How to Tell If You've Put on Too Much Perfume or Cologne

We all know that person whose "signature scent" you can smell from across the room. But what if you're the one who's stinking everyone out with your heavy handed application of perfume or cologne? Here are a few tips to make sure you're applying just the right amount.

Too much fragrance not only is a turnoff, it can give people migraines or even allergic reactions. The problem is that some people don't have a very good sense of smell or they've become desensitized to the fragrance they wear every day. According to TLC, wearing too much perfume can also be an indicator of depression.

The site offers these tips to tell if you're putting on too much:

To tell if you're a potential offender, put on your perfume as usual, wait five seconds, then put a tissue on that spot. The tissue shouldn't stick. Time can help remedy the situation, but a quicker way to cut down on the odor is to put rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and apply that on the areas where you put the fragrance.

Get into the habit of not wearing too much perfume in the first place and knowing where to apply it. Instead of putting it directly onto your skin, spray one blast upwards in the air in front of you and walk through the mist it creates. Choose a couple of places, such as your chest and neck and when applying, hold the bottle a good 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) away from your body when you spray. If you're wearing a heavier scent, try applying it just to the lower part of your body, like a quick spritz behind the knees. The scent won't rise as quickly and be as irritating to others. You'll find the proper balance soon enough, and your scent will draw people closer rather than repel them.P

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Fragrance Company Apologizes For Airing Paul Walker Commercial

A fragrance company has come under fire for airing an ad starring Paul Walker less than a day after he died. The company, Davidoff, ran the ad during a UK soccer match on Sunday (December 1). Walker died in a car crash on Saturday afternoon (November 30).

Paul Walker At The Fast and The Furious Premiere in London.

After the mistake, the company issued a statement about their long-term relationship with Walker.
"We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family, friends and fans around the world," CEO Michele Scannavini said to E! News. "We are working quickly to suspend all of our ads featuring Paul out of respect to his family and friends. We apologize for any upset that may have been caused by those that were aired subsequent to his death."

The ad aired at the soccer game was shot years ago, but Walker continued to work with the company. He was involved in a photo shoot for the brand as recently as September.

The partnership showed Walker's charitable side, and his love for the ocean. According to the Huffington Post, the actor has studied marine biology and even appeared on Shark Week earlier this year.

Paul Walker On The Catwalk

"Coty, Inc., the global beauty company that has worked closely with Paul Walker, is saddened to hear the news of his sudden death," the company said in a statement. "As the face of Davidoff Cool Water, Paul contributed to the National Geographic 'Love the Ocean' campaign, whose mission is to protect the ocean. His talent, generosity and passion for giving back were admirable."
Walker died while at another charity event - a fundraiser for the Philippine typhoon. The 40-year-old left behind a daughter, Meadow.

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What Comes Out of a Whale and Goes Into Perfume? Ambergris!

 

A New Zealand dealer holds a chunk of ambergris (or “gray amber”). Photo by Christopher Kemp

Literature is full of quests. Jason hunted for the golden fleece. Dorothy followed the yellow brick road to find her way home to Kansas. Christopher Kemp, you might say, went looking for a piece of whale poop, which in its most refined state is the worth-its-weight-in-gold substance known as ambergris. The material is used as a fixative in perfumery; it stabilizes and anchors the other notes, as the ingredients of a fragrance are known, and adds an underlying basso profundo of animalic mustiness.

Five years ago, Kemp, who is a molecular biologist at Michigan State, turned on the television while living in New Zealand and was intrigued by a story about a mysterious lump of material the size of a 44 gallon drum that had washed on shore. The initial speculation—that it was ambergris and worth a fortune— touched off a civilian scrum as locals hacked off pieces and carted their “payload” home. It turned out to be a cast-off piece of lard. The incident was the irritant that produced a pearl of a book— Floating Gold—A Natural (&Unnatural) History of Ambergris published by the University of Chicago Press. We asked Kemp to tell us more.

Many people must have seen the broadcast about the mysterious lump that washed ashore, caused a gold rush-like stampede, and turned out to be lard instead of ambergris, but you are the only one who wrote a book about it? How do you account for that?

