Scent of the Day - Tuesday - 10/31/06

Happy Halloween!

Today I'm wearing Parfum de Therese. What are you wearing?

Enter To Win - Coutorture Drawing!!!

Scent of the Day - Monday - 10/30/06

Ok, well I'm still happy to wear my new Black Orchid, so that will be my choice again today. What are you wearing?

Weekend Special Edition!!

Wow that Tom Ford Black Orchid!!! What are you wearing this weekend???

Black Orchid - Tom Ford - Review - Extra! Extra!

Well I lucked into getting an advance sniff of this new lovely. And um ... yes, it's all that. And more. It's dark and deep, sexy and sensual.

On me the opening is a blast of bergamot, vetiver and something that smells faintly of coconut. Then comes the wood - very prominent, but soft and suede like. The fruit is also deep and rich, think fruitcake; this will in no way be considered a fruity floral.The balsam adds a coolness that lifts the incense over the sandalwood vanilla base. Just lovely. A perfect fall scent and a great first release for the Tom Ford brand name. I predict much ado over this one.

Not really a floral scent, I'm not sure I'm detecting the elusive and exclusive Black Orchid. But no matter, it's still addicting and enticing. There has been discussion of how black orchids don't really exist anyway, but the press reports that Tom had one developed for him by a leading botanist. Darker and deeper in color till the blackness was achieved. Then headspace technology was employed to extract this new and rare scent.

Notes:
• Sensuous top notes of Black Truffle and Ylang mingled with fresh Bergamot and delectable Black Currant.
• Dramatic middle notes of dark, tempting Florals and rich Fruit Accords. The heart is deepened with the intoxicating Lotus Wood.
• Decadent base notes of Patchouli, Incense and Vetiver. Vanilla Tears add a fluid creaminess to warm Balsam and smooth Sandalwood.

Oh how opulent must the parfum be. And that gorgeous falcon! That will be on my Christmas list for sure. Santa, am I on your blog roll?

The launch date is November and soon to follow will be a men's version and a complete 125-piece cosmetics line next year. Tom's first store at 845 Madison Avenue will open April of 2007. You can see his new website here: TOM FORD.COM – some lovely vivid photos and some nice bottle shots.

http://www.tomford.com/

Available soon from:
Neiman Marcus

photo: Neiman Marcus

Scent of the Day - Friday - 10/27/06

Today Ill be wearing Antidote. What are you wearing today?

Coming Soon! Tom Ford - Black Orchid Review!!

Stay tuned for my exclusive report!
Coming Soon!

Amber - Ivy - Violet - Marc Jacobs - Review

AMBER - A soft amber with a light woody feel. Although it's light, it's meant to be applied liberally. I think this would be a great over body spray right before bedtime. Definitely the best of the three.

IVY - Smells like men's cologne. It starts out dry and green not really what comes to mind when you think ivy, but then does ivy have a scent? It's more like dry leaves over leather. I've had two different people tell me they thought it smells like BO.

VIOLET - Very peppery and dry - not a sweet violet. A slightly soapy base. This might work well on a man.

Stella In Two - Stella McCartney Parfums - Review

Ok, I admit it, I fell for the darling packaging. Stella McCartney's newest release comes in two parts quite literally - Stella In Two. The first part is the Peony EDT spray. It has a bright peony opening note, which I found a little too sharp for my liking. But I do admit it smelled lovely on the SA offering her arm for sniffing. The notes are: Peony, Black Pepper, Amber, Patchouli & Wood.

What caught my eye, was the second part - the amber solid parfum. I'm quite the amber fan, and this cute compact was too much to resist. Meant to be the layering base for the Peony, I figured I'd find plenty of uses for it in my collection. The little compact is about 1.5" square and the top swivels around to reveal the parfum solid. It must be made of solid lead, because this little puppy is very weighty. Making it fun to hold and admire. Not to mention the adorable little faux pink suede storage pouch. The amber is a nice medium amber resting somewhere in the middle between medicinal and sweet. So it should appeal to lovers of both ends of the spectrum. It will be nice for increasing the staying power of some amber scents, boosting the amber factor, or just worn on its own.

The pieces can of course be bought separately, which was confusing to me at first. After seeing only the ad, I thought it was one bottle/package with two sides. But that is not the case. You can buy either separately.

Available from:
Sephora

photo: Sephora

Scent of the Day - Thursday - 10/26/06

A sweet friend of mine gifted me with Marc Jacobs Blush Creme, so today I will be wearing my luscious new cream layered with Blush parfum. What about you?

