Vince Camuto

Vince Camuto's eponymous debut fragrance was made by Parlux, the same folks who've brought you fragrances by Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson — but before any of you anti-celebrity-fragrance perfumistas turn your noses up (pardon the pun), they also did the lovely Natori fragrance. The Vince Camuto is a floral chypre, in the modern (yes, it's really an oriental) style, with a fruity top and a lightly spicy, sweet floral heart over a subtle leather and clean patchouli dry down. It turns drier and almost-smoky near the end. It does not, as it turns out, rival Natori (it's in Macy's instead of Saks, and in this case, it all fits) but it's nicely done. If you're looking for a sweet-ish, middle-weight oriental for winter and don't want to cough up the dough for Natori, it's worth a shot...

Madonna will launch Truth or Dare by Madonna, her debut fragrance, in March under arrangements with Coty. The fragrance is associated with her upcoming Truth or Dare lifestyle brand, and will be geared at women 25-45...

So you've grown out of Princess (and its many spawn, from Flower Princess to Preppy Princess) but you're not ready for one of the signature (read: wedding-appropriate conservative floral) fragrances from Vera Wang, what to do? Vera Wang would like you to consider their new Lovestruck, fronted by actress Leighton Meester. The theme, as you might have deduced from the balcony scene in the ad: a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet.

Lovestruck is a musky floral with your standard fruit bomb opening (tart guava jam and citrus), a cheerful middle-weight fresh floral heart (allegedly tuberose and lotus blossom, and there are vague suggestions of both) and a pale woody-musky dry down (something that could stand in for sandalwood, a little drop of creamy vanilla, plenty of clean musk).

It's wearable, and it's not overly sweet or fruity once the top notes fade...

BCBG Max Azria will launch an eponymous soft floral fragrance in August. The new scent is their first under licensing arrangements with New Wave Fragrances, and their first since 2009's Within...

Vera Wang will launch Lovestruck, a new perfume for women fronted by actress Leighton Meester, in June.

All about being overwhelmed, inexplicably, hopelessly in love...

I was intrigued by the Series One debut collection from the Six Scents Fragrance Initiative when it was released in 2008, and I purchased Smells Like Teen Spirit (a collaboration between perfumer Mark Buxton and designer duo Preen) and wore it with pleasure for the next year or so. I somehow missed out on Series Two; last fall and winter was a chaotic time for me, so it may have just slipped past me. I've been much more aware of Series Three, although I'm not as familiar with the fashion participants this time around; on the other hand, most of the perfumers' names were familiar to me right away. Two of the of fragrances from this group that piqued my interest, in particular, were Fragrance 4 and Fragrance 5.

Fragrance 4, Ascent (shown above), is a collaboration between fashion designer Rad Hourani and perfumer Christophe Raynaud, with notes of pear, violet leaf, ylang ylang, rose, cedar, leather, incense, powdery musks, tonka bean and benzoin. This fragrance fascinates me because it has evolved differently nearly every time I've worn it over the past week. One time, it shifted quickly from greenish violet leaf to powder to dirtied leather and musk, as sequentially as a stop-action film of the sun rising and setting, or — as articulated by Hourani and Raynaud for the "childhood" theme of this series — a transition from infancy to adulthood...

The Six Scents Fragrance Initiative has launched Six Scents Series Three. As with the prior two sets, the project teams six designers with six perfumers to create a series of limited edition fragrances. This year, the fragrances are "an exploration into the nature of childhood memories and the influence of adolescence on identity". A portion of the proceeds will be donated to War Child International...

Avon will launch two new fragrances in collaboration with designer Hervé Léger.

Hervé Léger Femme (shown above left) ~ a woody floral..."

New at Anthropologie: a collection of six tea-based fragrances under the name A Rather Novel Collection:

Not a travelogue, but a scent-o-logue: each fragrance in this edition was inspired by a different flavor of tea found in one of six global locales...