I’d never heard of ambergris, but when I turned the TV on [and saw the news report] it must have burrowed into my subconscious. Every time I went to the beach I would look and say: ‘Is that it?’ Usually you Google something and get all your answers in ten minutes. Ambergris resisted that ten-minute Google. I wanted more. I wanted to know if people still use it and how it’s used and where do you find

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Iron-based process promises greener, cheaper and safer drug and perfume production

TORONTO, ON – University of Toronto researchers have developed a series of techniques to create a variety of very active iron-based catalysts necessary to produce the alcohols and amines used in the drug and perfume industry. The new synthetic methods promise to be safer and more economical and environmentally friendly than traditional industrial processes.

The research takes advantage of Earth's extensive supply of iron – the fifth most abundant naturally occurring metal – substituting it in place of the rare elements of ruthenium, rhodium, palladium and platinum traditionally used in the design of hydrogenation catalysts. The result is an exceptionally efficient class of iron complexes whose abilities rival and even surpass those of conventional industrial catalysts.

"There is a research effort world-wide to make chemical processes more sustainable and green by replacing the rare, expensive and potentially toxic elements used in hydrogenation, catalytic converters in cars, fuel cells for the efficient conversion of chemical energy into electricity, and silicone coatings, with abundant ions such as iron," says U of T chemistry professor Robert Morris, principal investigator of a study reported in the November 29 issue of Science. "Iron is about 10,000 times cheaper to obtain than ruthenium. And less than 200 metric tons of platinum-type metals are mined in the world every year, not all of it can be recycled after use, it is not essential to life, and it can be toxic."

"We found a way to make the ferrous form of iron behave in a catalytic process much more efficiently than a precious metal. We did this by finding molecules containing nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon and hydrogen, that bond to, and enhance, the reactivity of iron," says Morris.

The scientists inexpensively produced varieties of alcohol with different biological properties – which can be used in flavour and drug synthesis – and different smells, a property important to the perfume industry. In one example from the study, the precursor alcohol to a cancer treatment can be made using the hydrogenation process catalyzed by iron. Using iron, the resulting complex is often a better catalyst than the industrial one based on ruthenium.

The sustainable technology incubator GreenCentre Canada is already pursuing the commercialization of the new iron catalysts.

Source

Funding for this research was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and GreenCentre Canada.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Robert Morris
Department of Chemistry
University of Toronto
416-978-6962
robert.morris@utoronto.ca

Sean Bettam
Communications
Faculty of Arts & Science
University of Toronto
416-946-7950
s.bettam@utoronto.ca

Fragrance sales to be flat this holiday

What used to be a go-to Christmas gift is no longer smelling quite as sweet.

After gaining back some of the ground lost after four years of negative sales during the economic downturn, fragrance sales are basically flat on the year, and experts predict they will continue their holding pattern during the holidays.

According to The NPD Group, 15 percent of shoppers will purchase a fragrance this holiday, which is unchanged from 2012; similarly, Euromonitor forecast that the category's sales will tick higher by only 0.2 percent this year.

But despite waning interest in the category, and competition from the lower-priced lip and nail care segments, fragrance can't be ignored. NPD reported that fragrance will still be the fourth-most popular holiday purchase this season, which experts attributed to its reputation for being an easy gift, its attractive packaging and its characterization as a value buy.

And with 45 percent of the year's fragrance sales occurring from October to December, retailers will continue their efforts to push the category on to shoppers' lists to ring up positive holiday sales.

"Fragrance is something that I feel like the stores are always pushing," said Virginia Lee, senior research analyst at Euromonitor.

Most of the growth in the prestige fragrance category—sales logged primarily in department stores—has come from pricier, niche fragrances such as Demeter Fragrance Library's Oud, and scents from Jo Malone and Tom Ford, Lee said.

She pointed to Bond No. 9, Estée Lauder's Modern Muse and Coty's Marc Jacobs Honey as other fragrances she expects to perform well.


