The Winner Of Our Aftelier Giveaway Is...

ElizabethN!

Please send me an email so we can work out the details.

Mandy Aftel wishes to thank everyone for their participation and comments. Here it is, in her own words:

Thank you so much for your time and thoughtfulness and kinds words about my website and my perfumes. I appreciate the time you took looking at the site and your suggestions are very helpful in pointing out ways that I can improve my website. I will be making some of the changes you suggested. I have really liked meeting you all here and connecting with people that love perfume like I do.

Models and contest supervisors: Tulip and Giselle

Aftelier Site Re-Launch And Special Contest-Giveaway

Natural Perfumer Mandy Aftel has redesigned and overhauled her website, Aftelier.com. I've spent more time than I care to admit exploring the products and wealth of information she offers about natural perfumes and essences and entertained a little fantasy about commissioning a bespoke perfume. Up until now I was only familiar with the Aftelier scents that are sold at Henri Bendel (my favorites have always been Tango and Fig, but I also have a serious thing for Cacao). But now I've been reading about the EDP formulation, the bath and body line and  the chef essences- yes, scents for food by a celebrated perfumer. I've been taking mental notes that can be summed as "want! want! WANT! NEED!".

Now Mandy is offering one of The Non-Blonde readers a mini perfume of  their choice (excluding Parfum Prive). To enter the contest you will need to visit Aftelier.com and then come back here to leave a comment that answers the first two questions and optionally the third one:

1. Have you tried any of of Aftelier creations? If not, which one(s) interest you most?
2. What is the ingredient in the center of Parfum Privé?
3. (Optional) What content/features would you like to see added to the Aftelier site? What would make visiting it a better experience?


The contest will remain open until Wednesday, July 7th.

Photo of Mandy Aftel at her perfume organ from the website.

*Disclaimer and clarification: I'm not affiliated with Aftelier and have no commercial interest in this giveaway in any way, shape or form. But you knew that, right?

Ayala Moriel Yasmin Giveaway- The winner

The winner of a mini bottle of Ayala Moriel Yasmin extrait is Jane from Canada (See_Jane_Sell). Please contact me directly!

Yasmin by Ayala Moriel Parfums- Giveaway

Natural perfumer Ayala Sender of Ayala Moriel Parfums is offering The Non-Blonde readers the opportunity to win a mini bottle of Yasmin extrait (4ml). To participate in the draw, please leave a comment and tell us about natural perfumes you've tried so far, which ones are your favorites or if you haven't tried any, what makes you interested in natural perfumes.

Image: Winter Jasmine Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker, circa 1930-1940

And The Winner Is...

The Winner of the very special Tauer Perfumes giveaway is:

Fernando

Please send me an email and let me know how to contact you.

I want to thank Andy for his wonderful generosity and everyone else for participating- new and old readers. I'm especially happy to "meet" longtime readers who commented here for the first time, and want to welcome all the perfume lovers who have just discovered this blog.

Don't forget: Andy's Advent Calendar is continuing on his blog. Please keep visiting this page for more links and opportunities to win his prizes.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

Photo by Andy Tauer.

Winners of Tauer Un Rose Chypree Samples

Kamo and Edwardian are the lucky winners of Andy Tauer's Un Rose Chypree samples. Please email me your address.

Also, if by any chance the person who left comment no. 52 (the anonymous one on June 20, 2009 9:25 PM eastern time) is reading this, please also send me an email (the address is here on the right).

Thanks to everyone who participated!


image: Tauer Perfumes

Tauer Perfumes- Un Rose Chypree (and a giveaway)

Today's article about the woes of the perfume industry from the NY Times, The Hunt for That Genie in a Bottle, was very aptly timed, as far as I'm concerned. The big companies and industry leaders are busy soul-searching and naval-gazing, trying to understand where they went wrong (most of us actually have an answer or two, including what they can do with some of their bottled dreck). While they ponder how to win back our hearts, the independent perfumers have been doing things right for a while now.

