I think that everyone always ants a nice smelling house - the thought of a visitor turning up unannounced and then going away thinking that my house smells fills me with dread, so I have a constant supply of air fresheners in all sorts of formats at the ready. The latest addition to my collection is Avon Sugar Plum and Vanilla Room and Linen Spray which I received as a stocking filler this Christmas.


~*~ Packaging ~*~


The spray comes in a fully recyclable clear plastic bottle which stands at 14cm high and has a diameter of 6cm so I think that it is a perfect size to be inconspicuous in any room, but even if it is visible, it has an attractive picture on the front of the fruity ingredients which I think is fairly nice and the simplistic writing on the bottle is small and not in the slightest bit garish.


The bottle has a pump action dispenser which is very easy to use and which distributes a generous, yet fine mist into the air. As the contents are very clear watery in consistency, I would consider it very unlikely that this dispenser would ever clog. It is clearly visible that the tube from the dispenser into the bottle reaches all of the way to bottom which I really appreciate - it bothers me a lot when the tube doesn't reach and the last centimetre or so of the product is wasted. A clear cap covers the pump, but once the bottle is in use, I generally discard the cap as I find it surplus to requirements.


~*~ The product ~*~


I have had several experiences with Avon room sprays, in many different scents and I have been fairly impressed by all of them, but as far as aroma goes, I believe that this one has the most pleasant scent of the lot. The instructions state that two or three sprays should be pumped into the air, but I find that one spray is sufficient for the scent to be noticed. The first aroma that I can detect is undoubtedly the sugar plum. It is a sweet fruity smell that has just a touch of sourness to it, but it is extremely pleasant. The sourness very quickly fades and then the vanilla is clearly evident, coming to the front for a few seconds before all of the aromas mix leaving the room with a gorgeous perfume that is sweet and light, and not at all overpowering - imagine plum jam cooking slowly on an Aga and you wouldn't be too far wrong.


When used as a room spray, the scent lingers in the air for up to two hours, depending on the room size. I tend to keep this product in the downstairs cloakroom which is very small and I can smell it for a long time after it has been dispensed. As well as making the room smell fresh, it also covers bad odours very well, and lasts for long enough for the original smell to disperse. This scent is also a linen spray, and it also does a good job here too. I have sprayed it onto bedding and towels (it only takes a minute or so to dry) and the scent has remained for about 8 hours which I have been more than pleased with. Because it is a clear product, it does not stain, and it does not even leave a water mark which is always a bonus. Over the Christmas period we had guests virtually every day and I found that a squirt of this into the air in the morning and at lunchtime, alongside a liberal spray on the guest towel left the cloakroom beautifully scented all day - several guests even commented on the lovely aroma and asked what it was.


~*~ Price and availability ~*~


Avon Naturals sugar plum and vanilla room and linen spray (125ml) is only available from Avon; either online at avonshop.co.uk or via your local Avon Lady. It is currently (Jan '12) priced at just 99p, on promotion. The usual retail price is £4 which I think is quite a lot for such a product, but for 99p I think that it is a lovely product that I would highly recommend. If you really like the smell, there is also hand and body lotion and shower gel in the same scent. Avon have a habit of discontinuing products like this quickly, so if you fancy this one, I would snap it up now before it disappears.