Scentzilla!

Derrik J. Lang, a writer with the AP and also the blogger behind The Slug, recently asked myself and the always funny gals from Perfume Posse to weigh in with our opinions on a smattering of celebrity fragrances for ASAP: Smells like celebrity spirit.

I recently had a chance to speak with Laurent Le Guernec on the phone about our Made by Blog perfume project, as we move into Round 3 of the mods for my proposed fragrance, Auxeos. You can read all about it by clicking here.

My reviews of the Round 2 Mods were posted earlier last month, which can be found by clicking here.

Howdy, and welcome to Scentzilla! Thanks for stopping by. If you’d like to look around for specific houses or fragrances, the drop down menu at right will allow you to jump to the reviews written for each house.

The winner of the sample of Tauer Perfumery’s Orris sample is Karen, who nominated L’eau par Kenzo and Vera Wang Princess. Please email me with your mailing address, Karen, and congrats! :)
Now then, let’s narrow down a winner for the 1st Annual Farty Award! Vote!

Ever get the feeling that more than a few perfume houses are downright farty lately?

I don’t mean artsy-fartsy, nor do I mean their fragrances smell like actual passed gas. In fact, the hallmark of most farty perfumes is that they smell perfectly pleasant. And perfectly boring.

It’s an unfortunate phenomenon which happens to every house once in a while.

Some more than others.

The pressure builds and builds, and they’ve just got to release something. They don’t mean to: It’s not as if they’re intentionally polluting the air.

But they do, temporarily relieving the pressure and subjecting everyone else to the emitting ‘fumes. And they like their own. Understandably. It’s said we all do, secretly.

So here’s a proposition: name your personal picks for farty fragrances. Nominate the fartiest fragrance of 2006 (thus far), as well as perhaps those you feel should enter the Farty Hall of Fame. For example, I think perhaps the honor of being the fartiest fragrance of 2005 falls to Coty’s Shania.

Don’t worry about repeating nominations. If it turns out I’m not alone in the sentiment, I’ll tally up the responses and run a poll to narrow down the winner (loser?)

Who will win the 1st Annual Farty?

One lucky commenter who mentions his/her nominations, chosen randomly from a bowl by my husband, will win a sample of Tauer Perfumery’s lovely limited edition Orris. Which is not farty in the least. (I know that sounds like a back-handed compliment, I know, and am so sorry about that Andy.) I would reward the winner with a farty, but that sounds an awful lot like pouring salt into a wound and then mailing the recipient more salt. Better to send ya somethin’ nice, somethin’ that’ll make ya smile. This offer is open to anyone anywhere in the world.

On a seperate, though arguably related note, why does Vera Wang Princess have a myspace? Or more accurately, what does anyone get out of being a “friend” of an inanimate object? I’m curious. Would “friending,” say, a potato peeler prove any more sensical?

COMMENTS AND DRAWING ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED 

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Scentzilla speaks,

“September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Feelin’ unsure exactly how t’ talk like a pirate? Click on the image at port, that ye may watch an instructional video. Perhaps your favorite websites aren’t a celebratin’? Click here t’ find an English to Pirate webpage translator.”

Or may’haps you be a modern pirate. Avast! Be ye in need t’ find a proper but fashionable sea chanty? Ahoy then, ye trendy metropirates, look ye no farther than Pirate in a Box (Parody of Wig in a Box from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, via WikiLemon.)

No perfume review today. I haven’t got it in me.

Please visit the 2,996 Blog.

Remember their lives as something bigger than their deaths. And then remember our unity on that day, and the days that followed as we tried to make sense of what happened.

Unity is not a means to a political end, despite the wrangling and grandstanding of our leaders.

Unity is not about agreeing to a lockstep mentality.

Unity is not about control, be that control of a message or control of other people.

Unity is the spontaneous coalescence of regular citizens who take their individual feelings of compassion and act upon them with hope and love for a greater good.

Despite the horror and inhumanity of 9/11, something beautiful persevered. Our unity. Not the government’s, not some jingoistic talking head’s. Ours. The American peoples’. Don’t let anyone get away with co-opting or perverting it today, on this fifth anniversary of the attacks.

Remember those who passed, recall what you were feeling that day as you watched what happened to them. And think of them with love. It’s okay to be angry: We all were. But we must remember that feeling of unity, of aching compassion, to avoid acting in anger.

Anger oftentimes is fear in disguise; to behave in anger is to behave fearfully.

Refuse the message of those preying upon our fear when they speak of 9/11.

Fear is the enemy of unity.

Someone You Tube‘d a “Beauty on a Budget” comedic skit from the BBC show “Touch Me - I’m Karen Taylor.” How to make perfume, heh:

Seriously want.

Don’t need it.

It’d just make us hungry all the time for no good reason.

Still?

I must own this now. And this. Also this. Plus this.

(via Boing Boing)

David Ray’s new blog, Makeup Beat, has posted a link to hear the new song Rufus Wainwright wrote for the upcoming Viktor & Rolf perfume release, Antidote. You can find his post by clicking here.