While celebrity perfumes continue to saturate the market—including scents from Rihanna, One Direction and Taylor Swift—the category's real value growth is now being driven by an older, more sophisticated shopper who doesn't care to smell like a pop star, Lee said. She also predicts prestige will continue to outperform mass offerings, as higher-income shoppers have the money to burn on a $250 fragrance, she said.

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Soap, Perfume and Cosmetics With Spice Notes

 

 By SHIVANI VORA  
When it’s cold outside, a touch of spice in beauty products can be appealing, without the guilt of visiting the airport Cinnabon. 

Follow @NYTfashion for fashion, beauty and lifestyle news and headlines.

What, No Hot Dog?       

Cinnamon is a top note in Coney Island Perfume by Bond No. 9, a perfume from a New York-based fragrance company. It’s meant to evoke the most beloved Brooklyn beach. Chocolate, lemon and vanilla are also featured. Whether you like the scent or not, the ocean-blue glass bottle should appeal ($245 for 100 milliliters, BondNo9.com).

      
Spicy Suds

Suma Ginseng Body Wash by Molton Brown, a bold-smelling body wash from the London grooming company, should liven up your shower. It lathers up into a rich foam, and besides cinnamon includes suma ginseng from Brazil ($30, moltonbrown.com).
      

Kiss a Little Longer

With an aroma reminiscent of Wrigley’s Big Red chewing gum, Cinnamon Plumping Lip Oil by Bite Beauty, derived from cinnamon bark, has a subtle red hue and tastes sweet. It’s not Restylane, but it will moisturize lips and give them a tingling feeling ($22, sephora.com).

Rare Disease Causes Man To Pass Out From Perfume Smell: 'Just One Whiff Of Chanel No 5 And I Collapse'

Glynn Parry, 36, can’t stand the smell of his wife Carrie Jones’ Chanel No. 5, but not because he thinks it’s an unpleasant odor. The resident of North Wales is rendered unconscious whenever he smells his wife’s perfume due to a rare genetic condition that triggers familial hemiplegic migraines. Parry and Jones are both worried that his condition could take a turn for the worst in the future.

“The worry is this could be life-threatening or he might not quite recover from an attack,” Jones told the Daily Express. In hopes of stopping her husband’s condition from progressing, Carrie has done away with her perfume in favor of a lightly scented shampoo.

Parry, a father of three, remembers getting his first debilitating migraine at the age of 14. Now, he says attacks are so intense that he loses his ability to move his extremities and sometime is left unable to speak. His condition has forced him to give up his job in the financial industry, and he is even worried about low-level brain damage that could be a result of his migraines.

“Some people react to chocolate, cheese, alcohol and caffeine. I’ve cut all of these out just to be safe,” Parry told the Daily Express. “But one of my strangest and strongest triggers is smells. I’m very sensitive to them. My wife Carrie wore some Chanel No 5 and I just dropped.”

According to The Migraine Trust, a hemiplegic migraine, also known as a “migraine variant,” is a migraine attack that causes temporary weakness on one side of the body. Familial hemiplegic migraines (FHM) occur in two or more people within the same family. Children born to parents who suffer from FHM face a 50 percent chance of developing the disorder.

"A burning pain occurs in the right side of my brain followed by gradual paralysis and I have to be rolled into the recovery position," Parry told BBC Radio. "I have two to three attacks a week. It's a difficult thing to live with and it impacts on every aspect of my life."

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Fragrance 101: Everything You Need to Know About Picking the Perfect Scent

Divine Caroline: Can you break down some of the lingo we always hear when looking for a perfume. What exactly are top notes, base notes, etc.?
Renee Bukowski: Unlike flowers where the taste is received all at once, fragrances evaporate and reach the nose over time. A general composition of fragrance is a fragrance pyramid, which has top, mid and base notes. Top notes are what you smell first. These are the citrus, fruity, ozonic notes. Mid, or heart notes, are the floral, spice and herbaceous notes. Base notes consist of woods, balsams and musks.

