FOTD | Autumn Gold Day to Night

I really want to start doing more of these types of posts especially with the festive period springing upon us. I also chose to do a little twist and go from a day look and transfer it so it was suitable for a night out or if you're going out for a meal. So without further ado, welcome to my FOTD.

Having blue eyes I like to wear more neutral/brown/bronze shades as it accentuates my eyes. Which is perfect for me when it comes to Autumn/Fall. Although this year I'm hoping to incorporate more colour into my eyes such as greens and purples so watch out for future FOTD.

To start with on my face I used my beloved Smashbox Photo Finish Light Primer followed by L'Oreal Lumi Magique Foundation and Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer to hide those pesky breakouts I've been having recently.

On my cheeks I just wanted a subtle glow of colour so I chose Benefits Coralista just lightly swept on the apples of my cheeks with a highlight of RiRi Hearts MAC Diamonds Cream Colour Base. I lightly bronzed my temples and hollows of my cheeks with MUA Bronzed Perfection.

Now the fun part, my eyes. For a base I just used my MAC Painterly Paintpot all over the lid and under along the lashline. Then to really make the colour pop I used the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 621 Pure Gold all over the lid up to the crease. I then patted MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow on top and moved on to the next colour. To define my crease I used Maybelline MNY My Shadow in 721 which is a shimmery brown colour and blended that out. I also took this colour under my eye and blended it along. I chose a Phloof! from my MAC palette to highlight my brow bone and the inner corners of my eyes.

I lined my eyes with Guerlain Liquid EyeLiner in black, tightlined with Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Zero and applied a couple of coats of CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume mascara. I filled my eyebrows with MAC Charcoal Brown eyeshadow. To finish the look of I chose a very natural lipstick, Laura Mercier Creme Lip Colour in Caramel. Voila my autumn day makeup look.

Now for the twist.... Let's darken the look for night time.

All I did to achieve this was take the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Liner and lined my waterline. Applied a couple more coats of mascara, this time I used L'Oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume. And finally switched up the lip colour for a more berry colour. I chose MUA £1 Lipstick in Shade 2.

Hope you enjoyed this kind of post. Do give me feedback in the comments below and look out for future FOTD.

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A Perfect Molton Brown Christmas

If you've followed my blog for a while you will know a couple of months ago I started a new job with Molton Brown so I thought what better way to kick off my series of Christmas posts than to talk about what Molton Brown has to offer this year.

I just want to add in a disclaimer here that yes I do work for Molton Brown but this post is of my own doing and I was not asked to write anything for the company itself. So on that note let's get started...

Frankincense & Allspice Hand Wash £16.00 | Frankincense & Allspice Hand Lotion £20.00

Myrrh, Musk & Cypress Hand Wash £16.00 | Myrrh, Musk & Cypress Hand Lotion £20.00

These are the two festive scents for this year and I've got to say my favourite by far is the Frankincense & Allspice. Described on the website as "Presents unwrapped. Mulled wine on the stove. Cinnamon sticks hanging from the hearth." this is the perfect scent for winter/christmas time.

Myrrh, Musk & Cypress is more on the excuse the pun muskier side which isn't a scent I would normally lean towards. Described as "The quiet of the church. Treasures in giltboxes. Scents of occassion." Again another wintery scent. Both also available in single wick candles priced at £36.00 which would make perfect little gifts for those special people in your life. Next onto the sets.

The Bathing Treasures Collection £38.00 | The Gingerlily Trio £45.00

The Explorer Collection £40.00 | The Bath & Body Treasures Collection £42.00

First valued at £60.00 but costing only £38.00 is the Bathing Treasures Collection which is the cutest gift set filled with 12 mini body washes in a variety of scents. Ranging from the spicy Pink Pepperpod to the relaxing Ylang Ylang you can truly try out every different temptation.

Next is the gorgeous Gingerlily Trio. This is my favourite scent that Molton Brown do which is strange as it's fragrance family is floriental and I normally hate anything floral. In this set is a full size bodywash, full size body lotion and a little gingerlily candle which smells amazing!!

