CHRISTMAS WITH CLIVE CHRISTIAN

December 10, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

Clive Christian perfumes are the epitome of luxury fragrances and home scents! Committed to using a high concentration of 20-25% in their fragrances (other fragrances tend to only use around 15% concentration), they are also committed to using only the very best ingredients from rare and globally sourced naturals.

I had been lucky enough to have worked with the brand on this special Christmas post, in which I will be reviewing their No.1 Masculine Edition fragrance alongside their No.1 candle which contains their top notes from the fragrance.

CLIVE CHRISTIAN - NO.1 MASCULINE EDITION

Both the fragrance and candle come in their own velvet pouches with are beautifully wrapped in the brands ribbons already giving it that added elegant touch. Firstly, let’s just take a look at the bottle of No.1. fragrance. It is simply beautiful, so beautiful in fact, that it was received the UK FIFI Award in 2006 for special packaging.

Top Notes: Thyme
Middle Notes: Lily Of The Valley
Base Notes: Tonka Bean

An oriental fragrance, the opening of No.1 Masculine Edition begins with a citrusy and floral burst that seems a little sharp to begin with but then dries down into a softer, more delicate scent. The fragrance could be seen as rather feminine for what is classed as a ‘Masculine’ fragrance, however with that being said, there is a strong undertone during the dry-down of a woody and earthy scent that blends beautifully with the floral notes which can at times, feel rather prominent.

I find that this fragrance is a contradiction in itself as the journey seems to go in one direction, but ends up completely different! It took around 1 hour for the fragrance to fully settle on my skin at which point I felt that I enjoyed the scent the best.

To wear this fragrance, I would recommend wearing it on a nighttime to make an impact, as its sillage and projection is medium-heavy which will last long into the night! The longevity of No.1 Masculine Edition lasted for 8-9 hours upon my skin, one of the longest lasting fragrances I have tried thus far.

In candle form, the scent is inspired by No.1 and comes in 3 different candles for the 3 different stages throughout; Top Notes, Middle Notes and Base Notes. I received the ‘Top Notes’ candle which features notes of White Peach, Nutmeg and Bergamot. The candle leaves the space feeling warm and elegant with a subtle scent in the air without feeling too overbearing!

As Clive Christian perfumes are created using special and rare ingredients, these of course do come at a cost. The fragrance of No.1 Masculine Edition is available in two different sizes:

30ml for £295
50ml for £450

To purchase the fragrance, click here!

As stated before, the candle comes in a trio and each glass vessel is sprayed in champagne gold, adding that elegant and classy touch! To purchase the trio of No.1 Candle set, click here.

With each purchase you will receive free UK Shipping alongside two deluxe samples with your order!

Have you smelt No.1 Masculine Edition by Clive Christian before? If so, what did you think? Have you smelt any fragrances or candles from Clive Christian? Which ones? Will you be treating yourself or a loved one this Christmas to one of these luxurious scents? Let me know your thoughts below as I would love to hear from you, and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button below!

HUAWEI - STORYSIGN

December 05, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

Isn’t Christmas just the most magical time of the year? With all of the wonderful sounds of the Christmas Carollers singing the traditional carols, radio stations and stores playing those catchy Festive songs that get stuck in your head for hours on end, the excitable noises children make when they see Santa appear on TV!?

Well, with 32 million deaf children around the world, the sad reality is that many of them don’t get to hear or experience these sounds that many of us take for granted at Christmas time. They also don’t get to experience that close connection with getting lost in a book at bedtime when a story is being read to them, at a time when a child’s mind is the most imaginative.

I recently joined Huawei on a 3 day trip to Lapland where I got to find out more about their latest release; StorySign. When I initially read the invite where it described a little bit about the app and how it aimed to help deaf children globally, I was naturally very intrigued, especially as it is so close to home for me being deaf myself and is a subject I am very passionate about when it comes to raising as much awareness for the deaf community!

After having had our breakfast, we then sat down to a presentation where the StorySign app got demonstrated to us. To create StorySign Huawei enlisted the help of experts;

Mark Wheatley - the executive director of the European Union of the Deaf.
Neil Pymer - the creative director at Aardman Animations best known for Wallace & Gromit.

