The Royal Wedding and Some Fine English Perfume Houses

With the Royal Wedding just days away, and finding myself in full  wedding fever mode as well as an already being an  extreme Anglophile ,  I thought I'd highlight some great UK  brands.  Not simply brands Kate might use, because I realize not everyone  has the wedding fever.  These names  cover more than  that, ones that yes, often are used by royals, but are also just incredibly good in case your craving a touch of Brit .  You don't  even have to cross the pond to get them.

In the realm of fragrance, France is often first thought of as the place to go. Britain however, has many top  perfume companies , some dating back centuries.

Penhaligons has a nice but manageble list of perfumes along with matching bath and body for men and women. They  hold 2 royal warrants from the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles. Princess Diana is rumored to have been a fan of Bluebell,  a scent I was once told is quintessentially English.  A personal favorite here is Malabah, a  rich, spicy  and warm oriental as well as their Violetta.

Creed has serviced royalty for generations.  Originating in the UK in  1760 then moving to France at the behest of Empress  Josephine, they are said to have created their Royal Water for Princess Diana,  Fleurissimo for Princess Grace and  the  gorgeous  rose based Fleurs de Bulgarie for Queen Victoria who also gave them a royal warrant. Prince Charles is known to love  Green Irish Tweed  from the company, which is one of my favorite men's scents.  Personal favorite - Love in Black, a  deep violet inspired by Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Ormonde Jayne is newer than  the above two, but no less a great perfume house. They have a cult following and ship to the US, often offering free shipping several times a year including this Mother's Day.  One of their  newest , Tiare ,combines that tropical note with lime and mandarin for a citrus touch and then cedar and moss  dominate at the drydown  to balance the sweetness. It's crisp , green and lightly floral .

Crabtree and Evelyn- Probably the British brand I've used the longest. I  used to love browsing and occasionally treating myself there as a teen. They were one of the few places to carry talcum powder in tins and their rosewater scent was perfect.  Recently  they've  brought out a new floral fragrance line including an Iris and Lily.  They are also home to India Hicks Island Living, a line of home fragrance created by Ms. Hicks, Prince Charles god-daughter as well as bridemaid at his wedding to Lady Diana.

Floris-   Harder to find in stores here but has a nice US website  http://www.florislondonusa.com/Default.asp .  They used to be carried at Bergdorfs I belive, but no longer.    Floris is another  longtime  British company still at it in the same space at  89  Jermyn St. in London.   I've smelled only Seringa, but many sound wonderful.  Seringa  is a beautiful spicy  floral and they recently created Wedding Bouquet in honor of the big day. This one looks to be only on the UK site at  present.  Most intriguing sounding scent- Madonna of  the Almonds, with almond blosson,  bitter almond as well as bergamot, lemon and vanilla.

Yardley- A very old brand you can buy right at the drugstore, but you will find a far larger selection online or at specialty stores. I noticed a pomegranate rose soap on their website for $ 2.00 .  http://www.smallflower.com/ has a selection of Yardley's  UK line  as well as Taylors of London and Woods of Windsor. All great lines  at nice prices.

Molton Brown-  More bath and body than perfume,  they have a wide range of  uncommon but beautiful scents. Coming soon  and inspired by  England's  hideen walled gardens is Pettigree Dew, a herbaceous floral that is LE and will be a hand and body lotion set.

 

Clive Christian - According to the company,  in 1999, British luxury designer Clive Christian ( initially interior design) revived one of the oldest perfumeries in Britain (the Crown Perfumery) which was honored by Queen Victoria in 1872 when she granted the company the image of her crown as an enduring symbol of British excellence.

Clive Christian has since become known as the world's most expensive perfume and is sold at places like Harrods, Saks and  Bergdorf Goodman.   Roja Dove , master of perfumery at Harrods  and Clive Christian have teamed up to send William and Catherine a his and hers custom set of  No.1  just for them. 

Any favorites of yours here and do you have Royal Wedding fever?

Holiday Gift Guide Part 1

I had so many ideas for gifts that I have decided to do several gift guides. For the next week or so they will pop up.

Some items are one I have posted on before so I was brief and put the link in for the old post. Most are in the collage above, with 2 having their own pics. I hope you enjoy them. A lot of time was spent putting them together and I think there's some great ideas here.


I also tried to include many price points


Please feel free to leave a comment if you'd like some help finding a gift. I'd be happy to help you pick out the right thing.

