Archive for the 'Fragrance' Category

Shu Uemura’s Pricey Rose Fragrance Smells Pretty But Fades Fast

Each June, Shu Uemura releases a limited edition collection of various beauty products to commemorate the opening of their first beauty boutique in June of 1983. This year’s collection, called Hana-Bi, includes, among other things, three pricey eau de toilette fragrances. How pricey?

Are you sitting down?

Each of the scents will set you back a whopping $85 for a 1.6-oz. bottle. The company sent me one of the three, Fleur de Rose, to review for the blog. I was really looking forward to trying it out, knowing full well that it had better be good for $85.

Eau de toilettes are usually less concentrated and less expensive than regular perfumes (sometimes referred to as eau de parfums). I could see myself shelling out $85 for a truly breathtaking eau de parfum, but paying almost $100 for an eau de toilette is a lot to ask of anyone.

I’ve been wearing Fleur de Rose off and on now for a few days. It’s a very light, simple, rosy scent that reminds me of crushed rose petals and wild licorice on a crisp spring morning.

I like Fleur de Rose, but I don’t love it. The fragrance simply is what it is and doesn’t evolve or change over time. And it fades quickly, too. When I dab it on my wrists in the morning, the scent is gone by lunchtime.

Shu Uemura Fleur de Rose Eau de Toilette

Price: $85 for a 1.6-oz. bottle
Use: A light, rosy fragrance
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: C

I have a special place in my heart for Shu Uemura products, especially their eyeshadows, but Fleur de Rose is simply too expensive. I haven’t tried the other two scents in the collection — Fleur de Terre, a fresh woody floral; and Fleur de Source, a spicy floral — but they’d really have to smell amazing and last far longer than Fleur de Rose does to justify the price.
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I’m taking advantage of the air conditioning at the mall right now and stumbled upon a semi-annual sale at Victoria’s Secret. Lots of VS beauty products are marked down in-store from 50-75% (also good online, but only on bras and panties). I’m not sure how long the sale lasts, but check out these really cute Island Infusion body mists, a mere $3.50 each after the sale discount, wowza! They come in four scents: Moorea Passion Fruit, Tahitian Vanilla Flower, Bali Orchid and Capri Peach Blossom. I think I’m going to get Bali Orchid, a light, white floral that smells like soap and clean skin. Read the rest of this entry »

When we arrived in Hawaii the other day, my sweet mum-in-law greeted us at the airport with tuberose leis. Tuberose are small, fragrant, tube-shaped flowers with a light rosy fragrance I strongly associate with Hawaii.

But you don’t have to visit the islands to experience the fragrant tuberose. Just head to your nearby Nordstrom Estee Lauder counter and ask to test the Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia Eau de Parfum ($65-120), a white floral combining the scents of tuberose and gardenia.

There are subtle transitions between the top, middle and base notes.

Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of Estee Lauder, originally developed the fragrance for herself and for friends.

Fragrance notes

Top notes: tuberose
Middle notes: gardenia
Base notes: carnation

Estee Lauder used the following elements to create the fragrance: neroli (a plant oil similar to bergamot), lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, jasmine, white lilies, orange flowers, carnation, vanilla, bourbon

To closely match the scents of flowers in nature, Lauder used a fragrance technology they refer to as “Nature Intact,” and with it the perfumers really hit this one on the nose (pardon the pun). Wearing the scent makes me feel like I’m wearing a tuberose lei.

I’ve been “visiting” this scent at the Nordie’s Estee Lauder counter near my house in Marin, practically dousing myself in it for the last month, but I’d been on the fence about purchasing it because of the price. The lesser expensive eau de parfum version (1 oz bottle) will set you back $65; a 2.5 oz bottle runs $120. A 1 oz bottle of the more concentrated perfume version, which I haven’t smelled, comes in a beautiful jeweled-top bottle and costs $300. Yes, you read that correctly: $300.

Since tomorrow is my birthday, and to commemorate this trip, I think I’m going to take the plunge and treat myself to the $65 eau de parfum. Hopefully, back at home in Marin, when I wear it I’ll think of Hawaii!

Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia Eau de Parfum Spray

Price: $65, 1 oz bottle; $120, 2.5 oz bottle
Use: A light, white floral fragrance reminiscent of Hawaii
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Try Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia at Nordstrom Estee Lauder counters or look for it online.

Yesterday, I spent the day in sunny Waikiki after watching the Kamehameha Day Floral Parade, the second oldest parade in America, and the only one to celebrate a king. I didn’t expect the parade to be as interactive as it was. Members of the audience would run out to meet, shake hands with and to hug and take photos with the parade participants as the floats passed by. I was told by people in the audience that Hawaii has a lot of parades. I guess there’s always something here to celebrate.

After the parade we headed to the Elks Club at the foot of Diamond Head mountain to hang out by the pool and to watch contestants come in from a kayak regatta. We finished the day with a trip to the Honolulu Aquarium. I wasn’t able to go surfing because the waves were just too big for me (eight footers!) and, hello! — I am way too wimpy to handle those bad boys.

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Between the blog, freelancing and my day job at the literary agency, I’ve been pretty busy lately. It’s nothing like how busy those of you with young children or full-time class schedules are, but it’s still been enough to stress me out. To say I’ve been on edge for the past few months is probably the understatement of the year, so when I heard about two new Wellness by Clean perfumes ($76 each), both created to help women relax and to feel rejuvenated, I had to try ‘em out. They’re expensive, but so is therapy.

Clean claims that spritzing either eau de parfum, Harmony or Purity, on your pressure points induces a sense of tranquility, like a spray-on spa treatment.

