The Perfume Magazine Andy Tauer Giveaway!

The Perfume Magazine is giving away the newest Tauer Perfumes Cologne du Mahgreb! The deadline has been extended until January 2nd, so go right over and enter! Click here for more info.

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Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol

Notes: bergamot, cypriot India, blue cypress, plum, jasmine, rose, agarwood, white patchouli, cistus, vanilla, olibanum, sandalwood, musk

When I first sniffed the sample vial of Bond No. 9's new Andy Warhol fragrance, I immediately thought of a fruity version of their first Andy Warhol scent, Silver Factory. But then I spritzed it on and found I was wrong. Oh, it's fruity all right, but nothing like the gorgeous dry amber of Silver Factory.

At first, I thought there was far too much going on.  It was fruity, floral, woody - all at the same time. Cacophonous, but pretty nonetheless. And then the drydown came - a gorgeous, edible vanilla-scented musky amber that's almost like a slice of warm-from-the-oven vanilla pound cake.

I really like this one a lot. But I can say the same about most of Bond's warmer scents. They don't really do a lot wrong.

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Sample Sale Sites

Have I gushed here before about the fabulous prices I've paid for equally fabulous designer merchandise? Like that Kooba bag I bought for about 75% off retail?  You can buy stuff cheap too if you sign up for my favorite sample sale sites. Just in time for Christmas, too!

Click here to join Gilt Groupe.

Click here to join Rue La La.

Click here to join Billion Dollar Babes.

Click here to join Beyond the Rack.

Click here to join Swirl by DailyCandy.

Click here to join Ideeli.

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Holiday Scents

Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Yule season is nigh. If the weather would ever get cold around here in Maryland (it's been in the 60s for the last month or so), I'd be breaking out my cold weather scents and spraying them with abandon. What I'm really looking forward to is wearing the perfumes that remind me of Christmas....

Fendi Theorema
Notes: nutmeg, pepper, orange, rosewood, rose, ylang-ylang, carnation, cinnamon, labdanum, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin Siam

I fell in love with Theorema at first sniff. It was August 1998, in Seattle, and a friend and I were exploring the fragrances at Nordstrom. Theorema was brand new, and I was enchanted by its warm spiciness, reminding me of gingerbread with a hint of orange.

I still have a few ml left in my original bottle. Even twelve years later, the scent is still gorgeous and Christmassy. I also have a back-up bottle that I was lucky to grab from a perfume discounter as soon as I heard it was discontinued. Why do all of my favorites come to an early end? Of course, Fendi is weird. They recently discontinued ALL of their fragrances (at least in the US) and brought out the very generic-smelling Palazzo. Methinks they have their heads up their butts.


Etat Libre d'Orange Noel au Balcon
Notes: tangerine, vanilla, honey, orange blossom, apricot, red pepper, patchouli, musk, cistus, cinnamon, nigella, amber

The title of this one makes it pretty obviously Christmassy. Like Theorema, it's a warm scent with citrus, but this one is more honeyed than spicy, with a light amber-y vanilla background. I think it's really quite delicious, and Christmassy without being too spicy.

Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant
Notes: three types of frankincense, black and pink pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, fir balsam, mastic

This is a much more "church-y" fragrance than the two above. It reminds me of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, in a church full of fresh fir trees that lend their scent to the air and mingle with the smoky fragrance emanating from the priest's censer. The Frankincense aroma isn't exactly the way I remember Catholic church incense, but it's close enough to create the illusion.


So what are your favorite scents to wear around the Winter holidays?

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Fragrance Wish List

Hermessence Ambre Narguile
by Hermes

"Amber, the Western expression of Eastern fragrances, has a warm, enveloping, almost carnal smell. I wanted to imbue this idea of amber with the memory of the East I love where tobacco - blended with the smells of fruit, honey and spices - is smoked in narguilés, or water pipes, and where swirls of smoke diffuse a sweet sense of intoxication."

-Jean-Claude Ellena

That pretty much sums it up. This fragrance is warm and cozy, with lots of honeyed fruits and an ambery tobacco. It was love at first sniff. Unfortunately, my wallet can't afford the $235 for 3.3oz.

