Now Smell This celebrates its fifth birthday today. It figures that today of all days, the blog went down in the wee morning hours, and so this post is much later than I thought it would be. Now that we’re back, a slice of virtual cake for everyone, and I hope you’ll forgive us while we indulge in a little navel-gazing.

In early 2005, I was an avid — ok, obsessive — perfume fan. At that time, if you wanted to keep track of all the sorts of things that a perfumista wants to keep track of — what new perfumes were coming out? who might be having a great sale? — you had your work cut out for you. You could read all the magazines, you could slog through all the posts on the various forums, and you could check out Women’s Wear Daily on Friday. There was one French website that kept a simple list of upcoming perfumes, and that was helpful, but by and large there was no one place, online or off, that collected and organized all the news.

In the meantime, I was also discovering blogs, and in February 2005 I started looking around for a perfume blog. I couldn’t find one that was active, and that was that: I figured that as long as I was wasting so many hours collecting information, I might as well do something with it. I spent a few days setting up a blog (I wish I’d kept a screen shot so I could show you how ugly — and how pink! — it was), and on Tuesday, February 8 I made my first post…

Read the rest of this article »

According to market researcher NPD, sales of so-called prestige fragrances — typically the high-end, designer scents sold by department stores — fell 10 percent in 2009 from the prior year. This was a sharp acceleration of the 6 percent decline from 2007 to 2008, and a 1 percent decline from 2006 to 2007.

With a bad situation turning worse, the fragrance manufacturers — who are often secretive, and most certainly fiercely competitive — are banding together to do a national campaign to encourage men and women who use perfumes and other scented products, to do so more often.

— From Can One Ad Change Everything for the Fragrance Industry? at CNBC. The article discusses the Fragrance Foundation's new One Drop campaign; if you haven't yet seen the website, check out One Mighty Drop.

Calvin Klein will launch Eternity Aqua, a new woody aquatic fragrance for men, this spring. The new scent is “about effortless elegance and refinement, but with a little zest”…

Read the rest of this article »

Deal at b-glowing: spend $90 and get a free gift valued at $48 (items from Umi & Lalicious) using coupon code FEBLUV, good through 2/15 or while supplies last.

New at miomia: Histoires de Parfums Moulin Rouge pre-order. The first 10 customers will also get a free Moulin Rouge keychain and a Histoires de Parfums 1969 roll-on.

Deal at rich-hippie: buy one get one free. No coupon code needed, just put the name of the cheaper fragrance in the comments box in all caps. Offer good through 2/14.

Today we’re helping Edward, who is looking for a sophisticated but reserved fragrance, preferably niche. His ideal scent will “evoke curiosity and interest” but be modest in sillage: it should not be a “showy” fragrance. Edward wears mostly women’s perfumes, but does buy the occasional unisex. He’s willing to spend up to $500 to get just what he wants, but he’d prefer not to shop online.

Here is what we know about Edward:

He’s a researcher in his mid-30s.

He loves hosting Friday night dinner with a few close friends.

He always goes for the finer things in life, and that holds true for food and fragrances.

Edwards admires the work of perfumers Olivia Giacobetti and Jean-Claude Ellena…

Read the rest of this article »

You don’t have to be obsessive-compulsive to worry about germs these days. It’s cold season, it’s flu season, and worse yet, now we have to fear the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”) too. Accordingly, sales of antibacterial soaps and hand gels have risen dramatically in recent months. However, there are some problems with mass-market antibacterial products: the ones with triclosan pose possible health concerns, and the ones with too much alcohol leave your hands dry and cracked, and thus vulnerable to all kinds of irritation and infection.

For these reasons, not to mention the harsh window-cleaner smell of so many drugstore antibacterial products, I’ve long preferred alternatives like EO Hand Sanitizer. Lately, I’m even more pleased with the new Hand Purifier from Intelligent Nutrients. It’s a gel product (rather than a liquid that runs down your wrists and onto the front of your winter coat when you try to apply it on the go), and it feels like a lightweight hand lotion…

Read the rest of this article »

Thymes has launched Ambersweet Orange, a new fragrance for women:

Radiate simple and wholesome goodness with the harmonizing aromas of Ambersweet Orange…

Read the rest of this article »

Deal at yvesrocher: take $5 off orders of $30 or more, plus get free shipping on orders of $25 or more, with coupon code BIGGAME, good through 2/7.

The 2009 UK Jasmine Awards (“celebrating excellence in fragrance journalism”) ceremony was held on 3 February, 2010. This year’s winners include:

Jasmine Literary Award (magazine): Tony Marcus for “Notorious Leather”, July issue of 10 magazine…

Read the rest of this article »