Valentine's Day Fragrances

Your Must-Have Valentine's Day Accessory

Pssst. Want to bring him to his knees? Spray on one of these sexy fragrances

This is a TotalBeauty.com perfume article Sure, a low cut top can't hurt, but the surefire way to get his blood pumping is to wear a scent that will drive him crazy. Pick one from this list. (There are a bunch of hot colognes for him too!) Smell sexy

Banana Republic's New Scent- WildBloom

Spring is almost here! And while we wait, let's celebrate with Banana Republic's newest scent coming out called Wildbloom! (In stores on Thursday, February 3!) I normally wouldn't associate BR with fragrances, but rather their wear-to-work clothing, accessories and jewelry, but I am definitely glad they are branching out. Wildbloom is such a free-spirited scent it makes me want to go out and run across the meadows (if only I could on top of all this snow..)

This scent is perfect for the Spring because of the combination of citrus, floral and woods-y notes. If you must know, it contains pink grapefruit, guava, kumquat, Hawaiian Pikake, Blue Orchid, Sandalwood, Pink suede, radiant musk and a few other notes. To be perfectly honest, I immediately picked up the sandalwood (have a few fragrances already with that base note) and definitely the pink grapefruit! The citrus combo of guava, kumquat & grapefruit makes this deliciously irresistible. I can't wait to rock this at work and maybe do a somersault or two. ;)

WARNING: This WILL put you in a good mood for spring!

Don't forget to join the twitter #wildbloom party! Follow @BananaRepublic for more details!


(Disclaimer: I received this product from this company's PR agency to test, try and share my thoughts with my readers.)

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Bridal Series #3: The Perfect Scent

Don't you love it when you walk into a room and it smells so perfect? Whether it's your wedding reception, bridal shower, or just a lovely party that you're having, it's always best to have that lovely scent. There are two I recommend from NEST fragrances and Thymes...

This fall I have been obsessed with fragrances- the pumpkin chai aroma for the changing of the season's and the smell of holiday. Of course, I'm not surprised that NEST fragrances has teamed up with Vera Wang to create the Vera Wang Floral Bouquet Boudoir Candle. It smells really good and contains notes of lily, gardenia, blossoming Damask rose, leafy greens and watery nuances. These would be perfect to have at your dinner tables to get the smell of rich flowers. Perfect for the day time event!

Having an evening soiree? Then the Thymes Moonflower Aromatic Candle would be perfect. Dubbed the glimmer of Twilight, this candle will surround you with notes of cinnamon, clove, and sugared quince. It's a deep, dark mysterious scent that leaves you wanting more. The design of the candles are also so pretty and decorative so even if you're having a simple or lavish wedding, these are elegant enough for the right touch! Check out their Agave Nectar collection here. (Read more reviews on Thymes here.)

(Disclaimer: I received these products from this company's PR agency to test, try and share my thoughts with my readers.)

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Vera Wang Anniversary Giveaway Contest Winner

Congratulations to Vickie (vrtish55)! She will be joining the many women who have fallen in love with Vera Wang's Anniversary fragrance. This morning, random.org called her number. Yea!

Elvira at Pink Sith loves it; I love it. This is a sophisticated floral that's perfect for the woman who loves the elegance of Vera Wang's gowns, ready-to-wear, contemporary sportswear, intimate apparel, footwear, fragrance, flowers, mattresses, china, crystal and silver, fine paper, and fine jewelry. We are celebrating Wang's 20-year anniversary with her!

Vera Wang Anniversary is a luscious floral bouquet, described as a sensuous woody floral - bright and lush. It opens with radiant Sicilian bergamot, red apple leaves, mandarin oil, and a sprinkle of cool dew drops. The heart is a rich bouquet of white gardenia, rose absolute, and orange flowers. The dry-down is said to envelope the skin with touches with silky musks, creamy orris, golden amber crystals, and warm cedarwood. If you like woody florals, look for Vera Wang Anniversary the next time you go shopping. It stands out from the crowd.

Thank you for reading Best Things in Beauty - and for entering my giveaway contests week after week! I know that sooner or later, random.org will call your number. I'd love to win the lottery and be able to send something to each and every one of you. Odds of that happening are unfortunately slim, so we'll just have to keep doing the weekly giveaways to thank you for being the best readers on earth!

My thanks also to Attention USA, which sponsored this contest. They represent some of the finest beauty companies around, and I'm grateful for their support. They have a super team too!

Next giveaway starts later today. Come back, please! I think you're going to like it.