StorySign is an app in which Huawei want to help create an authentic way for deaf children to be able to interact with stories at bedtime. By using AI (Artificial Intelligence), it also features Image Recognition and Optical Character Recognition. The power of Image Recognition means that the books can be read from a 45 degree angle, creating a natural way to read a book at bedtime without having to worry about the best position of the book for the child to be able to understand. The Optical Character Recognition means that the books can be translated from words into Sign Language giving a more accurate reading, whilst the AI helps power the speed of the turning of pages which enables children to keep stimulated without having to wait too long to find out what happens next.

Neil Pymer gave us an insight into how the app had been created, telling us how each facial movement and hand movement in sign language had all been recorded and looked over at with a fine tooth-comb to ensure that the Sign Language is brought to life in the most natural way. I was pleased to see that facial movement had been translated and considered into the app, as with many deaf people, facial expressions and movements help to get their point across as well being able to lip read to fully understand what they’re saying! They came up with an avatar/character in the form of; ‘Star’. A young, animated girl who translates the words from the pages of a book, into Sign Language onto Huawei’s mobile screens.

Mark Wheatley signed on stage that he hopes that the StorySign app will create an impact in the deaf community and after having seen a short-film of deaf children who had visited Lapland prior to our arrival just a few days beforehand, it was abundantly clear to see that an impact had already been made. The children’s faces when Star appeared signing the words from the pages of the book onto the Huawei mobile screen were all lit up! The video itself was incredibly touching and really hammered home just how important and how much of a difference StorySign can, and is already making.

Once the presentation had ended, we were all then given an opportunity to use the StorySign app ourselves and hover it over the pages from the ‘Where’s Spot’ book, and that initial moment when Star first appeared, was magical! I think I can speak for everybody who had that opportunity of seeing it firsthand that we were all in amazement at how lifelike the animation of Star was and that the Sign Language was incredibly detailed down to the hand movements, and facial expressions.

Going to Lapland to be able to see StorySign ahead of its release was an experience I’ll never forget, and it has emphatically hit home just how important it is for any child to be able to have that special ‘Stories at Bedtime’ routine with their loved ones!

This short trailer below features Maisie who you may recognise from the Oscar Winning Movie: The Silent Child.

For me, I was a little shocked as to how this app has only just come about, and that there wasn’t anything else like this out there before Huawei’s release. It takes 43 minutes on average to read to a deaf child, yet it only takes 31 minutes to read to a hearing child! Deaf children are already at a disadvantage when they go to school, many of them being mainstream schools which don’t have the facilities or resources to be able to support deaf children with their literacy skills meaning many of them get left behind. With StorySign, this can help bridge that gap by improving the literacy skills of deaf children whilst enabling them to feel connected to the story!

StorySign is available from Google Play Store and Huawei’s AppGallery across 10 countries in Western Europe. With the app having only been released just 2 days ago, Huawei have set up the app to be able to translate the ‘Where’s Spot?’ book, but hopes to add to its library once the StorySign movement gets underway. To help expand the library for more books to be translated into Sign Language, simply donate here.

Thank you Huawei for inviting me along, it’s been a magical experience!

Will you be trying out StorySign? Have you already tried it? If so, what do you think to it? Do you think it will make a difference to the deaf community? What other books would you like to see be translated? I would love to hear your thoughts on this as I genuinely believe it will make a huge difference so leave me a comment below so we can continue spreading awareness! Don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button also!

ESTEE LAUDER - GROOMING CONSTELLATION

December 03, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

Struggling to find the perfect gift for the man in your life? Perhaps he has a refined taste which is proving rather difficult when it comes to knowing exactly what to buy him for Christmas? Well fear not! If he is into his Male Grooming and only enjoys the best of the best when it comes to skincare, grooming and haircare, then I have the perfect gift idea for you and at the end of this post, I will share with you a very special code just in time for Christmas!

THE GROOMING CONSTELLATION BOX

In this neatly packaged box, you can expect to find top quality products from well-known Male Grooming brands such as:

Aveda - Rosemary Mind Hand and Body Wash (50ml)
Aveda - Invati Men™ 2-Step System
Bumble and Bumble - Sumotech (7ml)
Clinique For Men - Anti-Age Eye Cream (15ml)
Clinique For Men - Moisturising Lotion (15ml)
Clinique For Men - Maximum Hydrator Activated Water-Gel Concentrate (7ml)
Clinique For Men - Charcoal Face Wash (30ml)
GLAMGLOW - Supermud Clearing Treatment (15g)
Lab Series PRO LS - Lip Tech (4.3g)
Lab Series PRO LS - All-In-One Face Cleansing Gel (30ml)
Lab Series PRO LS - The Grooming Oil 3-In-1 Shave & Beard Oil (7ml)
Lab Series - Day Rescue Defence Lotion SPF 35 (50ml)

These little gifts within the Grooming Constellation box are all perfect travel sizes, or getting familiar with a product that you or your loved one may not have tried out before, but have wanted to test the waters so to speak. Or perhaps you’ve wanted always wanted to try a product from one of these brands mentioned, but just haven’t had the chance to!

