Summer European-Exclusives Giveaway!

I'm soaking up what sunshine I can gather and what laissez-faire I can fathom so that I'm fortified for the adventures of the looming rentrée.The lapping of the waves on the shore, the faint hint of watermelon with salty nuances smelled in the background, the driftwood on the beach, the changing moods of the summery clouds passing over the mountains afar, shading and lighting the distance into an undulating bosom... The fried calamari over the squid with spinach and the joy of artisan-made gelato in flavors such as "bacio" (i.e. kiss). Leaping unto the risen sun high in the sky seizing what's there of the day, backpedaling into the night listening to the crickets monotonous song...That's life, my friend.

But I have not forgotten about readers wanting their little piece of excitement. Therefore a giveaway, a fun one hopefully, as it involves surprise European-only perfume samples from my drawers (which are set to overflowing, ssssst).

Enter a comment saying what you'd like to read more of on these pages -come the time to be back and jolly- and I will pick a random winner. Draw is open till Sunday 26th midnight. Draw is now closed, thanks for participating!
Prize will be sent in a few days after the winner is announced early next week.

Le Labo Re-introduces their Bath Line

According to the news sent to me:
"After being notoriously sold out of our perfumed body line for a few months, we decided (for some obscure reason) to change our look and go brown with our bottles. Our revamped packaging will hold our already existing body lotion and massage and bath oil, along with our long-awaited perfumed shower gel. Now you can get fresh and fragrant at the same time, with any of the twelve scents available in our collection."

 The E-store can be found on this link.

New Celebrity Perfume: Amy Childs

"I'd love every celebrity to wear my perfume, because I know that they'd absolutely love it. Victoria Beckham definitely needs to wear my perfume. I'm going to definitely send her a bottle. Kate Middleton as well, I think she'd like it. She's glam." The fragrance is called Amy Childs (fashioned after The Only Way is Essex 22-year old starlet who also starred in Celebrity Big Brother). Amy said she had been urged to launch her own fragrance. "It was loads of people saying, 'Amy bring out your own perfume'. I love smelling good and everyone was saying bring out your own perfume so I did," she said. Amy launched her new venture at the Aura nightclub, in London's Mayfair. [news source]

Toronto Fragrance meetup #7 - Sunday August 19th 5pm at GUERLAIN - Come Join the Fumeheads!

The meeting up of fellow fumeheads (an affectionate term for perfume lovers) is always cause for celebration. The greeting process alone makes for a sudden burst of cognition and the process accounts for delightful material to recount later on. On this note, a Toronto, Canada meet-up of fumeheads is organized by Daniel Joffe for this coming Sunday, so if you're close by, don't miss a chance to get there for a meet & greet. Date: SUNDAY August 19th, 2012
Location: Guerlain Boutique, 110 Bloor Street West, (416) 929 6114. Valerie is the friendly store manager.
Time: 5-7pm, and feel free to come and go as you please.
To Bring: Yourself and significant others or friends/family that have an interest in fragrance and skin care, any industry books or magazines, etc.
Original Thread for more details can be found here:http://www.basenotes.net/threads/308254-7-Toronto-Fragrance-meetup-Sunday-August-19th-5pm-at-GUERLAIN-Come-Join-Us!

Another Serge Lutens Perfume Joins the Exclusive Line & Other News on Lutens Paris Exclusives Available in the US

It was predetermined fate...

We had talked about several Lutens fragrances joining the Paris exclusive line almost two years ago. Slowly but surely they all made their way over there from their oblong exports to the beautiful bell jars. The last one to do so is Chypre Rouge, officially confirmed as the latest to join the Paris exclusive bell jars.

On the other hand, news is going around the perfume community that the Paris exclusive line of Serge Lutens fragrances is maybe coming closer to the USA customers than ever before: Non necessitating a Paris trip but rather a phone call to Barney's at New York (dedicated tel.line: 212.833.2425) which would be stocking the till now unattainable. Good news for discerning US customers, an open question regarding the changing business practice of the house. Remains to be seen if and how this will change the perfume scenery.

$280-300 for 75ml of perfume, exclusively at Barneys New York, 660 Madison Avenue [source]

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: the latest Lutens perfume Santal Majuscule review, Serge Lutens fragrance reviews & news