Posted by Angela
on
14 August 2008
When I pulled the canister of Coty Vanilla Fields cologne body spray from the shopping bag, my sister said, “That looks like it should sit on the back of the toilet.” The Vanilla Fields body spray is in a tall, thin aluminum canister that looks a lot like Renuzit air freshener. Not a promising sign.
Fortunately, Vanilla Fields, while not breaking any records for perfume innovation, still smells better than canned room spray. Coty launched Vanilla Fields in 1993, and the next year it won a Fifi award for Women's fragrance of the Year, in the Mass Appeal category (an award no longer offered). The Vanilla Fields website describes the fragrance as a blend of mimosa, jasmine, and vanilla, and it is clearly marketed toward the earth-tone wearing suburban mom who values “fresh and pretty” over “seductive and imaginative”.
To get an idea of Vanilla Fields' target audience, take a look at its website…
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Posted by Angela
on
13 August 2008
A week of reviews of drugstore fragrances wouldn't be complete without a rundown of a few inexpensive musks, and reviews of drugstore musks wouldn't be complete without Jovan and Coty. Lucky for me, a nearby Walmart stocks a gift box with 11 ml bottles of Jovan Musk for women, Jovan White Musk, and Coty Vanilla Musk Eaux de Cologne.
Jovan Musk for women has been a drugstore staple since it was introduced in 1972. Jovan's website lists its notes as jasmine, neroli, bergamot oils, and musk. Of the three musks, Musk for women is the lady. Musk for women is a slightly aldehydic, floral musk. The aldehydes fade fast, but the bergamot persists quietly as the musk ramps up, and I swear I smell a smidgen of lavender giving Musk for women's lushness a clean edge…
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Posted by Jessica
on
23 February 2008
Back in December, Robin capably tackled the topic of fragrance layering, with suggestions for combining scents to enhance and emphasize certain notes. I must admit that I’m something of a purist: I prefer to wear one perfume at a time. However, I’m willing to experiment with layers of other products underneath. Although some fragrance lines do offer their own matching body products, those shower gels and lotions are often disappointing. Sometimes, the fragrance just doesn’t live up to the richness and complexity of the original perfume; in other cases, the formula of the gel or lotion is surprisingly low in quality.
Instead, I prefer to find unrelated scented products that harmonize with my favorite perfumes, based on broader fragrance families or single notes. I’ve written about my quest for rose lotions once or twice before, and vanilla is another category that seems to merit frequent layering discussion here on Now Smell This as well as at MakeupAlley and other forums. The right lotion can moisturize the skin so that perfume “clings” better, and a vanilla-scented body product adds an extra, underlying dose of warmth and sweetness to any fragrance. Here, then, are a handful of vanilla lotions that have recently impressed me, with suggestions for fragrance matches…
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Posted by Robin
on
28 January 2008
Last February when I reviewed Annick Goutal's Vanille Exquise, I noted that “I am not a huge vanilla fan in general, but there are cold, grey days when a bit of vanilla is just what you need”. Those days are upon us once more, so this morning I'm road testing three vanilla fragrances: Guerlain's Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Le Labo's Vanille 44 and Indult's Tihota.
Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille has been all the rage on the boards and blogs, and it is easy enough to see why. This stuff is simply delicious. It starts out thick and rich, with boozy undertones and a swirl of something smoky that reminds me of vanilla-scented pipe tobacco…
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Posted by Robin
on
15 November 2007
Anné Pliska’s eponymous perfume, launched in 1987, has long been a cult favorite among perfumistas. About Anné Pliska herself, I know virtually nothing except that she is based in California, and is apparently very good at maintaining her privacy in the internet age.
I tried Anné Pliska some years ago and didn’t love it: it was too cold and amber-y to suit my tastes. Alyssa over at Perfume Smellin’ Things suggested I ought to give it another try, figuring that if I loved Fendi Theorema, surely Anné Pliska ought to have a second chance. Her description: “Pliska is like Theorema’s chic, stern Aunt, one with a scandalous past that her niece knows nothing about…”
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