I found a suitcase filled with pants and socks! As you do. There seems to be a neverending conveyor belt of boxes and cases that were stowed away in the storage container when we were having the house rebuilt; I thought I’d unpacked them all, but obviously not. Anyway, most of the socks and pants looked  old and bobbly (loads had holes chewed in them, thanks to Dexter the Dog’s penchant for knicker-stealing) and went straight into the fabric recycling bag, but that’s not what struck me as I unzipped the suitcase.

No, what struck me was the most amazing smell. A smell I recognised but couldn’t quite put my finger on. And when I say “smell”, I mean the entire contents of the case were scented with this gorgeous fragrance. It was like taking the lid off the world’s biggest reed diffuser! A quick shuffle through the knickers and out I came with the culprit: a prettily wrapped Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier soap. How can one little (actually quite big-ish) soap cause such a beautiful stink? I’ve reviewed Fleur de Figuier before – it was created by perfume supremo Francis Kurkdjian (the man behind many of your best-loved scents) – but I don’t really use soap, so must have randomly shoved this into the suitcase.

Some other deliciously figgy scents…

And – oh – how glad I am that I did. The silk-paper-wrapped soap is now housed in my lingerie drawer  and a year in storage has not even remotely dulled its scent. It is warm and seductive, figgy and fruity and it’s colourful and heady and absolutely uplifting. You can find the individually wrapped travel soaps on Escentual.com here – £5.50.

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1) If there’s one thing that beauty brand l’Occitane does very well indeed (there are loads of things, but that ruins my sentence) then it’s shea. Shea butter in hand creams, foot creams, face creams – even cleansers and toners and serums. If you need a proper hit of something rich and nourishing on your skin, then l’Occitane’s shea things always seem to do the trick. The founder of l’Occitane, Olivier Baussan, first used shea in his products after visiting Burkina Faso in the early eighties; since then the brand has built up a special relationship with the women there, providing ongoing financial support with a focus on education programs and literacy schemes. In celebration of Women’s Day, l’Occitane have launched the new Ultra Soft Balm; a gorgeous, apricot-scented moisturiser that has been formulated with 96% shea butter. It’s a proper little multi-purpose number for lips, dry patches, cuticles and hair and 100% of the profits from each sale go to non-profit groups that promote women’s entrepreneurship in Africa. The Ultra Soft Balm costs £4 – you can find it here online.

2) Mr Bear is going on a little holiday. I said vacation in the title, but that was only because I didn’t want two “days” in a row – it was a style decision. I can’t write too much about it because I am so sad, but basically we couldn’t find a short-term let that allowed cats (but they all allow dogs! Bizarre!) and so he is going for an eight-week retreat at my parents’ house. He will have an amazing time, because my Mum seems to have the energy of a six year-old when it comes to playing with the cat and devises all kinds of games and ways to tease him. But I’m still very sad. Even though he sleeps for approximately 99.99% of the time, he’s the best companion ever and when he comes to jump on my desk at the end of a work day it is my most favourite moment. Hopefully he won’t forget me…

Read all of the Sunday Tittle Tattle posts…

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Well this is an unusual one: a moisturiser that feels velvety to the touch but seems to melt into fresh-feeling perfection the moment it hits the skin. And then, despite this gorgeous fresh feel, manages to keep oiliness in check as well as hydrate. What is this marvel of a formulation? It’s Clinique’s Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer!

The Pep-Start HydroBlur almost didn’t make it onto my face, because for some reason I assumed that it was solely a mattifying product. Perhaps because it’s oil-free, or maybe because I spotted the word “matte” in the PR blurb, I don’t know. Luckily I’m a faffer and a potterer and I like to stick my fingers into jars and squeeze product out of tubes even if I know that the product’s unsuitable for my current skin conditions, because actually Pep-Start HydroBlur turned out to be quite the hydrating wonder cream. I mean it’s not rich – it wouldn’t sort out overly parched skin or the sort of dryness that makes you want to rub your face with a pack of lard – but it’s an excellent lightweight troubleshooter if you’re dehydrated.

It’s a bit of a double whammy effort, too: great on the oil-less moisturisation front, but with a secret weapon in the form of the “blur” part. Now look, these blurring products – there’s only so much they can do. I mean, they’re clever and everything, and they do create a sort of soft-focus veil over the skin, but if you’ve blemishes then they’ll still be visible, so will redness and so will deep wrinkles. What they can do (and what HydroBlur seems to do very proficiently) is skim over fine lines a bit so that the skin just looks fresher and less knackered. The blurry part coupled with the excellent hydration part is a winning combo when it comes to plumping out and semi-disguising those crepey little creases. This makes Pep-Start a great day cream if you have oily or combination skin and want to look fresh-faced and moisturised rather than clogged-up and greasy; it’s also good if you just have “normal” skin, no oiliness, but want a light sorbet style moisturiser that will sit well beneath makeup.

Pep-Start HydroBlur actually works very well as a primer, if you like to keep your skincare and makeup steps minimal and fuss-free. It’s suggested that the product can be used throughout the day for “touch-ups” over makeup, but personally I think that this type of thing can be a bit of a disaster zone. What possible benefit could you get from disturbing your makeup by slathering a cream on over the top, no matter how lightweight? I’ve tried it, it’s not for me. If you’re getting oily then use a good powder – the Hourglass Ambient Lighting ones are amazing for keeping glow but deadening down any oily shine – I just wouldn’t faff about with creams and things that need patting in.

The final masterstroke when it comes to Clinique’s Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer is the price – £24. Very, very reasonable I feel, especially as the texture of the product is so beautiful and the semi-matte finish so pleasing. And that hydration! It’s really rather excellent. If you’re after something to keep your oiliness in check but don’t want to look and feel as though you’ve just spent eight days in the Sahara then it’s absolutely worth a try.