The moment when little girls realise they’re no longer children anymore is the year we get given bubble bath and soap instead of Lego and Barbie dolls for Christmas. It’s the year when December 25 stops being a non-stop, high octane riot of ripping open presents and spending the day immersed in our newly acquired loot c/o Toys R Us. Instead, we have to start making painful small talk with the adults and trying to pretend that our bath salt medley was what we had been longing for all year. However now we’re a little older and a little more tired out (not to mention a darn sight more grateful), we would be more than delighted if Santa dropped off Byredo’s latest delights in our Christmas stockings.
The iconic perfume house is known for its bewitching unisex fragrances – of which Fantastic Man, Gypsy Water and Rose Noir are our personal favourites. But what has recently captured our imaginations is their Bal D’Afrique Bath Oil and Blanche Hand Cream. I know we write about beauty on a regular basis here, but we never thought it would be possible to get as enthusiastic about a bath oil as we did about the Lego castle we received for Christmas 25 years ago.
Byredo Bal D’Afrique Bath Oil and Blanche Hand Cream
Bal D’Afrique proved us wrong – with its soothing bouquet of vetiver, jasmine and Moroccan cedar wood, it turns into a milk on contact with water, making bath time pure heaven. In addition, the Blanche Hand Cream hasn’t left our handbags, with pretty notes of pink pepper and neroli which left our weatherbeaten paws soft and sweetly scented. Christmas “smellies” never looked so good.
by Viola Levy
Bal D’Afrique Bath Oil is £88.21, Blanche Hand Cream is £23.21, both available here