A rose for a Rosie

Ooh, get me being photographed with the super that is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley! Yes, it's a been a week (well a night) of swanning about town. Straight after meeting the Pixiwoo women, I hit the launch for RHW's new Rosie for Autograph fragrance. I think Rosie was actually in one of her slips from her lingerie line, but she looked fabulous and only she could pull it off. Imagine meeting press in your nightie? Only the truly body confident could do it. And reading her exercise regime in a magazine this week, she deserves her body.
I spied her passing on delicious chocolates being served that evening too. See, if you cut out the rubbish you can look like Rosie!

Anyway, to the fragrance. Like her name, the heart of the fragrance is a centifolia rose. It's a rare, vintage style flower and actually smells very sexy rather than overly sweet. Other notes in the mix are pepper, lemon, magnolia, jasmine and musk. Capturing the feel of the countryside, the campaign was shot in Rosie's home county of Devon. It was a natural choice for Rosie as she felt it captured the beautiful sentiment she wanted for her fragrance. Although a global jet setting super, Rosie proves she's a homebody at heart.Smell and be seduced.

Rosie for Autograph Eau de Parfum starts from £14.
On counter now. www.marksandspencer.com

smells divine

This fragrance from Caudalie I just can't get enough of. Like its name, Parfum Divin, it just smells well, divine. I only wish this blog was scratch and sniff so you could share it with me. Right now. And we could all go mmmmm together! It invites to give yourself up to abandonment, and I have.

A heady mix of two types of rose - Bulgarian and Moroccan mingled with vanilla, musk, grapefruit and spicy pink peppercorn, the overall effect is incredibly sensual and very feminine. The bottle is just as beautiful, wrapped in gold along with an ash wood stopper - sustainable of course. Make it your summer scent.

Caudalie Divin costs £39.
www.uk.caudalie.com

Spritz the spirit of NYC

If you’re looking for a fragrance full of fizz and energy then DKNY’s Women Limited Edition is as fresh and exhilarating as the city itself.  Sparkling notes of grapefruit and juicy pear delivers a fruity burst along with the elegant bouquet of white magnolia and water lily. Young and flirtatious, spritz with summer abandonment and reach for, if not the stars, then the skyscrapers.

DKNY Women Limited Edition, £38 is available exclusively at Superdrug and online from this month.

D&G's new fragrant star

If ever there was a fragrance to welcome in the lighter, warmer days of spring, then this is surely the spritz. Dolce by Dolce&Gabbana whisks up the designer duo’s olfactory romance and nostalgia of Sicily. Feminine and refreshingly simple, it’s a mix of white flowers blended with the spirit of Neroli leaves and defined by a South African flower by the name of White Amaryllis – the first time used ever in fragrance.  It was created using ‘headspace technology’ which captures the exact scent of the flower when it’s in full bloom without having to cut it and grind the petals to extract the essential oil. The overall effect is floral and elegant with a slight sexy edge.

The thick, clear and heavy glass bottle has a vintage feel and the flower stopper is a nod to Sicilian customs. And for D&G devotees you will notice that the slim black grosgrain ribbon is reminiscent of the white shirts and bow-ties that were a signature of early D&G fashion. This is classic chic bottled.

Dolce&Gabbana Dolce retails from £62.00 for 50ml.

A bite of the DKNY apple

Scrolling through Instagram the other day I came across Iman’s - aka model, entrepreneur, philanthropist and of course Mrs Bowie, snow covered roof top at her Manhattan apartment. It had a row of planters and I thought how amazing it would be to sit up there in the summer enjoying that elite space right in the middle of Downtown. So it was life imitating if not art, then a social snap when the new Be Delicious City Blossom fragrance collection from DKNY landed on my desk with the inspiration being urban rooftop gardens.

The scented trio includes Rooftop Peony with top notes of mandarin, bergamot and cassis, Urban Violet with blackberry, raspberry and Empire Apple that features the classic Be Delicious fragrance of American Apple extract. The difference being it's bottled in collectable limited edition botanical inspired packaging. Whichever one you go for, each fragrance conjurers up an olfactory escapism from the hustle and bustle of modern city life to the bloom filled roof top terrace you dream of one day relaxing in. You could always make Iman your new BFF (best fragrant friend!)

