A Letter to Father Christmas

Dear Father Christmas,

I've been such a good girl this year, really I have and you know I never ask for much *cough*. Well, I know that even you can't grant my true wish for a lie-in, so instead here is a list of a few things that will keep me looking semi-human for another year. I've thrown in a couple of items to save my sanity too.

1. A pot of Oil of Olay Total Effects moisturiser (£17) please. This used to be my go to moisturiser but I've been cheating on it for a while now. The bow is drawing me back in!

2. I'd love a relaxing candle. Either a medium Josephine's Rose (£20) candle from Jonathan Ward or Neom Relax & Complete Bliss Travel Candles (£21) would be perfect.

3. In a bid to see if I can restore my love for a nice soak, I would really like a bottle of Elemis Quiet Mind Relaxing Bath Elixir. Quiet and relaxing sound so inviting! It's normally £19 but you can get 20% off using the code XMASTREAT this week on the timetospa website. Of course, I'm thinking of your budget here FC.

4. I seem to spend all day washing my hands so it would be lovely to use something a little more luxurious than the supermarket own brand. I have my eye on Molton Brown fine liquid hand wash in Myrrh Muske and Cypress (£15) as it sounds rather festive!

5. I would really like a beautiful shower gel. The L'Occitane Almond Shower oil (£16) seemed very popular when I asked around for recommendation. I've never used an oil for cleansing the body before but I love the scent of almonds so I'm keen to give it a try.

6. I know I'm pushing my luck a bit with this last request Father Christmas but you know I do like a bit of expensive makeup. Weeeellll, that Tom Ford chap extended his cosmetics line this year. I'll forgo the quads but if you could see your way to stuffing a blusher or eyeliner in my stocking I would be most grateful. The Espresso eyeliner in particular would be grand. Would a fancy mince pie from Waitrose sway you at all?

That's it for now Father Christmas. I hope this reaches you ok, do you have decent broadband in the North Pole?

Yours ever hopeful,
Miss M Brown x

Molton Brown Singosari

Singosari is one of five fragrances from Molton Brown's Navigation Through Scent collection. The collection took inspiration from the history and origins of perfume. Each fragrance is designed to evoke the idea or memory of a particular region. I love that Apuldre, described as London Via Kent, uses juniper berries to transport the mind to a picnic on a Summer's evening!

This is how Molton Brown describe Singosari:

SINGOSARI

LONDON VIA INDONESIA

“May Contain Wonder. Follow the ancient spice trail to the islands of Indonesia. Blood-warm

monsoon rains. Ruined temples and lush green jungles. Exotic. Steamy. Haunting.”

The way we blend it

A top note of incense and ginger. Middle notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. A base of vetiver and

patchouli.

Fragrance description

spicy-woody: Spices and incense elevate and decorate the complex patchouli oil to give an

elegant, rich and deep accord in the base note. An interpretation of patchouli, combined with

spices, brings forth sensuality and mystery. 

This is how it smells to me:

On spraying I get a hit of sharp and spicy. There's something zesty and acidic about the opening.  The first time I wore Singosari it brought to mind Eau Sauvage by Christian Dior. It definitely has a masculine edge to it like Eau Sauvage. The acidity and strength mellows quite quickly and I get wafts of the scent as I move around. I can't pick out any of the individual notes, it just plays as a warm, spicy mix on my skin. As with all spicy fragrances, my skin tends to give this a slightly musky undertone.

I think Singosari is almost certainly a unisex fragrance. I think it will appeal to those who enjoy spicy scents, probably less so to those looking for an overtly feminine perfume or prefer floral fragrances. If like me you've worn Eau Sauvage before (I discovered via Twitter that I am not alone in this) I'd recommend giving Singosari a try. I can't say whether it evokes Indonesia accurately but I'm happy to give my imagination a workout.

Genius!

One of my very favourite things about Singosari is the bottle. I love the design and the chunkiness of the glass. This is probably an odd thing to say but my favourite detail is the 'twist-to-spray' top. It's like the perfume equivalent of a child safety cap and with my little blighters on the rampage, it comes in very handy!

The other fragrances in the collection are Iunu - London via Egypt, Lijiang - London via China, Apuldre - London via Kent (the gin one) and Rogart - London via Canada (more gin!). I have testers of both Apuldre and Rogart and the hit of juniper berries is impressive. All five fragrances come in the same chunky glass bottle and cost £55 for 50ml. They are available from Molton Brown counters and stores nationwide, as well as online from www.moltonbrown.co.uk.


Disclosure: PR sample.