Father’s Day is Sunday, June 20th! If you missed them, here’s part 1 and part 2 of our 2010 gift guide.
The Eau Boy men’s scent sample from Sephora, with deluxe samples of Bvlgari Pour Homme Soir, Clean Men, Givenchy, Jack Black Lemon & Chamomile Intense Therapy Lip Balm, Ralph Lauren Polo Blue, Tom Ford Extreme, Diesel Fuel For Life and Armani Acqua di Gio…
Triple-milled soaps from Lucia, in Cherry Tomato & Basil (above right) or Wild Ginger & Fresh Figs (above left). $11 each at BurkeDecor…
Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday, June 20th…it’ll be here before you know it.
From John Varvatos, the Artisan fragrance in a gift set with Eau de Toilette, After Shave Gel, Hair & Body Wash. $58 at Nordstrom…
Deep Aqua is Bath & Body Works‘ latest addition to its Signature Collection. It’s an aquatic floral scent, described as “the pure and refreshing fragrance of ocean drenched flowers inspired by a beautiful world underwater.” Its composition includes top notes of crisp melon, daffodil, violet leaves, and water blossoms; mid notes of spring daisy, cyclamen, dewy gardenia, and white hydrangeas; and base notes of musk captives and white woods.
Looking at that list of floral notes, you may not imagine anything oceanic at all, and you may wonder which seashore we’re talking about. Violets at the beach? That being said, the fragrance itself is appropriately watery and breezy, with light hints of white flower petals. It also seems to “bloom” differently in each of the products I’ve sampled. The Skin Smoothing Shower Gelée, a limited-edition formula for summer, is a gently exfoliating, sudsy gel. (And doesn’t the word “gelée” deserve to be brought back into wider circulation?). It smells as fresh and blue as it looks, but it also releases a more complex, musky note or two when it foams and mixes with the water and steam of a warm shower.
The Body Lotion was my least favorite of the three variations I tried…
For the mom who loves figs (uh, that would be me!), Diptyque’s Philosykos Addict Coffret: “The Coffret contains a Philosykos eau de toilette (50ml), Philosykos scented shower gel and body lotion (both 2.5 fl oz each), a Philosykos scented soap (3.5 oz) and a travel candle in Figuier (2.4oz).” $135 at Luckyscent…
Lately I’ve been trying to coin a clever label for the recent wave of body care products that combine nature-based formulas with smartly designed, visually appealing packaging. I’m thinking specifically of brands like 4mula, MBeze, The Bubble Roome, and now Pattern, a small, Colorado-based company that focuses on multi-tasking Body Washes (or “skin cleansers”) fragranced with essential oils.
All four Pattern Body Wash blends could easily be shared by male and female users. The Citrus Moisturizing Body Wash smells like a straightforward mix of lemon, bergamot, and perhaps some litsea cubeba. The Eucalyptus Body Wash is a zingy herbal scent…
From By Kilian, the Edition Artistique de Carole Midy. The limited edition set includes a box and refillable bottle with the By Kilian fragrance of your choice. The set was designed by Carole Midy of Pietra Dura and features onyx and hematite cabochons. Available at Bon Marché in France, 1000€…
From Fresh, a limited edition soap trio in Frankincense (”an earthy scent, full of woodsy notes and a hint of exotic incense”), Myrrh (”an uplifting, fruity scent with wild berry notes inspired by the forest”) and Gold (”a warm, soft fragrance that evokes the shimmer of precious metal in sunlight”). Three 250g bars, $45…
I’ve always associated the name “geranium” with the hardy plants that my mother grew in pots on our backyard patio: red-petaled flowers, fuzzy leaves, and a slightly sweaty scent. The “geranium” most often present in perfume and other fragranced products, it turns out, is more specifically the rose geranium (species perlargonium graveolens), whose leaves can be distilled for fragrance. This smell is something much more pleasant and wearable: sort of green, sort of lemony, and yes, sort of rosey — but still more “herbal” than “floral.” I find it an easy note to wear year-round, especially in fragranced body products.
I recently grabbed a small tube of Origins Lime & Geranium Hand Lotion at an Estée Lauder outlet store when I needed hand cream, and it ended up inspiring this post. It has a quick-absorbing texture, and its scent is delightful: true geranium, with an accent on its green aspect, and an added zingy lime note…
Ten gift ideas under $50:
From Gianni Rose, 4 pear-shaped soaps: “Enjoy the scent of freshly picked pairs [sic] with these 4 French-milled soaps, enriched with moisture-rich buttermilk and exfoliating oatmeal.” $33 at Caswell Massey…
From Christian Dior, J’Adore in a limited edition collector bottle: “The Amphora bottle was created in 1947 for Dior’s very first fragrance, Miss Dior. The exquisite bottle was made from Baccarat crystal and originally designed by Fernand Guerycolas. The new Amphora will be presented in a luxurious case, with each one individually handmade and numbered from one to ten making it a truly unique collector’s item.” At Selfridges in London, size, price and concentration unknown…
The Bubble Roome is a Brooklyn-based company offering handmade bath and body products in a range of five natural fragrance blends; my favorite for this time of year is the Ylang Ylang & Cinnamon blend, which is sensual and cozy at the same time. To date, I’ve tried the Bath & Body Wash and Hemp Oil Lotion in this scent.
The Bubble Roome’s entire line of bath and body products is paraben-free; the body wash is also sulfate-free, and includes chamomile and allantoin to soothe the skin, as well as fruit- and sugar-based alpha hydroxy acids and salicylic acid for exfoliation. It’s a gentle, low-lathering formula, and I find that it works best if I shake it before using. The lotion contains aloe vera, glycerin, coconut oil, and hemp oil to nourish and protect the skin, and it has the perfect consistency: easy to dispense and quick to absorb, but just thick enough to feel luxurious. The fragrances are all composed of essential oils, and they have various aromatherapeutic properties. Ylang-ylang, as The Bubble Roome reminds us, “is considered one of nature’s aphrosidiacs.” It’s the small but intensely scented flower of the cananga tree, native to the Philippines and Indonesia, where it’s traditionally spread on the marriage beds of newly-wed couples…