Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
Browsing by author: Jessica

Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One ~ perfume review

Posted by on 87 Comments

Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One perfume

Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One, a flanker to the company’s 2006 release The One, definitely can’t be faulted for its promotion and packaging. It has a print advertising campaign and an accompanying television commercial created by the photographer-director Jean-Baptiste Mondino; the commercial also features a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. The fragrance’s muse, Scarlett Johansson, is shown looking delicately radiant in these ads, every inch a human meringue: her platinum hair tinted a soft strawberry blonde, her creamy skin set off by a rose-colored mesh gown (Dolce & Gabbana, of course), her lush figure reclining on a bed with a pink tufted-satin headboard. Rose The One’s bottle and the fragrance’s “juice” itself are also shaded pink, in case you missed the point. With visuals this tactile and boudoir-oriented, you might expect a powdery gourmand rose fragrance along the lines of Parfumerie Generale’s Brûlure de Rose.

Unfortunately, reality intrudes with the experience of the actual Eau de Parfum inside that blush-colored bottle and its layers of well-crafted marketing…

Read the rest of this article »

A Geranium Sampler ~ scented body products

Posted by on 42 Comments

Rose Geranium ClusterOrigins Lime & Geranium

I’ve always associated the name “geranium” with the hardy plants that my mother grew in pots on our backyard patio: red-petaled flowers, fuzzy leaves, and a slightly sweaty scent. The “geranium” most often present in perfume and other fragranced products, it turns out, is more specifically the rose geranium (species perlargonium graveolens), whose leaves can be distilled for fragrance. This smell is something much more pleasant and wearable: sort of green, sort of lemony, and yes, sort of rosey — but still more “herbal” than “floral.” I find it an easy note to wear year-round, especially in fragranced body products.

I recently grabbed a small tube of Origins Lime & Geranium Hand Lotion at an Estée Lauder outlet store when I needed hand cream, and it ended up inspiring this post. It has a quick-absorbing texture, and its scent is delightful: true geranium, with an accent on its green aspect, and an added zingy lime note…

Read the rest of this article »

The Bubble Roome Ylang Ylang & Cinnamon ~ scented body products

Posted by on 4 Comments

The Bubble Roome Ylang Ylang & Cinnamon productsThe Bubble Roome is a Brooklyn-based company offering handmade bath and body products in a range of five natural fragrance blends; my favorite for this time of year is the Ylang Ylang & Cinnamon blend, which is sensual and cozy at the same time. To date, I’ve tried the Bath & Body Wash and Hemp Oil Lotion in this scent.

The Bubble Roome’s entire line of bath and body products is paraben-free; the body wash is also sulfate-free, and includes chamomile and allantoin to soothe the skin, as well as fruit- and sugar-based alpha hydroxy acids and salicylic acid for exfoliation. It’s a gentle, low-lathering formula, and I find that it works best if I shake it before using. The lotion contains aloe vera, glycerin, coconut oil, and hemp oil to nourish and protect the skin, and it has the perfect consistency: easy to dispense and quick to absorb, but just thick enough to feel luxurious. The fragrances are all composed of essential oils, and they have various aromatherapeutic properties. Ylang-ylang, as The Bubble Roome reminds us, “is considered one of nature’s aphrosidiacs.” It’s the small but intensely scented flower of the cananga tree, native to the Philippines and Indonesia, where it’s traditionally spread on the marriage beds of newly-wed couples…

Read the rest of this article »

Bath & Body Works Twilight Woods ~ perfume review

Posted by on 43 Comments

Caspar David Friedrich Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon

When I heard that Bath & Body Works would be releasing a fragrance called “Twilight Woods,” and that this fragrance would evoke “a romantic walk in enchanted woods,” I imagined a blend of pine and cedar, a few drops of resin, and an ozonic note hinting at an oncoming snowstorm. When I later saw the list of notes, I realized that it would actually be a woodsy-fruity gourmand, with “top notes of Juicy Berry, Sparkling Mandarin, and hint of Coconut, heart notes of Creamy Frangipani, Soft Mimosa, Wet Honeysuckle, Wild Freesia, and Apricot Nectar, and basenotes of Oud Wood, Skin Musk Captive, Vanilla Milk, and Warm Woods.”

Twilight Woods is the newest addition to Bath & Body Works’ Signature Collection line, in keeping with the recent string of more complex, “abstract” fragrances (such as P.S. I Love You, as opposed to yet another Cucumber Melon type). It was developed by perfumers Harry Fremont, Jane Konnyu, and Honorine Blanc. This fragrance could just as easily have been named “Twilight Orchard,” because a ripe apricot note runs throughout its development…

Read the rest of this article »

Anna Sui Rock Me! ~ perfume review

Posted by on 26 Comments

Anna Sui Rock Me BottleAnna Sui Rock Me Agyness

I should begin by admitting that I’m a longtime fan of Anna Sui’s clothing designs and her entire aesthetic. I’ve been known to haunt the Anna Sui boutique in New York, just to browse the latest outfits (and costume jewelry, and fragrances), and I always admire the shop’s décor. I also enjoy the music constantly playing in the background, which sounds like the mix tapes I used to compile for myself and my friends in the late 1980s. Sui has always referred to rock music as one of her inspirations, and her shop is decorated with posters featuring bands from the Woodstock era through The White Stripes and Radiohead.

Since she has always combined fashion with these kinds of cultural references, it makes sense that Anna Sui has just released a fragrance described as a “tribute to the electricity and energy of rock-n-roll.” Rock Me! is an Eau de Toilette with listed notes of pear, green orange, and peach skin; honeysuckle, jasmine, and waterlily; and cedarwood, amber, and vanilla. The bottle is adorable, as Anna Sui fragrance bottles always are…

Read the rest of this article »

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z