This set is for the men in your life consisting of four body washes and a shampoo. The Explorer Collection is great if you're buying for someone who has never tried Molton Brown before or if you just don't know what kind of scent they like. All products are travel size so perfect if you know they are on the go a lot.

Another miniatures set is the Bath & Body Treasures Collection. This time you get 6 body washes with the matching scented body lotions. Valued at £66.00 but priced at only £42.00 this is a great deal and perfect again if they have never tried Molton Brown before or just want to try out different scents before committing to the full size product.

The Pink Pepperpod Trio £60.00 | The Great Escape Collection £40.00
The Pamper & Preen Collection £46.00 | The Patchouli & Saffron Collection £72.00

This full size Pink Pepperpod Trio is perfect for anyone who likes a spicy oriental scent. Saving £12.00 on buying the products individually is a bargain and you will be equipped for your full shower routine. Body Scrub, Body Wash & Body Lotion completes this pink set.

 The next set is the Great Escape Collection, a six piece travel shower gel gift set. Three of the washes come in the traditional Molton Brown bottles and the other three in perfect for travelling squeezy tubes which makes this set perfect for avid travellers.

The Pamper & Preen Collection is the only set which involves bath products with skincare and body products. Including a sample size of their Peruvian Maca Anti-Ageing Hydra-Creme and Desert Blossom Hand Rescue this set is perfect for anyone wanting to try out their lets just say it more on the expensive side face cream.

Last but not least is the Patchouli & Saffron Collection which if I'm honest is definitely a distinctive scent. For me personally it's too strong a scent but this particular scent was released for their 40th anniversary this year and has a very 70's inspired packaging. Just like the Pink Pepperpod Trio all these products are full size. The set includes the body wash, body lotion and candle.

Have you tried Molton Brown before? Do any of their Christmas sets catch your eye?

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Haul | Boots Trip

I had been feeling lately like my foundation just wasn't working for my skin any more so of course that's a good excuse to go shopping... right! So me, my mum and sister popped in to town and I can't go shopping without visiting Boots. I think this trip was the longest I've ever spent in boots, literally we were in there for a good hour and a half to two hours. Now I've just realised I completely forgot to photograph the new foundation I purchased but after spending what felt like an eternity looking at every other foundation in the store I finally settled on the L'Oreal Lumi Magique in R/C/K2 Rose Porcelain.

Now I have a confession to make. I've come to the realisation that I've been in denial of how tanned I am and have been lingering on to my summer colour for too long and now is the time to embrace my paleness. So I took the time to properly try out each shade and even got second advice from the lovely Smashbox consultant. It costs £10.99 which is in between drugstore prices and high end. I've been wearing it for a couple of weeks so look out for a review soon.

Next I headed over to the Smashbox counter as I was looking for a good concealer and had never tried anything from them before. The consultant was so helpful and not at all pushy so I knew her opinion was completely genuine. After sitting down and chatting to her and trying out different products I ended up purchasing the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light and Smashbox Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer.

She tried out both products and I think I'm going to love them. The primer costs £25.00 and the concealer was £17.00. A bit on the pricey side but I think they are both going to be worth it. Again a full review will be up on the blog soon.

Next I had a browse of the Seventeen counter and I picked up the CC Cream after seeing my sister used it and made her skin look flawless. I have yet to try it and I feel it won't look as flawless on me as I suffer from scarring from spots but you don't know until you try right! At the low cost of £6.99 will it be a hit or miss?

And finally I had seen a lot of bloggers talking about the 17 Wild Metallic Eyes. Since Maybelline released their Colour Tattoo it seems every other brand is releasing their own versions so since I love the Maybelline ones I thought I'd give this one a go. I got it in Wild Nude which is a champagne taupe colour with shimmer. At such an affordable price of £3.99 you can't really go wrong.

Have you been on any shopping splurges lately?

