ARMANI PRIVÉ - PIVOINE SUZHOU

I always swap my perfumes when the seasons change. Taylor Swift Wonderstruck in Autumn/Winter and Bulgari Omnia Paraiba for Spring/Summer, however I fancied a change recently. I have been using Escentric Molecules for well over six months now, but for some reason I’ve gotten bored of it. I’ve heard a lot about the Armani Privé scents for the last couple of months and went by a counter to try them out.

I was so torn between Pivoine Suzhou and Vétiver D’Hiver. Initially I was adamant that I would go for the latter. I sprayed them both onto a scent strip and couldn’t stop sniffing them for the next couple of days. I was gonna be flying out soon, so I figured I would just buy it at the airport - FYI, they didn’t have them, but I did manage to find them in a shop abroad and the lovely sales assistant gave me a sample of each to take home. To be honest it didn’t help me in making a decision at all, if anything it made me even more confused.

Armani Privé is a haute couture fragrance line, so their perfumes are on the more expensive side of things. They cost £210 for the 250ml bottle and £120 for the 100ml. So you can see why picking the right scent was such a struggle for me. I didn’t want to spend so much on a bottle to then realise I preferred the other scent more. Pivoine Suzhou ended up being the winner, and my boyfriend kindly surprised me with it the other day. Insert *heart eye emoji* <3

The perfume smells of peonies and roses. I’m not usually a floral fragrance lover, but I must admit that this one changed the game for me. Something about it is so sophisticated and feminine, but there is also a fresh side to it which was what drew me to it. The scent is very light but don’t be fooled, a couple of spritzes will go a very long way so I know this bottle will last me ages! 

The bottle is beyond gorgeous, I love how stunning it looks on my dressing table. Every time I wear this I feel like I have my shit together. I don’t. But every time I wear this I feel like I do. There’s something about the scent that makes me feel so empowered, and that’s what I want to get from my perfume, a boost of confidence. I also think this would make the most amazing gift to someone.. Valentine’s day is around the corner by the way #justsaying.

What perfume are you currently wearing? :)

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Lots of love, SFS.

CHANEL ROUGE ALLURE INK

Matte liquid lipsticks have been all the range and are something I personally love and wear on a regular basis. I love the pigmentation and the longevity of matte liquid lipsticks, and being a lover of Chanel I just had to try out a couple of their Rouge Allure Ink Matte Liquid Lip Colours. I believe these have been around since October and they have eight shades in the range. Not an awful lot, but they range from nude-y pinks to their signature reds. 

Amoureux was a shade I had heard a lot about, so of course that was high on my to-buy list. It’s a pretty rosy pink, but of course I couldn’t leave without a red, so I picked Choquant which is more of a raspberry shade. I bought these at the airport on my last trip because let’s face it, splashing out £28 on a lipstick you’re not sure you’re going to like is a lot, so getting a cheeky discount always takes the edge off a bit.

The packaging is beautiful! The product is housed in a gorgeous blurred glass that allows you to see the shade, and the lid is just typical Chanel perfection, black and gold. I also like that the packaging is small. Most liquid lipsticks are quite long or chunky, so this is a nice change to what I currently have in my collection.
When it comes to the formula, I must say that these aren’t my favourite liquid lipsticks out there. They’re definitely not as matte as I hoped they would be. They actually leave a bit of a sheen which I’m not a big fan of. Maybe if they weren’t marketed as matte liquid lipsticks I would feel differently about them, but I don’t feel like they fit the description. They have a velvety feel which I quite like, some of my other liquid lipsticks also have the same texture, but these are very liquidy. I feel like with the lighter shade I have to put on two layers otherwise I won’t get great colour payoff. I also find that they’re not as easy to apply as other liquid lipsticks. Something about the doe foot applicator doesn’t quite work for me. Another downside was the longevity. They did not last well on me at all! They faded evenly and left a gorgeous stain, but I would expect a matte liquid lipstick to last through a meal, or through a cup of coffee, and these did not. They also transfer very easily, so it’s not one to wear on this upcoming Valentine’s day if you’re planning on getting your smooch on haha.
L: Choquant R: Amoureux

I must say that they’re the most comfortable liquid lipsticks I have ever tried. I wore the shade Choquant the other day and completely forgot I had it on! Of course the downside was that I kept touching my lips (weird habit I have when I’m not doing much) and when I looked in the mirror I had lipstick smeared all over my face.

