Victoria: 2669 posts

American reality star and designer, Nicole Richie, is prepared to launch her own perfume Nicole. It will be presented in September 2012, in time to compete with Lady Gaga whose fragrance Fame Black Fluid comes out around the same time. Nicole was inspired by her mother who liked to layer oils and lotions. “I have a very traditional Southern mom — you never left the house without lotion. Over her lotion went oil and perfume — she was very put together from head to toe. It wasn’t just a one-dimensional smell — there were many different layers,” said Richie during an interview with WWD.

Nicole was created by perfumer Steve DeMercado of Fragrance Resources. It includes notes of “succulent blackberry and Seville orange, has a heart of golden amber, Moroccan rose, lily of the valley and papyrus, and a drydown of sensual cashmere woods, sandalwood, sugared patchouli and vanilla absolute.” Of the Art Deco inspired bottle, Richie said that she wanted it to represent different layers of a woman.

Continue reading →

This summer Le Palais des Thés is launching a new line of teas packaged in extra large tea bags, a convenient way to brew a pitcher of iced tea.  The muslin bags are also large enough to allow for the tea leaves to unfurl completely (that’s essential for the best flavor). Each XL tea bag  makes 16 oz of tea (a quart size pitcher requires two bags). There are currently 4 flavors available: Thé du Hammam, Thé des Sources, Thé des Alizés and Wu Long 7 Agrumes.

Thé du Hammam (sweet)

“Inspired by a Turkish recipe, Thé du Hammam evokes the characteristic fragrances used to perfume the hammam: rose, green date, berries and orange flower water. It’s a subtle combination of Chinese green tea and rich, fruity aromas.”

Continue reading →

Perfumer and founder of Aftelier Perfumes, Mandy Aftel, is launching her Chef’s Essences® collection in collaboration with Williams-Sonoma. It’s a  a line of pure and natural essential oils, selected specifically for use by home cooks. “These unique aromatic oils simply work like magic,” says Aftel.

“All you need is one or two drops to flavor an entire recipe, and transform an everyday dish into something exciting and luxurious. Each bottle holds up to 150 uses, and adds an incredible depth of flavor and aroma – without adding additional calories or changing the texture of the dish. Working with my Chef’s Essences also allows you to add complexity and excitement, with unusual flavor combinations such as Black Pepper and Basil, or Ginger and Asian Lemon. They are incredibly versatile and can be added to any dish with delicious results.”

Continue reading →

The combination of violet and oud is like a romance between Doris Day and Cary Grant—one is wholesome and innocent, the other is dark and smoldering. Yet, just as Day and Grant set the screen on fire in the comedy, “That Touch of Mink,” violet and oud can be an irresistible pairing as I discovered through Lalique Hommage à l’homme.

Hommage à l’homme is the newest Lalique perfume created by perfumers Christine Nagel and Mathilde Bijaoui. It’s a masculine fragrance, and while it’s much too virile for me personally, I would gladly smell it on men around me. You will not find typical masculine cologne elements wrapped into the elegant shape of Hommage à l’homme. It’s the fragrance equivalent of a leading man in a classic Hollywood film—dashing, suave, and sophisticated. Hommage à l’homme smells like something worn by Cary Grant, whether he dashes around the French Riviera with Grace Kelly or tries to woo Doris Day with mink coats and champagne.

Continue reading →

According to conventional fragrance marketing, most women run screaming from animalic notes, unless they are the clean, laundry type musks. Anything that smells too untoward or raunchy is a taboo. Now for most of you it may not be the case, but as I hear over and over again about the “fear of anything dirty,” I wonder what you think about it. Do you like animalic notes or detest them? What are your favorite “dirty” perfumes?

I enjoy the animalic notes in vintage fragrances like Chanel Cuir de Russie, Robert Piguet Bandit and Estee Lauder Azuree, which smell like a well-worn leather jacket. Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khan is a fragrance I wear on a regular basis for its delicious rose wrapped in dark musk. L’Artisan Dzing! smells both like wet cardboard and a warm fur coat.

My favorite animalic perfume though is something called Lola. She’s my mom’s cat and she smells of soft musk and cedarwood.