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subscribe to beauty counter blog via RSSCoo-Coo For Coconut Milk
February 6, 2012 11:57 am
Though many of us like to spend the majority of the winter months complaining about the weather (our February is typically spent maniacally Googling flights to the tropics to escape the blustery temperatures), there really hasn’t been much to elicit our ire this season. Here’s the truth, East Coasters: This winter hasn’t been so bad. But just because actual trips to the beach aren’t ranking as high on the agenda as they usually do doesn’t mean we can’t treat ourselves to a little dose of summer four months ahead of schedule. Perfumer Sarah Horowitz-Thran, who has a knack for breathing new life into simple, overused notes (gardenia and vanilla are just a few of her past success stories), has done just that with her latest concoction, Perfect Coconut Milk. Horowitz manages to highlight coconut’s lush creaminess, thanks to a backdrop of orange blossom, tonka bean, almond, and Egyptian musk notes, resulting in a scent that has none of the usual head-numbing sweetness that comes from less sophisticated coconut blends. It’s once familiar and exotic and has a transportative quality that is still a welcomed treat; 50 degrees might not be 20 degrees, but it’s not 80 degrees, either.
“A scent Should Be Like A Second Dress”: Roberto Cavalli Talks Fragrance
February 3, 2012 12:28 pm
Spring 2012 has been a good season for Roberto Cavalli. The much applauded collection he showed in Milan back in September continues to get rave reviews as it rolls out to retailers, and this month sees the release of Cavalli’s first fragrance since he inked a deal with Coty, the perfume giant responsible for mega hits from Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, and Calvin Klein. “The launch of this fragrance is a rebirth of the Maison Cavalli,” the designer says of the amber floral eau that was created in collaboration with Givaudan nose Louise Turner and boasts notes of pink pepper, orange blossom absolute, and tonka bean. And after 40 years in the business, it should come as no surprise that Cavalli’s renewed success in both the fashion and beauty spheres is coming at the same time; for the legendary designer, the two worlds are intricately intertwined. “A scent should be like a second dress for a woman,” he says of fragrance’s sartorial similarity. Here, the designer talks to Style.com about choosing Elisa Sednaoui as the face of his signature parfum, the flacon’s secret ingredient, and why Cavalli: the makeup range might not be that far off.
A few fragrances have bore your name in the past. What’s different or special about your first creation with Coty?
Every fragrance is unique—every fragrance is a new challenge, a new emotion, at a different time. We celebrated 40 years of the brand last year, a hugely important anniversary, and I want to show that the brand is still evolving and renewing itself after all of these years, so it’s the perfect time to launch this fragrance.
Your collections—and this fragrance to a degree—are often about channeling the feral sexiness of women. With clothing you can do that with animal print, fringe, etc. But how do you do that with scent?
The Cavalli woman has a very clear identity; she’s feline, sensual, and self-confident, so we had to capture that in the scent. We were searching for something very particular—a scent that instantly grabs attention, making a woman feel sensual and confident, just like a Roberto Cavalli dress would. It was a long process, almost a year, and we were searching for something very particular, but as soon as we smelt this perfume it was spontaneous—we fell in love immediately and decided right away. It’s the orange flower overtone that is very special. I also included five drops of my love!
Read the rest of this entry >
tags: Elisa Sednaoui, Fragrance, Roberto Cavalli
Fresh Direct
January 26, 2012 1:17 pm
Clan Chloé’s perfume ties run pretty deep. Women who wear the French house’s original parfum and its corresponding eau de toilette are undyingly loyal, and from what we can tell, it’s the combination of the scent’s delicate peony, freesia, magnolia, and rose bouquet coupled with its classic, bow-tied beveled glass bottle that inspires such dedication. Its most avid fans are presumably now torn, though, as their beloved eau has just received a fresh update. The brand-new L’Eau de Chloé works off the same signature rose essences that made the original such a hit. However, this time, it’s a crisp concoction of rose petals blended with 22 percent natural rose water rather than pure rose extracts that lies at the perfume’s heart. A hit of cool citrus reminiscent of a cup of ice-cold lemonade in the summer adds a certain zest to the aroma, so that its classic sweetness is now tempered by a refreshing bite. Needless to say, it makes a compelling argument to switch allegiances, although there’s no harm in alternating—or even layering—L’Eau de Chloé with its predecessors. We won’t tell.