Eclat - Fragonard - Review

From Fragonard's Les Naturelles collection, comes the newest fragrance: Eclat. Eclat was a wonderful surprise, as welcoming and comfortable as a familiar friend. Think L'Instant meets Dior Addict with out the plastic. Gardenia not magnolia, powdery and sweet, feminine and comforting. I knew immediately when I smelled it, I had to own it. No thinking, pondering, considering. A good choice; I have received two compliments on it already. :O)

Really a lovely, elegantly simple bottle. Thoughtful with a combined spray and screw off top. A nice size at a fair price, who said French perfumes are all overpriced and pretentious? Fragonard has been making quality parfums in Grasse since 1926.

Notes: Bergamot, lemon, freesia, frangipani, gardenia, vanilla and marshmallow

Available online:
ProvenceShop.com
or
FourSeasons

Scent of the Day - Wednesday - 10/24/06

Today I will be wearing Marc Jacobs Amber. What is your choice for today?

Scent of the Day - Tuesday - 10/23/06

Again with my Fragonard Eclat, I'm really loving this one. What are you wearing?

Have you seen this limited edition Vera Wang Bottle? So lovely all in silver with Swarovski crystals inside. Can you even imagine how ultimately perfect it would be if your initals were VW rather than VO?

I read that Barbara Walters when visiting LA liked to stay at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel so she could pinch the monogramed towels ... but I digress.

Vera Wang Swarovski Crystal Bottle Eau de Parfum Spray limited-edition collectible bottle - $90 -Nordstrom

Scent of the Day - Monday - 10/23/06

Today I'm wearing my new Fragonard Eclat, What are you wearing?

Did a little shopping and sniffing at the Saks Friends & Family discount event this weekend. How could I pass up 20% off fragrances & make up? I had to shop!

Things I tried:
New Stella in Two - the peony was a little to sharp for me.
But I loved the adorable amber solid. Too cute!!
Ferragamo F - no lasting impression, just didn't like.
Donna Karan Gold - still undecided on this one. There is quite a difference in the EDT and the EDP. The EDP has a lot more amber.
Limited Edition Annick Goutal Violet - just an ok violet.
Jo Malone Blue Agave & Cacao - I liked this best of all the new ones I tried, but not sure I love enough to buy. I hesitated. It is nice, different, powdery. I need to try again when I'm not so overloaded.

Things I bought:
Stella In Two Amber solid compact
Marc Jacobs Amber
2 Viktor & Rolf Antidote (One to share for me and a friend, one for a X-mas gift)
Lancome Melle Rose set w/candle
La Mer Powder
Some other cosmetics and some Guerlain Makeup and cream & lipstick.

Speaking of Guerlain, I had a nice conversation with the SA about Guerlain. She said that next year my Saks is going to remodel and they are considering putting in a Guerlain Boutique!!! Wow! That would be #3 in the USA and I would have sniffing privileges to the exclusive range right at my doorstep! Let's keep our fingers crossed on that one!! Although I heard another rumor that the next Guerlain Boutique is headed for Florida! (shhhh!)

Dzongkha - L'Artisan - Review

Dzongkha is named for the incense burned in the Buddhist temples (the Dzongks) in the Eastern Himalayas. Created by Bertrand Duchaufour the nose of Timbuktu. Another dry incense that is very unappealing upon first spray. I dared not get too close to my hubby with his allergies as he was already reacting from a tiny bit on my hand from the vial. It was headache inducing even to me.

For reference I did not care for Timbuktu. The dryness of this one, the lack of sweetness, the lost floral notes, leaves one wondering why you want to smell like this. The opening is very off putting and though it does settle down, I think there comes a point where one has so many lovely fragrances that open beautifully, why suffer through a nasty opening waiting to reveal a wearable drydown? A drydown of unfathomable beauty maybe, but an average drydown? Life's too short.

One commenter on Lucky Scent's page compared the incense note to that of SMN Citta di Kyoto but said that it was "devoid of any floral complexity that would have made it a nice, if completely unoriginal, offering." I really couldn't agree more. If you are looking for a nice type of incense try the SMN Citta di Kyoto. You can read my review of that lovely fragrance by clicking on the name above.

I have no doubt that some of you will love this. If you loved Timbuktu, Padparadscha & L'Air du Desert Marocain or Guerlain Bois D' Armenie, this one could be for you.

Notes: Lichee, Cardamom, Peony, Iris, Tea Leaves, Incense

You may purchase from:
LuckyScent.

Photo: LuckyScent
Thank you Dawn for the sample.

Scent of the Day - Friday - 10/20/06

Today I'll be wearing Anne Pliska - What are you wearing?