DC: How can you choose the right fragrance when you’re in a store for a limited period of time and there are so many scents to test out?
RB: When choosing a fragrance, spray the scent on a blotter card to pick up the top note or initial impression. Blotter cards are a great way to sample multiple fragrances at once. Next, you want to determine which scent you liked most and spray it on your wrist. Don’t rub your wrists together, but rather pat them lightly together and smell throughout the day. It’s important to notice the fragrance evolving from the top, mid and base notes through the day and to fall in love with the fragrance as it dries down.

DC: Where should you spray your perfume to get that great scent to last all day?
RB: Spray on your pulse points: wrists, neck and décolletage. If you want a little extra scent, spray it in your hair and the fragrance will linger as your hair moves.

DC: What notes and fragrances are going to be most popular throughout this season and into next?
RB: We follow trends across all categories very closely and macro trends for fall are focusing on notes from nature, such as honey and rose. But this rose is modernized from traditional roses. For example, Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb Rose Explosion is a rose oriental scent that combines rose and honey!

Shop Bukowski's picks are in the picture above:

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A bed of roses: Beauty and fragrance make them Britain's favourite bloom

Roses remain our favourite flower - a fact that is proven year after year when surveys are conducted into our gardening tastes. The bright blooms, the fact that they appear again and again over the summer and their wonderful fragrance combine to make them real winners.

THANKS to container growing, you can plant roses at any time of year, even in full bloom, but those which are sold between now and the end of March as 'bare root' plants, freshly dug up from nursery rows with no soil clinging to the roots, are not only very easily established, but may also be more attractively priced.

They are also more likely to form a better root system than container-grown roses, which can sometimes be reluctant to push out roots from a congested root ball. A bare root plant must root outwards to anchor and feed itself and so has a real incentive to form a substantial root system, rather than relying on the roots that are already established within the root ball.

Added to this, you'll find a far greater choice of varieties if you buy bare-root plants by mail order from a specialist grower, and poring over the catalogues on an autumn evening is one of life's greatest pleasures.

Order quickly, and as soon as you receive the plants, bury their roots in a spare patch of ground until you are ready to plant. When you do plant them, choose a sunny spot in earth that has been enriched with plenty of well-rotted garden compost or manure.

When it comes to planting depth, the knobbly union between the stems of the variety and the rootstock of briar should be at or fractionally below the surface of the soil to make for stability. Plant it too high and there is a danger of wind rock, causing the bush to become unstable.

Hybrid teas and foribundas can be pruned quite hard after planting - back to between four and six inches above ground. With shrub roses, don't be so drastic. Make your cuts about a foot above soil level - always pruning to an outward-facing bud (if you can see one) so that when the shoots grow they stand a chance of producing a shapely goblet-shaped bush.

You'll seldom need to water in a rosebush planted at this time of year, but sprinkling a root growth stimulant in the bottom of the hole is always a good idea, as is mulching the surface of the soil after planting with a 2-inch layer of chipped bark, well-rotted garden compost or manure. THis will seal in moisture and reduce weed growth.

So, why not treat yourself to a few of the nation's favourite flowers over the next few months? Don't miss Alan's gardening column today and every day in the Daily Express. For more information on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.

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Global jury panel meet over perfume awards

The Fragrance Foundation Arabia (FFA) recently hosted a jury panel meeting of its annual FiFi Awards at the Musée International de la Parfumerie Grasse, France to evaluate and determine the winners of the Perfume Oscars.

Present at the meeting were Shahzad Haider, chairman Fragrance Foundation Arabia; Noëlie Malamaire, head of the Musée de Grasse and all jury panel members. The jury panel comprises internationally renowned personalities and industry professionals who are contributing to the perfumery industry globally.

Every year the Fragrance Foundation Arabia organizes the prestigious FiFi Awards at different exclusive locations such as previously the Burj Khalifa (2012) and in its fourth edition on October 30 at the Conrad hotel.

For the first time, FFA held its jury meeting in a museum, that is historically located at the capital of perfumery, Grasse in France. The involvement of regional and international fragrance experts in the jury panel determine the winners of the eight categories for Arabic and International fragrances within the 'Fragrance of the year Awards'. The 'Retailer of the Year Awards' and 'My favorite Perfume of the Year' Awards will be decided through a consumer online voting that is open till October 29.

