This week’s men’s aftershave review is John Varvatos Artisan Eau De Toilette. Artisan was released in 2009, but like the other fragrances from John Varvatos they have not been too common up until recently in the UK. The bottle is very distinctive, and is a wicker basket style of bottle which will stand out on your shelf or in your drawer.
The scent itself is a light and citrus type of smell, it has lots of orange type notes but the smell of the orange is not overpowering and you can easily smell the other notes. It is quite light and sweet, and definitely one for day wear in the spring or preferably summer. It’s not a very masculine fragrance, so if you like woods, musk and aromatic or spicy scents this is not one of them; Having said that I always believe you need a lighter scent in your fragrance repertoire. This is quite a pleasant smell, but if I were to choose a day wear scent there are better options out there, such as the Lacoste L12 and Acqua Di Gio.
Best season to wear – Spring/Summer Scent type – Orange/Citrus, Sweet Age Recommendation – 18+ Best Worn – Day Wear, Casual
Top Notes – Sicilian clementines, Juicy tangelo fruit, Mandarin oranges, Wild thyme, Marjoram from Spain and Greek lavandin
Middle Notes – North African orange tree blossoms, Indian Murraya, Essence of orange jasmine tree, Ginger extracts
Base Notes – Kephalis, Georgywood, Ambery belambre and musky serenolide
I recently got a Hydro 5 groomer kit from Wilkinson Sword, and it could not have come at a better time. Movember is here, and this year I have decided I would take part and grow some facial hair 😀 I have never had a beard, moustache or anything like that, I have always preferred to be clean shaven ever since I started shaving in my teens. The groomer kit contains the new Hydro 5 groomer which has a 5 blade shaver at one end with a flip down edge blade to get a perfect straight edge, along with a hydrating strip. At the other end there is a battery powered trimmer for creating whatever look I want to go for. The razor is complimented with the transparent gel which does not foam, so is perfect for shaving.
Since I have never had a beard or tash before I don’t really know what style to go for, Wilkinson Sword have created this video to give some tips and ideas; I don’t think I will be able to pull off anything so elaborate, but if you’re handy with a trimmer you could give it a go 😀
This week’s fragrance review is John Varvatos For Men. Introduced in 2004 it’s quite an old fragrance to the U.S. or international market, but relatively new on the shores of the UK. The bottle is a classic and sophisticated style, a smart black bottle which is simplistic and masculine.
The scent is a warm, woody and spicy kind of smell. It’s slightly strong however it’s not too overpowering, and is a real masculine style of fragrance. I think this would be best worn in the autumn or winter on a cold evening, and can be use in both casual and formal situations. It’s strong enough to get you noticed, but not too pungent to be off-putting.
Best season to wear – Autumn/Winter Scent type – Woody/Warm/Spicy Age Recommendation – 23+ Best Worn – Evening, Casual, Formal
Top Notes – Medjool, Date Fruit, Mediterranean Herbs, West Indian Tamarind Tree Leaves
This week’s fragrance review is Artisan Acqua by John Varvatos. Artisan Acqua is a new scent launched by John Varvatos in 2014, and I have had a smell of this, which I like. Like the other Artisan bottles, this one takes a similar design, with a hand-woven rope style.
It is quite a masculine style of scent, and is an aromatic, warm kind of style with a hint of spice and woody notes. It definitely feels like a grown up fragrance, so if you’re looking to wear something a bit more formal, or something non-offensive this is a contender.
It seems to be pretty hard to come by, after having a bit of a search it seems that Debenhams is the only place out of the big perfume/aftershave retailers which are selling this.
An aromatic style of scent is something you should have in your fragrance wardrobe. If you haven’t already got one, this is worth considering. It’s something which will sit in between a light, citrus EDT and a musky, woody EDT.
Best season to wear – Autumn/Winter Scent type – Aromatic, Warm, Spicy Age Recommendation – 21+ Best Worn – Evening, Casual, Formal
Top Notes – Tangelo, Mandarin, Paradisamide, Galbanum, Lentisque, Angelica root
Another trip down memory lane in my fragrances takes us to Intimately Beckham For Men By DVB. This was one of the first ventures into the fashion world for “Brand Beckham”, and is one of many of the celebrity fragrances which have been launched.
