Exotic Packaging: Original Formula Holly & Frankincense Soap

Merry Christmas from this 1987 soap packet!

The soap was made with myrrh, brandy oil, cinnamon, mandarin, bay orange, holly leaf and frankincense. 

What on earth does a holly leaf smell of I wonder? Or does it have amazing medicinal properties?

Exotic Packaging: Wallace & Gromit DVD Tin

This Wallace & Gromit tin came with DVDs in. The design on the lid is raised - you can see the inside of the lid in the bottom photo - the raised design shows up much better there although Wallace's teeth look very creepy from the wrong side. And the side of the tin are decorated with line drawings of cheese and crackers. Of course.

The DVDs live somewhere else now and I use this tin to store patchwork supplies.

This is some of the fabric I keep in the tin. Yes, that snow boarder is printed on fabric. These patterns all went into a pair of curtains I made for the bedroom in Switzerland. I don't ski or snow board, but the family does.

Exotic Packaging: Crabtree & Evelyn Assorted Flavour Fruit Teas

I don't drink tea. I don't even like fruit teas much and mint tea makes me feel fat. So I can only have bought this tin of teas because the tin itself is so fabulous. Perhaps you aren't very surprised?

So here, once upon a time, we had 40 sachets of fruit flavoured black tea. Cherry, Raspberry, Mango and Vanilla. Is vanilla a fruit? It looks like a french bean so I suppose it's just a seed pod.

Each of the four teas is illustrated by a botanical drawing style image showing flowers and fruit at the same time. Sadly we don't get a mango flower, perhaps because they don't look very interesting (check google and see what you think).

I think I have owned this tin since at least 1990. I'm sure I had it when I lived in that tiny basement flat not far from Harrods. Oh look. It says distributed 1988 on the base of the tin. Why didn't I check that before consulting my memory?

The base of the tin also reminds me that of course Crabtree & Evelyn of London is not a company based in London but in Woodstock Hill CT, USA. The tin came from England but the teas from China.

Wherever it all came from it's a very pretty tin don't you think?

Exotic Packaging: Huntley & Palmers Chocolate Oliver's Tin

Once upon a time there was a plain, rather thick biscuit called a Bath Oliver. Now known as Fortt's Original Bath Olivers, they were invented by physician William Oliver of Bath (says Wikipedia) in 1750 as a diet biscuit. He can't have had any family because it seems he left the recipe to his coachman who set up a bakery business. Bath Olivers were eaten with cheese, with a glass of sherry or port and frequently put in a tin in the spare bedroom in case guests felt peckish in the middle of the night. And you can still buy them today.

In the 1930s someone had the brilliant idea of covering (technical term: enrobing) the Bath Oliver with chocolate. Seriously brilliant. These are top quality biscuits and you can read all about them at chocolateoliver.com. It's written by some people who are obviously huge fans of Chocolate Olivers; and also fans of snow globes! Take a look.

So Huntley & Palmers used to make these biscuits, but they went out of business and then came back again, selling smaller biscuits covered in thicker chocolate. And the biscuits come in this tin. A luxury product and one much sort after by chocolate biscuit fans. Delicious. And a very handsome tin.

Oh yes, and the big fact about these biscuits is that once upon a time John Lennon is said to have asked to be paid in Chocolate Olivers rather than pounds.

A word of warning. If you are anxious about biting into an apple, take lots of care when biting into either a Bath Oliver or a Chocolate Oliver.

Exotic Packaging: Just William Chocolate Box

This little cardboard box came from Just William, a great sweetie shop in the Sydney Suburb of Paddington. I had forgotten the name of the shop, but not the name of the road: William Street, so I was able to track it down online. There are scraps of the Just William label on the side of the box and I matched the typeface to the one on the website, just as Miss Marple would have if she had owned a computer.

The pattern is vintage French and Italian postcards, and butterflies. Inside and out.

I will recycle it as a Christmas present box.And no pictures of the contents because of course they ever eaten years ago.

Exotic Packaging: House of Bruar Biscuit Tin

House of Bruar is a shop in darkest Perthshire. They sell a large range of clothes, lots of outdoor clothing, boots and shoes, very nice cord trousers.... They also have a food hall, a range of presents, some artwork. A whole lot of stuff. And a nice restaurant too because for many people going to the House of Bruar is a day trip.

The last time I was there I bought lemon curd biscuits. In this handsome tin. I find that a tin of biscuits makes a great present for pretty much anyone. All you have to do is match the biscuit to the recipient. I expect I bought this tin as a present for the Chef; he loves lemon. You can probably find a present to suit almost anyone at a shop that sells tasty biscuits in fancy tins: your grandmother, the Pope, the Queen, your best friend. Delete as applicable. Do you suppose the Pope likes lemon curd biscuits?

Sadly I don't know if House of Bruar still sell these biscuits. Or these tins. I haven't been to Scotland for a while. They have a great website which does include meat and cheese, but not biscuits.