Perfume lovers can join and vote for their favorite scent via fifiarabia.org/award-categories.php.

Judging mechanism

Jury panel members are experiencing nominated fragrances through a three phase evaluation where the session is regulated and moderated by the head of the jury panel, Ali Jaber.

The process is aligned to the international judging process that is set by the Global Fragrance Foundation headquartered in NYC, United States of America. According to the standards the first phase of the judging mechanism comprises the evaluation of fragrances in seven criteria (inspecting the fragrance in its aesthetic appeal and scent).  Evaluation forms consist of a pointing system from 0-3 (0 for not appealing and 3 for highest score).

The second phase allows the jury panel members to openly discuss the fragrances and if required rethink their evaluation made in the first phase and possibly correct their mark.

The judging mechanism is anonymous and jury panel members are excluded from the evaluation of their own manufactured fragrances. – TradeArabia News Service

Provenance Tales Perfume Collection

Provenance Tales, is a new perfume collection that is wonderfully designed! The bottle being textured and colored black is a definite stand out. The inspiration behind this design is that of the four elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth - something that comes through the design of the bottle with the textured features.

"Trinity of opulent scents that shape the second collection. Each fragrance glows with the power of divination, manifesting its auspicious story through a beautifully crafted aroma that promises a more vibrant, magical way of living. Choose from shadowed-grey flacon engraved with fire, horns or wings and revel in the release of your personal augury."

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Buy Crikey: Perfume it all smells good, whatever the source

Christmas decorations are appearing in the shops and it won't be long before perfume sales skyrocket. But where will you be buying your perfume?

A friend of mine is smitten with Coco by Chanel. But Chanel is Chanel, whether you buy it at Smith & Caughey's or online from a perfume discounter.

Only the price and the fussing by a sales assistant are different.

I did a quick search online this week to compare prices.

A 100ml Coco eau de parfum bottle starts at $164, including postage, at Fishpond.co.nz, and strawberryNET.co.nz/beautynet.co.nz is not far behind.

There are many online sellers, with names such as Fragrancesandcosmetics.co.nz, Pharmacydirect.co.nz, ozcosmetics.co.nz, Smells.co.nz.


I prefer to buy from retail brands I know - be they online or high street.

My friend used to shop through StrawberryNET, but has returned to the Farmers fold for the discounts with that store's club card and to support New Zealand retail.

There is always a risk of getting a fake when you buy through an unknown website.

That's one of the reasons I'd never buy perfumes at a weekend market, pop-up store, or from private sellers on Trade Me.

It's very easy to buy a bulk lot of fakes through the internet from China and flog them off - although it's against Trade Me's rules.

If the bottom dollar is what counts to you, then shop around. As well as websites, there are other cheap outlets, which sometimes have good prices.

The Warehouse sells perfume cheaper than the upmarket counters. And you can sometimes pick up a bargain at Postie Plus.

I've eaten humble pie this week after having always been suspicious that the importer's clearance sales at the North Harbour Stadium and ASB Showgrounds looked dodgy.

I did some research and discovered that the company behind these sales is Big Bucket Deals, owned by The Warehouse. I will be checking out these sales the next time.

The Warehouse has been busy in the perfume space. As well as selling parallel imported perfume through Big Bucket, in store and via its Red Alert online-only deals, it has recently started ilovebeauty.co.nz.

This week, that site had Yves Saint Laurent Paris Eau de Toilette 75ml at $95.99 including free postage (over $75). That price just pipped other local online suppliers.

Finally, another way to save money includes dropping your snobbery and buying cheaper brands, such as Avon or the Body Shop. Sometimes they're smell-alikes for more expensive brands.

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Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Launch Their First Adult Fragrances

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are quietly continuing their all-price-point, all-category retail domination with a new fragrance launch for their contemporary apparel brand, Elizabeth and James. Actually, make that two new fragrance launches.

Elizabeth and James Nirvana White, a sophisticated floral musk with notes of peony and muguet, and Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black, a woody scent with notes of violet, sandalwood, and vanilla, will exclusively hit Sephora stores and its website in January 2014. Each scent comes in three different sizes and will range in price from $22 for a rollerball to $75 for a 50ml bottle.

