Apparently, my deal with El Hub not to buy any more Pacifica Body Butters until I finish the tubes in the bathroom is officially null and void.

Poor guy actually asked, “Who needs four bottles of body butter?”

Uh, I do.

Of course, it’s not entirely my fault…

Okay, it is, but I’m still blaming French Lilac ($18).

Even though it’s technically the middle of winter, my heart has moved on to springy scents, and French Lilac’s moisturizing body butter is hitting all the right notes. I fell for the shower gel a while back and like the body butter just as much.

Light and delicate, French Lilac’s official fragrance notes include lilac, magnolia leaves, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, hyacinth and nectarine, but I detect more of the lovely lilac on my skin than anything else.
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Ah, spring…

It’s getting closer by the minute. Yesterday I noticed a tree on my street, which doesn’t usually bloom until April, already has flowers on its branches, and this morning on the Today Show the hosts were saying that much of the country has been having an unseasonably warm winter.

But it’s not all good. They say it’s confusing some crops and bird migrations.

I think it’s also confusing my sense of smell. This winter, I’ve been reaching for the heavier perfumes I tend to wear this time of year less often than usual, and opting for lighter, fresher fragrances like the new Burberry Body Mist ($50) more often instead.

I almost wore out the original Burberry Body last fall, and I like this new, limited edition spin on the scent just as much.

It seems more dainty and delicate than its sibling, yet still retains the rosy, feminine feel that made the original Burberry Body a hit with me.

Burberry Body Mist

“Dive into a sensation of green freshness with the fruity accents of peach and the sensuality of freesia. This fragrance blooms with light floral notes of rose petals and iris, gently combined with the captivating signature of sandalwood. The cashmeran base blends with soothing vanilla, amber, and musk to reveal the unique character of this seductive woman. A new way to experience Burberry Body, this mist is formulated without alcohol and can be used all over the body and hair.” – Sephora.com

• Top notes: fresh green absinthe, peach and freesia
• Middle notes: Rose absolute, iris and sandalwood
• Base notes: wood cashmere, creamy vanilla, amber and musk

It reminds me of a lighter version of Lancome’s rosy Tresor, but with stronger notes of iris and freesia, and I think it’s just so girly and sweet that it compels me to don a pink dress, pearls and heels.
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Never underestimate the healing power of a shower, cute pajamas and new Cherry Princess bath and body products from L’Occitane. They combine to create one of the most powerful trifectas of recuperative relaxation known to womankind!

Drill Sergeant Tabs worked me hard this week, and by Friday I was totally beat. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to go out (he’s such a party animal!).

So while Tabs went out clubbing with his new BFF, Bruno Mars, I stayed home, took a long shower with L’Occitane and rented movies instead.

I discovered a few fabulous new L’Occitane treats from the new five-piece Cherry Princess collection of bath and body products (coming Jan. 30), like their Pearlescent Shower Cream ($20 for an 8.4-ounce bottle), Eau de Toilette ($40 for 1.7 ounces) and Hand Cream ($10 for 1 ounce). These three items, along with a Solid Perfume ($12 for 0.35 ounces) and a Silky Body Gel ($25 for 8.4 ounces), comprise the limited edition release.

This time around, L’Occitane takes us straight to Luberon, an area of Provence in France that stretches 30 miles along rugged hills east of Avignon, incorporating cherry extracts from the region into each of the products in the Cherry Princess line.
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It’s her hair you notice first — long, loose and wavy, and still a little damp from this morning’s shower. Today she’s riding her rickety bicycle, the one with the worn wicker basket on the front, along the cobblestone streets of the small Italian village you both call home.

“Hello, Graciella!” you call to her. She sees you, smiles and waves a hand high in reply.

Clackity-clack-clack, goes the bicycle, as it moves along the cobblestones. She’s wearing a flowery, flowing dress today, and all of a suddenly the air is filled with the scent of oranges, you assume from her shampoo. Fresh from a visit to the early morning market, her basket is brimming with white lilies and a brown paper bag filled with pears. Hungry (she’s always hungry), she nibbles on one of them as she cruises along, and when she passes you, there’s a whiff of soft musk from her skin, but it slowly drifts away…

Just like that, she’s gone, floating off toward the day’s adventure.

Graciella ($68), Tocca’s newest eau de parfum, is a fleeting, simple beauty on the corner of a cobblestone street. Sweet, feminine and innocent, it starts quietly, with notes of pear and bitter orange, moving from there into a slow song of white lilies, before winding down into a lush, creamy musk.

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“Who says bigger’s always better?” asks the 5-foot-1 girl typing this sentence. (Incidentally, she’s usually the shortest person in the room.)

The new $15 Tocca To Go Mini Eau de Parfums combine teeny, tiny cuteness with Tocca’s signature fresh and flirty floral scents.

I stumbled upon three of these minis at the mall yesterday while cruising for Christmas tchotchkes. They were right next to a weird $500 white porcelain horse head in Anthropologie (so very Godfather!) and surrounded by a sea of $50 salt-and-pepper shakers.

Aren’t they cuter than cupcakes?

You may recall these same three minis in Cleopatra, Stella and Florence from last year, when Tocca was selling them together as the $45 Eau de Parfum Viaggio set, but this is the first time I can remember seeing them available separately.

The official fragrance notes…

• Stella — Blood orange, lily, white freesia, orchid, musk and sandalwood
• Florence — Gardenia, bergamot, violet, iris and blonde wood
• Cleopatra — Grapefruit, jasmine, tuberose, patchouli, amber and vanilla musk

I’ve been infatuated with Tocca ever since I met beautiful Bianca last year. I like to imagine their fragrances coming from a tiny estate-turned-perfumery in the middle of a field of flowers on a sunny Tuscan hillside, or someplace lovely like that.

They’re the kinds of scents that make me want to let down my hair and don a delicate dress and comfy shoes; I bet they’d make perfect stocking stuffers, too. To my nose, all three of them are like a breath of fresh air — girly, but not sugary sweet.

I also spotted these matching Cleopatra, Florence and Stella creams ($20 each). I put some Stella on before leaving the store, and I liked that it felt non-greasy and moisturizing.

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