New Iris Collection from Crabtree & Evelyn

Crabtree & Evelyn as a brand certainly doesn’t need much introduction but I wonder how many people are like me and would sometimes call it Evelyn & Crabtree by mistake? But mistake aside, I’ll always step into their store when I spot one, just to test their hand creams, smell their fragrances and finger their fine foods. Undeniably, their stores have a distinctive English style that somehow draw me in and make me want to linger just a little longer.

Botanical range free from parabens, phthalates & mineral oil
My first product from the store was the Gardeners Hand Therapy but since developing interest in natural and organic products, I have not bought anymore items from them. So it pleased me somewhat to learn that their latest collection under Iris is free of parabens, phthalates, nitrosamines, propylene glycol and mineral oil. Okay, before you natural and organic beauty aficionados start getting excited, I need to highlight that while the range is formulated with botanical extracts, it is not 100% natural. Still, I’m glad that Crabtree & Evelyn has made an effort to create a friendlier formulation for our body by taking out some of the harmful ingredients in this new Iris collection; I believe this should please current fans of the brand quite a bit.

Inspiration drawn from royalty and nobility
The Iris flower was the emblem of Florence, Italy and a favorite of Renaissance perfumers who featured it in their elegant creations. Archival history has it that Iris scented perfume was first brought to England from Italy in the 1400s and King Edward IV favored its use to scent his wardrobe. So Crabtree & Evelyn really created the Iris collection inspired by a bloom prized for centuries by royalty and nobility by working with world-class perfumers to draw out the earthy scent of orris root and then blend it with sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver, cedarwood and musk to create their distinctive Iris fragrance.

Tip on layering the scent
Going by just the Eau De Toilette alone, the scent is quite musky and woody. An interesting tip from one of the staff was to layer the scent so that it can be stronger and last longer. To achieve that, she applied a small blob of the body lotion on my hand before spraying the Eau De Toilette over. The scent was surprisingly different and came across as more define.

Products & prices
The Iris collection will be available in stores from 1 October and comprises 10 products:
1. Eau De Toilette, 100ml at S$65
2. Eau De Toilette, 30ml at S$25
3. Bath & Shower Gel, 250ml at S$35
4. Body Cream, 200g at S$68
5. Body Lotion, 245ml at S$40
6. Triple Milled Soap, 3x 85g at S$28
7. Home Fragrane Reed Diffuser, 200ml at S$88
8. Scented Drawer Lining Paper, 6 sheets at S$45
9. Home Fragrance Spray, 100ml at S$30
10.Scented Poured Candle at S$45 (available in December 2010)

Why is there no hand cream in that list?

The enchanted Iris tree
I was reminded of The Enchanted Tree when I saw this. The company had re-created an Iris garden in the ballroom of Mandarin Oriental where it launched the Iris collection yesterday. It was quite a lavish sight but unfortunately, the splendidness only lasted some 30 minutes. As soon as the speeches were over, people were heading out. Quite a shame really, considering the concept plus all the efforts and resources that went into creating that elaborate setup. But at least we have them in pictures here eh?

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Comments

  1. fwy says:

    I actually have their membership card. Like you, after I started using organic products, I had been cutting down on those non-organic brands.

  2. pf1123 says:

    I always get vouchers for Crabtree & Evelyn from DBS credit card. But I find the prices too steep for my liking for body & bath products. So, I never get anything there.

    So, if anybody from the company sees this, please let your management know and consider re-evaluating the pricing strategy. ?

  3. sesame says:

    I can do with makeup but it’s a bit hard to make the U-turn with skin care.

  4. sesame says:

    Yup, agree that their prices are pretty steep for bath and body products.

  5. fwy says:

    Me too! Makeup packagings are usually very tempting during their holiday season collections. I would usually end up buying something.

  6. sesame says:

    Haha…so I’m not alone. ?

  7. Liesl says:

    I like their citron honey and coriander hand cream mainly because I like the scent.Other than this, I can’t find any draw to this brand. As compared to loccitane, I can’t resist loccitane’s many products even though I’ve switched most of the products I’m using to natural brands. One of which hard to give up is loccitane’s honey and lemon line. I’m so addicted to it. Also love their hair conditioner with essential oils.

  8. sesame says:

    The smell of their citron range is nice; I like it too. The brand is nice but the price is quite steep and it’s hard to resist other options.

  9. jj says:

    too expensive and their service is not good!!! they expect ppl to buy more…and when customer buy 1thing only ,the salesgirl will show their face to customer making it so uncomfortable..very bad crabtree

  10. jj says:

    crabtree product is full of chemical..but selling so expensive..not worth it..the worst is the attitude of the salesgirl and sales man, if your not buying their product after seeing..

  11. jj says:

    even if we have memberships card, anyone who simply mention our name, they will get the discount also…so wats the point in the beggining we spent RM 600 so much from crabtree to get VIP card? since everyone also can just mention a name thn they will get the discount..

  12. Ming says:

    I have been given crabtree and evelyn gifts over the years, it’s a rave among my female friends and family, I definitely believe the brilliant marketing has sunk in. I am a lover of products with true natural ingredients, makers of which I shall not advertise here, but I read all the ingredients on their bottles and most contain names not longer than 10 alphabets and do not need a chemistry degree to know. Crabtree and Evelyn markets itself as such company using natural ingredients, the many bottle of body lotion and hand lotion I have are listed with more than 20 ingredients each and have many names ending with …stearate, …alcohol, …propyl, …EDTA, etc. The fragrance is more pungent than soothing, the lotion texture is watery, the moisturizing effect is perversely drying on the skin. I believe the marketing of this company is brilliant but pretty misleading. Perhaps the company is now making products with less man made chemicals in their new product ranges, discerning consumers who want less of these in their skin products please be wise enough to read the list of ingredients before you buy.

  13. Sesame says:

    Well, very true. Many companies use the word “natural” very loosely so it’s best to educate ourselves on the ingredients if we’re more particular.

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