Project Renegades

The creative duo behind Escentric Molecules, Geza Schoen and Paul White, have teamed up with rebel perfumers Bertrand Duchaufour and Mark Buxton to launch new fragrance brand Project Renegades. They all worked for large fragrance houses contributing to many classic scents for brands which you will be familiar with - Escentric Molecules, Comme des Garçons, Penhaligons and Acqua de Parma to name but a few. 

I was not only lucky enough to be present for the launch of the brand, but I got to sit, listen and ask questions of each of them which was, just the ultimate experience and an absolute honour.  

Deciding to take the fragrance world by storm, give it a kick and have some fun, each perfumer created a fragrance of their own, with no limitations of a tight brief or restrictions on materials. In fact they could come up with what they wanted and that is exactly what they did. The end result was three very unique scents, three crazy avatars and three incredibly eye-catching bottles which are not only distinctive but come with a fridge magnet of each avatar.

Geza Schoen’s Renegades fragrance is constructed around pink pepper, creating a portrait of the whole tree - berries, bark and leaves. I loved this scent immediately which might come as no surprise to those of you who know how much I adore Escentic Molecules. 

So with top notes of pink pepper, lemon, bergamot, cassis and lime; middle notes of osmanthus, iris, fir, juniper, hedione and mate and base notes of the well known iso e super, cedar, sandalwood, labdanum, incense, myrrh, castoreum and ambrette (musk mallow) what you get is the most amazing woody spicy fragrance which is suitable for men and women.

Bertrand Duchaufour’s Renegades fragrance opens with pink pepper and ends with a sea breeze. This time there is top notes of pink pepper, bergamot, cardamom, gin, cassis and galbanum. The middle notes are red berries, olibanum and hinoki wood and the base notes are balsam fir, driftwood and amber. 

This is again a woody spicy scent which is suitable for both men and women and I hadn't expected to like the scent, I'm not usually a fan of perfumes with amber in them, but this one is just beautiful and again is unlike anything else I have ever smelt or come across.

Mark Buxton’s Renegades fragrance is woody and spicy, revolving around a smoky leather rose. This time we have top notes which are basil, lentisque, black pepper, cassis-flower and galbanum; middle notes of leather rose and bay and base notes which are labdanum, guaiac wood, vetiver and amber.  

Again we have a Woody Spicy scent which has the added extra of being a smoky scent owing to the leather rose.  For both men and women, I actually think this one will be much better suited to the mister of my house than it will be to me, but I am prepared to give it a go because once again it is quite striking, it is divine and is like nothing else I have ever come across.

I know most people will be wanting to know whether or not I have a favourite amongst the three fragrances and truth me told they are all amazing in their own way, they all make you think and they are all just totally different to each other and anything else you are likely to find in any department store or on any fragrance counter.  That said, the one which appeals to me the most is from Geza, I love the freshness of the scent, I love how it smells on my skin and I love that it lasts for most of the day once applied.

If these fragrances have managed to capture your attention, then you will find the brand in Harvey Nichols and each one retails at £155.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Free Beauty Box with Marks and Spencer

So with Mothers Day on the horizon (26th March for the UK followers), Marks and Spencers are giving you a free Beauty Box worth £80 when you spend £30 and with all the amazing brands now stocked in Marks and Spencers, spending £30 is not hard to do.

So the box is called Little Beauty Luxuries (here) and it has nine products in it which are:

Image Credit - Marks and Spencer

• Studio 10 Age Reverse Perfecting Lipliner 1.38g, 
• Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm 15g, 
• Balance Me Radiance Face Oil 10ml, 
• Nature's Ingredients Lemon Verbena OR Aloe Vera Foam Bath 60ml, 
• Aqua Rose Eau de Toilette 25ml, 
• Heyland & Whittle Luxurious Rose Soap 95g, 
• L'Occitane En Provance Shea Butter Intensive Hand Balm OR Shea Hand Cream 10ml, 
• Ren Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash 50ml, 
• Nails Inc. Gel One Coat Nail Polish Portobello Court 10ml.

So quite a cute little box that contains a really lovely variety of products and to ensure you get the box all you need to do is add it to your bag, spend £30 and then when you check out the box becomes free, pretty much like all M&S Gift With Purchases work. Available now - here!

What do you think to the box?

