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Holiday Gift Guide – December 2021

WELCOME; to my annual Coco and Chino’s Christmas Holiday Gift Guide 2021! Here I will be going through in guide-form, my top holiday gift picks for this holiday season. This years’ picks are from Too Faced, Hourglass, Cerave and Lanolips, covering a wide variety of beauty categories. To take a look at what my selections are this year, just look below..

Products, Textures & Formula’s
– Limited Edition Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eye Shadow Palette 6.7g; with eight tasty shades that is sure to warm you up on a cool night, it will get you through the winter months and you can create a multitude of looks with this bite-sized eye shadow palette. With a mixture of mattes and shimmers, it gives you the perfect balance and all shades are nicely pigmented. From top-to-bottom and left-to-right, the shade names are titled: ‘Kool Whip‘ – a light warm cream matte, ‘Warm Me Up‘ – a soft caramel-brown matte, ‘Cinnamon Chai‘ – a deep red-brown terracotta, ‘Holly Sh*t‘ – sparkling forest-green shimmer, ‘Brew-tiful Day‘ – peach-pink matte, ‘Slow Roasted‘ – rustic copper metallic, ‘Candy Cane Latte‘ – cranberry-red metallic and ‘Christmas Coffee‘ – a rich deep brown matte. This size palette is also ideal for taking on trips and touching up on a night out, etc. Take a closer look below..

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml; perfect for normal-to-dry skin and people with sensitive skin, this cleanser is infused with hyaluronic acid for ultimate hydration, it has an amino acid based surfactant that lathers into a gentle foam and easily removes oil, makeup, dirt and any SPF residue from the skin. It also includes ceramides to maintain the skin’s barrier, and their own patented MVE technology that continually releases moisturising ingredients overtime for 24hrs. It can also be used on hands, body as well as the face. It’s quite easy to use, just massage gentle into lukewarm wet skin before rinsing well. It is soap-free, paraben-free, non-comedogenic, fragrance-free and pH balanced. To check out some photos of the cleanser and texture of the cream, take a look below..

– Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g; the new annual Ambient Lighting Edit face palette for 2021 is here! Featuring four brand new shades of blush, bronzer and highlighter are limited edition and create the most flattering light source for looks and photography. The powders create such a beautiful celestial glow, they’re all hand-made in Italy and are such universal shades that they would suit most skin tones. The photoluminescent technology allows the powders to capture, diffuse and soften surrounding light to help blur imperfections and refine the skin’s appearance. The two ambient strobe lighting blush shades are: ‘Vibrant Heat‘ – a very vibrant soft mid pink and ‘Luminous Rose‘ – a softened plum. The ambient lighting bronzer shade is titled ‘Glistening Bronze Light‘ – a golden bronze. The ambient strobe lighting powder is titled ‘Supernatural Strobe Light‘ – a soft champagne. And the larger pan powder is the ‘Ambient Lighting Infinity Powder‘ which is a combination of three acclaimed shades of ambient powders: ‘Diffused Light‘, ‘Dim Light‘ and ‘Hypnotic Strobe Light‘. To get a much closer look at the fantastic face palette, check out the packaging photos below..

– Limited Edition Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melting Matte Lipstick 7ml; a brand new holiday shade in Too Faced’s melted matte lipstick formula, ‘Cinnamon Bun‘, which is a gorgeous universal shade described as a moderately-warm toned brown matte. It is infused with vitamin E, avocado oil with hyaluronic filling spheres that smooth the lip lines upon application. It coats the lips with a true pigment of colour that lasts for hours and is quite comfortable to wear. This particular shade is limited edition and a part of Too Faced’s 2021 holiday collection. To see up-close shots and lip wear swatches, take a look below..

