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A Day in Paris | The Best of British Beauty With Crabtree & Evelyn

You may have seen on my Instagram feed over the weekend that I was lucky enough to spend a short break in Paris with several other bloggers courtesy of Crabtree & Evelyn: feelunique.com are launching in France and they’re showcasing their “Best British Beauty Brands” in a beauty pop-up that I was invited to attend. A quick trip on the Eurostar and an overnight stay in a gorgeous hotel, the beauty pop-up next day and lunch at a Parisian restaurant – not bad for a (less than) 24 hour trip!

Crabtree & Evelyn is a British beauty brand specialising in botanical fragrances and body care products featuring fruit, flower and plant essences, as well as fine foods and gifts. Whilst I’ve not bought many of their products before, their packaging has always attracted me and I can now see that their products would make perfect Christmas presents.

They sell a surprisingly varied range of different items, some of which I didn’t realise they sold: Hand and body lotions and washes, perfumes, candles, nail polishes (the metallic ‘Cinnamon’ colour is to die for), biscuits, confectionery, teas… the list goes on.

Complimentary manicures and hand massages were laid on – I had a relaxing hand massage with the Caribbean Island Wild Flowers hand therapy cream and enjoyed a cup (or two) of festive spiced tea – I’m a big fan of herbal teas and this one was soooo Christmassy-tasting. Plus if you like shortbread (like me) you will love the Christmas star-shaped shortbread: I had a tin to take home and believe me, it didn’t last long.

WHILST I’VE NOT BOUGHT MANY CRABTREE & EVELYN PRODUCTS BEFORE, THEIR PACKAGING HAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED ME AND THEY MAKE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS.

After the pop-up we were treated to lunch at le Dôme du Marais, a stunning restaurant not five minutes walk from the Pompidou Centre. The interior was like stepping back in time to an old Hollywood movie set, all moody black furniture and lush green foliage with a show-stopping domed glass ceiling. As you can imagine a group of bloggers armed with cameras and smartphones went a little nuts with the photographs for a good 10 minutes before sitting down… It’s funny being with a group of people who aren’t embarrassed by your taking endless photos for Instagram and having to rearrange the plates and glasses on the table because they’re doing exactly the same 😉

The food was absolutely spectacular: I can thoroughly recommend the supreme of chicken with wild mushrooms and garlic potatoes and – although I didn’t order it I wished I did – the chocolate bomb. Never before have I seen (and smelt) such an incredible pudding. It actually made us all gasp in awe when it arrived for those lucky enough to have ordered it…!

[IT] WAS LIKE STEPPING BACK IN TIME TO AN OLD HOLLYWOOD MOVIE SET, ALL MOODY BLACK FURNITURE AND LUSH GREEN FOLIAGE WITH A SHOW-STOPPING DOMED GLASS CEILING.

The only downside was the fact that I didn’t get to enjoy the whirlwind sightseeing tour of Paris in the afternoon – I live as far away from London as Paris is from the big smoke. In fact the train journey from London to my house takes longer than the Eurostar does, so unfortunately I had to leave straight after lunch to ensure I caught the last train home, but I have been to Paris before so I wasn’t too gutted (well, maybe just a little)!

I’d just like to say a huge thank you to Crabtree & Evelyn for such a wonderful trip – it’s great to support British brands and we sure did it in style in one of the most stylish cities in the world. It also felt good to show our support to a city that’s suffered terribly this year by simply showing up and enjoying everything it has to offer. A big shout-out to the lovely new friends I made: Fiona, Jen, Kirsty, Hayley, Beth and Jamie – you were all so lovely and made the trip so much fun.

Are you a fan of Crabtree & Evelyn? Tell me what products you’re a fan of in the comments or tweet me @notlamb if it’s easier!

THE BEAUTY POP-UP

LUNCH AT THE STUNNING DÔME DU MARIAS

THE HOTEL LOBBY CHRISTMAS TREE

P.S. Like this post? You might also want to read about my trip to Paris last year!

Linking up to: Let It Shine, Brilliant Blog Posts, Friday’s Fab Favourites

Disclosure: I have written this post in partnership with Crabtree & Evelyn (click here for my full disclosure) who kindly paid for my trip to, and expenses in, Paris. All content is original, however, and opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Catherine