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Browsing by date: 2009

Avril Lavigne Black Star ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 23 August 2009 63 Comments

Avril Lavigne Black Star advert

Black Star is the first fragrance release from pop star Avril Lavigne, in cooperation with Procter & Gamble Prestige, and it’s being promoted as “a deliciously distinctive fragrance that embodies Avril’s individuality.” Lavigne herself comments, “It’s all about being edgy and feminine in a fun way,” and she reportedly requested the Eau de Parfum’s dark chocolate accord, which is combined with notes of pear, hibiscus flower, and black plum.

Black Star’s pink-and-black, star-shaped bottle (see below) isn’t exactly a model of “individuality,” since it looks like the love child of Thierry Mugler Angel and Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb. It’s weightier in person than it appears in photographs, and it includes a removable, studded metallic band that can be worn as a ring or a necklace charm. The Black Star box is also printed with a “studded” pattern and texture, as a reference to the belts and bracelets that Lavigne typically wears. I did a little extra research for this review, since I thought I didn’t know much about Avril Lavigne, other than that she’s a Canadian singer who sports a mall-punk style and that she infamously mispronounced David Bowie’s name at a Grammy Awards event. When I checked out a few videos, however, I realized that I’ve been absorbing her songs for a while…

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Lazy summer thoughts on Anthousa’s Aqua Verbena and Pomegranate & Mint diffusers

Posted by Pia on 23 August 2009 4 Comments

anthousa-duo

It’s a strange time of year for home fragrances. On the East Coast, at least, the heat is palpable, with a glimmering golden presence that holds forth outside from mid morning til early evening, sending most creatures scuttling for shade, the flowers bravely withstanding the glare (the cucumbers even daring to bask in it) and leaving only the cicadas and other whirring insects as a sign of life in the garden.

Yet today there is a bit of a flirtatious breeze, lifting the leaves of the fruit trees to show their petticoats and playing tag with the dragonflies. It speaks of autumn days to come, harvest time and the nourishing produce to be had borne of these golden days.

What sort of home fragrance is best suited to this heat? Most days, to be honest, I would simply rather go without. I like the scents of summer, scuffed crumbling dirt and hot painted wood from the deck, offset by utterly delicious wafts of the last summer roses. I tend to wear less perfume, if any, and go minimalist in the house. Still though, it is pleasant to have a little luxury in the guest bathroom, or — if you have air conditioning — a little something to keep the air from being too stuffy…

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Lucy B Tiare Coconut & Tropical Gardenia ~ new perfumes

Posted by Robin on 23 August 2009 10 Comments

Lucy B Tiare Coconut & Tropical Gardenia

Lucy B has launched two new fragrances, Tiare Coconut and Tropical Gardenia:

Tiare Coconut ~ “Tiare Coconut Eau de Parfum is Lucy B’s newest launch, it’s a perfect summer day inside this magical coconut floral fragrance with top notes of tiare flowers & coconut, middle notes of magnolia & champaca and bottom notes of amber & vanilla blossom…”

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The Monday Mail returns

Posted by Robin on 23 August 2009 Leave a Comment

The Monday Mail, our regular weekly feature in which readers help other readers find the perfect perfume, will return from summer vacation on September 14th. If you'd like to get on the waiting list, follow the instructions here.

Lazy Friday poll ~ perfume at the movies

Posted by Robin on 21 August 2009 167 Comments

lotr2

Today's poll was suggested by Claudia. Name a favorite movie, and then tell us the perfect fragrance to wear while watching that movie. Claudia's example: Eau d'Italie Bois d'Ombrie, which she wore for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which she saw with a live orchestra playing the soundtrack:

...leather for the horses' saddles, tobacco for Aragorn's pipe, smoke for the fire in the Rohirrims' hearths, the darkest of iris and a melancholy, earthy, almost metallic violet for war. Absolutely perfect to go with the gloomy atmosphere...

Yours?

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