Posted by Robin
on
16 February 2010
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…
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Posted by Angela
on
28 September 2009
Beauty is tricky. In Sunday’s New York Times, Barbra Streisand explained to a reporter that she doesn’t want her music to be straight and pure, “It has to rub. I want that slight rub there.” Regardless of what you think of Streisand, she has a point. For something to reach its full potential for beauty, it needs a flaw, an unexpected element to catch your attention. Parfum d’Empire 3 Fleurs Eau de Parfum is rich and lovely, and I know many people will wear it to lavish compliments. But it doesn’t have the rub.
Parfum d’Empire released 3 Fleurs (along with Wazamba) this summer. It has notes of Bulgarian rose, Egyptian jasmine, and Indian tuberose—the three flowers of its name—along with galbanum, mint, and white musk. Despite rose, jasmine, and tuberose having equal billing, to me 3 Fleurs is more of a heady rose fragrance with jasmine and tuberose playing strong supporting roles…
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Posted by Robin
on
17 September 2009
All those recent stories about how the celebrity fragrance trend is dying? Don’t believe ‘em. They’ve been saying that every year that I’ve been writing this blog, and look around — do you see fewer celebrity fragrances? Au contraire. The pie might be shrinking, but apparently everyone still wants a slice. And here is Mariah Carey (you might not recognize her right away given the wildly enthusiastic photoshopping) with Forever, her third fragrance in two years (not counting one flanker and two collector bottles).
Forever hopes to reflect Carey’s satisfaction with how well her life is going:
I am in a wonderful place right now, surrounded by all the things I love, and Forever captures this moment in time.1
Forever is supposed to be a “modern opulent floral”, and if you take modern opulence to be watery rather than full-bodied, that’s exactly what it is. The opening is crisp, fresh and watery, with tart apple plus some added greenery and citrus; the heart is a watery gardenia/tuberose floral blend with vaguely fruity undertones. The florals are strong and diffusive for a very short time, after that, they’re sheer, and need not scare anybody…
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Posted by Robin
on
9 July 2007
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…
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Posted by Robin
on
29 June 2007
We all know better by now than to expect celebrities who have done original or exciting work in their “areas of expertise” to carry that spirit of innovation over into fragrance. For most celebrities, perfume is a easy way to make money, plain and simple, and making a scent that appeals to as many consumers as possible is the logical outcome.
Still, many celebrity scents seem like reasonable olfactory representations of the stars in question, or at least, of their public personas. Despite their respective troubles, it seems fitting that Britney Spears Fantasy smells like cupcakes and musk…
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