The certified organic We Love New York collection from Honoré des Prés is one of the best surprises of 2010. Like many others, I had issues with the line's debut scents, launched in 2008 and developed by perfumer Olivia Giacobetti.¹ My favorite of the first five was Sexy Angelic, a tribute to the calisson, specialty of Aix-en-Provence and possibly the world's most divine confection. Sexy Angelic opens with a fresh, mouthwatering cloud of marzipan and crystallized melon... and then, swiftly, nothing. Within a minute or two, the top notes have completely dissipated, leaving behind a very faintly minty, showered-skin smell that lasts for approximately six more minutes. Even for all-natural eaux and in the context of Giacobetti's ethereal Iunx waters, four of the original Honoré scents set new records for brevity. Unfortunately, the sole enduring scent, Chaman's Party, seems to feature enough tulsi (aka holy basil) to remind me of those ayurvedic teas served at spas where you are instructed to always apply facial moisturizer with a counter clockwise motion. (Don't let me discourage you from sampling it, though. It was a winner for Robin.) The experience seemed too mixed for 100 ml at $145, so with mild disappointment, I mentally filed the line away as one not likely to inspire a purchase.

But then, with the announcement of the We Love New York trio in March, I had to consider re-filing. From the note lists, which seemed to promise bolder, longer-lasting fragrances, to the painfully cute, coffee-themed packaging: everything about I Love Les Carottes, Love Coco and Vamp à NY caught the attention of wired perfumanity...

Sometimes it's best to start at the end: L'Artisan Parfumeur's new Nuit de Tubéreuse is a stunning perfume. Perfumer Bertand Duchaufour is reportedly not exactly the house nose at L'Artisan, and for that matter, he developed quite a few fragrances for the house before he was officially hired in 2008, but the L'Artisan line feels different after the last three major releases under his direction — Havana Vanille, Al Oudh, and now Nuit de Tubéreuse — and to me at least, different in a good way, although L'Artisan has long been one of my favorite perfume houses. There has been much discussion recently about whether or not niche is still a meaningful term, and of course one could argue that in terms of size and distribution, L'Artisan Parfumeur is not a niche firm anyway. Whatever: Nuit de Tubéreuse is an unusual and impressive take on tuberose, and it cheers me no end to know that there are still companies out there launching perfumes like this. Niche or not niche, I don't care — Nuit de Tubéreuse is the exactly the sort of perfume that keeps me blogging.

All of that said, I'm not at all sure that I like it, and I put off this review so that I might wear it enough to make up my mind. I still haven't made up my mind. It's going in the purgatory basket. But let's get back to the beginning...

I like Prada. Not because of the fashion — regular readers here know I don't know a thing about fashion — but because of the perfumes, which for the most part (I'm ignoring Prada Tendré) have eschewed the aim-for-the-lowest-common-denominator approach of your average mainstream designer perfume brand. The Prada perfumes aren't wacky or outré, and they're not necessarily the sort of thing that will please your jaded, niche-snob perfumista, but they're well-crafted, and they strike me as perfumes made by people who care about the product as much as they care about making money. I'm as jaded as anybody, but I'm entirely willing to believe perfumer Daniela Andrier when she says Prada gives her more money to work with than other brands.¹

It is precisely because I like Prada so much that last year's Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger was such a disappointment. It was the first in a new series of limited editions, the Ephemeral Infusions.² According to Andrier, the "idea of Infusion is almost as an imprint of the chosen material in water, a kind of watercolor fragrance reworked with colorful pastel crayon"³ — doesn't that sound delightful? And it worked out perfectly, for me anyway, in the original that preceded the series, Prada Infusion d'Iris, and also in Prada's recent L'Eau Ambrée, which was not part of the series but which took a very similar approach...

Lately I've been buying tuberose every few weeks to keep in a crooked, blown glass vase on my mantel. The stems are tall and plain, and the flowers look like plump stock or jagged-edged snapdragons. Sometimes the blooms even brown and tumble to the hearth when the night is too cold. But, oh, the scent. Orchids can keep the blue ribbon for beguiling appearance. Tuberose has it all tied up for fragrance.

