However, over the past few months, the collections that have been released have come to disappoint me. The Aromatherapy and the Naturals range had varying products and vastly different packaging and smell. However, the new Pomegranate, the Lily, Rosewater, Lavender and Iris collections share the same products in the range, AND the same packaging, albeit a different color, flower and title. I’ll be honest. It. Does. Not. Excite. Me. I’m left feeling bored, uninspired and disappointed at my favourite range of soaps, body lotions and assorted bathroom goods.

I spoke to a multitude of sale assistants over my disappointment in C&E. And from each I have received the same response and explanation. It appears that, despite what many companies do, C&E does not take into consideration the wants and needs of Australians. Hence, coconut, cocoa butter and other assorted frangrances most commonly sought out in other body shops are unlikely to make it to their own collection in the C&E range. What C&E have done though, is based what stays and goes on the sales overseas, most predominately the U.S and Europe. What they don’t get it is, the culture and the seasons of Australia is much different to that overseas and what sells there, will not necessarily sell here. So all the delicious mango butter butters, the soothing bath salts from the seven seas and my all time favourite, Clarifying Body Scrub (with purifying eucalyptus+lime essentials) have all gone ):

The discontinued range can no longer be purchased in store. However, there is limited stock of the Naturals and Aromatherapy range, available to be purchased via the online store, or through the outlet store. And that’s exactly what I did. After having pursued the online store to see what was still available, I made my way to one of the outlet stores. I thought it would be much larger, but it was quite small. Perhaps the same amount of stock or less than the existing Chadstone store (at the time of writing this post), but what did mend my heart was that at the back of the store, was an entire shelf of the Aromatherapy collection and right next to it, the Naturals collection. After perusing through the store, I picked up my all time favourite body scrub, a bottle of my first ever lotion and a light bulb ring from a sale bin.

After discussing with the sale assistant about ‘stocking up’ on the products, I questioned her about the shelf life and this is what I was told. On the label of C&E products with shelf lives, is a picture of a tin with ‘XM’ printed on it, signifying a shelf life of X months after opening the product. This helpful hint, means I can purchase plenty of this scrub to stock up in a cool dark place, and pop it open whenever I choose without worrying about it ‘going off’.

Not long after arriving, the heavens opened and sent first a nice spitting, and then a nice shower, and then gales. Wet, cold and squashed was how we spent the next 2 hours on our way into the nightclub. Disgruntled patrons sent a few rumours flying down the queue. They included, but weren’t limited to, night club opening at 10, one patron in for every patron leaving and door closing at 11. Had the last rumour been true, we would have been very, very fortunate as we just managed to squeeze through the door at 10 to 11.

Once in, we got a nice surprise. Guestlist entry price, which was expected to have been $15, turned out to have been $25 whilst cloak room was only $5. No guestlist was $30, which is significantly more than standard no guestlist price, $20 on a standard, non-event night. Once in the club, it was quite crowded. Seats were limited and the entire club, which consisted of one floor, could be determined from a single vantage point, given that you were tall enough to see past the crowd. There was two bars, a large bar and a smaller bar in a break off room with couches. $5 basic spirits before 12 turned out to be $10 tequila shots by 11.30pm. The famed lighting dancefloor, now the infamous dancing floor was littered with not only whole glass, but plenty of glass shards. So you had two options as a girl, either let your feet die in those nice heels of yours OR get cuts and bleeds and from the shards that pierce your skin whilst wearing those gladiator flats.

Havana Brown, the highlight of the show, showed up for around 30 minutes from 1.30am to approximately 2am so of course, that wait was totally worth it, especially when you combined the sweat and bruises accumulated from the elbows and body heat of those that surrounded you. To top it off, the pounding of the bass was quite thrilling. The vibrations of my organs following a wave of nausea and the prelude to a black out equated to a dash for the bar, which ended up with a bouncer recommending the smoke room and a kind patron offering her bottle of water.

But perhaps the most excitement for the night was derived from two bouncers tackling a drunk and angry patron.

After around 2 hours of ‘clubbing’, McDonald run #2 was a very nice intervention. All in all, my first impression of Eve was not so great. Disappointing weather, in a dismal line, with a now infamous dance floor, dancing to ‘average beats’ with a prominent bass and plenty of sweat, casualties and a deep burning hole in my pocket. Eve, if you expect to get a second chance, you have a helluva convincing to do.