The Body Shop: Oh you smell good...

“It's not very easy to grow up into a woman.  We are always taught, almost bombarded, with ideals of what we should be at every age in our lives: "This is what you should wear at age twenty", "That is what you must act like at age twenty-five", "This is what you should be doing when you are seventeen."  But amidst all the many voices that bark all these orders and set all of these ideals for girls today, there lacks the voice of assurance.  There is no comfort and assurance. I want to be able to say, that there are four things admirable for a woman to be, at any age!  Whether you are four or forty-four or nineteen!  It's always wonderful to be elegant, it's always fashionable to have grace, it's always glamorous to be brave, and it's always important to own a delectable perfume!  Yes, wearing a beautiful fragrance is in style at any age!”

So there, ladies.  C. JoyBell C. had it right.  Wear a good perfume and you've instantly got some style.  

"But it's sooooo expensive!" I hear you say.  Thanks to £50+ price tags, perfume has become a rare treat for many, received only after saving hard-earned Boots Advantage Points, or hoping - praying - that there'll be a gorgeously-wrapped bottle of your favourite scent under the tree.  

But get a load of this: a good perfume doesn't actually have to cost over a tenner.  It only has to cost £8.50.  THAT'S RIGHT. 

The Body Shop has just brought out a range of new Eau de Toilettes which smell absolutely divine and which won't have your bank manager/husband/father come running after  you reminding you about your impending phone bill.   (Funny story: I once heard a sales person in the duty free shop in Glasgow airport say Eau de Toilets.)

My all-time favourite in this new range has to be the coconut scent.  It doesn't smell thick and creamy like most coconuts; instead, it smells like coconuts on a tropical beach with the sun shining like crazy.  It's exotic, refreshing and delicate and will make people think that you've just spent the fortnight lounging around the Caribbean.  (It's up to you to follow through on this lie.)

Or, if you fancy something a bit citrus-y and girly, choose the pink grapefruit.  It smells light and pretty.  One spray and you'll smell as "deliciously light and cool" like Jo did when she cut off all her hair for Marmee's train ticket to Washington.  I love you mum, but you can dip into your savings for that one.

If neither of these float your boat, you can also choose from super-juicy mango or satsuma, I've-just-run-through-a-field-of-flowers moringa or knock-out girly strawberry.  The choice is yours.  Just don't spray too many at one time or you'll get high. 

Okay, so the packaging is really simple and it won't look like you've travelled all the way to the grand perfume houses in Paris to buy it.  But they're ideal for a quick, everyday spritz and they'll fit into your handbag without the worry of chipping the £75 bottle of Miss Dior Cherie which you've painstakingly waited for.  (Story of my life.)