Category: Fragrance

Acqua di Parma Bergamotto di Calabria

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Bergamot is best known for giving Earl Grey tea its fragrance. It is actually a citrus fruit.

Bergamot from Franz Eugen Köhler’s Medizinal-Pflanzen via Wikipedia

Bergamot is the fragrance that characterizes Bergamotto di Calabria, one of the fragrances in Acqua di Parma’s Blu Mediterraneo collection. Bergamotto di Calabria uses two varieties of bergamot, one from Calabria’s Ionian coast and the other from Reggio Calabria. The quality of the bergamot used in Bergamotto di Calabria is guaranteed by a Protected Denomination of Origin.

Bergamotto di Calabria from Acqua di Parma’s Blu Meditarraneo

Olfactory notes for Bergamotto di Calabria:

Top notes: bergamot and citrus
Heart notes: bergamot, cedar wood, and red ginger
Base notes: vetiver, Benzoin, and musk

Cedar wood, vetiver, Benzoin, and musk give Bergamotto di Calabria warmth and depth that one might not expect in a citrusy fragrance.

Other fragrances in Acqua di Parma’s Blu Mediterraneo collection are:

Mandorlo di Sicilia
Cipresso di Toscana
Arancia di Capri
Mirto di Panarea
Fico di Amalfi

You may find Acqua di Parma and its Blu Mediterraneo collection at Saks, Neiman Marcus, Barneys NY, and Nordstrom stores. Online, you may find Acqua di Parma at Saks.com, Neimanmarcus.com, and Sephora.com. 

Curiously, Sephora.com doesn’t carry Acqua di Parma Bergamotto di Calabria, but it does carry the other fragrances in Acqua di Parma’s Blu Mediterraneo collection.

Leslie Blodgett debuts Bare Skin fragrance

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After leading the Mineral Makeup Revolution, Leslie Blodgett has now ventured into fragrance. She debuted her first fragrance Bare Skin earlier this month with a online blitz, including a website Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries, a microsite on Sephora.com, a fan page on Facebook, a Twitter account, and a blogging program. When it comes to promoting her products, this woman doesn’t do anything small!

Watch Leslie Blodgett discuss Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries

Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries is a limited edition fragrance collection created exclusively for Sephora. Here is Leslie’s concept for Bare Skin: “Bare Skin is the way you feel when the sun is beating down on you during the day, but then you go out at night and you’re still sizzling from the warmth of the day which mingles with night air and music.”

It was up to perfumeur Stephen Nilsen of the Franch fragrance house Givaudan to translate Leslie’s concept into fragrance. Nilsen imagined “creamy sensuality, caressing florals, and uninhibited musk” to formulate Bare Skin. The olfactory notes are:

Top: Black Pepper, Freesia, Anise

Middle: Iris, Vanilla Orchid, Plumeria, Patchouli

Bottom: Sandalwood, Labdanum, Musk

I’m not a fan of light fragrances: maybe it’s because I’m a Taurus, which is an Earth sign 🙂 I prefer heavier fragrances, and Bare Skin, with its notes of Patchouli, Sandalwood, Labdanum, and Musk, suits me.


Bare Skin Eau de Parfum from Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries

Bare Skin is available as an Eau de Parfum, a Solid Perfume Compact, and a Perfumed Body Cream. You may shop for Bare Skin at Sephora stores and Sephora.com.

NOTE to readers: My access to the Internet in the last month has been erratic, to say the least. I regret to tell you that I was too late to share the news about the contest to win a trip to Hawai’i in conjunction with the launch of Bare Skin. The contest closed October 23, 2009.

FTC regs note: I received 5 sample vials of Bare Skin from a representative for Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries for participating in the blogging program. I am planning a giveaway, in which I’ll add a sample of Bare Skin as a bonus. The giveaway should go live in the next two weeks.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

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Francis Kurkdjian

Parfumeur Francis Kurkdjian has taken fragrance to where it’s never been taken before. He’s made fragrance conceptual art, through staging a light, sound, and scent show and other spectacles at Versailles. More prosaically, he’s created many fragrances for leading fashion houses.


The sound, light, and fragrance installation at Versailles

Now Francis Kurkdjian has launched his own fragrance line Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Maison Francis Kurkdjian is as innovative as his conceptual art. Not only does it comprise personal fragrance and home fragrances (room spray and candles), but it also comprises laundry detergent and fabric softener, incense paper, Tour Atour the perfumed bracelet, and even blowing bubbles.


Tour Atour the perfumed bracelet

The fragrances in the Maison Francis Kurkdjian line and their olfactory notes are:

Aqua Universalis: Bergamot and lemon from Sicily – White Bouquet (lily of the valley and sweet mock orange) – light and musky wood. This light fragrance is used for the laundry detergent and fabric softener.