Dianthus - Etro - Review

Dianthus is the scientific name for carnation; for those of you that didn't know. This new EDT is the first release by Etro specifically intended for a woman rather than to be a shared fragrance. Those of you who love carnation will surely want to own this one. Isn't the bottle pretty?

This fragrance has the Etro quality to it and a somewhat light and watery feel. Being only mildly spicy, a clean soapiness prevails. I did catch a few wafts of it through the morning even though it does settle in pretty close to the skin. Not particularly long lasting but then it's an EDT and some may like the softer approach that this fragrance lends.

I was really quite enjoying it until I put on my CdG Red Carnation for a side by side testing. CdG is way more spicy and cinnamon hot, leaving poor Etro to fade by comparison. Yet this on its own it is a perfectly nice carnation, pleasant enough to be enjoyable for any carnation lover.

Notes: Carnation, orange, geranium, rose, clove, ginger, red pepper, Atlas cedarwood, musk and vanilla

Photo credit: parfyym.pri.ee

Scent of the Day - Thursday - 10/19/06

Today I'm wearing the new limited edition L'Artisan Fleur de Narcisse. What are you wearing?

Scent of the Day - Wednesday - 10/18/06

Ohhhh I'm having the hardest time writing reviews and I have so many to write and tell you about! I have total writer's block and the words just won't come. I'm wearing Etro Dianthus again today ... hoping for inspiration. What are you wearing?

Scent of the Day - Tuesday - 10/17/06

Today I'm wearing Etro Dianthus - What are you wearing?

Scent of the Day - Monday - 10/16/06

Just home today testing some samples. What are you wearing?

Antidote - Viktor & Rolf

Antidote is the first mens fragrance by design house Viktor & Rolf. And although made for men, the ladies have been taking notice too. It is woody, crisp and fresh. The addition of mint leaves to bergamot in the opening is a plesant surprise that tingles the nose. Definitely leaning towards the masculine side, but thankfully it doesn't have that "men's cologne" note that can sometime make it unwearable. I am especially sensitive to this, I have several unisex, but I can't think of one mens colonge I own. I did buy DKNY Be Delicious, but ended up taking it back unopened after wearing my sample and finding it too masculine. I am using this only as an illustration of the fact that I am probably overly sensative, yet find this one perfectly wearable.

Even the patchouli is behaving and lends a coolness to the drydown that echoes the opening notes. Finishing with a beautiful soft wood drydown that is just delicious and would be sexy on anyone. Yep, I definitely like it. Do I love it? Maybe.

A very lovely scent for fall.

Notes: Mint leaves, bergamot, black pepper, cinnamon, sandalwood, ebony and patchouli

A special thanks to Scentzilla! I may have never tried this one if not for her. Although she notes a strong "Men's Cologne" opening, we differ in opinions here; for me a bergamot lover, I don't get that feel.

Available from:Nordstrom

Scent of the Day - Friday - 10/13/06

TGIF!! Today I will be wearing Antidote - What are you wearing today?

Scent of the Day - Thursday - 10/12/06

Oy! Blogger problems this morning! Hopefully fixed now!! Today I'm wearing Prada Tendre - what are you wearing???

West Side - Bond No.9 - Review

This evening when I came home, there awaiting me was my West Side sample fresh from NYC, all wrapped up and ready to be devoured. I quickly tore into the package! My first thoughts were - This is no hang around and wait for the drydown vanilla. It is right there in your face from the start. So skillfully blended it becomes one with the rose. Aside from this ceamy rose-vanilla note there is the peony peaking out from behind. Bright and sparkling, yet you can't quite get to it, it moves ever out of reach, elusive.

Not for the timid, this is a gourmand lover's rose. Intensely creamy, foody and rich.

Notes:
Top: ROSE, YLANG YLANG, PEONY
Mid: SANDALWOOD, AMBER
Bottom: VANILLA, MUSK.

Below is a link to the official press release:
West Side - Bond No. 9 - News!

Launch Date: November 1st 2006

Suggested Retail Prices:
Besides being available in its 3.4 oz. superstar bottle in a box presentation ($185), and 1.7 oz. travel size ($125), West Side may be purchased by the ounce ($45), either in a 2-ounce basic spray flacon with gilt honeycomb cap ($25), in an array of fashion colored bottles ($40 - $70) or in unique vintage or art bottles, featured in a wide variety of designs ($60 - $200).

Scent of the Day - Wednesday - 10/11/06

Today I will be wearing Bond's new West Side - What are you wearing?

