Sarah Jessica Parker's next fragrance, due to launch in February, will be SJP NYC. The scent, a fruity floral, is meant to tie in with Parker's upcoming Sex and the City movie (due out in May), and to reflect the character she plays, Carrie Bradshaw.
SJP NYC was developed by perfumer Honorine Blanc; the notes include mandarin, white osmanthus, strawberry, gardenia, honeysuckle, mimosa, rose, sandalwood, vanilla absolute, rum flavor and creamy musks. Per Sarah Jessica Parker...
The reason it surprises me is because I have this idea in my head that strawberry is very youthful and juvenile, but this fragrance doesn’t smell candy sweet. It amazes me that this essence of strawberry mixes so beautifully with the more sophisticated floral notes and the musks that I love and will always have as part of my fragrances. In a million years I would never think, ‘Let’s work around strawberry.’
Sarah Jessica Parker SJP NYC will be available in 15 ($25), 30 ($35) and 60 ($49) ml Eau de Toilette. (via wwd)
Update: per a Coty spokesman, "While Lovely was a very personal project, SJP NYC reflects what audiences perceive when they think of the Carrie Bradshaw character." (via cosmeticworld)
Another update: see a review of SJP NYC.
I haven’t liked any of her fragrances to date – patchouli (Lovely) and chocolate (Covet) being two of my automatic turnoffs – but I might have to find the opportunity to sniff this one.
On the other hand, celebrities sometimes describe their fragrances as “not too sweet,” yet I find them way off the top end of the sweet scale. So we’ll have to see.
So true!
Ugh… does this mean that after the Covet fiasco (from a sales standpoint – I love the juice), SJP is just throwing in the towel and joining the fruity-floral bandwagon?
Normally, I don’t really care what celebs put out one way or the other, but seeing SJP put out a fruity-floral is just so disappointing. I thought that she was working her way up to the sophisticated frag that she originally wanted to put out.
She already did throw in the towel with that Lovely trio (Endless, Dawn, whatever) and Covet Pure Bloom. This just confirms it. I think we can forget the sophisticated incense/musk blend.
That’s right – I had totally erased that trilogy from my mind.
Yeah, she’s just out for the money now. Which she always was, but in the beginning there was at least a sense that she was experimenting, trying to say something and share something about herself. But that Lovely fragrance trio was just an alarmingly crapulous attempt to squeeze more money out of the buyers of the original Lovely.
That said, I’m very attached to Lovely, and have started to hoard it against the day it eventually goes off the market. It’s been much getting cheaper – some of the discounts on it are huge.
Wow, sounds craptacular.
Sure does.
Strawberry is my least appreciated perfume note by a mile or so…
don’t forget raspberry and it’s lovely poopy note.
Hey, don’t knock raspberry till you try PdN Balkis. Pfffffffth!
So true! And there are other berry fragrances I love — TDC’s, for one.
oh pleeezzze, I wouldn’t touch raspberry with a ten foot pole! It always always always turns nasty to me. blech
mmmmmm Balkis…..
Um, well, yeah…
Just seeing SJP makes my day and any new fragrance news by her makes my week, but I have to say I am very wary. It sounds very pedestrian – plus, strawberry is risky. I immediately remembered a dire, creamy Strawberry air freshener I smelled regularly years ago.
Also, I remember Sarah Jessica saying that she doesn’t really see Carrie as a wearer of perfume – perhaps something like Kiehl’s Musk, but nothing more. As a fan I found this an amusing tidbit.
Oh, well. I will hold on to the unisex incense/musk SJP perfume dream…with my feet firmly on the ground.
Strawberry is not my favorite. Beyond that, it just sounds cheap (and notice the drastically lower prices).
Oh no Sarah – say it aint so!
Too late!
Sorry – I have yet to smell a strawberry scent that didn’t remind me of Spencer’s Gifts or Ganesh strawberry incense. Maybe it’s not possibly to have a realistic strawberry – but I live in hope. Anyone tried that Fragola Salata scent?
I haven’t even heard of it!
Well, I’m glad the words “fruity floral” were said early on, so that I didn’t have my hopes up for too long. I did actually like everything up to the Twilight/Dawn/whatever trio, so who knows, maybe this will surprise me.
As for the strawberry, I used to really like Hanae Mori, which is pretty strawberry-y. This actually sounds like it could kind of smell like that, but with musk. Might not be so bad.
No, it might not be so bad at all. I think it’s just a let down from SJP given what we knew about her scent preferences before she started launching her own.
