Christmas Giveaway: Win a Free Perfume Bottle of your Choice fromTauer Perfumes!

We have a glorious giveaway today on Perfume Shrine, courtesy of niche perfumer Andy Tauer and his Advent calendar project he conducts every year.

The prize for the winner: A full, new perfume bottle at the choice of the winner! The winner can select from ANY fragrance (read reviews of White, Verdant, Auburn, of Zeta, of Une Rose Vermeille & Eau d'Epices, of Carillon pour un Ange,  Une Rose Chypree, Orange Star, Incense Rose, L'Air du desert marocain, Incense Extreme, Reverie au Jardin, Vetiver Dance) that Tauer sells on tauerperfumes.com OR a bottle of Miriam, the Tableau de Parfums scent, OR the Cologne du Maghreb.
What to do: All you need to do is comment on this post, telling us: What was your best scented discovery of 2011? What was your worst perfume experience of 2011?
Conditions: Draw is open till to everyone from all over the world till Wednesday 14th, 8am. . Draw is now closed, thanks for entering! The prize is shipped directly to the winner by Tauer perfumes.
I will announce the winner sometime tomorrow, stay tuned and check these pages again.

 Best of luck to everyone!!

Robert Pattinson's of Twilight Saga Favourite Fragrance

In this endless roller-coaster of what celebrities do and what they like, when said celebrities are not issuing a fragrance themselves, we're busy asking what perfume celebrities are wearing. In the case of Robert Pattinson, notably Edward in the Twilight films series, the question isn't exactly a simple one.

Reportedly the rising Brit star has a thing for the artistically crafted Serge Lutens line of fragrances with the conceptual rationale behind it. He rotates between them, taking care to completely empty one bottle of cologne before buing the next one. I guess he's a serial monogamist so to speak, in what regards perfume choice at least.

Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian on Video: A Nose for Scents

Thanks to sillage/pol for bringing this to my attention

Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y: new fragrance

"It comes from my dad's nickname for my mum: 'Linda I love you,'" explained designer Stella McCartney of her forthcoming scent, dubbed L.I.L.Y., according to WWD. But there's more to the christening; rather more prosaicaly, the perfume's name also pays tribute to lily of the valley (and not lily), a favourite blossom of Stella's mother, Linda McCartney.
The floral fragrance however is set to display an earthier, almost masculine side to with truffle extract at the top and oak moss at the base. On the composition Stella McCartney says: "You can't grow moss — you can't plant it unless it wants to grow. I find that quite sexy and sinister, to contrast with the lily of the valley."

The bottle of the fragrance is steeped in nostalgia as well, apparently: English cut crystal being a nod to the vases and glassware found in the country home Stella grew up in. The crustal part is encased into a metallic base for a modern edge.
The new L.I.L.Y fragrance by Stella McCartney, coupled with ancillary products (shower gel and body lotion) will debut in the UK in late January and internationally in March 2012.

Mona di Orio: 1969-2011

I can't describe the feeling I got upon hearing the perfumer Mona di Orio has just died. Totally unexpected! Her untimely passing at the young age of 42 came about during or after surgery, according to reportage.
My deepest condolences to her family and friends and deep sympathies to all perfumistadom mourning for such a young loss.
The best way she can go on living is on our skin, by wearing her perfumes; like my beloved Mona di Orio Carnation, her Nuit Noire, her Nombres d'Or Musc.

Born in 1969 in Annecy, France, of an Italian father and a Spanish mother, Mona was famously a protégée of legendary perfumer Edmond Roudnitska. She went on from there to form her own brand in 2004, Mona di Orio parfums.

The official Facebook page and her partner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen state: "Today, completely unexpected and leaving us in great sorrow, our great inspirer, friend, colleague and name giver to her great loves, her beautifull parfum creations, MONA DI ORIO has passed away.
We are shocked and deeply saddened and speechless but will still help realize her dreams.
Team Mona di Orio Parfums"

Read older interviews with Mona di Orio on Osmoz and at The Perfume Magazine.