It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas... Sparkling Snow by Yankee Candles

SPARKLING SNOW is one of Yankee Candles 'Festive Collection' fragrances and is officially described as "the crisp, naturally fresh scent of gleaming, snow-covered pines with hints of patchouli and fruit". I'd describe it as fresh mint and pine, with a undertone of patchouli, for a earthy bite. I'm not sure what the fruit is - sometimes I get a light breeze of what I think is cherry, but it is so faint that I can't be sure.

A closer look at: Nicole edp by Nicole Richie...

Introducing the new fragrance Nicole by Nicole Richie... 

Layered with scents inspired by Nicole's childhood memories, Nicole is a feminine, sensual scent composed of creamy golden ambers and highlighted with flecks of fruit and flower petals. A fragrance for every woman and any occasion, Nicole conjures those special moments that result in a lifetime of memories...

City of no angels... Crimson City by Liz Maverick

                                                                     Kindle cover
★★★/★★★★★

Advantages: Fast paced, quick, easy read,
Disadvantages: irritating heroine, flat ending.

Los Angeles is now called Crimson City [[after the blood that was shed during the wars that occurred when the werewolves and vampires came out of the closet and clashed with humans]. Today the three species live uneasily together; the vampires live a few miles up in a colony formed around skyscrapers, humans live on the ground level, whilst the werewolves form a subterranean city below the ground and largely keep to themselves.


Fleur Dumont is from the family that rules the vampires in Crimson City. She was passed over when it came to looking for new leaders decades before, after embarrassing her family by unlawfully turning her human lover into a vampire. However after the assassination of the current leaders, by a mech [half man half machine] belonging to the human military, she gets her chance to shine and finds herself leading the vampires, whilst trying to solve the murders of the old leaders, and trying to avoid a new war with the other species.

Dain Reston is human. Working as a Battlefield Operations operative, he has the responsibility of maintaining the peace between the humans and the other two species. After coincidentally turning up at the scene of the assassination Fleur asks him to help her look into the murder of the vampire leaders, a request that is backed by Dain's superiors, who want him to uncover if someone from the human military is hijacking the high-end weapons and using them to start a new war.

Will Dain have to point the finger of blame at his own colleagues, or could the vampires or seldom seen werewolves be framing the humans for their own ends?

An apple a day... Sugared Apple candles by Yankee.

SUGARED APPLE is one of Yankee Candles four [for the UK] new Christmas 2012 fragrances and is officially described as "A deliciously sweet apple treat . . . a perfect recipe of juicy apples sprinkled with sugar and vanilla". There's not much else to say, except that there is more sugar and vanilla then apple. I do enjoy the fragrance as it manages to be a perfect balance between sweet and fresh, but it's not something I think of as being overly Christmassy; it is more of a everyday fragrance for autumn/winter.

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. I don't regret buying my box of tealights, but I don't think I'd buy this particular fragrance again; the scent is quiet and the throw is pretty poor by Yankee's usual standards. It's not a bad candle overall, but it doesn't wow me either.

I personally prefer to use the Yankee tealights; as well as having a stronger fragrance, there's the fact that for the price of a box of 12 scented tealights you get a total of 48 to 72 hours burn-time, so they offer the most value for money. The tealight costs less then 12 tarts or samplers would, so as well as being cheaper - and offering a similar burn time - then either the small jars and tumblers, and over half of the price less then the medium jars or tumblers.

The tealights come in individual clear plastic cups, so you don't have to bother with a tealight holder if you don't have one; just sit the cup on a saucer. Yankee do many special ranges of tealight holders all through the year - many of the decorate models are under £10, and their basic tealight holder can be found online for only £1, so it won't cost as much as buying a tart burner.

And for a final stab at a selling point, I'll add that the tealights float, so you can, umm, float them in your swimming pool - or more likely in a garden pond - during a party.


***

Tart
[A tart is a wickless wax patty, so you'll need to buy a tart burner to be able to use it]
6 - 8 hour burn time - £1.20
Sampler votive
15 - 20 hour burn time - £1.65
Small jar
25 -40 hour burn time - £7.75
Medium jar
65 - 90 hour burn time - £15.99
Tea lights [12 per pack]
4 - 6 hour burn time per candle - £6.99

Mighty, morphing purple ranger; A review of Schwarzkopf Live XXL hair colourant in Cyber Purple

CYBER PURPLE is a tricky colour to describe, and it is tricky to photograph as the colour seems different in various lighting conditions. At it's core it is a dark pinky/purple, but as I said, the shade you will see depends on the light source reflecting on your hair.

The varying shades the colour morphs between remind me of all of the other schwarzkopf purple based shades I've used in the past - Ultra Violet, Dark Violet, Mystic Violet and Glam Rock Black.

I've taken all of the photos on this page - they are of my own hair, solely in CYBER PURPLE, so you can see what I'm trying to say. No colour enhancing software has been used.

My hair still feels and looks glossy and there is no clinging chemical scent to my hair. I've been colouring my hair for over half my life and in the past I've used every other purple/violet shade that Schwarkopf makes, so feel qualified enough to say that this has great staying power for a dye containing purple

Violet shades can fade as quickly as red shades do, but I've personally found the fade to be  minimal  - which surprised me, as the water runs pink after washing my hair for a few weeks after colouring it. That is my only negative for CYBER PURPLE; don't use white towels after showering :)

[CYBER PURPLE is only recommended for use on dark blonde and light/medium brown hair]