The fragrances were two years in the making, according to the sisters. At a recent launch event in NYC, Mary-Kate said it took about a year and a half to develop Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black and two to three months for Elizabeth and James Nirvana White. Part of the reason it took so long was because they were trying to figure out how to make the perfume act like an oil, which Mary-Kate told me is her preferred type of fragrance. “I’m more into oils, and that’s actually why it took so long [to develop the fragrance],” she said. “We didn’t want to just do another perfume. We wanted it to be able to sit on your skin like an oil, and to wear like an oil and to have that intimacy of how it becomes a part of you.”

The sisters also brought all their favorite bath and body products (and no, they wouldn’t name names) to the fragrance meetings to identify the notes they were most drawn to. “Body wash, face wash, oils–things we use every day kind of started to define what those ingredients were and what we were trying to draw out, at least for the first fragrance, the type of notes that we’re really attracted to,” Mary-Kate said. Her favorite fragrance is a sandalwood oil that she picked up in an ayurvedic spa.

The twins were also inspired by something I’m pretty sure all women can relate to. “For us, nirvana is when we’re in bed at home,” Ashley said.

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Need a New Perfume This Fall? Here Are 4 Fragrances I'm Loving

Killer Queen by Katy Perry: Names aside, this scent is pretty darn good! Wild berries and red velvet flower notes make up the bold fragrance that is sweet but masculine.

Estée Lauder Modern Muse: This fragrance blends jasmine, vanilla, and soft musk to create a scent Lauder is calling "dual-impression." Perfect for tomboys who want a floral-meets-woodsy perfume.

Valentina Limited-Edition Oud Assoluto: On first application this limited-edition perfume is pretty cheery. Then notes of oud wood enter the picture, creating a sensual and sophisticated aroma.

Tom Ford Shanghai Lily: If you're going to splurge on a fragrance this season, make it this one. The mix of warm spices, a touch of florals, vanilla, and frankincense is pure perfection.

What's your go-to fragrance? Are you the type of gal who likes to play with different scents, or do you have a signature perfume? Share!

Photos: Courtesy of brand

The 10 Best men's fragrances

For the new season, don’t just change what clothes you wear – opt for a hardier fragrance as the weather begins to chill

1. Yohji Homme

If your sartorial tastes are a tad  avant-garde, then look for a scent that reflects this. Yohji Yamamoto’s signature fragrance is a mixture of rum, cardamom and coffee, offering up a spicy and sophisticated concoction.

£35 for 50ml, Yohji Yamamoto,  selfridges.com

2. Gucci Made to Measure

This fragrance has a real air of exclusivity about it. It takes as its inspiration the bespoke tailoring service that the label also offers. With a top note of lavender and a base of patchouli, at its heart is balancing nutmeg which adds texture.

£49 for 50ml, Gucci, houseoffraser.co.uk

3. Amazingreen

Comme des Garçons’ fragrance packs a punch to the nose with a base note of gunpowder and vetiver mixed with, as the name suggests, lots of green: green tea, green pepper, jungle and palm leaves.

£45.60 for 50ml, Comme des Garcons,escentual.com

4. Vetiver Vert

Czech & Speake is world renowned and Vetiver Vert is one of its best. That vetiver is a ubiquitous ingredient of many male fragrances is common knowledge; but here it is lifted by top notes of bergamot and mandarin.

£85 for 100ml, Czech & Speake,czechandspeake.com

5. Moon of Baroda

You wouldn’t normally associate rose oil with a male scent but it’s become increasing popular over the past few years – something to do with how the rose reacts with male skin makes it smell less feminine. Here, Taif rose is the base note that is balanced by fragrant cedar wood.

£145 for 50ml, Thameen, selfridges.com

6. Private Blend London

This luxurious fragrance has been specially created to celebrate the opening of the first Tom Ford store in London. It’s a mixture of exclusive oud oil and musk, creating a scent that plays with the senses.

