Smiley Daisy

https://store.smileydaisy.com/

There are so many aromatherapy diffusers, how do you choose a good one – or a great one? Reviews point to outstanding products and that is where Smiley Daisy emerged, when I researched aromatherapy diffusers.

First, a diffuser such as the Hibiscus Diffuser from Smiley Daisy does two things (well three, if you can pleasant fragrance a benefit). It diffuses therapteutic essential oils in same, diffused amounts and it gently wafts some pleasant humidity into the air – especially helpful during the dry, winter months.

The Hibiscus Diffuser is whisper-quiet, as it’s billed, and comes with 7-colour changing LED lamps. It’s pleasant oval shape of natural wood is am ambient addition to whatever your décor.

But the combination of lights, humidity, and fragrance ensures you get all the good of a few therapies including aromatherapy, aqua therapy and lights therapy. But it’s also worry free as it turns itself off automatically once it extends beyond it’s 6 hour usage. There are two mist settings of continuous mist or a 2-hour auto-shut off which is really perfect for later in the evening before you turn in. It easily fills a 200 square foot room with fragrance, using an AC 100-240 V outlet. Great in the bedroom but perfect for the den or home office or a small waiting room. If you have any issues whatsoever, there’s the comfort of the 180 day warranty and the company, overall, is exceptionally responsive. A great pick among the many options – with other models available.

Unexpected Victoria by Victorinox: Feminine, elegant, fresh and ....enduring.

Top Notes: Freesia, Plum, Black Currant

Heart Notes: Lily of the Valley, Viol.ets, Bulgarian Rose

Base Notes: Cedar Leaf, Sandalwood, White Musk, Myrr

Victoria by Swiss Army Victorinox is all at once startling and subtle. As first blush, it’s frocky, airy and elegantly yet girlish floral. And then it settles dance like an ingénue at the third or fourth dance. 

The heady freesia and fruity plum and black currant quiet down and the eternal prettiness of Lily of the Valley, Sandalwood, and White Musk move in; the cedar ensures it’s anchored in place and like a white corsage, created to last the full evening in fragrant freshness, Victoria goes from ingénue to leading lady. Great staying power and somehow still understated – a unexpected signature scent that will take you from daytime to early evening – and linger to midnight if need be.

https://www.swissarmy.com/ca/en/Victorinox-Homepage/cms/home

Perfect Perfume Cabinet for the Perfume Collector : the Altra Aaron Lane Bookcase

Nothing is more frustrating for perfume collectors than never quite finding the right cabinet to display and safely store their perfume bounty. Next to tracking down your favorite (often discontinued) perfume, this has to be the most challenging missions.  As any perfumnista knows,  once you’re a perfume collector you quickly run out of space for your collection. Bathroom vanities, while a logical choice, are not ideal. Not only is there rarely enough space in the typical vanity but the humidity of that room compromises perfumes. Too much light and moisture can easily discolour a cherished bottle of Shalimar or otherwise change the fragrance notes of your last bottle of Chanel 5. But finally, I found my solution, a beautiful cabinet with glass doors made by Ameriwood.com called the Altra Aaron Lane Bookcase with Sliding Doors. They’re available from Amazon (link: https://www.amazon.com/Altra-Aaron-Bookcase-Sliding-Glass/dp/B00Q8MUFIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499808521&sr=8-1&keywords=aaron+lane+bookcase+with+sliding+glass+doors

Although the Aaron Lane is designed as an all- purpose curio or occasional cabinet, it seems custom-designed for a perfumer’s collection. There’s enough room for one thing to both display perfumes and below, where the glass discontinues, amble storage for toiletries (manicure stuff for example). Inside, there’s room for double rows of perfume or place the perfume bottles in front with their beautiful packaging/boxes behind them. This is also a good visual clue of which perfume is which.

The glass shelves keep things out of direct light, preserving the expensive liquid treasures and keeps things dust free.

Featuring an exceptional design, the Altra Aaron Lane Bookcase is a practical and beautiful addition to your home even if you weren’t dedicating to perfume. Having tried many similar units and watched them collapse or they were impossible to put together to begin with, this Ameriwood cabinet is a true find. It’s easy to assemble, made with solid wood, finishing screws (versus nails) and the sliding mechanism of the doors outshines anything in its category.


This unit, which is also perfect as  DVD, CD cabinet (yes, some people still have those collecetions as well) or as a bookcase of course, includes 4 shelves behind the 2 sliding doors. There’s also plenty of storage space that is hidden below (where the glass ends) to keep messier or less pretty stuff away from view.

