Scentzilla!

V’Tae Parfum & Body Care promises that its products are ” made with specially selected essential oils and organic, natural ingredients” and ” 100% cruelty free & PETA approved,” on their official website. What I find are afforadable products of good quality.

Sacred Fire is a pillowy and smokey incense fragrance, with an arid base of cedar and sandalwood. It’s warm spices perk my nose up, but never overpower me or make me feel like I’m only wearing spices. Corriander is the listed spice, but what it smells like to me is Mexican cinnamon sticks. A dab, and only the smallest dab, of vanilla seems to dwell at the heart of the scent. The perfumer who made it has a really nice delicate touch here, and consequently I’d describe it as a sensual but subtle incense perfume. There’s something to the feel of it that reminds me well of Givenchy’s Organza Indecence, which from me is a very complimentary comparison. I think my fellow Organza Indecence worshippers will find much to like in this fragrance. Sacred Fire is available both directly through V’Tae for $25, and discounted to $15 on the Amazon.com storefront for VitaminLife if you plan to spend enough to take advantage of their specials. It can be had for the same price of $15 directly through VitaminLife.com, however.

Green Grass & Sunshine is downright cheery. It goes on my skin quite sharply at first, and I have to wait several minutes before I can apreciate what it has to offer. The scent of a newly mown baseball field, wooden park benches warming in the sun, a glass of lemonade dripping with condensation from the summer heat: all these allusions artfully create an ideal summer setting. The notes smell to me like lemongrass, grass, juice-dripping citrus fruits like orange and lemon, and a particularly fine sandalwood note such as the one used in Czech & Speake’s No.88. It was a delightful discovery, and it can currently be had for a virtual steal for $7.24 at Amazon.com:::update::: SOLD OUT. There are some Green Grass & Sunshine body lotions going cheap from this eBay seller, and the eau de parfum is still being sold at Lotion Ocean for $19.50.

Egyptian Garden cooled me strangely enough, though it offers an almost-musky ambery aroma. Gentle use of florals adds to the cooling effect, causing me to smell clean and dew drop fresh, with little of the heaviness you might expect from an “oriental” perfume. It’s as refreshing as munching on cold cucumber slices on a hot day, though I did not per se actually smell cucumbers in the scent. Amazon.com describes it as a “velvety, sultry, complex parfum that has great tenacity,” and I would agree with that assessment. However, if you are sensitive to musks, especially in the warmer seasons, I might avoid buying this perfume unsniffed. The best deal for Egyptian Garden is also via the Amazon.com storefront for Vitamin Life if you plan to spend enough to take advantage of their specials. However, it can be had directly through VitaminLife.com for the same price of $27.

Important News for Stila Cosmetics Fans: According to the Beauty Jones blog, Stila will NO LONGER be carried at Nordstrom. Please see click on the link and read her right hand sidebar for more information.

Updated list of participants in the upcoming Mother’s Day Benevolent Blogging event:

Legerdenez is written by Cait Shorell, whose big beautiful brain I would love to crawl inside just to see how it works. Her sharp sythetical mind is able to see connections between different art forms in ways that are exciting and surprising. Her appreciation of perfumery, art, and literature never fail to inform and entertain. Legerdenez will be donating $1 for every comment made on the post on Mother’s Day to Orphan Foundation of America, and in addition, she awesomely will be holding a drawing for a to-be-announced perfume giveaway of some sort.

Victoria of Victoria’s Own has beautiful taste, and daily shares both her scent of the day as well as a photo of the day, usually taken from some favorite spot in Paris. Her readers offer up comments on what their choice of fragrance is for the day as well, and the range of perfumes worn by all is impressive. Reading her unpretentious and straightforward reviews is a delight, and no can ever predict what she will be wearing next because her curiosity is so far-reaching. Victoria will be sponsoring FINCA International on Mother’s Day.

Brain Trapped In Girl’s Body is Tania’s blog. She has a cunning way with language; she is its mistress, making it do what she wants when she wants. Her blog has sported a wide range of topics, from cooking to perfume to economics to science, and she covers all of it with her characteristic intelligence and charm. She’s also the author of a crazy and fun novel written in the word-spree that is NaNoWriMo, which you can read in full by clicking on her archives for November of 2005. I don’t know just yet which charity she will be supporting, but she is definitely in!