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subscribe to beauty counter blog via RSSAgent Provocateurs’ Double Agents
April 3, 2012 11:17 am
The few silken and satiny Agent Provocateur treasures we’ve been lucky enough to acquire over the years have always been reserved for after dark; call us old-fashioned, but there’s something about wearing seamed thigh-highs and cup-less demi bras during the day that has always rubbed us as overtly risqué. The same inclination has also held true for the brand’s fragrances, which while gorgeous, are often too heady to spritz on before the morning commute. But a new trio of perfumes from the lingerie experts aims to amend this olfactory conundrum. Each of the flacons in AP’s new Eau Provocateur series is a reinterpretation of one of its established scents, designed especially with daytime wear in mind. Eau Provocateur is a citrus-soaked version of the original Eau de Parfum with soft floral notes of muguet and orange flower, while Maitresse’s Eau Provocateur treatment is both bright and classically feminine, thanks to the precise blending of green notes, like acacia and Granny Smith apple, with rose and jasmine sambac. The final fragrance in the group, and our personal favorite, takes the popular L’Agent and gives it a new twist with fresh accords of bergamot, mandarin, and peach, which now mingle with the bottle’s original lush florals of tuberose and magnolia. Each of the eaux retains the seductive appeal of its predecessor while managing to present the quality in a more subtle way; they’re sexy, but less obviously so—and more wearable for it.
$70 each for 50ml Eau Provocateur eau de toilettes, available April 15 at department stores.
tags: Agent Provocateur, Eau de Toilette, Eau Provocateur, Fragrance
A Camper’s Companion
April 2, 2012 1:25 pm
When Sam Buffa opened F.S.C. Barber in 2006 as the grooming arm of Freemans Sporting Club, the locally sourced men’s clothing and accessories destination on the Lower East Side, it provided an affordable old-world cut-and-shave refuge for the downtown set’s long-haired, bearded masses. A West Village sister store and a recent move cross-country later, and the concept shop has ignited a resurgence of quality personal care for men. With its stocks of apothecary brands like Malin + Goetz, Baxter of California, and Geo F. Trumper, a trip to F.S.C. Barber means the opportunity to re-up on rosewater astringents, cucumber toners, and, starting this week, an in-house offering simply called Untitled, the first offering of which is a clean-burning candle. The hand-poured soy wax blend boasts a fresh, woodsy scent that mingles cypress, galbanum, and vetiver with lime myrtle and thyme for an aroma that’s made all the more flannel shirt-friendly with its “camper’s” cup packaging. As with most things from Buffa, no detail was overlooked here: The nostalgic, speckled reusable receptacle comes from one of the oldest enamel manufacturers in the United States and the simple pine-and-birch outer packaging is sourced directly from Maine. That it will be a staple at summer barbecues goes without saying.
$55, available this week at F.S.C. Barber locations and www.shop.freemanssportingclub.com.
tags: candle, F.S.C Barber, Freemans Sporting Club
This Bud’s For You
March 29, 2012 10:33 am
New York’s premature spring had daffodils blooming weeks ago, prompting us to pack away our winter wardrobe and pull out our dresses and sandals (see ya next November, tights!). Of course, as soon as we closed the lids on those under-the-bed containers, the cold weather returned. But no matter. Our spring spirit is here to stay, which means we’re more than ready to embrace our collection of light and airy fragrances. Enter Marc Jacobs Daisy, the perennial warm-weather favorite that blends strawberry, violet, and ruby red grapefruit notes with opulent gardenia for a sweet, seasonally appropriate floral spritz. To make your Daisy-wearing even easier, Jacobs has devised new Petite Flower on the Go flacons that let you transport the scent—and its fruitier Daisy Eau So Fresh incarnation—wherever you go. The super-fun flower-shaped bottles are easily slipped into most bags—and even into the pockets of that oversize parka you may need to break out again as winter makes its last stand.
Oh, Pioneers
March 27, 2012 1:22 pm
D.S. & Durga has been on a collaboration kick of late. The Brooklyn-based husband-and-wife duo’s latest perfume releases have included Staghorn Sumac, a project with Joya’s Frederick Bouchardy, and CO/FL, the signature scent they created for Shipley & Halmos back in September. But David and Kavi Moltz are putting the focus back on their niche brand’s core collection with their latest effort, Bowmakers. Inspired by the violin shops that dotted Pioneer Valley in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1800’s, their first unisex offering is a spicy, resinous eau with an interesting violin varnish top note that’s tempered by mahogany essences, amber pine rosin, cypress, cedar, and moss. It’s a dream come true for those of us who prefer our perfume on the musky side, devoid of the saccharine sweet floral and fruit accords that make so many women’s offerings so cloying these days—and a wonderful addition to a small catalog of 14 fragrances that’s already proving quite collectible. “I was on eBay the other day and someone had listed all of our original samples,” David told us a few months back. “It was up to $60—and there were two bids!”