£140 for 50ml, Tom Ford, tomford.com

7. Luna Rossa Extreme

This is the latest fragrance from the Prada stable. The heart of the scent is amber mixed with hot black pepper and zesty bergamot. Thrown into the mix are vanilla, juniper and labdanum. It’s a veritable melting pot of flavours which, surprisingly, work well together.

£45 for 100ml, Prada,  fragranceexpert.com

8. 1996 Inez & Vinoodh

If you could bottle the essence of fashion it might very well smell like this – a collaboration between the famous fragrance company Byredo and the equally famous fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. It takes as its inspiration one of the duo’s photographs taken in 1996 combining juniper, black amber, leather and patchouli.

£88 for 50ml, Byredo, liberty.co.uk

9. Velvet Desert Oud

Oud oil is probably one of the most valued in the perfume world –not for nothing is it also known as “liquid gold”. Thankfully, a little of this stuff goes a long way, here providing the base note for the new Dolce & Gabbana fragrance. Heady incense also has its part to play.

£170 for 50ml, Dolce & Gabbana,  harrods.com

10. Vetiver Extraordinaire

Vetiver is a very familiar ingredient of men’s fragrances due to the way it retains its aroma over long periods of time. When used as a base, it anchors the mid and top notes. Here, though, the scent has been flooded with vetiver, making it refreshing and crisp.

£110 for 50ml  Frederic Malle, liberty.co.uk

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Palo santo: A fragrant wood with cancer fighting properties

In South America, both in urban settings and in the Amazon, I have encountered a fragrant wood used as incense and known as palo santo, which means “wood of the saints.” Appropriately named, the aroma of palo santo (Bursera graveolens) is heavenly. If you grew up attending Catholic church or any of the institutions in which incense is burned, palo santo may smell familiar to you.

Fragrant woods are not uncommon. In New Mexico, I have enjoyed many fires made of pinion pine, whose fragrance can be detected all through the streets of Santa Fe or Taos on a cold winter night. In northern India, I have smelled fires made of the incense wood deodar, whose aroma similarly wafts over the hills at night.

The tall tropical palo santo tree is related to both frankincense and myrrh, and it is widely distributed throughout much of Central and South America, as well as the Galapagos Islands. Because palo santo has become increasingly popular due to the booming Amazon tourism trade, it will eventually need to be cultivated. Otherwise, we will experience dwindling populations of these delightfully fragrant rainforest trees.

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THE OBSESSION GOES ON: ROGUE BY RIHANNA IS THE ONLY CELEBRITY FRAGRANCE YOU NEED TO TRY THIS YEAR

The room is dark. The strobe lights have died. Thumping beats of another one of her now countless number one singles fades in the distance. A cloud of smoke clears. Rihanna, sitting atop her throne of hundred dollar bills, vintage Chanel jewelry, and discarded wigs, holds out her iPhone and snaps another one of her infamous and yet somehow impossibly glamorous Instagram selfies. She squints, inspecting the shot behind her perfectly lined cat eyes and false lashes. Good, she thinks.

“Rogue by Rihanna” she types as the caption, “in stores now! #PhuckYoPhragrance”

I’m surprised you even opened this article, because I can feel you rolling your eyes through the computer screen. Celebrity fragrances are, to some, the bane of the beauty industry. And I get it, I do.

But to others, they’re fun! They’re an extension of their favorite artist and the entertainment industry in general, and that’s cute. It’s another way to own a piece of your favorite artist or celebrity. Some people like that.

Personally, I can’t help but love them because I am obsessed with everything “pop” and also will buy anything I am told to. The bottles! The ad campaigns! The fragrances! It’s all so exciting.

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Katy Perry reveals her perfume preferences

Pop starlet Katy Perry has just launched her third fragrance, Killer Queen. "I wanted it to have a few androgynous notes, so I added patchouli and I added kind of like a wood - 'cashmerean' or something like that," says Perry.

Although perhaps it's more about the message in the bottle? "It's an empowering fragrance that's sophisticated, but there's a lot of strength in it. The image is of a queen, with the royal factor. I'm very obsessed with the idea of a monarchy, and the ability for a woman to be the head position. I love that idea and I think it's very empowering," says 28-year-old Perry on the inspiration behind her perfume and the campaign that goes with it.