*this post contains PR samples/AF links unless indicated otherwise

L’Occitane Terre de Lumiere

One thing L'Occitane do very well are fragrances and I have yet to come across one that I haven't loved immediately. The release of Terre De Lumiere, which translates to mean 'Land of Light' is quite simply Summer in a bottle it as been inspired by the light of Provence. The description "capturing the intense sensoriality of a walk through the fields of Provence at the golden hour" quite literally has you imagining that perfect French sunset.

Terre de Lumière is the first Gourmand Aromatic fragrance by L'OCCITANE. In that sense, it means a perfume which consists primarily of synthetic edible (gourmand) which in this case includes ingredients such as honey and almond.  The bottle is an interesting shape and with it comes an interesting description.  The cap is described as being 'aglow with light, as if it had soaked up the smouldering colours of the sky' and the bottle which has this rounded almost unusual shape was designed to express all the power of Provence, simply elegant and iconic, it is said to 'showcase the vibrant golden hues of the land with its unique light'. For me, the bottle fits perfectly in my hand when I come to use it and with a handy flat bottom, it makes it ideal for standing on my bedside table. 

I love this scent. I wasn't expecting too when I saw some of the notes, in fact, I expected to really dislike it, so for me to not only like but love it, even now still shocks me.  With top notes are bergamot, ambrette seed, and pink pepper you get a bold zesty aromatic opening which I just loved immediately. The Bergamot most definitely noticeable for me. Then as the heart note of Lavender Honey comes to life, said to be reminiscent of the fields of Provence, the perfume develops to bring a floral side to the zesty scent. Finally, the base notes of Acacia Flower, Bitter Almond Essence, Tonka Bean and White Musk really add a whole new dimension to this for me. It is soft, warm and incredibly fresh scented, the musk sitting in the background. 

As this is a gourmand scent, less is definitely more.  One spritz on your pulse points is more than enough and this scent once applied lasts for hours and hours.  You apply it in the morning and you can still catch a whiff on your way home some 7 hours later, admittedly not as strong but it is still there.

Available in both a 50ml and 90ml bottle, they are priced at £58 and £78 respectively and they are available right here alongside a Gentle Shower Gel and Beautifying Body Lotion from the same range.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Rimmel Brow Shake Filling Powder

There is definitely a brow thing going on right now with highstreet brands and Rimmel, who have already released some new products which I reviewed here have added some more products to their collection with the Rimmel Brow Shake Filling Powders.

Described as being "Long lasting, ultra soft brow filling powder that doubles up as an eyeliner for an impactful eye look. Line, define and fill for a WOW brow" these powders are available in 4 shades - Light Brown, Medium Brown, Dark Brown and Soft Black and they retail for £5.99 each (though currently on offer in both Boots and Superdrug).

The Rimmel Brow Shake Filling Powder is not quite like any other brow products I have comes across.  Firstly it is packaged within a pot and it features a long conical shaped lid so it is easy to grasp and hold and secondly it is a loose powder, something I have used from a pot rather than a tube. 

When it comes to using, the very first thing you need to do is to shake the entire tube for a few seconds before you would use it and as you shake it, you get a clicking sound. The shaking of the tube allows the loose powder to cling to the sponge applicator, again something I have never used before.  Once it has been shaken there should now be enough product on the sponge applicator, something I expected to really dislike but actually I do like it and find it incredibly easy to use but and yes there are two, because of the way you apply the powder to your brows, you aren't able to create hair like strokes as you might do with your pencil or wax and it did take some getting used too and secondly it is a loose powder so there is some fall out, admittedly not as much as I had expected and tapping the brush before using also helps.

The powder in the tube is not only loose powder but it is also really pigmented giving quite an intense colour which is designed to last all day and night. Once on the brow the colour does not budge or smudge and as the formula is waterproof, so you will need to use makeup remover to remove it.

L-R - Soft Black, Dark Brown, Medium Brown, Light Brown

My brows are pretty rubbish, after years of over plucking, I am not blessed with thick bushy brows, but they are very slowly growing back and I have to work with what I have got. I do use brow products from Benefit so with these four shades I am somewhere between the light and medium brown shades and I hope there will be some more shades added to the range.

Overall I do like the brow powder. It is easy to use, easy to apply, is great for brow filling and it definitely does not budge wants applied, which is pretty impressive and all for just £5.99.

Have you tried these Brow Powders from Rimmel?

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise