Fragrance

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Marni is gearing up to release its first fragrance, a blend of woody smells, spices, and rose oil named Marni. The perfume's ad campaign stars Raquel Zimmermann shot by Nick Knight, and a 100 ml bottle will go for $105 when it reaches stores next February. "It's a perfume that's quite individual, that doesn't evoke anything in particular," said the brand's creative director Consuelo Castiglioni. [WWD]
  

• Coach just won a lawsuit against a network of 600 websites that sold counterfeit Coach goods. A judge awarded the brand $257 million in damages, the biggest amount of money ever won in a counterfeiting case. [Fashion Etc]
  

• Ralph Lauren announced that it will close its Rugby line, aimed at younger customers, next February "in order to focus resources on higher growth, more scalable global opportunities with the core Ralph Lauren brand." [Fashion Foie Gras]
  

• Jenna Lyons has been named one of Glamour's women of the year. Her boss, Mickey Drexler, told the magazine, "I'm partial, but I think she's a woman of the year every year." [Glamour]
  

• Model Sophie Dahl has confirmed that she and husband Jamie Cullum are going to have a second child. The couple had a daughter named Lyra last March. [Vogue UK]
  

• Mark Badgley and James Mischka were at their house in Long Island when it was struck by a tree blown down by Hurricane Sandy's winds. Luckily, neither designer was hurt. [Page Six]

Joining the ranks of other iconic brands to break into the perfume arena, Italian fashion house Marni is gearing up to release its first fragrance in February. "Marni is all about a very discrete confidence," Estée Lauder's Veronique Gabai-Pinsky told WWD. And that discrete confidence is immediately recognizable in the fragrance's bottle. Based on an old flacon Consuelo Castiglioni, creative director for Marni, found at a flea market 20 years ago, the bottle has a uniquely rounded shape and is speckled with polka dots. But the fragrance itself also speaks to a certain kind of elegance. Notes range from spicy to woody, with a healthy layer of rose oil to round it out. "It's very modern and bold," Gabai-Pinsky said.

The line not only includes different bottle sizes (ranging in price from $105 to $155), but also a body lotion, shower gel, and body cream. There is also a purse spray ($50) that comes with an adorable "Huggy" doll, sporting the same polka dots as the bottle itself. The launch of Marni's first fragrance puts the house in a place among other designers in Estée Lauder's perfume portfolio, including Tory Burch, Donna Karan, and Coach.

Earlier this week we pondered what Carine Roitfeld's rumored fragrance might smell like, but now the big question is what the scent will be called. In January, Roitfeld reportedly trademarked the brand name Forgive Me and applied for protection for a wide range of beauty products. But in 2010, the fashion editor was granted a trademark for her own name that covers beauty products, clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories.

But which moniker will her fragrance ultimately take? It's been over two years since she trademarked her own name, and we have yet to see a Carine Roitfeld-branded ready-to-wear line or shoe collection, so perhaps she won't use that trademark. On the other hand, a "notice of possible opposition" was filed earlier this month against the Forgive Me trademark, so that name may not be the final version of Roitfeld's brand, either.

Roitfeld in the campaign image for her collaboration with MAC.

Dusting powders always seem so old-fashioned, but in my book, that's a good thing. Elegantly held in appealingly retro packaging, Lollia's Calm dusting powder ($28) is too pretty to be stashed away. A fluffy puff distributes the rice powder, adding fresh scents of hyacinth, iris, and vetiver. No shimmer, no glitter — just smoother, softly fragranced skin. It's perfect after moisturizing, before bed, or any other time when you want to feel like a lady.

Finding that your favorite fragrance is just a bit too overwhelming on your skin? Taking your perfume from headache-inducing to seductively subtle is as simple as layering. The first thing to do is to reach for a fragrance that has a matching lotion, like Gucci Premiere ($87) and its matching perfumed body lotion ($52).

After you get out of the shower, spray the perfume on your skin first, focusing on your pulse points. Once the fragrance has fully dried, layer on the lotion that matches it. The lotion will have a muddling effect on the perfume, which will give you a more subtle scent. If you're using a perfumed body wash, then the effect will be even more heightened. You'll still be left with your favorite scent, but in a lighter form. Even those with the most sensitive of noses will be left with a scent that doesn't require a couple aspirin to stomach.

After years of designing clothes, Isaac Mizrahi is taking his fabulousness to the fragrance counter. The designer's first foray into the women's perfume arena is Fabulous. "I wanted to somehow embody the essence of my work to date in a perfume," Isaac said this evening at Bloomingdale's 59th Street in New York, "and embody the way I feel about women in a particularly sensual experience of smell — as opposed to other sensual experiences like wearing clothes."

The fragrance's inspiration comes from Isaac's experiences growing up in New York. ("It smells like rich people," he joked.) Encapsulated in a vintage-inspired bottle, the eau de parfum features notes of bergamot, nectarine, and cedar.

So what's the key to actually being fabulous, according to Mr. Mizrahi? "Don't take yourself too seriously," he says. "Think about yourself as fabulous, and you'll be fabulous."

"We like to think that if you put on the scent, you'll be at your most beautiful. Like putting on a Marchesa dress," said Marchesa cofounder Keren Craig about the brand's latest venture: Parfum D'Extase ($85). The perfume, which is encapsulated in a crystal-embossed bottle, contains notes of iris flower, young violet leaves, and lotus flower. It's a full, floral scent that's perfect for Spring. "For us, it was about trying to find the essence of our muse: very feminine, very sensual, and very beautiful," Karen explained.

The women of Marchesa, cofounder Georgina Chapman included, have been wanting to make their foray into the fragrance industry for some time, but it wasn't until they teamed up with Sephora that their dreams became a reality. The bottle fits in with the rest of Marchesa's exquisite aesthetic, as it's faceted to look like a crystal with tiny versions of the stones dotted down the center. "The crystal is a healing stone. We like that combination. It's something you'll want to put on your dressing table and look at." And who does Keren hope to see wearing this scent? "Every girl!" she said with a laugh. "We're never trend-led with our clothing. We like to create pieces that are really timeless. So I really hope that [Parfume D'Extase] crosses all different ages." Luckily for Marchesa, an elegant floral scent is something that's easy to love.