tags: Chloé, Fragrance, L'Eau de Chloe
Diptyque’s Star-Crossed Scent
January 17, 2012 1:27 pm
People who typically wear rose fragrances don’t just like the flower’s sweet aroma; more often than not, they are obsessed with it. And it’s obsession, intermingled with a bit of fatal attraction, that has inspired Diptyque’s latest tangle with the storied bloom. Its new Rosa Mundi collection takes its name from the beautiful Rosamund Clifford, who was King Henry II’s beloved mistress until the Queen dosed her with a hit of poison. With his heart forever broken, the king commanded Rosamund’s grave be blanketed with Damask roses every year on the anniversary of their meeting. To commemorate this tale of ill-fated love, Diptyque has blended Damask and Centifolia roses with bergamot, lychee, geranium, and musk, which lends a surprising effect to to the composition of the eau so it never veers into old-timey, powdery territory as many more traditional rose elixirs can. Instead, the flacon smells of stepping into a dewy, verdant rose garden—a modern take on essences of the classic red-petaled flower that just may garner it a new crop of fanatical admirers.
tags: Diptyque, Fragrance, Rosa Mundi
NYR Organic’s Domestic Bliss
January 12, 2012 6:50 pm
Since opening its first shop in London’s Covent Garden in 1981, Neal’s Yard has become one of the U.K.’s most well-loved brands when it comes to highly active, organic skincare. As a veritable pioneer in the green beauty market, its blue glass apothecary bottles are pretty much synonymous with noteworthy, natural products. We’ve known about Neal’s Yard for a while, but two recent events have pushed the British brand toward the top of our radar: to build a bigger U.S. presence, Neal’s Yard’s has rebranded itself as NYR Organic in the states, launching a corresponding U.S. e-commerce site in the process. The second, and no less significant occurrence, is that we recently learned that one Daphne Guinness is a big NYR fan, and anything Daphne is into is A-OK by us—that transcendental meditation session-turned-fashion show held in a coffin included. As part of its continued evolution, Neal’s Yard is using its expertise in aromatherapy to enter the home fragrance market. A natural beeswax and botanical wax candle handmade on a farm on the northern coast of Cornwall, a reed diffuser made with sustainably sourced reeds (obviously), and a refreshing room spray are now available in three different scents—Calming, a soothing blend of rose and geranium; Balancing, a grounding mix of bergamot and patchouli; and Energizing, an uplifting combination of orange, grapefruit, and mint. They’re perfect for your next dinner party—or wake.
tags: Daphne Guinness, Fragrance, NYR Organics
Fit To Be Tied
December 19, 2011 5:28 pm
The holidays are a particularly exciting time for Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb fans. In a sea of limited-edition seasonal packaging, the Dutch design duo’s cult-favorite sambac jasmine, centifolia rose, orchid, and patchouli scent always seems to get the most covetable revamp. And if you’re a diehard user of the spicy floral, collecting each annual release is an essential component to swearing your undying devotion. For 2011, the fragrance has been draped in a new, metallic fuchsia flacon, then tied in pink and white bows, a direct homage to the fabrics used on dolls at V&R’s 2008 exhibition at the London Barbican Centre. That it’s prime stocking stuffer material goes without saying; it basically comes pre-wrapped!