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Review | MAC RiRi Collction

SURPRISE... Yes I'm back! I'm sorry for my slight hiatus but I did explain it in my last post so I just want to say thank you for sticking by my little blog. But I am back and what better thing to be back talking about then the thing I'm most passionate about...MAKEUP! And not just any makeup but the MAC RiRi collection.

I could of easily bought all of it but I had my sensible head on and managed to whittle it down to 2 items although I may try and pick up the 'RiRi Woo Lip Pencil'. I already own 'RiRi Woo Lipstick'so that was already off the list. So the two items I did end up picking up was the 'Her Cocoa' eyeshadow quad and the 'Diamonds' cream colour base.

There are two quads available, 'Her Cocoa' which is more brown neutrals and 'Smoked Cocoa' which is dark smokey colours. I opted for the more brown quad as I knew I would get more daily use out of it. The colours don't have names as far as I can see but the website does have four colour descriptions. You have bright bronze gold, soft peach, chocolate bronze and antique gold. I adore all four shades and have had a chance to wear them all and can say I absolutely love this quad. I have worn them literally everyday since I got the quad.

Sorry about my crappy swatches, this is something I have to work on for my blog. All four colours work well together and I've tried a multiple of combinations and each time I get compliments so this is definitely a winner. It's currently sold out on the website but if you're lucky you may still be able to find it in a MAC store or counter. It retails at £33.00.

I've never owned a cream colour base before so this was a new experience for me and the verdict is in... I love it. Now from previous posts you will know I love my MAC Mineralize Skin Finishers to death and thought nothing would ever compare to them but I've got to say this cream colour base in 'Diamonds' is definitely up there with my favourites. It's described as a golden shade and can range from a light veil to highly dramatic depending on what method you choose to apply it with. I personally choose to use my fingers but I think I will try out different ways to apply it just to see how different the finishing look is.

Again it is sold out online but do check your local store or counter. It retails for £16.50.

Have you purchased anything from the Rihanna collection?

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Just My Luck

Hey guys,

Long time I know! Well I just wanted to explain whats been going on in my life at the moment. As some of you might recall in an earlier post I told you that I was starting my new job with Molton Brown. I've settled in and am absoutely loving my new role and all the team are amazing! I took a short hiatus from blogging until i was comfortable with my new working week. Well its been about two months and with a few posts put up here and there I finally have figured out whens easiest to write and schedule posts. So i planned to tap out a few posts today ready for the rest of the week when another obstacle is now in my way. The laptop I share with my mum has decided it doesn't want to play game and when we turn it on the screen remains blank. So needless to say my plan of getting back into blogging has once again been halted. So i just wanted to write this quick post as i felt all you lovely lot who take time out your day to read my little blog deserved an answer as to where i've been lately. I'm not sure how long it will be until we manage to get the laptop fixed so i dont know when my next proper post will be as right now I'm typing this out on my dads tablet and its taken me about an hour to write this little passage out.

Hope you will all forgive me for the lack of posts in the near future!!

Thanks again for sticking by me!!

Review | Chanel Hydramax+ Active Sérum

Up until about a couple of years ago I never used a serum! I didn't know what it's use was and just thought it was one extra step in skincare that wasn't needed. Oh young naive me! Now after being obsessed with beauty items and learning so much new stuff I know that Serum is an important step in skin care and to fight against ageing.

In case your still unsure what a serum is and why we use it I thought I would quickly explain. A serum is a skin care product with high concentrations of certain active ingredients. These can be such things like Hyaluronic acid which helps reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles and Vitamin C to help brighten the skin and help reduce high pigmentation and dark spots. The difference between a serum and a moisturizer is moisturizers are made to keep your skin hydrated by forming a protective barrier between your skin and the outside. Serums penetrate deeper into the skin to deliver the active ingredients.

I was lucky enough to receive this off my friend who won it in a raffle but usually it retails for £59 for 30ml from Boots. I know this is a lot and will probably stop me from repurchasing it as I know there are so many good drugstore serums but if you can afford this then I do really recommend purchasing this and giving it a go. If not then why not think about putting it on a birthday or Christmas list.