Rubino Perfume, Cheri Milani

Top Notes: White Rose
Middle Notes : Green Apple, Pear, Violet
Base Notes: Musk Vanilla

Milani Cultura is a lifestyle brand from Italy, by artistic fashion visionary Cheri Milaney. This exciting blend of fresh feminine design styles is also part of the concept behind the four-perfume niche fragrance offerings including Rubino, Perla, Ametista and Topazio.

Rubino is one of my personal favorites.
If you are a fan of Italian perfumes or cotton to scents that are vitally alive and almost 'watery' or juicy with fragrance, any one of the Cheri Milaney quartet will appeal.

http://www.cherimilaney.com/

Little Red Dress. Avon

Perfumer: Sonia Constant

Top Notes: Citruses, raspberry, plum
Heart Notes: Jasmine, rose
Base Notes: Musk, sandalwood, amber

Avon launched several ‘dress’ scents (Little Black Dress, Gold, Lace and Sequence) and Red Dress is one of the most beloved in the line-up.

Firstly, it has perfumer par excellence behind it, Sonia Constant. Constant is the spirit nose behind many luxury brands including (Flower Bomb) Viktor and Rolf, Fragonard, Burberry, Coach, Guerlain, and the newest Narcisco Rodriguez Musc de Rose, among countless others. For a berry/fruity perfume, this one floats with just amount of jasmine and rose to lighten it and keep it from becoming a syrupy ‘gourmand’. The wood notes and musk balance the berries. If I were to describe it I would say, wearing this is like being in a forest of wild raspberries, a touch of moss and deep, warm but oddly cool ‘woods’. It’s like a dewy forest that is fresh and green (is it the citrus that does that?) but surprisingly approachable for the floral and fruit notes. This is a great daytime perfume because it’s feminine without being office-inappropriate but due to its longevity – impressive – it’s not a bad end-of-day, cinq-a-sept fragrance that makes the transition from office to cocktail party or early evening violin quartet concert, complete with nibbles and wine on an summer’s evening. This is a particularly feminine perfume and while it’s sweet, it’s not cloying. For the price and the nose behind it, it’s another one of those Avon best-kept-secret ‘steals’.

Top Notes: Lavender, Aldehydes,  Hyacinth, Lily

Middle Notes: Orris, Rose, Ylang, Vioelt

Base Notes:  Solar Accord, Sandalwood,  Moss, Ambrette

What we now call a vintage perfume is for many of us (circa baby boomers) the scent of our youth or the ascent of our young adulthood. That fragrance is encapsulated in the relaunch of iconic Babe perfume.

Originally launched in 1977 by Faberge, Babe was intended to capture strength in femininity, a certain assertion, happy boldness, sportiness and a sexy, can-do persona. Babe was all about beauty, the new ‘career’ woman, active and engaged but always up for romance. Actress Margaux Hemmingway was one spokeswoman and later on, aerobic guru Kathy Smith did the honors. Babe was discontinued in 1992 but happily relaunched in 2015. The expert perfumers at renown Givaudan were faithful to the original creation and Babe, circa 2015, is as beautiful as it ever was.

A quote from the company behind Babe,

After lengthy research we were fortunate enough to find the original ingredients from the public records and from collectors of the original perfume. This gave us the assurance that we could recreate the original Babe perfume. We employed the renowned French perfumer, Givaudan to develop the perfume, working with this information in their highly specialised laboratories to create numerous samples for the fans to test and eventually approve.

(Babe’s composition purports to have 118 different essences, aside from the main ones indicated above).

Babe is a startling perfume at first whiff, almost outrageous - especially if you’re just beginning to exit the world of sweet gourmands (Flower Bomb, La Vie Est Belle, Angel) or were brought up on light white florals. But then it settles in and suddenly you are in an oddly warm and cuddly forest of greens, moss, florals and an anchoring of sandalwood and sweetness of honey. The silage and longevity are excellent.

I think Babe is sexy for 2017 as it was in 1977 but this time, the sexiness is not a façade but the perfume and the woman that wear it are not just a veneer or Madison Avenue ad campaign but an ‘earned’ earthy, contemporary fragrance that is age-proof. (Plus you don’t have to be an 80’s career woman to wear it; start-up gals and millennials and boomers wanting a fragrant trip down memory lane will adore this revival. 

http://www.babeperfume.com/