So if you are anywhere near Blair Athol perhaps you should check for yourself.

Exotic Packaging: Blue Bird Luxury Assortment Tin

Blue Bird, a brand owned by Harry Vincent Ltd of Hunnington near Birmingham (England, not Alabama), used to make toffee. The company no longer exists and no-one now makes Blue Bird toffee but I remember it from my childhood.

You used to be able to buy a small block of rock hard toffee with a little hammer. The toffee was so hard you had to hit it quite hard to get a shard small enough to pop in your mouth.

This tin is massive. I happen to have a 250g bag of small Swiss chocolates and imagine that 250g of toffee would be about the same size. So, using this highly unscientific method I deduce that you could fit at least a kilo of toffees in this tin, possibly 1.5k.

Actually, it looks far more like a biscuit tin. But aside from someone selling a similar looking tin on ebay described as a "biscuit tin" I can't find any evidence that Harry Vincent made biscuits. And in fact I can't find any images online that look exactly like.

As long as I can remember this tin has been used by various family members to store photographs. I think it came from my grandmother.  Almost all my photographs are on the computer now of course. There are only 17 left so I had better scan them soon. And the tin is not in good condition so it has to go. I'm not going to be sentimental about it.

The image on the lid is called Halting at an Inn by J L E Meissonier and it's owned by the Wallace Collection in London. The Wallace Collection is one of London's lesser known museums but I highly recommend it if you have the chance to visit. It's free to get in, and there's a great restaurant.

But back to the tin. I don't think the picture on the lid would encourage me to buy either biscuits or toffee. And oddly, I don't think I ever looked at it properly before today. It's always been there so I never looked. Well, it has gone to a better life in recycling land.

Exotic Packaging: Aēsop

Aēsop is an Australian company that makes wonderful creams for face and body. As I write my face is (I hope) drinking in their fabulous Damascene Rose Facial Treatment. I have been taking a load of prescription drugs recently and my skin has really suffered. I itch all over the place. Especially my ankles (itch itch itch) and my forearms (scratch scratch scratch) and the doctor has no solution.

So when I spotted the very smart Aēsop shop in Hampstead I had to go in. I bought Geranium Leaf Body Balm which smells divine and doesn't make my skin itch (hurrah!) and I was given a handful of freebies.

And the exotic packaging? You don't get a plastic bag; of course not it's far too ethical a company. You don't get a paper bag. You get a small cotton drawstring bag with a quote from Victor Hugo printed on it. It's a very nicely made bag (made with love in India) with a gusset. Very smart.

Buying an Aēsop product reminds me of Sydney. I bought my first Aēsop creams from the wonderful David Jones, and then some from Grace Bros., and once my lovely Australian friends sent me a very lavish care package. I'm not sure I thanked them nearly enough. It was very generous of them.

Aesop.com

Exotic Packaging: Fortnum & Mason Lemon Curd Piccadilly Biscuits Tin

Here's another pretty tin, this time from Fortnum & Mason.

Don't know Fortnums? It's a wonderful shop on Piccadilly in London. It's near Piccadilly Circus, and the Royal Academy and The Ritz Hotel. It's the swanky part of London. Fortnum's does sell clothes and dinnerware and wrapping paper and stuff, and I would like to recommend the ladies' loos on the first floor (at the back), but it is principally known for the food.

Oh, the food! Really fabulous chocolates, a wide selection of teas and a variety of biscuits in exciting tins. That's what you get on the ground floor together with numerous tourists buying fancy souvenirs of London. And why not? That's what I do. A tin of fancy biscuits from Fortnum's always makes a great present; especially if your present is to be posted abroad.

And in fact this tin was probably a Christmas present for the Chef. As I've said before, he does like lemon. And, oh look, no biscuits left so he must have eaten them. The raised design on the front of the tin is based on the clock on Fortnum's facade.You can just see the design is raised, but it's not that obvious even in real life.

Downstairs there's a grocer, some fruit and vegetables, a butcher and wine. And there a several restaurants too.

Fortnum's has a great website but do beware. The service is great but if you order anything you may find they email you forever. I haven't managed to stop them yet.

A Little Bit of Chocolate Does You Good: Mathez Fine French Cocoa Dusted Truffles

These truffles were completely delicious! Soft dark chocolate - soft but not gooey soft - covered in cocoa powder that I had to lick off my fingers.  Extremely moreish.

And came in a fine tin too but it isn't a classic design so go it must.

I wish I could remember who gave me this very large tin of chocolate truffles. I mean, a whole kilo of chocolates! That's a lot. More than a lot. A very generous present. I do recall that the present giver was someone unexpected, someone I didn't know very well. And I was very surprised. But..... Who was it?

I remember where I was living, I remember thinking these were the best chocolates ever, I remember the tin contained two separate baggies of truffles. And I think I'm remembering much of it wrong because the sell by date is August 2003. How wrong can my memory be?

Why can I remember what I did in the summer of 1965 (went to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for the first time and fell in love with their amazing dolls houses) but not who gave me this handsome present.