The Grooming Constellation box is worth £114 and is available to purchase here for just £39! I also have a special code to share with you all! Simply type in CONSTELLATION18 to get 15% off your order when you spend over £30 at any of these websites:

Clinique | Lab Series | Aveda | Bumble and Bumble | GLAMGLOW

(Please note, this code cannot be used in combination with any other offer, or against giftcards, ecards, or gift set purchases such as this one and can only be used once per website and is available to UK residents only.)

Have you tried any of these products before? If so, which ones? Are there any you’re keen to try out? Do you have any favourites? Will you be treating yourself or a loved one to this gift this Christmas? Do let me know your thoughts as I would love to hear from you, and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button below!

LAPLAND WITH HUAWEI

December 02, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

An email came through to my inbox with the subject line of ‘Hi Luke - Invite to Lapland’ and before I had chance to read the details in full, I had already RSVP’d with YES!! The trip was to join the technology giant - Huawei, on a magical 3 day trip to Lapland to get an exclusive look ahead of their latest release. In this blog post, I will be talking about my experience of Lapland in full, and in Wednesdays blog post I will be able to reveal more details as to what Huawei’s newest release is all about, which will give you a better insight as to why I had been invited along!

From receiving the invitation on a Tuesday, to landing in Lapland the following Sunday, the build up to the trip was a bit of a whirlwind, and was a trip that had many firsts for me. I had never flown abroad by myself before, I had never been to a country covered in snow with sub zero temperatures before, nor had I ever participated in any ‘snow activities’ other than attempting to ski down the dry, fake grass ski slopes - I say attempting as I recall face-planting the floor several times much to the amusement of my old school friends! Panic started to set in with regards to clothing, as I was completely unsure on what to wear and what would be deemed as appropriate outdoor clothing to take with me. If it was up to me, I would have dressed head to toe in faux fur, but this suggestion didn’t go down too well with my family… Luckily, this was all around the time of Black Friday. Thank God for those 75% off deals!

On the morning of departure, I woke up feeling excited yet a little apprehensive about checking in and the whole airport procedure as I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. With that being said, I just followed the signs and I decided to attempt each part of the check-in process in stages, so it felt less overwhelming. There were two main things that struck me about Heathrow. Firstly, the sheer size of the airport, it was huge. Secondly, how deaf it made me feel! I know that may sound confusing and a little strange, but it was just so noisy! The noises of luggage being dragged around, the many different tannoys that seemed to be mumbled and jumbled, the general hubbub of crowds and distorted background noise. Once I had checked in and I had made my way through to the boarding gate, the feeling of nerves and confusion soon subsided to excitement for the upcoming days ahead!

The flight to Lapland was split in two, the first to Helsinki which we then had a private chartered flight from Helsinki to Lapland itself. I was unaware that the private flight was indeed private, until I began to notice the Huawei branding everywhere and we had all been given a pack which outlined the itinerary of our trip. We were also incredibly fortunate enough to have received our very own Huawei Mate20 Pro, so we could take many photographs and videos to document the duration of our stay!

I then got introduced to 5 other members in our UK team and off we set to our hotel and as we drove to our destination in the darkness, it struck me how isolated and remote Lapland was as we seemed to pass a car every 10 to 15 minutes. As we pulled up to the hotel, I was in complete awe. The hotel we stayed at was: Star Arctic which was situated on the very top of a hill overlooking the nearby town; Saariselkä which was all lit up, dazzling the night’s skyline.

Our UK team sat down for dinner and having had a glance over at the menu, I had to do a double take as I saw that our main course contained Reindeer… I ate Rudolph! (Sorry guys.) It was great to immerse myself in local Finnish culture by eating their food, which I would never have done otherwise! After a glass of wine (or 4), I then retired to my cabin and conked out straight away after a long day of travelling. The following morning we all gathered at reception and we were then shown their latest release which I will reveal all on Wednesday… Once we had been given our snowsuits ready for the days ‘snow activities’, we then began our hike up into the snow!

