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View Gwen Stefani's L Commercial

BellaSugar — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:33:00 -0700

I just found the new spot for L By Gwen Stefani, and just like Sarah Jessica's Covet commercial, there is whispering. (Weird, isn't it, how fragrance ads often involve whispering?) Upon third or fourth viewing, I was impressed by the consistent branding-check out the shape of the pool and the shape of the bottle. What do you think of it?

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Coming Soon: L by Gwen Stefani Perfume

BellaSugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:55:33 -0700

The first ad for Gwen Stefani's new fragrance, called L, has hit the 'Net, featuring Gwen herself looking quite a lot like "Cherish"-era Madonna. (Speaking of which, whose pale look do you prefer?)

The fragrance debuts exclusively at Nordstrom July 1 and rolls out in full this September. You can now pre-order the L by Gwen Stefani Spray at Nordstrom. The scent is available in a 1.7-ounce bottle ($55) or a 3.4-ounce bottle ($70). Though I haven't had the chance to smell it yet, it sounds quite fitting for Gwen: a floral blend that's both crisp and feminine and masculine and musky. To get a glimpse of the bottle, read more

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Beauty Byte: Gwen Stefani Creates A Perfume

BellaSugar — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:44:33 -0700

On Monday afternoon, Gwen Stefani detached herself from Kingston for a short time to unveil her very first fragrance called L (the L stands for love). She and Coty Prestige collaborated to create this scent, and together, they had a launch party at the Soho House in NYC where two Olympian swimmers performed water ballet.

The perfume is made from water hyacinth, white freesia, pear leaves, violet leaves, jasmine petals, rose, lily of the valley, sweet pea, orange blossom, frangipani blossom, peach skin, heliotrope flower and musk.

It will be available at Nordstrom in July and in other retail doors in September in two sizes: 1.7 oz for $55 and 3.4 oz for $70. There will also be a body lotion for $32, a shower gel for $30, and a solid perfume for $42.

The focal point of the bottle is a large gold cap of interlocking Ls, which pulls off to reveal an aqua interior. The underbelly of the cap has Rastafarian colors, red, yellow and green and the perfume has an aqua actuator.

The packaging of the box is a cheetah print cartoon with a black stripe and a stylized L. The inside of the box contains the tag line from the fragrance: "I want you all over me." This is a lyric from her song, "Crash."

It is said that she is working on five fragrances, but L will be the classic scent.

To read about L and what Gwen has to say about her fragrance, read more

Both print and TV ads are in the works and they will both star Gwen. Apparently the TV shoot was quite chilly, which took place in a cold swimming pool from 9:00am to 7:00pm and made the taping a bit difficult. The print ads were shot in Ibiza and will begin running in magazines in September.

According to Gwen,

"It's sort of amazing to go from selling fragrances (that's what she did before she became a musician) to having one of my own. I certainly never expected it when I was selling Borghese and Ultima II at the Broadway!

I wanted this fragrance to be light, fresh and clean. I want people to say, 'I want to smell like that.' I'm kind of embarrassed by how much I enjoyed creating this fragrance. It's another way to say who I am. I love this one so much I'm not sure what I'm going to come up with for the next one."

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A Few Beauty Tidbits From Gwen at Spring Fashion Week

BellaSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:20:12 -0700

It's 2010 Spring Fashion Week, and one of the first designers to show her collection was L.A.M.B.'s Gwen Stefani. For her show, the models wore MAC makeup on their faces, Vaseline's soon-to-be-released Sheer Infusion Body Lotion ($6.25 to $9) on their skin, and a trendy, opaque white shade of nail polish from Dashing Diva called NYC Fleet Week ($8). Lucky for us, Pop caught up with Gwen in NYC and asked her about her popular Harajuku Lovers line, for which Snow Bunnies ($30) just launched.

"Sunshine Cuties is coming out in the Spring," Gwen dished. And by the sound of it, there's something else up Gwen's perfume sleeve. "There's always something in the works. I do really enjoy doing the fragrances," she added. I guess we'll have to wait and see what she's got cooking in the scent department. In the meantime, I'm off to get my white nail polish trend on. How about you?

Photo by Ann Lawlor

Love It or Hate It: A Bevy of Bows at Marc by Marc Jacobs

BellaSugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Hmm, let's see. Where else have we seen '80s-influenced styles on the runways thus far? We caught a glimpse of the totally awesome decade with Derek Lam's rainbow of eye colors, Gwen Stefani's rocker chic looks at L.A.M.B., and we even experienced a touch of it from the twisted headbands at Charlotte Ronson. Let's add Marc by Marc Jacobs to the growing list of rad styles, where the famous designer featured these big, bold, and completely bodacious bows on the Marc by Marc Jacobs runway for Spring 2010. If you were a child of the 1980s, I'm sure you can't help but think Madonna-meets-Minnie Mouse, right? You can always do your own hair-inspired hair bow, but when it comes to the material-girlness of it all, are you feeling these cheeky headpieces, or are they a bit too colorfully cockeyed for your liking?

Coming Soon: M by Mariah Carey Fragrance

BellaSugar — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:15:47 -0700

This fall, Mariah Carey and Gwen Stefani will be going head-to-head on the charts-the fragrance charts, that is. As we reported last week, Gwen's launching L by Gwen Stefani and now Mariah's preparing to debut M by Mariah Carey. (What's with the one-consonant names, ladies?)

Women's Wear Daily reports that M will be a "floriental":

It has top notes of marshmallow and sea breeze accord, a heart of Living Tahitian Tiare and gardenia and a drydown of sheer amber, patchouli and Moroccan incense.