$110, available beginning April 2012 at www.dsdurga.com.
tags: D.S. & Durga, Fragrance, Frederick Bouchardy, Shipley & Halmos, Staghorn Sumac
Voyage D’Hermès Rides Again
March 21, 2012 5:22 pm
Now that spring is officially under way, that familiar notion of spring break also seems particularly poignant (even those of us who have long since left our college coed days behind feel the need to head for warmer, rum-filled pastures this time of year). While vacations to remote paradises equipped with tropical fruits and spice markets aren’t in the cards for everyone this month, the adventurous spirit of Voyage d’Hermès can surely help conjure some vivid dreamscapes. A new, pure perfume version of the brand’s original eau de toilette that launched back in 2010 as a means of “beautifying the journey”—the physical or metaphysical trip, as it were—just hit shelves, infusing in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena’s fresh, woodsy unisex eau with subtle touches of amber and rose. Additional hints of delicate cardamom and juniper bring out the fragrance’s full-bodied musk base, amplifying its warming effect. Philippe Mouquet’s spur-inspired slide-swivel flacon has received an update as well, in the form of a dark black enamel bottle that now contrasts with the chrome casing and saddle tack detail. For the time being, it’s timeless equestrian accoutrements like these that will sufficiently preoccupy us with visions of horseback riding on some faraway beach, where cell phone service is spotty at best.
tags: Fragrance, Voyage d'Hermes
Jo Malone’s Botany Of Desire
March 20, 2012 12:30 pm
Ever since the Romans brought the concept of a well-tended garden to England, the country has seemingly blanketed itself with all manner of sweet-smelling, verdant landscapes. Gardens are so ubiquitous in across the pond—from the manicured royal variety and the rambling, unkempt style that surrounds countryside manors to the tiny yet tidy urban incarnations—a green thumb is pretty much a birth right in the U.K. As a brand that prides itself on being immersed in English sensibilities, Jo Malone is perfectly poised to translate this pastime into bottled, olfactory bliss. Each of the three scents in its brand-new London Blooms collection offers a fragrant blend of the flowers, trees, and greenery commonly found in the average English garden. Peony & Moss, White Lilac & Rhubarb, and Iris & Lady Moore each come packaged in beautifully illustrated flacons, too, so even if the only kind of foliage you can fit in your apartment is the odd gifted house plant, you can stare longingly into these rectangular glass oases and imagine that you too have a green space of your own.
tags: Fragrance, Jo Malone, London Blooms
Stay Cool—And Dry—With Kai
March 19, 2012 12:41 pm
We’d be lying if we said scent didn’t factor in when we select a new antiperspirant. Efficacy is important, of course; and the less toxic the formula, the better. But aroma is usually the tipping point, which is why we were over the moon to learn this tidbit of new information: Kai, the much-loved fragrance blend of gardenia and exotic white florals, has just launched a deodorant. The cult-favorite feminine eau has been transformed into a translucent roll-on made with a skin-conditioning base of vitamin E, chamomile, plant extracts, and natural sugars to control moisture while smelling subtly of Kai throughout the day. After testing it out—in lieu of our regular sports stick—we were impressed with its sweat-wicking abilities and smooth, non-irritating finish (a bonus for sensitive types). You can layer the deo with the perfume or use it in tandem with one of Kai’s many other spinoffs, like its body butter or linen spray, but we felt sufficiently scented to just go it alone, as the signature notes work with your body’s chemistry to produce a delicate whiff that wears like a second skin.
Gucci’s Garden Of Olfactory Eden
March 16, 2012 1:49 pm
The tale of Gucci’s famed Flora print is a pretty good one. As the story goes, Grace Kelly visited the Gucci boutique in Milan in 1966 with her husband, Prince Rainier of Monaco, and Rodolfo Gucci insisted that she take a gift with her in addition to the bamboo bag she purchased. When the Hollywood icon-turned-princess asked for a scarf, the designer took it upon himself to create a whole new pattern befitting a woman of her stature, thus begetting the multicolored floral print that has become a signature of the house. Gucci’s current creative director, Frida Giannini, revived the design via canvas bags in 2005, and this year sees its latest resurrection in fragrance form.