Photo courtesy of Vera Wang

Jo Malone Holiday Gift Guide

Every year, I give some of my friends (and myself!) something new from Jo Malone for Christmas. Jo Malone makes fabulous, limited-edition gift sets. I think they look classy, with their heavy cardboard boxes and black ribbon, and what's inside is even better. If you know anything about your friend's tastes in fragrance - or lifestyle - there will be a set that works.

Last night, I went to an "intimate" Jo Malone event at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria. Held off the beauty floor by the artistic Diana Foerster, Jo Malone representative at Neiman Marcus, it was a lovely introduction to the Jo Malone Gift Collection. I want to share some of my selections with you - just in case you need some inspiration for your holiday shopping.
This year, the Bath Oil Collection ($85) caught my fancy. I know Jo always recommended that you use her bath oil on your skin after your bath, but I love to soak in bath oil-fragranced water. I leaves my skin hydrated and with a subtle scent that lasts for hours. This collection contains six amply sized (30 ml) bath oils: Lime Basil & Mandarin, Grapefruit, Pomegranate Noir, Red Roses, Orange Blossom, and Vanilla & Anise. I am going to have to keep it for myself. It's on hold for the In Circle event.

The Cologne Collection ($95) is almost as nice. Not quite as good a buy (since I can't pour it in my bathwater and the sizes are smaller (9 ml)), the Cologne Collection has six harmonious scents that can be mixed and matched to suit your mood or the season, just like you would with your clothing and accessories. It includes the same popular scents: Lime Basil & Mandarin, Grapefruit, Pomegranate Noir, Red Roses, Orange Blossom, and Vanilla & Anise. Red Roses and Orange Blossom are two of my favorite Jo Malone fragrances.

I've already purchased The Candle Collection ($85). I buy one for myself every year. I've finally stopped the charade that I might give it away, and I've acknowledged to myself that I can't.

Jo Malone's Candle Collection has a palette of six distinctive, delicious scents to infuse any room in your home with a Jo Malone miniature candle for an uplifting sensory experience. This year, the collection contains: Lime Basil & Mandarin, Grapefruit, Pomegranate Noir, Nectarine Blossom & Honey, Orange Blossom, and Wild Fig & Cassis. I've already promised the Pomegranate Noir candle to Loyd Cassler. It's interesting to me that it's the favorite Jo Malone fragrance of my guy friends. They would probably love the 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 in the set to create a daily, personalized blend of this iconic fragrance. In the chronicle, Jo Malone provides the Pomegranate Noir Cologne in a 30 ml size and three 9 ml individual note fragrances: Raspberry Cologne, Casablanca Lily Cologne, and Guaiacwood Cologne. I gave a friend the Red Roses Chronicle last Christmas and converted her to Jo Malone!

A colorful collection (and I'll admit not my fragrance "cup of tea") is Jo Malone's Travel Candle Collection with Farrow & Ball ($95). Since there's something for every taste, this will please those who like scents that "smell and look like the holidays."

Jo Malone's partnership with Farrow & Ball, color experts and supplier of elegant decorative paints, produced. The collection combines three scented and colored, amply sized travel candles in Pomegranate Noir in Eating Room Red (No. 43), Wild Fig & Cassis in Pelt (No. 254), and Pine & Eucalyptus in Green Smoke (No. 47). It's a nice gift - or a very generous hostess present.

There's so much more! The Tea Box Deluxe Candle Collection ($425, perhaps way out of gift range) is a limited-edition keepsake that is luxuriously nestled in a beautifully textured cream-colored tea box. Three uniquely scented deluxe candles (400 grams) come complete with their own engraved Jo Malone candle lid and a silver-plated wick trimmer and candle snuffer. The collection includes Eau de Cologne, Parma Violets, and Sweet Almond Macaroon.

One gift set that I can't find on the Web is a precious little set of bath oil and shower gel, beautifully bottled, in either Lime Basil & Mandarin or Grapefruit ($35). Both of these fragrances should please anyone - men and women alike.

Another Jo Malone gift I like to give is the Vitamin E Nourishing Hand Treatment ($40), appreciated by those who like a touch of pomelo and cassis to leave the hands leave deliciously scented.

You can see the gift collection at Neiman Marcus online and at Jo Malone's Web site. Who wouldn't love to receive one? If you live anywhere near DC, you'll love Diana. She will take great care of you at Neiman Marcus at Tysons. Make sure to introduce yourself!

During In Circle, there will be many gifts with purchase at Neiman Marcus - one of those "one for me, one for them" times. The Jo Malone gift is particularly attractive. In Circle runs from December 7 to 10. There's also a "Scent Event" at Neiman Marcus that runs from tomorrow, November 21, to Sunday, November 28. During the event, you'll receive a nice clutch bag (I've seen it - pretty) plus deluxe fragrance samples with an $85 purchase of cosmetics and/or fragrances.

