The Organic Beauty Expert

Honore des Pres organic perfume review

Honores des Pres was created by famed perfumer Olivia Giacobetti and until recently was only available in Paris. Thanks to the fabulous folks over at Lucky Scent I was able to review the entire collection and have my review for you to peruse.

Before I delve, though, here's a few things you gotta understand from the jump about natural and organic perfumes:

• If you're expecting intense staying power, it's time to change your paradigm or not wear organic perfumes. I've tested a good number of natural perfumes and pretty much across the board (and based on the base oils used) the average time is about 4 hours, give or take
• It's probably more money than you might want to spend. Again... it's made from essential oils and they cost money, so you may get less perfume for more money. Like everything, it depends on what your needs are and what your budget can handle for a perfume purchase.
• Before you go buy the big bottle, order a sample set. Any good store knows that perfume needs to be experienced and should offer samples. Nothing worse than spending $150 on a bottle that smelled great on your BFF and discovering it just in no way works for you. 

Now that that's covered... the review.

Products reviewed: 100 ml bottles (3.3 oz) at $145 each (sample set for $30)

• Bonte's Bloom
  
• Chaman's Party
• Honore's Trip
  
• Nu Green
  
• Sexy Angelic

Filles des Iles :: The perfect scent for your sexy spring

2009 is definitely the year of being a woman. I mean, a feminine, sexy, sultry kitty kat who is über aware of her ability to charm and beguile. Forget the power suits and the need to "act like a man." A little cleavage with faux pearls and a smile work so much better at getting what you need.

It's Saturday night and you're out with your girlfriend, perhaps a little cougar on the hunt action or just a night on the town, feeling at ease with yourself and your womanhood. Nothing makes the night a success like a scent that wraps your body like a pure silk kimono. For those kind of nights, there's nothing that will complete your outfit like Fille des Iles' Floral Sensual Roll On.

Why roll on versus the spray? We know you're a woman. The delicate laceiness of your push-up bra and arched brows set the stage. The mystery of a woman lies in her ability to offer a hint of scent. A whiff of aromatic sensuality as you brush by... whomever catches your eye.

Are you going to meet your lover? Be sure to roll Filles des Iles Floral Exotique through your hair... on your ankles... your inner thighs... the nape of your neck.... behind your ear. You're a woman... you know how to work it!

Olivia Giacobetti creates first French organic perfume, Honore des Pres

from press release
Honoré des Prés is the first line of french organic scents designed by Olivia Giacobetti, who is also the first famous french perfumer to accept the challenge of creating unique and perfectly organic pefumes.

"Honoré des Prés teamed up with fragrance designer Olivia Giacobetti, one of the most talented noses of the younger generation to whom we owe numerous compositions for such prestigious houses as L'Artisan Parfumeur,diptyque, Guerlain, Frédéric Malle, Agnès b., Hermès and her own baby, IUNX fragrances."

Olivia Giacobetti creates 4 of the 5 Honoré des Prés fragrances, and opens the door of a new parfumery in line with new consumers' expectations.  The scents are completely organic and certified by the ECOCERT Label.  They include no petrochemical products or synthetic perfumes, they are free of colouring agents and phthalates. The 5 perfumes were launched in the end of November in France, in exclusivity in Paris at the private space "The Scent Room" in the department store "Le Printemps" and in selected shops in France. The range retails US dollars, on average $200 for 100ml.

LUSH gets you solid scents for fall

Solid Perfumes are great when you’re on the go – in your purse, desk drawer or in your carryon bag – and they are especially perfect for anyone wanting to fulfill any New Year’s Resolutions of going green. Each of LUSH’s solid perfumes is made with a blend of 30% fragrance, pure vegetable waxes and jojoba oil. They have minimal preservatives and minimal packaging – coming in 98% recycled aluminum tins. Made with Fair Trade and organic ingredients, they apply easily onto the skin and are very concentrated, so a little goes a long way and lasts for hours.

The Comforter solid perfume $12.65
A scrumptiously berry scented fragrance of cassis absolute, combined with a calming blend of bergamot oil and cypress oil.
Olive Branch solid perfume $12.65
An uplifting and yet comforting fragrance of bergamot oil, lemon oil, orange flower absolute and mandarin oil.
Sakura solid perfume $12.65
A blossom-scented perfume dappled with lemon oil, mimosa absolute, orange blossom, and jasmine absolute.
Snowshowers solid perfume $12.65
LUSH’s version of a bucks fizz, this perfume combines cognac oil and sweet orange oil to create an effervescent fragrance. Cheers!