10 Corso Como
by 10 Corso Como

While I can better afford this gorgeous sandalwood and oud scent, my darling husband does not like it. I believe he compared it unfavorably to a male relative of his. It's probably not a good thing for a wife to smell like a dead male relative, huh?


Tilda Swinton Like This
by Etat Libre d’Orange

One would think that a scent named after an iconoclast such as actress Tilda Swinton would be somewhat unusual. Maybe even weird. But Like This, with its combination of pumpkin, immortelle (smells like maple) and musk, smells warm and delicious and actually quite conventional.

Cadjmere
by Parfumerie Generale

A delicious combination of snuggly vanilla and soft woods, this scent is as cozy and warm as a cashmere sweater. But not quite as expensive, nor is it as susceptible to moth damage.

If a generous benefactor would like to purchase one or more of these fragrances for me for Christmas, the last three are available at Luckyscent.com. The first can be procured at Hermes boutiques worldwide.

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The Angel Giving Tree Online Program

The Salvation Army and jcpenney have teamed up again this year for The Angel Giving Tree Online Program, which allows customers to adopt a needy child or senior and then shop for gifts for their angel this holiday season. Every user can adopt their angel based on location, sex and age, and then choose items off the child/senior’s list to give them for the holidays. In collaboration with UPS, Angel Giving Tree gifts purchased through jcp.com can be shipped free of charge to a local Salvation Army collection center.

A new addition this year is the option for users to adopt angels in groups. So if you and a group of friends or perhaps your co-workers all want to join in to adopt a group of angels, you can! To learn more about the program and to adopt an angel yourself head here: http://jcp.com/angel

To kick things off, Thanksgiving will be National Adopt an Angel Day. For each online Angel adopted on Thanksgiving Day through jcp.com, jcpenney will donate $50. Additionally, a $25 donation will be made for each Foursquare check-in on Black Friday. The store that has the most check-ins on Black Friday will earn a special party on Dec. 17th. So encourage your friends to visit their local jcpenney on Black Friday to contribute to The Salvation Army AND work together to get a party for your local jcpenney!

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What I Want for My Birthday

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and Christmas is a little over a month after that. Gift-getting giving season! I thought I would be helpful and share a few things that I really really like.

I love the nature-inspired jewelry of Michael Michaud. Mr Minx bought this lovely gingko necklace for me last Christmas, and now I want some companion pieces.

Water lily necklace

Quaking aspen bracelet

Sage earrings

gingko bracelet

Rosemary earrings

I can find a couple dozen more...gorgeous stuff!

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Avon Step Into Sexy...

Step Into Sexy... is the newest fragrance from Avon, in conjunction with celebrity partner, Christy Turlington Burns. When I read the notes in a PR email, I knew I had to try this one - with violet, orris, and amber, it had to be yummy.

A soft and fuzzy scent, Step Into Sexy... starts out with a fruity freesia, then gets quite powdery - more than I anticipated. As it dries down, it gets sweeter and more floral, and finally it's all about the cozy cashmeron.

It's quite nice, and especially at the price of $28 for 1.7 oz.*

Notes: black raspberry, freesia, violet leaf, rosewood, ultra violet, butterfly orchid, cashmeron, sueded orris root, golden ambers

*I received a free sample of this scent


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Esprit d'Oscar

I wasn't a fan of the original Oscar fragrance. It was too bold and floral for me, and my grandmother would occasionally wear the body powder. I can't wear something that grandma wears! So when a flanker came out, some 34 years later, I thought I'd have no interest. An encounter with a scented magazine ad changed my mind.

Esprit d'Oscar is a cozy yet light scent, one I feel can be worn equally well in the summer as in the winter. It starts out lemony, with lots of heliotrope and some musk. The drydown is very orange blossom-y on my skin, which I  love. There is a strong similarity - at least in my mind - to Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere (but warmer) and Guerlain L'Instant Magic (but lemonier) and perhaps Shaal Nur (without the incense). People who like those fragrances, as I do, might well find Esprit d'Oscar is right up their alley. As I do.

