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Dana Classic Fragrances (Cover Girl) Navy ~ perfume review

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Cover Girl NavyCover Girl Navy

Dana Classic Fragrances Navy Eau de Cologne. I remembered the ads with their crisp motif of navy blue and stripes (it was Cover Girl Navy in those days), and the bottle, a deco-inspired oval, reinforced the image. The Dana website describes the fragrance as “a refreshing classic citrus floral blend of Rose, Jasmine and Orange Flower with a hint of sweet spices of Coriander and Cinnamon.” Further research showed it debuted in 1990. This should be a light, tidy fragrance, I thought. A great contrast to yesterday’s review of Chantilly and perfect for a summer day.

Not.

Navy is a floral oriental loaded with powder and old-fashioned orange flower. Refreshing? As refreshing as a dusty eiderdown comforter in August. Citrus? Not unless you count the “orange” in “orange flower.” Navy? Even the Village People would have trouble with that one. Navy and Chantilly are sisters, but where Chantilly accepted her lot in life and is running with it, Navy needs therapy…

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Dana Classic Fragrances (Houbigant) Chantilly ~ fragrance review

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Houbigant Chantilly advertHoubigant Chantilly advert

Welcome to drugstore week! While Robin is on vacation, I’m going to treat you to reviews of fragrances you can buy with your lunch money. First up: Dana Classic Fragrances Chantilly.

My first memory of Chantilly involves a gift set an uncle gave me for Christmas and an elderly woman who did handwriting analysis and numerology. I couldn’t have been much more than twelve years old, and in those days, Houbigant made Chantilly. Before embarking on the visit to the handwriting analysis lady with my mother and little sister, I gave myself the full Chantilly treatment — bubble bath, lotion, and a slick of Eau de Toilette. A six-foot Chantilly zone surrounded me.

In the end, I over Chantilly-ed and couldn’t wear it again. Eventually the Eau de Toilette turned brown and I threw it out. But a whiff from the bottle I picked up for this review, and it all came back…

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Perfume in the Movies

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Joan Crawford in The Women

Recently I saw The Silence of the Lambs again. When I first saw the film, just after it came out, my fragrance wardrobe consisted of Chanel Coco and Victoria’s Secret Tranquil Breezes bubble bath. This time, more attuned to perfume references, I chilled as Hannibal Lector met Clarice Starling for the first time. Lector stood straight-backed, arms at his side, and stared at Clarice on the other side of the bars. His nostrils flared and he half-shut his eyes. “You wear L’Air du Temps,” he said. “But not today.” Brilliant.

When I watch movies these days, my eyes are often fixed on the background as I look for perfume. In Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner, two 16-ounce, houndstooth Christian Dior bottles sit on a shelf in the bathroom. I think one of them is Miss Dior. In Auntie Mame, the Rosalind Russell version, Mame gives her housekeeper a giant clock-shaped bottle of something Guerlain I suspect is Shalimar. Another mammoth bottle of Guerlain, this one looking to hold nearly a gallon of Mitsouko Eau de Cologne, adorns the background of an Italian movie. I can’t remember the plot at all, only the Mitsouko…

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Elie Saab Le Parfum ~ fragrance review

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Elie Saab Le Parfum

We’ve all heard the pap the perfume machine puts out. Here are some examples from recent releases:

The perfect fusion of sweetness and strength, passion and perseverance, this Oriental musk celebrates independent girls who aren’t afraid to follow their hearts and live each day as an adventure. (Baby Phat Luv Me)

Uh huh. You wear this and you’re sweet, strong, and adventurous, but not much of a speller.

Or

Opulent, rich and oh-so special. A must-have. The new sensual fragrance for your ultimate evening. A glamorous scent that radiates from your true beauty. (Judith Lieber Night)

Come on, people. Someone paid for that copy? I’m already asleep.

So, when I watched the video about Elie Saab Le Parfum on the Elie Saab website and heard perfumer Francis Kurkdjian say, “I felt I had to translate a brilliant femininity,” and that he wanted to create a fragrance that reflects “when the sun is almost gold or even white,” and smells “as if gold was glowing so brightly it was almost white,” I was skeptical. Blah blah femininity blah light. Sure…

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Etat Libre d’Orange Fat Electrician ~ fragrance review

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Etat Libre d'Orange Fat Electrician, logo

Wandering around on a recent rainy Sunday, a friend and I stepped into Una, a tiny shop on the working class side of town. The clothing was tremendously chic, all Italian fabrics and clever design. In a different life, when my womanly figure turns gamine and my penchant for nipped waists and rhinestones fades, I’ll have one of each on the rack. The jewelry was fabulous, too, and I’m saving up for a bronze Monica Castiglioni ring. But what really pleased me, was that in this shop — this little shop that could fit inside my living room —was a row of Etat Libre d’Orange perfumes.

Forget the rain, I was ecstatic. They didn’t have my two favorites, Jasmin et Cigarette (“We could never sell that here, people wouldn’t get it,” the owner told me later) and Like This, but Vraie Blonde sat in front, and several fragrances I wanted to get to know better lined up behind it. One of them was Fat Electrician Eau de Parfum. I took home a sample…

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