July Favourites: Our 30 Day Update
One month ago, we picked the best in beauty to review. You heard why we’re excited, but here’s what we ACTUALLY thought after putting them to the test…
Find out why we chose to put these new launches to test…
1. Prada Infusion de Vanille
Product Pick: Prada Infusion de Vanille Eau de Parfum
Chelsey: People were asking me what I was wearing. People who were asking were also fans of similar fragrances that I like, so I kind of trust that that was a good testament to the product. I’ve enjoyed layering this most as that’s how Les Infusions do work best, in my opinion. For me, vanilla works with opposite scents – quite dark, masculine, just to add that little more intensity. The bottle, again, I love the detail: the Saffiano leather, the Prada fashion emblem on the side. So, it’s going to stay in my collection.
Ceryn: I have reserved it for date night because it is quite an intense fragrance. I picture it for a more moody, intimate, romantic, candlelit dinner setting.
Hannah: Vanille has been launched alongside d’Ylang and, I would actually say, they’re very night-time / day-time scents. Vanille is more evening, for me, and d’Ylang is better for the day.
Eleni: Infusions de Vanille is a really lovely fragrance, especially my partner loves it when I wear it. It smells quite intense when you first spray it, but it will calm down later on in the day, and it will last you for the full day.
2. Giorgio Armani My Way Floral
Product Pick: Giorgio Armani My Way Floral Refillable Eau de Parfum
Eleni: I got My Way Floral just to complete my collection of My Way. I enjoyed it; it is really floral, sweet and summery.
Simona: I would say that the floral top note and main note is orange blossom, which I love. It’s refreshing; it’s fun; it’s exciting, and it’s suitable for summer and spring, so I’ll keep the original My Way for autumn and winter and then, for summer, spraying Floral will be my go-to.
Rosa: I absolutely bloody love it. It still smells the same – champagne flowers – and I spray it every day.
Hannah: My Way Floral has been the first My Way fragrance that I’ve fallen in love with. Previously, I’ve tried the My Way flankers and the original one, and the tuberose was just way too intense. But in Floral, that’s really not the case. The tuberose is balanced out by orange blossom; it’s got some vanilla in there. And yeah, this has just been a beautiful, beautiful fragrance.
3. Diesel D by Diesel
Product Pick: Diesel D by Diesel Refillable Eau de Toilette
Beth: The juice is blue. It doesn’t smell blue. It’s really warm. Upon first spray, it is quite fresh, quite cottony. And then throughout the day, it warms to this vanillary gourmand scent. I just thought it was super, super nice for summer. It gave me the vibe of when you’ve been sitting in the sun all day, and then your skin smells like really warm, or it smells like washing that you’ve just brought in off the line on a hot summer’s day.
Hannah: D by Diesel I can definitely say is a ‘wow’ scent. My partner, since I’ve been working here, has now smelled a lot of fragrances. He actually said that this was his favourite fragrance that he’s smelled so far. We’ve both just loved wearing it. It’s sort of lavendery; it’s super fresh. And another thing which I really love is that your fingers perfectly fit, just like you’ve crushed the bottle – I don’t know, every time I spray that just makes me smile.
Eleni: In the morning it’s a bit citrusy; it’s a bit more light and then later on, it will get a bit more gingery and a bit more spicy. Both me and my partner love it. We will definitely buy the refill when it becomes available.
4. Viktor & Rolf Good Fortune
Product Pick: Viktor & Rolf Good Fortune Refillable Eau de Parfum
Hannah: I found myself reaching for this when it was raining or in the evenings when I was at home, just snuggled up with my cats. Yeah, it’s been a really lovely scent.
Kalli: I found it so useful because it’s a refillable bottle. I have small bottles in every bag, and I use it all the time. It lasts up to eight hours on me.
Monika: The stock is just flying out, and I already had to place a couple of more replacement orders so, yeah, it’s a very popular. When I started spraying it at home, my partner likes it on me, so that’s nice.
Eleni: Good Fortune from Viktor & Rolf is the fragrance that looks the best on my dressing table. Every time I look at it, it makes my mood and I feel way better, which I don’t really know why, but I guess it’s the purple colour, is it the bottle or is that the stone, who knows?
