I read a story of a woman who was sent a bottle of perfume every year of her life by her husband and in the end, she was in a hospital and he was right across the States and so he had one sent to her. It made my cry. Perfume is one of those emotional gifts from the heart though, isn’t it. It’s so evocative of love, life and sometimes loss; or memories that a scent brings back to you.
Here are some brand new fragrances that are ready and waiting to become new classics and part of your life. This month just in time for Christmas gifts, we see the release of Taylor Swift Incredible Things, UNTOLD Shimmer Powder Brush, Valeur Absolue Serenitude, Viva la Juicy So Intense, DKNY Be Delicious for women, and ARAMIS Adventurer and John Varvatos men’s fragrances.
Taylor Swift Incredible Things
Hot on the heels of the completely stunning and Twitter-breaking Blank Space video, Taylor Swift releases her latest fragrance, Incredible Things. Even if you changed outfits twenty times and rode horseback with hot male models in real life, this would be the perfume to do it in. Incredible Things – which is termed a ‘floriental’, one of these compound words for a floral Oriental – is a combination of velvety petals and creamy woods.
In this pretty white rectangular bottle with watercolour painted flowers and an illustration of her profile, is vanilla orchid and suede flower with creamy musk, then pink pepper, sparkling grapefruit and wild passion flower and a base of white amber, Madagascar vanilla and Haitian vetiver.
Taylor Swift Incredible Things is on counter at Farmers, selected pharmacies and department stores from 7 November for $59 30ml and $79 50ml.
Valeur Absolue Serenitude
Labelled as enchantment in a bottle, I reckon if Elsa from Frozen had a perfume, this would be it – with its icy blue hues and crystal bottle. There’s something magical about the range of Valeur Absolue perfumes, with their coloured stones or pearls inside each one, and extract of Immortelle in each of the perfumes to stimulate the release of beta-endorphins for well-being.
Valeur Absolue President, Benedicte Foucart, saw a place in the busy perfume marketplace for a fresh approach that would enhance women’s emotions. Feel good and smell great? We love this idea.
It is a floral, woody, spicy composition with pink peppercorn leading spices: cardamom, nutmeg and coriander. Damask Rose and sandalwood bring soothing and calming properties, and patchouli and benzoin bring sensuality.
Serenitude is the fourth in the collection that is remarkable for its semi-precious stones inside the bottle – in this latest bottle, we see aqua-green Amazonite. This stone is taken from the Amazon River and is used to protect against negative waves and promoting happiness.
Serenitude thus epitomises radiant happiness, serenity, and tranquility. It retails for $115 for 45ml and $159 for $90ml from selected Farmers, pharmacies and department stores from 3rd November. www.valeurabsolue.com
UNTOLD Shimmer Powder Brush
The latest release from UNTOLD by Elizabeth Arden is this gorgeous Shimmer Powder Brush.Basically, it’s a Kabuki brush on a container of golden particles that flow up through the bristles as you activate the brush on your skin. You can do it once for a light covering (Light Fairy Dust level), or again for a stronger coverage (the Full Tinkerbell).
I’ve tried a few shimmer powders and this is a clear winner for me. It has a delicate fragrance and leaves a really good shimmery effect on your skin. I wore it to the shops and the shop assistant said “ooh that looks nice!” straight away.
It leaves a luminous sparkle – and is delicately scented with perfume. You can also layer it with UNTOLD fragrance perfume for a deeper fragrance. Untold Shimmer Powder Brush is $69 and on counter on 10th November.
Viva La Juicy So Intense
The newest member of the iconic perfume family, Viva la Juicy, is So Intense, with a Limited Edition Parfum for the Christmas gifting – and of course the busy party season.
This girl is glam and the life of the party, evoking sophistication in a bottle with a three-dimensional, sculptural bow that’s been frozen into a perfectly metalised flowing form for an extra dose of holiday shine.
Viva la Juicy So Intense Limited Edition Parfum is on counter from 10th November.
DKNY Be Delicious
Donna Karan NY has released this juicy green sequinned bottle of a green apple, called Be Delicious Sparkling Apple. This is the newest incarnation of the popular DKNY Be Delicious fragrance, released back in 2012.
Sparkling Apple opens with green apple, red currant and watermelon. The heart is a floral bouquet of frozen rose drops, lily of the valley, tiare, muguet, and violet leaf. The base tones include magnolia wood, sandalwood and amber pearls.
I found it really different; sparkling, and refreshing to wear. I particularly liked the opening where you twist the apple open to reveal the spray. The shimmery lid is really pretty, too.
The limited edition DKNY Be Delicious 50ml EDP retails for $90 and is on counter now.
These last two new designer fragrances are for the men in your life and would be perfect Christmas presents. My husband has already taken off with the John Varvatos and it smells great and I am a big fan of the Aramis, too.
Aramis ADVENTURER
New from the classic and popular men’s fragrance brand Aramis comes ADVENTURER, a sophisticated and modern scent designed for the new Aramis customer – and this is a great update on the classic. In fact I have been spraying it around the office and it is so good! It opens with freshness in citron and bergamot with black pepper bringing spicyness. It has a middle ofgeranium, lavender and absinthe, and a base of patchouli and cedarwood with marine sea moss, all packaged in a sea-blue bottle with a silver cap.
The 110ml EDP retails for $132 and is available from 23rd November.
For the James Bond Adventurers! I had fun shooting this one attacking a helicopter and upturning a Jeep. So. Much. Adventure in one bottle! It smells fantastic actually, and I will look forward to the boy wearing this one, too.
John Varvatos
This American men’s wear fashion brand has been on the scene since 2000 but is relatively unknown to date here – but that is all about to change. Two stunning new men’s fragrances – John Varvatos and John Varvatos ARTISAN – are now in New Zealand, available exclusively at selected Farmers stores from 7 November 2014.
John Varvatos used to work for Polo Ralph Lauren and then started his eponymously-titled menswear label and won Menswear Designer of the Year (June 2001 and 2005) and was GQ Menswear designer of the Year in 2007. He has boutiques around the world selling not only tailored clothing and sportswear, but also lifestyle and accessories ranges including belts, bags, footwear, eyewear, luxury skincare and fragrances.
The signature fragrance, below, is an alluring woody oriental blend of spices, woods and a hint of sweetness. It is elegant and masculine and has the best packaging – a leather black body encasing a sleep flask-like glass bottle with a silvery cap.
Cool leather packaging, and a really great smelling men’s fragrance inside. I recommend giving this a go, I love it.
It retails for $133 75ml and $175 125ml only at selected Farmers stores, from 7th November.
Megan Robinson
11th November 2014
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