Review: My Style by Dannii Minogue

"I'm not perfect when it comes to fashion and I never have been, but I feel I am starting to hit my stride" - Dannii Minogue

Dannii has been working longer than I've been alive, so I've grown up with her on the radio, seeing her face on TV & in magazines. I've always been fascinated by her style - all the way from her experimental early pop days, her goth 'bad girl' Home & Away look, her sex kitten disco girl era, to today's pretty and polished glam.

Therefore getting the chance to learn about where it all started and how she achieves it was something I couldn't resist, even though I would never class myself as trendy or as someone who is otherwise really into fashion - I'm mainly just nosey and wanted to see the contents of her wardrobe... 

witches Brew scented candle by Yankee...

☪☪☪☪☪/☪☪☪☪☪
Advantages: Fragrance fits the holiday, reasonable price, range of sizes,
Disadvantages: limited availability.

It's that time of year again; I just love burning scented candles during the grey, rainy and cold autumn/winter months...

Candy Corn scented candle by Yankee Candles...

Candy Corn is a tri-coloured [yellow, orange and white] American candy made from corn syrup, marshmallow and fondant. It is sold all year round in America and Canada, but is especially popular in autumn and has become a sort of mascot for Halloween. The Yankee candle version of CANDY CORN is therefore unsurprisingly very sweet, so be warned.

Scent-wise there's not really much to say. if you love benzoin, you'll want to eat this candle. All the classic benzoin hallmarks are here; vanilla, burnt sugar, slightly buttery notes, with a faint almond-cherry undertone.

There is extra vanilla in the fragrance, to mimic the marshmallow, and there is also a pinch of what I think is nutmeg, possibly cinnamon, underneath everything else to give everything a bit of a kick.

As with all Yankee candles, the entirety of the wax is perfumed; I've used some candles where the fragrance burns up before the candle does, but that is not the case here. The fragrance lasts as long as the candle does and I even catch occasional wafts of the perfume whilst the candle is unlit.
☽☽☽☽/☽☽☽☽☽

To sum up the scent; I really enjoy using the CANY CORN scented candle and will be buying more while I still can, this is second only to Christmas Cupcake on my favourite Yankee candle list.

However; we Brits don't have the same connections between candy corn sweets and Halloween, so this is not a fragrance that says "Halloween is almost here." I'll be using CANDY CORN again, but I see it as a all-year round fragrance, rather then a seasonal special.


I mainly use my candles in my bedroom for a few hours in the evenings. A single Yankee votive sampler will last about one week in total. so seven days, with two to three hours per use mains each one has a burning time of between roughly fourteen to sixteen hours. Very good for £1.65.

New fragrance: Dita Von Teese EDP by Dita Von Teese

Dita Von Teese – she is the most famous name in Burlesque and synonymous with seduction. She is an international style icon, who evokes the spirit of the alluring Femme Totale. She is the physical embodiment of everything she is presenting to a worldwide audience with her first scent creation: Glamour, elegance, and self-confident sensuality. That’s why her new scent can have only one name: “Dita Von Teese.”

Her new perfume is just like she is as a woman: glamorous and mysterious, self-confident and seductive. Dita Von Teese created a scent for the type of woman that she embodies like no other: the Femme Totale. She is a vamp and an innocent beauty, provocative and unattainable at the same time. She knows what she wants, and how she will get it – with style, class, and elegance.

Review; Passport in Paris, Eau de Toilette by Paris Hilton

Advantages: low price, long lasting, easy to wear, suitable all year round,

Disadvantages: unoriginal.

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The fragrance
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Here comes my standard opening statement; PASSPORT PARIS is a fruity/floral, so that, the low price and the fact that it's a 'Celebrity Scent' - and being released by Paris Hilton - makes this the perfect target for mockery by 'serious' fragrance devotees. But hey; if it smells nice and you enjoy wearing it, then who cares whose name is on it and if it's 'only' a fruity/floral?

Now that's out of the way, lets move on to the actual fragrance...


Immediately upon application I can pick on the lightly powdered vanilla note and a hint of peach. I thought that this would be a overpoweringly sweet combination, but the sweetness is surprisingly light and subtle. After a couple of minutes what I think is a raspberry note starts to develop - I can't pull out any other berry notes, but let's be honest and admit that all berries smell similar when used in perfumes. I didn't pick up on any mandarin, which is a shame as more juicy and watery notes might have made the vanilla disperse so the fruit notes got more time to develop.