5. Prada Infusion d’Ylang
Product Pick: Prada Infusion d’Ylang Eau de Parfum
Keavy: I didn’t have a solar fragrance that is floral in my collection, so I wanted to add this one to it. I wore this fragrance for day-time; it is quite bright and sunny, so I found it perfect for summer and just spraying every day. It never gets sickly or overpowering because it’s quite light. The longevity is about four hours, which I think is really good for an Eau de Parfum.
Hannah: Prada d’Ylang has really surprised me this month. I was expecting it to be a layering scent; I thought I was gonna wear it with other perfumes, but I just loved how it smelled by itself.
Eleni: Infusion d’Ylang will always have a very special place in my heart because it was the fragrance that I wore on my graduation and everyone was commenting on how amazing it smelled and how sunny it was.
Eniola: Some of my friends commented about the fragrance and asked where did you get it from, and that was really nice.
6. Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Moment Woman
Product Pick: Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Moment Woman Eau de Parfum
Hannah: The projection on this is absolutely crazy. I spray it in one room, and I walk out somewhere else, and I can still smell it.
Monika: It reminds me of my childhood in our garden. Me and my partner wore them together, so I have the women’s version, and he’s got the male version, and I think they just complimented each other really nicely.
Cath: Over the hot weather, I’ve found the smell of this perfume is really refreshing and really light. The amount of spraying I was doing, I’d be knocking people out with the strength of the smell. It was long-lasting, so that’s actually a bonus. But it’s really fresh, really refreshing, really enjoyable to wear. Just wish it lasted a bit longer!
Beth: No surprises on this one. The dry down smelled very, very similar to the initial spray to me. Friends and family were still complimenting me on it later in the day after I thought it disappeared, so clearly they could still smell it, which is a bonus.
Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Moment Woman Eau de Parfum Review
7. Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Moment Man
Product Pick: Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Moment Man Eau de Toilette
Hannah: It’s sort of woody; it’s very green, as you can tell by the colour. It really smells like you’ve bought the outdoors in. The only thing I will say with the colour – although it looks amazing in the bottle, you have got to be a bit careful when you spray on your clothing. If you’re wearing a white t-shirt, just spray it on your skin because, if you spray it lots, it does have slight transfer. But yeah, it feels really premium, really luxe.
Michael: I like it – nice and fresh, cool. I don’t think it’s too overpowering so it’s not too strong, which is a good balance because you don’t have to put too much on and it does last quite a while.
Eniola: It’s always an authentic moment with Abercrombie & Fitch.
Abercrombie & Fitch Authentic Moment Man Eau de Toilette Review
8. Salvatore Ferragamo Bright Leather
Product Pick: Salvatore Ferragamo Bright Leather Eau de Toilette
Hannah: It’s really light and fresh with a hint of leather that gives it a slightly warm richness. It really transforms your skin. I find when I first spritzed it, it was really fresh and light and then, after a few hours, I get this waft of almost woodiness, and I realised it was this. I’ve been really enjoying wearing this, particularly in the evenings.
Eniola: Most of my friends prefer the smell on me, and I really recommended it and they asked me the name of it.
Jade: I got this fragrance just for me – but myself and my partner, we’ve been using it between us. It is a male fragrance but that is my go-to and I absolutely love it. I love the citrus side to it.
Joel: It was fresh, fruity, bit of spice to it as well. Massive thumbs up from me. I would say it’s between three to five hours for myself.
Salvatore Ferragamo FERRAGAMO Bright Leather Eau de Toilette Review
9. Dermalogica Daily Milkfoliant
Product Pick: Dermalogica Daily Milkfoliant
Chelsey: I’m 31; ageing is a concern of mine and my skin loves a daily exfoliate as well, and this has been perfect for that. As you can see, when I rub it in, it’s really soft, really gentle. The texture of my skin improved literally after using it one night. My makeup sits better; my skin looks more even and clearer. I’ve really enjoyed using this and I shall continue.
Keavy: I’ve been using it almost every day or every other day. It’s like the perfect texture for an exfoliant; it’s really gentle. I have sensitive skin and it’s quite dry, and this has a really gentle exfoliating texture that goes from physical to chemical. My skin feels so smooth and hydrated after I was using it and I will be using this and I’ll be really sad when it runs out.
