March 2009 Archives

FARMACIA SS ANNUNZIATA DAL 1561 VANIGLIA DEL MADAGASCAR: For starters, the name of this perfume is entirely too long. How in the h*ll are you really supposed to answer should someone ask you what perfume you're wearing?

"Oh, this? It's Farmacia SS Annunziata dal 1561 Vaniglia del Madagascar. You like?"

Halfway through, the other person would have already died of boredom. Or impatience. Or both!

But as for the scent itself -- it's a very nice vanilla, and if you've read this blog previously, you'll know that "very nice" and "vanilla" rarely meet face to face in any of my posts, but Vaniglia del Madagascar manages to butch it up just a bit with some tart lemon and a smattering of parched amber notes.

That doesn't mean that Vaniglia del Madagascar is a masculine scent. Au contraire! It's just not as cupcake pretty as Indult Tihota, or as wistfully sheer as Guerlain Bois d'Arménie. There's a dry, almost sawdust quality that hangs quietly in the back that keeps the mix from overturning the dessert cart and making a mad dine-and-dash for the door.

The official notes include florals, as well, but they appear to be present as fillers and smoothers, so you aren't going to get a big old lungful of gardenia to go with your pound cake this time around. Scent notes: lemon, floral notes, amber notes and Madagascar vanilla.

To my nose, this is a dry, satisfying vanilla scent that's pretty much the same six hours later as it is when it first comes out of the bottle. There's much to be commended in simplicity, especially when it's applied to vanilla perfumes.

I wonder how the Farmacia Vaniglia compares to the Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, which is also supposed to be a dry, woodsy vanilla scent . . . ?

SOCIAL CREATURES FRANKFURT KITCHEN: I'm not as forgiving of tea in my fragrances as I am of vanilla (see: Parfum d'Empire Ambre Russe), and Frankfurt Kitchen is chock full of the stuff, which makes it a non-starter in my book.

I'd like to be more generous and talk about the scent's potential redeeming qualities even in the face of its tidal wave of tea, but there's not much else about it that I find particularly redeeming. I can say this, however -- if you like fragrances that smell strongly of tea, Frankfurt Kitchen might be your match made in heaven.

Listed scent notes: tangerine, orange, peppermint, cocoa, coffee, osmanthus, blackcurrant, vanilla, honey and cistus. So how does all that combine to create tea? I have no idea. I think it's the peppermint in combination with the fruits, honey and osmanthus. It reeks of a pot of sugared Orange Pekoe with a candy jar of peppermints on the side.

The peppermint lingers, but does manage to tone itself down by magnitudes as the hours go by, though that still leaves us with the sugary, watery tea. By itself. And no interesting embellishments.

If purchasing a Social Creatures fragrance is something you feel you absolutely must do, Rebel Ambush and Utopian are both superior (imo) to Frankfurt Kitchen in both concept and execution. But hey, two out of three aint bad.

After mentioning Nuit de Cellophane in a previous review for Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus, I thought it only right that I should quick hightail it on over to the sample department and snag a vial of the new Lutens osmanthus-based fragrance, just for comparison's sake.

Back in December of 2008, when the name of the fragrance was first revealed, some of the more . . . erm . . . "fanciful" perfume bloggers contorted themselves into the most awkward positions in an attempt to derive some deep or hidden meaning from the words, but my own take on it was pretty simple:

"I was thinking the name might be a play on packaging, and since it's Nuit de Cellophane, it might signify that it's a fragrance specifically designed as special occasion wear -- a kind of shimmering wrap to envelop and protect the wearer. That's my impression, and it would be a good commercial move for Lutens since a good portion of his existing fragrances lean fairly rich and dense. A light, sparkling fragrance would be a good addition to the line -- a Serge Lutens aldehyde, maybe?"

Lo and behold, but that's pretty much exactly what Nuit de Cellophane turned out to be: a sparkling, shimmering wrap of a fruit-laced floral over a woods and musk core that eschews overt complexity for ease of wear (though complexity is not altogether abandoned -- see: jasmine). Yet the mainstream quality of the scent seemed to surprise a number of reviewers who were chomping at the bit for yet another Serge Lutens mystery potion.

For example:

I Smell Therefore I Am: "There is absolutely nothing unusual, unique, jarring or unexpected about Nuit de Cellophane. It is very pretty, very well done and very mainstream."

1000 Frangrances: "Though I find it not very creative, except for the name, the fragrance smells absolutelly great, like its inspiration."

Grain de Musc: "Nuit de Cellophane finds the dark magus of the Palais Royal in a mellow, purring, white angora kitten mode."

Perfume Posse: "Should be a Serge mainstream winner. It is beautiful and not edgy in the least."

But while it's probably one of the easiest Lutens you'll find yourself testing and/or wearing, Nuit de Cellophane's simplicity is deceptive. Serge Lutens' ultimate fangirl The Non-Blonde describes it this way: "Nuit de Cellophane does this thing that makes me feel 2" taller and gives me cheekbones."

I think that probably sums it up best -- it's a mainstream fragrance that's part SoCal cheerleader, part East Coast sophisticate, as if Lutens and perfumer Sheldrake genetically spliced Farah Fawcett with Katherine Hepburn and emerged with the best of both worlds . . . a transformative scent that clings to the wearer like a hint of screen siren, lending a heightened sense of gilded beauty to go along with those fast-talking cheekbones.

Listed scent notes are: green note, fruity note, jasmine, osmanthus, carnation, lily, muscs, almond, wood and honey. The jasmine and carnation provide a spicy, fleshy layer that bridges the gap between the bright fruit, osmanthus and lily notes and the smooth musks and woods lightly flavored with almond and honey. The jasmine is exceptionally indolic and provides an intellectually engaging counterbalance to the sweeter, flirtier side of Nuit de Cellophane.

UPDATE:

A friend sent me some photos upon her receipt of a bottle of Nuit de Cellophane from Lucky Scent out of Los Angeles. I'll let her out herself in the comments if she wants to take credit for them, but I thought they were way too much fun to just keep all to myself (my mother taught me to share, you know) -- click here to see more of Nuit de Cellophane.

Most people I know can use pretty much any decent skin cleanser, treatment, moisturizer, etc. and be fine with it. Their face soaks it up, takes it in and moves on through the rest of the day without a hitch. If this describes you, then cherish the time you don't have to spend thinking about what you're slapping on your skin. You'll never know the accumulated waste of hours, days, weeks, months and years spent cleaning, wiping, masking and scrambling for damage control.

There is, however, a small subsection of people (mutants?) who can barely waft a jar of cleanser past their faces without some kind of screaming, irritated, itching, blotchy reaction that spreads like a plague across their complexion. To those poor huddled masses, I say -- I feel your pain!

I'm not certain why my facial skin is especially sensitive, but just the act of shaving is a huge irritation, and as I've grown older, that, plus other issues, have become more severe to the point that I've had to start searching out special products to deal with the breakouts and irritations caused by simply waking up in the morning and breathing.

I tried the whole holding my breath until I pass out solution, but it only made me late for work.

Below are a few products for sensitive skin that I've experimented with, to mostly negative results (i.e. I took the bullet for you . . . and payback is h*ll). These products claim to be specially formulated for sensitive skin, with several of them meant to combat redness and irritation, specifically. One thing to keep in mind is that just because some of these products didn't work for me, doesn't mean they won't work for you. This is just an FYI post from one battle-weary, sensitive soul to another -- if you have the skin of a poet, you know just what I mean.

Two products that many have found success with, but that didn't work at all for me, are from the DermaDoctor line: their Born to Be Mild Cleanser and the Calm, Cool and Corrected moisturizer.

If you go to Amazon and search under the product names, you'll find a lot of very satisfied comments from equally satisfied consumers, with a few naysayers here and there. Unfortunately, I have to plant my flag in the naysayer soil. This cleanser and corrector did not soothe or clear up my skin, but just exacerbated the very issues they were meant to clear up. I used it for a number of days in a row to give the product a chance to do its thing, but my skin just grew more and more blotchy and irritated, accompanied by an outbreak of acne -- precisely what I was trying to avoid.

I also tested out the Skyn Iceland The Antidote daily lotion and the Kinerase Clear Skin Treatment serum.

I used the Kinerase once, and despite its claim of being noncomedogenic, my facial reaction was so negative (blotchy, irritated redness) that I didn't have the courage to use it again.

Skyn Iceland bills itself as a line of products that are "solutions for stressed skin" -- The Antidote is described as "a lightweight hydrating lotion for chronically stressed skin. It goes on with a cooling burst to decongest, detoxify and stabilize skin, returning it to its natural fresh and healthy state. With daily use, skin is fortified and protected from the ravages of stress."

For my face, this couldn't have been any further from the truth. The lotion is extremely "cooling" only in that it feels very much like patting a layer of full-on peppermint mixed with chili peppers all over my face, and with about the same results -- wherever the lotion was applied, I turned beet red and remained beet red for about four hours, after which the redness started to fade, leaving behind an itchy, uncomfortable sensation.

I tested the lotion four times, but with worsening results each time.

Next up: Ole Henriksen.

My older sister has been battling rosacea for several years, and recently started to use a few products in the Ole Henriksen line that she says work well for her. I was particularly interested in the Blue/Blackberry Enzyme Mask that's intended to calm the skin, soothe irritation and clear up redness and breakouts ("Anti-inflammatory, reparative and renewing" says the website). I used the mask three times with not so great results. The third time was the bad luck charm, causing so much irritation that I had to discontinue its use entirely.

Below is a photo of my face with the mask on. You can see that I'm breaking out in blotchy rashes even as the so-called "reparative" mask is still on my face:

It was also extremely drying, I might add. My face was nearly screaming for moisture after I rinsed the mask off, hence my trial usage of the Henriksen Nurture Me moisturizing lotion (from the Ole Henriksen website: "helps calm, protect & hydrate sensitive skin with this wonderfully calming creme that literally melts into the skin").

"Ha!" I say. One use was all that my skin needed in order to draw up and sign its very own declaration of nuclear war against Nurture Me, so out it went.

I can, however, recommend the Ole Henriksen Clean Shave for men. It's the best shaving product I've yet used, and doesn't irritate my skin the way most shaving creams/lotions tend to do.

***Note: This turned out to not be true at all -- see below update for a photo of the damage that the Ole Henriksen Clean Shave product did to my skin.

But two more swings and misses -- Cosmedicine Hydra-Healer (blotchiness and itchy-scratchy hell) and Kiehl's Blue Herbal moisturizer (again, more blotchiness and itchy scratchy hell, plus acne breakouts):

My only other successes so far (beyond the Henriksen Clean Shave) have been with the Kate Somerville brand. I picked up the Detox Daily Cleanser, the Clearing Mask and the Anti Bac Clearing lotion.

The Anti Bac lotion is extremely drying , so I don't use it very much even though it's highly effective in combating acne breakouts, but the Detox Daily Cleanser and the Clearing Mask, used together, have done wonders. I still, however, need to find a moisturizer that won't cause the equivalent of the L.A. riots to break out across my face.

"Can't we all just get along?" is perhaps my daily morning cry as I'm washing, rinsing and despairing.

But for right now, I'm making do with the Clinique Redness Solutions cream as a daily moisture provider -- it doesn't cause huge irritations to spread across my face, and while there's probably something better I could find, it doesn't leave me feeling greasy, itchy and uncomfortable, so I can live with it for now.

I have a Kate Somerville moisturizer on its way in the mail, and perhaps that will actually be just what I need without feeling like I'm settling for the lesser of evils. Once the Kate Somerville moisturizer shows up, I'll do another post with more information on the brand, and how its continued use works (or doesn't work) for my skin.

Thank you for tuning in. Hypersensitivity man is logging out.

UPDATE:

Those nice things I said about the Ole Henriksen Clean Shave product? I take them all back:

Kids, don't try this at home!