Anyway onto my little review. I have definitely noticed a difference since I started using this little beauty. Along with my moisturizer (I use the Super Facialist By Una Brennan Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Defence Daily Moisturiser) these make my skin so hydrated and soft ready for me to apply my makeup in the morning. It is suitable for all skin types and restores radiance and delivers intense hydration. I love the texture of this, it's a gel creme formula and doesn't leave my skin feeling sticky as it soaks into the skin quite quickly and doesn't leave a greasy film on the surface. The scent is lovely, fresh and clean.

The packaging like all Chanel products is very sleek and clean cut. The pump bottle is hygienic, means you don't waste any product inside and gives you the perfect amount for a single application. Through the translucent plastic, you can see how much is left, allowing you to stock up when you are running low which is always helpful. As it is plastic, the bottle isn't heavy and is perfect for travelling.

What do you think of Chanel skincare? Would you splash the cash?

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Wishlist | My Top Work Jewellery Picks

| Charmnest Bright Pink Statement Necklace | Forever21 Wish, Love Dream Necklace Set | 

| Forever21 Classic Bow Cuff | Delilah Dust Silver Infinity Chain Bracelet | H&M 2 Pack Turquoise Rings | 

| Tresor Paris Tassilly Earrings | New Look Black, Grey & Polka Dot Snag Free Hair Ties |

At my new job I have to wear all black as my uniform so to add that pop of colour I have to do it through jewellery and accessories. So I thought I would show you kind of a wishlist of a couple of items I've come across which would be perfect for me at work.

First is this bright pink statement necklace from Charmnest. Charmnest is a newer jewellery site which I have already purchased off and loved the things I received. This bright pink necklace is perfect as I love pink and it will help accessorize a plain black dress perfectly.

The next two items are from Forever21. I've only ever ordered from Forever21 once and that was for holiday bits but I always hear such amazing things about their jewellery. I chose this cute necklace which spells out Wish, Love & Dream which is not only cute but very inspirational. And then I found this cute cuff which has a gold bow on it and who doesn't love bows right?

Then this next item I've been eyeing up for some time. If I wear a bracelet it's usually a chunky variety or bangles so when I came across this dainty infinity bracelet from Delilah Dust I knew I had to have it. I think it's such a nice idea and think it gives off a nice message.

For rings I only ever constantly wear one and I got it in Greece in 2008 when I went on holiday with a friend. On nights out I love to wear big statement rings but obviously this isn't convenient for work. So to come to some mutual ground I found this 2 Pack of turquoise rings from H&M. They are so nice and are great to wear together or separately  One is a turquoise band and the other is decorated with a gold chain.

For earrings I like to stay quite small. I love big out there earrings but we aren't allowed to wear them at work so I opt for something glitzy instead. I love Tresor Paris jewellery and do already own a pair of their earrings so I've included the same pair but in a different colour.

Finally a hair product, and you may already be aware of these as they seem to be everywhere. These snag free hair bands from New Look seem to be the hit product at the moment. I know there is a brand called Popband which is where I've seen most people talking about these but they are hairbands that claim not to leave a kink in your hair and come in some adorable patterns/shades which you can wear on your wrist as a bracelet. Genius idea!

So there you have it, my top picks of jewellery for work. Let me know if you have any ideas for what I can jazz up a plain black outfit with by leaving a comment below.

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Baking | Stuffed Cookies

Hey everyone, long time no see! Just a quick update I am loving my job and am so excited and what's coming up for me. I'm still trying to get to terms with my shifts so will resume my blog very soon but today I thought as I have today off work and wasn't up to much else I would do what I love to do best... BAKE! I scoured Pintrest for a good couple of hours and saw so many wonderful recipes that I will try out one day but today I just wanted something simple and easy. So when I saw a couple of pictures of these I thought that is exactly what I want to make. These are super easy to make and you can choose so many different varieties.

So what will you need...

2 packets of Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Your choice of filling (In my case it was Hersheys, Oreos & Peanut Butter Cups.)

