The winner of the draw...

...for the goodie bag is Nadja Sand. Congrats and please email me using Contact with your shipping data so I can have this out to you very soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

"Odors decide whether I should stay or leave"

Estee Lauder Honeysuckle Splash: fragrance review & history

Estée Lauder Honeysuckle Splash is another forgotten launch in the Lauder stable, much like Celadon and Pavillon, this time conceived by Aerin Lauder (the grand-daughter of Estée) and launched in 2000 with a mock vintage look. Although totally modern in literal terms, the bottle is a retro pastel pistachio green, as if reborn from the Technicolor 1950s, exactly similar to the one designed for Youth Dew, Aerin's grandmother's classic, designed 46 years previously. The name alone is full of promise: how wonderful would it be to be able to splash on one's self that delectable but elusive essence that fresh honeysuckle vines exude when you walk by on a warm, late spring evening?
The fragrance contrary to that dreamy picture was merely posing as an ancillary product to the main attraction, that season's makeup collection, code-named "Playful".  Oh marketing of feeble faith!

The delightful blend of Honeysuckle Splash is deeply floral with the nectarous quality that honeysuckle is famed for (to the point that children in Europe sometimes suckle on the flowers) and a more lasting impression than other lovely honeysuckle fragrances in the market, such as Annick Goutal's Chevrefeuille and L'Erbolario's Caprifoglio. In Lauder's take, Honeysuckle Splash, the pink and white flower with the honeyed petals is allied to the dependable note of orange blossom for extending the white flower note and further accented with citrusy notes of mandarin, the smooth elegance of neroli and the romanticism of white rose. The slight suntan oil impression lurking in the back hints at the presence of ylang ylang and maybe a smidgeon of sweet vanilla. The irresistible elevation of the fragrance into the truly worthwhile however is accounted to the richness of the orange blossom note and the neroli essence, with what seems like a spattering of linden as well, which opens the bouquet and makes Honeysuckle Splash poised between clean and subtly intimate, with a realistic nuance of lush, waxy, honeyed petals; a very flattering reference to a woman who wants to be flirted by a man like a flower by a probing bumble-bee. Typically for a Lauder it had potent sillage and great lasting power.

Even though many young women are hesitant to give in to floral fragrances in the idea that it makes them look either more mature than they want or somewhat old-fashioned, Honeysuckle Splash has enough contemporary sensibility to not alienate its natural demographic. It's a mystery why Honeysuckle Splash was discontinued shortly after its release; unless it was a limited edition to begin with, though I don't recall this being mentioned at the time. Like one woman put it: "I haven't heard of any plans to bring this product back but if they ever do I will be first in line to stock up". It was around a period where another series of fragrances was issued (this time a definite limited edition thing), called Pleasures in the Garden. But for that another post, another day.

Samples Giveaway

No post today and my drawers are filled with little vials, so you know what's coming: a giveaway of a goody bag of fragrant stuff for our readers. To enter the draw all you need to do is enter a comment saying what is your latest scented discovery/rediscovery or dislike (whatever applies or all three).
Draw is open internationally till Saturday 27th  midnight. The winner will be announced on Monday.

Top 10 Best-Selling Feminine Fragrances for First Quarter of 2013 (USA)

How do people decide what to buy? The million dollar question for the marketing and research & development sectors in the fragrance industry isn't answered by previous best-selling perfume lists but the latter do give a glimpse into how the preferences shift in the x and y axis (x for time, y for market) and therefore in a way help shape the future market. Continuing therefore on our posts on Top Popular Fragrances for 2012 (France) , and Bestseller perfumes for women for 2011 (USA) today I bring you a collection of the most popular fragrances in the mainstream circuit in America. As you can see there are unshakeable mainstays, which have at the very least through sheer bulk of sales earned the badge of modern classic, and there are newcomers, usually propelled to the very front of the line in part thanks to a major advertising launch that involves famous, familiar faces fronting the campaigns.

via Ade/Pinterest

Gucci advert for Guilty featuring actor Chris Evans

In no particular order these are the best-selling fragrances in department stores across the US right now:

J'Adore (Christian Dior)
Guilty (Gucci)
Flowerbomb (Viktor & Rolf)
La Vie est Belle (Lancôme)
Brit (Burberry)
Angel (Thierry Mugler)
No.5 (Chanel)
Miss Dior [modern version] (Dior)
Light Blue (Dolce & Gabbana)
Coco Mademoiselle (Chanel)

Source: picasaweb.google.com via Ade on Pinterest

Honorable mentions for Hanae Mori (Hanae Mori) and Viva La Juicy (Juicy Couture) and there is an augmenting segment for Jimmy Choo, Chloe, Lanvin, Coach and Marc Jacobs thanks to the new fragrant launches.

Burberry is a strong player in both the US and international market with a 53% increase in its sales total (calculated at 83,1 millions of euros) for the first trimester of 2013 according to Interparfums who hold the license for the brand.

What do you think about this list? Do you smell these fragrances often in your midst? Share in the comments.