I am presently in itchy, scratchy hell. I've never had my skin react so badly to a shaving product in my life.

In fact, all three Ole Henriksen items I tried, the Blue/Blackberry Mask, the Nurture Me cream and the Clean Shave product -- all turned out to be the most damaging, skin-irritating items that I tested.

Suspense is an aphrodisiac . . . or so I've heard. But a celebration is just a celebration, pure and simple. Which is just a roundabout way of saying that it's been a whole week (already!) and it's time to announce the winners of the Sonoma Scent Studio drawing.

So here they are (insert drumroll here):

Ambre Noir: Lisa Woodward
Encens Tranquille: Tim
Lieu de Reves: Jo
Vintage Rose: Kayliana
Voile de Violette: AnnS

And because I really wanted more people to feel like winners (Laurie Erickson had to talk me down from ordering more bottles!), I have five sample sets of Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances to offer, packets that include samples of Ambre Noir, Sienna Musk, Lieu de Reves, Voile de Violette and the brand spankin' new Tabac Aurea.

Winners of the sample packs are:

Kathryn Downing
Monica
Laura M
Nika
Charlotte Vale

So please make sure all of you email me your mailing addresses, and I'll get your prize winning packages out to you ASAP.

Thanks to everybody for your participation. It's been great fun to promote Laurie's brand, and I hope to hear that you're all happy with the bottles and/or samples that will be headed your way.

There are two distinctly different ways of experiencing Bois 1920 Vento di Fiori -- from a distance, and up close and personal.

At a distance, Vento di Fiore is a quiet shimmer of forest and lemon, yet up close, it's a green, mossy heaven for those who think heaven smells like an intoxicating snootful of forest moss spritzed with lemon rinds (if you were shooting for a heaven of milk and cookies, then Vento di Fiore might very well be a huge disappointment).

Galbanum is a lead player here, with its green, resinous character dovetailing nicely with the moss in the base. Allegedly, there's some jasmine floating around in the mix, but it appears to act more as a smoother and filler rather than standing out as a prominent feature. The drydown is a soft woodsy amber (dry, not sweet) with a bit of dark smoke drifting across the horizon.

I find Vento de Fiori to skew decidedly masculine, though that doesn't mean a female can't or won't wear it -- women that love classic dark chypre scents (from Now Smell This: "Classic chypre fragrances generally have sparkling citrus and floral notes over a dark, earthy base of oakmoss, patchouli, woods and labdanum") might actually adore the h*ll out of it.

As you can see from the photos below, I liked it well enough to purchase a bottle -- the packaging is striking, all antiqued gold and lit up from within:

Listed scent notes: lemon, cardamom, tarragon, jasmine, galbanum, patchouli, amber, oak moss, musk and birch. The birch adds a slight charred edge to the base, but it never overpowers the citrus and galbanum. The overall balance to the mix is excellent, with the ingredients pulling with one another instead of fighting against each other.

The concentration is an EDT, however, so the lasting power isn't as long as what you'd get out of most EDP and Parfum formulations, but I can still smell it on my skin five hours later -- the volume is just turned way down (and it was never loud to begin with).

1.) Catwalks in Paris and Milan Do the Timewarp:
"Just like their counterparts in New York, designers in Milan and Paris have plundered (the 80's) in a remarkable homage to linebacker shoulders, tunics-over-tights, peplum jackets, poufs, pumps and the color purple . . . expressing the shoulder phenomenon not just with padding, but with buttresses, extensions, flaps and pagoda shaping. Many draw attention to the shoulders with cap-sleeve jeweling."

The decade that just won't die. See yesterday's post discussing its venomous influence on today's menswear.

2.) Chanel Prepares for Global Online Ad Campaign for No. 5:
"French film actress Audrey Tautou, famous for her role in Amelie, has become the muse in a Chanel No. 5 film, directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet. While in the past, Chanel No. 5 commercials ran on TV and in the cinema, this is the first time a Chanel marketing campaign has kicked off on the internet, launching online globally on 5 May 2009."

Karl Lagerfeld (head designer for Chanel) refuses to allow most Chanel products (beyond cosmetics and some perfumes) to be available for sale online, believing that shopping from the Internet cheapens the brand's image and experience -- but hell if that won't stop them from dumping a truckload of money into an online campaign to boost sales of Chanel No. 5 and, by extension, awareness of the entire Chanel brand.

There has to come a day when designers stop viewing the Internet as the enemy. Not everyone in the world has the ability to breeze through the doors of their neighborhood Chanel boutique, and it seems to me as if stubborn design houses are losing a big chunk of possible sales by making their goods hard to acquire. I know they somehow have this idea that difficult to purchase = upticks in the desirability department, but that's not necessarily the case. Playing hard to get just forces consumers to purchase from another brand that's more readily available.

Video clip of a 2007 Chanel No. 5 ad:

3.) Kanye West Claims He Only Surrounds Himself With "Geniuses":

"Geniuses" would appear to be code for "Every Possible Kind of F**ked Up".

My favorite comment on that fashion trainwreck of a photo is from I'll Tumble 4 Ya: "So are Kanye and his posse like the new Parliament Funkadelic or something?... Because, seriously! All they need is a dude in a diaper jamming out at this point."

4.) Beth Ditto Stage Dives Into the Void:
"Having brought the house down (at a Fendi sponsored Fashion Week show) with the spectacular 'Standing in the Way of Control,' Beth decided to execute a celebratory stage dive, a move that I can only describe as ill advised . . . there was a parting of the waves as the svelte and deeply panicked hordes flung themselves out of the oncoming path of the potential weapon of mass destruction that is la Ditto, and there was something closely resembling a resounding thud in place of the expected slap of flesh on expectantly upraised palms."

Dear lord, I'm probably twice the size of a runway model and I'd have scrambled out of the way of a Beth Ditto launch, too! Still, I'd of liked to have seen her perform. Karl Lagerfeld specially designed her stage costume to come apart in five pieces so that she could strip tease on stage.

Video clip below of Beth Ditto in all her post-punk glory:

In related news, The Mirror U.K. asks: "Could Beth Ditto be the woman to make fat fashionable?"

5.) Three Is A Trend:
"Yves Saint Laurent and Gianni Versace had some good luck auctioning off their wares, so designer Kenzo decided to follow their lead. The contents of his Parisian apartment are estimated to net $2.04 to $2.73 million for his collection of Asian art, furniture, and antique kimonos on sale June 16 and 17."

You may as well sell while the selling's still good, right? You can see a photo spread of Kenzo's drop dead gorgeous Paris estate (that he recently sold) over at Luxist.

6.) Plastic Surgery Downturn Reflects Credit Crunch:
"The plastic surgery field is feeling the nip and tuck of the economy. A recent survey by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows a 62% decrease in overall cosmetic procedures. Local plastic surgeons say their numbers aren't that bad but they have been booking fewer surgical procedures the past nine months."

Or maybe the field reached critical mass and now has nowhere to go but down?

7.) Hermes Continues to Show Growth Despite Global Troubles:
"Hermès has continued to grow despite the economic downturn. This month, it cheered investors with better than expected annual results and even raised its dividend slightly. The company has been buoyed in particular by sales of leather handbags . . . but a sense of uncertainty about the future is haunting the sector, industry executives say. 'We have absolutely no visibility into 2009,' Christian Blanckaert, executive vice president at Hermès International, said Wednesday. 'We are talking only month to month.'"

Video clip below of the Hermes Fall 2009 show:

It never fails to shock me that Jean Paul Gaultier is the head designer for Hermes women's wear. It seems like such an unlikely fit -- from Madonna's conical breast outfits and The Fifth Element to . . . well, Hermes!

But while Hermes may be doing well enough (for now), an industry expert talks about how the Luxury Brands got their India Strategy wrong: "The head of the Murjani group, which has helped develop the Tommy Hilfiger label and has exclusive distribution agreements with the likes of Gucci, Jimmy Choo, Calvin Klein and FCUK, said luxury brands entering India expected profits from day-one while their Indian partners invested but totted up losses. 'There was an imbalance in partnerships between franchisors and franchisees. Agreements should be equally beneficial or at the least fairly beneficial,' Murjani said."

In related news, the Financial Times writes that Luxury fashion in Moscow remains optimistic -- though when you read through the actual article, the message is anything but optimistic, and actually kind of bleak for the retail outlook in Russia.

UPDATE:

8.) Axe Is Getting the Axe From Fed Up Moms and Schools:
"A mother of two boys from Scottsdale, Ariz., had to ban Axe body wash in her house. 'The 13-year-old was pretty responsible, but the 10-year-old was out of control!' she said. 'They couldn't rinse the wash cloths out well enough, and when I washed them, we all wore Axe!' . . . A Minnesota state representative, Karen Clark, even proposed phasing out fragrances from schools to protect kids with asthma from their overly perfumed classmates . . . Even the makers of Axe are embarking on an education campaign. 'We believe most everything is best in moderation, application of grooming products included . . . '"

The article goes on to note that once children hit puberty, females develop a more acute sense of smell while the sense of smell of young men deteriorates -- i.e. teenage boys have no idea how awful they smell.

Woman often complain that men aren't humiliated, tortured and insulted by high fashion designers and fashion mags the way that female fashion consumers are on a routine basis. I get what they're saying, but it's not nearly as one-sided as they assume.

For example, I give you Fantastic Man, Issue No. 9, Spring and Summer 2009:

Okay, so a cover with Bret Easton Ellis may not be the smoking gun that I was promising, but please . . . it's Bret f**king Easton fracking Ellis. Less Than Zero American Psycho Easton Ellis. This can only mean one thing - it's retro 80's hour! And as I recall, the 80's were not kind to men the first time around. I can't imagine it's going to get any better in the rehash.

Oh, Miuccia Prada. Your continued insistence that boys are really girls, just in uglier clothing, does not entice the credit cards out of my wallet. Admittedly, I do own a few of your stretch-cotton dress shirts because they're amazingly comfortable and are available in rich, luscious colors . . . but, more importantly, they don't look like they were designed for my fifteen year old niece.

Plaids, checks, stripes -- it's a veritable smorgasbord of over-the-topness for your average Queen Bee executive. Plus lip gloss! Methinks someone is missing all the attention he once got before he huffily stomped out on Gucci.

STD walking. 'Nuff said.

Because it's always been my fantasy to travel back in time . . . and raid Gary Numan's closet.

Apparently, hats are big. So is pulling out the Tom of Finland Halloween costume and wearing it to work. In April. What, you don't think it's office friendly?

Infantilization in 3, 2, 1 . . .

Girls want boys that look like a Harlequin Romance Novel cover, not like a skinny Harlequin clown.

Excuse me, sir? Your Grace Jones is showing.

It never fails. Whenever a designer gets a giant bug up his a** about being all cutting edge and fashion forward, skirts for men start materializing. The trend never succeeds. Ever. Yet here we are. It's 2009 and voila! Skirts for men.

Look, let me just break it down for all the designers and fashion editors that don't seem to get it - skirts look great on most women, they flow with their curves and accentuate their natural proportions in a way that's aesthetically pleasing both coming and going. Now, take a look at the skirt on the man in the photo above, and the skirts on the men in the photo below:

They're boxy and unflattering. The first man above actually has a rockin' physique (look at those legs), but you'd never know it from the flat, undefined shape of that fabric mess smashed around his waist. And what's with the weird need to "balance" out the femininity of a skirt with some clunky shoes and dark ankle socks -- a skirt is NOT a kilt, so why accessorize it like it's one?

If fashion editors are aware that skirts for men are too feminine and/or ridiculous to catch on without the help of a set of combat boots or big chunky shoes, then they should just stop trying to push skirts at the male consumer, period.

Men's trousers are very comfortable, you know. Why do you think women battled for years to get into them? I mean . . . uh . . . oh, never mind.