Ceryn: I think I’m going to say it: this is my favourite exfoliator of all time. I’ve really enjoyed using it. I thought, because it was a powder that you mix with water, that it was going to be quite abrasive, but it’s not at all. It’s the perfect balance. Because I’ve got quite sensitive skin, I just feel like it works perfectly for my skin.
Louisha: I’ve absolutely loved it. I found it really easy to integrate into my current routine, so I’m using it mainly in the evening. After I do my double cleanse, I’ve been using that and I just instantly felt like my face looked brighter. The texture of my skin – everything was just a lot smoother. I felt like my skin looked really polished after I’ve used it; it was a lovely feeling – it looked as nice as it felt.
10. Antipodes Gospel Vitamin C Cleanser
Product Pick: Antipodes Gospel Vitamin C Skin-Glow Gel Cleanser
Darcey: Antipodes Gospel Vitamin C Skin-Glow Gel Cleanser, there’s parts that I really enjoyed so I love the scent and I really liked that it created quite a thick foam which meant you could kind of work it into your face, so if I had heavy makeup. I thought this was great. I have dry skin so I tend to use milk cleansers and I think that the foam was just slightly too drying my skin so if you do suffer with a combination oily skin, I think this is a great cleanser and it’s really luxurious. But it just wasn’t right for my skin type. Next time I would love to try grace!
Cath: Really like it, I love the smell of it. It’s such a good wake up call in the morning with the fresh fruity smell. It is a little bit drying on my skin, so I find alternating it, I’m just using it at night, better than using it twice today. I’ve been alternating it with the Antipodes Grace cleanser, which is very smooth and soft and moisturising it’s lovely. But I think it would suit somebody with a more oiler complexion than mind. So maybe a younger person?
Beth: Since I had this, I’ve been using this mostly in the shower probably every other time I wash my face. It smells amazing and lathers up really nicely and I’ve very much enjoyed using it. It definitely gave me a glow. However after using it for a long period of time, I’ve realised that what my skin needs is actually more hydration, so I’ll be swapping to Antipodes Grace instead.
Eleni: I really enjoy the scent of Antipodes Gospel Vitamin C Cleanser. It’s really light, and you have a lovely texture as well as a lovely colour which is very Instagrammable, however, I wouldn’t recommend using it as a first cleanser or recommend you to go fast with the cleanser milk and then is this one as a second. A small tip for this one is to not try to close the lid, and not to try to take it away on a holiday I had to actually waste a little bit of a product when I was trying to close the lid back, so just recommend for you to leave it on your bathroom or your dressing table.
11. Parfums de Marly Layton Shower Gel
Product Pick: Parfums de Marly Layton Shower Gel
Joel: Hands down, the best shower gel I’ve ever used. It’s very long-lasting in regards to other shower gels that you use once and then the scent has gone within an hour or two. But with this, you do find yourself sort of getting smells of it throughout the day – it’s very long-lasting. It’s a very distinctive smell as well. You know it’s an expensive fragrance and made me feel a little bit sophisticated as well. It’s on my Christmas list already. So, thank you for this one. I really enjoyed it.
Chelsey: I was gonna see if this made me feel handsome. And the answer is: yes, it did. When I was showering, just think that I was showering in absolute luxury. The lather is really lathery and foamy. It smells exactly like the fragrance. Before a night out, this was great. And then when I was feeling a little bit more special for work to put myself in a good mood, I used it. I tried it as a bubble bath and it worked. There’s so much left as well – it’s a huge, huge amount. So I’m so glad that it’s not empty just yet and I guess to keep it just that little bit longer.
Eleni: Originally, I chose Parfums de Marly Layton to give to my grandpa; I adore him and he’s in love with niche fragrances – he’s a big fan of GIVENCHY as well – and I thought it will be the perfect gift for him. However, my sister’s best friend and the person who I consider a younger brother, smelled it and he fell so in love with it, so I had to give it to him. He told me he couldn’t stop using it and now he will be buying the fragrance as well.
Eniola: I was like, ‘ohh why has it gone so quick!’ I loved it the smell. I was like, ‘is this a shower gel or fragrance? I would recommend it to people!