Britney had told us quite a while ago, in her lyrics, "I used to think I had the answers to everything, but now I know that life doesn't always go my way. Feels like I'm caught in the middle, that's when I realize I'm not a girl not yet a woman. All I need is time, a moment that is mine while I'm in between." We chose not to listen, dismissing her line as a vanity project... what a misfortune.
And that's probably our snobbism which saw her fragrant offerings with contempt in our quest for the pearl beyond compare, and it was our loss in the end. In this case, Fantasy The Naughty Remix went unsung for far too long. Like the two faces of Janus, it launched as the "dark" variation, while Fantasy The Nice Remix was supposed to be the tamer one.
Thankfully one can see in the end, even when temporarily blinded.
And what I can now see is a buttery, softly musky, fluffy moment suspended in time amidst shredded white chocolate while gazing in the mirror of my early youth's remembrance. A curvy figure dancing with pink pom-pom kitten-eared slippers in front of the whole body length mirror, holding a brush as a makeshift microphone. Suspended between the teenager vanilla expectations and the powdery halo of becoming a fully fledged young woman out to stride in the world with confidence. Not a girl, not yet a woman.
A wonderful cheapie gourmand that holds the sugar in check to reveal a coziness that one nostalgizes about plentifully when older. And the fragrance lasts much more satisfactorily than a simple teenager body spray, being a solid eau de parfum seeing me through a full work day. Those how loved Fantasy will find a small undercurrent of the original underneath this variation.
Currently I see Fantasy The Naughty Remix sold as a gift set of 30ml eau de parfum with complimentary body lotion and rollerball for around 25 Euros or less on Ebay.
Jennifer Aniston went topless for the promotion of her new scent Lola Vie (basically LOL @ vie, which means "life" in French, as we had pointed out when first announcing the news on the scent). The campaign was shot at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico which happens to be Jennifer's favourite spot. The New York Daily News mentions: "In a series of sexy black-and-white shots to promote her new scent, Lolavie, the 41-year-old actress looks stunning as she poses topless, covering her chest with just her arms while wearing nothing but a white skirt hung low on her hips." The international campaign starts on Wednesday at Harrods department store in London where she will meet and greet customers and sign bottles for them. Personally I don't think the campaign looks half bad. It's suggestive but not vulgar. What do you think?
EDIT TO ADD: A reader informs me that despite aspirations, the name was dropped in favour of simply "Jennifer Aniston" due to concerns over the already existing Lola by Marc Jacobs.
Britney Spears on the other hand isn't known for her non vulgarized image. In fact I'd bet there are good bucks to be made in actually condoning a vulgarized image, for some reason! Anyway, the troubled Pop princess has a lucrative business in the perfume segment nevertheless with 8 fragrances under her belt and counting...The 9th one, Radiance is set to launch this coming September 2010 and is purported to be a ‘stylish’ perfume. Encased in a faux rhinestone encrusted bottle, the girly design is blue and pink. Radiance by Britney Spears will smell like a bunch of ‘wild berries and soft, dewy petals’ which will include tuberose, jasmine, orange flower and iris. According to reports the new scent Radiance is set to be released in September. Prices? It will retail for $63 for 50 mL; $78 for 100 mL. Where? At Ebay, Sears and Pharmaprix/Shopper’s Crug Mart. Possibly the new fragrance will tie with a new album set to be released this year according to inside gossip. We'll see. In the TV commercial, Spears sneaks out of a theatre to avoid a waiting crowd of photographers and fans. She then visits a fortune-teller, who asks the singer if she wants her to tell her about her future. “No thanks, I choose my own destiny,” replies Spears. (we will update when the clip becomes available)