CHANEL NO. 22: Described as "the quintessential aldehydic fragrance" (Bois de Jasmin), "perfection" (I Smell Therefore I Am) and "infinitely refined" (Haute Parfum), No. 22 is a softer, warmer, more subtle version of its No. 5 predecessor.

Where No. 5 is a crystal vase under a spotlight, No. 22 gleams like a white porcelain bowl in a gush of morning sun. The creamy floral grouping of jasmine, tuberose and ylang-ylang hooks up with the Grasse rose and poses for its soft-focus close-up, a powdery iris dusting the mix with what can only be said to be a jolt of feminine wiles.

Then there's that ridiculously smooth vanilla incense at the base. I've often knocked the seemingly trite, cliched and/or overdone usage of vanilla in fragrances ("I'm stuck on what to add to the base of my new fragrance -- oh, I know! Vanilla!"), but here in No. 22 it . . . fits. It wouldn't be quite right any other way.

What seems to truly set No. 22 apart from the competition, however, is the inclusion of vetiver -- a near tactile layer of grass under the flowers, the smoke and the vanilla that transforms what might have been a flat 2-D sweet floral into a fleshed out 3-D "Oh, what is that you're wearing? Give it to me!" experience.

It gets a little "soapy" for my taste as it rounds the bend and heads towards the finish, but that just kind of amps up the feminine aspect -- by the end of the evening, No. 22 is light and breezy, still chatty and fresh while all the perfumes around it are wilting into piles of sawdust, dried up mosses or tired spices.

I'm not as impressed with No. 22 as I am with, say, Shalini, and while I'll actually wear Shalini myself on occasion, I'm not at all interested in springing for my own bottle of No. 22. That said, it's definitely a very well-crafted piece of work and I'd have zero problem sitting next to it throughout a lengthy dinner party.

Listed scent notes (according to BaseNotes) are: aldehydes, jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang, rose, vetiver, vanilla and incense. Chanel No. 22 was originally released in 1922 (or 1928, accounts vary) but is now reformulated and a part of the Chanel Les Exclusifs series. It can only be purchased in Chanel boutiques (or on eBay . . . for now).

PARFUMS DE NICOLAI SACREBLEU INTENSE: For a couple of hours, Sacrebleu Intense is mesmerizingly beautiful -- rich, full, deep . . . like a roomful of cellists all playing the same sad, sweet song, but then everything starts to sound (or, in this case, smell) a little off -- too much noise, too many notes crammed up close together and discordantly overlapping.

It's a shame, too, because when the stuff is pulling together it really shines, but the last half of the scent's lifespan is a sloppy mess -- well, until you hit the patchouli/balsam drydown, which deserves some praise.

Maybe the original, less pumped-up Sacrebleu is better, less messy, than this Intense version?

Notes: mandarin orange, red berries, carnation, tuberose, cinnamon, jasmine, peru balsam, sandalwood, tonka bean and patchouli. Wow. See what I mean? It's almost an embarrassment of riches, and it wears like the equivalent of too many showy pieces of jewelry donned all at once.

Note: both Chanel No. 22 and Parfums de Nicolai Sacrebleu Intense last . . . and last . . . and last, especially the Sacrebleu Intense. It's six hours after application, and while both are present and accounted for, Sacrebleu Intense is still going strong.

OFF TOPIC:

But speaking of cellos, did you know there's a whole underground movement of bowed guitar players? Neither did I. I'm always the last to know:

ORMONDE JAYNE OSMANTHUS: It was with great amusement that I read this notice on Basenotes about an Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus giveaway: "To celebrate the start of Spring, Ormonde Jayne have partnered with Basenotes to give away 200 samples of their Osmanthus fragrance, which was launched in 2003. One lucky winner will recieve a full bottle of the scent . . . To have a chance to win a sample, email sales@ormondejayne.com with the title 'Osmanthus Offer', and answer the following question: In which year was Osmanthus launched?"

Okay, well, putting aside for the moment that the qualifying answer is provided in the first paragraph of the announcement itself, I can't help but think that this is the Ormonde Jayne brand's equivalent of clearing its throat in a crowded room: "Uhm, hello? All you Serge Lutens fangirls presently squeeeing about Nuit de Cellophane? Been there, done that. Six years ago. Just sayin' . . . "

And how does the Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus hold up six years after its debut into the market? Quite nicely, thank you for asking. OJ Osmanthus is contentedly perched at the bar and well on her third cosmo by the time Nuit de Cellophane glides past the doorman in a flurry of self-importance and paparazzi flashbulbs, but that's okay, because, you know, OJ Osmanthus knew cool before cool became cool -- so if the osmanthus note is the new trendy scent note, somebody obviously got there first. And it wasn't Lutens.

Cue Ormonde Jayne patting itself on the back.

Re: a review -- right, here we go: OJ Osmanthus launches out of the bottle with a burst of pomello citrus and davana herb, there's a fresh and almost Springlike green quality to it (especially once you factor in the osmanthus oil itself) that makes the scent an excellent choice for getting your brain in groove with the changing season, yet the use of musk, labdanum and vetiver in the base keeps the formula from tilting overly sugared and frothy.

In other words, this isn't some flirty, girly, fruity floral, even though it's kind of fruity . . . and floral -- the musk and vetiver definitely keep the froth in check.

Bartender! Bring the lady another cosmo, please!

Some reviewers have complained that Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus isn't as striking and complex as other Ormonde Jayne offerings, yet somehow I think that's the point: an attractively clean, greenly sweet and unapologetically lovely Spring fragrance, yet with a little steel in its bloomers.

Below, an elegiac video portraying the use of the osmanthus flower in a "blooming tea" ritual. No, it has nothing to do with osmanthus in perfumery, but it's kind of a cool video clip anyway:

SOCIAL CREATURES UTOPIAN: Utopian is one of those rare instances where I actually agree with the description on the LuckyScent site (give or take a few panting adjectives).

Where Social Creatures Rebel Ambush was light, dry and dusty, Utopian is all afizz with peppery carnation and a frankincense so clear and bright it's almost minty fresh. The orris and lavender contribute to this bright, clear view while the myrtle and oakmoss do a green forested tango in the background . . . or is that a foxtrot? Me and my ballroom lexicon are too rusty for words.

Me likey! Especially for summer. Oh h*ll, why wait? For the longest time, you could only order Social Creatures fragrances from their UK website, but Lucky Scent (based out of Los Angeles) has recently seen fit to grant us a stateside audience with the brand. With no fanfare, too -- I didn't even know Social Creatures was now available on their site until Tara emailed and told me. I was, like, "Wha-wha-WHAT?!!"

I'm so out of the loop.

Scent notes for Utopian: neroli, myrtle, lavender, coriander, orris, carnation, tonka, cognac, frankincense and oakmoss. Definitely unisex, as the carnation is more pepper-spray than floral. The lifespan is longer than what I experienced with Rebel Ambush, as well. I got a good four to five hours out of Utopian -- longer if you count watching it ride off into the sunset (insert your best Shane impression here).

It's been a long haul of an American winter, what with a contentious election, arguments about bailouts and a global economy that looks like it's headed right for the backyard septic system, so I figured a dose of sunshine is just about well deserved at this point.

I've been reading comments on blogs and forums about people cutting back on discretionary spending, maybe not splurging on the wildly (or even mildly wildly) expensive niche perfumes they might have once considered must-haves, so I wanted to feature one of my favorite new discoveries: Laurie Erickson's Sonoma Scent Studio -- a tiny boutique perfumery out of California that offers quality, hand-mixed, hand-bottled fragrances at a very attractive price point.

For example, you could blow $200.00 on a 1.7 ounce bottle of Serge Lutens Bois de Violette, or you could snag a one ounce bottle of Sonoma Scent Studio's Voile de Violette for $47.00. They're both woodsy violet fragrances that are suited for warm weather wear, yet Erickson's Voile de Violette is the one that's soft, fun and perfect for daily use, so you can smell fresh and lovely while still stoking that inner, frugal glow.

I see that as totally a win-win situation.

So in the spirit of sniffing for quality at bargain prices, I'm offering five 0.5 ounce bottles of Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances as part of a random drawing. Let me know in the comments section if you want your name to be considered for a bottle and which bottle is your preference. If you're having trouble getting a comment through -- sometimes the Movable Type program is a little iffy -- you can find my email address in the About Me section.

I have five different flavors of Sonoma Scent Studio to offer:

Voile de Violette: "a unique and unconventional violet fragrance with fresh aspects from the green violet leaf and woodsy additions from the cedar, vetiver, and tonka" -- notes of violet, iris, rose, cedar, vetiver, violet leaf, tonka bean, hay and myrrh.

Lieu de Reves: "a beautiful powdery perfume with soft floral notes of violet and rose on a base of heliotrope, tonka, cedar, vetiver, amber, vanilla, musk and a touch of orris" -- notes of heliotrope, violet, rose, jasmine, cedar, amber, vetiver, tonka, orris, vanilla, musk and very soft aldehydes.

Ambre Noir: "a rich and sultry scent, with cedar and sandalwood in the base and subtle deep rose weaving between the woods" -- notes of labdanum absolute, amber, rose, olibanum, myrrh, vetiver codistilled with mitti, oakmoss absolute, aged Indian patchouli, Texas cedarwood, sandalwood and castoreum. Ambre Noir has a high concentration of natural ingredients.

Vintage Rose: "plummy rose with a rich base of woods, tonka, amber, and labdanum. Not a rose soliflore, but a feminine blend that's warm and full bodied" -- notes of rose, plum, amber, labdanum absolute, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver and tonka bean.

Encens Tranquille: "copious amounts of lovely woodsy frankincense CO2 extract and rich labdanum absolute help make this is a dry and resinous scent for lovers of frankincense and labdanum" -- notes of frankincense, myrrh, labdanum absolute, oakmoss absolute, aged Indian patchouli, Texas cedarwood, Indian sandalwood and ambergris.

All bottles are brand new and have never been sprayed -- I only took them out of their boxes for the photographs, so they'll be very slightly handled.

Again, if you'd like to be included in the drawing, leave a comment with both your name and the fragrance that piques your interest in the comments section of this post. I'll draw the names next Friday (March 27th) and will announce them on the site. You'll need to contact me with your mailing address details by the following Monday (March 30th).

And go check out Laurie's website. She's part of a new tradition of contemporary perfumers that formulate, mix and bottle all their fragrances by hand, which helps keep the costs down while preserving the quality of the product.

If you're in the market for fragrances that are affordable while still smelling exclusive and boutique, you should give her work a try. She has an excellent sample program, and I'll be including some samples of her other fragrances in the packages that will go out to Grab Bag winners.

Note: due to present (and burdensome) U.S. customs restrictions, I can only send bottles to addresses in the United States. I sincerely apologize to any international readers.

A kindred soul, who apparently knows me much better than I had thought possible, sent me a copy of Bookhunter by Jason Shiga, a graphic novel with a cult following:

A thrilling saga of CSI type Library Police who use all available means to retrieve stolen library books. The particular agent at the center of Bookhunter has a license to kill.

"One more step and I'll immolate us all!"

A priceless book has been stolen from the Oakland Public Library, and the martial arts trained, weapons proficient Agent Bay has to solve the mystery and retrieve the book before it's too late.

"We're going to need to see your checkout records from Jan 10 thru Mar 13."

The plot is intricate, riddled with high tech surveillance, chase scenes, violent confrontations and lots of shattering glass. If I had read this book when I was a teenager, I'd probably be a librarian today.

"You never told them ours was missing in the first place!"

