It’s Father’s Day ALREADY? This year I’ve assembled twelve gift choices (13 counting the non-scented tie above) that can be mixed and matched: a box of soap and a shower gel, or some grooming products and a bottle of booze (there’s always food and drink on my list…they’re “fragranced,” correct?) So, buy a nice box or bag and fill it up! (If the box is a lacquered Chinese antique or the bag is a leather tote — all the better.)…
Long Hot Summer ~ Soaps for the Sultry Days Ahead
Here at Now Smell This we know it doesn’t take long to spend LOTS of money on scented toiletries (I’m not talking perfume, either). I’m a big fan of fragranced bath products, and current pricing for “fine” soaps and bath gels is high. Who’d have ever thought Diptyque and Frédéric Malle would be on the bargain end of ‘exclusive’ bath lines? Diptyque shower gels are $44 and a bar of scented soap is $15 (reasonable!); Frédéric Malle body wash is $55.
Bath gels sell for what perfume used to cost — Hermès cleansing gel: $59; Tom Ford shower gel: $65; Bond no. 9 body wash: $75; Sisley shower gel: $85; Creed body wash: $95. Fancy soaps are less expensive to buy and go from the “low end” (Jo Malone and Atelier Cologne, $20 a bar; Hermès soap, $22; Chanel No. 5 soap, $26 per cake) to high and higher end — Bvlgari soap, $30 a bar; one Guerlain Shalimar soap, $31; Tom Ford soaps: $35 each, and, as with bath gels, Creed is most expensive at $45 per tablet (I’ll pass).
Hey, Roja Dove and Clive Christian! Have you lost your nerve(s)? I was expecting over-priced bars of soap from each of you for at least $100 apiece and bath gels (with pulverized Swarovski crystals and gold leaf) for $400 in 8 oz. over-dreck-o-rated bottles!
Though I’ve enjoyed many of the soaps listed above (Diptyque, Hermès, Atelier Cologne and Guerlain), today I’m writing about less expensive options that deliver great lather and quality aromas.
Kappus Violet Lilac | Germany, $4: This is an old-fashioned-smelling violet and lilac glycerin soap…
Fragrance gifts for Mother’s Day 2016, part 2
Mother’s Day (in the US, anyway) is coming soon — this Sunday. We posted one list of scented gifts already, here’s another.
From Bella Freud, a votive set with four 70g candles (Signature, Ginsberg is God, Je t’aime Jane and 1970) in a black presentation box. $120 at Nordstrom…
Fragrance gifts for Mother’s Day 2016, part 1
Mother’s Day (in the US, anyway) is coming up on Sunday, 8 May. It’s time to get shopping, so here are a scented gift ideas for 2016.
From Hèrmes, Le Petit Bain bundle: pick a 50 ml fragrance, and add one or two body products of your choice. Prices vary; the selection show above is $219 (shipping is free). At Hèrmes USA…
Boxwalla Beauty Box ~ scented body product reviews
If you’re as interested in cosmetics as you are in fragrance, you’ve no doubt become aware of the “subscription box” craze of the past five years or so. It usually works like this: you subscribe by filling out a questionnaire about your tastes, and for a monthly fee you’re sent a box of trial-sized products purportedly chosen to fit your profile. Everyone loves getting surprises in the mail, right? I’ve joined two or three of these subscription brands in the past, and for a while I enjoyed receiving my packages; as the months ticked by, however, I ended up owning too many items that I just never used (bright coral lipsticks! sparkly highlighting powders!) so I unsubscribed.
More recently, variations on the subscription theme have emerged — several fragrance clubs, for example, and now Boxwalla, a service that “curates” boxes in four categories: Beauty, Food, Film and Books. The Beauty box promises to offer “luxurious and effective products to nourish your skin and body,” all made in the United States with non-toxic and cruelty-free ingredients. I’ve just tried Boxwalla’s December Beauty box, which seemed to have a “winter comfort” motif, and — unlike some of the cosmetics subscription services I’ve tried —it was an all-around success for me…