DKNY Be Delicious Limited Edition City Blossom costs £37.

Available nationwide this month.   

Scents of time

The reintroduction of this fragrance from Clinique originally launched in 1986 really took me back. Not so much olfactory, more lifestyle. I had landed my first magazine job thinking I was all get-go and stylish, along with believing the world was for my taking. In many ways it was, although hopefully I’ve shaken off some youthful and headstrong ways! But Calyx summed up that era for me with its bottled confidence. The bottle is direct and modern in its approach – no flowery stopper or faceted glass here, and the only fruit in the scent is grapefruit that makes it incredibly fresh, zestful and clean. Clearly ahead of it’s time sandwiched in-between the indulgent and cloying power scents the shoulder-padded generation represented, it deserves a successful comeback in this century. You could say it’s a fragrance that’s grown into itself.

Calyx retails at £36 for 50ml.

Exclusive in Selfridges now and available nationwide from the 28^th February.

Let's talk Tory

Natural. Polished. Super Chic. Tory Burch is all of these things as a quick glance at her Instagram account confirms. An American fashion designer and socialite, Tory is known for her easy-breezy way with fashion making it look effortless, luxurious and modern all at once. She’s now applied the same lifestyle ethos to her first fragrance and beauty collection.

First up the fragrance. Leaning heavily on Tory’s family heritage, the striking bottle is a nod to her mother’s bedroom vanity and the classic perfume bottles and atomizers that adorned it. The intricate fretwork top has fast become a signature of her brand and also found on her cosmetic line as well as the brass details in her Madison Avenue flagship store. As for the juice, it has a masculine note of Vetiver inspired by the smell of her father sensitively mingled with feminine touches of grapefruit, mandarin and tuberose. Like the smartest of women, it’s a scent that’s grounded but gracefully ambitious!

The Tory Burch Beauty Capsule Collection loves the every woman. A doddle to use, these key products instantly beautifies a range of skin tones. The Lip Colour in Pas du Tout swipes lips with a grown-up pinky nude, Lip & Cheek Tint in Cat’s Meow is one of my lust-haves. The ultimate youthful shade, it’s designed to add a hint of rosy pinched cheekiness and is lightly scented with notes from the fragrance. The Bronzer & Blush in Divine is well, just divine. Snapping open to reveal three skin brightening shades in pink, gold and ivory a single brushstroke brings any complexion a much envied sunkissed glow. As for the packaging, burnt orange and gilt brings an aura of joy. Tory nice!

Eau de Parfum from £42

Lip Colour, £22

Lip & Cheek Tint, £27.50

Bronzer & Blush, £35

The Tory Burch collection is available exclusively to Harrods and Harrods.com from January 20^th.

Fragrance to upswing your mood

What’s your mood today? If you’re anything like the Michael Kors woman you would never feel grumpy. You would be Sporty, Sexy or Glam. That’s what I love about fragrance – the pure escapism of it! The new scent seducers from Michael Kors certainly don't do downbeat. The collection comprises of three upbeat and happy making fragrances that accentuate moods we would always like to find ourselves in!

So what’s the nuances that separate Sporty, Sexy and Glam? Well, sporty as you would guess is crisp and citrusy with orange and mandarin upfront whilst warm woods and white florals linger in the background. Sexy auditions amber as its main player seductively wrapped in sandalwood and musk, and Glam uses Kors’ beloved floral note jasmine to create a red carpet moment. Beautifully bottled with each one uniquely coloured, I wouldn’t be surprised if all three were purchased in one swoop just in case you changed your mood. Certainly a woman’s prerogative!

Michael Kors Sporty, Sexy and Glam retail from £38 for 50ml.

In stores at selected House of Fraser stores from September 18^th and nationwide.

Fragrance with spirit

New fragrance notes are beginning to take flight as the countdown to Christmas begins. Unsurprisingly, the build-up to the ding-dong-merrily-on-high season is when scent buying is at its peak. Perfume houses literally go all out to seduce with the juice, the bottle and the imagery.