– Limited Edition Too Faced ‘You’re So Hot’ Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml; a new smooth and silky bronzer in a limited edition shade ‘Hot Cocoa‘ with the most cutest packaging we may have ever seen, the embossed design on the surface of the bronzer in pan has a smiley face resembling hot froffing coffee with whipped cream nested on top and is also scented just like the decadent treat of hot cocoa, the perfect treat on a cold winter’s day. The tone of the bronzer is definitely on the lighter side, it would be ideal for fair or light skin tones. The lipgloss is in the lip injection power plumping formula and is in shade ‘Christmas Cocoa‘. It is scented just like chocolate cake or a chocolate candy bar, it is a very pleasing brown tone which is universally flattering on most skin tones. It delivers a gorgeous high shine upon wear and is quite glossy. The make up pouch that the set comes in is a cute light pink colour with little mugs of hot froffy coffee with whipped cream on top, there is also sparkly marshmallows on the front and back in pattern form and the iconic gold love heart handle zipper is on the top edge. I think the size is around 5×7 which is wonderful as it can fit quite a bit of product inside, which would be fantastic to take on trips. On the back it says ‘Too Faced’ and on the front it has ‘You’re So Hot’ emblazoned in font. Take a quick look at the close-up details and lip wear shade swatches of both via the pictures below..

– Limited Edition Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Salted Coconut x Mango Gelato 10g; touted as the Australian summer dreams collaboration, is the iconic 101 ointment balm from Lanolips crossed over with another iconic Aussie fave, Messina’s sorbet salted coconut gelato flavour. Using coconut oil, mango fruit extract and vitamin E to create an all-around good vibes boost of hydration for your skin. It uses pure grade Australian Lanolin, which mimics the skin’s own oils and leaves it perfectly hydrated. It is not just for your lips either, it can also be used all over the body on your skin and that is why it’s multi-purpose. It tasted and smells absolutely delicious! If you’d like to see texture shots, up-close photos of the packaging just keep scrolling below..

Worldwide Prices & Availability
– LE Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eyeshadow Palette 6.7g;
Australia: $38 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca.

USA: $27 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Too Faced, Nordstrom, Kohls, Macys, HSN and Ulta.

UK: £24 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Look Fantastic, ASOS, Selfridges, Boots and John Lewis.

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml;
Australia: $15.99 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Chemist Warehouse.

USA: $10.80 – 14.99 USD
Available: online and in-store at Ulta and Target.

UK: £9.37 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Boots and Superdrug.

– LE Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g;
Australia: $114 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca and Net-a-Porter.

USA: $80 USD
Available: online and in-store at Hourglass, Beautylish, Net-a-Porter, Sephora and Ulta.

UK: £79 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Hourglass UK, Space NK, Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, Look Fantastic and John Lewis.

– LE Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melted Matte Lipstick 7ml;
Australia: $32.50 AUD
Available: online at Selfridges and Cult Beauty.

USA: $22 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Too Faced, Macys and Ulta.

UK: £20 GBP
Available: online and in-store at Selfridges, John Lewis, Look Fantastic, ASOS and Boots.

– LE Too Faced ‘You’re So Hot’ Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml;
Australia: $49.93 AUD
Available: online at Amazon.

USA: $39 USD
Available: online and in-store at Sephora, Kohls and JC Penney.

UK: £37.42 GBP
Available: online at Amazon.

– LE Lanolips x Messina Salted Coconut & Mango Gelato 10g;
Australia: $19.95 AUD
Available: online and in-store at Mecca and Lanolips Australia.

USA: $13.50 USD
Available: online at Lanolips.

UK: £8.99 GBP
Available: online at Lanolips UK.

My Thoughts & First Impressions
– Limited Edition Too Faced Christmas Coffee Eyeshadow Palette 6.7g; what drew me to this palette was the gorgeous cranberry red and the forest green shimmer shades, they’re so Christmassy and after watching Youtube reviews with swatches from it, thats when I decided I wanted to get it. I always look forward to the Too Faced christmas holiday releases and usually there is always a palette I end up loving. Sometimes in some of the Too Faced holiday eyeshadow palette releases (like the ones in sets), the shades can be a bit chalky and hard to layer, however I find with their bite-sized palettes that the pigmentation is much better quality and that is why I tend to pick up those instead. And at $38 AUD, it’s a great pick to get 8 mixed formula shades and the packaging is so nice.

