfume oils. Instead of having a bulky, possibly leaky bottle, you have a compact, easy-to-use perfume that can be stashed in your purse for anytime use. That's something I love! I also think these are super amazing for gift giving. The beautiful, unqiue scents and pretty bottles (not to mention wonderful price for such high quality smellin') are just perfect for giving as a gift. I've already been pondering over which scents to purchase for my sisters. Guess who's getting Auric Blends for Christmas? Me! ... I mean my sisters! (Ha. Ha.)

  Auric Blends also has a really beautiful line of Perfumse Solid as well. Take a look...

 
The unique, pretty container houses a solid Black Coconut perfume. The photo above is the little house. It's very shiny so one of the little holes in it look like there's something white like sand stuck in there. It's not, that's just the shiny glass and the flash of my camera.

  Take a look at the perfume's home opened...

    How cute that it has it's own little house! I love this thing. It just looks so creative sitting on my vanity. I simply take the top off and glide the perfume solid over my wrists and neck and wow! I have a light touch of sweet, tropical skin! I love everything coconut. The scent, the taste, even the sound of it. Thing is, I've never found a coconut fragrance that didn't make me smell like either a candle or tanning oil! I love the coconut candles and tanning oils, but I don't want my perfume to smell like them.  Auric Blend's Black Coconut Perfume Solid is just perfect. It's not over powering and did give me a nice bit of extra moisture on my wrists.

  One of my favorite things about Auric Blends (besides the super unique, beautiful scents) is that their perfume oils do NOT leave your skin with a nasty, thick greasy residue. I love perfume oils, but all of my perfume oils leave me with the worst sticky, greasy feeling. I have one in particular that I loved, but had to stop wearing on my neck and chest because I would feel the skin under my neck stick to my chest when I tilted my head down! Now that's too much sticky for a perfume. So, here's where I give some serious kudos to the wonderful Auric Blends for their absolute perfection. Kudos, kudos, kudos!


  Auric Blend's fragrances are absolutely perfect for those who can't handle an overpowering perfume or those who are picky when it comes to the cheap, typical perfumes. I've never had so much to say about a perfume until I used Auric Blends! There's certainly nothing else like their scents. I've used Egyptian Goddess, Love and Water Goddess, all are they kind of perfume that make a girl stand out in such a subtle yet distinctive way. It's the kind of perfume that people say "what is that you're wearing?!" I've had nothing but compliments when wearing any of them. I just can't wait to try the other fragrances!

  I'm highly impressed with the Auric Blends fragrance lines. I will definitely buy from them. On a 1-10 rating scale, the products are an absolute 10. Nothing like them! Very inexpensive and super long lasting scents.



 * I recieved no monetary compensation for this review. The words written are absolutely my own and my opinion is in no way persuaded or biased. I was given the fragrance items in exchange for a 100% honest review. See my honesty pledge at the top of the page for more info.*

PRIVATE ARTS (My Pearl Of The Day)

                                    My Pearl Of The Day                                                      

   Private Arts has some of the most unique underwear I've ever seen. I have a real thing for unique undies and lingerie so when I got the thong, lace boy shorts and bra or (bandeau) from Private Arts I was highly impressed. First, take a look at the pictures I've taken of the items I received.

                                      PRIVATE ARTS THONG
  The photo above shows the thong panties I have from Private Arts. These were surprisingly comfortable. The texture of the thong were so soft and light. They seem to be a very breathable material. The are a unique print as all Private Art's items are. The thong has a pretty, feminine floral print on the front. The waist band part is a nice stretchy lace material that travels all the way around the back.

    
   This is a photo of the back of the thong to show the print. I love that the print is so unique! I like that they added a nice little thing to the floral. It really stands out to me. Kinda shows a bit of personality.

 They're very comfortable. They don't "ride up" and I didn't have any problems with the sizing. They seem to be the type of items that fit and flatter EVERY body type. I really do think they would.


                                      PRIVATE ARTS BANDEAU

    This is a picture of the Bandeau. It's slightly a different print, but still matches the thong and the lace boy shorts. Matching isn't extremely important to me, but to some it does matter. I am pretty fond of this print. I like the pretty flowers. I love the bright purple and blue in the Bandeau. You can kind of see, on the right side of the Bandeau, there is a pretty white lace lining up the side. I think that part added a nice touch of femininity while the other parts kept it simple enough for most anybodys taste.

  The Bandeau while super soft and comfortable, does not offer a whole lot of support which is fine with me because I really don't need much. It's thick enough to be worn on it's own without a bra and still provide enough support and coverage. I think it works perfectly under a simple, low cut top. I love how it adds a pretty spice to any plain outfit. It's also nice for working out or doing regular house work. It covers enough of the chest and you can be comfortable in it while running, working in the house or engaging in other activities. There are quite a few uses for this baby. Add a nice touch to a plain top, wear it while working out, or wear it as a strapless bra under a more revealing top. This is perfect for tops that don't conceal bra backs and straps. It's also thick enough to keep people from knowing when you get cold too! I love it's colors and that it's still perfectly breathable and comfortable.

   The back of the Bandeau is in the picture above. It's a light and very comfortable lace with a pretty good bit of stretch to it. Very beautiful!

  I haven't had any problems at all with it sliding down like most Bandeaus. It stays up very well! It does have a little bit of a stretch to it so that is a huge help.

                        I'm very fond of the Private Arts items. They are absolutely perfect for my kind of taste. Also, they are all the most comfortable underwear I've ever worn. And incase you're wondering, yes they blow victoria's secret out of the water by a long shot, in my opinion! I am highly impressed with the lovely and most unique items they have. Do be sure to check them out. They have several really nice pieces. I'm really loving several of the other bandeaus I've seen on their site!

You can read my honesty pledge at the top*

My PeArL of the day

         My PeArL of the day...

I've been using this shampoo for several days now and so far, Im happy with the results. It certainly brings the volume! But, I have to straighten my hair so it takes a little of it down but, so far, good.

I also use herbal essence's straightening shampoo, comes in a pink bottle. It really helps you to manage it better and it helps the straightening process to go much smoother!