Jo Wood Organics launches Eau de Toilette

Jo Wood Organics has launched two new organic eau de toilette's just in time for the fall! The EDTs are 95% organic and come in Amka, a blend of jasmine, rose, neroli and bergamot and Usiku, a spicy blend of cardamom, ginger, cedarwood and vetiver.

The 50 ml sprays retail for £36.00 or approximately $63 dollars.

photo from Jo Wood Organics

Strange Invisible Musc Botanique review

When it comes to perfume, what do you think of when you hear musk? I think of a deep, heavy, animal scent that is overwhelming, but so sensual. So when I heard of the new perfume being launched from Strange Invisible, this was the scent memory I was working from. I now have a new memory!

Product:
Strange Invisible Musc Botanique: 1/4 oz parfum for $185 and 1.7 fluid ounce eau de parfum for $135
Number of times used: 3
Overall: Quite a surprise!

Review:

The traditional use if musk is a heavy, heady creation. Conjuring visions of veils and Cleopatra romancing her man. It's a deeply sensual scent that doesn't appeal to everyone's sense of lust. So when I received the sample from Strange Invisible, I envisioned yet another musky blend. This is not the case.

As you know, traditional musk is derived from deer and has been outlawed since the 70s. Perfumes instead use either an aroma chemical or botanical derivations. In this aromatic creation, I think perfumer Alexandra Balahoutis has blended a musk for the masses.

It is sensual, but light. Heady, but not overwhelming. It is a perfume that works for all seasons and is just simply sensually and feminine divine. I'm not a fan of many of the creations from this house, but as a lover of musk, I am extremely impressed with this atypical musk and suggest you get a whiff.

If you love musk from afar and have always wished it were somehow lighter, I highly recommend you get a sample of Musc Botanique. The scent launches September 1, 2008 at Barney’s New York, BeautyHabit.com, select specialty retailers, the Strange Invisible Perfume’s flagship perfumery, or online at www.strangeinvisibleperfumes.com.

The 411 on organic & natural perfumes

Thanks to Xina from Nature's Parlour across the pond for sending me this post from The Scented Life, which features organic and natural perfumes.

The only thing I'd add to the information in the article is that she states that natural perfumes can last all day. This is not to be compared to the way that commercial brands stay with you. The haze of scent that lingers from one hit of say, CK One, is not what you'll experience from natural perfume. Generally, the intensity of the smell, for me, stays about three to five hours. And I've used natural scents from Mandy Aftel, JoAnne Bassett and Strange Invisible perfumes. Additionally, the length also depends on your body: how dehydrated you are, your chemistry and pH. This is also what makes one scent smell fabulous on your girlfriend but maybe not so great on you.

Overall, it's a nice article and also gives links to some natural lines. Enjoy!

Sexy Spring Scents: Once you go natural, you never go back!

    The flowers are blooming and your nose, so used to the dark winter scents is seeking something light and sexy for the spring. While commercial perfumes can be purchased at your local drug store or mall, perhaps finding your signature spring scent will be easy as searching for the natural woman within you.

    The enchanting idea of natural perfume is the way the scent evolves over time and is never quite the same scent twice. Built on a pyramid basis, each perfume becomes an individual sweet-smelling work of art, connecting with your body on an intimate level. And while the fragrances usually lasts no more than three to five hours, the experience can be enough to keep you coming back for more.

Strange Invisible Perfumes

Self-taught perfumer Alexandra Balahoutis created this botanical perfume line in 2000. She concerns herself more with the creation process and the use of cultivated essences, rather than the final price of her product, which allows her to really use her nose and stretch her olfactory imagination.

Fair Verona is an exceptional example of this process.  She combines a light mix of Italian citruses in a base of sandalwood and jasmine, with a delicious middle note of mimosa for a perfume that wraps itself around your body like a full-length fur lined silk robe.

It is heady, exotic, neither too light nor too floral… simply sensual. The essential oils are based in a food grade grape alcohol and contain no synthetic ingredients. Perfumes can be purchased at the website, www.siperfumes.com, Barney’s New York and select boutiques. ¼ oz parfum at $185.