Jason Shiga's father was an animator who worked on the 1964 Rankin-Bass production, 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer':

Yesterday was the BF's birthday. He received flowers from Bella Flora:

And cupcakes from Sprinkles:

And a 16 course celebratory dinner at Craft:

All sixteen courses were fantastic, but the glass of wine that accompanied each course was overkill. I mean, it was our idea and definitely fun at the time, but today I feel like someone dropped a Steinway on my head.

So in case any of you were wondering, sixteen glasses of wine in one sitting is a little difficult to pull off, but what the hell -- when you're kissing your thirties goodbye, nothing kisses like excess.

Now please excuse me as I crawl back into bed.

Bond No. 9 has their PR packages down pat -- the brightly colored, cellophane wrapped sample vials; the super-saturated glossy photos of the bottles; the slick gold-foil printed folders. It's obvious that the people behind the Bond No. 9 brand understand the importance of first impressions.

I received a sample packet for both Brooklyn and Astor, and I'm wearing Brooklyn as I type this. It's a bright, medicinal-tinged fragrance (that would be the juniper berry talking) with a peppery geranium heart over a base of guaiac-smoothed cedar and new blonde leather.

Void of any reference to Brooklyn as run-down and dirty, save for the graffiti sprayed bottle, which is striking from a design perspective -- Miss Whoever You Are writes that the bottle design "truly captures the essence of Brooklyn; the edgy, cool, yet laid back feel" -- Bond No. 9's Brooklyn is a gentrified borough with condos, organic produce markets and a Starbucks on every other corner.

I knew a guy who took the subway every weekday from Brooklyn to his job at Merrill Lynch (back when there was still a Merrill Lynch) -- this would suit him perfectly. Clean shaven and fresh without being at all soapy or ozonic (thank god). A smart choice for wear on beastly, humid summer days in the city.

The usual Bond No. 9 complaint of "This doesn't last near long enough!" applies, and for the high prices the brand charges, the complainers have a point.

For a different spin on Brooklyn, Perfume Posse states: "While this is most obviously a men's scent, I would actually endorse this as a more interesting fragrance for the ladies . . . I also think it would be refreshing in the summer heat."

1.) Yesterday, it was Life-Size Chocolate-Mud Barbie Cake. Today, it's Duct Tape Prom!

Not an itchy, scratchy polyester thread in sight!

Who says the Utilitarian Look can't be stylish and cool? Do yourself a favor and follow the link to the NYMag article. The full slideshow of Duct Tape Deliciousness awaits!

2.) China Rides to the Rescue of Designer Logos Everywhere:
"China Investment Corp, the country's US$200-billion sovereign wealth fund, is exploring opportunities of investing in the luxury goods sector amid the economic crisis . . . Some of the best-known luxury goods firms, such as LVMH ... and PPR, are looking for funding opportunities . . . The sovereign wealth fund holds optimistic views on the luxury goods industry as it is stable business and is estimated to be able to weather the current economic crisis better than other sectors."

I'm not certain that this is a vote of confidence for the luxury industry so much as it's a vote of no-confidence in U.S. government debt -- the outlook on U.S. Treasury Bonds has apparently become so dismal that sovereign funds now consider designer handbags, shoes and dresses as potentially better and more stable long-term investments.

Speaking of votes of no confidence, German fashion house Escada could certainly use some rescuing: "Luxury fashion house Escada urgently needs money to survive the next couple of months, it said on Tuesday after revealing a hefty net loss for both its past fiscal year and first quarter as demand wanes."

And just in time for the market to bottom out, Jil Sander elbows her way back into the fray: "The legendary designer was rumoured to be working on a new project, and last month was spotted at French fabric fair Première Vision. The industry was a buzz with rumours, was Jill returning to design? . . . Today in Tokyo, all was revealed. Jil will consult on all aspects of global design fro Uniqlo, as well as when the time is right - design her own capsule collection for the brand."

Sander is a minimalist designer whose collections were critically acclaimed all through the 80's and 90's. She was bought out by the Prada Group in 1999 and left her namesake company shortly after, which is now being helmed by designer Raf Simons.

Video clip below of a Jil Sander collection for Fall/Winter 2004-2005, and actually designed by Jil Sander. Sander agreed to come back from retirement briefly to design for her own label, but quit again in November of 2004 due to irreconcilable differences with the management at Prada Group. You can see from the clip how much influence she still wields almost 15 years later:

3.) Man Trashes Versace Handbags Because He's Mad at His Girlfriend:
"Lansley Simon, 25 ... will have to do community work after spray-painting nine Versace handbags in an exclusive Melbourne store . . . His lawyer Leighton Gwynn said Simon was at that time having relationship problems."

His girlfriend (described as "a gangland lawyer") regularly shopped at the same Versace boutique, so what better way to get back at her than to go spray paint all the bags she didn't yet own and so wouldn't really notice or care if they were destroyed. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Mr. Simon, a former fitness instructor, was also charged with "trafficking methylamphetamine, possessing steroids and possessing prohibited weapons and ammunition," so he's obviously a real catch in the Mr. Right department.

In related news, Fake Designer Bags Make You Do Bad Things: "Professor Dan Ariely of MIT and Duke ... presented a report called 'Faking It: The Psychology of Dishonesty and Counterfeits,' which explains how the mere act of wearing a fake makes you a bad person who will do bad things . . . it's like the broken window theory, but on an individual level: First you carry a fake Louis wallet, and the next thing you know, your whole value system has collapsed and you're shunned from polite society."

Oh, suddenly it's all starting to make sense . . .

4.) Marc Jacobs is So Bored With Your Petty Economic Concerns:
"As Marc Jacobs so astutely put it in New York last month after his show, 'I am so bored of everyone talking about the credit crunch!' So true! I mean, like, God! Once it was all about bling, now it's all about crunch and I think we all know which (sort of) onomatopoeia has more accessorising potential."

Unconcerned perhaps with Mr. Jacob's distaste for tedious news, Swatch announced that its annual profits dropped over 17% on slower sales: "'I think we will have, in terms of sales development, the toughest year in 25 years this year, after some outstanding years -- not just for Swatch Group but for the whole luxury-goods industry,' said Patrik Schwendimann, an analyst with Zurcher Kantonalbank. 'I'm expecting that finished watch sales this year will decline by 10.0% to 15.0%.'"

Even a fairly creative James Bond Villain Collection couldn't pull Swatch out of its global sales slump . . . though, admittedly, the Bond franchise as a whole is getting a bit creaky, despite Daniel Craig knockin' 'em dead at the box office:

BTW: Marc Jacobs has been nominated (yet again) for a Council of Fashion award as Womenswear Designer of the Year. Can I just say, I am so bored with Marc Jacobs getting nominated for fashion awards! It's like Meryl Streep getting nominated for another Oscar -- yeah yeah, great work, yada yada yada zzzzzzzz.

French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld isn't bored, though -- she's discovering an almost thrilling challenge in tackling the new economic reality: "'It's become ridiculous,' she tells CNN, explaining that where once eight people may have gathered around a table to discuss a photo shoot, now there are 25. 'Some things got too far away. There were people who were flying private jets -- we need to go back to reality. I don't want to take the money out of the beauty of the picture, I don't want to change the paper of the magazine, I don't want to change the materials, but ... when it's more difficult you have to be more creative.'"

Ha! Take that, Jacobs.

5.) The Hat Heard Round the World:
"Aretha Franklin ... stepped to the microphone at President Barack Obama's inauguration in January wearing an eye-catching gray fur felt hat trimmed with a huge sloping, rhinestone bow. Now, the hat's creator, Luke Song, has more than 5,000 orders for the spring version of the Aretha Hat . . . And more orders are bound to pour in because Song learned this week that Franklin has decided to lend her hat to the Smithsonian, where it will be on display until it moves to a permanent place in Obama's presidential library."

Sometimes you wear the hat, and sometimes the hat wears you.

6.) Nothing Bribes Quite Like a Flashy Designer Bribe:
"Every March ... up to 5,000 Communist Party delegates from China's provinces and regions gather in the capital for two annual meetings: the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Their mission is to assess the nation's progress and debate public policy. But while here, the delegates also seek to curry favor with their superiors, the nation's top leaders, often by showering them with expensive gifts: Gucci handbags, Hermès scarves, Montblanc pens and $30,000 diamond-studded Swiss watches."

Industry analysts speculate that bribes of designer items to China's government officials may comprise up to 50% of the country's total sales of luxury goods.

But while luxury houses are raking it in throughout Beijing for the month of March, Prada has announced that it's cutting prices in Japan to better compete with lower cost designer brands: "Prada Japan, the Japanese arm of the Italian brand, is to cut prices on 80% of its handbag range and 25% of other products at 38 shops . . . The move is the latest of a series of markdowns by major European fashion brands in Japan, responding to lackluster consumption amid the weakening economy and strong yen."

Video clip below of the Prada Fall 2009 collection they'll likely have to discount to get rid of:

Meanwhile, Gucci loses Trademark Protection in Sweden: "A Swedish Court of Patent Appeals on Thursday rejected Gucci's application to protect its trademark in Sweden . . . The court confirmed a decision by the Patent and Registration Office which ruled that the two G symbol ... was already owned by a firm registered in Västra Frölunda . . . Gucci had argued to the court it was one of the world's largest fashion concerns and underlined that its trademark was a monogram, arguments that held no sway with the Swedish court."

A major designer logo without trademark protection is like a candy store without locks on its doors.

PARFUMERIE GENERALE BRULURE DE ROSE: There's one thing Parfumerie Generale knows how to do exceptionally well -- make everything it touches smell mouth-wateringly edible. Brulure de Rose obliges like clockwork in this respect, coming across like a mad scientist's dream of teatime in the flower garden: a mass of lush red roses genetically spliced with platters of sticky buns and raspberry tarts still warm from the oven.

This may actually be the first time I've stopped to consider the pros and cons of devouring a rose garden, but it's hard to be sure.

Not everyone's a fan of the edible roses trick (take a gander at the customer reviews at Lucky Scent), but if you have a personal wish to smell like the human equivalent of a snack cart in Buckingham Palace, Brulure de Rose might just be the fairy godmother with the power to grant it.

"Hubba hubba! You some kind of booteefull!"

Marina at Perfume Smellin' Things writes: "This is an opulent, darkly-sweet fragrance, in which the rose appears as if surrounded by fragrant, smoky fumes of a fire made of aromatic wood and amber, of sugar, vanilla and spice."

It's magically delicious!

STELLA MCCARTNEY STELLA ROSE ABSOLUTE: If the makers of Stella Rose Absolute were shooting for a smell that approximated a fresh rose still on the stem, then Stella Rose Absolute gets it pretty darn close -- well, at least, it's pretty darn close right at the moment when it first escapes the bottle and hits the skin.

Once the fragrance is exposed to skin and air, however, the fresh plucked scent is quickly infused with a toasted vanilla (or vegetal amber), lending the fragrance some ballast so that it doesn't capsize into a sea of utter and uber daintiness.

There's a little bit of fruit (mandarin orange) and soap (white musk) to rope in the younger consumers, but the blend isn't excessive about it, and the shot of peony right through the center keeps things light.

But I'd be failing my end of the reviewing bargain if I didn't mention that the lightness can very well be criticized as being too light -- the whole rosy kit and kaboodle pretty much vanishes from view after a few hours, leaving just a vapor trail of freshness behind.

Robin at Now Smell This writes: "There is nothing particularly edgy or groundbreaking about it, but it doesn't smell like your typical department store/designer perfume. McCartney said she wanted to create a fragrance she would actually wear; of course, everyone says that, but in this case it seems believable."

Sheer and harmless.

OFF TOPIC, BUT STILL WAY YUMMY:

The very epitome of Eat Me: "To celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday, in Sydney, Australia, Mattel unveiled a nearly seven-foot tall "Barbie doll" chocolate mud cake. The 2,645 lb cake was covered in gold icing, gold silk, and 2,000 Swarovski crystals valued at $50,000, and was based on the design for the limited edition 50th Anniversary Barbie Doll."

