Years ago, I was a devotee of Marc Jacobs’s original eponymous scent Marc Jacobs, which quickly gave me nose fatigue from the sheer number of people that were also obsessed with it.  (Do you remember?  It was impossible to walk into an elevator or go out to dinner without being slammed in the face by Marc Jacobs or the similarly intense, gorgeous and overplayed Michael Kors.)  Everything old is eventually new again, however, and while shopping at Marc Jacobs with a friend recently, I was recaptivated by the gardenia-infused delight.  Bonus: when I asked for samples at the front desk, the salesperson was only too happy to oblige, and I’ve been dabbing myself from the vial for weeks.  Many stores offer free samples, so don’t be afraid to ask!  (Kiehl’s is especially generous with their mini-portions —run, don’t walk.)

In honor of yesterday’s FiFi fragrance awards, please indulge me for a moment.  I would like to send a plea to perfumers (or more accurately, to the beauty conglomerate executives who greenlight this nonsense in penthouse boardrooms above Fifth Avenue) to stop being so damn lazy with their fragrances.  Season after season, scent lovers are bombarded not only with inane EDPs from celebrities that have no business “creating” juices, but also with updated, slightly tweaked versions of old perfumes saddled with names just like! but different from! the original.  Loved Stella McCartney?  Hey, try Stella McCartney Sheer Stella!  Were you a fan of Givenchy Very Irresistible?  Try the Givenchy Very Irresistible Givenchy Summer Cocktail!  Not really a fan of the apple-and-mandarin candied scent of the original Ralph?  Maybe you’ll like Ralph Rocks!  Or Ralph Cool!  What about Ralph Hot?  Ralph Wild?  Ralph Insanity?  (Yeah, I made that one up.) (more…)