– Cerave Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser 236ml; I’m always on the hunt for cleansers and skincare products that are suited to dry skin and this is where Cerave come in, they have a nice range of products suited to all skin types and their formulas are always without any nasty ingredients. I had tried their hydrating cleanser for the last two years and absolutely love it, so when the cream-to-foam release came out, I hopped on the trial train straight away. During a sale at the Chemist Warehouse I picked up my bottle and I have loved it since first try. It is decently priced and suits my skin so well.

– Limited Edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Universe Face Palette 5.4g; this is the big winner for me this year. Amongst all of the other palette releases from all other brands, including MAC, this Hourglass interested me the most and the packaging is just simply divine. It is so stunning! I have owned a ambient lighting edit palette beforehand and it was the white marble packaged one from 2016 or so, and when I saw this one I fell in love right away. The fact it is limited edition also helped budge me to pick it up, as they can sell out pretty fast. I love how long these palettes last and the pans are such decent sizes too.

– Limited Edition Too Faced Cinnamon Bun Longwear Melted Matte Lipstick 7ml; I was drawn to this shade right away because it is a universally flattering nude that would suit most skin tones. It is a mid-brown matte with a cool mauve undertone and it smells just like freshly-baked cinnamon rolls. I love earth toned nudes and if it’s in the brown category, I always find the cool tones suit me as unfortunately warm tones never do, they look muddy on me and wash me out. I am a fan of the Too Faced’s melted matte lipstick formula, they’re usually very comfy upon wear and they last so long too. I’m waiting to receive mine that I purchased this year so I will further update when I have it and have worn it.

– Limited Edition Too Faced You’re So Hot Hot Cocoa Bronzer & Lipgloss Set 8.5g 5.2ml; what I loved about this bronzer set is that the bronzer shade looks perfect tone for my skin, I also enjoy the cute pouch and the lip injection gloss shade is another nice earth neutral nude tone, which would compliment most skin tones as well. The gloss is very sparkly and looks like it goes on very smoothly. And not only is the packaging so cute but the products are both scented like hot cocoa.

– Limited Edition Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Salted Coconut & Mango Gelato 10g; this smells so delicious and is your iconic 101 ointment from the fave Lanolips. Infused with Messina’s popular salted coconut sorbet, this balm makes you want to eat it! It is so nourishing and it is such a fun collaboration between two Australian faves. Released at a perfect time right before the summer season in Australia. I don’t think you can go wrong with this pick up at all.

That wraps up my holiday gift guide for 2021! I hope you have enjoyed learning more about the featured products in my guided round up for Christmas gifting and have found the perfect selection, or even as a gift for yourself. I am embarking on starting my Christmas shopping and I hope to be finished early this year. I hope you have all been safe and well throughout this year, and I hope you all have a lovely Christmas season with your families and loved ones. I’m going pretty big with decorations this year so I’ll try to include some photo’s of that in my posts.

Disclaimer; all of the above featured products have been purchased with my own money and all thoughts & opinions published here are my own.

Beauty

Bobbi Brown Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss – April 2020

Bobbi Brown Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss – April 2020

Introducing the coveted new Crushed Oil-Infused Gloss high-shine colours from Bobbi Brown Australia! Now available in 12 shades, the formula is a plumping, hydrating, non-sticky gloss that ranges in tones from nudes to warm bolds. With an ingredients inclusion of avocado oil, jojoba seed oil, arabica coffee seed oil and hyaluronic acid, these are super smooth and ultra hydrating! I’ve been lucky enough to try out a range of the colours and I wanted to share my thorough review and thoughts about the new release.