Harmony:
Top notes — Italian lemon, eucalyptus, tea and dewberry
Middle notes — rose, jasmine, orange blossom
Base notes – cedar wood and musk

Purity:
Top notes — bergamot, mandarin, tea and dewberry
Middle notes — rose, jasmine, muguet (Lily of the Valley), germanium
Base notes — cedar wood, sandalwood, leather and musk

I am impatient with fragrances. If the top notes — that is, the initial burst of fragrance — don’t hook me, I usually look elsewhere, but that’s not how it played out with either of these perfumes. Both scents had powerful top notes that almost overwhelmed my sensitive nose, but the subsequent middle and base notes more than made up for the initial shock.

Initially, Harmony smelled like a huge basket of lemon rind strapped to my face, and Purity smelled like crushed mint leaves in my nostrils, but as soon as the dominant top notes mellowed out and transitioned into the milder middle and base notes, I began to feel some of the rejuvenating effect.

Harmony turned into a soft, powdery jasmine and rose floral fragrance; Purity morphed into a warmer floral with rose notes blending with musk and sandalwood.

I feel that Purity is the more invigorating, rejuvenating fragrance of the two, while Harmony is the more soothing scent.
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If I could, I’d change the name of Bobbi Brown’s newest summer fragrance. It left the factory known as Almost Bare ($60), but Almost Boy may have been a more accurate moniker.

When I spritzed it on my wrist, I smelled bar soap, tree bark, crushed leaves and citrus rind; the very first thing the scent made me think of was how the Brawny paper towel man must smell after a shower.

Some of my favorite recent products by Bobbi Brown…

• Long-Wear Cream Shadows create an easy, subtle eye look.
• Lip Crayons are pretty and practical.
• Beach Shower Gel smells like vacation in a tube.

Bobbi Brown calls Almost Bare a fresh floral and lists violet, muguet (Lily of the Valley) and jasmine as some of the individual notes within the fragrance, but I couldn’t detect them at all. The product’s more masculine notes — Italian bergamot (a citrus fruit), cedar and amber (a warm, kitchen-ey smell) — dominate the feminine notes, so, basically, it makes me smell like a dude. Sure, I smell like a clean, freshly washed dude (probably a very hot dude), but I still smell like a dude.

Bobbi Brown has marketed Almost Bare as a fragrance for women, but even the name seems a little masculine to me. The marketing folks probably meant to imply a subtle, undressed sexiness, but, honestly, when I hear Almost Bare I can’t help but picture bears. Yes, it’s weird, I know, but I can’t help it.

Nor is it a very complex fragrance. It remains much the same throughout the day, unlike fragrances that transition through a range of different notes over time.

Bobbi Brown Almost Bare Eau de Parfum

Use: A slightly masculine summer fragrance
Price: $60 for 1.5 oz. bottle
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: C+

I may not have been Bobbi Brown’s target customer with Almost Bare. I gravitate toward girly-girl scents with lots of layers. Give me J’adore or Coco Mademoiselle, and I’m in heaven. Even though I typically prefer much more complex and feminine fragrances than Almost Bare, I do have to hand it to Bobbi for creating a perfume that perfectly reflects the company’s makeup aesthetic. For me, the Bobbi Brown makeup line evokes a minimalist, not overly-feminine design. Almost Bare’s simple, clean, unisex fragrance reflects their makeup philosophy to a tee.
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American fashion designer Cynthia Rowley has created two new floral fragrances for Avon, Flower ($30) and Petal ($15). Their cute, vintage bottles, and the rave reviews by women on the Avon website, prompted me to give them a try. Plus, I had another reason: Cynthia rocks. She also designed these fierce eyeglasses that I’ve been wanting for a while.

Avon bills the two new fragrances as a “mother-daughter” combo (awww). To create Flower, Rowley combined musk and vanilla with lily and freesia notes, producing a spicy, mature scent. Petal, on the other hand, is the more playful, youthful fragrance of the two, fresh and light, made with Lily of the Valley.

Yesterday morning, I sprayed Flower on my right wrist and Petal on my left. I was more drawn to Petal’s fresh, green scent, but as the morning wore on I grew tired of its sweetness. By the end of the morning, I felt like I’d dipped my wrist in a vat of candy necklaces. It’s a pretty scent but a bit too sweet for me (or maybe I’m just too old and bitter, ha!). I think it’ll be more appealing to my teenage cousin.

Flower, however, appealed to me even more as the day progressed. It started with a strong burst of freesia but within a few hours took on more of a musky, warm vanilla scent, rich and light but not overpowering. I’m going to start wearing it to work. Good job, Cynthia!
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I haven’t lived the single life in a while, but dangit if I were on the prowl I’d so rock Guess by Marciano. Maneater aptly describes the way I feel wearing this scent.

I usually think of myself as the girl next door — ya know, the quirky one in t-shirt and jeans who drinks beer, watches reality TV and writes lists — but when I wear Guess by Marciano I feel transformed, like a cougar on the prowl! Rrraaooowww! Ft! Ft! 

Just what makes this spicy floral so darn sexy? I suspect the fruity top notes (the first blast of fragrance) mellow out the musky base notes (the finale). The resulting fragrance is neither cloying nor overly sweet. 

Top notes – star fruit, grapefruit, orange curacao (an orange-flavored liquour) and cardamom (an herb belonging to the ginger family)
Middle notes –pink honeysuckle, peony and jasmine
Base notes – wood, vanilla, musk and dulce de leche (caramel)

I don’t have many spicy fragrances (piquant or pungent scents like clove oil, cinnamon or thyme) in my perfume collection because, for some reason, they make me sneeze! But my nose agrees with Guess by Marciano. No sneezing whatsoever.

It also has enough endurance to last all day long. I sprayed it on in the morning, and as I sniffed at my wrist throughout the day, there it was. The scent does change, though — a whiff of jasmine at lunch, and then vanilla and musk appeared later in the afternoon.
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