My latest post on Now Smell This is a review of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s newest limited edition fragrance, Sharkskin.
You can read it here.
Perfume Review: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Sharkskin
12 Friday Jul 2019
Posted in Perfume Reviews
Author Archives: Jessica
Perfume Reviews: MEMO Siwa and Winter Palace
05 Friday Jul 2019
Posted in Perfume Reviews
My latest post on Now Smell This is a review of Winter Palace and Siwa, two fragrances from the French brand Memo.
You can read it here.
For the 4th of July: Perry Ellis America, 1996
04 Thursday Jul 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Spacious skies, amber waves of grain, the open road…this print advertisement for Perry Ellis America (1996, now discontinued) has everything.
“It’s Big. Really Big.”
I’ve never tried either of these his-and-hers fragrances in their eagle-embossed bottles. I doubt that either of them would have thrilled me as a perfume when they were still available. However, looking back, I can’t help but admire their Clinton-era optimism. So much has changed since the mid-90s.
Wishing you a happy Independence Day, however you’re celebrating it.
“Perfume 101” Class at the Brooklyn Brainery
02 Tuesday Jul 2019
Posted in Classes and Lectures
I’m teaching my one-night “Perfume 101: Fragrance Appreciation” class at the Brooklyn Brainery on Thursday, July 11, 2019. This class is an introduction to the past and present of perfumery, including some classic scents that we’ll sniff together. If you know someone who has a beginner’s interest in this subject, feel free to pass this information along!
Image: Rimmel Perfumery’s “perfumed almanac” of 1861
Birthday Break
24 Monday Jun 2019
Posted in On Blogging
This Wednesday is my birthday. I’ll be taking a day or two off work, and going out on the town in the evenings — so I may not be posting much this week, but I’ll be back soon, older and (I hope) wiser.
Image: Florine Stettheimer, My Birthday Eyegay, 1929
Summer Solstice!
21 Friday Jun 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Tags
Here’s a 1994 advertisement for Ô de Lancome to mark the summer solstice. It’s time to break out those citrusy Eau de Cologne or “eau fraîche” splashes!
(The echo of “Suddenly, Last Summer” in the copy throws me off a bit…but I’m sure Lancôme’s creative team wasn’t counting on us to know much about the plot of Tennessee Williams’s play.)
Passing Fancies ~ June 2019
19 Wednesday Jun 2019
Posted in Passing Fancies
Tags
Reading: Ali Smith’s Autumn and Winter
Audio: Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars
Video: New episodes of Endeavour on Channel 13
Art: Leonora Carrington at Gallery Wendi Norris’s “off-site” NYC space
Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-2019) and Vanderbilt Perfume
17 Monday Jun 2019
Posted in Advertising and Scent
Tags
Gloria Vanderbilt, photographed by Horst P. Horst, 1966
Today we heard that Gloria Vanderbilt has died at the age of 95.
The headlines are interesting — since Vanderbilt lived such a long and kaleidescopic life, every one begins with a different signifier.
Socialite. Heiress. Fashion Icon. Artist. Actress. Anderson Cooper’s Mother. Writer. Designer. Jeans Queen…
Perfume Reviews: Hermetica
14 Friday Jun 2019
Posted in Perfume Reviews
My latest post on Now Smell This is a review of five fragrances from the niche brand Hermetica: Multilotus, Rosefire, Patchoulight, Sandalsun, and Greenlion.
You can read it here.
