Posted by Robin
on
13 May 2013
Today we’re helping Helen, who wears perfume every day and prefers to have a signature scent. Her problem: her current signature is Calvin Klein Truth, and it’s been discontinued. She wants our help to find a replacement. She’d love to find another fragrance that isn’t worn by everyone, and that will work for day or evening. Here is what we know about Helen:
She’s in her early 40s and lives on the East Kent coast in the UK.
She’s a graphic designer, and loves all things style, from food to interiors and everything in between — but she’s not a super stylish, scarily cool, judgmental creative type, in fact she prefers to be low key. She’s more of a grey marl cashmere crew neck kind of girl than a latest designer t-shirt type…
She’s a brunette, and feels that impacts her perfume choice — she likes darker scents, nothing too light and shiny.
Some of Helen’s pre-Truth perfume choices have included Lancome Poeme, Jean Paul Gaultier Classique, Stella McCartney Stella…
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Posted by Robin
on
10 May 2013
Our usual open thread routine: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the last perfume you tried and hated, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
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Posted by Kevin
on
8 May 2013
As the world warms up, an uncomfortable-looking, badly proportioned and PhotoShopped piece of sun-broiled beefcake (tattooed of course) contorts himself on a sheet of melting ice, using a threatened species’ hide as a cushion; welcome to the world of Le Beau Mâle*, Jean Paul Gaultier’s latest men’s fragrance. I would describe this “world” as ugly, dumb…not sexy. If you have about 20 minutes of your life to spare (waste), watch the annoying, disjointed, and, I assume, unintentionally, funny Le Beau Mâle promotional videos — talk about much ado about nothing! The Francis Kurkdjian interview is especially weird; he compares Le Beau Mâle to the comic book series Largo Winch; Lady Chatterley’s Lover; You Can Leave Your Hat On (the Joe Cocker song from 9½ Weeks); and A Streetcar Named Desire (Marlon Brando version). Succinctly put, my reaction to all this, the print ads, the videos, and the perfume, was: “WTF!”
Le Beau Mâle is billed as a fresher take (a mix of “hot” and “cold” notes) on original Le Mâle…
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Posted by Angela
on
6 May 2013
New perfume releases are getting ridiculous. I don’t mean the sheer number of them — although that’s mind boggling enough — I mean who is launching perfume. Scrolling through Now Smell This reveals notices from the usual celebrities and fashion houses announcing flankers and flankers of flankers, but also perfumes by seemingly every watch maker, mall shop, lingerie brand and car manufacturer out there. We’re even seeing fragrances from fast food restaurants and photographers. Clearly, ginning up a perfume and tossing it on the market is a must in every brand’s portfolio.
Who could possibly be next?
I’ve thought about it, and if Pizza Hut can do it, other brands are missing the boat by not launching their own scent. Listen up, marketing geniuses, for some sure-fire winners…
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Posted by Robin
on
6 May 2013
Today we’re helping Sophie, who says she is new to the fragrance scene, but picky and disinterested in many popular fragrances. She wants to find an everyday scent that is not out of place most of the year in Australia, where the weather is quite mild. She can pay up to $150-ish and is happy to shop online. Here is what we know about Sophie:
She’s in her late 20s, and is studying for her PhD.
She says she is quite introverted but doesn’t take anything too seriously.
She likes to try new things and being herself, an individual, is important.
She also loves to be outdoors, whether it’s hiking, cycling or skiing.
Sophie likes patchouli, iris, vanilla, citrus (particularly bergamot), woods (particularly sandalwood) and lighter florals. Sophie’s favorite perfume is Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille sur la Route de Madagascar…
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