"Here, let me slice some of that chocolate mud off your hips . . . "

OMG, it's Barbie! And a Cake! It's a bigger than life, two thousand pound BARBIE CAKE!

You have to go check out the website to see more photos. The level of detail is astonishing, to put it mildly.

***Note: since the cake was unveiled in Australia, do you think they had any shrimp on that Barbie?

You have to have it!

ADDED:

And for your weekend entertainment, I give you the four-minute condensed version of the atrocious Congo:

Reducing one hundred and nine minutes of awfulness into four minutes of random explosions, gunfire and dismemberments somehow makes it seem like less of the terrible movie than it actually was.

I mean, it's still terrible, but now it's only four minutes of terrible . . . with lasers!

***Via Eric Snider's Bad Movies.

Neither the Cristiano Fissore Rapsodia in Blue nor the Memo Siwa are household fragrance names, even among the smaller niche players and consumers, but exploring the unpaved paths that branch off the lesser-traveled side roads of the mainstream fragrance industry can sometimes yield surprising treasures . . . or leave you hacking your way with a machete through chest high weeds.

Either way, it's an adventure.

Today, there's no treasure or weeds, just some hiking down a pleasant trail that dead ends before we hit a destination. If that sounds like faint praise, well, my one hand is definitely clapping.

Both Rapsodia in Blu and Siwa are agreeable fragrances, with Siwa presenting itself as a smooth, candy-coated ingenue suitable for the young (or the young at heart), while Rapsodia has a spiky, angular nature reminiscent of men's cologne. When pressed for an opinion, the BF sighed, sniffed and stated that Memo Siwa is "warm" (that's probably the Whiskey and Popcorn notes -- I wish I were kidding) and Rapsodia in Blu is "cool" (the Lily of the Valley and Mugweed combo, in this case).

The two fragrances wrap things up with a healthy dose of white musk -- Rapsodia's finish is flavored with blackberry and cedarwood for a soft and woodsy white musk drydown that's certainly nice but doesn't last as long as it should, and Siwa's drydown is doused in vanilla for that dreamy, sugar-rush feeling you get when you watch late-night romantic comedies while devouring an entire bag of white-chocolate covered pretzels washed down with a liter of Coke.

What? Why are you all looking at me like that?

Listed scent notes for Cristiano Fissore Rapsodia in Blu: lemon, bergamot, rosemary, petitgrain, mugweed, jasmine, lily of the valley, cedarwood and white musk. Cristiano Fissore is an Italian luxury brand, founded in 1977, that specializes in cashmere silk and wool fabrics. The addition of fragrances to the line is recent (2006 and 2007), and is a cheap and effective way to subsidize operations by cashing in on the brand's name recognition.

Listed Scent notes for Memo Siwa: cinnamon, aldehydes, narcisse, whiskey, popcorn, musc and vanilla. Memo is a French company that specializes in fragrances, scented candles and bath & skincare products. Siwa was created by perfumer Alienor Massenet, who's also responsible for Viktor & Rolf Antidote, Diesel Only the Brave, Lancome Tresor Sparkling and more.

photos of shoes after the jump!

PARFUMS DE NICOLAI CARRE D'AS: Carre d'as is described as a contemporary, toned-down version of the classic fougere genre -- the lemon-lime twist at the intro substituting for the traditional lavender, while the frankincense, tobacco and musk at the base stand in for the usual oakmoss and tonka suspects.

The result is a smooth citrus-tinged scent with a fesh, herbal soul and a dusty incense finish. As such, Carre d'as won't knock anyone's block off (and certainly not mine), but it'd be an excellent choice for office wear as it gives off the impression of calm and collected competence.

For about the same price point, however, you could get a bottle of Cartier Declaration and smell just as coolly competent (if not more so) while impressing the h*ll out of everyone within sniffing distance.

ETAT LIBRE D'ORANGE ELOGE DU TRAITRE: I hate to admit it, but I have a problem with the Etat Libre d'Orange packaging -- the names and imagery often strike me as embarrassingly juvenile to the point where I can't bring myself to purchase a bottle, which is unfortunate in some cases, as they do produce a few worthy pieces of work.

Eloge du Traitre is one of those worthy pieces. Listed scent notes are: pine, bay leaf, armoise (aka mugwort), clove, geranium, jasmine, patchouli, leather and musk. The intro is an attractive cold-air pine, while clove, geranium and jasmine produce a rich, spiced floral effect at the heart. The base of patchouli, leather and musk is also nicely crafted.

This is not a feminine fragrance, and I hesitate to classify it as even unisex. The musk leans dark (though it definitely lightens up over time), and the whole thing skews charred and smoky for a good portion of its lifespan, though it seems to run out of steam as it heads into its finish, sacrificing some of the complexity and deep intensity that initially makes it so striking.

Eloge du Traitre has been compared to Caron Yatagan, and there are similarities, especially the spicy, musky parts, but Yatagan stays true to its darker nature while Eloge du Traitre eases up on the depth of the musk at the end, as if to say, "What? Worry about moi? I'm harmless!"

So I guess you could say it's a kind of Yatagan Lite for the hep kids. If you appreciate Caron Yatagan in theory (yet would never actually wear something quite so charred and attention-getting in your daily life), you might want to give the more youthful Eloge du Traitre a spin.

***Note: Eloge du Traitre and Carre d'as have about the same lifespan on the skin (six hours plus), though I think I prefer the incense, tobacco and musk drydown of Carre d'as over the light leathery musk of Eloge du Traitre.

1.) Alexander McQueen Drops Some Pop Onto Paris Runways:
"Alexander McQueen may be the last designer standing who is brave or foolhardy enough to present a collection that is an unadulterated piece of hard and ballsy showmanship . . . There were those who found his picture of women with sex-doll lips and sometimes painfully theatrical costumes ugly and misogynistic. Others--mainly young spectators who haven't been thrilled by the season's many sensible pitches to middle-aged working women--were energized by the sheer spectacle, as well as the couture-level drama in the execution of the clothes."

Damn the recession and consumer depression -- full speed ahead! Video clip below from McQueen's crazy quilt of a Fall 2009 collection:

But somebody might want to read a newspaper article to Stella McCartney once in a while: "(Ms.) McCartney brushed off questions about the impact of the economic crisis . . . 'What crisis?' she said after her show, laughing before turning away to discuss the thigh-high faux leather boots and lace-and-wool dresses in her collection."

I guess when your father is Paul McCartney, it's difficult to grasp those tedious little facts that comprise ordinary reality -- though I'm sure one or two of the executives at Gucci Group (which owns the Stella McCartney brand) could bring her up to speed on current events real fast. Below is a clip from her Fall 2009 show:

Meanwhile, the consensus is that Lagerfeld delivered a solid hit of "practical chic" while at bat for Chanel. Chic, I can see, but practical? Chanel? Well, you can make that judgement for yourself, but I never thought the words "practical" and "Chanel" would co-exist in the same sentence:

You know, as kooky, pompous and narcissistic as he is, I kind of hope Karl Lagerfeld lives forever.

2.) Well, Since It Was Such a Hit for Yves St. Laurent:
"Sotheby's is selling the contents of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's villa on Lake Como, a month after rival Christie's launched a record-breaking sale of Yves Saint Laurent's art and furniture collection . . . The 550 lots of continental furniture, sculpture, paintings and silver works will include a never-before seen painting by Johann Zoffany, the only known work from a series of four paintings from the early years of the artist's time in India, all previously thought to have been lost."

Should we be reading anything into these recent auctions from designers' estates? I think we'll know the sh*t has really hit the fan should Valentino's extensive collection of art and antiques hit the auction block.

Speaking of art -- Artist Destroys $12,000 Worth of Vuitton Bags: "Conceptual artist R. Lloyd Ming had an assistant purchase a dozen of the $1,000 bags at Louis Vuitton's Manhattan flagship over the holidays. He then cut them in half to make a sculpture for his new solo exhibit . . . 'The work is called Vuitton Crucifix and it is a commentary on the new wealth and materialism that has been created in China,' Ming says."

You mean, those crappy brown and tan canvas-logo bags cost $1,000.00 . . . ? That's either a sign of brilliant marketing or incredibly thick consumers. Or both.

3.) Neiman Marcus Continues to Bleed:
"For the second quarter, Neiman's revenue hit $1.08 billion, down from $1.37 billion the previous year . . . post(ing) a loss of $509 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2009. The loss is much deeper than the company's second-quarter 2008 earnings of $44.3 million."

It's not just Neiman Marcus, though, as big chain retailers across the board are facing up to some tough economic data -- Recession may be breaking chain department stores: "Analysts who study department stores say the downturn may prove too severe for some companies . . . As a group, department stores posted nine consecutive monthly sales declines through January and are forecast to post a 10.8% decline in February, said analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters."

But hey, Stella McCartney laughs in the face of recession . . .

In related news, retailer American Eagle reported a 4th quarter drop in profit of 77%: "American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Wednesday that unplanned markdowns during the weak holiday season and a charge related to the declining value of some investment securities sent its fourth-quarter profit tumbling 77 percent."

J. Crew also posted a loss, but did better than analysts expected: "Losses for the three months ended Jan. 31 totaled $13.5 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $25 million, or 39 cents per share, last year . . . But the results topped expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who on average predicted a wider loss of 27 cents per share on revenue of $372.8 million."

But American Eagle and J. Crew's losses appear to be The Buckle's gain: "Teen retailer Buckle Inc. logged an 18% rise in fiscal fourth-quarter net income, helped by higher margins and continued sales growth . . . Buckle's trendy tops and edgy jeans and footwear have helped it ride out the weak shopping environment and other troubles affecting retailers. The company targets fashion-conscious 12- to 24-year-olds with mid- to high-priced casual apparel, including brand names such as Dr. Martens, Fossil and Lucky."

British design house Mulberry is also weathering the storm: "Christmas sales and an excellent January - where sales beat last year by 30 per cent - have contributed to the brand posting positive end of year results . . . 'We decided not to go on sale until after Christmas,' Mulberry chairman Godfrey Davis told VOGUE.COM this morning. 'That helped our margin and proved to be very good for business.'"

And as much as it will chagrin a certain reader, Hot Topic's Twilight merchandise tie-in has boosted sales significantly for the chain retailer: "Company executives, as well as analysts, credited the film's momentum and sales-related licensed merchandise for an 11.4 percent climb in third-quarter profits . . . comparable-store sales were negative from the second quarter of 2005 until October 2008. They have risen each month since then, increasing 6.5 percent in November, 4.3 percent in December, 6 percent in January and 10.8 percent last month."

Sparkly vampires can sell the sh*t out of anything!

Swiss luxury watchmaker Chopard could have used some sparkly vampire magic of its own: "Chopard, which competes with brands like Richemont's Cartier, expects lower orders . . . The appetite for luxury timepieces has slumped in recent months as consumers cut spending on worries about global recession."

4.) Barbie May Be 50, But She's Not Slowing Down:
"This past weekend, Mattel opened up a $30 million, six-story Barbie lifestyle store in Shanghai--complete with a spa where mothers can get their nails done with their daughters, a café and bar and racks of Barbie clothing . . . The idea: Barbie is no longer just a doll. She's a lifestyle. That may be harder for Americans to accept since our image of her is so firmly ingrained. In China, she is a newcomer unburdened by generations of familiarity, and Mattel has a chance to create a new consumer perception of what she means."

5.) I received an email this morning about the Sniffapalooza event that will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany later this month. Here's the scoop:
"From March 20th through 22nd, there will be a niche fragrance fair in Duesseldorf, Germany with Sniffapalooza founder Karen Dubin (plus Sniffa's from around the world) participating in 3 days of activities . . . About 30 niche fragrance companies will present their treasures, while Vero Kern, Andy Tauer and Mona d'Orio are expected as guests for the fair.