Quoted in the article, Veronique Gabai-Pinsky, president of Aramis and the Designer Fragrance division of Estée Lauder, said: “We have to make sure what we bring to market is meaningful and relevant”. Ms. Gabai-Pinsky is right, of course, and I highly recommend that she gets herself a sample (or two or three) of Andy Tauer's work, especially his new perfume, Un Rose Chyprée, because this is exactly the kind of emotional, meaningful and luxurious fragrance so sorely missed on the shelves of mainstream stores.

Part of a new series, Mémorables, and a new concept: smaller bottles of the highest quality juice, Un Rose Chyprée is uncompromising in its intention to capture your heart and take you someplace wonderful. It's a real perfume and doesn't try to pretend otherwise. It will make you smell like you know what you're doing, the way perfumes of yore used to be.

Andy Tauer has taken one of the classic structures, the chypre (an accord built on a base of oakmoss and labdanum and topped with bergamot), and gave it a new life. Chypre lovers will be thrilled to find their old, elegant acquaintance here. But it's also a modern perfume that feels very much alive, young without being juvenile, and hopelessly romantic.

If you've smelled Tauer's Incense Rose, you're already familiar with the uplifting, radiant clementine note. Here it's the perfect accompaniment to the roses, making them appealing even to someone who rarely wears rose well (that would be me, though I've never met a Tauer rose I didn't like). Technically speaking, Un Rose Chypree is an elaborate study of rose: The absolute and the steam distilled essential oil. A 15 ml Rose chyprée bottle contains one pound of fresh rose petals. Emotionally speaking, this roses are full of beauty and longing.

An interesting aspect of Un Rose Chypree is how while the perfume opens up and develops on skin, both the juicy citrus and the opulent rose are constantly present. From the spicy heart to the distinct Tauerade base, the metaphoric brushstrokes in a rich but slightly sheer orange color, are always there.

Another wonderful trait of the perfume is its strength and tenacity. One spray scents me for the day (or evening. It's a wonderful date night fragrance). When I wear it, it's big and feminine. A tiny half a spray on my husband's skin is just as beautiful, only quiet and withdrawn, with a more pronounced oakmoss note. In both cases, it has that feeling of a real luxury item, handmade by an artist who knows and loves his craft and respects his customers. It simply doesn't get any better than this.

And now for the giveaway:
Thanks to Andy's generosity, I have two samples to give away. If you're interested, please say so in the comments. The one and only condition is that you haven't won a sample of this very perfume through any of the other blogs that offered it. The winners will be announced by the end of next week.

Un Rose Chypree($75 for 15 ml) will be available July 1st from Luckyscent.com (Scent Bar in L.A.). They currently accept pre-orders for bottles and samples. If you live in Europe you might want to order directly from tauerperfumes.com or check the site for distribution in your country. The samples and bottle I received were a gift from Andy.

Art: Rose Closeup by Declan McCullagh

The Two Faced Perfume: Vetiver Dance- Andy Tauer (and samples giveaway)

Vetiver Dance is not what it seems.

Some vetivers are rich and lush. Think about the chocolate and jungle greens in the velvet that is Vetiver Oriental (Serge Lutens). Then there are the cold, crisp ones like Encre Noir (Lalique), Vetiver Extraordinare (Malle) and the wonderfully bitter and astringent Route de Vetiver (MPG). Guerlain Vetiver is crisp and dry, but oddly warm, and the same can be said about Lubin's Le Vetiver, though its opening is a lot more interesting than the drydown.

Andy Tauer's Vetiver Dance is all of the above or none of the above, depending on what your skin and your nose make of it.

I fisrt tried it several months ago, when the weather was still very warm and unforgiving. While the very first try of a minuscule amount was very Taueresque and promising, a full wearing on a hot day nearly killed the fragrance for me. There's a very strong lily of the valley note that jumped at me right away, suffocating the top notes completely. It surprised me, because a similar LOTV treatment in the mythological Hyacinth And The Mechanic was lush wonderful. Then again, I only tried it in those bitter cold days of late winter when one is willing to sell her soul for any promise of spring.

The thick LOTV made it hard to focus on the other notes, even though the perfume's development was interesting even then. There were all the loved companions to the vetiver: an herbal note, a bitter crispness, the return of the promised grapefruit peel. I liked the late drydown, with its hint of dry Tauerade: ambergris, cedar wood, tonka and cistus are signature notes. But the mean and green was still somewhere there. It didn't look promising.

