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Browsing by author: Jessica

Gallivant Bukhara & Une Nuit Nomade Nothing But Sea and Sky ~ fragrance reviews

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As I’m writing this review, it’s the day after Election Day in the United States.* We don’t discuss politics here at Now Smell This, so I’ll just say that it’s been a stressful week (and month and year) so far. The current suspense is making me wish I were somewhere other than here, somewhere other than now, although I’m not usually much of traveler.

Come to think of it, I first expressed my non-wanderlust in a review of two fragrances from Une Nuit Nomade, Rose America and Memory Motel. The description for Nothing But Sea and Sky, the latest in Une Nuit Nomade’s tribute to the beaches of New York’s Montauk, caught my eye…

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Velvet & Sweet Pea Luminous Lemurs ~ perfume review

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Back in June, I wondered whether we’d see any independent perfumers responding to the events of 2020 through their fragrance work. Yes, as it turns out: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz has been creating a series of fragrance “sketches” inspired by her home surroundings (see my review of Hot Masala), and now Laurie Stern of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery has released Luminous Lemurs. Laurie writes, “COVID-19 has made it even more clear to me that the purpose of my work is to help animals and indigenous communities,” and Luminous Lemurs is a tribute to these endangered creatures and their human neighbors.

I’m a longtime fan of Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Black Cat, Honey and Moonlight, so I would have been curious about Luminous Lemurs if I hadn’t known that it’s being launched for a good cause. Laurie is donating portion of its profits to Centre ValBio…

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Yosh Sottile, Ginger Ciao & Omnistar ~ fragrance reviews

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The early-2020 closing of the Barneys New York flagship store on Madison Avenue was a sad moment for me. I’ve been shopping there for fragrance and makeup for longer than I care to admit, and I have happy memories of meeting the creators of various cosmetics and perfume brands during “personal appearance” events on the beauty floor. One of those creators was Yosh Han, whose line of perfume oils was carried by Barneys and was popular amongst Makeup Alley perfumistas in the early 2000s. I remember chatting briefly with Yosh and telling her how much I liked Winter Rose, among other scents in her collection.

I always kept an eye (and a nose) on Yosh’s work and even ran into her from time to time during her recurring New York visits. I worried a little when her perfume oils started vanishing from various online retailers a year or two ago, and then I was relieved to learn that a rebranding had been in progress…

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Maya Njie Les Fleurs, Nordic Cedar & Vanilj ~ fragrance reviews

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I’ve never been a minimalist — not by nature, not by nurture. I’ll never live in an airy space with bare white walls or limit my clothing to a capsule wardrobe. My taste in perfume typically matches my taste in clothing and decor, leaning towards retro florals and cozy ambers. But in fragrance, at least, I’ll occasionally experiment to some extent.

In this spirit, I ordered a few samples from the Swedish-born, London-based indie perfumer Maya Njie, who founded her fragrance line in 2016. (It’s only recently become available in the United States, where I live.) Njie describes her olfactory aesthetic as “the spirit connected to the classic 1970s Scandinavian idyll, combined with the soul of her esoteric Gambian heritage.” That reference to Scandinavian 1970s style, plus the clean design of her perfume bottles and labels, made me expect minimalist perfumes…

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A handful of hand sanitizers ~ fragranced body product review

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I’ve never thought as much about hand sanitizer in my life as I’ve thought about it over the past five months. Sure, I typically had a half-used bottle of the stuff floating around in my tote bag, for moments when I want to clean my hands after touching an ATM or eating something messy on the go. Who ever thought hand sanitizer would become a hot commodity in Spring 2020?1

As I’m slowly inching towards my return to mass transit and the workplace (part-time, at least), I’m taking inventory of my hand sanitizer stash…

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