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Perfume Tip

Fragrance, like movies and other indulgences, is best sold word-of-mouth. That is, you often find out about the best fragrances from recommendations from your friends.

One degree away from the word-ofmouth endorsement is the celebrity testimonial. Probably the greatest celebrity endorsement ever given to any perfume by anybody was when the legendary actress Marilyn Monroe was asked what she wore to bed. She replied, "Chanel No. 5." She probably never got paid for that endorsement (they didn't do stuff like that the way they do now) which makes it all the more potent.

Instead of celebrity endorsements, many fragrances now bear the name of a celebrity. It's another version of the celebrity endorsement. Of course, singers and actresses are not noses. They don't invent their own scents, any more than Calvin Klein or Yves St. Laurent invented theirs. It is rarely disclosed how closely the celebrity works with the perfumist, but it is likely that no celebrity attaches her name to a fragrance she dislikes. But perhaps her entire role in the creation process is to approve a final product.

If you're not all that impressed with what Britney Spears or Jennifer Lopez might wear in the perfume department, seek your own endorsements from your friends. Most women are surprisingly open (and even pleased) to talk about the scents they like. Few women guard the identity of a "secret perfume." Ask some of your best-smelling friends what fragrances they wear.

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27 Things I'd Ask Coco Chanel

An Exercise of the Imagination

by Joanna McLaughlin, exclusive to thePerfume-Reporter

This is a fantasy story. I'm not actually channeling Chanel despite the euphonic way that sounds. Although I was very young while Madame Chanel was very old, I never met her or had any thought, until quite recently, that I might have liked to.

Today I think about meeting her. I don't think about it in a star-struck way, although I suspect it was easy to be caught off-guard by her glamour and what I suspect was a powerful facade of self-confidence. But there are things that I would ask her. And since we're making all of this up, these questions are based on the imagination that Coco Chanel was alive right this very minute and had been alive till now.

By the way, this article has no answers. It's just a bunch of questions. I just thought you deserved a disclaimer.

What do you think of the trend in perfume today that involves using more fruity and food-like notes?
You commissioned your most famous perfume to be "artificial" and by that I suspect you meant artistic. Can fashion ever be natural? Are any natural scents worth calling perfume?
How did you ever find Ernst Breaux, the Russian expatriate living in France, who was your nose for the development of No. 5?
Looking back on your career, what was the biggest business faux-pas you made?
Do you think models in 2007 are too thin?
If you could only pick perfumes created after 1990, which would be your favorite?
If you could only pick perfumes other than your own, which ones do you think are the greatest?
You left the world with a lot of wonderful quotations. Are they all really yours or are you one of those people like Oscar Wilde who got many quotations attributed to him that weren't his to begin with?
What do you think of America?
If you were to commission a new fragrance today, a sort of scent to be your ultimate legacy, what instructions would you give the perfumist?
Who would be the perfumist?
What are you wearing?
What do you think of Monolo Blahnik's shoes?
What do you think about celebrities endorsing perfume, particularly celebrities with a questionable sense of style?
You once said that girls should be classy and wonderful. In 2007, how can a girl still be classy?
Marilyn Monroe gave your No. 5 a now-legendary endorsement. If you could have gotten another testimonial from somebody else, who would it be?
Did you have any other names in mind for No. 5? If you had to pick a name (which your house did for Allure and Chance) what would it have been?
Which of your own perfume line do you prefer, personally?
Have you seen the Chanel website lately? What do you think?
A new line of fragrances has just been introduced which was "inspired by you." How do you rate them?
When you were born, women could not vote. Today, women hold high political office as well as run major companies and do other traditionally male work. How has this changed women and how should it change the way women dress?
Who is the classiest actress alive today?
What are the fundamental concepts of style you wish more people knew today?
What book are you reading right now?
What is the most dangerous thing you've ever done?
If you were born today with the same talents and ambitions, where do you think it would have taken you?
If an ordinary woman wishes to be an extraordinary woman, what one thing must she absolutely do?

<take me back to BASICS>

Ingredients: Verbena

There are 250 types of verbena

Verbena is a plant that is indigenous to the Americas. It grows from Canada to Southern Chile and all points in-between. Actually, there are 250 species that can all lay claim to the name verbena, and there are a couple that are native to Europe.

Verbena flowers come in a variety of colors. You can find white, pink, blue or purple verbena (shown in picture). Despite the wide variety of colors, verbena flowers all exhibit a characteristic five-petal form.

The plant itself can be tall and spindly. The leaves can have a fuzz on them. Verbena plants are hardy and can grow up to four feet tall.

When used in perfume, verbena imparts a floral quality but it is not necessarily sweet.

Verbena has been used all over the world as a herbal remedy. Tea made with verbena leaves is reputed to reduce fever or help insomniacs get to sleep.