The eau de parfum will come in three sizes ($38–$58), while a .5 oz parfum bottle ($175) and a body lotion ($28) offer other ways to get Carey-ed away. To get a look at the bottle, just read more
What do you think of the bottle design? Will you be spritzing Mariah's fragrance or Gwen's (or both)?

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Gwen Stefani's Perfume Dolls Are 可愛い!

BellaSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:00:38 -0700

OK, no matter what you think about Gwen Stefani's tendency to fetishize anything and everything Asian, you've gotta admit: Her new perfume bottles are pret-ty darn 可愛い - that's kawaii, which is Japanese for "cute." The quintet comprises the Harajuku Lovers fragrance collection - more details here - and the scents are aimed toward a younger crowd than her first scent, L.

View 5 Photos ›

But how do these scents smell? Are you sure you really want to know? If so, read more.

The Harajuku Lovers perfumes ($25–$45) are trickling into stores, and the adorable packaging draws shoppers. Last night I went to Nordstrom to check them out, and a Gwen fan decked out in Harajuku Lovers clothing - we'll call her Megafan - was giddily spritzing her way through the fragrances. I began by sniffing the bottles, and after a few seconds of enduring each fruity-floral mess, I couldn't help but blurt, "I'm sorry, but these are not good."

I thought Megafan was gonna cut me, but to my surprise, she agreed. "Yeah," she said disappointedly. "I'm surprised that they're this bad. I liked her first fragrance, but this is a letdown." We went on sniffing, and then we bravely tried them on our skin. At first spritz, each gave off a burst of alcohol; when the juice landed on my wrist, it made a small scratch sting and burn. "All I smell is alcohol," Meganfan said with a frown.

She's right: These start with a shout of alcohol, then finish with a whisper of actual fragrance. Of the five, Love and Music are the most engaging. The former is a pleasant (if unremarkable) soft floral tempered with vanilla and musk, and the latter is a slightly fruitier take on the same formula. They aren't must-tries in my book, and as for the others? The coconut in G has the grace and subtlety of, well, a coconut dropping on your head. And while the "lollipop accord" of Lil' Angel does indeed mimic candy, who wants to smell like a Jolly Rancher? I could not bring myself to try Baby on my skin, but Megafan declared it the worst of the bunch.

Look, it's clear that these fragrances are meant for a younger consumer; they don't take many risks, they're overly sweet, and the packaging is begging to be placed on a 14-year-old's dresser. But considering how L opened up nicely, it's surprising that these scents hit the skin with a thud. Apparently I wasn't the only one left disappointed; Megafan sadly looked at the cute bottles one last time before throwing her spritzed paper blotters in the trash and walking away.

Do You Buy Discounted Fragrance?

BellaSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:02:16 -0800

Yesterday I stopped by Loehmann's for a little bargain hunting. No great hidden gems were to be had, but the place was positively overflowing with eaux de toilette. L by Gwen Stefani, Vera Wang Princess, even Prada - hundreds of bottles of perfume. Unfortunately, they were barely discounted, with Marc Jacobs Daisy costing only $3 less than retail. I passed, but I'm wondering: Do you buy discounted fragrance at off-price retailers, or do you skip it?

Sunday Giveaway! Sephora Scent Sampler Best Sellers For Her

BellaSugar — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:30:00 -0800

Do you want to try some popular fragrances, but don't have the cash flow (or time, for that matter) to purchase and test out all of the full-on sized bottles? Well, Sephora's got a prize you're going to love.

Each day this week, we've been giving away Sephora Scent Sampler Best Sellers For Her, a collection of ten smaller versions of much loved fragrances for the ladies. Better yet? Pick out your favorite from the bunch because you'll also receive a gift voucher of equal value to go toward a full-sized bottle of one of the fragrances included in this kit. Basically, it's like 11 items in one! See above link for full details.

Here's what's included in this try-me-out kit:

Aquolina Pink Sugar
Bulgari Omnia Crystalline
Calvin Klein Euphoria
Givenchy Very Irresistible Givenchy Sensual
Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B.
Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit
Marc Jacobs Daisy
Philosophy Amazing Grace
Stella McCartney Stella
Vera Wang Princess

To enter, just take the quiz by 5 p.m. PST today, and one winner will be selected at random. Your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just on taking the quiz after you are logged in. You do, however, need to be a TeamSugar member to enter. So if you're not already one, register for an account. One quiz entry per person; all repeat quizzes will be ignored. Prizes can be shipped to US destinations only. Remember: You must be logged in to TeamSugar for your entry to count. For the complete rules, click here. Good luck!

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Saturday Giveaway! Sephora Scent Sampler Best Sellers For Her

BellaSugar — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:30:00 -0800

Whenever I test fragrances at the store, all of the spritzing and sniffing always has me a bit overwhelmed. How about you? Well, thanks to our friends at Sephora, your nose will get a little break, and you'll smell rather nice, too.

Each day this week, we're giving away Sephora Scent Sampler Best Sellers For Her, a collection of ten smaller versions of much loved fragrances for the ladies. Better yet? Pick out your favorite from the bunch because you'll also receive a gift voucher of equal value to go toward a full-sized bottle of one of the fragrances included in this kit. Basically, it's like 11 items in one! See above link for full details.

Here's what's included in this try-me-out kit:

Aquolina Pink Sugar
Bulgari Omnia Crystalline
Calvin Klein Euphoria
Givenchy Very Irresistible Givenchy Sensual
Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B.
Lavanila Vanilla Grapefruit
Marc Jacobs Daisy
Philosophy Amazing Grace
Stella McCartney Stella
Vera Wang Princess

Take the quiz