Swatches & Formula
In the collection, there is a total of 12 high-shine glosses; including the limited edition shades created in collaboration with Yara Shahidi. With a super smooth formula that is hydrating, plumping & non-sticky, this range of glosses can be worn alone or over the top of a lipstick. The shades in my collection are: ‘Hot Streak’ – a bright vibrant red/pink, ‘In The Flow’ – a deep red/burgundy, ‘Slow Jam’ – a deep mauve pink, ‘Spring Bliss’ – mauve medium pink and ‘Forever Chill’ – a mid brown beige. Below, you can see the swatches from each shade in my collection…

This range of high-shine glosses can take you from nudes to bolds with a colour to suit all skin tones. The ingredients is packed with enriched hydrating oils, including jojoba seed oil, arabica coffee seed oil, avocado seed oil and sodium hyaluronate. They’re all free from parabens, sulphites, phthalates, gluten and animal derived ingredients. I love wearing them on their own and also over the top of my crushed lip colour lipsticks.

Prices & Availability
The high-shine Crushed Oil-Infused Glosses are available for $40 AUD each at the following stores & online; Bobbi Brown Australia, David Jones, Adore Beauty, Myer and Mecca Maxima.

Final Thoughts & Review
I love the hydrating, smooth formula and the long length of wear, they last quite a while upon wear. I also love that they’re non-sticky because that can be hard sometimes to find glosses that aren’t and these are definitely not sticky, such a plus! I enjoy the range of colours there is in the collection as well! Would I repurchase? Definitely! I love how the high-shine glosses can be worn both either on top of another lip colour or by themselves as an overall cover. Because they’re slightly translucent, you can build up multiple layers to get a more fuller coverage.

Disclaimer
The products above were kindly sent in to me for consideration of creating content with and writing a review. This does not alter my honest thoughts and opinions in any way.

Beauty

Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Luxe & Fortune Collection – February 2020

Bobbi Brown Limited Edition Luxe & Fortune Collection – February 2020

Introducing the brand new recently launched LE collection from Bobbi Brown Australia, the gorgeous Luxe & Fortune range! Featuring the Jeweled Rose Eye Palette with shimmer wash eyeshadow & metallic eyeshadow 1.13g each and eyeshadow in ‘Champagne Quartz’ 2.45g, the Luxe Liquid Lip Rich Metal in ‘Pink Crystal’ 6ml and the Luxe Lip Colour in ‘Rare Ruby’ 3.4g. Such a stunning trio of products! Not just the creamy pigmented formula of the luxe lip colour in Rare Ruby or the gorgeous sparkle from the liquid lip Pink Crystal, but the stunning red & gold package design & glow of the Champagne Quartz is out of this world! The whole collection really fits it’s own theme.


 

This beautiful collection was created and inspired in celebration of Lunar New Year. I think it’s such a lovely nod to it. Onto the products; I feel like the lip colour ‘Rare Ruby’ was made for me. The colour is a stunning burnt red-plum tone and is so gorgeous! I could wear it everyday, the texture is ultra creamy & smooth, the one swipe glide on type. I can’t reiterate it enough, the quality of the Bobbi Brown Australia lip products are really in a whole class of their own!

 

The luxe liquid lip in ‘Pink Crystal‘ is a mid-pink with silver shimmery flecks, it has a slightly sheer finish but can be layered up for further coverage. The texture is a buttery kind & the colour payoff really impresses! Check out the swatches of them below. With the Champagne Quartz shadow, I would describe it as a mid beige-gold and it is just stunning! 



Products & Formula
* Limited Edition Jeweled Rose Eye Palette 1.13g & ‘Champagne Quartz’ 2.45g – $70 AUD
– one swipe pigment, warm tones, easy to blend

* Limited Edition Luxe Liquid Lip Rich Metal in ‘Pink Crystal’ 6ml – $56 AUD
– gorgeous pink metallic flecks,

* Limited Edition Luxe Lip Color in ‘Rare Ruby’ 3.8g – $56 AUD
– one swipe pigment, gorgeous matte colour, mid ruby red tone

