The new Benefit Crescent Row Limited Edition Set for Holiday 2012

Each of the four tiny 0.34-ounce bottles in the new $36 Benefit Crescent Row fragrance set is small enough to bring in a carry-on bag on your next flight (TSA rules limit liquids to 3.4 ounces or less).

Choose from Laugh With Me Lee Lee (a woody floral), My Place or Yours Gina (a woody oriental), Ring My Bella (a fruity floral) and See & Be Seen Sasha (a captivating floral).

I like my cats big and my perfumes tiny, so every year when Benefit rolls out their little fragrance kits I get really excited! — and then I pop open one of their caps…

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It’s her smile you notice first.

You’re strolling across the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris on a crisp, clear spring day when you see her standing by the railing, a shy smile on her lips, her hair swept in a chic chignon. A scarf is draped effortlessly around her neck, and she’s holding a bouquet of violets by her side.

She pauses to take in the City of Light and the River Seine below, leaning against the railing with her hands tucked beneath her chin and staring off into the distance, her eyes faraway and dreamy.

Ah, you know that look…the look of first love, when the mere thought of your beloved awakens every cell in your body with a tingling that begins at your toes and works its way up through your spine.

A breeze turns toward you, bringing with it an intoxicating aroma of vanilla, rose, musk, black currant berries and violet.

The girl breaks from her reverie, caught by your gaze, and smiles warmly. You return the feeling, knowingly, as you pass her along the bridge, recalling another time, so many years ago, when you, too, stood in almost the same spot, basking all-too-briefly in the same glow with your American writer, so tall and beautiful, with his brown hair and hazel eyes.

Whatever happened to him? you wonder. Does he still think of you, like you think of him?

Almost across the bridge now, you close your eyes once again and breath deeply, drawing in as much of the scent as you can, letting it sweep you up in its loving embrace.

Another happy girl on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris, 2005
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Mark your calendars! Here in the States, May 13 is Mother’s Day (click here to find out when it falls in your country). Want to get Mom something special this year? Looking for gift ideas? Check back over the next few days for a different Mother’s Day gorgeous gift idea (a new special something with which to spoil Mom).

My mom is the only person I know who makes a sour face whenever she drinks orange juice. She scrunches up her nose and knits her brow, as if she’s just bitten into the sourest lemon on planet earth.

To this day, whenever I see a carton of orange juice, I think of my mom standing in front of the fridge at home with a glass of juice in her hand. “It has vitamin C,” she’d say, and then slam it down and make that funny face. “Very good for you!”

LOL!

Okay, so she may not be crazy about orange juice, but she absolutely adores citrus scents. If your mom does, too, she just might love Bois d’Orange Emperor Fresh Fragrant Water, a limited edition fragrance from Roger & Gallet, a 150-year-old French fragrance line.

Moms who appreciate hard-to-find luxury brands might like that it isn’t carried in every store. It can be hard to find here in the U.S. This particular bottle, one of three new pieces in the limited edition Emperor collection, is currently available online at Shop Londons (you can also find permanent Roger & Gallet fragrance, body and bath items online at Dermstore).

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When the new Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum practically knocked the wind out of me with its pink peppercorn, orange blossom absolute and tonka bean charms, I had been on a two-week fragrance bender with happy-go-lucky L’Eau de Chloè, dousing myself with its light floral fragrance every single day.

Just like that, I went from floating high above the countryside without a care in the world — L’Eau de Chloè — to the raw grace of a 450-pound tiger, its striped fur glistening in the sun — Roberto Cavalli.

Equal parts powerful and delicate, ambery floral Cavalli officially sings the following notes…

Official fragrance notes

• Top: pink peppercorn
• Middle: absolute of orange blossom
• Base: tonka bean

I how it conveys femininity in a bad@ss way. Like, if I were strutting down the hallowed halls of Vogue’s corporate headquarters (in stilettos, of course), Cavalli is what I’d want to be armed with. It’s what mama wants to wear when she BRINGS IT! — or, when it’s already been brought-en.

Note to self: wear this dress with Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum
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A few weeks ago, I dreamt an odd but beautiful dream that started with me standing in a sun-drenched field filled with tall green grass and wildflowers.

As I stood there in the field, bunches of big, beautiful balloons in a rainbow of colors appeared out of nowhere, and for reasons my dream self understood, I began tying the strings that dangled from the balloons to the belt loops of my jeans.

Up and up, the balloons lifted me, higher and higher above the field, and I drifted like that for a while, peaceful and giddy, hundreds, or maybe thousands, of feet above the countryside.

Then, I looked to my right, and Tabs appeared next to me. He was also being carried by beautiful balloons and had the strings tied around his tum. I was worried that his balloons would take him off in a different direction, but he managed to stay next to me, and we floated side by side above the green hills and country villages below.

L’eau de Chloè, one of my favorite fragrances lately, reminds me of that dream. I’ve been wearing it a lot this month, and every time I spray its citrusy floral scent on my neck and wrists and close my eyes for a moment, I feel lighter than air, as if I’m floating over my dream field with Tabs, joyous and free.

The scent, which launched earlier this month, is a new take on Chloè’s original fragrance, and while that version felt very urban and chic to me, this one, with its playful fruity notes, floral influences and amber, feels lighter, fresher and undone.

Official fragrance notes: Grapefruit, Cedrat, Peach, Violet, Rose Petals, Natural Water of Rose, Cedarwood, Patchouli and Amber

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