Review: Q: The Fine Fragrance Body Spray.

Q: Awe The Fine Fragrance Body Spray: £2.29*

Q: Balance The Fine Fragrance Body Spray: £2.29*

Anybody who knows me will know that I like perfume. A lot. My collection currently consists of ten bottles and I have a wishlist of others that I'd like to add... if anything, they look pretty on my dressing table, right? And nobody can say that I don't smell nice.

However, there is one down side to smelling pretty all the time. It's expensive. On a day-to-day basis it pains me to steal a few squirts of my £45 bottle of Illamasqua Freak, especially when I am only nipping in to town for an hour. Or maybe you have just finished in the gym and your typical Dove deodorant just isn't cutting it. This is where Q: comes to the rescue.

Carrying out extensive research and discovering that a lot of men and women feel limited with regards to choice of deodorant once they outgrow the "kiddie" body sprays (Impulse, Charlie, you served me well in high school but it's time to move on), Q: set out to create something more grown-up and sophisticated, and they definitely delivered.

I was sent two of these body sprays to try out, Q: Balance and Q: Awe. "A floral harmony of Iris and Mimosa", Balance is supposed to be a romantic, soft and sensuous fragrance that mimicks the scent of Bvlgari perfume. Whilst I can't vouch for the likeness as I have never owned a perfume by Bvlgari, I can comment on Awe's similarity to Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue. Sharing the same notes of jasmine and rose, Awe has an uncanny resemblance to it's more luxury counterpart. One thing is different for sure, however- the price.

These babies can be picked up in Boots and Sainsbury's for £2.29 (although they're currently on offer in Boots for £1.14!). Affordable, yet definitely more luxurious than your typical body spray, I am a convert to these fragrances- Not only are they great for freshening up throughout the day, they work well layered up with their similar perfumes to create a more intense fragrance that last all day. And boys, these are for you too as Q: have also created three body sprays for men called Invigorate, Courage and Renew (which I was also sent to trial and I would have photographed if some guy hadn't ran off with them), which are compatible with Boss, CK Euphoria and Hugo respectively.

What do you think of the idea of "body sprays for grown ups?"

Have you tried Q: body sprays?

Frances x

DISCLOSURE: PR samples. All opinions expressed are still 100% honest and my own.

Review: Hugo Boss Deep Red Women's Eau De Parfum

Hugo Boss Deep Red Women's Eau De Parfum 30ml: Essential Fragrances £27.00*

In all honesty I'm not a fussy girl when it comes to perfume- As long as it won't make me smell like a farmer's field, chances are I'll like it. Being an Autumn/Winter girl, however, I do gravitate towards sensual, musky scents that are more associated with the cooler months as opposed to refreshing, citrus fragrances, which is why this one is right up my alley.

Just the name, "Deep Red" called out to me as a perfume that I would really like, so despite having never smelled it before, I decided to give it a whirl. Suitably, it comes in a sleek and sexy curved bottle in a deep crimson shade, which is frosted so that you can just see how much product you have left.

The fragrance itself is surprisingly sweet as it has fruity top notes of blackcurrant, pear and blood orange which I would never have guessed, but they are detectable once you go looking (or sniffing) for them. They are toned down, however, by base notes of sandalwood, cedar, vanilla and musk, which are notes that feature in all of my favourite perfumes.

I would recommend Hugo Boss Deep Red to anybody who enjoys sweeter fragrances that are woody and warm. I think this one is perfect for Autumn/Winter, but it is also a great night-time scent for all year round- I love wearing it when I am going on an evening out somewhere. It is an Eau De Parfum so I find that it is strong on application but fades out nicely to leave you smelling gorgeous all day long.

You can pick up this fragrance, along with lots of others, for £27.00 (30ml) at Essential Fragrances.

Have you tried Hugo Boss Deep Red? What is your favourite type of scent?

*DISCLOSURE: PR sample. All opinions expessed are still 100% honest and my own.