My Experience, Review & Final Thoughts
I love this entire limited edition Luxe & Fortune collection. The ‘Rare Ruby’ lip colour is the most perfect red and has a glistening satin finish, it is absolutely beautiful. The eye palette is a gorgeous colour story in way of warm tones and neutrals, the perfect shades for Autumn/Fall and could easily be used to create a smokey eye look with any of the shades. The pigment of the shadows is delightful too, the one-swipe kind and they’re lovely to blend too. I’ve found with the Luxe Liquid Lip Rich Metal in ‘Pink Crystal’, its gorgeous worn over the top of warm toned matte lip colours or even on its own as it it can be built up in cover with extra layers. It’s a beautiful bright mid tone metallic pink. I would 100% repurchase this collection.

Availability
You can find the collection available at Bobbi Brown Australia, Adore Beauty, David Jones and Myer.

Disclaimer
The products above were kindly sent in to me for consideration of creating content & a review. This does not alter my honest thoughts and opinion in any way.

Beauty

Meccaland 2019: Sydney, Australia

Meccaland 2019: Sydney, Australia

On May 18th 2019, my best friend Sandra and I met at Redfern Station and headed on our way to the locomotive warehouse where the second annual Meccaland was being held for 2019. From the moment of lining up, we could hear the music playing inside and see all the energy happening around us. A lovely host came and applied sparkle to our faces to give us a huge highlight glow! It was exciting as we got our FUN PASS tickets ready for receiving our wristbands. It wasn’t too long of a wait before we were walking inside. The entrance was filled with bright neon lights that curved over a tunnel.


As you can see, the neon light bars that formed the entrance tunnel were extremely pretty and bright. There was also cheerleaders dancing with pom poms to welcome the festival goers. It was quite evident already, Mecca had gone to a great level of effort for this event and it was HUGE! There were signs everywhere explaining what direction each booth was in, the centre stage and of course, the food!


Meccaland: The 411
Mecca land is a huge beauty festival held by host Mecca Maxima/Mecca Cosmetica, the major retailer of all things beauty in Australia, as you’ll likely know. In this event, Mecca invites multiple skincare and makeup brands to participate. Brands that included Too Faced, By Terry, MAC, Ciate, Clinique, Lanolips, Foreo, YSL, Drunk Elephant, Living Proof, GHD, Origins, Hourglass, NARS, Stila, Tatcha, Go-To Skincare, Bumble, Million Dollar Beauty, Kate Somerville, Lancome, Pathology, Mecca’s own Mecca MAX and many more! By that, it means setting up a booth and showcasing their latest releases and offerings, whilst also sharing knowledge, tips and tricks, advice and performing makeovers or other beauty services to festival goers who’ve booked in. It gives attendees the chance to purchase limited edition product that hasn’t yet officially released in the country. Pretty amazing, right? Wait till you see the setups and booths!

The Booths
There were so many areas to explore, all split into different ‘worlds’. Named ‘Temple Of You’, ‘The Wildflowers’, ‘Poster Park’, ‘City Of Lights’ and ‘The Queendom’. There was a theme to everything and the entire atmosphere morphed everybody there into a whole new world of all things BEAUTY. I tried to take photos of as many booths as I could, they were all decorated perfectly and had such a high energy vibe! Including the gorgeous ‘House of Drunk’ by Drunk Elephant and the ‘Isle Of Paradise’ swings. It was like one big playground for beauty lovers, including a see-saw near the Foreo booth, the slides at the Too Faced booth, the silk swings at MAC, and the globe swing chair at the NARS booth. The brands got very creative and you can see the amount of effort that went into the whole festival..


The Exclusive Products On Offer
There were many different new and limited edition products on offer from many of the brands. Including exclusive releases just for the special beauty festival. Ciate were releasing a whole new Jessica Rabbit collection and it is so beautiful! Hourglass were also releasing a new blush and lipgloss exclusively for Meccaland. Check out the next few photos for a good look at these special releases..