Guerlain News - NYC

The Guerlain Boutique NYC is introducing their New Limited Edition Fragrance "Une Nuit d'Amour". Special Guest Marie Line Patry, Director of Fragrances for Guerlain, will bill be in store October 18th through the 21st.

Une Nuit d'Amour
500ml perfume (Limited Edition Baccarat Crystal Flacon (80 bottles worldwide)
60ml EDP

Also New Arrivals of Relaunch Classic Guerlain Fragrances:(6 of each on 1st order!)
Chant d'arome 100ml EDT
Apres Londee 100ml EDT
Parure 100ml EDT
Nahema Perfume 1oz perfume
L'Art et la Matiere-Bois d'Armenie 80ml EDP (Limited supply!)

Please call or email to reserve your order! Call and ask for Jason or stop by!
(212) 872-2734 (646) 320-2637

Jason T. Beers
Guerlain Beauty
jtbeersguerlain@yahoo.com

Scent of the Day - Tuesday - 10/10/06

Today I will be wearing Marc Jacobs Amber - what are you wearing today?

Mandarine Mandarin - Serge Lutens - Review

The newest addtion to the Serge Lutens line up, sorry to say, starts off with the dreaded celery note. Slowly the celery note begins to soften into a honeyed note. Reminding me at this point of a Christmas fruitcake. Dark and sweet with an underlying dry spiciness. If it were not for the celery note, I might actually like this one, but sorry, I can't get past it. After applying it in the evening, the next morning I could smell a delightful sweet orange blossom. But I don't have that kind of patience. The good news is some people are not getting the celery note at all and you may be one of them. So it's really a try it for yourself and see kind of thing.

Notes: Chinese orange, nutmeg, candied mandarin, orange peel, smoky tea, labdanum, tonka bean and ambergris.

Photo: salons-shiseido website

Scent of the Day - Monday - 10/09/06

Serge Lutens Mandarine Mandarin - What are you wearing today?

West Side - Bond No.9 - News!

Below you find the press release for the newest Bond No. 9 scent - West Side. I will report back as soon as I get my hands on a sample, but in the meantime you can read about it here!

Top: The ROSE…. paying a vist to Roseland. (How quaint), YLANG YLANG doing what it does best: the meringue, The presumptuous little PEONY, all grown up and going to graduate school - the Juilliard School.

Mid: SANDALWOOD as impudently smooth as salsa jazz, AMBER in diva mode, as deep and rich as a mezzo-soprano singing Carmen.

Bottom: Normally naughtly VANILLA goes elegant and takes a trip to Avery Fisher Hall. MUSK that misbehaves when it meets vanilla and starts singing the blues.

---

Music to Your Nose: You’ve Heard the West Side—Now Smell It.
(Bond No. 9’s West Side, That Is)

A tourist in New York stops a stranger in the street and asks, How do I get to Carnegie Hall? --- The stranger happens to be a jazz musician, who answers, Practice, man!

Draw a dividing line down the length of the island of Manhattan, and you have the West Side and the East Side. The West Side has an unfair advantage: it’s long had a monopoly on music. This part of town has been home to Carnegie Hall, Tin Pan Alley, the Cotton Club, the Copacobana, Birdland, Lincoln Center, Studio 54, and S.O.B.’s. Mozart, Broadway musicals, and rock thrive here. Bebop and disco just about got their start here. So did meringue, salsa, and reggaeton. Arturo Toscanini, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, John Lennon, Sid Vicious, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Tupac have all lived or performed on Manhattan’s West Side.

So when Bond No. 9, perfumer to the City of New York, decided to pay homage to this part of town, we knew the fragrance we designed would have to have a musical flavor. Introducing Bond No. 9’s West Side, an ultra-melodious eau de parfum that finds the scent equivalent for the sounds of music in its full-bodied, mellow composition, its undulating rhythms, its harmonies, its pitch—and yes, its notes. Whether they’re high or low, dark or light, sweet or sharp—notes are what music and fragrance are both about.

As for the flacon: richly hued in red and blue, it of course displays the universal symbol of music—the curling treble clef.

We’ve asked ourselves—What’s the sound of Bond No. 9’s West Side? Are we talking The Platters’ version of Twilight Time, maybe? Lizst’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Cole Porter’s Begin the Beguine? Gershwin’s

Rhapsody in Blue? Philip Glass’s Koyaanisqatsi? That’s just our nose at work. Fragrance, like music, is open to interpretation. Everyone who sniffs it will hear—and smell—a different melody of their own.
Launch Date: November 1st 2006

Suggested Retail Prices:
Besides being available in its 3.4 oz. superstar bottle in a box presentation ($185), and 1.7 oz. travel size ($125), West Side may be purchased by the ounce ($45), either in a 2-ounce basic spray flacon with gilt honeycomb cap ($25), in an array of fashion colored bottles ($40 - $70) or in our unique vintage or art bottles, featured in a wide variety of designs ($60 - $200).