Not one to follow the crowd, Thierry Mugler’s limited edition Les Liqueurs De Parfums  is quite different and quite intoxicating. Each iconic Thierry Mugler fragrance is laced with a spirit. No, not a Charles Dickens spirit of the past, an alcoholic one! You can always expect the unexpected from Mugler. Using the inspiration from vintage spirits, each fragrance – Angel with cognac, Alien with rum, Womanily with vodka and A*Men with whiskey is ‘aged’ in wooden casks of toasted wood for six weeks. This laying to rest so to speak, enhances his original creations with smooth and sweet notes. The process also ensures a hot toddy warmth is added to each scent too.

 All fragrances retail for £40 except A*Men which retails for £45.

Available from October. For stockists call: 020 7307 6700

A thoroughly Modern Muse

A fabulous new coat, an edgy pair of boots, the chicest of sweaters…the beginning of autumn feels less harsh after a summer of pretty, flippy dresses and sand tickling sandals with a handful of new wardrobe pleasers. The same goes for fragrance. Autumn calls for something a little more grown-up, a little more sophisticated and if not serious, then certainly confident and strong.

Modern Muse, the new fragrance by Estee Lauder makes for a fabulous addition to your AW13 scent wardrobe. Just like the layering of a cashmere sweater over the finest of cotton tees, this is a juice that also reveals layers of softness and strength. Karyn Khoury, Senior Vice President, Corporate Fragrance Development Worldwide explains that Modern Muse was ‘built’ by carefully selecting every ingredient to reflect the personality, style and distinctive femininity of today’s woman.

Bottling creativity, its innovative ‘dual-impression’ structure invites you to connect with the scent through two contrasting aspects: sparkling jasmine accord – this facet of the fragrance holds the energy and magnetic femininity of a modern muse with notes of honeysuckle nectar and dewy petals, whereas the sleek woods accord taps into her sleek style and sensuality through patchouli essence and the creaminess of amber wood and soft musk. Spritz, adore and become your own Modern Muse!

Modern Muse Eau de Parfum Spray retails from £44 for 30ml.

Available from Estee Lauder counters nationwide from the 18^th September.

    

Elizabeth Arden's classic new fragrance

THE INVITE

THE VENUE

There’s always a bit of a do when a renowned cosmetic house launches a fragrance. At the unveiling of Elizabeth Arden’s new signature fragrance Untold, the beauty press were invited to mingle at The Gherkin. As well as enjoying the amazing panoramic views, flutes of champagne and dancing disco girls, the fragrance got everybody talking with their ‘untold stories’ that define and inspire.

THE JUICE

The Gherkin was a smart booking,. The faceted glass bottle isn’t too dissimilar in design to the London landmark, making the juice  look chic and thoroughly modern. As for the scent, it’s a sensual floral that manages to be both feminine and grown-up – think sweetly womanly, rather than saccharine girly. Notes include sparkling pink pepper, pear, blackcurrant bud, Egyptian jasmine and patchouli heart. Mmm, sounds sumptuous  as well as smelling delicious. By-the-way, what’s your untold story?

Untold Eau De Parfum costs from £35 for 30ml and is available from 1^st September

Mad about Marni

MARNI'S VOODOO BALLERINA!

When it comes to labeling style, Marni definitely has the cool factor. More of a mindset than a look book look, it’s a fashion house than courts the eclectic and likes to shake it up into a quirky mix of unpredictable fun. The newly launched fragrance is no different. Arriving with a voodoo looking ballerina doll (open for interpretation!) it firmly set the scent scene for something a little bit out of the ordinary.  

SHOWER GEL AND BODY LOTION

Before the scent comes the bottle. Like a piece of beloved art, you newly appreciate it every time you take a fresh glance. Classic, yet kooky, its cherry red top mirrors the Bachelite used for the Marni jewels, and the opaque dots sprinkled on glass are a nod to Marni’s signature graphic motifs. Decidedly feisty, the fragrance is more a modern day ‘blended’ family than a traditional family of floral or chypre for example. That would be too simple, too easy, too vanilla for Marni! The scent kicks off almost masculine, but then steps sideways into something more playful. Like an errant boyfriend you can’t help going back to, it’s hard to describe the emotion of the juice unless you experience it.  Marni is a label that can never be labeled, and that’s the pure beauty of the brand.

MARNI eau de Perfume from £48 for 30ml

Marni Body Lotion £36

Marni Shower Gel £43

Available exclusively at Harrods and harrods.com

Where scent meets art

THE BE DELICIOUS KEITH HARING COLLECTION

When art meets fragrance (or Donna meets Keith)  what do you get? DKNY’s new limited edition Be Delicious Keith Haring Collection. This really is a fabulous collaboration where two New York brands have collided to celebrate this pool of high energy, all-happening city.