Stila Cosmetics also had a few new releases on show and they were also stunning. They included a new Heaven’s Hue Highlighter and the Lingerie Soufflé Skin Perfecting Color, they both looked incredible and the highlighter swatched so well! Stila is a company that I really love, I particularly like their eyeshadows and liquid lipsticks. Check out their new releases below..

The Meccaland Decor
As mentioned before, Meccaland had multiple worlds, and a theme for each world. The atmosphere was truly amazing, with lots of bright lights and fun playground featured booths and so many photo opportunities for event goers. There was really something for everyone. Attendees could also purchase exclusive new products before official release and each person who attended the event got to pick up a special edition Mecca Beauty Loop box. I’ll share what I received in mine a bit later below in the post. For now, check out some of the special decor and setups the brands had created for their booths, including fragrance & fashion house brand Maison Margiela and makeup brand Laura Mercier..

As you can see, Mecca went above and beyond! How awesome are those life sized lipstick props? So cool! I really loved all the decorations and sparkly lighting, it added such a high energy vibe to the atmosphere. The day we went there was a A LOT of people also attending so at times it was hard to move around the grounds and get from A to B, but in the end we got there and got to tour around the entire area. I have a few more photos of the decor below including the main stage where the makeup demonstrations happened and guests spoke. There was also so much detail into the entrance of the venue with massive long strands of pink tinsel hanging down. There was also the gorgeous Mecca MAX ferris wheel that went around with event goers able to have a ride on it..

From brands such as Hourglass, Bumble, Lanolips, YSL, Kate Somerville and Ciate, there was a completely unique setup at each and every booth! I kind of went a little mad with the photos I was taking but I couldn’t resist snapping them all of as many booth’s as I could for the perfect photo memories from the event. Every single setup was fun and exciting, showcasing the brands’s NEW products and old classic ones as well. To see what the brands mentioned above had decorated their booths, check the following photos out..

There was also makeup stations fully setup with mirrors, ring lights, makeup wipes and cleansers; where event goers could have new products tried and tested on them, or they could even book services of staff makeup applications or simply swatching new products on their skin. There was a designated area with tables and chairs for people to sit down and have a rest or a bite to eat. And brand GHD had a booth set up for people to get their hair styled using the new GHD products. Westpac were also on-hand to provide the very important task of entertainment, see my photos of their display below, as well as the makeup stations.

Overall you can see that it was a huge event and a lot of people attended. My best friend Sandra and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and loved checking out the new releases on offer and what each brand had done for their booth. It was a terrific event and the 6 hour drive to Sydney from Victoria was well worth it! Next year I have a feeling the event will be held in Queensland, which might be a little too far for me to travel to, however I shall see if I can also make that one. It’s such a great beauty festival that Mecca puts on and all the participating brands. Have you ever been to the event before in either Melbourne or Sydney? What were your thoughts about it? I would to know! Until next time, have a great week ahead and I hope you enjoyed my walkthrough post from MECCALAND 2019.

Fragrance

Sampling The Scents: January 2019 – Tocca, Tory Burch, Jo Malone, Estee Lauder, BLVGARI & Prada

Hello and welcome to my first blog post for 2019; introducing the January 2019 edition of my ‘Sampling The Scents’ series. If you’re new here, this post will feature six different fragrance samples where I will share my thoughts on each scent and provide my own personal star rating. Without furthermore, lets dive into the fourth instalment of ‘Sampling The Scents‘. Starting it off for January 2019. Allow me to introduce this month’s scents for the series, featuring; Tocca – Cleopatra, Jo Malone – Pomegranate Noir, Tory Burch – Just Like Heaven, Prada – Candy Sugar Pop, Estee Lauder – Modern Muse Nuit and last but not least, BLVGARI – OMNIA Pink Sapphire. These samples have been included in various beauty orders I’ve made throughout the last year, lets go through each one..