As the weather became cooler I tried Vetiver Dance again and again and again, discovering it does much better when allowed to bloom outside. I found sweetness in the top and middle notes and an incredible dry vetiver later on. There's a point after about two hours on the skin, when the perfume changes direction right under your nose. Literally. It becomes something else entirely. While I've learned to appreciate the artistry of the first phase (face?) of the fragrance, what I would have loved is a bottle containing only the second one.

Vetiver Dance is incredibly strong and potent. It lasts all day even when applied lightly, which is probably the right way to go given its strength. My guess is that it's a challenging scent only if you have muguet issues (I can't stand Diorissimo), and even then it's worth a try because it smells like nothing else. The amazingly rich drydown alone is worth the experience, even if you decide the whole thing is too much.

Thanks to Andy's generosity, I have some samples to give away, so please leave a comment if you're interested. I'll do a kitten-assisted draw next week and announce the winners.

Vetiver Dance is available in the USA from both Luckyscent (Scent Bar) in L.A. and Aedes in NYC. Bottles and samples can also be purchased directly from Tauer Perfumes in Switzerland. My samples were free.

Image: Organic Forming No. 3 by Heidi Vaught

Uplift- Kiki by Vero Kern (and a giveaway)

During the wonderful dinner at the restaurant that is fast becoming my favorite eatery in Manhattan, Broadway East, the conversation turned to things we do to cope with stress and improve our outlook. A couple of my friends are outdoorsy and look to nature for inspiration. Another is into zen and likes reading about Eastern philosophy. I don't do spiritual. At least not in the traditional sense of the word. Corrupted by earthy, sensual pleasures, I go for the bottle. The perfume bottle, that is. I'm not really comparing, but it's simply one of my greatest joys, and the right scent not only makes my day, but also changes the way I feel about things.

Kiki by Swiss perfumer Vero Kern (creator of the irreplaceable Onda) is among the happiest things you can find in a bottle. In theory, the mix of notes should never have worked: lavender, caramel and exotic fruit sound like a nightmare brought by those who unleashed Angel upon us and cast the cruel spell that made women all over the globe believe they smell "yummy", while most of us gasp for air as they leave their unmistakable sillage around us.

But Kiki is a winner.

Maybe because it's Paris in a bottle. Lavender is a very French thing. Little embroidered sachets hidden in drawers housing exquisite lingerie. Expensive laundry detergents. Cool and crisp linens. White sheets on a fluffy hotel bed in a room with a very Parisian view, the smell from a nearby pastry shop wafting in through the window.

The exotic fruit note is not what you think. It's more of a subtle candied element, just as the caramel is more praline than fudge. It makes me think of lavender-infused milk chocolate, there's no chocolate note, and the perfume is only marginally sweet. It's just heavenly like that.

Not everyone enjoys lavender, and if this herb normally makes you think of your great aunt Tilly and her moldy purse, then you may skip it. Gourmand notes haters are not as easily excused. This might be the one to change your mind about them. Or at least make you crave this.

Thanks to Vero's generosity, I have a sample to give away. If you're interested, please say so in a comment. I'll announce the winner next Monday.

Vero Kern's perfumes are only available from her web site. All of them come as extrait de parfum, the highest concentration, and have an impressive staying power. You can purchase a sample set of all three scents (a review of Rubj is coming soon), which is how I first fell in love with them.

Image: Lavender's Sway by Fawn McNeill Barr from EBSQ Gallery.

Incense Rosé Winners

A few of you guessed that Effulgent had something to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was the last line in William/Spike's infamous poem to his first love, Cecily.




The winners are Gail S. and Maddie. Please email me your addresses!

Effulgent- Tauer Perfumes Incense Rosé (and a giveaway!)

Part of my process when writing a perfume review is finding an image that captures it. Sometimes it's an art work, other times it's a scene from a movie (an old classic, because that's where my heart is). Unless I have a very specific idea right from the start, I google ideas, feelings, keywords until I find just the right one. Preparing to write about Incense Rosé, I didn't have to do any of that. The kaleidoscopic arabesque that's on the flyer that accompanies the bottle is perfectly evocative of this lovely scent.