Ormonde Jayne - New Store Front

Well if you happen to be lucky enough to be in London today or tomorrow you can check out the newly remodeled Ormonde Jayne. Below you will find the press release:

DRAMATIC - VIBRANT - LUXURIOUS - DECADENT

Prepare to be dazzled. Our exquisite new store on Old Bond Street’s The Royal Arcade opens.

Old Bond Street’s exclusive perfume house, Ormonde Jayne has been given a striking new look. Luxury retail interiors specialists Caulder Moore designed the entire space within the Grade Two listed building. Antique gold shagreen wall coverings, black glass chandeliers, ivory stone floors and reflective surfaces make for a striking and decadent interior contrasting beautifully with vibrant mandarin packaging and beluga covered parfum boxes – a dramatic setting for a heady array of Ormonde Jayne perfumes.

Linda Pilkington, founder of Ormonde Jayne says, “The new store design is totally stunning. It perfectly captures the craftsmanship, authenticity and exclusive luxury status of Ormonde Jayne with a really special look that will help us differentiate, grow and develop our unique brand.”

The new design uses two key areas to differentiate the range. The Parfum range is displayed in a dramatic design on the left hand wall with the scents displayed individually on deep bevelled edge shelving in bronze smoked glass. Highly illuminated and positioned against smoked black tinted mirrors, the shelves take on a crystal effect similar to that used on the Parfum bottle lids and appear to float.

A testing table in black lacquer and glass with mandarin leather topped stools creates an immediate impact when entering the store. Small lacquer trays with testing bottles allow customers to experience each of the fragrances. Clearly visible through the windows, the area provides passing observers with a sense of the activity within the store, the personal service and bespoke nature of the brand.

The back wall is dominated by a spectacular installation made up of high-gloss black lacquer and bronze, smoked mirrored boxes in irregular shapes. Framed by a beautiful bronze shargreen fabric wall covering and highly illuminated by strong directional lighting, the random recesses and projections provide a striking background against which to display the mandarin boxes of Ormonde Jayne’s range.

The cash desk is cleverly and discreetly blended into the sculptured wall display at the rear of the store providing a refined, serviced feel to the store.

The ceiling has been blacked out and a stunning black glass chandelier on a satin cord suspended over the middle of the shop adds to the sultry atmosphere. The original spiral staircase leading up to the offices has been painted in black gloss with a black textured wool runner and a bright mandarin orange leather border drawing the eye upwards.

Natural stone tiles in long, irregular patterns complement and enhance the abstract wall design whilst providing sharp relief against the drama of the black lacquer and smoked mirror.

The new Ormonde Jayne identity runs subtly across the beautiful, listed rounded shop front window where the individual scents are displayed and their provenance explained on smoked bronze bevelled-edged glass cubes supported by transparent cables creating a graceful, floating illusion.

Press are invited to visit the new boutique and experience Ormonde Jayne’s latest intoxicating new scent Orris Noir on:

October 9th , 2006 – from 12 – 6.30pm
&
October 10th, 2006 – from 10am – 6pm

Interviews available with Ian Caulder, creative director of Caulder Moore and Linda Pilkington, creator and founder of Ormonde Jayne Perfumery

Ormonde Jayne Perfumery
12 The Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London, W1S 4SL.
Tel: +44 207 499 1100 / Fax: +44 207 499 9911
http://www.ormondejayne.com

Scent of the Day - Friday - 10/06/06

Today I'm wearing Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet.
Notes: Bergamot, chamomile, sage, osmanthus, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, white lily, carnation, freesia, amber, sandalwood and peach.
What are you wearing?

Scent of the Day - Thursday - 10/05/06

I'm wearing Givenchy Ange ou Demon today. What are you wearing today?

Notes:
Top: White thyme essence, Mandarin from Calabria, Saffron essence
Middle: Lily, Ylang-ylang, Orchid maxillaria
Base: Tonka bean, Vanilla, Palissander wood, Oak wood essence

Scent of the Day - Wednesday - 10/04/06

Armani Prive Eau De Jade for me today. What are you wearing?

Notes for this one are: Bergamot, Neroli, and Bourbon Vanilla

Scent of the Day - Tuesday - 10/03/06

Today I'll be wearing Vera Wang Princess - It's nice, not really FBW, but I wanted to use up the sample I have and a had a tiny bit of the creme too. Adorable bottle.