If you’re Apple then you’re saying that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones are “Bigger Than Bigger”. If you have an iPhone or follow technology, it’s been no secret that the new iPhone would be bigger, and the rumours were true, they did indeed release 2 models which they’ve named the 6 and 6 plus.
I have had a few iPhone now; The 3G, 4, 5 and now 6. This is the first iPhone I have ever bought on release day, and the first direct from Apple. It’s also the first time I have gone back to buying a SIM-FREE phone, and will change from a contract to a 30 day rolling plan. This is expensive up front, with the handset costing £699, however it does work out just over a hundred quid cheaper over 2 years which most contracts are. I got the 128GB iPhone 6 in Space Grey, the same handset would have cost me £209.99 and cheapest tariff of £48/month for 2 years! This is too expensive, I was paying £43 which I thought was also too expensive, so I wanted to bring the monthly cost down; I’ll be getting a plan which is around £22/month. Not only is it cheaper, I will not be locked into a deal for 24 months.
The iPhone 6 Size – Is it too big?
OK let’s get down to it. The biggest noticeable change is the size of the phone. It is bigger, it has a 4.7″ screen whereas the 5 has a 4″ screen. The screen size is very noticeably larger when you’re using it, and that’s a good thing. A bigger screen for apps, games and even email and messages is always going to be better, and let’s be honest, that’s why we use these devices. But we have to consider the fundamentals, this is a phone, and you will be carrying it around with you, day in, day out. The iPhone 6 is very slightly wider, and a little bit taller, however it is a lot thinner. Since it’s a lot thinner it fits in jean pockets very easily, and although it’s bigger, it’s not too big for jean or jacket pockets.
The weight is also only slightly more; The iPhone 6 is only 17 grams heavier, and because it’s a bigger device, the weight is spread across it so does not really feel much heavier if at all. It’s also lighter than the iPhone 4, and in fact all other previous models (other than the 5/5S). The most important factor in the size is that it’s super thin, and has rounded edges rather than a squared block-brick style has before.
What about using the phone, as a phone? Yes, it’s a shock some people out there use their phones to actually talk to people. Holding it in one hand is certainly different. I have large hands, and although it’s fairly comfortable, because it’s so thin and is larger than any other phone I have held, it’s an adjustment.
Another key point for mobile devices such as phone is the battery life. If you’ve got and iPhone or previously owned one, you’ll know that the battery is not great, in fact it’s pretty poor. It’s probably the one thing which has not really made much in the way of development, the standby time is quoted at 250 hours, which has been more or less consistent in the iPhone ranges over the years (the £g/3GS/4 was allegedly 300). In the real world of using it, I have not noticed any improvements, however it’s also not getting worse, and since this is a bigger device and using more power, many may say that it is in fact a net improvement.
Apple still have the internal battery which you can’t remove, it would be really nice to see a swappable battery, where you could always have a spare to swap-out. If Apple ever did this, I am sure they would sell a LOT of batteries for those who want to do this.
What’s it like to use? – Should I upgrade from the iPhone 5/5S?
In terms of using the device, It feels slightly faster, and slightly more fluid, so you can feel a bit of a difference, albeit small, when you’re using it for day to day stuff. The camera is slightly better too, and the speakers sound much better, clearer and louder. It has NFC however there seems to be no option, and it’s said that this will be locked down to Apple Pay only. Other changes which are in iOS8 will be available to the iPhone 5/5S.
I want the iPhone 6 Plus because it’s better – Why did you not get that?
I love technology, and I want the best possible device. The iPhone 6 Plus has a couple of more bells and whistles than the 6. For instance, it’s got a bigger screen, at 5.5″. Not only that, the resolution is better, at 1920×1080 which is Full HD. It’s got OIS (optical image stabilisation) in the camera too, and the quoted battery life is better. There’s no doubt, the tech specs on paper show the 6 Plus as being a more powerful device. However it is far too big! I tested this by using a cut-out of the 6 Plus, and it’s not only a huge amount bigger than the 5, it’s even much bigger than the 6. I decided that it was just too big for me, my pockets and my life. I would love the big screen and the rest of the good stuff, but I think it’s just too big to live with.