Oh yes, if there was any doubt: I love Incense Rosé. A lot.

Just as much as Incense Extreme is a stark, serious with the cleanest lines and notes, Rosé is joyous and exuberant. Clementine and bergamot are not necessarily notes one would expect to find in an Andy Tauer creation. But what they do here is lend a sweet, radiating quality to the Tauerade base. They open rich and almost boozy and don't fully leave until very late into the dry-down, when the very pretty and streamlined rose takes their place, filling and illuminating the gaps between the darker, incensy parts.

As the scent develops, the familiar labdanum and ambergris that form the dry Tauerade emerge. They are spiced and prettified, making the perfume just a bit more feminine than what we're used to, though not girly or predictably femme. It's just lighter, full of joy.

The big surprise for me was deep and late into the dry-down. After the incense, labdanum, orris, cedar and ambergris calm down, I'm left with one of the most gorgeous myrrh notes I've smelled this side of Diptyque L'Eau Trois. And it lasts forever. Both in the air after I spray it and on my skin. It's still faintly there after a shower and demands serious scrubbing to make it go away.

Incense Rosé will be available at Scent Bar in L.A. and their online store Luckyscent starting March 29th. On that Saturday, Andy Tauer himself will make an appearance at the store (click the link to RSVP), to talk about his work and demonstrate some of the ingredients that go into the bottle. I met him last year at the launch of Reverie au Jardin, and can't recommend enough that if you're anywhere in the Los Angeles area, try to make it to the event. It's a rare opportunity to meet such an artist, and a lot of fun because Andy in person is as charming as he is on his blog.

I'm often asked about the best way to try and learn about niche and artisan fragrances. My advice is to start with something extra wonderful that would change the way you think about perfume. This is definitely a great place to begin.

I have a couple of samples to give away. Please leave a comment if you're interested.
Bonus entry if you can guess the reason behind the title of this post, Effulgent (obscure pop culture reference, nothing to do with perfume).

The sample I've been using, as well as the ones for the giveaway were sent to me by Andy. Samples and bottles of Incense Rosé and the entire Tauer line are available in the US from Luckyscent ($90-$100). For European distributors, please see Tauer Perfumes website.

Image: Deszö Bödi for Tauer Perfumes. To read more about the artist and this creation click here.

And The Scrub Goes To...

The winner of Bliss Carrot-Sesame body buff is Calypso. Please send me an email with your mailing address.

Bliss carrot+sesame body buff (and a little giveaway)

Believe me: the last thing I needed was another body scrub. I have several jars, tins and tubes arranged near the bathtub and serving a double purpose of exfoliating my skin and giving the cats something to crash into when they chase each other in and out of the (empty) tub. It's a feline thing.

One of my recent orders from Bliss had a sample of their carrot+sesame spa body scrub, and it was so intriguing that I tried it that very night. Normally I'm all for separation of food and grooming, so a carrot, sesame and honey product wouldn't be my usual choice. But I was feeling adventurous.

I loved it from the second I tore the packet open and got a whiff of the carroty goodness. It smells like a Middle Eastern candy with the honey and sesame, but not to the icky point. It feels as rich as it smells and I found myself using way more of the sample than I really needed, just so I could spend more quality time with it.

There were two results to testing the scrubs: my skin felt softer than I could hope for and my tub was full of the sticky little granules and needed to be washed, which I had time for, because I was in no rush to slather myself with a body cream. The softness held until the next morning, which was when I went online to order a full size jar.

This scrub only comes in a set with something called "finishing foam", which is basically a whipped lotion. It smells of milk, honey, sesame and carrots and is in the yummy category, but again, thankfully, not over-the-top but feels sweet and cozy. You use it on damp skin and it sinks right in. Unfortunately, it doesn't add that much long-term moisturizing. I tried using the scrub with and without the finishing foam and it didn't matter at all, by morning I needed something more. I wish they'd use the scent in a regular body butter formula.

Bottom line: the scrub is amazing, the foam is ok.

I have a second sample of the scrub to give away for one lucky reader. Just leave a comment to say you're interested.

Winners: Tauer Incense Extrême

The lucky winners in the Incense Extrême giveaway are:

Edwardian
Divina
Flora

Please email me your address.