Prior to our hike, I had layered myself up in about 8 layers of clothing which proved to be very useful as it was -7º outside and I didn’t feel the cold at all! Further into our hike, I could see in the far distance a man covered head to toe in fur (faux I think!) and my initial thought was ‘What on earth is going on here?’ As we got closer and closer, it soon became apparent that this was part of our experience and he began to talk a little about the history of Lapland in his deep, bellowing voice. He then came around each and every one of us and gave us his ‘blessing’ with his good luck charm which involved him stroking an faux animals paw across our faces… It was a very surreal yet special moment, and one that will remain a fond memory of mine from the overall trip! We then came across some miniature bottles of Brandy and after downing 2 bottles, it sure did the good ol’ job of warming me right up again!

The sun rose at around 10am, a good hour before setting off on our hike and it then began to set at around 2.30pm which felt incredibly surreal! Once we had eaten as much bread and soup to our hearts content, we then set off in a bus to our next ‘snow activity’ which included tobogganing down a ski slope. Now, I will admit, I am a huge wuss when it comes to rides of any kind, so I opted out and instead took many photographs of the surroundings which completely took my breath away. Everything felt so serene and calm, it was a different world I had never experienced before! Once the activities were over, we then headed back to base to get ready for dinner at a traditional Finnish restaurant where for our main course this time, we had ‘Air Dried Bear’. I didn’t even know this was a thing!? I can only describe it as crackling and I hate to say it, but it was rather tasty…

The following morning arrived for our departure and it felt that it had ended as quickly as it had begun. At the time of being in Lapland we were kept so busy that for me, I didn’t have the time to soak it all in and it was only on the flight home that it dawned on me what an incredible experience and opportunity it was for me to have. Lapland was truly one of the most magical experiences and from start to finish it flowed seamlessly. Thank you Huawei for inviting me along, I am truly grateful!

As stated earlier, on Wednesday I will be sharing with you my blog post on Huawei’s latest release and the reason I had been invited, so do check back for that blog post very shortly! Also, all the photographs seen within this blog post were all taken on my new Huawei Mate20 Pro phone!

Have you visited Lapland before? Will you be going anytime soon? Have you used any of Huawei’s products before? Used the latest Mate20 Pro? What do you think? Let me know your thoughts below as I would love to hear from you, and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button!

#MERRIERTOGETHER WITH MOONPIG

November 28, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

I had the pleasure of attending Moonpig’s Christmas Event; #MerrierTogether earlier this month at Revolution, Electric Press in Leeds! I bet you can’t say Moonpig in your head without singing ‘.com’ at the end…

As I arrived there was a glass of mulled wine waiting which perfectly kickstarted the festivities for the afternoon ahead of us! We had an introduction to the brand by Claire who also shared with us about Moonpig’s special Christmas message which was all about how in this day and age we can forget to take time out, away from our busy, fast paced lives to show our loved ones how much we care for them which can be done through meaningful words in a personalised card. Whether it be a caring message, or perhaps a humorous one to uplift their spirits!

Once the presentation had concluded, we were then split into 3 teams for various different activities which included;

Personalising Santa sacks
For my Santa Sack, one of my good friends gave birth to a boy last year so I decided to make one for him and I opted for minimalistic, scandi chic look!

Creating personalised Moonpig cards in their pop-up photo-booth
Creating my own Moonpig card was a lot of fun as I shared the photo-booth with my blogger friends Emma and Luiza. Once we had created our Moonpig cards, we could then select who we wanted to send these out to so I chose my family!

Cocktail making
After that, our group then switched around to do the Cocktail making class which was deceptively harder than I originally thought… One part of our group made a Strawberry Woo Woo whilst the group I was on made a Mojito! I think I went a little overboard with the mint in mine, oops.

Wreath making
To round off the day, we then made our Christmas Wreaths which was my favourite part of the day as these Wreaths were created with fake plants and flowers which meant we can keep them for many years to come! I already have a space to hang mine for when it comes to December 1st…

Thank you to Moonpig for inviting me along, I had a lovely day and as it was my first Christmas event, it kick started the seasons festivities off for me and has got me all geared up for Christmas! To celebrate Christmas, Moonpig currently have some Christmas offers on which are 50% off any 5 cards or more when you purchase them and 20% off when you buy a card and a gift together.

