Barbour New Fragrance Range

The iconic brand Barbour, who are perhaps better known for their wax jackets, motorcycle heritage and love of the British Countryside, have recently launched a fragrance** for him and for her in Selfridges.

Designed in a beautifully etched bottle which features the iconic checked design, the fragrances are just stunning. The rounded bottle which has a more feminine touch for the ladies and the rather square and chunky bottle for the man.

Barbour for her brings into the use the trend of rose gold with a chunky lid and lettering which add a touch of class to the already beautiful bottle. The scent, as you might expect is divine and perfect for those of you who like a fragrance which encompasses both floral and fruity notes. Opening with fresh, sparkling fruity notes of red currants, contrasted by spicy pink pepper which are the first things you notice upon spritizing, it settles down on the skin to reveal an elegant floral blend of rose, jasmine and blush peony are complimented by notes of musk and sweet vanilla, which are not overpowering but instead work with the other notes to make what is a fragrance perfect for spring and indeed the summer. 

Once on the skin, it has an amazing lastability, one spritz in the morning when I am getting ready and I can still smell the perfume at lunch time, right through the afternoon, only needing to re-apply if I am going out or have an event in the evening afterwards, even then, it is more for my own paranoia than need.

Barbour for him, has been created for a man who loves spending time in the British countryside. Using a warm layer of frosted violet leaves and cinnamon which are cast on a bed of vetiver, sandalwood and musk, while a burst of grapefruit and hint of black peppercorn enliven this captivating blend makes for a truly stunning fragrance which has real longevity when wearing. 

The mister is about to do a review on his blog, so if this is a fragrance you are thinking of purchasing, then a male view point is well worth waiting for. For me, I really like it and it is a scent that lingers on the skin enough so that when you are walking down the street, you leave a trail behind you.

Both fragrances are available at Selfridges and are priced from £40. Perfect if you haven't yet got that love of your life a gift for Valentines!

Wedding Outfit Tips

We all like weddings. They are days that create great memories and fantastic photos. Most people love the opportunity to dress up.

Going out shopping for a wedding outfit is always fun and interesting. Often you end up trying on clothes you would not otherwise consider buying. As a result, you usually gain some extra insight into what clothes look great on you. It is a chance to experiment and shake things up a bit. A wedding forces you not to be lazy and just carry on buying the same style of clothes you always do.

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Buy wisely

Naturally, you want to look your best, which means buying good quality clothes, which are expensive. If you are invited to several weddings in one year, being able to afford a complete new outfit for each of them can be impossible.

Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to get around this problem. If you follow my tips, you can buy a good outfit that you can adapt and update throughout the year. That way you get a new look for each wedding without having to pay for a complete outfit each time.

Buy for both weddings in one shopping trip

If you know for sure that you are going to be attending more than one wedding before you go out you have the chance to shop for both outfits together. With shops changing their range on six or 8-week cycles this is the wisest approach.

If you do not do this, you run the risk that styles will change drastically between shopping trips. Should that happen, it will become more difficult to buy accessories that fit together nicely with the outfit you have bought.

Accessories are the key

How you accessorise the outfit has a big impact on the overall look. Bear this in mind when choosing what you buy. You are looking for a dress, or maybe a suit, in a colour and fabric that is easy to match with different colour and styles of shoes, belts, scarves, handbags and hats.

Go classic

Choosing a classic cut improves your chances of being able to find the accessories you need. If you choose a radical look, your chances of being able to do this are reduced.

Think about the type of weddings you will be attending

Just as important is thinking about the kinds of weddings you will be attending during the year. A formal suit, in a luxurious fabric, may be perfect for a classy city wedding. Whereas, for a countryside wedding venue such as Heaton House Farm it won’t work so well.

Consider the weather

Another consideration is the weather. If you are attending a summer wedding, the chances are you will be fine in just a dress. But, if you want to wear that same dress to an autumn or winter wedding you will need a jacket or shawl. That is a good thing because you can choose one in a different fabric, which will make it far easier for you to give your outfit a fresh look. 

*collaboration

Valentines Day with Blossoming Gifts

Everyone loves flowers and there is nothing better than a beautiful bunch of flowers arriving, unannounced to let you know someone is thinking about you, likewise, sending someone flowers is also an amazing thing to do and I do send flowers to friends just because I think it is a nice thing to do.

