Jo Malone “tells” a story with their two new Fragrance Chronicle collections. Each collection contains a main fragrance accord in a 30 ml cologne, followed by additional smaller cologne blends, all packaged in a fragrance “book.” The idea is to layer the scents to create something unique. These are unisex collections. Pomegranate Noir Fragrance Chronicle $95 The Pomegranate Noir Fragrance Chronicle™ tells the story of an intriguing Pomegranate accord blended with notes of delicious fruits, spicy florals and warm smoky woods.  Transform Pomegranate Noir with the accords of Raspberry, Casablanca Lily and Guaiacwood to create your own compelling blend of this iconic fragrance for both men and women. There’s also... [Read more]

Early gift shopping…. Check out this adorable clutch-type makeup bag that comes with the Miss Dior Gift Set. I love the big, silver Dior “D.”  The rest of the gift set consists of a 1.7 ounce Eau de Parfum Spray, a 1.7 ounce Moisturizing Perfumed Shower Gel, and a 1.7 ounce Perfumed Body Moisturizer. Miss Dior Cherie is an updated version of the original Miss Dior fragrance. Miss Dior Cherie Gift Set $ 76 at Sephora Some of the notes listed  are new to me. For example, there’s a “caramelized popcorn” note.  (Yum, I think I’ll make some.)  This fragrance is classified by Sephora as a Mossy Woods, but the notes sound more like a Sweet Fruity Floral.  Fragrance notes: Green Tangerine, Violette, Pink... [Read more]

When I heard that Reese Witherspoon was working on a fragrance with AVON, I imagined it to be something floral. I look at Reese and I see feminine, confident, and a whole lot of blond hair. For some reason that says “floral” to me. In Bloom, the fragrance that Witherspoon created with AVON, is a Floral, but it’s warmly grounded with Woody and Oriental notes. The combination makes In Bloom womanly, rather than girly, which I think is a smart choice because it appeals to a much larger audience. Reese Witherspoon’s In Bloom AVON sent me a sample to review and I could not wait to see the bottle in person. I wanted to smell it, sure, but that bottle looked so cute in the press coverage. I think I’ve been pretty clear... [Read more]

Did you see the Old Spice Gift Set that I wrote about the other day?  You did? Good news! I’m going to be giving away 5 of those babies. The giveaway is for the Swagger fragrance and it contains the following: …full-size versions of Red Zone products; Body Spray, the Deodorant, the 8 Hour Body Wash, a “Deck Scrubber” shower tool, and a small size of the 16 hour Odor Blocker Body Wash. I’m not a fan of overly man-scaped men (why do they insist on messing with their eyebrows?).  I do, however,  appreciate a man who smells good and has nice skin. The Old Spice Deck Scrubber, included in the gift set, is a mesh-type scrubber. It features a “manly” handle, so you don’t confuse it with a lesser, girly mesh... [Read more]

Kenzo is a company that is always trying something new. They will take one their established fragrances and tweak it, make something new with the addition of notes, all new packaging, etc. It’s one of the reasons that I really enjoy writing about them – there’s always something interesting going on. A good example is the new Kenzo Power Cologne for men. They started with the original Amber notes of Kenzo Power and followed in the tradition of the early 18th century colognes by opening with fresh, aromatic citrus notes. Kenzo Power Cologne $68 for 4.2 oz Fragrance notes: Verbena, Bergamot, Cardamom, Geranium, Black Pepper, Vetiver, and Cedar Kenzo sent me a sample of Kenzo Power Cologne to review. It’s a Woody Citrus,... [Read more]