Beauty's Product: Van Cleef and Arpels Féerie

This mesmerizing little bottle debuts just in time for the Holidays. Van Cleef & Arpels New Fragrance, Féerie, wins the Beauty's SPOT award for best perfume packaging. Ever. Now if I could just get the Van Cleef & Arpels faerie to visit me on Christmas with some of exquisite jewels...

Family: Floral Woody

Top Notes: In this paradise of exquisite scents, violet tantalizes with the delicate freshness of its green leaves. Buds of blackcurrant, rounded with sparkling Italian mandarin, whirl with whimsy around a cheerful note of refined poesy.

Heart Notes: Bulgarian Rose and rose essence bring warmth and festive radiance to Egyptian Jasmine, which exhales a soft, sensual sophistication.

Base Notes: Florentine Iris butter shines at the base long after the night has extinguished the stars. Its vibrant elegance blends with the majestic scent of Haitian vetiver, the most precious of woods.

Price: Eau de Parfum -100ml/$150; 50ml/$110

Available exclusively at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Van Cleef & Arpels boutiques.

Beauty's Product: A Good Note for Britney Spears

Following her triumph at the VMAs and an apparent personal rejuvenation, Britney is launching an aptly named new scent, believe. The scent will be available in department stores mid-October.

Britney Spears™ believe is the latest addition to Britney’s fragrance collection, which also includes curious Britney Spears™ and fantasy Britney Spears™. The new fragrance is a confident expression of optimism and individuality. Sensual and warm. Delicate and feminine. A sparkling blend of exotic fruits, soft florals and seductive amber.

Scent Notes:

Top
Inner light shines outward with a mouthwatering top note of guava pulp and golden tangerine.

Heart
A delicate blend of feminine honeysuckle is intertwined with hints of linden blossom.

Drydown
A balance of sophistication and youthful spirit, patchouli aura is wrapped in a wink of sensual amber and pink praline

THE PRODUCTS

1.0 fl. oz./ 30 ml Eau de Parfum Spray $38.00
1.7 fl. oz./ 50 ml Eau de Parfum Spray $48.00
3.3 fl. oz./ 100 ml Eau de Parfum Spray $58.00
6.8 fl. oz./ 200 ml Feeling is Believing Body Soufflé $25.00

Benefit Cosmetics Gets Hip, Launches B Spot.

Benefit is one of my favorite cosmetic companies for SO many reasons. Now they are speaking directly to me and launching a perfume called B Spot. Coincidentally, it is based on some of my favorite scents. Take their quiz to figure out the location of your B Spot. Enjoy!

Mukhalat Sheikha Lubna: Scent of a Beautiful Woman

'Mukhalat Sheikha Lubna' loosely translates to Scent of Sheikha Lubna. But it might as well be called scent of the most kick-ass powerful woman in the middle east. Her perfume is described as floral, energetic and powerful . I venture to say that this is the first perfume from a female politician that people actually want to buy. Can you imagine coveting Eau de Margret Thatcher? Yeah, me either. Upon reading this Portfolio article on her I had an immediate hunch that there is a beauty icon lurking underneath that veil. I was right.

This brilliant woman went from Cal State Alum to computer scientist to middle eastern economic linchpin in a very short time. She is only 50. She is the first female minister in the United Arab Emirates and she is the Minister of Finance and Foreign Trade. No small task in a strategically placed, oil saturated, 36 year old country. Part of the reason she is my new hero is not only that she is trail blazing for women everywhere and out witting all of her peers but clearly, she reveres and respects that certain part of being a woman where your beauty is about your relationship with yourself, and your presentation is about what makes you feel sexy rather than what your audience wants to see. “You know it’s a very feminine fragrance and I’m not a feminist. I like being a lady. I don’t like this business of women marching. A woman should be beautiful, eloquent, smart and hard-working but, above all, feminine.” Can I get an amen?

She had me at 'eloquent' but her sound bites are so charming I'll share just one more from the Portfolio article, "My proudest achievement is that I am a bridge. Women are following my example. I am changing the mind-set of young girls, saying, 'It’s okay. Look, I'm here. I'm on the other side, and you can breeze through. Not bad for a geek with a perfume." And her perfume, which launched in summer 2007, benefits an organization called Friends of Cancer Patients. This woman has a brilliant, sweet plan and I hope to cover a forthcoming makeup line as well.

Since it's launch, Mukhalat Sheikha Lubna has only been available at Saks in Dubai. I know I have readers in Dubai so I am counting on you. Please comment and let me know how I can get my hands on this 'Mukhalat'.

4711 Perfume from the Soap Opera

This is why I love The Soap Opera. Because I can order 4711 and other highly sought after, rare perfumes from them! Based on a light citrus and herbal formula made by a French émigré friar, this scent was named after the house number assigned to the Mulhens Family perfumery's shop during the 1794 French occupation of Cologne (Koln), Germany. Napoleon used to bathe in a diluted version of this scent. World famous for generations and unchanged for centuries. Perfect for those who want something light, fresh and classic. Recommended for men or women. In glass, and boxed. ($21.50, 2 oz)