Browsing by date: July 2008

The Allure of the Discontinued Scent

Take two perfumes: both are made by luxury perfume houses, they smell very similar, and they come packaged in equally attractive bottles. One costs $75, and the other, which is discontinued, costs twice that. Which one will I buy? Assuming that my budget is up to it, chances are I'll go for the discontinued scent. What is that all about?

There's something about a discontinued perfume that makes me crazy to smell it and maybe own it, even if I never would have bought the scent were it still in production. Thanks to this illogical urge, I have enough discontinued perfume that had I saved my money instead I could have replaced my living room windows. I have bottles that I can't swap away (hello vanilla fruit of Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars), bottles that I like well enough but wouldn't have bought otherwise (that means you, “smoking in a cafe with roses and a spicy plum tart” Guerlain Parure), and bottles that I adore (witness my lifetime supply of vintage Miss Dior, the skanky variety). And, of course, there are all the bottles I can only dream of…

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Online fragrance shopping

New at harveynichols (UK): Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau de Parfum (black bottle).

Deal at mistralsoap: get free shipping on orders over $48, no coupon code needed, expiration date unknown.

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Boucheron B de Boucheron ~ new perfume

B de Boucheron fragranceBoucheron will launch B de Boucheron this September. The new fragrance for women honors Boucheron's 150th anniversary as a jewelry house and the 20th anniversary of their first fragrance release, Boucheron for women.

The new woody floral scent was developed by perfumer Ursula Wandel, who noted that…

There are about 20 natural products in B…

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5 Perfumes for: a Humid Day

Liquid Ice

Until six months ago, I was living in a semi-arid, high plains environment and I had forgotten what humidity was like. Returning to the area where I grew up has meant returning to Humidex (humidity rating) values and the cloggy, bilgy pockets of air that wallow around an Eastern city. I don’t sweat very much and personally prefer a little swampiness to the near constant gritty wind I encountered out west, but there is only so much stagnant heat a girl can take. During the muggiest days of our summers, I have noticed that a certain portion of the population in Toronto manage to affect a sort of languid, fanning Southern Belle attitude. Those of you who know me — either through online interaction or in what we now rather charmingly call “real life” — will be able to guess I have no ability or desire to pull such an act off. The Canuck obsession with endless discussions of the weather is a long-standing source of humour in my country, so while I indulge myself occasionally, I mostly try to just slog my way through heat in silence, washing my face three times a day and sleeping with a fan roaring into my ear.

One of the few benefits of the closest days is that the low sillage and lasting power of some of your favourite scents no longer seems like a drawback. When every opened door or sluggish second of breeze means you encounter the smells of both yourself and everyone around you, a linear, gentle and smiling scent seems like common sense and courtesy, rather than lack of imagination. Smelling the many colognes and eau fraîches released each year to the market also makes you realize exactly how difficult it is to make something straightforwardly fresh that still smells good. Listed below are five scents that have stood up to the challenge of a humid subway tunnel without wilting…

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Celebrity perfume news round-up 2008, part the twelfth (UK b-list Edition)

Kerry Katona Outrageous perfumeAs previously reported, Kerry Katona is introducing her debut fragrance this year, Outrageous. You remember, it's the one with phwoar factor. More details: it's a “French-made” (really! from France!) fruity floral musk.

Kerry Katona Outrageous will be available in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Toilette, and should be in stores by late August. (via ok.co.uk, hellomagazine, with thanks to Amanda for the tip)

Meanwhile, Jade Goody is launching her second fragrance, called (what else?) Controversial…

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