Jourdan Dunn in Yves Saint Laurent Fragrance Ad

s: models.com

With actor Vincent Cassel.
La Nuit de L'Homme Fragrance S/S 09

Halle Berry Unveils "Halle by Halle Berry"

photo: cinematicpassions/wordpress

Not a very imaginative name is it?

I'm a recovering perfume junkie. When my husband and I lived in Europe a few years back was when the addiction was at its worst. Europeans are crazy about fragrance and we lived literally a stones throw from four different perfume boutiques, not counting Sephora. I spent hours perusing those isles looking for my "signature" scent. In the end, I settled on Un Jardin sur la Nil (Hermes) as my summer scent and Ungaro's Diva for the fall but I still like to dabble with other scents as the mood strikes. 

Now that we're back in the States, I haven't kept up with perfume news as much so I was surprised to read the other day that Coty has developed a new fragrance with Halle Berry that will debut this March. It's called "Halle by Halle Berry" and according to Lucky magazine has notes of pear blossoms, fig leaves, amber and sandalwood which piques my interest a bit. 

The actress claims to have been working on every aspect of the frag for the past two years and has called it her "second baby." 

The bottle isn't very impressive. There are probably a half dozen other perfumes on the marked now (including an Estee Lauder scent) that have the exact same bottle.  The lettering is typical Coty with "Halle" etched on the glass in that classic "Stetson" font.  

"Halle" will retail for just under $30 and be sold at drugstores and retailers like JC Penny. I'm really looking forward to seeing the accompanying ad campaign. With all the celebrity fragrances on the market, it's a shame that more deals aren't inked with non-white celebs.  The only ones in recent memory that come to mind are Jennifer Hudson's deal with Avon and Naomi Campbell's line of frags which I haven't seen Stateside in years. 

I would just die if someone like Grace Jones came out with a perfume. I can't even begin to imagine what that would smell like. Base notes of latex, black orchid and alligator?

Halle is also on the upcoming Essence Magazine for like the 400th time. Not much to say about that except that I kind of like the cover photo this go round. One doesn't even have to open Essence to know exactly how every article will read.

Do you have a favorite fragrance? Who would you like to see come out with a perfume?

Erykah Badu for Tom Ford's White Patchouli

Gorgeous and aspirational. I normally hate the smell of pathchouli but I really need to smell this juice after eyeballing at this Erykah Badu advertisement. It was shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and will debut in September issues of fashion and lifestyle magazines. I like this so much better than those sweaty body part ads for Tom Ford's other frag. Damn, I can't stop looking at this picture.

Image source: kimair

Launch of Safi Fragrance by Nyakio Grieco in Los Angeles

I love the range of body products put out by Nyakio Grieco. Now, she's added a perfume to the collection called Safi. I have yet to come across a description of the scent so I'll have to wait and see if it becomes available locally. It should be available soon online at Apothia.

Erykah Badu in a Bottle

According to Vogue.com.uk, Erykah Badu will be the face of Tom Ford's next fragrance. Let me tell you that those are two names that I never thought I'd be typing in the same sentence.

I haven't really been a fan of Ford since he left Gucci and as lovely as his first fragrance is, I though the ad campaign was unappealing. In spite of that, I am looking forward to seeing what these two come up with. Erykah is as unique and intoxication as the black orchid for which Ford's last fragrance was named and self-promotion is Ford's middle name -- I'm sure the end product will be provocative. I just hope it's in a good way.

Stay tuned...

Edit: Here is a link to a video of Erykah discussing the campaign from Youtube. (Thanks Camille!)

Photo credit: Dallas News

So...what happened to "True Star" ?

So Beyonce is shilling for Armani now which is a big big step up from Tommy Hilfiger.

Yep, the old girl is everywhere right now but I'm not mad at her, because a sister has got to get her paper. Besides, she's not out there drunk driving or flashing her ladybits at paparazzi so she can't be all bad.

Does it seem a little odd to anyone else that she's out with a new fragrance so soon after her contract with Hilfiger ended?
I bet her pulse points still smell like True Star. I bet Kelly and Michelle get her left over crates of the fragrance for Christmas this year.