tags: Flowerbomb, Fragrance, Viktor & Rolf
Odin Is California Dreaming
December 15, 2011 11:57 am
Odin’s Eddy Chai and Paul Birardi are pretty well versed in the ins and outs of fragrance at this point. Having already paired up with Drom perfumers on five different unisex eaux, the New York boutique owners have developed a real knack for mining olfactory inspiration from travel experiences and reaping lush, exotic aromas that can recall a specific time or place. Last we checked in with the duo, they were getting acquainted with green notes for the release of 06 Amanu, their galbanum, jasmine, and magnolia scent that launched this summer. Their latest effort, 07 Tanoke, which just debuted on www.odinedt.com, looks west—to California, where the unique terrain of seaside landscapes inspired sparkling fresh top notes like bitter orange as well as a barely perceptible hint of nutmeg through the middle. It’s the redwood, warm musk, and smoky incense dry down that comes through strongest, though, immediately evoking a scene of damp campgrounds and that first breath of dew-soaked air you might inhale on a cool Big Sur kind of morning, which makes the perfume skew slightly masculine—in a really good way. We’ll give you one hint what we’ll be gifting the men in our life for the holidays this year…
Versace’s Yellow Diamond Is Abbey Lee’s Best Friend
December 13, 2011 4:23 pm
Versace is on a bit of a tear at the moment. Following a smash-hit Spring show and record-breaking sales at the retail level with its first capsule collection for H&M (a second line is reportedly already in the works), the Italian house’s name is on everyone’s lips. It’s about to be on their wrists and the inner curvature of their necks, too: Versace has just launched Yellow Diamond, its latest fragrance offering. Billed as a “celebration of exquisite, timeless beauty,” the citron, pear sorbet, bergamot, orange blossom, mimosa, and amber woods eau is an homage to the rare gem of the same name and is housed in a glass flacon with a faceted, canary-tinged topper accordingly. Abbey Lee Kershaw, platinum blond fringe and all, plays muse to Donatella Versace in the perfume’s Mario Testino-lensed ad campaign—and this behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the fragrance’s promotional video, which is now showing here. And you know what? Seeing Kershaw writhe around, swirling her cornsilk strands just so, does in fact make the scent that much more appealing.
$50 for a 1 oz bottle, available at www.macys.com.
tags: Abbey Lee Kershaw, Fragrance, Versace, Yellow Diamond
Selling The Scent Of Endurance
December 12, 2011 12:17 pm
Anyone who has breathlessly rode their way through one of SoulCycle’s notoriously heart-pumping, sweat-inducing classes knows that the average gym experience it is not. Besides a soundtrack that extends beyond the usual bass-heavy, autotune-reliant exercise fare, the cycling centers look better outfitted for a massage than a workout—so much so that the company actually calls them “fitness sanctuaries.” One permanent fixture that always manages to make your ride far more pleasurable: those heavenly grapefruit-scented candles that are scattered around each studio. The aroma of the citrus fruit is a natural mood-booster—something that was certainly not lost on Jonathan Adler, the New York-based design brand behind the cardio studio’s signature scent. In a bit of good news, the zingy votive will become available for purchase this week, which means you can now use it as an at-home motivator—or a pleasant room refresher that makes lounging around on your couch that much more uplifting.
$42, www.soul-cycle.com.
tags: Fragrance, Jonathan Adler, SoulCycle
D.S. & Durga X Shipley & Halmos
December 7, 2011 3:56 pm
After meeting at a party and discovering a mutual appreciation for all things quirky, modern, and carefully tailored, the founders of niche brands D.S. & Durga and Shipley & Halmos seemed fated to work together. So when Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos decided to debut a limited-edition fragrance—the first for their fashion line—they knew exactly who to call. “Sam and I wanted a scent inspired by the places where we grew up, since these areas are still near and dear to our hearts,” Halmos said at a launch party for the newly unveiled CO/FL (as in Colorado and Florida) fragrance last night at Bird in Brooklyn. “As we met with Dave [Moltz] and Kavi [Ahuja] from D.S. & Durga, we realized that these places actually have a lot in common in terms of the notes and scent associations.” The ensuing eau, which is meant to be worn year round, channels the cool alpine Rocky Mountain air on one hand and warm, sun-splashed afternoons spent in the coastal South on the other. When creating the atmospheric blend, Moltz layered four “regional” accords, including Florida sand pine, crisp snow, and suntan lotion (specifically of the Coopertone variety), as well as a trio of myrtle, juniper, and lavender. “I went through about 30 different versions, then narrowed it down to four, which we presented to the designers,” he recalls. The final scent is hand-mixed, packaged in a stitched cloth pouch, and stamped with its number in the fragrance series. “We only created 99 bottles,” says Moltz. Why that number? “I don’t know, actually,” the perfumer laughed. “But it sounds cooler than 100, don’t you think?”
CO/FL, $98, available at www.shipley-halmos.com and in-store exclusively at
Bird boutiques in Brooklyn, www.shopbird.com.
tags: D.S. & Durga, Fragrance, Shipley & Halmos
