Giorgio fragrances have played a big part in my life. One fateful Saturday afternoon in my teens, out shopping with my Mum & my best friend at the time Gemma, we were spritzed in Debenhams with the Giorgio Beverly Hills perfume 'Ocean Dream'. I instantly fell in love & it became my signature fragrance for years to come.

Around 2002 it became increasingly difficult to buy, as the scent must have been discontinued. Besides the odd bottle my Mum would track down on her Saturday afternoon trips to towns all over NI with my Dad for shopping adventures, I had to accept my favourite scent was now a goner.

Since then I've tried many a perfume, but never fallen in love with any of them as much as I loved my Ocean Dream.

So in the last couple of years I've had a few perfumes I've bounced back and forth between. I like the freshness of Clarins' 'Eau des Jardins', the sweetie-esque scent of Benefit's 'Something About Sofia', and for on the go I like the tiny price tag of M&S's fruity 'Butterfly' (it totally smells like Marc Jacobs 'Daisy').

So given my history with Ocean Dream, I was pretty hopefully I would love the new Giorgio Armani fragrance 'Sì'.

Mr Armani drew inspiration from the strength of his mother, and designed a scent to represent modern femininity.

Sì comes in three incarnations. The Eau de Toilette is playful & free-spirited. It's my favourite of the three as the pear, blackcurrant and vanilla tones remind me most of the lightness of Ocean Dream. It's £42 for 30ml and works as a perfect daily wear fragrance. I'm immediately swapping it in as my daily scent.

The Eau de Parfum has extracts of cassis nectar, with darker fruit tones lifted with freesia and rich rose. It takes Sì from day to night and stays stronger for longer. It's priced at £47 for 30ml.

Finally the richest version of Sì, the Eau de Parfum Intense. It's £72 for 50ml but with its more condensed scent you don't need to apply much to carry off the elegant fragrance all evening. It's a more sensual, heavy scent with blackcurrant, for balsam and golden benzoin.

My favourite Sì is the light Eau de Toilette, which I will be wearing for the foreseeable future. Could it be I've finally found a perfume to live up to my first love, Ocean Dream? I say, "sì ".

They say you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff but, when it comes to fashion, I disagree.
As regular readers know, this blog is all about those little details that make a difference to your look.

This time, I’d like to pass on some tips for Christmas fashion as you get prepared for all those parties. A bit of thought can make all the difference to an outfit and let you shine like a star come the festive season – and here’s how.

Stunning headwear from Batcakes Couture (search on etsy)

One of Janine Basil's Christmas hair clips

How to wear accessories

When deciding on how to accessorise your look, model your outfit in front of the mirror and see where your eye is naturally drawn. Normally this is either towards the neck or the waist.
If it is towards the former, highlight the area with a necklace; if it’s the latter, accessorise with a carefully-chosen belt and select an understated piece of jewellery to wear around your neck.

The biggest mistake you can make is to wear a flamboyant necklace and belt as these will compete for attention. Your body frame is also important when it comes to accessories. If you are petite then keep to smaller scale items but if you’re tall then choose bolder designs which you can carry off with ease.

Don’t forget the handbag; an inspiring collection of funky and classic designs is available at MCM – the perfect way to accessories this season.

Festive make-up

Experimenting with make-up is one of the most fun parts of dressing up and Christmas is no exception. This is the perfect time of year to go glam with glitter - powdered glitter looks fantastic on eyelids and eyelashes so why not give it a go?

The trend this year is for metallic eyes. You can opt for a dramatic appearance à la Giorgio Armani with darker hues or choose lighter colours with a metallic sheen for an elegant touch.

Lips are simple; matte, dark berry colours are this year’s favourites – what are you waiting for?