GIFT SET: Ted Baker Eau De Toilette and Body Lotion

As you probably know by now, I absolutely love Ted Baker toiletries and gift sets! The packaging is always so cute and the scents are exactly the kind I love. The Ted Baker W EDT Gift Set* (£9.99 from The Perfume Shop) includes a contemporary style bottle of Eau De Toilette and a floral scented body lotion.

I really like to try and keep the smell of a scent on all day and some EDT don't last all that long but I was impressed at the stayed time of this Ted Baker one! It lasted almost all day but when applied with the body lotion I could smell the scent all day long. The scent of these products is a light, floral fragrance with hints of peony, rose petal, orchid and cedar. Personally I don't like products that smell strongly of rose (I think it's because it makes me think of Turkish Delight - yuk!) but it's not overpowering at all in this EDT, it just adds that floral note that is perfect for summer!

As you can see the packaging is such a cute floral design, I'll definitely be keeping the box the products came in. It will be perfect for cotton pads or storing nail varnishes! The EDT is 30ml so it's ideal for travelling with or popping in your handbag. As I'm going to Florida very soon I'm planning on packing this EDT as my 'holiday perfume' because it's not really heavy or big, which means I have more space to bring back loads of American goodies :)

The body lotion isn't the consistency of a body butter or really runny, for me it's the perfect consistency for summer - light and moisturising! I will also be taking this body lotion away with me as it's a great size and will help the good old self tan go on smoothly and fade evenly - no patchy tans wanted in Miami.

Do you tend to take smaller perfumes and body lotions on holiday with you?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

PERFUME: Ted Baker Cate

With Valentine's Day just around the corner you might be planning a romantic meal in or out and I have the perfect little treat for yourself in readiness - Ted's Sweet Treats! The most adorable collection of handbag sized perfumes, ideal for on the go. There are four different scents - Cate, Polly's, Ella and Vida - there's a quick little quiz below, which can help you decide the one that's perfect for you! I scored mostly D's, so Cate was the one for me and since receiving it and smelling it, I couldn't agree more.

The Ted Baker Cate* (£15 - currently on offer for £10 here) comes is the best packaging I've ever seen for a perfume - this interesting triangle opens up to reveal an elegant bottle of perfume. I adore this packaging, it makes it feel a real treat without all the excess packaging you sometimes get with beauty products.

This range of perfumes are 10ml, so they are an ideal size to have in your handbag! I love that this perfume has a lid, perfumes that don't have lids are such a challenge to transport around without having everything sprayed!

The range has a very vintage feel about it, with the packaging design and use of colours. This perfume not only looks lovely is smells amazing - with top notes of peach, apple and orange, middle notes of violet and Jasmine and base notes of Vanilla, Musk, Patchouli and Sandalwood - it's a beautiful combination.

Have you tried any of the Ted's Sweet

Treats?

Feel free to comment :)

My History with Perfume....

When I was about 16 years old I was lucky enough to go to America on a family holiday, throughout the holiday we went to New York and I fell in love...

It's such a magical city with so much to see and do, you could never have TOO long in New York. But the best thing to do is SHOP, SHOP, SHOP!! As a typical 16 year old the way I looked and presented myself was very important to me, it's also when I discovered the world of perfume! Up until then I always used to wear 'Stitch', does anyone remember it? It was from Savers and only about £1, it was THE perfume to have at my Secondary School! Anyway, back to the world of perfume's I discovered in New York, I have always loved the high end beauty counters in shops like Debenhams, Selfridges and House of Fraser but with only a Sunday Job I certainly didn't have the money to ever buy anything from them! But the beauty counters in Macys and Bloomingdales just seems out of this world, I wanted to be part of the glamour. So with my hard earned holiday spending money I decided to get a new perfume.

At the time I thought it would be easy but oh how I was wrong! The breadth of perfumes across all of the high end brands is vast and once you've sprayed anymore than 4 on yourself you have no chance of remembering which was which! So I spent most of the time in New York searching, I settled on Chanel Chance and this has been my perfume ever since! Every Birthday and Christmas I would ask for it and was very lucky to receive it but the older I got the more I realised just quite how expensive it is! At about £65 a bottle I think it's very expensive and I certainly couldn't justify spending that on myself. So this Christmas I decided to break tradition and not ask for it, I wanted a change!

So, once again my hunt begins - a whole 6 years later! I visited the typical places, Boots, Superdrug, House of Fraser etc but didn't really find anything in my price range that stood out. I really didn't want to replace my Chanel Chance, as the story behind finding it was so magical to me! But I ran out and didn't have any perfume, so really needed to find a newer and cheaper perfume that still smelt lovely.

This is going to sound a bit random but I had to return a top to NEXT I got for Christmas that was too small, so I got the money put on a Returns Card. This led me to look at the perfume collection at NEXT and I was astonished at how wide the range was! I don't instantly link NEXT to perfume but I wish I had earlier, they have 15 different fragrances all at such reasonable prices.

Here's just some of the stylish range of fragrances...

Paradise Eau De Toilette 30ml £6.50

Cashmere Eau De Parafum 30ml £7.50

London Eau De Parfum 100ml £15

Define Eau De Parfum 75ml £12

Just Pink Eau De Toilette 75ml £10

I decided to go for Adore Eau De Toilette, which is £10 for 100ml. 'A glamorous and sophisticated fragrance with stunning florals and golden amber accords'. I liked its fresh, floral aroma and stylish bottle design. It's the perfect perfume for wearing everyday and I'm so glad I came across the perfume range at NEXT!

Have you bought a perfume from NEXT before?