The Fragrances and Their Notes

– Tocca Cleopatra; starting off with top notes of cassis, grapefruit, green leaves and blackcurrant, with middle notes of peach, tuberose and jasmine, while ending with base notes of vanilla, musk, amber and patchouli. Released globally in May 2007, developed in collaboration by Tocca’s own world reknowned perfumer’s Ellen Molner, Sonia Constant and James Bell, ‘Cleopatra’ is inspired by the iconic Mediterranean seductress and reflects whats thought to be her personal favourite notes in sweet grapefruit, luxury Egyptian jasmine and rich Indian patchouli. The campaign for Cleopatra really began at the end of 2016 when Tocca announced briefly that they’ll be releasing a new in-house fragrance in 2007.. not long after it was announced with the title and debuted in May of 2007. Cleopatra went on to inspire further fragrances depicting from iconic women and other exotic locationsa from around the world.

– Tory Burch Just Like Heaven; it starts off with top notes of hyacinth, rhubarb and mandarin orange, with middle notes of heliotrope and ylang ylang, while rounding it up with base notes of spicy tonka bean. ‘Just Like Heaven’ marks Tory’s tenth fragrance launch and was released in April 2018 with a launch event held at Manhattan, New York’s Le Coucou restuarant, guests included actress Mindy Kaling, model Chanel Iman, Sofia Sanchez among others with canadian singer Jessie Reyez performing The Cure’s song ‘Just Like Heaven’. All guests were handed an orange burch gift bag when they left. ‘Just Like Heaven’ is inspired by thoughts of luxury and dreams with a touch of femininity and consists of a citrus mixture in notes.

– Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir; starts out with top notes of watermelon, plum, rhubarb, pomegranate and raspberry, with middle notes of clove, rose, pink pepper, jasmine, lily of the valley, frankincense, spicy woods, opoponax, guaiac wood and olibanum, rounding out with base notes of musk, amber, patchouli and virginia cedar. Released globally in December 2005 and was developed by perfumer Beverley Bayne. ‘Pomegranate Noir’ comes available in 30ml and 100ml size bottles.

– Estee Lauder Modern Muse Nuit; it starts off with top notes of citrus, mandarin orange and cassis, with middle notes of heliotrope, chamomile and Chinese jasmine, it settles with base notes of Madagascar vanilla, musk, amber, spicy tonka bean, sandalwood and patchouli. ‘Modern Muse Nuit’ was released globally in October 2016 and the face of the campaign is model Kendall Jenner. The bottle is a tall, slim golden tower with a navy blue ombre upper topping. It comes available in a 30ml, 50ml and 100ml size.

– BLVGARI OMNIA Pink Sapphire; top notes of pink pepper, pink grapefruit, and pink pomelo, with middle notes of peach, frangipani, rose and tiare flower, and is based with sandalwood, orris root, musk, vanilla and woody notes. ‘OMNIA Pink Sapphire’ was inspired by taking chances, spontaneity and sweetness reflecting festive floral hues. Developed by perfumer Alberto Morillas, it was released globally in April 2018 with a launch event held at the Goldstein Residence in Los Angeles, CA. Guests included Amanda Cerny and Gala Gonzalez. The multiple faces of the fragrances campaign were Amanda Steele, Madison Beer and Margaret Zhang. The bottle design is the iconic BLVGARI ‘B’ with hot pink edges and chrome detailing. The fragrance comes available in a 25ml, 40ml and 65ml size.

– Prada Candy Sugar Pop; top notes of bergamot leaf, citruses, red apple and bergamot, with middle notes of white peach and florals, and based with caramel and vanilla notes. ‘Candy Sugar Pop’ released globally in February 2018 and was developed by perfumer Daniela Andrier, the launch campaign was lead by model Lexi Bolling. It was inspired by original signature caramel fragrance ‘Candy’ from Prada, however this time with a fun ironic twist into youthfulness. The bottle is inspired by Prada’s own three-layered Saffiano bag with being a tall slim pastel pink with baby blue spin top lid, yellow bottom, white rim around the top and gold detailing in font and the trims. It is available in the 30ml, 50ml and 80ml sizes.

