Iris is the first new fragrance to join the Donna Karan Collection, which up until now was made up entirely of relaunches from the line’s back catalog. The Collection scents are all done up in opaque black glass; the packaging is handsome if rather functional looking (see below) and the bottles have a nice heft. They’re in limited distribution, making this a sort of niche-from-mainstream kind of line along the lines of the Chanel Les Exclusifs or the Armani Privés, although the prices are more reasonable than that perhaps implies.
On paper, Donna Karan Iris smells at first mostly of iris — not the rooty, bold, turnips-just-pulled-from-the-earth sort of iris à la Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, but the buttery-soft sort of iris that you get in Chanel’s 28 La Pausa, albeit without that elusive Chanel touch that makes so many of the Les Exclusifs fragrances smell like money. Later, Iris takes on a more floral character…
From Calvin Klein, the 2010 version of CK One Summer. This year, the notes include watermelon, pear, mandarin, kaffir lime, violet leaves, marigold, verbena, water lily, patchouli, skin musk, vetiver and cedar…
Donna Karan’s fresh apple fragrance, DKNY Be Delicious (2004), has spawned a multitude of flankers and collector editions, of which the Candy Apple Trio — Ripe Raspberry, Sweet Caramel and Juicy Berry — is the latest. Apologies to its fans, but the original is not a favorite of mine, and of the flankers, only Delicious Night really captured my attention — and even that one is not really something I would wear. So I suppose you should take the following with an even larger grain of salt than usual?
DKNY Delicious Ripe Raspberry Candy Apple (red bottle, shown below; with notes of apple, lime, peony, lily and cola accord) is not as berry-ish as I’d expected — there’s much less berry than in Delicious Night, although this fragrance also has a much paler, fresher base so there’s less to counteract what berry there is. A nice shot of citrus in the opening keeps it from being too sweet while the raspberry calms, and overall, Ripe Raspberry strikes me as more fresh than candied…
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
Strictly speaking these aren’t collector bottles and I don’t know if the set is limited edition (so why is it here? I suppose because it had nowhere else to go), but By Kilian will launch a coffret in February with 7.5 ml bottles of all eight of the fragrances in the L’Oeuvre Noire / Black Masterpiece collection. 95€…
Donna Karan will launch the DKNY Delicious Candy Apple collection in February, including three limited edition variations on the popular DKNY Delicious fragrance: Sweet Caramel, Ripe Raspberry and Juicy Berry…
Donna Karan Introduces Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition Celebrating 15 Years of Seducing the Senses.
“Cashmere Mist is the ultimate Modern Icon. For 15 years, it has been a worldwide passion – a soft, sensual indulgence for women to wrap themselves in year round. Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition adds a whole new level of luxury. It is my thank you to women for making Cashmere Mist what it is today.”- Donna Karan
How do we celebrate one of the world’s most beloved scents? By introducing its most luxurious version. Presenting Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition. Its ultimate cashmere embrace nuzzles the skin and intoxicates the senses. It arrives on counter this September, just in time to keep you warm for fall.
Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition Eau de Parfum is a modern, enhanced creation of the original, concentrating on a selection of natural ingredients – the highest quality available in perfumery: Heightened notes of Watery Elements and Bergamot mingle with two Jasmine absolutes, Orange Flower, Ylang and Muget, enveloped by the creaminess of Moss, Blonde woods, Amber, Labdanum and Vanilla. The result is a concentrated impression with an unparalleled sensuous depth and texture.
Like the finest cashmere in the world, this is a luxury so personal, so exquisitely divine, it’s a gift you give to yourself, each and every day.
The Story of Cashmere Mist – A Modern Icon: Fifteen years ago, Donna Karan did the impossible: she bottled the luxurious sensation of wearing cashmere. Introduced in the form of a body lotion – whisper light, yet sumptuously indulgent, Cashmere Mist seduced the senses, evoking the divine feeling of cashmere against bare skin. This now best-selling sensuous scent was the result of popular demand by women across the world. Women everywhere instantly fell in love. Obsessively so. They wrote letters and called in. Many even stopped Donna Karan on the street, begging her to turn this luxe scent into a fragrance of its own. Feeling just as passionate, she agreed.
Stephan Weiss, Karan’s sculptor husband, created the now-iconic bottle, inspired by the small of a woman’s back. The bottle was sheer and frosted to convey the utter softness of what lay inside. Alongside Cashmere Mist came a wardrobe of alluring bath and body products to match.
Fifteen years ago, a star was born — Donna Karan Cashmere Mist. Today, it remains the number four best-selling fragrance in the United States*. Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition is the ultimate birthday present of all that is luxurious and indulgent about Cashmere Mist. It is an invitation to come celebrate Cashmere Mist, created for a woman by a woman.
*According to NPD data of sales from July 2008 – April 2009 at the Fragrance Bar.
Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition Suggested retail price:
1.0 oz $48.00 USD
1.7 oz $70.00 USD
Available in Donna Karan Collection stores, www.donnakaranbeauty.com and fine department stores nationwide September 2009.
As it is for many people, fall is my favorite time of year. Perhaps this is because around here it is the most fragrant season: the cool, damp leaves send up a sweet, cidery rot, I could swear there is always a tinge of woodsmoke in the air, and the evergreens seem sharper and straighter as the deciduous competition flames out. Early every morning, after bumping around and out of my pitch-dark apartment, I take a deep draw of cool air and wonder if this smell is a regular olfactory hallucination, since I live in an urban neighborhood with bylaws against bonfires and no apple orchards for miles. Whether I am susceptible to seasonal scent suggestion disorder or not, I love the colors and skies of autumn, and the weather is often invigorating enough for me to look fondly upon the hooting, rowdy herds of schoolkids that suddenly appear on every sidewalk. Even if fall doesn’t make you feel this disgustingly cheerful, you can still spend your season of mists and mellow fruitfulness in gorgeous perfumes. Please comment with your own fall favorites and let me know if you’ve sampled the new Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles. I haven’t tried it yet, and am wondering whether it will be added to my current autumn Lutens rotation of Chêne, Santal Blanc and El Attarine.
Etro Shaal Nur: Rather like a more contemplative, citrus-tinged Habanita, this is an airy, incense-smoke version of Molinard’s classic vetiver-vanilla. While not being particularly strong — it’s better sprayed than dabbed — Shaal Nur has impressive projection…
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
From Viktor & Rolf, the 2009 holiday limited edition of Flowerbomb…