To view their Christmas Cards range, click here and for their Christmas Gifts range, click here!

Have you shopped with Moonpig before? Can you say Moonpig without singing ‘.com’ at the end of it? Do you tend to go for humorous cards for your loved ones, or do you like to be meaningful? Let me know your thoughts below as I would love to hear from you and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button!

BOOHOOMAN: WINTER LOOKBOOK

November 23, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

I think it’s safe to say that here in England the weather is cold. Very cold.

I had been contacted by boohooMAN where I was able to select a jacket and a pair of skinny jeans! I have collected a lot of jackets and coats over the years and I tend to steer more towards statement coats which do all of the talking but decided to opt for something a little different this time…

I came across this denim jacket in a creamy/white colour with a Shearling lined collar and I went for this as I liked how casual it was but the added touch of the collar gave it that little extra something! For the jeans I went for a dark grey with some simple rips at the knees which given this weather wasn’t exactly the smartest idea, however, they are incredibly comfortable to wear and look great in being able to dress things up, and dress things down!

For this lookbook, I revisited an old location which had a strong, urban vibe which I felt best suited this particular look. I met up with my trusty photographer, Matt McCormick who has helped create many of my lookbooks and once again I am extremely pleased with the results!

I hope you all enjoy this lookbook as much as we did creating it! What do you think to the jacket and jeans that I selected? Are you a fan of the images? Have you shopped with boohooMAN before? If so, what did you purchase? Let me know your thoughts below as I would love to hear from you and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button!

Also, with it being Black Friday today, the items chosen both have deals on them with over 30% off! So, what are you waiting for?

LUXURY ADVENT CALENDARS FOR 2018

November 21, 2018 by Mr Luke Christian

It seems to have only been the past couple of years where ‘Beauty Advent Calendars’ have really taken off and have now become a firm favourite when it comes to counting down the days until Christmas!

Ranging from high street brands to those that are more luxurious, there really is a calendar out there for everybody and luckily for you, I have 3 to share with you! 2 of these Advent Calendars are Male Grooming and Beauty and my third one (which I couldn’t resist sharing) is a chocolate one as I like to stick to tradition and let’s face it, there’s a unique taste that tastes so much sweeter out of an Advent Calendar as opposed to its original packaging am I right…?

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MANKIND ADVENT CALENDAR

Mankind have released their yearly Advent Calendar and it is an absolute show-stopper! It is humongous and is absolutely incredible which features 25 full sized Male Grooming products such as Elemis, Argentum, Marvis and many more. Mankind have also released their special Christmas Collection Grooming Box which I will have more details on in the next week where you may be able to get your hands on one… Intrigued? Keep checking back for more details soon!

To view Christmas gifts and ideas from Mankind, click here!

L’OCCITANE BEAUTY CALENDAR

The L’Occitane Beauty Advent Calendar contains 24 gorgeous little best-selling gifts from the brand which ranges from their Shower Oils, Hand Creams, mini Fragrance samples as well as Shampoos, Conditioners and Shower Gels! A perfect treat to indulge your loved ones in or indeed a perfect treat for yourself this Christmas!

Worth £85, this Beauty Advent Calendar retails for £49 which is available to purchase here.

HOTEL CHOCOLAT DARK CHOCOLATE ADVENT CALENDAR

hotel chocolate advent calendar 2018.jpg

One of my favourite Chocolatiers is Hotel Chocolat and having worked with the brand before on creating content, I couldn’t resist treating myself to one of their Advent Calendars this year! I asked my followers which type of flavour I should go for as this year Hotel Chocolat have gone all out with an expansive range such as Milk, Caramel, Dark, White, Supermilk and 100% Dark Chocolate. The overall majority vote went to Dark Chocolate which was just as well as Dark Chocolate is my favourite flavour!

To purchase and to have a look at their full range of Advent Calendars this year, click here.

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Over the course of December I will be revealing what is behind of each door/box over on my Instagram Stories so please join in and countdown with me! To follow me on Instagram and to keep up, click here.

I hope you have enjoyed my selection of Male Grooming/Beauty Advent Calendars this year alongside a traditional Chocolate one!

Are you a fan of Male Grooming/Beauty Advent Calendars? Or do you prefer to stick to the chocolate kind? Will you be treating yourself or a loved one to one of these this year? Have you already got your Advent Calendar? If so, which one have you got? I would love to hear from you so leave me a comment below and don’t forget to click the ‘like’ button!