Made by Mathez in France: chocolatier depuis 1934. I don't have a photograph of these sensational chocolates because I scoffed the lot years ago. I wish I had more.

I have written up several different tins over the last couple of days and completely failed to take a good photograph of any of them. I have wander the house closed the curtains, opened the curtains again, tried near the wind, tried away from the window. And none of my photos is without huge reflections. I guess I'll just have to put up with that.

Exotic Packaging: Crabtree & Evelyn Tea Rose & Glycerine Soap

More Than Yesterday

Less than Tomorrow

For some reason the french text does not mention that this soap was heart-shaped.

I remember it well from 1975. A great big red heart.

Exotic Packaging: Penhaligon's Malabah Bath Oil

I really do keep far too much stuff. So the exotic packaging posts are an attempt to allow me to throw stuff away. Or as this is cardboard, to recycle. Yes, this box is a vey pretty colour, yes I love the design. Kind of a sari fabric design maybe? What do you think? But seriously, what do you do with a empty cardboard box? And I'm not the sort of person to keep my bottle of lovely new bath oil inside its box. I don't know why but I can't do that.

Anyway, very very pretty packaging. The bath oil is a little bit eau de cologne, a little bit citrussy. I've only used it once so far and found it quite refreshing.

And you get a beautiful glass bottle which you can use for all sorts of other stuff when you've had all those lovely baths. I use one of these bottles for olive oil. For some reason (it must be something to do with physics I suppose) olive oil dribbles a lot less when you keep it in a glass bottle instead of a plastic bottle. Why is that? Yes, yes, physics. If you know more about the physics let me know!

Exotic packaging: Emma Bridgewater Shellfish Plates

Despite not eating shellfish I do think prawns and crabs and lobsters and things can be very beautiful. So I bought this 2 pack of pretty plates from Emma Bridgewater. One (the crab) is part of my world renowned Wall of Plates. Or you might really style it a kitchen of plates. The second I gave as a present.

Now that I have posted this beautiful packaging I can put into into the present box I keep stashed under my bed, and give it away next time I have a suitably shaped present. Not as a present! That would be mean.

Exotic Packaging: bread wrapper

This was the fancy paper used by our favourite Reims bakery last Christmas.

Isn't it fun?

Merry Christmas 2016

Exotic Packaging: Crabtree & Evelyn English Country Soap Wild Thyme

I'm quite surprised I still have this little cotton bag in my mother's collection of soap packaging. Which is to say that it's a surprise I never chopped it up for my patchwork projects.

As recommended by the Gentry for the cleansing of FINE & DELICATE skins says the bag. It's rather fun don't you think?

Exotic Packaging: Crabtree & Evelyn Sweet Fennel & Water Mint Soufflé

I remember this cream. It smelled wonderful!

I bought it back in the 1970s when I had such greasy skin (now styled oily because perhaps it sounds better - or less ghastly) that I really didn't need a moisturiser. I used to open the pot and just sniff the fabulous smell of this wonderfully light cream.

I'd like to say though, that having horribly greasy skin all those years ago was not such a bad thing in the long run. I don't have so many lines and wrinkles as I might have, and (according to my friends) look younger than I ought to for my age. Which is great.

It's a shame then, that nobody pointed out this important fact when I was in my teens. I could have done with that advice. It would have helped a lot.

So if by chance you are reading this aged about 17 and your skin is horribly oily - don't despair. Because when you get to my age you will look wonderfully youthful while your friends who currently have nice dry skin will look all crumbly and ancient: unless they spend a fortune on fancy skin creams and remember to use them every day. Don't forget your sunscreen though.

Exotic Packaging: National Trust Evening Primrose

Another evening primrose product; this time a soap. I don't have a date for this soap but perhaps it was produced around the same time as the Boots Original Formula creams.

Not sure why the design includes a moth but it's pretty don't you think?

Exotic Packaging: Boots Original Formula Oil of Evening Primrose

Back in the 1980s when Boots the Chemist had a brand called Original Formula. And here we have the packaging from the rich moisture balm and the skin balm carefully preserved by my mother. She thought it was a pretty design and so do I.

Exotic Packaging: Australian Golden Wattle Soap

I can only suppose I bought this soap when I was in Sydney in 1993/4. But I don't remember that at all. I don't recall the soap itself either Never mind; it's a very Australian design.

Exotic Packaging: Disney Store

I am not a mad keen Disney fan. I've never liked Micky Mouse (too squeaky) or Donald Duck (too bad tempered), and I have an absolute horror of people dressed up as creatures so you'll never catch me at a Disney theme park for fear that Micky will leap out at me and expect a selfie.

However, I did have cause to buy a Disney product recently and I have to admit their packaging design is great. What more could you want? This is only the cardboard box that arrives in the post! Brilliant.

I really really like that the images are simple black and white and immediately recognisable. Subtle, simple and brilliant.

Plus my order arrived very quickly. Well done all round Disney.