One of the great things about PASSPORT PARIS is that I can pick out the three key floral notes, my theory is this is because the vanilla is laced throughout the whole fragrance and provides a solid but light base for the florals to develop on. On me the peony note is the strongest out of the florals and as this is a favorite floral scent of mine I'm pleased. The honeysuckle is nearly as strong as the peony, but is still delicate, while the jasmine is subtle and seems slightly watery. I catch occasional hints of other florals and maybe some fruits too, but nothing else is strong enough for me to take even a solid guess at.

There is no strong indication between the heart notes and the base, thanks to the ever-present vanilla. The amber, patchouli and musk are mingled closely together so it is a warm and creamy mix - combined with the lingering vanilla and you get the same general feel as the top and heart notes. The overall sweetness and creaminess is very reminiscent of coconut at times, more so in warmer weather as my skin heats up.


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Scent notes
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Mandarin, red berries, peach, Sambac jasmine, honeysuckle, peony, vanilla, amber, patchouli and creamy white musk.


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The bottle
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The perfume bottle is the same plastic capped cylinder shape as Paris Hilton For Women and Just Me. But, whilst the bottle shape is the same as her first adult releases, the bottle and outer packaging seems to be aimed towards younger customers; the bottle's label features a anmie rendition of Paris Hilton. Very Harajuku Lovers.

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Other buying considerations
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The best thing about PASSPORT PARIS is definitely the lasting power. It burns down within six to eight hours on skin. It does go fairly close to the skin after three hours, but other people still notice it. I sometimes wear it to bed and will still smell it when I wake up the next day. My bra and tee still smell all vanilla/peachy after a few days, so yeah, this packs a lot more punch then I thought a EDT would be capable of doing.


I got my bottle just before Christmas, because sandalwood, musk and vanilla based fragrances appeal to me in cold weather. As the fruits are perfectly balanced in strength with the florals, so it didn't seem out of place for the time of year. I don't usually wear EDTs in autumn/winter as the concentration doesn't wear well on me, but this has worn well through the snow/ice/bitter winds/rain.

I was surprised by how versatile I've found PASSPORT PARIS to be, now that it's [allegedly] summer; this is the time of year when I find that the perfume being close to the skin comes in handy as the sweetness remains light. The fruit notes also seem more apparent to me and prevent the florals and creamy powderiness from becoming cloying.


As well as being wearable all year round I also happily wear this perfume for casual days, work and some evenings out. The fragrance is subtle, so colleagues won't find it irritating at work. For nights out it is long lasting, but is non-cloying, so as long as you don't want a unique "look at me" type fragrance, this is a good choice.


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Overall
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PASSPORT PARIS is a sweet fragrance but it is non-cloying, so I find this to be a more 'adult' then a lot of similar vanilla based fruity/floral fragrances; it's more subtle, it doesn't grab near-by people by the throat and demand attention; it's designed for the wearer to enjoy, rather then the whole office/street/bar.

This is something that is never going to become a classic fragrance, as the scent notes have all appeared in countless other mass-market perfumes over the years. But as this is an all year round, all occasions, reasonably priced EDP that comes in a cute bottle I'm very happy with my purchase and will be re-buying it.


PASSPORT PARIS is similar to Paris Hilton's 2009 Siren perfume, which is in turn similar to Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy perfume. The good news is that PASSPORT PARIS is easier to find and it's not as close to the skin as Siren is, and it is a heck of a lot cheaper then Viva La Juicy. And - even though this is a EDT - it actually has the better staying power out of the three fragrances.


The Paris Hilton Passport Collection also includes Passport Tokyo [woody/floral/musk] and Passport South Beach [fruity/floral/woody]. I don't know if they plan to introduce more fragrances to the Passport Collection or not; I've emailed Parlux, but haven't received a reply yet.

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Price
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The Passport Collection was released in the US last year, but has now started creeping into the UK. The Perfume Shop [separate from The Fragrance Shop] is the sole high street stockist of the Passport Collection so far. They sell the 100ml bottles for £20.

I've seen 30ml bottles in TK Maxx for £13. Very.co.uk also stocks the 30ml for £15.

Cheapsmells.co.uk stock the 100ml bottle for £22.95.

Summary: Another nice surprise from the Paris Hilton perfume team...