Browsing by date: 5 September 2008

Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles and Miller Harris L’Air de Rien ~ fragrance review

Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles perfumeSurprise of surprises. When I first smelled Miller Harris L'Air de Rien, a fragrance named “air of nothing” and made for the breathy-voiced, hippie-chic Jane Birkin, the last thing I expected to think of was Jean Desprez Bal à Versailles, a scent purportedly made of over 300 ingredients and whose bottle features 17th-century ladies in pastel dresses. But from their shared sweet neroli beginning down to their saddle leather, musk, and dirty stable dry down, Bal à Versailles and L'Air de Rien smell to me like twins separated at birth and raised in different homes.

Bal à Versailles grew up in the family that had a maid to keep the vases full and polish the furniture with lemon oil and beeswax. The perfumer Jean Desprez launched Bal à Versailles in 1962, the same year that Guerlain released Chant d'Arômes (and that, incidentally, Jane Birkin turned 16 years old)…

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Bill Blass Couture ~ new perfumes

Bill Blass Couture fragranceBill Blass has introduced Bill Blass Couture, “timeless couture translated into a luxury modern fragrance collection”. The first four scents in the series are:

Couture 1 ~ Includes white tuberose, mandarin zest, peach blossom, clove and orange blossom…

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Usher UR For Women & For Men ~ new fragrances

Usher Here I Stand album coverUsher will launch another duo of fragrances this month, UR For Men and UR for Women. The fragrances are meant to be “more youthful” and casual than last year's Usher She and Usher He.

UR for Women ~ a fruity floral with peach nectar, white freesia, osmanthus, jasmine, honeysuckle, pink peonies, soft woods…

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Online fragrance shopping

New at beautyencounter: travel-sized bottles of Amouage Jubilation.

New at harrods (UK): B by Boucheron.

New at neimanmarcus: Guerlain Cologne du 68.

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Emporio Armani Diamonds Intense ~ new perfume

Giorgio Armani has launched Emporio Armani Diamonds Intense, a new, deeper interpretation of last year's Emporio Armani Diamonds:

More irresistible than ever, this captivating new gourmand floral fragrance harmonizes the symbol of femininity, the rose, with luscious, edible notes to create a truly desirable combination. Indulge yourself in the bold rhythm that will capture your body and soul…

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A whiff of baby

In a new study from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers found that marmoset dads that get a whiff of their own babies experience decreased testosterone.

"We were a little surprised to see testosterone alter like that," says Toni Ziegler, a staff scientist at the WNPRC and the senior author of a study published Sept. 2 in the journal Biology Letters. [...] "These moderations may allow him to be more tolerant toward his infants while facing external challenges that might distract him from focusing on his infant and family needs."

— From Baby's smell tamps down dad's testosterone levels at Physorg.

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