When the temperatures start to warm, consider changing up your fragrance wardrobe with one of these new scents for Spring. You'll discover a scent to go along with your personality, whether it's bold and glamorous or sweet and playful. Click through to find the perfect bottle for you.
Last Summer, everyone was abuzz about Marc Jacobs's scent Dot, and now the fragrance is getting a sweet flanker called Honey. The new fragrance comes with an updated bottle that converts the original ladybug print into a bee theme. Notes include pear and mandarin at the top, which melt into orange blossom, peach, and honeysuckle at the middle. Bottom notes of honey (of course), golden vanilla, and smooth woods round out the scent. Think of it as a fruitier iteration of the more tropically themed Dot.
You can look for Honey on shelves in August, along with a matching body lotion and shower gel. The launch is just ahead of the Fall release of Jacobs's first color cosmetics collection and nail lacquer line. Soon you'll be able to dress in Marc Jacobs from head to toe, and Honey is one warm-weather companion that's more than welcome.
Fashion and beauty collide in Swarovski's first makeup and fragrance collection. Swarovski crystals have been incorporated into makeup in the past (think: Dior's crystallized eyes and lips on the runway), but now the brand has created a cosmetics collection centered around its jewels.
The Aura by Swarovski line includes fragrance, lipsticks, and body shimmer encapsulated in high-shine packaging dotted with crystals. In addition, miniature crystals help reflect light within each formula, giving your skin the ultimate radiance. The collection will be available on HSN starting April 15. So go ahead and get your wish list started, and click through to see what's in store.
Your senses of taste and smell are inextricably linked. In fact, most of what you believe you're "tasting" actually comes from your nose. Your tongue can only taste five flavors (sweet, sour, salty, savory, and bitter), so it's up to your nose to determine whether you're eating a cream puff or peach preserves, for example. Your nose, not your tongue, really determines your favorite foods, so why not use your flavor knowledge to find a perfume you'll love, too? Find out what your favorite dessert might say about your scent preferences.
Source: Flickr user Louis Beche
Fragrance is highly personal, and generally, as long as it smells good to you, there's no real "right" or "wrong." However, if you want to get the full experience of your favorite perfume and have it wear as beautifully as possible, then there actually is an optimal way to put it on. To find out how, see our tips below.
Beyoncé is already a busy bee in 2013. Somewhere between the inauguration lip-syncing debate and practicing for her Super Bowl performance this Sunday, the superstar found time to shoot this behind-the-scenes look at her new scent. Pulse NYC is her fifth fragrance launching later this year. If you hadn't guessed, it's inspired by the energy of the Big Apple.
The video shares a sneak peek of the print ad featuring Beyoncé in a slinky metallic number in front of the city skyline. With the opening shots of the streets of New York, we wonder if this is a glimpse into her upcoming HBO documentary, Life Is But a Dream. You'll have to wait until Feb. 19 to see inside her life. But watch this short flick to learn personal details about the songstress, like her New York accent and her favorite color (as if you didn't already know).
The holidays are a time for giving, and if you're hitting the fragrance counter, Allure has the steps to sniffing out the right scent for anyone on your list.
Does anyone like patchouli? What exactly is the difference between Damask rose, English rose, and black rose? And does it even matter? Choosing a fragrance to give someone as a gift can be tough. Just ask anyone who has received a gorgeous, expensive bottle and immediately stuck it on the back of their vanity to collect dust. But the same thing that makes scent so subjective — namely, how personal it is — makes giving one worth the risk. Hey, there aren't many presents that are thoughtful, indulgent, and can be used every day. I'm not the only one who thinks so: A recent survey from the consumer market research firm NPD Group shows that fragrance ranks at number six on holiday shopping lists. If that sounds familiar, follow these expert pointers:
You've been there: your best friend wears a certain perfume that smells amazing on her, but the second it hits your skin your stomach churns. What's the deal? "Body chemistry has everything to do with how fragrances smell," Anne Nelson Sanford, cocreator of Lurk fragrances, says. "It depends on the pH of your skin." And since you and your friend aren't the same person, perfumes are going to smell differently on you two. But it's not just body chemistry that affects the way perfume smells. Find out what else changes the way your perfume smells when you keep reading.
If you have a friend or family member who knows her notes, a beautiful bottle of perfume may put you on her "nice" list this holiday season. And with all the gorgeous sets that start cropping up around this time of year, you can give the gift of fragrance along with some extra goodies. Keep clicking for some of 2012's best finds.
Any fine perfumer knows that categorizing scents can be a complicated process. There are florals and chypres, orientals and gourmands, fougère and fresh, and even more subcategories. If you have trouble understanding the lingo, here's how you can expand your aromatic vocabulary.
The first step is to determine the notes. Top notes disappear quickly, middle notes are the heart of the fragrance, and about 30 minutes in, the base notes take over. All of these ingredients combine to reach a heady aroma. And some scents fit more than one fragrance mold. Find out which category is your favorite and which notes to look for when you read more