Diana is holding another evening event on December 4. Call 703-761-1600 and ask for the Jo Malone counter to make reservations.

Photos courtesy of Jo Malone

Reed Krakoff to Launch First Fragrance

WWD reported last week that Reed Krakoff, president and creative director of Coach, will launch his first fragrance. Like the other products bearing his name, Reed Krakoff is infusing his new fragrance with a modernist style and upscale positioning - we're talking seriously upscale.

“Doing fragrance was one of my first priorities in creating my own brand - I see it as a touchstone,” said Krakoff, whose Reed Krakoff Collection is sold in his freestanding boutiques; Saks Fifth Avenue; a selection of upscale boutiques in Paris, Japan, and Milan; and his own Web site.

The Reed Krakoff Collection was first shown at New York Fashion Week last February, and it launched in September. It includes ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, jewelry, small leather goods, sunglasses, watches, and accessories - a designer grab bag.

Krakoff’s goal with his limited-edition fragrance is to create a “beautiful, quality, artisan-inspired product. His attention to detail is evident in the bottles for the fragrance, which are handcrafted by the Seguso family in Murano, Italy. The house has produced high-quality glass since the 12^th century. The bottles are rendered in four colors: gray, nude, silver fleck, and clear - using the sommerso technique, which involves creating a bottle within a bottle. The inner bottle is shaded with the chosen color, while the outer shell is clear. It's very "Danish" looking to me - very modern.

Oddly, the bottles are sold empty, but include two refills of the fragrance. The scent, an eau de parfum, is described as opening with a blend of black pepper, bright aldehydes, and neroli extract. It has a heart of French hyacinth absolute, white peony, and violet leaf extract (I'm swooning at that), and a dry-down of vetiver heart, precious vetiver absolute, and orris concrete (giving it a unisex base). I need to get my hands on it! Unfortunately, it may be out of reach.

Only 100 of each color bottle will be produced, all four varieties containing the same fragrance. The bottles are hand-numbered, and each will retail for $695! Krakoff is aware that the limited run and high price tag of the scent will put it out of the reach of many people. However, he noted, “what a lot of women want is something that not everyone can afford. This is definitely a very high-end project. I think the phrase ‘limited edition’ is overused, but this is a true limited edition.” Really? Are we that shallow? We want what others can't afford simply because they can't afford it?

I'd like to think that a woman would spend $695 on a fragrance because it moves her to rapture - an experience no other fragrance can produce. When she wears it, she feels enveloped in a veil of well-being, happiness, attractiveness, and enlightenment. It intoxicates her like no other scent. The bottle adds to the experience - a center of attention on a spare dressing table - the most important possession on her vanity. She is self-confident and happy when she wears her fragrance, not because she is the only one within miles who can afford it, but because it's her path to zen.

This fragrance sounds divine. The notes are intriguing, and I would love to get my hands on a sample. It won't be easy. The scents will be available only at Reed Krakoff boutiques and by special request, beginning at the end of November. I wish him well and hope that his own aspirational objectives can be satisfied by those who want the only bottle on the block.

Any thoughts?

Photo and launch information courtesy of WWD - "the" subscription for anyone interested in the beauty industry

Madagascar Orchid Fragrance Oil from Lisa Hoffman Beauty on HSN

tomorrow, august 27, 2010, Kym Douglas will be on QVC to present a fabulous treat from Lisa Hoffman Beauty: the best-selling Madagascar Orchid Fragrance Oil.

you'll be happy to know that with your purchase, 20% of proceeds from each sale of Madagascar Orchid Fragrance Oil will be donated to the Rainforest Foundation that was founded by Trudie Styler and Sting (yes, that Sting). voted "Customer Choice Nominee for Best Fragrance", this is definitely one to check out.

not sure how you would use a perfume oil? Lisa Hoffman shares that you can "...use a touch of the perfume oil in your hair-- it absorbs in nicely because it is an oil. apply just a little to the palm of your hand, then rub in. its leave a subtle hint of the fragrance."

Lisa loves the benefits of using a roll-on fragrance because "...you can control the application; it doesn't get on your clothes or on other people around you and doesn't waste any of the product. they are great because they are portable and you can carry them with you to discreetly reapply throughout the day or evening. oils penetrate into the skin and with the warmth of the body diffuse the fragrance."

find out more about this scent by visiting lisahoffmanbeauty.com and tune in (or setting your dvr) to HSN tomorrow!

xo

How-to: Determine your Summer Fragrance

Puttin' on the Spritz

See what summer scent best suits you

This is a TotalBeauty.com perfume article Take this quiz to see what trail of fragrance you should be leaving behind as temperatures rise. Take quiz

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