Sonoma Scent Studio To Dream ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 22 April 2011 42 Comments

James Tissot The Dreamer

To Dream is Sonoma Scent Studio‘s new addition to its Boutique Collection of fragrances, and it was inspired in part by the line’s previous release Lieu de Rêves. I purchased Lieu de Rêves when it was first launched, and I’ve been enjoying it so much — enough to include it on my personal list of favorite fall fragrances — that I was naturally curious about To Dream.

Sonoma Scent Studio describes To Dream as “a comforting, dreamy but sophisticated and complex blend of woods, florals, incense, and gourmand notes,” including violet, rose, heliotrope, cedar, amber, frankincense, oakwood absolute, vetiver, tonka, orris, vanilla, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, suede, cocoa, and aldehydes. At first glance, that list reminded me very much of Lieu de Rêves, but as soon as I applied a bit of this newer fragrance to my skin, I noticed the differences.

To Dream opens with a strong stroke of oakwood…

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Duchess Marden Body Serum ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 17 April 2011 22 Comments

Damask rose Duchess Marden body serum

I was introduced to the Duchess Marden line a few years ago, when I received a facial treatment at a spa that used natural and organic products; since then, I’ve occasionally purchased Duchess Marden Pure Rose Water and Crème Cleanser to use at home. I like these products because they’re plant-based, they don’t contain any parabens, petrochemicals, or chemical preservatives, and — not the least of my reasons — they smell like roses.

With its recently launched Body Serum, Duchess Marden has moved beyond the face and neck to address the rest of our skin. I know that serums have become very popular in the skincare market over the past few seasons; now, apparently, the term is being applied to body products as well. (A quick internet search brings up “body serums” at various price points, from La Mer to Boots.) Duchess Marden’s all-over serum is packaged in a stunning gold-on-black bottle that a beauty editor would no doubt describe as “luxe.” It’s intended for use on damp skin after a bath or shower, in place of lotion or body cream, and it could also be incorporated into a massage.

Looking at the list of ingredients, I’m not entirely sure what differentiates a body serum from a body oil…

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Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 1 April 2011 58 Comments

Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita

I’ve always had a weakness for Lolita Lempicka. I wore the original Lolita Lempicka fragrance, now known as Lolita Lempicka Le Premier Parfum, during a particularly optimistic period of my life (when I moved to a different city, started a new job, and met the man who is now my husband), so it will always hold happy memories for me. I purchased L de Lolita Lempicka “unsniffed,” just because I loved the bottle design, and I’ve enjoyed some of the flankers for both fragrances.

Si Lolita, the latest launch from Lolita Lempicka, continues the brand’s tradition of sweetly feminine scents in whimsical packaging. Its composition, developed by perfumers Christine Nagel and Benoist Lapouza, includes pink peppercorns, bergamot, mandarin orange, wallflower, sweet pea, heliotrope, elemi gum, patchouli, tonka bean, and amber. Its bottle resembles a gilt-edged four-leaf clover, accented with a floral-and-polka-dot “scarf” and a lettered “Si Lolita” medallion. The Si Lolita television commercial features a dewy young model posing in a fancifully trimmed studio-apartment overlooking the rooftops of Paris, and some promotional watercolors by Michel Charrier (the bottle’s designer) are also ethereally bohemian.

The fragrance itself is classified as a spicy floral…

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Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Florale ~ fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 25 March 2011 45 Comments

Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Florale perfume

I remember when Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey was released in 1993; looking back, I can understand how it was a breath of fresh air (and clean water and a few lotus petals) after the Poison-heavy years of the late 1980s. It didn’t suit my own tastes — I was busy trying Jean Paul Gaultier’s new fragrance, now known as Classique, at the other end of the fragrance counter — but I respected Issey Miyake for carving out a new trend in fragrance.

On a recent afternoon of perfume-sampling in midtown Manhattan, I stopped to try the recently launched Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Florale at Sephora. L’Eau d’Issey Florale was developed by perfumer Alberto Morillas; its notes include rose, lily, mandarin, and white woods. The iconic, minimalist L’Eau d’Issey bottle is frosted pink for this version, and the L’Eau d’Issey Florale advertisement, which has caught my eye in a few magazines, features a lovely still-life photograph in the style of the late Irving Penn. All well and good. But by the time I was riding the bus home, I was writing an e-mail to Robin, telling her that I wanted to review L’Eau d’Issey Florale because it made me feel “simultaneously angry and bored…”

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Etro Via Verri 2010 ~ perfume review

Posted by Jessica on 20 March 2011 35 Comments

green garden Etro Via Verri 2010 green garden 2

I’ve never been to Milan, so I’m not able to envision Via Verri, the location of the first Etro boutique. I’m aware, at least, that Milan is a style capital, so I understand Etro’s premise that its latest fragrance release, like the Etro brand and Milan itself, embodies “a hedonism expressed through the refined codes of beauty, good taste and simple elegance.”

Via Verri 2010, launched in October 2010, includes notes of bergamot, iris, rose, jasmine, white pepper, cardamom, amber, and musk. This is the third iteration of Via Verri: Etro featured limited edition fragrances under the same name in 2006 and 2008. (For a useful summary of all three versions, with photos, see this write-up on Perfume Shrine.) My first thought, upon sniffing Via Verri 2010 from a paper blotter, was that this fragrance should have been released for spring rather than autumn. When I tried it on my skin, I became even more convinced of this idea. Via Verri opens with a zingy lemon-bergamot note, and its central phase is a cluster of green notes that evoke wet, leafy vines dusted with some peppery dirt…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Sonoma Scent Studio To Dream ~ fragrance review

Duchess Marden Body Serum ~ scented body products

Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita ~ fragrance review

Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Florale ~ fragrance review

Etro Via Verri 2010 ~ perfume review