Kiehl’s has launched the Aromatic Blends collection, with four new fragrances: Fig Leaf & Sage, Vanilla & Cedarwood, Orange Flower & Lychee and Nashi Blossom & Pink Grapefruit…
Bunch o’ limited edition collector bottles 2011, part 17
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.
From Chantecaille, special order bottles decorated with crystals: “This season Chantecaille introduces hand-decorated Swarovski® embellished fragrance bottles. Exclusive and luxurious, these bottles are the creations of the renowned artist Cimon. His fanciful Swarovski® adorned sculptures are collected all over the world. Like a couture gown, each exquisitely decorated bottle may be special ordered in the [sic] and will be received in four weeks.” Available in all of the Chantecaille fragrances; Frangipani is shown. $600 each at Neiman Marcus…
Kiehl’s Original Musk Blend No. 1 ~ fragrance review
Kiehl’s (Since 1851) Original Musk Blend No. 1 has been around a long time if you believe Kiehl’s PR: “Our original musk oil is believed to have been created in the 1920s at the ‘Kiehl Apothecary.’ Discovered there in a vat labeled ‘Love Oil’ in the late 50s, Kiehl’s signature scent was reintroduced to our patrons in 1963.” I recently sniffed Original Musk for the first time, and it reminds me of many higher priced perfumes: inside Original Musk there’s a pinch of Hermès Eau d’ Hermès with its grainy, leather-cumin accord, a hint of Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khan (“tough” musk with flowers), and a ghostly bit of, believe it or not, Chanel No. 5’s floral aldehydes.
Original Musk is, of course, a synthetic musk fragrance; it has “body” but it’s still a light version of musk — not heavy in the least. Kiehl’s lists Original Musk’s fragrance notes as bergamot nectar, orange blossom, lily, rose, ylang-ylang, neroli, tonka bean, white patchouli and musk.
There are no distinct stages of development in Original Musk…
Kiehl’s Coriander Gently Exfoliating Body Scrub and Deluxe Hand & Body Lotion ~ scented body products
In general, I feel ambivalent about Kiehl’s and its products. The company has managed to sustain an impressive degree of its old-New-York, neighborhood-apothecary image (“Since 1851”) despite having been acquired by L’Oreal in 2000. Since then, however, its ever-expanding product range has started to seem diffuse and inconsistent, and the products themselves are often over-priced and not nearly as nature-based as they sometimes claim to be. Still, I keep going back for Kiehl’s Coriander-scented body products; I’ve been hooked on this fragrance for over five years, and I haven’t found anything to replace it.
Kiehl’s Gently Exfoliating Body Scrub is a relatively recent addition to the line, but it’s one of the newer products that I enjoy; it’s conveniently packaged in a flip-top tube, and it has a lightly-foaming formula with small exfoliating particles that feel pleasantly scrubby, but not scratchy. The Deluxe Hand & Body Lotion with Aloe Vera & Oatmeal is actually fairly lightweight, so if you have seriously dry skin, you’ll need something more concentrated. Both products are packed with the sorts of ingredients that I normally try to avoid when possible: sulfates and plastics in the scrub, silicones and parabens in the lotion, many mysterious multi-syllabic chemicals in both…
Kiehl's Essence Oils ~ new fragrances
Kiehl's has launched a collection of their classic essence oils in rollerball format:
A collection of rich essences from the 122 unique fragrant oils formulated in the original “Kiehl Pharmacy,” packaged into an elegant amber glass cylinder with a roller ball applicator. A concentrated fragrant experience is beautifully combined with ease of portabilty…