I think even Lovely was a compromise for her, given what I’ve read. I agree with others who have said they’d love to smell the fragrance she really wears. (I thought I had it figured out after reading the Chandler Burr book, but can’t remember what all it was now.)
But I really did like Lovely, Covet, and yes, even Covet Pure Bloom. I guess I’m just saying I would probably buy this, too, if it showed up on the Marshall’s shelves. For less than $15.
I admit to a sneaking fondness for Hanae Mori myself. I mean, I like smelling it – but if I actually put it on, I feel like I’m wearing a big fluffy baby-pink sweater with a pink plastic tiara. Eek. I’m a grown woman. (I just encourage my 14yo to wear it so I can smell it on her.)
Yeah, to show how much my tastes have changed, I used to LOVE that one. I got a sample of it a while back, and couldn’t even stand to wear it all day, it was so sweet. But if you like sweet and fruity (and I mostly don’t), it’s really well done.
Hey, at least it’ll be available in a 15ml size, right? That’s one good thing I can say. Maybe a trend is slowly starting…
I look at it this way: SJP may in fact want to wear some fruity fluff once in awhile, just like the rest of many of us. However, I think there’s plenty to pick from off the shelf already.
Clearly they want them small & cheap. Makes me wonder who the target audience for the movie is, because I wouldn’t have thought it all that young.
No, not all that young, but I think most college-aged and mid-twenties women might love this kind of scent. I predict it might do really well, or significantly better than Covet, at least.
Yeah. Don’t think Covet sold.
So far, Lovely and Covet are the two I love, the others are meh… But I’m a huge patch and gourmand scent lover so it’s a given those work for me. I love that it comes in a 15ml, wish more companies would release scents in that size.
Yep, can’t complain about 15 ml.
does anyone know if Covet is actually discontinued?
No, but I’d be very surprised if it’s not.
Strawberry Flowers by Fresh is a nice one.
As strawberries go, it’s not bad…it’s just not a favorite note of mine!
The only fragrance I am aware of that I actually like very much that has strawberry in it (and I had NO idea it was there) is the Les Mythiques L’Interdit from Givenchy. It is so great, and one of my go-to fragrances. God only knows about all these “fruity florals.” I can see why she (her business) wanted to do something mainstream – the hit after Covet must have been bad, even though I like Covet enough that I own a bottle. (I am indifferent to Lovely as I can’t smell it with musk anosmia.)
I think we can’t forget that about 90% of fragrances these days are all about business & the almighty dollar. I don’t put too much anticipation into most new releases anyway. Let’s not forget that SJP and Carrie B are not actually the same person. I give SJP credit for being a more interesting person, but business is still business. If this frag is about “Carrie” then so be it – she is a silly character anyway who’s marketing appeal is mostly to very young women. So I’m thinking, where is the kick-butt, no apologies, I-know-who-I-am, Samatha fragrance? I suppose they already did that one with Tabac Blonde.
This is only vaguely related to the Samantha comment (which I have no idea how I got that, since I don’t watch that show), but it got me wondering when someone somewhere will market a perfume for cougars…
You mean the female equivalent of this:
http://www.sex-panther.com/
Giggles… I was actually thinking of Sex Panther when I said that comment above. I don’t think any perfumista or perfumister can ignore how hilarious Sex Panther is. And yet, I was thinking of something more wearable. There is something terribly “80s fragrance” about the Samantha character. Like Ungaro’s Diva.
Apparently Kim Cattrall herself is a huge fan of the dc’d Guerlain Parure and has bought up many a vintage bottle.
…. my apologies for spelling “blond” wrong — not enough caffeine and too much snow this morning!
I thought Samantha wore Parure and went around buying every spare bottle she could scrape up when it was dctd…
Ooops, I didn’t see this when I posted the above.
Y’know, I’m almost certain that I once spotted a pink Creed bottle (Spring Flower, I think?) in Samantha’s flat one of the episodes. Seems so unlike her.
Good point about l’Interdit and its sophisticated use of strawberry as a judiciously-used background note, Ann. The French seemed to know how to pull it off a few decades ago when there was nothing remotely approaching the sickeningly-sweet, fruit-centric celebrity releases of the 21st century. Le Galion’s vintage Sortilege is another one with strawberry in the list of notes, and there it’s all about the exotic, dry-sweet muskiness of a fresh strawberry as opposed to anything over-ripe and jammy.