Riffing on Gucci’s 2009 Flora scent, a mélange of different blooms blended into a single bottle, Giannini has singled out every prized petal in the original Flora print and created single-note homages to each. The Flora Garden, as the collection of five perfumes is called, includes Gorgeous Gardenia, which blends red berries, pear, and brown sugar with the aromatic white flower; Gracious Tuberose, which pairs this most sensual of all blooms with hints of violet leaf, orange flower, and white cedarwood; Generous Violet, an ode to the pretty purple plant with orris extracts and a touch of suede; as well as Glorious Mandarin, which boasts a fresh burst of citrus tempered by peony and jasmine essences and the intriguing addition of a piña colada accord (it’s not just for tropical beverages anymore). And then there’s Glamorous Magnolia, the freesia and warm chocolate-spiked magnolia eau that happens to be a hit with Gucci Flora Garden face Abbey Lee Kershaw (click here to check out the platinum runway star’s other product essentials). Lovers of more unisex eaux be forewarned: All five flacons are unapologetically feminine. But there’s nothing wrong with getting a little girly—every once in a while.
tags: Abbey Lee Kershaw, Fragrance, Frida Giannini, Gucci, The Flora Garden
La Collection Lives!
March 13, 2012 4:58 pm
In addition to building one of the most successful fashion houses in the business, Yves Saint Laurent left a pretty lasting fragrance legacy. Opium, his original spicy oriental that changed the perfume game in 1977, frequently appears on “most iconic” flacon lists, while newer launches from the brand, like 2009’s Kate Moss-fronted Parisienne, continue to earn scores of fans worldwide. But between the two scents lies a number of well-loved and unfortunately long-forgotten eaux that are now getting a new lease on life. YSL has just launched La Collection in the States, a lineup of eight classic, discontinued scents—four men’s, four women’s—that have been resurrected with new packaging and some prime counter space. For the girls, there’s 1964’s Y, a bergamot and iris eau; Yvress, 1993’s sparkling fruity floral with hints of nectarine and violet blossom; Nu, 2001’s orchid and incense standout; and In Love Again, 1998’s unique blend of blackcurrant, Muscat grape, rose, and peony. For the boys, there’s Jazz, 1988’s geranium and cypress-heavy masculine floral; M7, the patchouli-rich, woody scent that was one of the world’s first oud absolues when it launched in 2002; Rive Gauche Pour Homme, 2003’s sensual Gaiac wood and fresh lavender essence; and 1971’s Pour Homme, the lemon, mint, and oakmoss-kissed aromatic chypre that we happen to have on right now (some men’s fragrances are worn just as well on women). The whole lineup has been put into cubist packages, the women’s offerings in nude, matte-lacquered bottles and the men’s in a black matte finish, which makes them that much more collectible.
$105 each, available March 2012 exclusively at Yves Saint Laurent boutiques and online at www.yslbeautyus.com.
tags: Fragrance, La Collection, YSL Beaute
Swarovski Gets Into The Beauty Game
March 7, 2012 4:30 pm
Swarovski’s fashion ties run deep. Design legends like Chanel, Schiaparelli, and Dior all called on the Austrian crystal house to make their clothes sparkle—literally—and the jewelry brand continues to show up big on the catwalk, bedazzling pieces fresh off the Fall runways at shows like Creatures of the Wind, Jason Wu, Rodarte, Mary Katrantzou, Giles, Erdem, and Anthony Vaccarello. Next month, the storied company is embarking on a new collaborative journey as it enters the U.S. beauty market with its first signature scent. “Jewelry is pretty much the strongest self-expression of a woman, and fragrance is like invisible jewelry,” according to Swarovski creative director Nadja Swarovski, who teamed up with the perfume vets at Clarins Group to create Aura. The fruity floral that launched last year in Europe is unique in its construction. Rather than abide by perfumery’s classic “triangle” structure, which typically necessitates top notes, middle notes, and base notes, noses Jean-Pierre Bethouart and Olivier Cresp blended a host of choice essences together like a “prism of light,” “charging” an amber and white musk heart with a floral ray that boasts a sensual infusion of white tuberose, a spicy ray that packs the punch of pink pepper, and a fruity ray with hints of juicy lychee. The effect is both sweet and very clean, an effervescent combination that sparkles that much more thanks to an exquisitely sleek, streamlined flacon with obligatory crystal-encrusted cap. In addition to standard body-centric ancillaries, Swarovski has also a dreamed up a whole new way to enjoy Aura with a micronized form of its renowned crystal that is now available in skin-illuminating form. A golden highlighter and two shades of lip gloss, in sheer pink and clear, have been stored in a slide-top bauble designed in the fragrance’s likeness. Suffice it to say, shine on.
Available April 2012, exclusively at Swarovski boutiques.