Dita Von Teese Eau De Parfum.

Dita Von Teese Eau De Parfum- 20ml £18.00*

I have never really been one to go for celebrity fragrances, but when I was contacted about the new Dita Von Teese perfume, I just couldn't resist. It is described as "big, sexy glamorous" scent, like what Dita Von Teese is attracted to, and a big, sexy glamorous scent it is.

With top notes of Bulgarian Rose and Peony, middle notes of spicy bourbon pepper and smoky wood, and base notes of patchouli, musk and Tahitian tiare petals, I think this is a very warm scent which is perfect for the Autumn/ Winter months or just for special occasions and nights out. Personally, I am a big fan of woody, floral perfumes that are quite heavy scented so this is right up my street. It is an Eau De Parfum so a few spritzes of this perfume leaves the fragrance lingering on my skin all day.

The bottle epitomises the Queen of Burlesque herself with the tassle representing her roots and the shape of the bottle modelled on the silhouette of a corset and a typical 1930s perfume bottle. The only thing I don't like about the bottle is that it is an opaque black colour so you can't see how much product you have left, but I can let this slip as it is so elegant-looking.

This is definitely my favourite fragrance at the moment, and if you would like to check the Dita Von Teese Eau De Parfum out for yourself, you can find it in Boots at £18.00 for 20ml (I believe it is currently on offer for £15.30!).

Have you tried the Dita Von Teese perfume?

*DISCLOSURE: PR Sample

Forever smelling good, thanks to Achica!

 I had regularly seen adverts for Achica on the TV but had never really paid much attention to them so I didn't know a lot about what they had to offer. However, after the lovely Michael contacted me about writing a review on their service I did a quick Google search to see what it was all about. 

Achica is a members-only website which sells luxury lifestyle brands for discounted prices. At first I was a little apprehensive as I found that most of the things that they had to offer were home decor and furnishings, which don't really interest me at the moment, especially at luxury prices. However, I learned that they get new promotions every day and saw that they sometimes get clothes and accessories, candles and perfumes too! I was very kindly given £110 to spend on the website and try out their service and here is what I got:

Paul Smith Women Eau De Parfum 50ml: £20* | Yves Saint Laurent Cinema Eau De Parfum 50ml: £39* | Oscar De La Renta Intrusion Intense Women's Eau De Parfum 30ml: £12* | DKNY Red Delicious Eau De Parfum 50ml: £29*

I am a little bit of a perfume freak at the moment so I decided to buy a few bottles to add to my collection (and share with my mum!). I can't remember the RRP of them individually, but all together I saved a huge £57.24 by buying them from Achica! The process of ordering was fairly simple; I just had to register my details to become a member and then I was free to browse through their promotions. They have a calendar which shows two days in advance so you can see what things are coming up, but the promotions usually last between 24 and 72 hours so make sure you don't miss the ones you are interested in!

If you click on an item you are interested in, it will tell you how much money you would save on that product and also when the expected delivery date is. All of my perfumes had an expected delivery date of between September 11-18, and I made my order on August 18. They arrived yesterday (September 17), which seems like a little long to wait for a delivery but I didn't mind too much as the products get shipped to Achica from the brands for checking and repacking, and it wasn't an urgent order. Different products have different expected delivery days however, so make sure you check that if you need your items by a certain date. My perfumes arrived packaged well in bubble wrap so there was no chance of them getting damaged in transit.

Overall, I am very happy with my experience with Achica, and I think this website is a brilliant idea if you are able to shop within a higher budget as you could make a great saving! It is also worth having a look for gifts on there as they stock some lovely things- I will definitely be doing this from now on, some of the other things I had my eye on were Pandora bracelets and charms, designer watches and hand bags!

Have you ever purchased via Achica? Also, let me know if you would like a write-up on any of the perfumes I ordered; I love them all!

*DISCLOSURE: The items in this post were paid for using a voucher code that I was very kindly provided with. My opinions are still 100% honest and my own.