Blossoming Gifts is a new and exciting flower delivery company based right here in the UK and they specialise in the most beautiful florist designs at a low cost. What I like about Blossoming gifts is that you can shop by flower colour, price range, by occasion or you can simply spend some time looking at each and every offering that there is to see. As well as flowers, you will also find a wide range of hampers, wines, plants and personalised gifts. There is also a section called 'Flowers for Men' which I think is just amazing.  I have many male colleagues who love flowers as much as I do, so it is so good to see someone thinking of the men folk and catering for them.

The 14th of February is on the horizon and for those people who want to send or receive some Valentines Day Flowers, then Blossoming Gifts is a site you need to look at.  I was kindly given the opportunity to choose which flowers I would like to review and actually the choice was a difficult one to choose because there are so many amazing bouquets to choose from, However, as soon as I saw Tuberose as one of the flowers in this bunch, aptly named High Tea, it was a done deal.

The flowers arrived beautifully packaged inside a cardboard box to ensure their delivery to me did not damage them.  Before the box was opened, I could smell the flowers.  Once inside the box, much to the excitement of one lively kitten, I saw the flowers for the first time and they were just beautiful, not quite open, but so incredibly fresh, the scent lingered in my kitchen for hours. The High Tea bouquet is made up of Tuberose, Sweet Avalanche Roses, White Oriental Lillies, delicate tanecetum baya and long lasting, textured, crisp white carnations. Add to that a free box of chocolates and I am one very happy lady.

I have had the flowers in a vase now for 10 days and they are just beginning to wilt, all of the unopened Lillies opened as did the roses to full bloom and they look just beautiful in my kitchen.  Priced at just £31.99 they are an absolute great value for money bouquet and one which is worth every single penny.

Now I have an amazing offer for all my lovely readers from the people at Blossoming Gifts and that is 3% off a bouquet using the code BGIFTS33, the only bouquets exempt from the discount is the 'Flowers By Post' range.  

Will you be taking advantage of my discount code?

Cheerz Photo Printing

Photographs are something I take a lot of, as you would expect being a blogger, but never print them, in fact I can't even remember when I last printed any, so when Cheerz got in touch saying they would love to print my photos, I jumped at the chance. I am sure we all have photos that we treasure, those that just sit in our phones or are shared on social media, but are never printed.

Using Cheerz is really easy and it allows you to print photos from your Instagram, Facebook, Dropbox or even from your Camera Roll. Cheerz have both an app and a website and all you need to do is select your favourites, upload them and pick how you want them printed from a nice array of little designs such as a Cheez Box which filled with 30-45 Polaroid-style Prints, photo booth-style Strips, magnets, posters, and more. I opted for the Love Cheerz Box £13) and the photo booth-style strips (£6.50) and if you 'do' Valentines Day, this could be an amazing gift.

The Love Cheerz Box contains 30 photographs (though you can add more)and not only is the delivery super quick, the quality is just amazing.  I have 5 nephews and 4 nieces, not to mention 3 cats and wedding photos that have never been printed, so I had a lot to work with and decide what I wanted to have printed.  I did part of my choosing via my phone and part via web so I could have all my favourite photos.  You are also told if the pictures you want are not brilliant quality which is really helpful.  

Once you have added your photos, you will be able to crop them, add text, change their look and opt for Colour Block, Vintage style or have an all black or all white background. Once you have completed all these steps, you simply add to the cart and you are good to go.

The Photo Booth Style Strips, of which you will need to select 20 photographs and they are in strips of 4.  The process is again the same with the selection, upload your favourite photos, decide whether you want the strips to be horizontal or vertical, add some text and again choose your background if you wish to change the colour. Then again simply add to the cart and you are done.

This time I used some of my favourite photos and quotes, so I can either keep them in my purse, stick them to the fridge or give them to others.

What I love about this app/site is how easy it is to use, play around with and it is such good value for money. I created both of my options within less than an hour, the hardest part was deciding which photographs I wanted to print.  The quality is just superb and it is nice to finally have some photos of people and quotes that mean a lot to me, something I can display or carry with me, without having to rely on social media for those reminders.

If you like the sound of Cheerz and fancy having a go yourself, then I have a great offer for you below.

Have you every used Cheerz before? 

Do you have a bunch of photos just waiting to be printed?