I think JHAG’s Miss Charming puts strawberry to good use; again, it’s not sugary-sweet and pairs well with the Moroccan rose. Montale’s Rose Mukhalat has strawberry along with woods and bitter almond, and it works as an elegant gourmand. Armando Martinez’s Vertigo is a leather scent smoothed-out by the most discreet touch of strawberry. Donna Karan’s Sparkling version of the original Gold adds berries, to my nose with something strawberry-like about the accord, as well as citrus to Casablanca lily to great effect. It’s really a matter of how expertly it’s used, I think.
I would like to believe SJP when she says that NYC won’t be candy-sweet. I have my reservations, especially reading that this is a Carrie Bradshaw scent and I’m sure it’s being marketed to a younger demographic (even given the fact that most women I saw lining up to see the original SATC movie were in their forties!).
I know many of us would be much happier if she went ahead and did her CdG Avignon/Bonne Belle Musk/street-vendor-Egyptian-hippie-oil thing and damn the torpedoes! Maybe one day. . .
Indeed, Miss Charming is very pretty and it’s been into and out of a shopping cart for me this past year! I tend to prefer fruits when they keep it to a minimum. A nice accent and lets move on to better structural parts like rich florals, spices, woods, etc.
Im still very disappointed that Covet will no longer be around. This one is the exact opposite of it!! It will be interesting to see how “sophisticated” and non candy like this strawberry scent will be. Who knows, it could be very fun and a step up from most fruity florals. Heres hoping its better then Pure Bloom which I did not like at all! The pricing is actually pretty great! I have like 10 ladies in my family who are die hard Carrie & SATC fans so this could be perfect! My sister will luv it. She luvs anything SJP. Right when I saw the packaging, my first thought was Betsey Johnson. lol!
Covet is being discontinued??
I haven’t seen it in any department stores recently, & seriously doubt it’s still in production. But there’s probably still tons of it floating around.
They have tons of it in my Marshalls and TJs alone.
Goodness, those bottles look soooooooo cheap! Wonder if these will be at Sears or Macy’s
Good question. The bottle itself, actually, is plain glass…it’s the outer cover that’s got that pattern.
Since I did not care for any of her previous scents (Covet reminded me of Jean Nate), I probably will pass on sniffing this one.Well, maybe just one won’t hurt.
Never hurts to try.
I like the sound of the notes, particularly the mandarin and white osmanthus – it started off sounding quite interesting! I’m not sure about strawberry, the only strawberry I’ve ever smelled is the perfume oil by The Body Shop. It was quite a good replica of what I thought a strawberry flavoured dessert would smell like. I wonder if anyone has done a freshly picked strawberry scent – just that little bit tart but juicy, with whiff of hay and a handful of freshly mown grass?
Not sure about the bottle … I can’t quite make out in the image but is it like the Benefit Crescent Row bottles as opposed to a clear glass one?
Doesn’t Ed Hardy have strawberry in it? That stuff is hideous.
Hi Cynthiaw,
What’s Ed Hardy? Is it a niche one? I am such a baby perfume fan compared to everyone here – I haven’t even seen a Frederic Malle ever!
No – not niche. You should be able to find Ed Hardy just about anywhere.
It is definitely clear glass inside an outer container (the outer container is said to be “reusable”).
I am actually a strawberry fan (perhaps a symptom of growing up with Strawberry Shortcake dolls with that plasticy-fruit smell?) and I’ve enjoyed it most in Satellite’s A La Figue…not even sure if it’s listed in the notes.
Hope this one will work for you then!
Lets hope the other one shes working on is like Lovely & Covet. I wish she came out w/ that unisex one she was talking about when she was on Letterman. I really liked Twilight from the Lovely Collection. I need to get me a bottle. : )
Yeah, hope that’s coming soon!
Ok… Haters… I LIKE The way this sounds… Osmanthus in ANYTHING and i will give it a fair shake… the other notes sound unique and to me, a little twisted, which i like. and i ADORE SJP and LOVED Covet, Covet with that Chocolate and Lemon combo was like NOTHING i have ever smelled, SUBLIME! I think i will love this too… seems at least like she is actually INVOLVED with the conception of her fragrances, quite involved… so i am going to sail the flag for her and say this might be a fun and yummy fragrance experience rather than dismiss it so malignantly.
LOL…but bear in mind that I liked Lovely & Covet too (Covet much more) and I’m one of the haters
But of course you’re right that it might be fun & yummy.
oh no is covet really being discontinued? I love it, and I agree…unlike anything else! also love covet pure blomm..again!