On Saturday a coach will take the fragrance fanatics to Cologne for an exclusive guided tour at 4711 and Farina. After that, a visit to the Cologne Cathedral will round out the trip, then back to Duesseldorf where the group will have the chance to visit niche perfumeries."

You can also read more about the German Sniffapalooza event here. A Sniffapalooza event is also scheduled for London in July.

6.) Remember Roberto Cavalli's Coca Cola bottle designs? Well, now designer Sonia Rykiel's daughter has tried her hand at designing a new Coca Cola Light bottle, and it's pretty darn 80's . . . while also looking pretty darn great!

I like it better than the Cavalli bottles.

7.) Louis Vuitton Will Choose Its Own Spokespeople, Thank You:
"LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton said Thursday it has settled a lawsuit it brought against Bad Boy Records in which the luxury goods firm accused girl group Danity Kane of unauthorized use of its intellectual property . . . LVMH said that as part of the settlement, Bad Boy agreed to remove visual references to Louis Vuitton trademarks in Danity Kane's self-titled album and two videos. The company said Bad Boy agreed to revise the videos and album in future releases."

Previously, Sony BMG got caught in LVMH's crosshairs when Britney Spears released a music video for her song "Do Something" that incorporated the use of the Vuitton monogram in a dashboard cover for a tricked-out pink Hummer:

Sony BMG was ordered to pay LVMH 100,000 euros for infringing on their trademark and devaluing their brand. I kind of see LVMH's point. Some may look at these music videos as free advertisements for Louis Vuitton products, but LV already pays millions of dollars to do its own advertising, and if it wanted Britney or Danity Kane as spokespeople, it would have already hired them.

The appearance of the brand's logo in music videos like Britney's gives the impression of an official endorsement for the trash-fabulous lifestyle the music video represents -- which, obviously, is not the exclusive and/or refined image the brand pays good money to promote on its own.

***Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of Louis Roederer, the company that produces Cristal, famously complained about its growing association with hip-hop and how it might be devaluing their brand, resulting in a very cranky call for a boycott of Cristal by rapper Jay-Z.

8.) Everyone Is So Over Paris Fashion Week:
"Apparently the new Paris Fashion Week calendar of eight full days of shows isn't sitting well with the fashion flock -- many are 'cranky' and 'grumbling loudly,' and the Vogue team, except for Hamish Bowles, is departing tomorrow, which means they'll miss Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton on Thursday."

Wow. That is cranky! But mon dieu, eight days in a row of one fashion show after another would make my head hurt, too.

California Company Forced To Lay Off Workers As Accountant Rips Off Funds For Luxury Cars and Clothes

"A former bookkeeper embezzled $9.9 million, forcing her company to make layoffs while she bought 400 pairs of shoes that she kept in a room-sized closet . . . Annette Yeomans spent at least $240,000 on 400 pairs of shoes, $300,000 on designer clothing and 160 purses valued at $2,000 each . . . A bedroom in her San Marcos home was remodeled into a clothes closet and boasted a granite-covered center island, crystal chandelier and 32-inch plasma television."

"Do these ten million embezzled dollars make my a** look fat?"*

There is so much that's so terribly wrong about the above story (not to mention its featured players), it's hard to know where to start:

1.) The article states that the woman was a trusted employee and so her work was never questioned and no one investigated the dwindling funds of the company. So, in effect, she ripped off $10,000,000.00 from people who trusted her and were probably her "friends" . . . nice.

2.) The embezzling went on for six years. She watched fellow employees get laid off due to the company's financial difficulties, but kept right on with her spending sprees. If they hadn't caught her, she probably would have killed the company outright, like some lethal, designer-branded parasite that drains its host dry and then moves on in search of shinier accessories.

3.) By the time she was caught, Ms. Yeomans had 400 pairs of shoes, 160 handbags, racks of new clothing, boxes of fashion jewelry and a former bedroom that she had remodeled into her own private dressing room. The assets were seized (including the house and a few cars) and sold off, but that only brought in just over $2,000,000.

Seeming moral to the story: there is no such thing as an "investment piece" when it comes to fashion.

I can hear you asking, "But wtf happened to the other $8,000,000.00? And didn't anyone she worked with ever stop to consider how she could possibly afford all her high-end shoes, bags, clothes, cars and remodeling projects on an accountant's salary?"

The answer to the first question: she made regular shopping trips to Italy, and she liked to gamble (Yeomans is believed to have gambled away $6 million). The answer to the second: people can be really really (really!) oblivious. Like, really.

For example: her husband also worked for the company as a cabinet installer "but was not suspected of any crime . . . 'I think he just simply believed that she made a good wage and that she received bonuses and was being compensated well for the work that she did,' said Sgt. Mark Varnau."

Like I said, oblivious.

But there's always a silver lining: "Yeomans faces 20 felony counts of embezzlement and grand theft ... (she could) face 40 years in prison if tried and convicted of all current charges, and more charges could be added as the investigation of her spending continues."

Apparently, authorities aren't convinced they yet know the full extent of the financial havoc this woman wrecked. She's, like, a little Bernadette Madoff.

Note: I think the Yeomans/Madoff parallel is what's known in some circles as Microcosm Theory.

YOSH OMNISCIENT 0.96: Independent and self-taught perfumer-numerologist-aromatherapist (etc.) Yosh Han took the concept of omniscience -- "the capacity to know everything infinitely" -- and created an Everything Plus The Kitchen Sink fragrance to illustrate it.

Incorporating gardenia, egyptian tuberose, fig, lilac, violet, kush (or cannabis), tunisian opium, sandalwood, vanilla, basil, clove, geranium and pink grapefruit (i.e. every trendy essence of the moment), Omniscient 0.96 is pretty much a Frankenstein's Monster of a fragrance, lurching awkwardly from a clashing intro of grapefruit, tuberose and cannabis into a thick, floral and over-spiced mid-phase until it finally wheezes to a sandalwood-vanilla finish that's . . . actually kind of nice. It's just a shame about everything that precedes it.

Omniscient 0.96 reminds me of my first experiment with making cookies when I was ten years old -- I figured if chocolate chips and peanut butter and caramel sauce and marshmallows and strawberry jam and Captain Crunch cereal (with bananas!) were all good on their own, then they'd be fantastic all mixed together and baked as cookies, right? I mean, they'd be the best cookies EVER, right?!!!

"Now I know what it feels like to be god!"

Sadly, I was oh so wrong, and Yosh Omniscient 0.96 is also oh so wrong in exactly the same way: too many favorite ingredients in one mixing bowl = gloppy disaster. To add insult to injury, Ms. Han charges $130.00 for 8ml of this mash-up, resulting in a middling (at best) perfume that's nearly $500.00 an ounce.

*blink*

There's so much excellent perfumery out there that is far superior to Omniscient 0.96, and you don't even need to look very hard to find it. Both Barneys and Lucky Scent, which carry the Yosh line, carry numerous other brands (Le Labo, Serge Lutens, Frederic Malle, Armani Prive, Vero Profumo, Sarah Horowitz and more) that beat the unholy stuffing out of Omniscient 0.96 for the same, if not lower, price point.

I hate to say it, but the one positive aspect of our present economic crunch is that overpriced, new-agey perfumers like Yosh Han might find themselves out of clients and out of business, and while I hear that some of Yosh Han's other work is better than Omniscient 0.96 -- simpler, and more wearable -- my experience with Omniscient has stripped me of the will to find out for myself.

***Note: I surfed the net to see if there were any of my usual trusted sources (Now Smell This, Perfume Smellin' Things, The Non-Blonde, Perfume Posse, etc.) who rave about Yosh, but what I encountered were reactions mostly along the lines of: "It wasn't terrible, but it's not great, either, and the price and the new-agey blah-blah clash tragically."

I agree.

MAZZOLARI ZAGARA: Zagara is definitely better than I expected it to be, with the added bonus of turning more and more beautiful the longer it hangs around the premises, but that initial spicy blast when it first pours out of the bottle is a little startling.

I read that orange blossoms have traditionally been used as bridal wreaths, that orange blossom is a common ingredient in Middle Eastern desserts and that some of the sweetest honey is from bee hives that are placed in orange groves, but Zagara is not the succulent, pretty fragrance that all this talk of orange blossoms might lead one to believe.

The opening to Zagara is green and sharp, almost medicinal in a male after-shave kind of way. I was ready to write it off as a failure until, several hours in, the bold sharpness dissipated and what was left was a soft white musk that smooths over the jagged edges and reins in the concoction to the point where it actually starts to smell like delicious orange blossoms and not some kind of Stetson wannabe.

So if you can hold out through its rather bold and odd beginning, Zagara will reward your patience with a truly lovely drydown of subtle orange flowers and gauzy musk. Much like Omniscient 0.96, however, is it really necessary (or worth it) to suffer through a beginning you don't like just to get to a drydown that you do?

Well, no big surprise here, but I guess I'm not really the suffering type. I don't have to love every single moment of a fragrance, but I want to at least appreciate what it's doing and where it's going, yet while Zagara's finale is ultimately lovely (and that's an understatement), I'm not an appreciative fan of the first three hours of its juggling act.

One positive note in its favor: the Lucky Scent site states that Zagara was "intended ... to be worn on its own or mixed with other fragrances" -- so mixing it up with a sweet amber, a soft patchouli or even a brighter citrus scent might alleviate the tension at its intro while accentuating everything that's good about its drydown. I'm off to experiment!

UPDATE (10/30/09):

I've since experienced Yosh Han's Trompeur, plus her work for Lucky Scent, Untitled #1. I like both a lot, and think that Yosh succeeds best with a less cluttered palette.

Katie Puckrik posted a nice review of Yosh Sottile 1.61 that appears to underscore this assertion.

BELL'ANTONIO: I must be on some kind of subconscious tobacco rampage. I mean, first Liz Zorn Tobacco & Tulle, then Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Michelangelo and now Hilde Soliani Bell'Antonio, a tobacco scent so intensely tobacco that the scent note list is all of two words: tobacco and coffee.

Bell'Antonio comes across as mostly smoky and full of pipe-tobacco spice with some dark roasted coffee tossed into the mix. When I first applied some of the Bell'Antonio, I was instantly reminded of cigarette ash (in a good, smoky way, not in a stale ashtray way) and cool stone tiles, and the fragrance hovers in this slightly cooler temp region for most of its lifespan, making it a great smoky option for warmer weather.

The evolution is simple: tobacco, smoke and ash to tobacco, smoke and burnt coffee beans, but the ride is thoroughly enjoyable (and enjoyably masculine, with nary a flower or even a bit of fruit-pulp in sight). Sillage is subtle and longevity is a good five to six hours, earning an enthusiastic thumbs up from my direction.

Marina at Perfume Smellin' Things writes: "I can't think of two smells (tobacco and coffee) more attractive on their own, but bring them together and . . . well, I can only describe the result as an olfactory, um, climax.

I've read comments where Bell'Antonio was described as reminding wearers of the smell of their grandfathers, and it does have a good dose of that old-school, WW2 masculine swagger, so while I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for women as well as men, any consumer on the hunt for a traditionally floral, feminine fragrance should steer clear.

Or maybe steer in the direction of Hilde Soliani's Il Tuo Tulipano, instead.

VECCHI ROSSETTI: Take the smoky base of Bell'Antonio, remove the coffee and ash, add some lemony, waxy, powdery floral notes and ta da! You've got Vecchi Rossetti.

Allegedly meant to capture the scent of an old theater after a live stage performance, with its lingering traces of waxed floors, makeup and face powders, hot lights and flowers (violets, roses and lavender, anyone?), Vecchi Rossetti has a very backstage presence, with all the glamor of the costume drama but without any of the stress, tension and sweat.

