• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Holiday fragrance gifts 2009, part 1

Posted by Robin on 27 October 2009 41 Comments

Angel Collector Superstar Eau de ParfumAngel Refillable Purse Spray

From Thierry Mugler, Angel Collector Superstar Eau de Parfum (above left): "A 38mm Swarovski crystal is delicately poised, dangling at the center of the bottle as a reflection of prestige and beauty. More than 250 gleaming Swarovski crystals surround the jewel. This limited edition apparition of opulent luxury is exceedingly rare, with less than 100 pieces existing in the universe." $3000. The cheaper alternative: Angel Refillable Purse Spray, "...dressed in sparkling blue Swarovski crystals. The elegant silver spray stays protected in its sky-blue coffret with a smooth black velvet interior. A glamorous pouch of blue and black velvet is included to keep your precious star safe on all your celestial adventures." $100. Both are available at Saks.


amouage-candle

From Amouage, candles in Silk Road ("rich and spicy with notes of precious cedar wood, patchouli, amber and musk") or Autumn Leaves ("orange peel, cinnamon and cloves react beautifully with edelweiss in the heart and the deep, delicious base notes of leather, patchouli, sandalwood, honey and vanilla"). $85 each at Parfums Raffy.


Laduree Almond Body CreamNesti Dante Dei Colli Fiorentini Soap Set

From Laduree, Almond Body Cream (shown above left) in a green and white pot, £45 at Browns in the UK. From Nesti Dante, the Dei Colli Fiorentini Soap Set (shown above right), with soaps in Iris, Poppy, Broom, Lavender, Cypress Tree and Sweet Violet. $40 at Bella Figura.


Organic Lemonade Lip Balm, Lucy B

From Lucy B, organic Lemonade lip balm, with a "gentle Bamboo lip exfoliator to keep your lips in perfect condition". $18 at Ron Robinson.

You can find more gift ideas by scrolling through the posts in the Collector Bottles tag.

Filed Under: fragrance shopping
Tagged With: amouage, bar soap, candle, collector bottles, cream or lotion, gifts, holiday, laduree, limited edition, lip balm, lucy b, nesti dante, thierry mugler

Advertisement


41 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. CynthiaW says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:05 am

    $3000? Seriously? The bottle really isn’t *that* nice.

    Log in to Reply
    • mals86 says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:32 am

      And don’t forget, that LE bottle *still* contains Angel. Gah.

      Log in to Reply
      • CynthiaW says:
        27 October 2009 at 3:07 pm

        Yeah, that, too – blech. It probably isn’t really blech – I just have horrid associations with it. Being trapped in an elevator with someone who has doused themselves in Angel is not fun.

        Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:37 am

      It’s pretty darned spendy.

      Log in to Reply
      • ggperfume says:
        27 October 2009 at 1:05 pm

        It’s pretty darn ugly!

        Log in to Reply
  2. prism says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:12 am

    whoa

    3k

    i think i’ll get a designer bag or several designer shoes instead…

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:39 am

      I could buy a whole wardrobe for that. (but I’m cheap)

      Log in to Reply
  3. alltheprettythings says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:15 am

    I think I’d rather take the husband to Italy instead.

    Log in to Reply
    • CynthiaW says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:23 am

      Amen – there are quite a few things that I can imagine spending $3000 on that don’t involve a limited edition bottle.

      Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:38 am

      Yeah, I was thinking vacation too.

      Log in to Reply
  4. bergere says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:35 am

    Yup, you could go to France and tour a few perfumers’ shops for that.
    Swarovski certainly has successfully scaled the heights of branding and name-recognition, haven’t they? I mean, the glass gems themselves can be had incredibly cheaply (see pricing at Fire Mountain Gems), but if you put five bucks’ worth of them on a glass bottle, it becomes a luxury item.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:42 am

      Yes, Swarovski has actually done an amazing job of re-branding.

      http://www.presidiopenthouse.com/hellotaitai/crystal.html

      http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2004/0315/074.html

      Log in to Reply
      • bergere says:
        27 October 2009 at 10:56 am

        Many thanks for the references; both articles were very interesting.

