Our series of holiday gift posts continues with solid perfumes. Up next (probably on Thursday), more travel sizes & coffrets. If you missed them, check out part 1 (scented body products), part 2 (travel sizes & coffrets), part 3 (home fragrance) and part 4 (gifts for men).
From Bottega Veneta, the brand’s signature fragrance in a solid compact. $165 at Nordstrom…
Our series of holiday gift posts continues; today we’ve got travel sizes, coffrets and rollerballs; up next: home fragrance. If you missed part 1 (scented body products), you can find it here.
From L’Artisan Parfumeur, holiday coffrets for ladies (Mure et Musc, Premier Figuier and La Chasse aux Papillons Eaux de Toilette) and gentlemen (Timbuktu, Fou d’Absinthe and Mechant Loup Eaux de Toilette). Each is $98 for three 15 ml bottles at Luckyscent…
Last October, Estee Lauder launched Wood Mystique* — a unisex, limited edition oud fragrance aimed at the Middle East perfume consumer. Ad copy swooned: “Elegant, mysterious, lavish…enter a world of opulence and richness beyond compare.” As much as I like Estee Lauder, this was something like Betty Crocker launching a “complete” Lebanese meal in a box — “Beirut Skillet! Come Visit the Souk in One Easy Pan! And Clean-up’s Easy!” I wasn’t convinced the concept would work.
As soon as I sprayed on Wood Mystique, I was dismayed; it smells a tad tawdry and destitute, “worn out” — like a Tennessee Williams heroine who’s seen better times and is trying to make ends meet and keep up appearances (Blanche DuBois transported to Cairo, black haired, eyes outlined with kohl, sporting a well-worn thawb). Wood Mystique’s powdery-tart roses and pale peonies smell of dusty, dry flower arrangements. These floral notes, for all the hype of their purity and naturalness, have an artificial vibe, like aromas you’d smell on scented facial tissues…
Estée Lauder will launch Very Estée in October. The new fragrance for women will be fronted by model Hilary Rhoda, and is intended as a “modern celebration of the Lauder woman’s affinity for style and luxury”…
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
More solid perfume compacts from Estee Lauder (see part 13 if you missed the last set): at left, the Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia Evening Star Perfume Compact ($195), and at right, the Pleasures Shooting Star Perfume Compact by Jay Strongwater ($295). Both are available at Saks Fifth Avenue…