There's something in the air: Fine scents from big names

Domestic Goddess
There's something in the air: Fine scents from big names

Phew! The world is a smelly place that, apparently, we must mask with the very best of perfumes. And, also apparently, one can never have enough of them. We know this because for all our gift-giving seasons we are made extra well aware of it via scads of bedazzling advertising campaigns. Here are a few new scents that have wafted past the Goddess' pert little nose recently, and a new local skin-care line that is good and good for you.

Mad for plaid

The plaid people at Burberry have released a mist version of their pretty-in-pink line called Burberry Body. The mist ($50) is a lighter, alcohol-free version of the eau de parfum. Marketing folks urge us to put it in our hair, too. I won't, but you certainly may if you like. Top notes of fresh green absinthe, peach and freesia with softer notes of rose, iris and sandalwood to form the heart notes. At the base: cashmeran, vanilla, amber and musk. Find it at Macy's and Sephora.

I don't always wear cologne,

but when I do ...

For the menfolk we have Legend from Montblanc. If the fragrance is as hot as its "writing instruments" (pens, to you and me) then, whew-wee. To wear it makes a man "confident and assured . . . he lives his feelings, his courage and his convictions." Giddy-up, cowboy. The bottle is cool. It's like a flask. The eau de toilette (toilet water!) is $57 for 1.7 ounces. At Nordstrom and Macy's.

Put your new Choos on

And last, but certainly not least, is this scent from Jimmy Choo. Shoes + feet do not equal perfume at our house, I'm just sayin'. What's new here is the eau de toilette (toilet water!).

In marketing parlance: "Just as slipping on a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes offers one a sexier silhouette and a reason to walk tall, a spritz of Jimmy Choo Eau de Toilette works in a similar spirit to imbue women with an aura of glamour, give them an instant boost of confidence and bestow that elusive, secret power to seduce their heart's desire."

Why, this stuff will practically strip your spider veins, heal split ends and shrink your bunions!

By the way, a high-placed friend has revealed that most of the cost for scents goes into the bottle. The Choo bottle, I swear, looks like a pink grenade. 3.3 ounces, $85. Find at Macy's and Sephora.

'The little black dress of eco skin care'

What do you do if you are, say, both a beauty junkie and autoimmune-disorder sufferer who cannot be made up with most makeup? You invent your own skin-care line, is what you do. Just like Seattleite Kari Gran (along with gal pal Lisa Strain) did.

"Chemicals are endocrine disrupters," Kari tells me. "That's not good news for a beauty junkie. Think about how many medicines you put on your skin that are transdermal; the nicotine patch, creams for hormones. It's no mystery; it's the same effect as taking a pill. That was my big awakening."

Kari found lots of "earthy" products, but she wanted simple, elegant and subtle scents for nourishing a healthy complexion, "the little black dress of eco skin care." Kari Gran is a three-step process; cleansing oil, hydrating tonic and essential serum ("Plant and essential oils. You could ingest it. It wouldn't taste so great, but you could.") Also a lip treatment and makeup line.

Find Kari Gran at karigran.com. $15 to $95.

Reach out to The Goddess at bteagarden@seattletimes.com. The Goddess is also very Pinteresting. Find her there at http://pinterest.com/rtea/.

By Rebecca Teagarden