        Log in to Reply
    • alltheprettythings says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:50 am

      My Mother in law makes swarovski jewelry as a side job and she buys at Fire Mtn Gems among other places. The prices are crazy cheap.

      Log in to Reply
      • Robin says:
        27 October 2009 at 11:19 am

        Yes…I was a beader for years so thought of them as cheap. Very funny to see how they jack up the price of a perfume bottle!

        Log in to Reply
  5. boojum says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:36 am

    I want that Autumn Leaves candle…but don’t want to spend $85 on it. Ouch. And I’ll be the dissenter to say that for a change (for someone who typically hates bling), I think that bottle is really beautiful.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:43 am

      Same here…actually, I want both those candles.

      Log in to Reply
    • alltheprettythings says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:50 am

      I want it too, but not at $85 … I’d rather eat at Babbo.

      Log in to Reply
      • ScentRed says:
        27 October 2009 at 1:25 pm

        Hubby and spent much less than $3000 but more than $85 on a weekend away in NYC last winter including a delicious night to remember at Babbo. I still dream about the Papparadelle with Hedgehog Mushrooms *sigh*…

        Log in to Reply
        • alltheprettythings says:
          27 October 2009 at 2:01 pm

          It’s our FAVE place to eat – we sit at the bar when we don’t have a reservation and eat all the yummy breadsticks covered in crisped parmesan… we stay across the street when we sleep over :)

          Log in to Reply
    • Daisy says:
      27 October 2009 at 12:45 pm

      The spendy bottle–pretty but ridiculous. Who in their right mind would waste money like that? Sheesh, if you DO have that much to throw away—donate it to Heifer and do some good in the world. Again: sheeeesh!

      The candles….oooooh yeah,gimme those….like when they’re on clearance somewhere for $25….it’s just scented wax for goodness sake.
      Guess, I’m just a scrooge today. :-(

      Log in to Reply
  6. Rictor07 says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:40 am

    Since when did the bottles become so important? Ive only ever really cared about the worth of the juice. Companies that try to use the bottle to inflate the cost for the consumer are scumbags.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:43 am

      That seems a bit harsh…but at any rate, most companies “use the bottle to inflate the cost” to one degree or another.

      Log in to Reply
    • alltheprettythings says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:52 am

      I’ve heard different numbers tossed around, but everyone agrees the largest percentage of the cost in mainstream perfume is packaging, not the actual juice. Followed by (or equal to) promoting.

      I’m a sucker for a pretty bottle. I even keep empties if they appeal to me.

      Log in to Reply
      • Robin says:
        27 October 2009 at 11:20 am

        Yep.

        Log in to Reply
    • pigoletto says:
      27 October 2009 at 10:53 am

      These days, I would imagine the cost of the juice is the least expensive thing in building a scent from juice to advertising…

      Log in to Reply
    • CynthiaW says:
      27 October 2009 at 11:31 am

      lol – I don’t think that I’d call them scumbags – they’re certainly opportunistic, but nobody actually has to *buy* the things.

      Log in to Reply
      • Daisy says:
        27 October 2009 at 12:47 pm

        If we can’t call them scumbags can we at least call them manipulative?? (I’ll sneakily turn that into ‘manipulative bastards’ later on my own…)

        Log in to Reply
    • lilydale aka Natalie says:
      27 October 2009 at 12:10 pm

      I agree that it’s ridiculous to jack up the price to $3K just for some cheesy rhinestones on the bottle, but on the other hand, I took a look — OK, I fondled it for a good 10 minutes — at the Kenzo UFO bottle a few days ago, and it’s an absolute pleasure to hold and behold. So, I think it hinges on whether the packaging is actually WORTH the extra cash.

      Log in to Reply
      • Robin says:
        27 October 2009 at 12:44 pm

        To me that’s different somehow. Yes, you’re paying for the bottle, but you’re paying for a Ron Arad design instead of rhinestone bling. And glad to hear it’s cool in person, I still haven’t seen it!