Yes that is all you need. Now if your not lazy like I was feeling today you could make the cookie dough from scratch which I will try later another day.

First pre heat the oven to whatever the cookie mix says, mine was gas mark 5. Then I simply mixed up the cookie mix into a dough. I then took a small ball of the dough and squashed it down on the pre-greased tray. I took my choice of filling and lightly pushed it into the dough. I then took another small ball of dough and squashed it over the top and joined it up with the other piece of dough. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and voila bite into the yummy goodness you've just created.

Hope you enjoy recreating these if you do and let me know in a comment what your choice of filling was.

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Hiatus... Only for a short time!

Hey strangers! I just wanted to quickly type out this post to explain my brief absence. As most of you will probably know I've recently started my new job with Molton Brown and I am loving it! But along with a new job comes stress and hectic work days so due to this I may be a bit MIA from my little baby of a blog. I wish I was a super human and could manage it all but right now that just isn't possible! On my days off I will TRY my best to schedule some posts but at the moment these precious short days fly by and are being spent relaxing and spending time with my friends and family.

So finally I just want to say a BIG

THANK YOU!

For sticking by me and my little blog and hopefully when I get into more of a rhythm with my job all will resume as normal!

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Baking | Hershey's Kisses Cookies & Cream Cookie Bars

So once again Becky over at milk bubble tea has got me hooked on the amazing recipes she finds online and has me needing to try and recreate them. I've done some posts in the past of my attempts at recreating some delightful recipes found on her blog so I thought I would bring you another one.
American chocolate is a marmite product to us brits, with the UK being the home of Cadburys which we all know is ah-maze-ing chocolate some people just don't like the American brown stuff (most likely it will have been Hersheys). I on the other hand love it. It is completely different to our chocolate but there is just something about it I love. So with that in mind when I saw this recipe I knew I had to remake it. The clue is in the title of this post... Hersheys Cookies & Cream Kisses!! I looked on the site where Becky found the recipe from which is called Picky Palate which is just another amazing baking site and followed from both really. So firstly what do you need to make these amazing little cookie bars of goodness...

1/2 cup softened unsalted butter

1 cup of white sugar 

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups of plain flour

a pinch of salt

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

10 oreo biscuits

10 hershey's kisses, cookies and cream flavour.

First pre heat your oven to 180 degrees which is gas mark 4/5 and let that heat up whilst you start preparing these yummy treats. In a bowl mix the butter (its best when it's at room temperature, easier to mix!) and add the sugar and egg and mix well. Next add in the flour, salt & baking soda and mix then fold in the chocolate chips. Crush up the oreos either with your hands on bash them with a rolling pin and mix in. Line a dish or I used a brownie tin with tin foil and spread half the mix in the tin. Place a Hersheys kiss evenly around the tin and push into the dough. Then use the remaining mix to cover the kisses. Bake for around 25-30 minutes.

Now fair to say mine didn't come out looking quite as scrumptious as Becky's did but they were still super yummy! And you know what they say, Practice makes perfect!!

Do let me know if you take a attempt at making these, I would love to see what yours look like.

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Haul | Blog Sale Purchases

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Adrienne from The Sunday Girl was having a blog sale and having never bought anything from a blog sale before I thought I would check it out. She had some really good products up for sale and if I had been quicker I would of definitely had purchased more but here is what I did get my hands on.

The first thing is an Elf Blush, there isn't a colour name on it but after looking at the website I think it might be Giddy Gold. I don't own any Elf blushes nor do I own many elf products but I will be buying more stuff to try as the pigmentation in this blush is amazing. Next is two Nicole by OPI nail polishes in the shades Stand By Your Manny and Alex By The Books. They are both perfect spring/summer colours and I especially can't wait to wear Alex By The Books which is the mint green colour. Another nail polish I picked up was by Angelica and it's in the shade Brit Pop 92. Its a really pretty glitter polish which will be great as an accent nail or even all of them at New Years Eve. And finally I got a Revlon Lip Butter in 045 Cotton Candy which is a pretty dark rosey pink colour. This is only my second lip butter and do plan to add many more to my collection.