Whether her not-so-convincing perfume prowess entices you to try Killer Queen or not, what is clear is that Perry enjoys fragrance. "I wear fragrances every day," she says. (For the record, Perry doesn't spray her daily scent on skin, or dab it behind her ears, she dances into it: "I never douse myself in a fragrance; I spray then waltz into it!")

"I believe that your sense of smell is helpful in creating a lasting impression or a memory. Often, my first memory is based on a scent," she says. "My first boyfriend would wear Acqua di Gio by Armani. To this day if anyone gets near me, whether they come into an elevator or I am meeting them for the first time and they are wearing Acqua di Gio, I can spot it. And it just brings me back to when I was 16."

Perry also loves a dash of masculinity in her scent - hence the 'cashmerean' notes in her own. "I love Tom Ford's Black Orchid which is really cool because a woman and a man can wear it. And I love fragrances like Thierry Mugler's Alien because it's so distinct."

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'Toast Scented' Perfume Is Only Mildly Weird Compared to These 5 Other Scents

1. Beef Jerky Companies

It's delicious and an excellent source of protein. Sadly most of us avoid it because we are not 18-year-old boys on a road-trip. But a sexy spritz of beefy musky? Meow. Jerky -- it's what's for dinner.

2. Popcorn Companies

I love microwave popcorn so much that the idea of ripping apart the bag to dab my pressure points with the butter doesn't seem that much of a stretch. Though granted, spraying on the aroma would probably be much more pleasant.

3. Bagel Companies

Worth it for the design of the bottle alone. If I could start each day smelling like an everything bagel, I would be happy and everyone would want to sit next to me in meetings.

4. Cupcake Companies

There's a lot of perfume that tries to smell like dessert. Most of it falls short of the mark, tending to be sickly sweet and cloying. What I wouldn't give to sniff the bottled honest-to-god smell of a warm, vanilla cake -- buttery bliss! 

5. Waffle Companies

Nothing says couture like waffles ... which don't say it at all. It's a pity too, because I've always thought that Anna Wintour probably smelled like toasted vanilla and maple syrup.

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Diffuser, Candle & Perfume From Votivo

Prize: One winner will receive a Votivo prize pack; see details below
Number of winners allowed: 1
Ends: Tuesday October 8th 2013

VOTIVO celebrates the international language of love with the introduction of the “Lock Your Love” Co..ection. Believed to be inspired by the ancient Chinese custom, lovers lock a padlock to a chain or gate and throw the key into a river to symbolically seal their bond for eternity. Lock Your Love has become a widespread practice in over 30 countries—from England to Australia and China to Italy. Votivo pays homage to the mystery of overwhelming love and commitment with its newest collection this season.

The collection’s three fragrances delve into the various stages and journeys of love: Hard To Get, Hold Me Tight and Hot To Handle. Literally infusing love into the air, the products available in the co..ection include a candle, reed diffuser and perfume.

Hard To Get

Capturing the weak in the knees feeling that only love at first sight can deliver, Hard To Get makes a sweet first impression with flirty top notes of tangy citrus, luscious lychee and succulent watermelon. A soft floral heart of lotus, magnolia and freesia melts the senses, while a solid base of crème brulee and sandalwood leaves a forget-me-not impression.

Hold Me Tight

First love whispers melodious sweet nothings as warm tingles linger from a sparks flying embrace. Comforting and soothing notes of herbal tea fall into a delicately woven bed of warm linen, swathed in the solidity of sensuous sandalwood. Two hearts settle into the comforting rhythm of an unshakeable bond.

Hot To Handle

Undeniable chemistry burns with steamy heat that intoxicates and transfixes each time the lovers meet. Emanating sensuality and passion, Hot To Handle layers intense notes of violet and cypress with spicy pepper, frankincense and tobacco. A sultry base of musky patchouli and cedar leave a feverish trail of seduction.

The candle, diffuser and perfume showcase chain-link fence inspired material over glass and feature a custom designed keepsake lock with Votivo logo.