        Log in to Reply
  7. pigoletto says:
    27 October 2009 at 10:54 am

    I prefer the Angel refillable bottle to the mega expensive bottle! I do love the look of those LE ‘aged angel’ parfum bottles though

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 11:20 am

      You mean the Liqueur ones?

      Log in to Reply
      • pigoletto says:
        27 October 2009 at 11:52 am

        that’s right – I wish they’d do a version for the normal EDP.

        Log in to Reply
        • Robin says:
          27 October 2009 at 12:42 pm

          That would be nice, although I didn’t think they were outrageously expensive as it is…and I’m hoping they’re going to show up at the discounters.

          Log in to Reply
          • CynthiaW says:
            27 October 2009 at 1:29 pm

            Oooh… I hope so – I love the Alien Liqueur, but I’m not buying a backup at full price.

  8. Dolly says:
    27 October 2009 at 3:22 pm

    3000.00 dollars? I am applying the look-but-don’t touch theory here. Not crazy about Angel anyhow. However, I do like Nesti Dante’s soaps, esp. poppy .

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 5:44 pm

      Plus the soaps are cheaper.

      Log in to Reply
  9. megank4 says:
    27 October 2009 at 3:56 pm

    I suppose it looks nice when the bottle is full, but I don’t think it would look as nice half-full or empty, and certainly not 3000$ nice.

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      27 October 2009 at 5:45 pm

      I suppose if you spent that much, you could afford to keep it full at all times.

      Log in to Reply
  10. BuffyDaLipGlossEater says:
    28 October 2009 at 2:36 am

    Yikes! I could take my butt to Hobby Lobby and hussy up my own bottle for half the price! (Plus, I think I could do a better job *guffaw* *snicker*). As far as the juice, I haven’t smelled Angel yet, but from what I’m reading it’s an olfactory nightmare (for some).

    Oh yeah, speaking of expensive candles…
    I get catalogs from BarbieCollector.com (please, don’t ask), and they advertised a candle by some guy named, I think, John Adler (have no idea who this guy is), and that candle went for $85 dollars! Yeeeooouuucccchhh!

    Log in to Reply
    • Robin says:
      28 October 2009 at 9:21 am

      I don’t know who John Adler is either, but Amouage makes wonderful perfumes…I’d love to have one of those candles!

      Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

From NST at Twitter

    Browse by...

    Topic

    Perfume talk New fragrances
    Shopping Books :: News
    Body products Home fragrance
    Polls Another subject

    Date

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023

    Prior months

    Author

    Robin Jessica
    Angela Kevin
    Erin Guest Author

    Tag

    Celebrity perfumes
    Cheap thrills
    Collector bottles
    Perfumista tip series
    Video
    The complete tag index

    Recent reviews

    Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
    Moschino Toy Boy
    Arquiste Misfit
    Diptyque Eau Capitale
    Zoologist Bee
    Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
    Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
    Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
    L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
    Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
    Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
    Chanel 1957
    Gallivant Los Angeles
    Amouage Portrayal Woman

    Blogroll

    Bois de Jasmin
    Grain de Musc
    Perfume Posse
    The Non-Blonde
    More blogs...

    Perfumista lists

    100 fragrances every perfumista should try
    And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
    50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
    26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
    25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
    11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

    Favorite posts

    The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
    Why I Love Old School Chypres
    New to perfume and want to learn more?
    How to make fragrance last through the day
    Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
    On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
    How to get fragrance samples
    Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

    Upcoming

    List of upcoming Friday projects

    8 July ~ summer reading poll

    Back to Top

    Home
    About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

    Shop for Perfume Online
    Perfume Shopping in New York
    Perfume Shopping in London
    Perfume Reviews
    New Perfumes
    General Perfume Articles
    The Monday Mail

    Glossary of Perfume Terms
    Perfume FAQ
    Perfume Links
    Perfume Books
    Fragrance Awards

    Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

    Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
    H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
    T :: U-Z

    Copyright © 2005-2023 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.