My Thoughts & Ratings
Some of these I have already bought as I loved them, others I have tested out over the last few months and have gathered my thoughts on each one, so lets head right into the ratings and break it down:

 

Tocca Cleopatra; this has easily became one of my favourite scents to date! It’s soft, light, feminine and floral.. just how I like my fragrances. I first tried this in-store at Mecca Maxima and I have loved it ever since. In Christmas 2017, I purchased a gift set from Tocca that included a rollerball size sample and then just last Christmas of 2019, I again purchased another Tocca gift set that was solely ‘Cleopatra’ and came with a rollerball sample and a mini deluxe size bottle. My mother was visiting for Christmas holidays recently and I introduced it to her, after showing her she loved it just as much so I do, so I gifted her one of the miniature bottles from the gift set. It is such a terrific scent and perfect for any occasion, even on a casual day. Rating: I will definitely give this one a 5/5 ★★★★★.

Tory Burch Just Like Heaven; …. Rating: I will give this one a 4/5 ★★★★☆.

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir; I instantly notice the raspberry in this one, even over the pomegranate. It doesn’t necessarily open strong but it has a strength within it, there is a real sweet softness to it. Rating: I will give this one a 3/5 ★★★☆☆.

Estee Lauder Modern Muse Nuit; … Rating: I will give this one a 5/5 ★★★★★.

BLVGARI OMNIA Pink Sapphire; … Rating: I will give this one a 3/5 ★★★☆☆.

Prada Candy Sugar Pop; …. Rating: I will give this one a 3/5 ★★★☆☆.

Where To Buy & Availability
Liked the sounds of one of the fragrances you saw on this post? Want to purchase it? I’ve got you covered! Please find below all the info you need on availability, pricing, locations, etc.

Tocca Cleopatra – the 50ml for $105 AUD at Mecca and the 50ml is also available for $138.95 AUD at Cosmetics Now Australia.

Tory Burch Just Like Heaven – the 50ml for $185.95 AUD at Cosmetics Now Australia.

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir – the 30ml is $98 AUD at Myer and the 100ml is $198 AUD at Myer. The 30ml is $98 AUD at Jo Malone Australia and the 100ml is $198 AUD at Jo Malone Australia as well.

Estee Lauder Modern Muse Nuit – the 50ml is $65 AUD at Priceline Australia, the 50ml is also available at Adore Beauty Official.

BLVGARI OMNIA Pink Sapphire – the 65ml is available for $102 AUD at Straberry.Net and the 40ml is also available for $84.50 AUD at Strawberry.Net.

Prada Candy Sugar Pop – the 50ml is available for $142 AUD at Myer and the 80ml is also available for $179 AUD at Myer as well.

Would I Purchase the Full Sizes?
With a couple of them, yes. I’ve already purchased Tocca ‘Cleopatra’ a number of times from <b>Mecca Maxima</b> and once my gift sets have ran out, I’ll purchase the full size bottle because I really LOVE it THAT much! I would also definitely purchase the full size of the Estee Lauder ‘Modern Muse Nuit’, it is a lovely fragrance. I tend to love soft floral hued scents and these two aforementioned are right up there! In terms of the Tory Burch ‘Just Like Heaven’, I feel its nice but not one I love enough to purchase a full bottle of. The same goes with BLVGARI ‘OMNIA Pink Sapphire’, it is a tad too sweet for me to want to fork out money on it, the Jo Malone ‘Pomegranate Noir’ isn’t a typical scent I would wear but I do love this one, so I think I would say yes I would purchase a bottle of that one, perhaps just a small size bottle. And lastly but not least, Prada’s ‘Candy Sugar Pop’ is another one I WOULD purchase a small size bottle of, it is a delectable scent that I cannot go past. Much like the original but a bit softer in a sense, at least for my personal taste it’s a ‘yes’. That concludes the first instalment to my ‘Sampling The Scents’ series for 2019, I hope you have enjoyed learning more about these popular fragrances. xo.

Where to next?