Let’s talk perfume.  So how does one characterize a pretty fragrance and once defined is it TOO- too commercial, too ordinary, or too boring.

We tested, sniffed and spritzed a large number of fine fragrances on blotters and on each other. Of the group, there were seven ‘perfumistos’, three people who never wear fragrance and three people who bought their fragrances at Macy’s and Sephora.

The mission: identify the feminine fragrances that suggested the ‘pretty art” they just reviewed (There were no limits on choosing fragrances that suggested “pretty”), then choose only scent that was both pretty and bottle worthy. (NOTE: I used 40 numbered 15ml spray ‘blind’ samples so no one would be influenced by critical reviews, marketing or packaging.

Immediately, Sixth Scents # 5, Black Orchid, Glamorous, Michael Kors, and Escentric Molecules were out. Ten more blotters were sniffed and Alamut, Teint de Neige, Aoud Lime, Azuree, Jungle Gardenia, Gothic II, Crystal d’ Ambre, Odeur 73, ‘G” and Nuit Noire were eliminated. (Note; some of the testers liked and even loved a few of these scents; they just were not what they ‘thought’ to be pretty)


Claude Monet, Garden at Giverny, 1900
Oskar Fischinger, Abstract Landscape, 1959
Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon, 1907
Edgar Degas, Ballerinas in Pink, 1876
Apres l’Ondee by Guerlain                   CHANEL N°5 Eau Première                      Dior Diorissimo
       Lili by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz                 Ellie by Ellie DKenzo Eaux de Fleurs Soie
Others chosen by individuals in the group were Nuit de Cellophanes by Serge Lutens, Beyond Paradise by Estee Lauder, Tresor by Lancome, Essence by Narcisco Rodriguez, Aqaba Spring, Pearl by Apothia, Corrida by Satellite, Beth Terry’s Element of Surprise, Molinard/Aedes Histoire de Chypre and L’Artisan Parfumeur Jour de Fete, The Different Company Sublime Balkiss, Roxana Villa’s Rosa; more than half of the group put Hermes Kelly Caleche, Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan, CHANEL Les Exclusifs 28 la Pausa, By Kilian’s Beyond Love, Bond No. 9 Chinatown and Debut by Parfums DelRae in this category.

Coffee break-then back to the final decisions.
























All thirteen chose Lili by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz,  CHANEL N°5 Eau Première, Ellie by Ellie D, Guerlain Apres L’Ondee, Ormonde Jayne Frangipani, Kenzo Eaux de Fleurs Soie, Dior Diorissimo and Annick Goutal Un Matin D’Orage.





Pretty in the City
The Paradox of Pretty


Pretty…as an adverb,( i.e., ‘pretty tired’, ‘pretty good’) it has become a throat clearing word similar to’ ummm’ or ‘you know’. As an adjective, it has lost its descriptive charm. Pretty is one of those words that is a contradiction.

I recently read a review of a new fragrance that gave the impression that ‘pretty’ was an unflattering word. In this critique, I was left with the sense that since this fragrance didn’t smell like the sweaty underarms of a street vendor in a Moroccan souk, it therefore hadn’t been blessed by the divine noses of the perfume gods.  A pithy blogger wrote this about a new niche release (she personally thought was pretty), “If you only like your XXXXX covered in asphalt or napalm, you will be disappointed.”






















There’s a stigma attached to being labeled a ‘pretty’ woman in New York City; you grit your teeth when you see someone’s eyebrows raise as soon as they learn you just might be intelligent.  Even then it’s just not enough. One must cultivate a ‘Janus’ mask, or have a soupcon of something more out of the ordinary; perhaps you must appear in a state of dishabille or speak with a foreign accent.





















In Manhattan, it is a great compliment for a person, place or thing to be known as -- ‘jolie-laide’, the French adjective for the fine line between beauty and ugliness. Think of the model Cecelia Mendez rather than Shalom Harlow



























I shoehorned a group of Manhattanites; ten women and three men into my tiny studio apartment, for a gathering I told them was  “Project: Pretty”. . . First,
I showed everyone the above two paintings. All thirteen attendees unanimously indicated that the Monet landscape was by far the prettier of the two paintings


























Shown next were paintings of women.  Everyone agreed that the Degas ballerinas were ‘so pretty’, and ‘Les Demoiselles’ were “ugly or strange looking”. When asked which painting they would hang in their living room, EVERYONE CHOSE either the Picasso or the Fischinger.

All four paintings are considered great masterpieces of Modern Art. Is one more inventive because it isn’t thought to be pretty?

Thus is the paradox of pretty.

    Essence by Narcisco Rodriguez          Aqaba SpringL’Artisan Jour de Fete

In addition, Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan, Kilian’s Beyond Love Prohibited, Serge Lutens Nuits de Cellophanes, Tresor by Lancome and Bond No.9 Chinatown were in the ‘pretty and I have to buy it” group.

As any perfumisto knows, more than a few of these fragrances received overwhelming critical acclaim and never once were labeled pretty in their reviews; they were lauded as masterpieces, spectacular, and brilliantly constructed.

Pretty Redemption…celebrate and wear your pinkest lipstick.


By Michelyn Camen

Many of these fragrances are online at www.aedes.com, www.first-in-fragrance.com, www.ronrobinson.com, www.lancome.com, www.esteelauder.com, www.bondno9.com ,www.ormondjayne.com, www.luckyscent.com, www.dshperfumes.com, www.hermes.com,www.newlondonpharmacy.com, www.saksfifthavenue.com, and www.bergdorfgoodman.com


          Un Matin D’Orage by Annick Goutal                                                                                                       Ormonde Jayne Frangipani 


Pretty and Bottle Worthy: There were ten; five of the ten were chosen initially and unanimously by the group as ‘pretty like a picture’:
Annick Goutal Un Matin D’Orage, Chanel No.5 Premiere, Ormonde Jayne Frangipani, Dior Diorissimo and Guerlain Apres L’Ondee.








                    Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan                                        Beyond Love Prohibited by Kilian           Serge Lutens Nuits de Cellophanes

Tresor by Lancome Bond No.9 Chinatown

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