Lumière Noire pour femme: spiced rose (cumin, hot pepper) – Patchouli – Narcissus

Lumière Noire pour homme: spiced rose (cumin, hot pepper) – Patchouli – Mugwort herb

APOM (“A Piece of Me”) pour femme: orange flower – cedar wood – ylang-ylang flower

APOM (“A Piece of Me”) pour homme: orange flower – cedar wood – amber

Cologne pour le Matin/Cologne pour le Soir (a concept not unlike Lisa Hoffman’s fragrance variations) – Infusion of Benzoin from Siam – Bulgarian and Iranian Rose Honey – Incense absolute

Les Bulles d’Agathe (Agathe’s bubbles) in Pear, Cold mint, or Cut herbs

I’m coveting Lumière Noire pour femme, because the notes are evocative of Indian cooking and fragrance, for myself and Les Bulles d’Agathe to share with my young nieces.

To find out more about Francis Kurkdjian and his art, visit his website Francis Kurkdjian – crèateur parfumeur.

Bond No. 9 to Release Latest Andy Warhol-Inspired Fragrance

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In 2007, Simon Doonan created a “Happy Warhol-idays” theme for Barneys. The holiday mailer featured Andy Warhol’s early fashion illustrations and various aphorisms, including “Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art.”

The most amusing items from Barneys 2007 holiday mailer were Campbell’s soup cans with labels featuring his famous silkscreens pasted on them. Real soup inside! Andy would have loved the concept of pasting labels on soup cans and re-selling Campbell’s Soup for $12.00 a can.

New York boutique perfumery Bond No. 9 will debut Success is a Job in New York, the latest of its series of its fragrances commissioned by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc., on October 1. In keeping with the money theme, the signature Bond No. 9 bottle features dollar signs designed and silkscreened by Andy Warhol in the 1980s: coral on the front of the bottle, bright blue on the back.


Preview of Bond No. 9 Success is a Job in New York

The name Success is a Job in New York refers to Andy Warhol’s first assignment as an illustrator for an article of the same name that appeared in Glamour magazine back in the 1950s. Come to think of it, the name reflects Andy Warhol’s career. Born in Pittsburgh to immigrants from Central Europe, he studied art at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (which has since been absorbed into Carnegie-Mellon University). He then went to New York to make it as a fashion illustrator. From there, he became famous for his silkscreens, “The Factory” with its various hangers-on, and frequently X-rated movies.

The fragrance Success is a Job in New York has the following notes:

Top notes: coriander, cardamom, mandarin, bergamot
Middle notes: jasmine, tuberose, rose, plum and pimento
Base notes: vanilla, patchouli and amber.

Fragrance is intensely personal. While Bond No. 9 describes Success is a Job in New York as genderless (other might use the term “unisex”), I found it too mannish for my liking.

Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York will launch on October 1, 2009. It will be available at all four Bond No. 9 stores in New York and at select branches of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Article previewed at Blogcritics.

Chesapeake Bay Candle

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I was pleased to receive a travel set from Chesapeake Bay Candle. The set contains a soy wax candle in travel tin, a fragrance diffuser kit (silkscreened glass jar, reeds, and fragrance oil) and a bag of scented stones in a silkscreened glass vessel. It comes in an elegant presentation box fastened by a ribbon. My travel set, which came in Green Tea Jasmine, was so fragrant, I could smell it with the box closed.


Chesapeake Bay Candle travel set

The travel set is also available in:

Amber Vanilla Hazelnut (gourmand)
Honey Lemon Creme (citrus)
Tonka Bean Fig (fruit)

Other Chesapeake Bay Candle products come in these fragrance groups:

Citrus
Floral
Fruit
Gourmand
Green
Ozonic
Spice
Wood

Browse Chespeake Bay Candle to find out more about products available in the different fragrance groups.

Chesapeake Bay Candle was founded by Mei Xu and David Wang, who created their products in a basement in Annapolis, MD. The couple also founded Blissliving Home, which offers coordinated bedding, home fragrance, and decorative accessories.

It’s a pleasure to learn about lifestyle companies in the area surrounding the DC metro area, where I live.

PS Still trying to get the hang of my digital camera. Did you notice that the dates are wrong?

Delirium and Co scented candle giveaway

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What if your store sold coveted brands of candles such as Rigaud, Slatkin & Co., Voluspa, and DL & Co.? You might want to create your own brand of candles. That’s what Los Angeles boutique Candle Delirium has done with its Delirium & Co line.

The Delirium & Co line features two collections: The Silver Period and The Blue Period. The Silver Period collection features light fragrances, while The Blue Period features deeper fragrances.

More Than a Pretty Face is giving away one candle in Scarlet Grapefruit from The Silver Period and one candle in Blue Absinthe from The Blue Period. Both Delirium & Co candles were introduced just this year.


Delirium & Co candle in Scarlet Grapefruit from The Silver Period collection

The Silver Period candle Scarlet Grapefruit is described as “a crisp sensual merger of ruby red grapefruit, red currants, apple, mandarin, jasmine and amber.”