Shadows- Tauer Perfumes Incense Extrême (and a readers giveaway!)

The samples of Incense Extrême arrived a few weeks ago, the same day as the package containing my new camera. I ignored the bigger box and ripped open the envelop with the Swiss postmark. You got to have priorities and digital cameras don't smell.

Like all Tauer fragrances, Incense Extrême takes you places. While Andy described it on his blog as a minimalist scent, there's absolutely nothing here (thankfully!) to remind you of the biggest minimalist of them all, Jean-Claude Ellena (can I say thankfully again?). You get that unmistakable Tauer touch which goes from the top notes all the way through to the base that has more than a little of the "Tauerade". The frankincense is peppery and fresh at first, then becomes darker, woody and dry. Very very dry.

The "extrême" in the name might make you expect an over-the-top Catholic church on steroids kind of incense, or the entire CdG Incense Series crammed into a single bottle (Zagorsk would eat them all). This is not that scent. Instead, you get the different faces of frankincense, paired with a little wood and a little orris. Some feel it has a lot in common with Andy's limited edition, Orris, but my skin doesn't support this theory. Orris is more kaleidoscopic with the different layers picking here and there and revealing themselves almost randomly. Incense Extrême is much more streamlined and pulled-together. There's starkness in it, bold and clean, it dries down almost soapy, remains close to the skin, with just a hint of the shadows lurking from beneath.

Andy has warned me that this scent is basically masculine and would suit my husband better than me. A masculine label has ever stopped me before and I like wearing this scent, but when I smelled it on my husband I knew what he meant. A man's skin (or my man's skin) brings out more of the dark and mysterious part of the scent, those dark silhouettes on a bare ground.

Incense Extrême would be available starting tomorrow from Luckyscents. I have a few samples to give away, so if you're interested please leave a comment. I'll announce the winners early next week.

Art: Pine Shadows by Hamilton Aguiar from the Vinings Gallery.

More Gifts and Freebies

It's not just the big department stores that want to give us stuff in October. There are a couple of seriously cool draws and contests in magazines and blogs. Here's the info:

Elle Magazine makeover challenge: Give yourself a makeover, send the before and after photos to the Elle editors and add a short testimonial about the change you've undergone. The winner will be selected on October 12th, flown to NYC the following week to meet with editors, have a portrait shot by a top magazine photographer after a hair and makeup session with some big industry names. The result will be featured in January 08 issue of Elle.

Allure Magazine doesn't require any effort on your side, other than to give them your details. In return, you will be entered into a draw for a huge haul of some of the best and most popular beauty products, worth around $3500. Among the names mentioned are Smashbox primer, Nars the Multiple, Shu Uemura eyelash curler and many others.
The winner will be picked on October 29th.

And last, Ellen from Lipstick, Powder 'n Paint is having a daily contest throughout October to celebrate her one year anniversary of blogging. The prizes seem quite impressive (Benefit Cosmetics, Bliss, Lancome and many other big names). Check out her blog.

The One with the Gloss

Before I start talking about all the glosses I've tried lately, the winner of last week's giveaway (two gorgeous but blonde-friendly glosses from Besame Cosmetics) is Allie. I'll need your mailing address.

I'll start with the ones that didn't impress me. I'm very fond of many Benefit products, but their VIP six pack (three double-ended wands) was a disappointment. First, the colors are not exactly in my range. They are all very pale and will not flatter someone who isn't quite fair. So, right from the start it was clear that this limited edition set and I weren't meant to be. On top of that, the texture was as sticky as Juicy Tubes, but with less pigment and less staying power. Definitely a no-go for me.

I had a much better luck at the Chanel counter. I tried two lip products. One was their Rouge Double Intensite, which has a liquid lipstick on one end and a sheer gloss on the other. It's a long-wearing formula, which really delivers. The color stays on for hours and requires some serious scrubbing action to remove. The problem was that the only color that I liked, Sandstone was out of stock (though I see that Saks online still has it).
What I ended up buying was a(nother) glossimer, this time in the very festive color, Force. The color swatch online looks quite purple, but in reality it's a burgundy shimmer, with a more red than plum undertones. It packs lots of color and looks fabulous as an evening gloss. When mixed with a Summer Plum glossimer it is toned down considerably and looks lovely during the day. The texture is, as always, very pleasant. All the glitter doesn't make it gritty, and it has a reasonable staying power for a gloss.

