My Favourite Summer Scents Under £30

Summer is absolutely my favourite time of year; closely followed by Spring. Everything changes for the Summer-time - the clothes we wear, the activities we take part in, our mood, and for many of us, our beauty products. In this post I'm going to be talking about this, specifically: scents - my favourite Summer scents... That are also not too expensive.

I have chosen a mixture of sweet, fruity, musky and floral fragrances from 4 different brands. I don't think I have a favourite as they are all so different in many ways, from the type of smell to their intensity to lasting power.

Victoria's Secret Coconut Passion Body Mist 250ml (prices vary, but around £9.)

This is a fragrance mist so it's light, unlike an EDT. Its main scent is coconut but I can definitely smell notes of vanilla which is my favourite to wear therefore I would say I do wear this mist the most out of all the fragrances featured in this post. I love wearing this mist on holiday as it goes with the whole sun-cream, coconut body lotion smell and it's light (as previously mentioned) and summery.

The Body Shop Fuji Green Tea Eau De Cologne 100ml (£20)

I do wear this EDC a lot, but I've currently got the bottle practically up my nose wondering why I don't wear it every. Single. Day. It's nothing like any scent I've ever come across... obviously it's from the Most Unique Scents Award Winner --> The Body Shop. This fragrance is so potent but I really struggle to describe what it actually smells like. It's not very feminine but it's sophisticated, clean, floral, lemony... It's just great. Although the most costly of the 5 products mentioned, it's the most long-lasting therefore definitely worth it.

The Body Shop Fijian Water Lotus Eau De Toilette 100ml (£15)

I won't go into detail about this one because I wrote about it in my first ever blog post 'The Body Shop Products You Need To Try'. Again, it's a very unique, natural and refreshing fragrance.

Next Paradise Island Body Mist

I'm going to apologise right now because after planning this blog post and taking all the photographs, I've realised that this body mist has been discontinued *cries*. I still love it though so I'm going to talk about it anyway. It's a very exotic scent; on the back of the bottle it says it has notes of mango, pineapple, sandalwood, musk, coconut water and guava. I love the nozzle on this bottle because it gives out a big refreshing spray so I love spraying it on my chest and shoulders on a really hot day. Useful huh.

Zara Woman Fruity EDT 100ml (bought from Zara as a 2-pack with Zara Woman Oriental for around £25.)

The style of this bottle is very aesthetically pleasing; it's simplistic and modern and looks fabulous on my dressing table and the liquid inside is a beautiful pink colour. Somebody told me that this scent is a dupe for Prada Candy - it smells sweet and, as you can probably tell from the name of the product, fruity. It also has notes of rose and a little muskiness. It's a beautifully feminine scent and lasts a long time and I would definitely recommend it.

I would love to hear what your go-to Summer scents are! Chat with me in the comments.

Libby

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The Body Shop Products You Need To Try

The Body Shop has been a favourite of mine for many years when it comes to must-haves such as cleansers and body scents. These products are just 5 of my rather large collection of TBS favourites, some of which are old buys and others new tries.

Aloe Calming Foaming Wash - I can't be the only person out there who is instantly drawn to the words 'fragrance-free, colourant-free, preservative-free, alcohol-free'. This means the product is perfect for sensitive skin, which is my skin type. I cleanse my skin with this foaming wash once a day and it is definitely appropriate for daily use, as aloe, its main active ingredient, is soothing and moisturising. To me, 'foaming' makes the formula sound light (which it sure is!) and therefore perfect for everyday use. I have been re-purchasing this for around 2 years now because it's one of the only skin-care products I've had nothing but good experiences with and wouldn't trust another product to do as good of a job.

Honeymania Bubble Bath Melt - I love baths, and I love products that make the experience even more enjoyable - whether it be bubbles, a potent smell, or skin benefits. This bath melt does all 3. The strong sweet but soothing honey scent lingers on my skin (which is now unbelievably smooth) for hours after my bath and it creates just the perfect amount of bubbles (not a pathetic amount but not an overflowing snow bath). This bath melt is a must-have for the bathroom cabinet, however it seems to be discontinued on the website. Try this product for a similar experience (tried and tested by me!).

Chinese Ginseng & Rice Clarifying Polishing Mask - OK, I have so much to write about this one but I'll try my best to keep it short! Every single product in the Expert Facial Masks range looks incredible! The consultant in the store and I were chatting for a good 20 minutes about the range and I finally decided to go with this mask. This product has many ingredients that are known to benefit skin in different ways.

Ginseng root extract - anti-ageing, toner, treats dark circles (evens skin tone)

Shea butter - moisturiser, reduces inflammation (evens skin tone)

Sesame seed oil - anti-ageing, repairs damaged skin cells.

How do I use it? I use this mask twice a week and I apply a medium-thickness (it is a clay-like formula so it's very thick to begin with). To make the product last a long time I wouldn't recommend using a huge amount each time (it's a fairly small pot). I'm sure it will be beneficial if it is just applied onto the t-zone, but I have acne scarring on my cheeks and I'm hoping that this mask might reduce the appearance of this over time, therefore I apply it to my whole face. I leave the mask on for around 10 minutes, then I gently exfoliate for a few seconds before washing it off and cleansing my face afterwards with the Aloe Foaming Wash, followed by moisturising.

My opinion? This mask definitely improved the overall appearance of my skin after use and this lasted into the next day. It left my skin feeling matte (kind of 'waterproofed') and soft, which is probably due to the exfoliator. If you're looking for a new facial mask that does a great job yet won't break the bank (RRP £16), I'd definitely recommend this one!

Black Musk EDT & Fijian Water Lotus EDT - The Body Shop definitely wins the game when it comes to affordable, unique scents. I mean, the names 'Fijian Water Lotus' and 'Black Musk' are definitely not names of perfumes I've heard before. Black musk isn't too feminine, which I think is one of the things I love about it. I'm not very good at describing scents but somebody said in the reviews for this EDT that it smells 'dark and spicy' and I thought 'YES THAT'S IT!'. So yeah. Dark and spicy. I'm also a fan of the White Musk EDT from TBS. Fijian Water Lotus is more light and summery, and it reminds me of a potent-smelling flower or leaf. It definitely also reminds me of scented water. The names for these perfumes are just tooooooo accurate!

I hope this post has inspired you into a little Body Shop haul. I don't think I'll ever stop purchasing these products.

I would love to know what you think of these must-haves or anything from The Body Shop (I'm always trying out new things from them).

Libby

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