DKNY ART WOMAN AND MEN

Keith Haring, although born in Pennsylvania, was inspired by New York street culture and graffiti artists when he moved to the big apple in the eighties.  Haring’s influencers were Dr Seuss and Walt Disney, and you can see he took up on their simplistic cartoonic qualities, but put a fresh spin on his own designs, making them fresher and edgier. But why the collaboration? Donna Karan has said that she admired the artist upon first seeing his works appear in a metro station in New York, and could relate to not only the visuals but his messages via his art. Haring’s designs communicated birth, death, sex and war messages that clearly portrayed an urban, youthful and original spirit.

Sadly, Haring died at just 31 in 1990, but his art is just as relevant and socially conscious today. Be Delicious. Be Artsy!

The DKNY Art Woman and Men launches today at £34.

The DKNY trilogy of Be Delicious Art Collection of Fresh Blossom, Golden Delicious and Be Delicious launch in April priced at £36.

A juice that rocks

Juicy Couture’s new fragrance, Couture La La pretty much sums up the founders: a little punk rock, a lot of free spirit, daring and always couture.  Pam Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor started a modest clothing company running up colour gorgeous, funky tracksuits with the J zipper over a decade ago. It has since masqueraded into a global empire called Juicy Couture whereby the two fun-loving girlfriends have since grown their brand to include luxury clothing lines. Rock is how they roll – Gela is married to John Taylor from Duran Duran and they are very much part of the too cool for skool LA scene.  

Beyond high-end fashion, bags and sunglasses any brand knows perfume is the finishing accessory, and the latest juice from JC is their Couture La La. It’s a bottle that certainly looks like it’s been created in La La land – one of fantasy and dreams. It has oodles of dressing table appeal with its old fashioned stopper, neon pink cutsey bow and punk rock inspired charms hanging sexily around the neck of the bottle. Green apple, red currant, lily of the valley and liquid musk is all in the mix which sums up the essence of the Juicy girl – multi-layered, confident, fearless but flirty and feminine. Now, who wouldn't like to smell like her?

Couture La La from £35 for 30ml available nationwide.

Cowshed rolls with it

I know roll-on perfume oils aren’t new, but I really like these ones from Cowshed. Namely because of the names! Who can resist Knackered Cow, Moody Cow or Horny Cow? But a-moo-sing (sorry!) names aside, they really do smell rather gorgeous and pure - they’re paraben, petrochemical and sulphate free.   I have Lazy Cow with essential oils of jasmine and geranium – quality is high so a little roll gives a lot of fragrance, to warm and aid contemplation, and it has the desired effect. I can’t stop sniffing my wrist once applied for good scented karma. Pop in your handbag for instant mood enhancing, or buy for stocking fillers. I'm actually going to use a couple for cracker gifts as they're the right size to fit into a toilet roll!

Cowshed Perfume Oils Roll-Ons come in seven fragrances at £18 each.

www.cowshed.com

Man, I smell like a woman!

I don’t know about you, but I love smelling the unexpected in terms of fragrance. Generally, you wouldn’t expect to smell a cologne on a woman, but the more I’ve asked around, the more women are liking the masculine and earthy smell of a men’s cologne. “It makes me feel powerful, less girly” says one such scent sleuth. Amongst some of my friends, Vetiver by Guerlian has been a favourite, but I’m now going to introduce them to Atelier Cologne.

It’s probably not a perfume house you’ve heard of – I hadn’t, so it’s even more exciting to discover it. Their master perfumers pride themselves on blending unpredictable and rare extracts with more-of-the-known fresh citruses to create Colognes Absolues. Made in France, the bottles are robust and masculine in the hand, and the concentrates are high, the lowest out of the nine colognes being 12 per cent. I’ve been wearing the addictive Orange  Sanguine – top notes of blood and bitter orange mingle with jasmine and geranium drying down to sandalwood and tonka beans, for the past week, and the general consensus is something along the lines of, ‘Oooh, you smell nice, what is it?’ How much nicer is that than someone saying, ‘are you wearing such-and-such?’ After all, a woman does like to retain a bit of mystery, and never more than with the trail of her fragrance.

Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine, £95

Available in Selfridges, London.

To read their back story and check out their collection go to www.ateliercologne.com

Very delicious. Very Estee.

Holey Moley! The scent-ometer is beginning to climb sky high leading up to Christmas. Fragrance barons are hoping to tempt our pulse points with their latest perfumed potions. Far from being over ambitious with their bottle and packaging, I very much like the olfactory message from Estee Lauder’s Very Estee. This all new, contemporary floral woody musk is both stylish, simple and confident in its approach. Lauder puts the wearer as a trendsetter, but definitely playing to her own rules.

 

Sometimes its hard to move a classic brand forward, both in mindset and spirit, but Very Estee has creatively managed it by still capturing the heritage of the brand – after all who would want to hide such a rich dynasty? whilst introducing a more modern take for the sophisticated perfume wearer. As for the fragrance, top notes of lotus and freesia along with the sparkle of juicy cassis meet middle notes of Bulgarian rose oil, jasmine petal, with a  sensual dry-down of sandalwood and cashmere wood accord.

SUPERMODEL, HILARY RHODA

 

As for the advertising hook, model Hilary Rhoda smoulders sexy and warm. Somehow, this fragrance smells like a brunette. Sophisticated and  sexy with a grown-up dark side!

 

Very Estee available from November from £40 for 30ml.
www.esteelauder.co.uk

DKNY's scents of purpose

DKNY are putting the TLC into their new fragrance collection. Simply called pureDKNY they aim to raise awareness of global poverty through its partnership with CARE’s Access Africa programme.

Their very essence is feel-good and do-good. Pure and simple in their delivery, a drop of Vanilla celebrates that moment of peace once you have escaped from everyday worries – your growing to-do list is spritzed away! A drop of Verbena, although a herb, fizzes with a lemon like quality, helping to strengthen your inner resolve, ready to face the world. The bottle is inspired by a raindrop and all packaging is 100 percent recyclable. This is one beautiful fragrance buy.

The pureDKNY collection is available nationwide from £37 for 30ml

Eau de Fashionista

I have a girl crush on Stella McCartney. She hangs out with the cool crowd.  She has a sense of humour – did anyone catch her on the Olympic sofa talking to Gary Linekar about designing Tom Daley’s micro swimming trunks? She designs great clothes and effortlessly works her brand without looking like a walking clothes horse. Her designs are out of my budget I’m afraid, although I do own a pair of her knickers! So, the next best thing for me has to be her fashionista Eau de Parfums.

Stella's Print Collection really does put the fashion into fragrance - lets call it the FFROW (fragrance front row!) The vintage inspired designs consist of three very collectable 30ml bottles that fit snugly into the palm of your hand. Each one wears a striking geometric print from the Stella McCartney 2012 Summer Collection. In fact, it’s hard to single one out as a favourite, they’re all so lovely.

The juice is just as captivating as the designs. Stella is a lover of rose, so each scent bottles its delicate essence along with mandarin, peony and amber. I love the fact you can just throw them in your handbag, much like a lipstick and spritz when you feel in need of a beauty bounce back!

Stella Print Collection available nationwide at £38 each for 30ml  

Anna Sui's Fairy Dance

Although Anna Sui’s Fairy Dance  launched in August, I think it’s a great fragrance to earmark as a gift for the Christmas build-up. Yes, it may only be September, but as mince pies are already in my supermarket, my guess is that festivity lists are being made!

Anna Sui has a strong hold in the fragrance market, this American fashion designer who has been named as one of the top 5 fashion icons of the decade, first launched her fragrance and cosmetic line in 1999. Since then she’s been building a solid reputation for her collectable off-beat packaging and design. 

In keeping with her adorable kookiness, Fairy Dance whisks your senses off into a fantasy garden with sparkling and sweet notes of tangerine, mango and pink pepper. At its heart is the rose, one of Anna’s favourite blooms which is balanced by peony and bamboo. The whole experience is one of scented joy from the all-shades-of-pink pretty packaging to the fairy perching on the bottle’s stopper. A real dressing table desirable, it just begs you to find your inner Tinkerbell.

Fairy Dance Eau de Toilette start from £26 for 30ml available exclusively from Debenhams.