I saved the best for last. Just as I thought, Besame Cosmetics do make lovely lip glazes in colors that I can wear. The two that I got to try are Red Berry and Chocolate. The texture is perfect. Not too sticky, it covers the lips with a beautiful shine that feels very comfortable. Furthermore, it actually nourishes the lips. The glaze contains vitamins A, C, E, and anti-oxidant green tea extract, anti-aging marine collagen to maintain lip shape and fullness, aloe vera, macadamia nut extract and sweet almond oil that protect and heal the lips. And it works. After wearing these glazes all day long (I reapply every few hours or as needed), my lips feel the way I'd expect them to be following a day of using only the richest balms. I can't think of any other gloss in my impressive collection that feels this good. I love my Chanels, Alison Raffaele, Dior Kiss, Urban Decay and others. But Besame's product is simply better. I wish they came in many more colors.

Speaking of which: The Red Berry looks quite frightening in the tube. It's a very bright red, almost watermelon like. I wouldn't have tried it in a regular lipstick, but in a sheer glaze it's perfect. It adds just enough lively color and lots of shine. My lips are naturally dark, so the pigment in the glaze doesn't overpower them. It just gives a pretty pick-me-up color that is very much appreciated in the winter.I can't promise that it would be as wearable for someone who is significantly more pale than me. But for someone of my coloring, this is a great daytime gloss (and it can be layered with a red lipstick for a bold look).

The Chocolate glaze isn't as dark as what you see in the color swatch on the website. It's actually a pearly milk chocolate color, with maybe a touch of mauve in it. It's pretty, though on my lips it's a bit pale by itself. However, layered on top of Besame's dark chocolate lipstick the result is warm and rich, and it gives the matte lipstick a healthy boost.

The glazes have a luxurious vanilla scent. I highly recommend their sample offer. For $1.50 each you can try any color and product that seems interesting. Since the easiest way to buy the products is online (unless you can get to Henry Bendel in NYC or one of the few other stores that sell them), this is an excellent way to get acquainted with this line.

Giveaway: Last week's winner and a new one!

The winner in the Maryam's Soap Nook body butter giveaway is Eva. Please email me (address is on this page, on the right) your address so I can send it.

My enchantment with Besame Cosmetics is well documented. I love their quality and the packaging. The products look very retro glam and all of them deliver exceptionally. Their latest product is the lip glaze. It's a gloss that contains vitamins, marine collagen, almond oil, green tea and aloe. The formula promises to deliver shine, moisture and comfort.

The two glazes I received look gorgeous, but I can't test them, because the colors are way too light for me. One is Cotton Candy, the other is Shimmer Peach. Both would look lovely on someone who has very fair skin. The pink is a cool color, the peach is quite warm and very shimmery.

Leave a comment if you want to be in the draw.

Berries, Butter and a Giveaway

The good news is that Maryam's hand made shea monoi whipped body butter is an exceptional treat. And that's an understatement. It is far superior to other, way more expensive products. I can't believe that I'm writing this, but my beloved Korres body butter doesn't measure up and neither do Bliss or Fresh products. The texture is phenomenal. It sinks right into the skin, nourishing and softening it. My super dry winter skin has never felt so soft.

The all-natural ingredients include: shea butter, monoi de tahiti oil (that's the stuff in Nars' Monoi body oil), cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, goat milk, vitamin E and silk fibers. No wonder that the results are so good.

The bad news is that the tub I have is in the pomegranate and wildberries scent. I'm not a fan of red fruit scents, and this one is very berry, and the scent is so strong that it refused to leave my skin the next day and clung to my jeans. A berry lover would rejoice with something like this. I don't. I'll have to get myself a tub of one of the more delicate fragrances. And probably also the unscented one. And I'd go straight for the large size (16 oz), because it's that good. But I can't deal with this fruitiness.

However, my loss is your gain. I'll do a giveaway. Leave a comment if you're berry-friendly and want to be part of the drawing. Next week one of you will get this 8 oz tub of body butter.