I bet lots of Now Smell This readers can relate to the following scenario: you’re in, say, Paris (somewhere “foreign,” far from home) and you find yourself in one of those shops that sells expensive little rarities — red silk Chinese lanterns with hand-painted calligraphy, tiny porcelain monkey figurines from Thailand, gold-and-horn letter openers from Kenya, babouches from Morocco — and you come across a gorgeous box of soap; each hefty bar of soap is wrapped in handmade paper and tied with a heavy ribbon. The scent of the soap is lovely but you don’t recognize the manufacturer, have never heard of or seen this delightful product before. The enticing perfume rising from the box of soap makes you imagine using it back home: it will make you feel confident and happy, it will remind you of your trip, it will make you feel rich and glamorous. You look at the price tag: the box of soap is $120 — $40 a bar!

In shock, you put down the box of soap and start wandering around the shop. You think: “This is outrageously priced!” “Decadent!” You attempt to gauge how long the box of soap will last…a month? six weeks? “So each bath will cost.…” As you pace around the shop, listening to Shirley Bassey singing Diamonds Are Forever on the sound system, your mind becomes calmer, your thoughts clearer…

Read the rest of this article »

Infusion d’Iris is the latest fragrance release from Prada, and I was looking forward to smelling it on several counts. Iris is one of my favorite notes, and the iris perfume sold on a small scale in the Prada boutiques a few years back (sorry, not sure if it is still there or not) was lovely. I’ve also been impressed with Prada’s mainstream perfumes to date, and I am especially fond of Prada Man, so I was excited to hear that the same perfumer who created that scent (Daniela Andrier) did Infusion d’Iris as well.

My first impression wasn’t entirely positive. The first thing you need to know about Infusion d’Iris, if you haven’t smelled it yet, is that it is light. Really light — hence, perhaps, the massive vat of juice the model is swooning over in the ad shown above. It is just a wispy little slip of a scent. On my first encounter, I sprayed a little on a card, and thought it quite nice, but within an hour, it didn’t smell like anything worth worrying about either way.

Still, on my next shopping trip, I sprayed a little on skin on the way out of the store. It is just as well that Infusion d’Iris wasn’t actually for sale yet, as I might have gone back to buy it on the spot…

Read the rest of this article »