If definitely has its pros and cons, it’s comfortable but not long wearing, so I guess it’s down to personally preference. I adore Chanel as a brand and their lip products are some of my all time favourites, but I don’t think I’ll be purchasing more from this range.

Have you tried these? What are your thoughts?

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Lots of love, SFS.

CASA COOK RHODES

This post has been a long time in the making. In my brain that is. I’ve never posted about places I’ve visited or hotels I’ve stayed in because frankly, I don’t know how to go about them, but it was always something I wanted to do since starting my blog. So stepping out of my comfort zone, here goes my first hotel review! Back at the end of August me and my other half went away for week to lovely Rhodes and stayed in a hotel called Casa Cook.
It’s a bohemian style hotel which is what drew me to it in the first place. It’s all very white, chilled, minimalistic and has a very effortless vibe to it. But the thing I loved about it the most, and the thing that made me actually book into this hotel was the fact that every room had its very own access to the pool. There’s a shared pool surrounding each and every room and let me tell you, waking up, opening the curtains and seeing the pool right there was absolute bliss.

The hotel is situated in Kolymbia which is a very quite place with not much going on. You’re surrounded by massive rocks and small local restaurants but you will definitely need a car if you want to see more of the island. 
We got to the hotel in the evening and were greeted by a lovely man at reception who told us all there was to know about the hotel and how to get to places. After completing the check-in process, we got taken to our room in a buggy. This was something I was so excited about! Before then I had never even been in one. We booked into a double standard room with a veranda and sharing pool. It was quite small but very welcoming, it had the most laid back feel. The room was equipped with a TV, free wi-fi, mini bar, towels, safe, hairdryer, dressing gowns and slippers. The wardrobe was really spacious, and just opposite there was the toilet and the shower. They had Korres shower products available which I was so excited about as I love Korres as a brand. Of course we couldn’t wait to see the pool, so we opened the doors and saw the pool being lit up by all these bright colours. Seriously gorgeous stuff. Our veranda had two sun beds, a table and a couple of chairs, perfect place to chill out in the afternoon. The bigger rooms also had little straw stools and hammocks. 
After using the shower a couple of times I must say that they didn’t really think that one through. The water always used to seep through the sliding door into the room and into the toilet, which was quite annoying as we would have to lay down all the towels to soak it up. So that was a bummer. Another down side was the fact that there were always ants in the room. I don’t mean one or two, I mean like 100!! The man at reception did tell us there could be a possibility of this happening, but I wasn’t expecting so many of them. If you’re someone who’s scared of ants, this could be a turn off. Personally I didn’t mind them, it just wasn’t the nicest thing to step on before going to bed. I just wished they mentioned this on the website so people could be aware of the situation before booking, but I guess it was down to the very hot climate. We also had an issue with the wardrobe door, it somehow always used to become misplaced while we were sliding it, so we would often spend some time trying to put it back in its place. So yes, we did have a couple of hiccups, but other than that the place was an absolute dream. 

It’s an adult only hotel and I can’t tell you how amazing it was! I never knew how much of a difference it made until I experienced it. There is also a gym and a yoga room for anyone who wants to get a workout in during their stay. Like I mentioned before, there is a sharing pool running along every room. The sun only hit our room from around 10am to 2pm, so usually after that we would head out to the beach and then come back later to the main pool and hang out by the bar area. 
Breakfast at Casa Cook was different to any other hotel we had ever stayed in. It was all so healthy. No english breakfast in sight! I was secretly gutted about that because I do fancy myself some baked beans. It mainly consisted of a huge table filled with loads of cereals, goji berries, dried apricots, dried figs, nuts, cheese, fruit, cucumbers, a wide variety of breads and spreads. There was always a chef on sight making food to order. So we would queue and request if we wanted pancakes, omelettes - these were very popular, boiled or fried eggs and there was also bacon. There was always cold or natural drinks on hand; water, orange or carrot juice, and of course, hot drinks. We would always go for iced coffees. These were available at the lounge bar, but the waiters would always get them for us. Sitting outside was usually too much to bear as it was already boiling early in the morning, but if you can handle the heat it makes for a lovely start to the morning. We only had dinner at the hotel once and I must say that the food was delicious. It was slightly overpriced for what it was and the quantity, but the quality was definitely insane. I’ve never raved about chips so much in my life. I mean after all, they’re just chips, but these were on another level!

Despite the water and ant issue, I loved this hotel. I would absolutely love to go back and stay in one of their bigger rooms. They look beyond dreamy! 

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Lots of love, SFS.

© Sandra F. Silva

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