I want to wear that smell on my skin, but I've had a heck of a time finding a tuberose perfume that suits me. I love the smell of Piguet Fracas, but on me it comes off like a girl scout wearing Versace. Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle is glamour in a silver cocktail glass, but too icy. Comme des Garçons + Daphne Guinness Daphne presents tuberose wrapped in enough incense and bitter orange that I love it, but I want more tuberose. Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is too Ladies Who Lunch. (I haven't yet given Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower a fair try.) So when a sample of Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse 3 L'Animale Eau de Parfum showed up in my mailbox, I yanked up my sleeve and spritzed it on...

Kim Kardashian, in case you didn't know, is a "TV star, entrepreneur, model, actress, and trendsetter", in addition to being "one of the world's most idolized women". So says Sephora, where Kardashian's eponymous debut fragrance recently launched and is reportedly a top seller.

Kardashian said she wanted "something rich and creamy and sexy, but still youthful";¹ what she got was a big white floral, very similar to the recent Mariah Carey Forever, which of course was very similar to Marc Jacobs for women. Kardashian's effort, developed by perfumer Claude Dir, is lusher than Forever, and heavier on the tuberose...

Despite the fascinating list of notes, it reads as very nearly bland on my skin...

Michael was the debut fragrance release from Michael Kors. It launched in 2000, and was meant to...

...translate his style philosophy into fragrance. "Glamorous but simple, indulgent but practical," explained Kors. "And chic. That's the word I'm going for no matter what we do." (via Women's Wear Daily, 3/24/2000)

I can't remember when I first smelled Michael, but I know I didn't love it. It was too strong, too sweet, and too floral for my taste, and my feelings about Michael did not change radically after I became more interested in fragrance and my tastes expanded to include the headier white florals.

But I can't even count the number of times over the past 7 years when I've asked someone what they were wearing because they smelled so nice, and the answer was: Michael. It happened again only last week, and I came home and sprayed some on, and then sat, puzzled yet again: I don't like Michael. On me, anyway, and up close. But apparently I like it on most anyone else, and I have to say that several times while wearing it I was struck by that sense you get when you forget that you're even wearing perfume and just notice, for an instant, that something nearby smells good...

Today is Blog Action Day, when "bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind". Some 14,000+ 20,000+ blogs are participating. This year's theme is the environment, so I'm highlighting a few of my favorite natural fragrances, and in the post below this one, you'll find Pia's review of scented cleaning items from Earth Friendly Products.

If you've never explored natural perfumery, now is the perfect time. For one thing, you've more choice than ever before: there are literally dozens of natural perfume lines, and anyone who thinks natural fragrances aren't as sophisticated as those made with synthetics might be surprised by the range of offerings...

Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is the brainchild of Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder's granddaughter and the Creative Director of the Estee Lauder line. It borrows its name from Private Collection, the 1973 release that was said to be based on a scent that Estee Lauder originally created for her own use. The new fragrance features neroli, lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, orange flower, jasmine, white lily, carnation and vanilla bourbon.

Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia opens sweet and bright, and seems to move rapidly from the mild touch of citrus in the opening into the white floral notes in the heart. The lilac softens the more exuberant floral notes in the early stages, but it is lush and full-bodied almost from the start, and it is almost linear after the first 20 minutes or so have passed. The tuberose and gardenia are the main players — you will catch glimpses of the other notes, especially the jasmine, but it starts out smelling like mostly tuberose and gardenia and hours later, it still does. The base is milky-creamy woods with a touch of vanilla, and is neither heady nor overly sweet...

Carnal Flower is the latest fragrance release from Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums. Perfumer Dominique Ropion reportedly spent more than 2 years perfecting the formula, and it is said to have the highest concentration of tuberose of any perfume on the market. Other notes include bergamot, melon, eucalyptus, ylang-ylang, jasmine, white musk cocktail, coconut, and orange blossom absolute.

Carnal Flower opens on heavy green notes, evoking the fragrance of crushed stems and leaves over mild citrus. As the tuberose begins to peek though, the green notes fade into camphor, but it is very soft; it warms and dulls the heady floral notes without calling attention to itself. Likewise, the notes that sounded so worrisome to me in the advance notices — the coconut, the melon, the Juicy Fruit gum that Frederic Malle mentioned as an inspiration — all are mere whispers, hardly worth the mention...