Exceptionally pretty and just about perfectly blended, Vecchi Rossetti skews feminine with its nearly candied, powdery-sweet nature that segues into a light, white musk drydown, hooking up with a flirty, blackberry undertow and then riding out the homestretch on what smells like a juice-sweetened incense-smoke wave.

I wouldn't wear this fragrance myself, but since the excellent, smoky Bell'Antonio is already tailor-made for my tastes, I don't feel like I'm really missing out on anything.

Note: there are brief flashes when Vecchi Rossetti reminds me of the smell of those little heart-shaped Valentine candies with printed messages on them -- the NECCO Sweethearts Conversation Hearts. I love that smell in a completely Lost In Nostalgia way.

Video clip below bursting with lots of satirical love for the NECCO Sweethearts:

"Don't believe the smoke and mirrors - we're all going to die alone!"

UPDATE:

Louise sent a photo of the bottle and packaging for Hilde Soliani Il Tuo Tulipano:

She's a very busy woman and told me that if I wanted two hundred (or more) snapshots from every which angle in order to get just the perfect one to publish on the blog, then I'd have to fly to Seattle and take them myself -- so this is all I got!

OFF TOPIC:

Avery Gilbert's book "What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life" is a finalist for an LA Times book award in the Science & Technology category.

If you haven't read his book yet, you should. It's a total page-turner, stuffed with relevant facts and entertaining anecdotes about our overlooked, underestimated and oft dismissed sense of smell.

Mr. Gilbert also publishes a regularly updated blog: First Nerve.

DAWN SPENCER HURWITZ MICHELANGELO: I guess I should preface the review with the remark that the Dawn Spencer Hurwitz line is listed under the inexplicable name of Parfums des Beaux Arts (she's an American perfumer out of Boulder, Colorado . . . go figure). Public Service Announcement concluded. Review now commences.

Yesterday, out of the cornucopia of DSH goodies, I grabbed for Cafe Noir (and it was excellent). This morning, I grabbed for Michelangelo, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but DSH Michelangelo is Liz Zorn's Tobacco & Tulle, yet without the oomph.

Michelangelo is nice enough, and it covers all the bases just fine: a spicy intro with an incense rose heart over an ambergris/tobacco base. Sounds great, right? The problem is, it chugs along for only about two to three hours before it starts to crap out, while Zorn's Tobacco & Tulle is still tickin' like a champ a good seven hours later.

So if you're looking for an all-natural floral-tobacco scent (with a warm ambergris base) that kicks butt first and takes names later, I'd recommend the Zorn. It's not that the DSH Michelangelo is bad (au contraire!), it's just that Zorn's Tobacco & Tulle covers similar ground while doing it a whole heap better.

SONOMA SCENT STUDIO VOILE DE VIOLETTE: This isn't a scent I've tested personally, but my friend Louise was complaining last week about how miserable, dreary, rainy and cold this Seattle winter has been (and continues to be, apparently), so I thought I'd surprise her with something that smells like Spring is just around the corner.

Enter: Voile de Violette!

Sonoma Scent Studio perfumer Laurie Erickson said in an interview with Fragrantica that as far as her own creations are concerned, she usually wears test versions of whatever she's formulating at the moment, but that for Spring, she was looking forward to wearing her Voile de Violette, and that's when I thought: "A-Ha!"

An "A-Ha!" moment is often followed by the typing of credit card numbers into a website. Just so you know.

Louise received the bottle yesterday and sent me this email almost immediately: "I was pulling the garbage to the curb tonight (you're oh so jealous of my glamorous life, I can tell) when I noticed a package at my door. I received the Voile de Violette! I LOVE it. It's exactly what I was looking for -- fun, light, extrememly sexy, playful and sunny. Well, not exactly sunny as in literal sunshine, but so definitely not wintry and dark. It's just what I needed!!!"

Listed scent notes for Voile de Violette are: violet, iris, rose, cedar, vetiver, violet leaf, tonka bean, hay and myrrh. It's fresh, green and nicely floral with a warm, woodsy undertone, and it's apparently the perfect antidote for the When Will This Winter Ever End?! blahs.

HILDE SOLIANI IL TUO TULIPANO: Il Tuo Tulipano was the second bottle of fragrance I sent to Louse to lift her out of her Seattle Winter blues, and she was just as thrilled with it as the Voile de Violette. Below is a partial transcript of our IM session:

Nathan: oh, hey -- did you get your new package? is something at your door?
Louise: let me check!
Louise: omg YES
Nathan: More springtime for Louise!
Louise: Oh Nathan! This is fantastic!The bottle is gorgeous, too.
Nathan: yeah, it looked like it from the photos.
Louise: I am going out for dinner tonight AND tomorrow night, this is such a treat!!! I LOVE this.
Nathan: it sounded just beautiful.
Louise: It's the most unique fragrance I have ever experienced. What's that ultra fresh note? See, I said 'note'. I'm so hip on the lingo now.
Nathan: Lemme check -- I think it's kiwi?
Louise: I'm melting into a heap under my chair. It changes within seconds. it's almost tropical but just not quite.
Nathan: right. it's supposed to be super lovely and totally evolving.
Louise: it's incredible, that particular note
Nathan: you're smelling the mix of numerous fruity and floral notes.
Louise: these are all my favorites . . . passion fruit is my absolute fave, and freesia, AND lily of the valley.
Nathan: For some reason, it screamed "LOUISE!" when I first read about it.
Louise: It's PERFECT for Spring. It might be a little cloying for deep Winter, but not for Spring. I am going to wear it tonight.
Nathan: it's got those fun fruity notes, but over a sophisticated base. And I love Freesia, too. I don't wear it, but I love it.
Louise: It's one of my favorite smells. Reminds me of the good parts of childhood for some reason -- lazy summer days. Makes me feel much livelier right now!!!

And there you have it -- the instant, long-distance review of Il Tuo Tulipano. As you can see, it's a total hit with its target audience.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Lucky Scent is gearing up to offer the new Serge Lutens, Nuit de Cellophane. Shipping starts on March 11th (allegedly).

And Le Labo stated in an email regarding the launch of their newest release that "As of now, we know that the Oud 27 will be released on April 1st of 2009. If there are any changes, we will let you know via our website." Very much looking forward to a new global release from Le Labo.

IN OTHER OTHER NEWS:

Got 1,000 shares of stock in Saks Fifth Avenue? Then today's your lucky day.

Stock Market Crash Means 1,000 Saks Shares Buy Gown:
"'A share of Limited Brands Inc. (owner of lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret) wouldn't buy a pair of panties at Victoria's Secret,' said Patty Edwards, founder of analytical firm Storehouse Partners LLC in Bellevue, Washington. '(And) it would take a thousand shares of Saks to buy an evening gown . . . Is the problem that stock prices are too low or prices on consumer goods are too high? I'd love to tell you that this is overdone. The problem is I don't believe that.'"

So, it seems like all it takes to get a couple of completely unexpected and totally awesome fragrance sample sets in the mail is to send yarn . . . like, really nice, luxe, envy inducing yarn!

"Yes, my presciouses, we haves you and we will keeps you . . . forever!"

Apparently, sparkly silk and strokeable cashmere threads are prized in certain circles. No, it's true! I've seen the carnage with my own eyes! And the yarn freaks (Yarnistas?) are as bad as, if not worse than, the fragrance fanatics. I mean, for one thing, they're armed . . . and with very pointy, spiky, pokey things -- like so:

They may look harmless, but just wait until the whiskey starts flowing . . .

But all threats of madness and perforation aside, every once in a while, in this great big blue ball of a world (did that sound just a tad porno?), something beautiful happens -- like, when you send an obsessive/compulsive yarn stalker a plush package through the USPS, and then said obsessive/compulsive yarn stalker turns around and fires off something just as plush in return.

Yo, right back atchya!

Behold, I present you with, not one, but TWO fantasmagorious Dawn Spencer Hurwitz (aka: Parfums des Beaux Arts) sampler sets: a Limited Edition For Men sample pack, and the Perfection Connoisseur Fragrances Sampler Pack (because I'm nothing if not a connoisseur of perfection, natch).

I feel like I've died and gone to scent nirvana (and no, it doesn't smell like teen spirit):

Sports, underwear models, silver skulls and a sampler pack . . . you know, for him!

The boxes arrived in bubble wrap, unmarked and unscuffed. I ran for the camera.

The perfect sample set for the perfect connoisseur.

My idea of a little light reading.

The first one I reached for was the darkest, richest looking one of the bunch: Cafe Noir. It was exactly what I'd hoped it would be -- deep and layered, with a subtle coffee note underscored by incense and vanilla. Described as 99% all-natural, with listed scent notes of bergamot, black pepper, cinnamon bark, pimento berry, benzoin, bulgarian rose otto, jasmine, labdanum, coffee absolute, tolu balsam and vanilla absolute.

Yowza! What's not to like?

I can't wait to dig into all the rest -- I think Michelangelo is next on my to-do list, another all-natural scent with incense, spices, woods and tobacco. I thought DSH Marc was pretty great, but I'm thinking that Michelangelo might be more my type, after all. I'm a sucker for ambergris.

Note: A very special thanks to Marin for completely making my day.

1.) Dubai-based Istithmar Insist That Barneys Is Not For Sale:
"David Jackson, chief executive officer of Istithmar . . . acknowledged that the chain is in choppy water due to some financial messiness and the lack of a CEO . . . (but) When asked about reports of payment delays, Jackson emphasized Barneys "has met all its obligations" and "continues to pay people." Also, they don't plan on closing any stores, not even a Co Op."

Funny, but I seem to recall that the CEO's of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch all insisted that everything was just fine, too -- you know, right before they collapsed into piles of stinking poo.

2.) While Cavalli Bitches, Ittierre Slaps Him (With a Lawsuit):
"The newly appointed administrators for Ittierre SpA are to take legal action against Roberto Cavalli for his comments regarding the Just Cavalli license and their ability to turn the company around . . . Cavalli dismissed the proceedings as 'just a political matter' ... 'As far as I am concerned, [the contract] has expired,' Cavalli said on the sidelines of his Roberto Cavalli runway show."

The Just Cavalli brand is said to be Ittiere's most profitable license, and now that they're in bankruptcy reorganization, they don't want to lose business they need due to Roberto Cavalli's very public complaints against their handling of his Just Cavalli line. Ittierre also handles license for Gianfranco Ferré, C'N'C Costume National and Galliano.

Video clip below for Roberto Cavalli's sleek and urban Fall 2009 ready to wear line. This is his top tier line, and not the lower-priced Just Cavalli line produced by Ittierre (of which he complained so vociferously):

Speaking of trawling for press, DSquared2 is designing costumes for the upcoming Britney Spears Circus tour -- and look, they got press: "The Canadian design duo behind star-favorite label DSquared2 has teamed up with the pop star to create looks for her and her backup dancers . . . The custom styles were created to take on a dream-like element that will blend with Britney's sexy on-stage persona."

The Spears association generated plenty of buzz for DSquared2's Fall 2009 ready to wear collection. Video clip below (Starbucks cups included):

While we're on the topic, get your fantastically luxe clutches, towering platform heels and leather leggings here. Credit crunch optional:

However, the Credit Crunch (if not the Great Depression) is fully embraced for Prada Fall 2009:

Never has a group of bony, starving models looked so completely appropriate in a runway collection.

3.) "Oh wait....can't type.....too...busy....GAGGING":
"Parlux, the company that holds the license for the Paris Hilton fragrance line, has announced that the popular socialite will be honored with a "Celebrity of the Year" award at this year's Fifi Awards ceremony, sponsored by The Fragrance Foundation, in May."

The heading for the entry was quoted from Now Smell This commenter Daisy. I think she speaks for all of us.

