Father’s Day 2012 ~ scented gift ideas, part 2

Posted by Kevin on 30 May 2012 11 Comments

Day number two of my Father’s Day gift ideas post focuses on fatherly types personified by the likes of Ward Cleaver, Rick Steves, and J.I. Rodale.

Traditionalist

Fathers who still insist on safety razors and shave creams might appreciate the Edwin Jagger Shaving Cream Gift Set ($55) at Luckyscent; the boxed set contains the Edwin Jagger DE89L chrome-lined razor, a 75 ml tube of Edwin Jagger natural shaving cream, two sample sizes of shave creams, and five Derby Safety Razor Blades. Choose between Aloe Vera or Sandalwood shave cream formulas. Another good shave cream at Luckyscent is Crema da Barba Almond Shaving Cream ($10/150g).

Carbon 2 Cobalt black coffee soap is not “prissy” ($8/5 oz bar) and the Gents Shave Kit is also “macho;” it includes a 4.5 oz shaving soap (in a glass tumbler) made with Rhassoul clay and Sierra Nevada Stout Beer, a 5 oz spiced rum body soap, a 1 oz bay rum aftershave, and a pure badger hair shaving brush…

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Father’s Day 2012 ~ scented gift ideas, part 1

Posted by Kevin on 29 May 2012 14 Comments

Father’s Day looms; better get shopping! In choosing gift suggestions for men, I’ve tried to provide a wide variety of choices for different personality types. My father was outdoorsy, sporty, and I’ve included gifts for that sort of guy. I live in an organic-loving town, so I’ve recommended products that are just about free of everything deemed harmful (see tomorrow’s post). I don’t have two-legged children, and my four-legged dependents won’t be buying me anything, but I’d be happy with any gift from my lists. If you’re still looking for a gift, here’s hoping something here will suit you and your father.

The Minimalist

Everyone seems to love the simple designs of Malin+Goetz products. For perfume-adverse dads, ease them into fragrance with the light and bright Rum or Lime tonics (30 ml/$48). On the “hair front,” Malin+Goetz offers the Hair Gift Box with a Peppermint Shampoo and Cilantro Conditioner (8 oz each/$42) or naturally fragranced Hair Pomade (2 oz/$20) with meadowfoam seed oil, cannabis sativa seed oil, soybean, yucca and aloe. (This is a crossover product; see the “Homebody” category tomorrow.)

Mjölk (Milk), based in Toronto, represents Scandinavian and Japanese designers. The concrete shaving kit ($98) includes a shaving dish made from soft concrete, a shaving soap, and traditional beech wood brush with badger hair bristles…

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Anjolie Ayurveda Neroli Lemon Body Butter & Seven Spice Body Oil ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 11 May 2012 13 Comments

Nearly two years ago, I reviewed some fragranced soaps from a small brand called Anjolie Ayurveda. I was impressed by them on various counts: their natural scent blends, their high quality, their artistic packaging, their interesting back-story. I don’t think I’ve come across any other soaps that quite compare to these. I was happy to learn recently that Anjolie had added scented body butters and body oils to its catalog, and the unpredictable warm-to-cold, dry-to-humid weather of the past few weeks has given me a good opportunity to test the moisturizing effects of these new products.

Anjolie Ayurveda’s Aromatherapy Body Butters are offered in four scents: Lavender, Neem Tulsi, Sandalwood Saffon, and Neroli Lemon. I was drawn to the Neroli Lemon because I’m a great fan of neroli in general: I find it cheerful, cleansing, and calming all at the same time. Anjolie promises that “neroli brings a romantic and sophisticated air while lemon adds bright citrus notes” to this blend, and I agree. It’s a simple, satisfying fragrance. The Body Butter’s formula feels more like a thick cream…

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Beautannia Brideshead Soap & Body Lotion ~ scented body products

Posted by Jessica on 13 April 2012 20 Comments

Castle Howard

I recently stepped into the SpaceNK boutique in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, just planning on browsing for a few minutes. Approaching the shelves, I spied some unfamiliar bath products; looking more closely, I let out a little shriek of delight. Toiletries named after my favorite novel, Brideshead Revisited? I could not resist. These luxury products come from a brand called Beautannia, which turns out to be one of SpaceNK‘s house lines. Brideshead is billed as a “quintessential English floral” with notes of “wintersweet, honeysuckle and wild bluebell.”

If I had imagined a fragrance for Brideshead, the grand country estate at the heart of Evelyn Waugh’s novel, during all my repeated readings (not to mention numerous viewings of the highly faithful television adaptation), what would it be? For the earlier sections of the narrative, I’d scent Charles and Sebastian’s friendship with a blend of white wine, strawberries, ivy, and wisps of cigarette smoke. In a late chapter of the novel, Waugh himself evoked the smell of his fictional setting…

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Flying Fox and It’s Raining Men ~ shower gels from Lush

Posted by Robin on 10 April 2012 68 Comments

Lush Flying Fox

When I reviewed Lush’s powdery jasmine fragrance, Silky Underwear, I mentioned that I had once splurged on their Flying Fox shower gel in the small size (100 ml, which looks sooo much smaller in shower gel than it does in perfume). I didn’t think I’d ever spend that much on shower gel again, but then I started to miss it. Lo and behold, now I have another bottle, along with a small bottle of It’s Raining Men.

Flying Fox is yet another one of Lush’s many jasmine bombs. I’m all out of their Jasmine & Henna Fluff Ease at the moment, so I can’t compare the fragrance, but Flying Fox is a big sweet honeyed jasmine with ylang ylang, and is probably at least vaguely related to their Lust perfume. The smell is strong and rich — really, almost too strong and rich — and so is the gel itself…

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Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Father’s Day 2012 ~ scented gift ideas, part 2

Traditionalist

Father’s Day 2012 ~ scented gift ideas, part 1

The Minimalist

Anjolie Ayurveda Neroli Lemon Body Butter & Seven Spice Body Oil ~ scented body products

Beautannia Brideshead Soap & Body Lotion ~ scented body products

Flying Fox and It’s Raining Men ~ shower gels from Lush