-Biotherm Eau Pure Set- I love this fresh citrus scent and wore it all summer. Now you can get a well priced gift set for $ 45.00 including the full size fragrance . My original review Here
Set Incl.:
Eau Pure Spray 100ML
Body Lotion 75ML
Shower Gel 75ML
http://www.biotherm-usa.com/


-Clinique Happy to Go- A set of 3 perfume pencils. Yes pencils. Darling, cute , portable & pretty smelling. The set gives you one pencil in Happy, anf then breaks down the Happy notes into the two others - Hint Of Citrus, and Wealth of Flowers. Comes in a nice carrying case and with a sharpener. Avail. in December and LE. $ 30.00


-Acqua Di Parma Iris Nobile Coffret- I adore this scent and this would be very welcome at my house. Elegant, soft and a slight metallic cool. $ 101.00
Full size EDP, smaller Body cream & Shower Cream
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/

-Be Delicious Keychain- a unique, fun gift. Almost anyone is sure to love this. $ 35.00 only at Sephora. My previous post on this perfect gift Here


-Molton Brown Elemental Bath & Shower set -10 of the most popular Molton Brown shower gels in 50ml sizes. Great for the traveler or to introduce someone to the brand. $ 40.00
http://www.beautyhabit.com/
http://www.moltonbrown.com/



-Dermalogica Body Buffing Set- set of 2 huge 16 0z.bottles of Dermalogica's siganture scented body products and a buffing cloth. The lotion and shower gel are both very moisturizing and have a lemon / vetiver scent going on. A little woody, a little smoky , a little citrus. Can easily be unisex. $ 55.00 You can read my review of the yummy matching candle Here


http://www.dermalogica.com/ and Ulta stores



-Kiehls Delights Set- Anything Kiehls is a good gift. This set brings loads of good products at a nice price. $ 35.50
Creme de Corps, 8.4 fluid ounces., Creme de Corps Nurturing Body Washing Cream, 6.8 fluid ounces,Lip Balm #1, 0.5 fluid ounces., Deluxe sample Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Body Polish,Kiehl's yellow monogrammed wash mitt.


-Estee Lauder Sensuous Cathedral Square Compact- Wow. Thats all. This is exquisite. Meant to look like St. Basils cathedral in Red Square, Russia this is too pretty for words. Exclusive to Neiman Marcus.$ 300.00

And one for the men:

Ralph Lauren Polo Modern Reserve-Most men love Polo in one form or another. Modern Reserve is to celebrate the 30th anniversary and highlights more of a citrus note than the original. I really liked it. There is a special gift set that includes a leather case. The guys should love this if Polo is their scent.

40z EDT is $ 62.50

Numbered Leather Gift Set $ 200.00 , LE of 3,500
http://www.bloomingdales.com/

Scents for Mother's Day- Annick Goutal and Molton Brown

Ok, if you've left Mother's Day shopping to the last minute( like me) or you want to treat yourself to something wonderful, here are a couple great choices.

First up the Soliflore collections of perfumes from Annick Goutal. It's hard to go wrong with anything Goutal, but some of the soliflores are among my favorites. I have La Violette- a pitch perfect, soft, slightly green,true violet, and Le Jasmin- a soft, all floral jasmin, a bit sweet and not indolic in any way.

I have sniffed several of the others and find them all really nice too. I happen to be a single note fan , so that helps. When it's well done, rose or jasmin, or lily of the valley( Le Muguet) etc. are beautiful on their own. Le Chèvrefeuille (Honeysuckle), and Neroli ( Orange Blossom) round out the group. The Neroli is the newest release .

Annick was the mom here and the company is now run by daughter Camille.

At http://www.saks.com/ you can buy all 5 for 400.00 , or individually for 80.00 each. Each scent is a 1.7 oz EDT.

Also at http://www.aedes.com/, select Nordstroms, and other retailers.

Next up: Molton Brown.

Luxury bath products are always a great gift and the Molton Brown in relaxing Yuan Zhi bath & shower and relaxing Yuan Zhi sleep mist is a nice idea. ( My friend The Movie Mommy would go wild for this, sleepless mom of 2 toddlers that she is)
"Yuan zhi, a wild South China plant, is used traditionally to balance energy (Chi) and soothe the spirit.

Notes include: aromatic oils of vanilla, Ylang Ylang, and rose .

This richly moisturizing bath formula and sleep mist combats stress and promotes peaceful sleep. "
Price: bath gel $28, sleep mist $44,

Available at http://www.moltonbrown.com/, and Blue Mercury shops .