4.) Cracks Continue to Appear in Japan's Luxury Market:
"Chanel plans to close stores in Kyushu and Osaka, leaving it with 37 stores in Japan. The boutiques to be shuttered are in areas no longer frequented by luxury clientele, a company spokeswoman said. Chanel's planned store renovations and openings in Japan will go ahead, however. This includes a big new store in Tokyo's Aoyama district next spring."

I won't be at all surprised when that "big new store" doesn't pan out next spring, after all.

But wait! There's more -- Where Have All the Japanese Shoppers Gone?:"Also dwindling noticeably are the Japanese, who once seemed poised to take over the world, one Prada store at a time. These days, they all have been replaced by waves of eager Chinese pupils cramming on how to live the high life . . . 'We're getting more and more clients from China,' reported Paolo Milani, manager of the Four Season's five-star restaurant Il Teatro (in Milan, Italy) ... 'You can tell they're not Japanese because they don't know how to use their silverware properly. It can be rather awkward.'"

I guess you don't know a good thing until its gone . . . or its replacement exhibits poor table manners.

In related news, European retail sales fell for a ninth straight month: "Retail sales dropped in the three largest economies in the euro region this month, led by a record decline in France. The slide in Italian sales accelerated, while the pace of contraction in Germany slowed."

More specifically, the Italian clothing industry is struggling with a global sales decline: "Last month, the Italian Chamber of Fashion warned revenue for the sector would fall at least 5.0% this year, and last week the crisis claimed its first big fashion victim in Italy, as IT Holding's distribution subsidiary, Ittierre, was put into bankruptcy protection."

A decline of at least 5% . . . I think they're being optimistic. But hey, the Paris Fashion Week shows are just about set to begin, because, you know, there's so much demand right now for more and more fashion, what with the shows that have already taken place in New York, London and Milan. BTW: I think I got emails from Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Net-a-Porter this morning, all letting me know that their seasonal sales are starting today.

Three cheers for global luxury! And while we're cheering for global luxury, Italian high-fashion icon Gucci displays its Fall 2009 wares:

5.) Speaking of Gucci, Gucci Could Turn From Investment Angel Into Junk:
"Big brand names like Gucci, B&Q, Marks and Spencer, Bank of Ireland, and AIB could become Europe's new fallen angels. The financial term refers to companies that lose their investment grade rating to become speculative grade or junk . . . The economic downturn has turned 75 companies globally into potential fallen angels, the highest number in 18 years, according to Standard & Poor's. S&P defines potential fallen angels as companies rated BBB- with a negative outlook."

The article goes on to note that the retail sector in the UK is getting hit particularly hard, and with Japan slowing down, the United States in full-blown recession, and growth in China and Russia having fallen pretty much off the map, retail stocks are plunging: "Department stores and specialty retailers are expected to continue to see the worst performance, with discount retailers led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. expected to outperform, benefiting from shoppers seeking discounts and bargains in the face of the recession."

Some people have a name for investors that pounce on the fallen angels when the bottom drops out of the market -- Vulture Investor:

"Ah, come off it -- things are right dead all over!"

In other news, Saks Fifth Avenue announced that it will cut 9% of its workforce due to continuing losses: "Saks said it expects a same-store sales decline for the new fiscal year in the low double-digits, including a 20% drop for the first half and a mid- to high- single-digit decline in the second half. Gross margins are expected to fall to 32% and 34% in the first half, with a recovery in the second half."

More news on The Trouble With Saks: "Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sadove dismissed speculation on the call last week that the retailer would file for bankruptcy . . . (while) Saks Chief Financial Officer Kevin Wills told investors the unprofitable luxury retailer has 'very valuable' real estate assets it could tap to raise money if needed."

Saks would first have to find a buyer for its "very valuable" real estate assets in order to raise the necessary cash it needs, yet these same assets are continuing to deflate in value as the entire real estate market marches off a cliff.

Meanwhile, shares of eBay hit a seven year low, and are down 23% for the year of 2009 alone, though eBay did receive some recent good news when a German court ruled that they were not liable for the sale of fake Rolex watches on their site.

UPDATE:

6.) Liz Claiborne Announces "Meaningful" Losses:
"Fashion company Liz Claiborne ... warned on Wednesday that it will post a "meaningful loss" in the current quarter as it sees no improvement soon for retail sales, sending its shares down nearly 11 percent."

Liz Clairborne owns Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Lucky Brand and Mexx, and is counting on the launch of an Isaac Mizrahi designed collection to boost its sagging fortunes in the retail fashion sector. The company is also producing more lower priced goods to lure budget shoppers: "To appeal to price-conscious consumers, the company is offering more items at lower prices, such as more T-shirts and basic jeans at Lucky Brand, more accessories at Juicy Couture and a greater assortment of less expensive bags at Kate Spade."

7.) China's Luxury Mall Catastrophe:
"Today I visited Beijing's most stunningly dysfunctional, catastrophic mall, called The Place . . . Fifty percent of the eateries in the basement were boarded up. The cheap food court, too, was gone ... lonely clerks looking plaintively out the store windows, eyes begging you to come in and buy something. But no one does. There is simply too much stuff, too many stores, and no buyers."

So much for the hopes that China's consumers will continue to prop up the luxury industry. No wonder the Italian fashion companies are begging their government for a bailout.

Speaking of propping things up: "The flashy Shanghainese, who would have thought nothing last year of buying designer trinkets, are now pawning their Gucci bags and Rolex watches in desperation. 'There's has been a big increase in white collar workers who are mortgaging their luxury goods for emergency cash. That's been quite apparent,' said Mr Wang (founder of Shanghai Oriental pawn shop)."

Next stop -- Bailout Globe.

FARMACIA SS ANNUNZIATA DAL 1561 CARA:

It's like candy!

Listed scent notes: amber, caramel, almond, talcum and vanilla. Relentlessly sweet and powder-puff feminine -- it's definitely pretty, and a teenager could pull Cara off without a hitch, but anyone who's graduated past the emotional maturity level of a wannabe teenage beauty queen should consider something less pink cotton-candy naive.

Yeah yeah yeah, the vanilla in the drydown phase is lovely (although "cute" might be a better adjective), but it's a shade too close to gooey slumber-party snack heaven for my adult comfort scale. Lucky Scent states that Cara is "sophisticated enough to qualify as utterly grown up," but they're dead wrong.

All that said, I'm seriously tempted to purchase a bottle for my niece for her upcoming 15th birthday. She'd adore the bejeebus out of it.

IDOLE DE LUBIN: Great bottle, but while I'm not particularly crazy about the liquid inside, I don't mind it, either.

A little spicy, a little smoky, a little sandalwood and sugar cane. Cumin as a perfumery note doesn't make my top ten list of Things I Love to Smell (N4M), but Idole de Lubin beats the stuffin' out of Alexander McQueen Kingdom (the very definition of cumin hell), and that's good enough for me.

Scent note list: rum absolute, saffron, bitter orange peel, black cumin, doum palm, smoked ebony, sugar cane, leather, red sandalwood. The rum aspect passed me right by -- it was mostly cumin and saffron at the opening, with a leathery sandalwood at the finish.

Le Labo Labdanum 18 is still my favorite glass of sweetened booze, and Aftelier Cognac bellies up nicely to the bar, as well. If you're really in the mood for a cumin fragrance par excellence, try Cartier Declaration.

Note: both Idole and Cara have excellent longevity -- seven hours later and they're both still going strong, with Cara hitting the sweet vanilla highway and Idole engaged in a softer, spiced-amber drydown.

Just when I think I've written off a scent note as N4M ("Not For Me"), along comes a sample in the mail that disrupts my newly reordered universe -- in other words, my previous conclusion that lavender as a prominent essence in a formula automatically equals "A Fragrance That Nathan Will Not Enjoy" might need to be reconsidered.

A commenter on BaseNotes writes that Encens et Lavande is "the world's best lavender scent" and, from what I've experienced on my own, I'd have to say this might very well be true . . . but because it's a lavender, that makes it somewhat of a dubious achievement in my book.

Official scent notes are incense, lavender, vegetal amber and clary sage -- period. Such a simple and spare scent list (surprising for a Serge Lutens, which are often the very definitions of overstatement) reflects the stark elegance of the fragrance itself: an initially high, bright lavender that moves into a subtle amber infused with dusty herbs, followed by a drydown that skews powdery over a layer of desert incense.

I've read complaints that Encens et Lavande smells overtly feminine and like old ladies, and while I can understand that the powdery element to the fragrance might remind some wearers of lavender-scented talcum powders, I think they might also be exaggerating a little. The frankincense and amber kick in well before the lavender hits Grandma Overdrive, which keeps the fragrance flying under the Doily Radar -- perhaps just under the Doily Radar, but still, it's important to give credit where credit is due.

To be fair, the powdery lavender essence fades as the scent progresses, and the incense at the homestretch is beautifully rendered (The Scented Salamander is convinced that myrrh is utilized in combination with the frankincense, contributing to the cool stateliness of the overall picture), but really, above all, I think I'm more impressed with how simple and restrained Encens et Lavande is for a Serge Lutens . . .

MONTALE CHYPRE VANILLE: Finally, a Montale I can really get behind, not to mention a vanilla that mixes it up properly.

With a roster of all-star scent notes (vanilla, rose, amber, incense, sandalwood, iris, vetiver and tonka bean), Chypre Vanille comes out smelling balanced and full. Each element works together to present a kind of seamless performance without the mix ever skewing too sweet, too floral or too earthy.

Now, of course, you're going to have to appreciate the ingredients utilized if you're going to appreciate Chypre Vanille, that's just common sense, but if you like vetiver, rose, frankincense, tonka and vanilla, then it's a good bet you're going to really groove on Chypre Vanille with its lightly floral, mildly earthy and nicely dry vanilla sprinkled with a fine dusting of powdery iris root.

Some critics have complained that the mid "heart" phase of Chypre Vanille is muddled, but I find its pairing of iris and frankincense creative and even beguilingly attractive, especially once the sharper edges of the two ingredients soften and the smooth sheen of sandalwood stretches itself out for a cozy snooze between the scented sheets.

You know, after so many bowls of too-cold Montale porridge, it's actually a relief to run across a fragrance of theirs that I consider just right. This is getting added to the "Must Buy Before I Die" list.

The Non-Blonde agrees: "I loved the opening. It has the chypre-y kick of a real diva, only a bit more tame . . . Soon enough it softens and draws the nose (literally -- I had it stuck to my wrist, inhaling deeply) into the folds of amber and sandalwood laced with a beautiful non-foody vanilla."

I should probably take this opportunity to point out that when The Non-Blonde and I both hit the "yes" button in response to a fragrance, an Angel gets its wings.

Note: many thanks to Tara for the sample. Sorry the USPS pulverized the first one you sent, but I appreciate your perseverance in the face of postal adversity.

First released in 1912, Caron Infini allegedly took Caron founder and perfumer Ernest Daltroff fifteen years to complete, and it shows. Infini is a complex fragrance with numerous and striking phases in its development, launching out of the gate as a grassy tuberose, switch hitting into sparkling floral aldehydes, changing up for a clean white musk and then crossing the finish line as a dry, arid sandalwood.

The original fragrance was discontinued, but then reformulated and officially rereleased in 1970 (but has likely been reformulated several times since to comply with ever changing industry regulations).

Below are some photos of the now famous geometric parfum bottle, shaped to reflect the mathematical concept of infinity:

A reviewer at MakeupAlley had this to say about Infini: "Very strong on the aldehydes, but still soft and close to the skin, with a soft bouquet of flowers and vetiver and powder. This is extremely elegant and sophisticated . . . not for the timid."

Pink Manhattan writes: "It has a pure, crystalline beauty characterized by a clean (somewhat soapy), green opening and a bold, dry woods finish . . . Infini comes across as a cool and sophisticated, elegant scent more than a warm and sensual one."