Notes: Sicilian lemon, bergamot, citron, Egyptian jasmine, orange blossom, tuberose, musk, heliotrope, tonka, vetiver

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Outspoken Intense by Fergie

Avon has come out with a new fragrance by singer Fergie, a "provocative follow-up" to the original Outspoken. Outspoken Intense is indeed both outspoken and intense - the fragrance starts out boldly, with sweet fruits, and settles down somewhat into a melange of musks. I was afraid that there would be too much of a tropical aspect to this scent, what with all of the starfruit and passion flower, but that's not the case. The opening has a bit of tang to combat the overall sweetness of the fruit, followed by floral notes. It's a bit too sweet and fruity for my personal tastes, but I have to admit it's pretty good if you do like that sort of thing.

At $30 for 50ml*, one gets a lot of bang for the buck. A couple of quick squirts of Outspoken Intense is all you need to smell sweet and fruity all day long.

Notes: blackberry, starfruit, kumquat, passion flower, gardenia, orange flower, sensual musks, white amber, blonde cedar

*I received a free sample of this scent

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Chris March's Mad Fashion

Chris March knows fashion, and he knows how to make it MAD! With a wild and dedicated team, Chris puts together the wackiest and most out-of-this-world costumes for special clients. March's first client, Ruthie is a shoe designer in need of an outfit for an upcoming party. Using parts of shoes for the costume, with Ruthie be offended when she sees her work-of-art shoes broken to pieces, or will she fall in love with her out-of-the-box outfit? Find out tonight 10/4 @ 10/9c on BRAVO's Mad Fashion.

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Spring 2012 RTW - Etro

I love designers who have a strong sense of color and use a lot of prints in an interesting way. Etro has always been one of my favorites. The collection for Spring 2012 feels very flapper-y, what with the geometric Art Deco-ish prints and fringe. Love it!

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Spring 2012 RTW - Basso & Brooke

Pioneers in the use of digital imagery in fabric, Brit duo Basso & Brooke used some super large-scale prints in their current collection, giving more of the impression of color-blocking than usual. They also incorporated a tiny print in the background on some garments, giving them a more traditional printed-material feel. In other words, they were all over the place, but in a good way. There's also a bit more interest in the shapes of the garments themselves.

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Scent of the Day 9.29.11

I discovered Lady Greystock on a spur-of-the-moment trip to the mall. Anthropologie had a bunch of stuff I had never before sniffed, including a handful of fragrances by the company D.S. & Durga. Lady Greystock immediately struck me as one of those fragrances I had to have. Now.

The scent is somewhat old-fashioned, reminiscent of something I've smelled before. That could be due to its primary fragrance components - orris, violet, and ambergris - a rather old-fashioned combination. Even so, there's a fresh modernity to it, a simplicity. If I had to compare it to anything, I'd say Hermes Eau des Merveilles, because of the ambergris (but without the peppery citrus). It's really quite lovely.

I find myself reaching for this scent again and again. And again.

Sold only at Anthropologie.


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63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

There were lots of relatively plain gowns at this year's Emmy awards, and relatively few real dogs.

Sofia Vergara is hot in a hot Vera Wang dress. But come on - she'd look gorgeous in a black plastic trash bag.

Amy Poehler looks a bit like a foil-wrapped chocolate in Peter Som. It seems too tight.

I don't know who Aubrey Plaza is, but I love her slightly retro-70s Juan Carlos Obando dress.

Heather Morris looks like she's being attacked by a flock of rabid ravens. A bit much.

Heidi Klum in a Christian Siriano that at first I thought must be Marchesa. All I can think of is "tub farts."

Julie Bowen, we don't need to see your sternum. That neckline is for a woman with breasts (although the Oscar de la Renta gown itself is gorgeous). The eye makeup is a bit much, too.

Kate Flannery almost always looks dynamite, as she does this year.

Didn't Kate Winslet wear this Elie Saab before? It looks so familiar. Maybe in another color?

This relatively-simple Marchesa struck me as too much fabric for tiny Lea Michele.

Love Maria Bello's Kaufman Franco dress - hate the hair.

Julianna Margulies wanted to be the life of the party, so she wore a lampshade. An Armani Privé lampshade, but still...a lampshade.

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