thePerfume-Reporter

"Goddess is a great big, pink, floral scent."

Navigation

Bath Gear

There's more than one way to wear fragrance these days. Many companies, including Carol's Daughter, emphasize a whole line of spa-worthy treats that all carry the signature scent.

For instance, with Groove you can get matching scent soap, salt glow (a kind of exfoliant plus oil in a big glass jar), and body souffle. There are also bath crystals and hair products.

Scented products are great because they let you layer your fragrance. Layered fragrances wear better.

And if you're aroma-shy and don't want to go to spritz-heavy, wearing lotion or showering with a fragrant body gel can be an alternative to get what perfumer Niel Morris called "hug fragrances." Those are fragrances you really don't notice till you hug somebody.

The best way to wear the bath products is to match them to your fragrance. The oils in some of the bath and lotion products make them long-lasting so don't plan on switching scents mid-day. If you bathe in a scent in the morning, wear it exclusively till your next bath.

Should you mix scents? Not really a great idea unless you know what you're doing and are going for a certain effect. But fragrances are already so multifaceted, double or triple dipping products is likely to muddy the scent rather than add sparkle.

You want the sparkle.

Featured Resources

Groove

Groove is one of my return-scents, one of those fragrances that you keep coming back to for all sorts of occasions. It's almost a comfort fragrance, one of those perfume sprays you know will always satisfy, never leave you feeling spritz-regret.

Yet it wasn't always love at first sight. At least not for me and Groove. One of my perfume buddies fell madly in love with Groove immediately and has pretty much worn it every day since that fateful encounter. I didn't get it.

It wasn't bad. It was just different. But the first time I wore it, it wore really well. In fact, it's one of the best "wearing" scents in my collection.

But my first whiff left me a bit startled. First of all, the top notes of Groove are super-sweet peachy. It reminds you of what it would smell like if you stuck your nose into the blender at a Jamba Juice place on peach day. But top notes are meant to dissipate, and what was down below was a rich, almost textural fruity floral scent. It's still peachy but it's subtle and there is a depth or richness to the scent. If it was a color, it would be golden orange brown.

I got Groove in a spray bottle with something called body souffle. It's one of those whipped-up shea butter cream things. For those who like the whole bath and spa experience, the line (Carol's Daughter) makes other bath products.

Carol's Daughter has a whole line of products and in my opinion, Groove is the best. Well, maybe not the best, but it's my favorite. It's sensual and rich, yet it somehow comes off as being summery and casual.

Definitely worth a try, but don't be too quick to dismiss it. You've got to wear this scent a day or two to really appreciate what it can do for you. Or maybe like my friend, after one spray, you'll throw out all your other perfumes and just wear Groove forever after.

<take me back to REVIEWS >

Women of Color

According to some statistics I read somewhere (who keeps these statistics?), American women of color wear more perfume than white women. I don't know if that is true, but I know that women of all races, backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities enjoy fragrance.

Carol's Daughter is a woman-owned company and from what I can tell in the pictures, the owner is black. I wouldn't normally mention this except that it is a bit of a rarity in the perfume world.

If women of color are frequent consumers of fragrance, I'm glad to see some of these consumers entering the ranks of the entrepreneurs.

Carol's Daughter

Carol's Daughter is really a New Yorker named Lisa Price who dabbled in fragrance and gift-making in 1993. She worked with essential oils and natural moisturizers and pretty soon had come up with concoctions that her friends and family loved.

Her big break came when she met a record executive who didn't sign her up. Instead, he started talking up her products to his various recording stars. Lisa Price went from home-based gift-maker to mail-order mogul. That's when she adopted her trademark: Carol's Daughter.

Lisa Price's kitchen is now a lab and her shelves are now a warehouse. She makes over 300 products but still emphasizes the "down home" aspect.

She has some rules: no animal testing, lots of moisture, and no synthetic anything. "If I couldn't pronounce the ingredient, it wasn't going in the pot."