Gin & tonics are extremely persuasive, manipulative drinks. In addition to being my favorite basic cocktail, it’s also the reason I’m freshly in love with Love + Toast by Margot Elena.
I’m sure tons of you think that gin is the grossest, most household-cleanser-tasting liquor on the market but the simple fact is: you’re wrong. It’s actually the best. I love the refreshing, woodsy scent of a good bottle of Tanqueray and the idea that the clean (but not cleanser), green scent could be bottled into something that doesn’t make me smell like an daytime alcoholic is very exciting.
Juniper Gin Roll-On Perfume, $12
If you really do hate gin, I guess Love + Toast might still have something for you. But let’s back up.
Love + Toast is a member of a very exciting family lead by brand visionary and fragrance sensei, Margot Elena. Within this family are five other fragrance-focused beauty and skincare brands with incredible packaging – you might recognize a few:
- TokyoMilk (one of my favorite fragrance brands)
- Library of Flowers
- Lollia (which I have used before & loved)
- The Cottage Greenhouse
- Apotheke K.
Margot Elena started these lines of beauty and bath products with an eco-conscious strategy and a next-level nose for fragrances. It makes sense that she’s looking out for the environment since she’s based in one of the most beautiful places in America, Colorado.
After learning that this woman had a hand in the best parts of some of my favorite fragrance brands, a major crush began to form. Who is this brilliant dynamo?
This is really her “About Me” pic. If this gets more alluring and mysterious, I’m going to explode.
I’m, like, not entirely sure this isn’t a Betty Crocker situation. Is this lady real? Is her lair deep within the Rocky Mountains? She has a face, right? Either way, I’m totally hypnotized by Margot Elena’s products, and will gladly joint whatever smelly cult they’ve got going over there in CO.
Love + Toast Fragrances
Additionally, they offer a line of bath and body products that are infused with the same fragrances. Body wash, lotion, and lip balm are all terribly cute, effective, and affordable. It’s painful, isn’t it?
My lustful gaze is firmly set on Love + Toast’s signature scent, Paper Flower. The fragrance notes are waterlily, dewberry (not an actual berry), rose, and ylang ylang.
Are you kidding me with these bottles?! It just occurred to me that there is a really good chance that this is the brand in Margot Elena’s “library of brands” that is probably meant to appeal to teenagers… but I’m 31 and I fucking love it, sorry not sorry.
The available fragrances are:
- Sugar Grapefruit: pink grapefruit, orange citrus, warm musk, lily
- *Candied Citron: sweet lime, white rum, sugarcane, aged oak
- Honey Coconut: sweet honey, sugared vanilla, violet, sandalwood
- *Juniper Gin: citrus zest, white floral, fresh cut greens, mineral salt
- Pomme Poivre: vanilla orchid, white musk, jasmine, ebony woods
- Mandarin Tea: African rooibos, pomegranate, neroli, orange blossom
- Paper Flower: water lily, dewberry, rose, ylang ylang
- *Persimmon Plum: wild rose, cedar wood, crushed ginger, amber
- *Clementine Crush: mandarin, ripened mango, vanilla sugar, guava
- *Honey Nectar: crisp apple, peach blossom, apricot, jasmine petal
- *Dew Blossom: white floral, fig nectar, exotic wood, jasmine petal
- Gin Blossom: (don’t worry, it’s not actually gin) citrus zest, spring dew, mandarin blossom, verbena leaves
* Only available in rollerball.
You can search by fragrance if there’s one that sticks out by shopping the “Collections” tab on their website. Lip products have totally unique flavors & scents, none of which are on this list!
On the off-chance that you are a gigantic Oprah fan, you’ll start jumping and screaming and hugging the person sitting next to you once you find out that products from Love + Toast’s sister company, The Cottage Greenhouse, were selected as some of Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2016. Both brands have incredible packaging and unique AF products.
Love + Toast Prices
These are very, very well priced products, especially when you consider that they are as beautiful looking as they are smelling.
Large perfume bottles are the most expensive thing you could buy from Love + Toast and they are $28 each for 3.5 oz ($8/oz). The smaller fragrance bottles, Little Luxe, are equally as cute in .33 oz. bottles for $9 ($27/oz). Lastly, the rollerballs have their own exclusive line of scents, and are $12 for .27 oz ($44/oz).
Clearly, the better deal is in the larger bottle. Although, when it comes to perfume, it can be scary to take the plunge on 3.5 oz. scent unsmelled. With that in mind, $9 for a cute bottle of unique perfume isn’t that bad of an investment. If you hate it, pass it on. If you love it, throw down the $28 for the big girl bottle when you run out.
The bath and body products are also budget-friendly. Hand cremes (vegan) seem to be one of the highest reviewed products, and they’re only $9 for 1.25 oz. and the tubes that hold it are made from recycled aluminum. The body lotion is $9.99 for 8 oz., and is definitely nicer for all-over coverage than the hand creme.
Shower gel, body mist, and body wash are all $9.99 for large bottles in the six signature scents (the same scents as the perfume bottles).
Lastly, the lip products: lip balm, lip butter, and tinted lip glaze. The lip butter comes in a 4.25g chapstick-style tube for $2.99 and has a beeswax base (not vegan). Lip balm is gluten-free and comes in a 6g glass pot with decorative packaging for $9, and the tinted lip glaze comes in a 13g squeeze tube for $6.99. There are six colors available in the lip glazes.
A portion of each sale goes to Girls, Inc. which is focused on offering education opportunities to girls in underprivileged and challenging situations.
Visit LoveAndToast.com to see the full line and play around!