Artemisia Perfume

Created by Lisa Fong, a student of celebrity perfumer Mandy Aftel, this line offers natural perfume for any woman’s budget. Voile is a unique twist on the traditional light scent, offering vetiver, lavender, neroli and jasmine with a pinch of frangipani, a lusty fragrance that will have you sniffing your wrist on a frequent basis. The full collection can be purchased online at www.artemisiaperfume.com. 8ml at $45

JoAnne Bassett

JoAnne Basset’s Malmaison Eau de Parfum offers a unique floral marriage of tuberose, Clementine orange, lavender Seville and Rose de Mai that separates the women from the girls. Her line is available at www.joannebassett.com. ¼ oz parfum at $145.

Shameless aromatic plug

Yes, it's a shameless plug for my perfume collections. But it comes from continued emails from readers and others who love the perfume but couldn't afford the price and didn't like the bottles. While I still offer the perfume in the Brosse bottles, they are also now available for under $40 in roll-on form.

I launched my organic perfume line, The Soul Collection, in February. Since then I've been selling the perfume oil to a select client base and as samples through my site. The full size runs for about $140 and while the samples were selling like hot cakes, many of you wanted more product without the heavy price tag. I feel you! So I've been searching for the right bottles and finally found them.

I have two lines of fragrances, The Soul Collection, which is an organic and wild-crafted collection of three signature scents. The bestselling of these scents is Soul N.3, which continues to surprise me. This scent took me the longest to create and once made, I was sure no on but me would appreciate it. With a name like Soul, I wanted a scent that was truly an expression of the essence of our souls. An escape, a lightness and something that men or women could wear. It was initially supposed to be a citrus perfume of Japanese Yuzu, bergamot and the like. The final result was surprisingly nothing like that. It's a combination of frangipani, vetiver, oak moss and ginger. Even more surprising, it's the scent that keep selling with both men and women.

My other collection is Island Bliss, which is a combination of essential oils and fragrance. I thought a lot about creating this line of perfume oils, and one, I couldn't get these scents naturally, as they're all based on the smells I love from Hawaii. Second, I assumed that those who were "all-natural" wouldn't buy it anyway, so it would be a totally different customer base. WRONG!! Although I tell every customer the ingredients, Island Passion continues to sweep them up in the tropical haze. To say I was shocked doesn't completely and accurately describe my reaction. This perfume is wonderful and warm and sensual. It's not sweet, just nice. And the customer's seem to agree

Anyway, for those of you who have been wondering how to get the perfume, you'll be happy to know they're now less expensive and in great, convenient bottles, so check them out and buy a bottle for Mother's Day!

von Natur Perfume Balm

I've used perfumes in a spray, an oil and a balm, but never one quite like this! Made by vonNatur, this balancing balm is certified vegan, 81% organic and sure to stem the throes of emotional female overload.

History:
vonNatur's Perfume Balm is a highly scented, unique combination of essential oils, organic jojoba oil infused with wild yam root and a touch of candelilla wax.

Product:

Female Balancing Perfume Balm, 1 oz, $39.99

I believe in karma and the goddess shined upon me when this arrived in the mail. My one-year-old has just discovered that he can move on two legs and speed is fascinating him. My seven-year-old mistook the playground for a strip joint and was out shaking her butt during recess. The cat thought lunch tasted better... the second time around, if only my foot hadn't disrupted his unique display. It was one of those days. And if you think it got better when the package arrived... not quite.

This container is a flip-top. Well, being pissed off before noon doesn't really lead to decisive actions, so when I opened it up I squeezed... and got much more than I needed. Which led to me being even more pissed off. I was finally able to get most of it back in to the container and I add this warning: if you use, take off the flip top and squeeze ever so lightly.

Opening aside, this is a very nice perfume blend and it did help to calm me down. This was the perfect moment for a product to either work or not and vonNatur passed with flying colors. The inclusion of high grade essential oils and absolutes such as rose, jasmine and ylang ylang helped to temper my mood and pretty much sedate me. Today was beautiful and I had an extra pep in my step. I felt... balanced. Maybe I can throw my Zoloft away!

Pros:
* A wonderful aromatherapy blend that really helps to tone down emotional flare ups
* Goes on smoothly and the scent lasts about three to four hours
* No-spill bottle makes it easy to carry around in your bag for quick touch ups

Cons:
* The flip top!! A twist on cap would be better and easier

Overall:

For such a highly concentrated balm, the price is remarkably fair, and it did help to calm me down. The formulation makes it easy to reapply and it goes on smooth and soaks in quickly. Suggest you give it a try if you're prone to PMS like I am.

vonNatur products are made right here in the U.S.A. and offer a unique line of vegan and organic skin care products. Stay tuned to the blog for more reviews of their line and check out the products at their website vonnatur.com.