I was surprised by lovely collection but iv got endless and twilight….LOVE twilight…it reminds me of Jlo Still and Kate Moss Velvet Hour in that they seem good for evening wear..spose it’s in the names lol. I’m still in 2 minds about dawn…and haven’t replaced my lovely since it ran out.
the nyc is definitely what I would have expected her to do in the first place…in that it’s more Carrie than SJP. looking forard to it though!
As I said above, I don’t know anything official about Covet!
I’m disappointed by the whole movie tie-in thing. I thought SJP was serious about fragrance itself… Sad to see her give in to the worst kind of Celebriscent project…
Me too.
I have to admit that I actually like strawberry in Petite Cheri. Say what you will, you have to admit it’s different. I love strawberries as a note, if it’s a fresh berry note. This sounds like a good blend and befitting to the Carrie character in my head.
It doesn’t really sound fruity. I don’t think mandarin orange, bergamot and other citrus shouldn’t even count as fruity–just think of how many classics would be renamed?
I like Petite Cherie too! But it doesn’t smell like strawberry to me.
Do note though that the fruity floral classification comes from the brand, not from a guess based on the notes…in fact, you can’t classify based on just reading the notes. But if they say it will be a fruity floral, I assume they’re right. (and no, citrus doesn’t have anything to do with it)
Oops Robin. I meant to say Miss Dior Cheri. I do love the fresh *pear* smell of Petite Cheri-so pretty and yet so simple. I guess it’s the “Strawberry Sorbet” smell with the caramel that makes me salivate. However, I don’t know that wanting to eat a fragrance makes it a great perfume. Most perfumistas hate it, so I have yet to put it own my skin-wonder if it smells that much different? The SA is constantly pushing it on me.
Now that I’ve smelled so many more strawberry perfumes, I have more respect for MDC than I used to. But still don’t want to wear it
SJP if your’e reading this please don’t discontinue covet or bring it back if it is because I LOVE it!!!!
Doubt very seriously it was SJP’s decision.
one department store here said it’s been discontinued…so time to stock up!
Coming from the same perfumer who created Couture Couture. Im scared. : (
Oh, I blame that on creative direction, not the perfumer…I mean, it’s impossible to know what happened, but frequently perfumers are working to order, so to speak. Still, it’s true that she’s never made anything I loved, although Kevin really liked Coach for Men (and I didn’t get to try it).
I dont think any creative direction occured when Couture Couture came about. Im sure they thought, just make a pretty bottle, u could put anything in it, as long as its a pretty bottle, it will sell. I hope it does awful cuz they put nothing into it. Even the name isnt creative in any way! : (
I didn’t like the name either. Or SJP NYC, for that matter.
Well, they’ve gotten rid of Covet and Covet Pure bloom on Sarah’s website. Not even a trace of it. They were both there last year
You can smell this scent in the new InStyle Magazine. Very fruity.
Not surprised. On either count.
This smells JUST like Halle Berry Pure Orchid (Another COTY product supposed to be released in Feb.) The only difference is this one is a liiiiittle bit fruitier and Pure Orchid is a liiiiittle sweeter. Not that big of a difference. Smelling my arm with Pure Orchid on it and smelling the scent with SJP NYC on it, I can’t see that big of a difference. I wish I would’ve waited for SJP NYC since it comes in a bigger bottle and has a body lotion that can be purchased. I hope I can take this open Halle Berry Pure Orchid back to WalGreens. I really want to keep it, but it only comes in a 1.0 oz and no body lotion. I’m sure they’ll make it that a small lotion will come in a set, but I’m not buying it over!
Oh dear. Then I’m not going to like Pure Orchid either, am I?
Oh, oh GOD no!
I smelled this in a magazine and I’m going to get it. It smells amazing!
It’s very strawberry-ish, that’s for sure!
Robin, did u get to test it? It still hasnt showed up in any of my Macys. : (
No, I just smelled a magazine scent strip. Smells like strawberry candy, and I predict I will hate it.
LOL!! Probably! It cant be worse then Pure Orchid or Couture Couture. Poor SJP. : (
I don’t know. Pure Orchid was blah, but I think I hate strawberry candy worse than I had blah. Couture Couture remains at the bottom of the heap.
I tried it 2day @ macys and its fine. It is just another strawberry fragrance. Another Ed Hardy & Ralph Wild. Sorry SJP but its ure standard “juvenile” teen fragrance. I do like it better then Pure Bloom. It beats Couture Couture & Pure Orchid for sure!! And I actually like it more then Heat too. Ill get it when it ends up at Marshalls. : )
If it’s another Ed Hardy/Ralph Wild, don’t guess I’ll like it.