Posted by Erin
on
14 August 2009
The first and only time I went to Italy I was sixteen, and on a six-week trip of Europe with a large group of girls who had fundraised for the trip through Girl Guides (Scouts). Using the blitzkrieg method of Old World sightseeing favored by many generations of North American young people, we “did” Italy by spending a day-and-a-half in Venice. It was high summer and with the callousness of youth, I wrote Venice off with a few lines in my travel diary: “It’s like a museum covered in pigeon poop. The canals smell of sewage, and there is a haze hanging over the water. No oilies as of yet.” This last bit was because our uniforms apparently made us look like an enormous gaggle of young stewardesses and so we attracted camps of hopeful, slick fellows most places we went. Despite their absence in Venice, I came away with an impression of the place that might have turned me into the sort of traveler who discouraged Kevin. The recent garbage strike in my hometown of Toronto has made me realize you can catch a city on a bad day (or month) — but even in 1993, years before my perfume obsession began, I was hypersensitive to smells, good and bad. As far as I was concerned, Italy stunk.
It was puzzling, though, that my parents kept returning there. “Table wines are cheaper than Coke,” my father explained, when I asked why they kept going back. (Perhaps this brief, thrift-related response helps clarify that my parents are not of Italian descent and therefore returning to visit the mother country; Scotland is the land of our fathers.) Since my parents are not enthusiastic photographers, I tried to determine the attraction of this region listening to stories of their travels…
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Posted by Robin
on
31 May 2009
Father’s Day is Sunday, June 21…time to get shopping!
From Santa Maria Novella, Latte per il Corpo Uomo – Body Milk for Men (shown at left): “This 700 year old formula, containing hydrating vegetable oils, cocoa butter, white beeswax, and avocado oil hydrates, tones and gives the skin softness and elasticity. Infused with a subtle spicy scent this rich fluid emulsion absorbs without a trace, leaving even the most parch body toned, nourished, and moisturized – but never greasy.” $74 for 250 ml at Aedes…
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Santa Maria Novella believes in discretion. Tucked away in a (plush) back street that’s off-off the Fulham Road, the sight of me and my notepad has the sales assistants squirming.
“We don’t advertise,” says the chief assistant, slightly scandalised.
A steady stream of customers suggested that they probably don’t have to. The wealthy residents of Kensington know all about Santa Maria Novella. It’s essentially their local Bath & Body Works.
Santa Maria Novella — the mother shop — is the famous Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica in Florence, Italy, one of the world’s oldest pharmacies and the creator of colognes and unguents whose recipes have been handed down for hundreds of years…
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Posted by Robin
on
18 April 2007
Nordstrom, so far, is beating out the other department stores in their online selection of fun gift sets for Mother’s Day. Here is a great one for Thierry Mugler Angel fans: a black case with Celestial Showers (3.5 oz.), Celestial Body Cream (1.7 oz.) and Angel Refillable Eau de Parfum Spray (1.7 oz.). $119…
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Posted by Robin
on
16 June 2006
Don't let the retro packaging fool you: Eva is one of the newer fragrance releases from Santa Maria Novella. It came out in 2002, and has notes of citrus fruits, Italian bergamot, black pepper and vetiver.
There is nothing much to Eva; it is a simple unisex rendition of a traditional citrus-based cologne water, but very nicely done…
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