TWRT 12.5.08

I’m just not a white floral type. I wore Parfums de Nicolaï Number One today. It’s an award winning and beautiful perfume but it just doesn’t compel me to wear it again. I like it, but it’s not me.

Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir seems perfect for the holidays. The scent actually reminds me of Christmas.

Andy Tauer. OMG. I’m now a big fan. Vetiver Dance (gorgeous) and L’Air du desert Marocain (sublime). Vetiver Dance morphs quite a bit – it actually became stronger the longer I wore it and turned into such a different fragrance once dried down.

Liz Zorn’s (SOIVOHLE’) newest fragrance called Tobacco & Tullel is on my must try list. Notes are: Ambrette Seed, tonka Bean, cumin, cassis, valerian, jasmine absolute, sweet almond, rose, guiac, cedar, orris butter, cruelty free beach harvested ambergris, natural green oakmoss.
I’m wondering about the cruelty free beach harvested ambergris though ;-)

I’m annoyed about paying $10 for the newest installment of The Guide. I know it’s only $10. But still.

After I wrote the review of the three mimosa scents yesterday I had to talk myself down from purchasing 3 bottles of the Harvest Amarige. I worry, you know? There are only so many bottles of a limited edition.

Dexter is in the trunk. Seriously, did you ever think that would happen? I’m so excited for Sunday night.

I saw Zack & Miri make a porno – not so funny. In fact, I tend to over think movies and became disturbed afterwards. Why is Seth Rogan such a hot commodity right now? He doesn’t do anything for me.

I went to a diner last night (random fact: New Jersey has more diners than any other state in the U.S.) and even though Thanksgiving has just passed and I should be so tired of turkey I ordered an open face turkey sandwich. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything different from a diner.

Like sunflower seeds? You’ve got to try these amazing chocolate covered sunflower seeds called Sunny Seed Drops. I bought some from Whole Foods Market then found them online from Nuts Online for much cheaper. A great holiday gift.

I love Beauty Habit. Their 25% off sales have been wonderful (and painful).

Jo Malone: The Martha Stewart of Fragrance?

Has anyone received the Jo Malone Holiday 2008 catalog? For some time I’ve been thinking that Jo Malone’s consumer demographic must be upper middle class (and above) soccer Mom’s. When I received JM’s Holiday 2008 catalog I felt as if I were flipping through the pages of a Martha Stewart magazine or Martha’s book Entertaining. Home décor and domestic bliss are strange associations for fragrance because 99.9% of the time fragrance is marketed with sex or beauty. It’s difficult for me to recall a perfume advertisement that doesn’t allude to sex, love or the images of idealized beauties be they male or female. Jo Malone’s catalog doesn’t even depict people; all of the images are of beautiful rooms, dinner settings, fireplace mantels and marble bathrooms. I wonder what this means, if anything, about those devoted to Jo Malone fragrances?

For me, the downside of JM fragrances is their longevity. I haven’t come across a single JM fragrance that sticks around a long time. I do love the scent of several JM’s, and own many bottles, but I’m pretty disappointed when the scent disappears after 2 hours. Jo Malone isn’t as fleeting as L’Artisan, I find most JM’s last about 2 hours, maybe, just maybe, 3 hours, if I use moisturizer first and apply liberally. Aside from the longevity issue, I genuinely love Pomegranate Noir, Dark Amber & Ginger Lily, Nutmeg & Ginger, Black Vetyver Café, Red Roses, Wild Fig & Cassis and French Lime Blossom. After creating this list of JM’s that I love I realize I certainly do have a good number from this line.

Just about all JM fragrances are linear and there are several soliflores. I would describe the entire JM line as smelling pure, simple, uncomplicated, very realistic to natural aromas and clean. As I describe JM fragrances I notice a similarity with Annick Goutal. I also have a large number of Annick Goutal fragrances (even more than Jo Malone) so I would guess that those who love Goutal might also enjoy Jo Malone.

When I wear Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir during the December Holidays, I’m usually entertaining at my house, painstakingly preparing the menu and dinner place settings. When I wear French Lime Blossom during the summer, you might find me meeting my Mom for Afternoon Tea at The Four Seasons hotel. When I wear Red Roses, you might find me with my hair done (for a change!) with heels and a dress at a friends wedding. When I wear Wild Fig & Cassis you might find me having lunch at the neighbors’ house, as my neighbor introduces me to her newest grandchild.

Why am I listing typical instances of when I can be found wearing Jo Malone fragrances? I guess because these occasions seem to fit the ideal created by Jo Malone’s advertising, which very much reminds me of Martha Stewart’s imagined domestic bliss. I can’t figure out if its Jo Malone’s advertising which impacts how I feel when I wear these fragrances or if it’s the scents themselves which enhance a mood of a perfect domestic setting.

If Martha Stewart is anything like the domestic goddess I imagine her to be, I would wager she wears Jo Malone fragrances (if not, perhaps Annick Goutal).

Will Estee Lauder turn the tide with Sensuous?

I bought a bottle of Sensuous last week. I had no choice. All the perfume blogs were giving Sensuous high marks and describing the fragrance as (paraphrasing here) a “warm, fluid river of wood”….it sounded right up my alley.

So, as I mentioned, I bought it, unsniffed. Sensuous is nice. It’s by no means a “warm, fluid river of wood,” though. I’d describe it as a smooth vanillic fragrance with an ever-so-subtle hint of wood that wears close to the skin. Sensuous smells good, rather more sweet than I expected but it’s a decent fragrance.

What does excite me about Sensuous and also makes me proud of Estee Lauder is that Sensuous is a departure from the now reigning fruity florals (think Del Monte mixed fruit cocktail with syrup in a can) that have dominated the perfume industry for the past decade.

I think Sensuous will be a hit, and I also think it will turn the tide and create loads of copycats churning out their versions of “fluid rivers of wood.” Sensuous could be similar to Thierry Mugler’s Angel, which created a whole new scent category and many copycats. Whether you love or hate Angel, you must admit that it was a phenomenally bold and fascinating fragrance with tremendous success. Everyone knows someone who wears Angel.

So, I applaud Estee Lauder for creating Sensuous. It’s a mainstream, inexpensive fragrance that even perfume snobs might admit to liking. Now for me, I’ll be waiting for Estee Lauder to launch “Sensuous Extreme” or “Sensuous Night,” something less sweet and drier with a lot more wood.

What are you thoughts? Agree, disagree? Do tell....

Update: 10 minutes after posting this it dawned on me what I was expecting Sensuous to smell like. Jo Malone's Dark Amber & Ginger Lily. For Jo Malone, I think Dark Amber is a rather brave departure, too. I've found that I really like it. Given that it's 3:10 AM I think I'll give Jo Malone's Dark Amber a spritz and head to bed. ;-)