Delirium & Co candle in Blue Absinthe from its Blue Period collection

The Blue Period candle in Blue Absinthe is described as “an intoxicating masterful brew of Absinthe, vetyver, blonde woods, basil and rosemary.”

One winner will receive the Scarlet Grapefruit candle, while another winner will receive the Blue Absinthe candle. To enter, indicate your preference: Scarlet Grapefruit or Blue Absinthe.

http://contestmachine.com/embed/survey_js/UBNQWOVM8G

Wode by Boudicca now at Lucky Scent

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Wode by Boudicca is certainly the most unusual fragrance I’ve seen: when you spray on the fragrance, it turns blue and then gradually loses all color. I had written that Wode was available only through Barneys (not that I patronize Barneys).


Wode by Boudicca

Barneys is clearly out of my price league, although I did spring for a set of 2 candlesticks that I saw in Domino and absolutely had to have. I wouldn’t patronize Barneys if I could afford to shop there, as it has since been bought out by the Istithmar investment firm based in Dubai. Oftentimes, Middle Eastern firms are governed by Sharia, or Islamic, law which requires that 2.5% of earnings be given to charity. Sounds good, but too often Islamic charities are fronts for terrorist activities. I do not shop companies owned by Middle Eastern firms, at least not knowingly, which is why I refuse to patronize Caribou Coffee.

Now there’s an alternative to shopping Barneys for Wode by Boudicca: you may now buy it at LuckyScent.

Darkly glamorous

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Wode by Boudicca
via Splendora

How’s this for a concept: when you apply this fragrance, a vibrant cobalt blue appears and settles into your skin and clothing. The color disappears and leaves behind scent. To say nothing about the darkly glamorous packaging, which recall the candles from DL & Co.

Wendy Ginsburg of San Diego tries the Boudicca Wode fragrance, from New perfume turns you blue.

It’s from Boudicca, the cutting edge UK-based design team of Zowie Broach and Brian Kirkby and sold in the US through Barneys (not that I patronize Barneys).

Stephen Jones Millinery perfume
via EyeCandy Make-Up & Beauty Blog

Stephen Jones Millinery perfume, pictured above, also features darkly glamorous packaging. Appropriately for a milliner, or hat maker, the box resembles a hat box. It’s a collaboration between Stephen Jones Millinery and Comme des Garçons, for which Stephen Jones has designed hats. The fragrance is exclusive to two stores in the UK, but should be rolled out worldwide.

One thing you should never buy as a Mother’s Day gift

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From Five things you should never buy as a Mother’s Day gift: Lotions

Lotions. Yes, we know you think it’s sweet to buy us lotions because women like to doll up and smell purdy with soft, luscious glowing skin. But what we think when we open this gift is, “I know I don’t shower every day, but are you trying to tell me something?”

Exception: A slightly overpriced but exquisite lotion that a mom only purchases on special occasions.

It’s not smelling bad that’s at issue. Fragrance is very personal, and I wouldn’t recommend buying fragrance unless you know that your Mom has a signature fragrance: in that case, it’s OK to buy products such as lotion (!), bath gel or oil, etc. in that fragrance so that your mother can layer fragrances.

On the other hand, you couldn’t go wrong with this:

Choix scentless perfume

Or could you? 😉

Choix scentless perfume was selling like hotcakes at Selfridge’s in the UK.

Myrrh is mine, it’s bitter perfume …

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Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture

Yes, I actually purchased something through direct sales. I expressed interest in the essential oils that a friend from church was selling from Young Living, a direct sales company based in Utah. And here’s what I sprung for: the Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture kit, which contains vials of essential oils referenced in the Bible.

The twelve oils are:

  1. Aloes/sandalwood
  2. cassia
  3. cedarwood
  4. cypress
  5. frankincense
  6. galbanum
  7. hyssop
  8. myrrh
  9. myrtle
  10. onycha
  11. Rose of Sharon/cistus
  12. spikenard

Frankincense and myrrh, of course, were among the gifts that the Three Kings gave to the infant Jesus.

The line “Myrrh is mine, it’s bitter perfume …” from We Three Kings of Orient Are alludes to the fact that myrrh was used in embalming and thus presaged Christ’s death. Spikenard was referenced in John 12:

1 Jesus therefore six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead. 2 So they made him a supper there: and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of them that sat at meat with him. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, that should betray him, saith, 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor? 6 Now this he said, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein. 7 Jesus therefore said, Suffer her to keep it against the day of my burying. 8 For the poor ye have always with you; but me ye have not always.

What an appropriate gift for marking the holiday and remembering “the reason for the season.” Yes, Christmas is only four days away, but you can extend the holiday to January 6 (Epiphany), which marks the arrival of the Three Kings. You may order Young Living products online or through a Young Living representative.