How would the iPhone 6 be better & What’s missing from it?
The 6 has a few things missing from it, for instance the front facing camera is still the same 1.2MP FaceTime camera as was on the 5, with slightly better aperture. With everyone taking selfies, you would have thought that they’d make improvements in that area. The camera on the rear is also 8MP, the same as the 5, but with the better aperture and focus pixels which promises to make images better. The battery life is not improved, and cannot be replaced. It has the new A* and M8 for power, but the RAM is still 1GB however it is DDR3 rather than the DDR2 of the iPhone 5.
The Verdict
I like the new iPhone 6. The new size is good, I like the design and the slenderness of the phone, and as usual it’s just a nice device to use, if you’ve got or had an iPhone there’s not much of a transition to make. If you have an iPhone 4 or 4S then it’s definitely worth the upgrade. If you love the latest and greatest thing then you’ll be upgrading. If you have a 5/5S and are happy with it, and aren’t bothered about a bigger screen, then you may not want to upgrade. If you are looking for an upgrade or a new phone, it’s worth considering 🙂
So, you’ll know by all the posts from my blog in the past week I was in Reykjavik recently 😛 One of the main reasons for the trip was to go and see the Northern Lights, however it never happened because the weather was not good enough, and we wouldn’t have been able to see them. Quite ironically, last week it was the perfect time of the year to see them, and you could see them from our country! 😛 Since I live in the North of England, some people did get to see them in some places, so last Friday we decided to go somewhere dark and try our luck.
Once again we saw nothing! 🙁 But it was quite a laugh and something different to do. It was also a good chance for me to actually try my hand at some night photography. I have never done it before, and bought my Tokina lens for situations like this. I was actually quite surprised at how the pictures turned out, I think they are pretty decent for a first attempt. I got some shots of the moon and stars, the moon was quite orangey and almost looks like a sun set. I was doing long exposures, and even got in on one of my shots to see how it would turn out; Of course it’s not sharp because of the slight movements of myself, but it’s not too bad 😛
It does go to show how much light pollution there is in Newcastle. I was actually blown away by how many stars you can see out there in the middle of nowhere…I remember seeing them as a kid years ago, we must somehow have a lot more light pollution in the city these days.
Another visit to my old fragrances and this is Prada Amber from around 2006.
Despite it’s really nice smell it’s another which I have not used a great deal, partly because at the time there were so many other ones I liked better, and partly because it’s not a spray bottle, rather an old fashioned proper aftershave style of bottle which I like less.
So you’ve read about my days and nights in Reykjavik, but there is so much more I must of missed out! What about the general things in Reykjavik, Iceland, prices, living and so on. So here it goes!
After Saturday night out in Reykjavik I needed to chill.We had already booked the Blue Lagoonwhich was a really good idea, however the bus picked us up at 9:30AM and I got in at 5AM….So I only had around 3 hours sleep!
The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa, basically a large lagoon which is heated up by the earth. It’s probably the best way to unwind after our Saturday night in Reykjavik, and best way to waste a day when waiting for a flight;
Far, far better than trying to kill time wondering around bored which I’ve had to do on other holidays! 😛 Unfortunately it was the only day it properly rained, but I guess that didn’t matter so much since we were in water anyway, and it was so warm! 😛
It’s a cool place, you go in and have a shower, then there is a small pool indoors, and the large lagoon outside. I got the €60 package which included priority entry to the lagoon, a drink, robe and towel and some skin products.
The lagoon is all different depths throughout, it goes down to around 1.5m so you can easily stand, and in places it’s so shallow you can sit on the floor and not be under the water. It’s pretty big, and even though it was pretty busy there was plenty of space for you to relax or have a wonder.
I got a waterproof pouch for my phone so I could talk pictures while I was in…Thank god it worked! 😛
From the Blue Lagoon we headed to Keflavik airport to catch our flight. The only bad thing was that the last bus from the Lagoon was at 3PM and we did not need to be at the airport until 6!
But the Blue Lagoon is definitely worth going to if you ever visit Iceland 🙂
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