Saturday, January 10, 2009

Michael Edwards' Fragrance Wheel

Take a tour of the fragrance families. This is an excellent first step toward identification of the scents you are most likely to enjoy. Michael Edwards, creator of the wheel below and the world's foremost expert on fragrance classification, generously invited me to share his work with you.

Click -- it's hot!


Fragrances of the World, 2009, copyright © Michael Edwards.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

For The Pet Who Has Everything

Self indulgence has its limits. So when you've reached yours, think of others less fortunate. Those furry and hairy individuals lacking the means to obtain perfume and cosmetics you take for granted.

I remember my amusement over last year's launch of Juicy Criture. OK, my horror, but tinged with amusement. A friend who promotes Liz Claiborne scents including sister Juicy Couture line said she had just put on a Nordstrom event for cats and dogs. Creativity kudos to whomever first cooked up the notion of "dog nail pawlish."

Until quite recently, I assumed the beauty industry's interest in four-legged consumers was limited to household pets. But no! Fragrance is coming on strong in the large animal community. Sniffapalooza magazine now features Brandy and its creator Patricia Namm. Patricia's muse in designing the scent? A palomino horse by the same name. "Horses don't usually like perfume," Patricia told a group of fragrance enthusiasts at Sniffapalooza's New York Fall Ball. But this scent, "with its suggestion of distant fields, rolling aromatic meadows, apple and peach top notes and herbaceous heart notes" appeals to the horsey set, and most importantly, to Brandy himself.

Perfume for pooches. Perfume for ponies. Why didn't I think of that?

The discerning dog above is reticent about top notes of the L'Artisan Parfumeur scent presented for his approval at New York's exquisite Aedes de Venustas boutique. Attends le drydown, mon petit chien.