I've talked about the Astier de Villatte scented erasers before, and reader Nozknoz kindly let me know that they're now at Aedes for $6.50 a pop: "Astier de Villatte's perfumed eraser. An elegant accessory for your office desk, stationery or a perfect little gift." Available in 7 fragrances; shown is Grand Chalet — Kevin says "Grand Chalet starts with a beautiful, realistic linden blossom aroma: lush and honeyed, but still having an air of innocence."
Perfume on a Budget
In the United States, tomorrow is tax day. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling the pinch in my wallet. Making things worse, fragrance prices seem to be skyrocketing. Yet, I love perfume. How can we enjoy perfume and still pay the bills?
You already know the basic tips about buying decants, not buying unsniffed, and checking the discount sites. Now I offer you another tip: Don’t buy perfume. At all.
Crazy, isn’t it? And almost insultingly obvious. But I’m serious. Until your financial coffers are replenished, don’t buy any more perfume. Instead, make the most of the perfume you already have. Here are some ideas…
The daily lemming
Cute martini-shaker packaging for the new-ish Shower Cocktails from Yes To, in Revitalizing ("boosting your skin with grapefruit, mandarin orange and kiwi"), Hydrating ("a tropical paradise...with coconut, mango and papaya") and Detoxifying ("a healthy cleanse with lemon, ginger and epsom salt"). $7.99 each for 473 ml at Target (and as of this writing, two of the three can be found on Amazon Prime for the same price). If anyone has smelled or used these, do comment!
The daily lemming
A rare cheap thrill + charity + cute packaging mashup lemming — L'Occitane's Shea Butter Violet Solidarity Balm: "Enriched with shea butter, this violet fragranced balm helps nourish, soften and protect the lips, body and hair. In partnership with the UN Women, 100% of the profits from the sale of this balm will finance NGOs projects to promote women’s leadership in the world, with the support of the L'OCCITANE Foundation." $6 (how can you refuse?) for 20g.
(Guy Laroche) J’ai Ose ~ fragrance review
I need your help. I’m sampling J’ai Osé, and I can find barely anything about it in my books and on the internet. NST’s readership is a robust brain trust. Between all of us, we should be able to unearth the story behind J’ai Osé, including who created it and the differences between the original and current formulas.
This is what I know: J’ai Osé launched in 1977, and its notes include peach, coriander, citrus, jasmine, patchouli, rose, orris, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, amber, olibanum, oakmoss, musk and benzoin. It used to be part of the Guy Laroche perfume house but now is sold under the name “J’ai Osé” alone. (Guy Laroche lists only Fidji and Drakkar Noir on its website now.)
Another thing I know about J’ai Osé is that I adore it…