So that's what I bought, I hope you liked this post and do let me know of any blog sales as I'm always on the hunt for new beauty goodies!

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Sunday Roundup | A Quick Update

This is going to be a little bit of a ramble post about what I've been up to and what I've got coming in for me. So first let me take you through the past week.

As some of you may know I'm starting a new job with Molton Brown at Gatwick Airport so this week I had to go get my new pass which was the last step to make me officially a Molton Brown girl. Me and my mum popped into town and I picked up a few goodies in Boots and TKMaxx so look out for future posts on them. My mum kindly drove me up to Gatwick to get my new pass as my car was in the garage so we had a nice little drive listening to some music. It was a good excuse to wear my cheap Primark Rayban copies. Two of the goodies I picked up which I was most excited about was from TKMaxx. I got two OPI Nail Envy's, one of the original formula and one of the Matte formula for £9.99. I love the original nail envy and haven't tried the Matte finish yet so excited to try these out. Also I picked up the It's A 10 Leave In Conditioner. I always hear so many American Youtubers and bloggers talking about this product and this is the first time I've seen it in my local TKMaxx. I used it last night and it's made my hair feel so soft.

I've never tried a Piña Colada before so when I spotted the Parrot Bay Frozen drinks on offer in Asda I thought I'd give it a go. And with this hot weather we've been having an ice cold cocktail was exactly the right move. I did enjoy it and would probably purchase it again. I recently posted a haul on what I bought in the Illamasqua sale which you can read here and instagrammed a picture which was liked by the official Illamasqua instagram which made my day. Of course one of the biggest things that happened this week was Kate & Wills had their little baby boy HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. I love babies and think he is so cute especially when they brought him out and he did his first royal wave! And finally with all this nice weather and having some spare time in between jobs I got to spend some time with some friends I haven't seen in a while. One whom is moving to America so it was lovely to see her and her new baby boy and play in the park with her little girl before they leave.

So now onto the future. I start my new job with Molton Brown tomorrow and this first week is going to be very hectic and stressful getting to know what the job is about and what is expected of me along with a trip up to Heathrow so I may not be able to post as often as I have done. I will try and get as many posts done and on my next days off will try and schedule some. So thank you for sticking by me and sticking with me and my little baby (yes I call my blog my baby ha!).

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Review | The Body Shop Satsuma Body Polish

This is my final review in the three products I was sent by the lovely people at the body shop. You can see my other two reviews here and here. So today I'm talking about the Satsuma Body Polish* and let me tell you my shower habits have completely changed. I never really gave much thought to the products I used in the shower, if it smelt nice I would buy it but that is now a thing of the past.

With suffering from eczema whenever I've purchased a body scrub I always felt like I had to go for a harsh scrub to feel like it did anything. For example I used to use Lushs Ocean Salt Scrub which has big rocks of salt in it. Now some people think this is crazy when you suffer from eczema and would make it worse but luckily I don't have it that bad and mine isn't super sensitive so I prefer a product to be a bit harsh so I felt like it would make a difference. Well that's what i used to think until I tried out this beauty product.

First lets talk about the scent, I love it! With fragrances in mind I tend to go for fruity, light and sweet scents. So obviously this transfers into any other products I use with a scent so when I first opened this up and smelt it I knew this was the perfect scent for me. Then when I saw the fine beads in it I second guessed the product. I thought that it was going to make me smell nice but not have any other benefits to my skin, boy was I wrong! I totally take back my first opinion of it and just tell you guys never judge a product by its cover. My skin has never felt so good and finally I have the courage to wear short sleeved tops out and bare my arms. I use this alongside the new Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser in the blue bottle for dry skin and these two together are winning products. I will definitely be trying out the different scents in the body polishes from The Body Shop and can't wait to repurchase this as my new favourite shower product.

It's available from The Body Shop site and costs £10 for 200ml.

A 75ml tube is also available for £5.

Have you tried any of the Body Shops Body Polishes? What's your favourite scent?

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