#ChristmasWishes with the @TheBodyShopUK & Fragrance and Frolics with @OdetteToilette!

It’s the 1st of December!

Christmas is fast approaching and thus one’s mind turns to present buying and gifting!

In October I had the opportunity to attend the Body Shop’s Christmas preview which was themed #ChristmasWishes and it was an experience that stimulated all of the 5 senses…

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…and also captured the heart with a unique campaign that will provide school lessons for children caught up in the midst of war and tragedy.

The Body Shop has teamed up with War Child, the global charity for children affected by war, to grant children the gift of education.

The brand is aiming to provide more than six million lessons and for every specially selected gift you buy, The Body Shop will make a contribution to War Child that will funds a class for a child.

There are many gifts to select from and with prices from as little as £6.00, there is something for everyone!

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As well as finding out about the festive offerings, my favourite part of the event was an sensorial exploration of The Body Shop’s Musk fragrance portfolio.

Hosted by fragrance connoisseur and aficionado Odette Toilette (whom I met at the Enterprise Nation’s #BeautyExchange conference), we embarked upon a retrospective journey.

Odette Toilette (@OdetteToilette) in her sensorial element!

Odette Toilette (@OdetteToilette) in her sensorial element!

The Body Shop’s original White Musk fragrance hit shelves over 30 years ago in 1981 and it was the the first fragrance to utilise man-made, cruelty-free musk – the brand broke the rules and rather than using the perfume industry’s standard ingredient gathered from deer, it’s bold move shaped the future of scent in the process.

The olfactory tour started with the introduction of the White Musk Libertine fragrance. A bold twist on musk, this sensual eau de toilette features a blend of cruelty-free musks at its top, heart and base, with sweet notes of Turkish delight, baby orchid and Chantilly cream.

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We devoured Turkish delight as we learnt more about the fragrance and were transported back to a time of the decadent 18th century France.

We then entered a zone depicting the speakeasies of 1920’s Harlem – forbidden pleasures, both daring and seductive, to experience the notes of the White Musk Smokey Rose fragrance (which has become my favourite of the collection!).

A mysterious scent, this eau de parfum features an intoxicating blend with notes of black smoky rose and tobacco flower.
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Now onto the late 70’s! We entered a zone dedicated to change. As fore mentioned, the launch of the Body Shop’s White Musk was revolutionary, as the very concept of the Body Shop was at the time. As a child of the 80’s and 90’s – it was this zone that had me reminiscing of school days and of saving my pocket money to purchase bottles of the (then) Body Shop perfume oils! The Body Shop made fragrance accessible to all – no pretensions, no gaudy counters, no uptight sales persons – you were allowed to play and be playful with the Body Shop products! Very happy memories indeed!

We were encouraged to be playful in this zone too! With a rug that activated the playing of 70’s tunes when stood (or danced!) upon, to the enjoyment of chocolaty canapes that included some of the ingredients found in the fragrance, the original White Musk rouses a sense of freedom and self expression.

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The final zone introduced us to the latest musk in the Body Shop range – a sensual, heady, warm and spicy concoction – from White to Red, a first for the company! The new Red Musk fragrance in unique in many ways. It was created by master perfumer Corrine Cachen to be an untypically ‘non-girly’, scent and it contains no floral notes at all.

The rich fragrance is a smouldering blend of spiced musk with hot notes of pepper, cinnamon and tobacco. We had the chance to inhale the intense tobacco plant and pepper, as well as taste the spicy cinnamon!

It is a fragrance that is perfect for the winter months.

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I really enjoyed this experience as it evoked pleasant memories of the past and harked to the future of fragrance development.

You can shop all of the products mentioned in this post in store, online or at home!

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