Fragrance News - Versace Signature, YSL L'Homme Eau d'Été, Boucheron pour Homme Edition Bleue

New Fragrances Available in Washington DC and online:

Versace Signature is now available at Saks Fifth Avenue Stores and online. The new fragrance that debuted by Donatella Versace earlier this spring at Harrods in Knightsbridge is now available in the US. I have yet to have had the chance to smell it, but it is described by the Harrod's Website as "a unique fragrance; floral, fresh and sparkling." It includes top notes of guava, dew drops, blackcurrant, wisteria and lilac followed by heart notes of exotic florals (lotus, orchid, and jasmine) and ending in base notes of musks, woods, cedar, and vetiver. Personally, I am dying to test this fragrance. It is an EDP and is available at Saks in a beautiful 3.4oz bottle for $89.

Nordstrom has two exciting new men's fragrances: Boucheron pour Homme Edition Bleue and Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme Eau d'Été.

Edition Bleue is the new summer version of the original pour Homme fragrance from Boucheron. It is a limited edition and is only going to be available at select Nordstrom stores for a short period of time. It is not available on their website, but you can give them a call for more information about where to buy it. Although I am certainly a fan of the original Boucheron pour Homme, I love the newer version. The Edition Bleue was actually released in 2006, but is still available for the summer of 2007, but the bottle has been (thankfully) updated. Although the topnotes of verbena and bergamot remain, the floral heartnotes and vetiver and oakmoss basenotes of the original have been replaced with heartnotes of waterjasmine and an aromatic note and basenotes of cedar and patchouli. The new fragrance is certainly much lighter and summery. Personally, I feel that this edition of the fragrance should become permanent as the removal of notes like carnation and lily of the valley make the fragrance much more wearable and sexy for men. I actually detect some similarities in the aesthetics of Edition Bleue and those of Chanel No. 19, which is one of my favorites and one of my signature fragrances. Both are green and summery without being too fleeting and temporary. I am certainly a big fan and plan to add this one to my collection.

The new Eau d'Été is a lighter version of year's L'Homme, although the primary notes listed are the same. I've heard rumors that this new summer version is simply the original with its formula and concentration tweaked a bit to make it a bit less weighty on sultry summer days. It is currently available in Nordstrom stores (at least in the Washington, DC area), but is not yet online. Call your local store for more information.

Update: Douglas Cosmetics, Union Station

Today I visited Douglas Cosmetics in Union Station. It was slightly reminiscent of a small Ulta store. This isn't to say that they didn't have some nice things available there. They (of course) had all of the typical fragrances such as Burberry, Kenneth Cole, etc. They also had a large selection of Bond No. 9 fragrances (including Bryant Park, Chelsea Flowers, Bleecker Street, Scent of Peace, Nuits de Noho, and Wall Street and a few others I can't remember) and a handful of Creeds (Love in White, Vetiver, Silver Mountain Water, etc.) They do have a few other designer frags that are somewhat more difficult to find, but older (Dior Higher and Higher Energy, Versace L'Homme, etc.) One big difference from Sephora is that they carry the cosmetics brands normally in department stores like Estee Lauder, Clinique, and Elizabeth Arden. Overall, the store is a bit small, but full of lots of things to look at. Oh! I had almost forgotten, they also have the Korres Body Water Sprays that Sephora dropped a while back. So, if you don't mind the floor rumbling and the sound of rattling glass every time a train goes by, it's worth a stop if you're there, but unless you love Bond No. 9, I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Douglas Cosmetics, Union Station

I recently discovered the Douglas Cosmetics store at Union Station. It was closed when I got there, but I looked through the window and discovered that they carried the Bond No. 9 line. Even though I'm not really a fan of Bond No. 9, this piqued my interest so I've done some research on the company. It's a German company (under the name "Parfümerie Douglas" in Europe) that is the largest cosmetics retailer in Europe with 600 stores in Italy, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, and others.

There are actually 2 stores in the DC Area:
Union Station (50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002)
1145 Connecticut Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20036

The German site for Parfümerie Douglas lists many good lines (Balenciaga & Etro caught my eye). I can't comment on exactly what lines they carry, but I will go down soon and check it out and report back. If you be me to it feel free to comment here and let me know about it.

CHANEL Allure Homme Sport: Cologne Sport has arrived in Washington, DC

For all of you in the Washington, DC area, the new Cologne Sport Edition of CHANEL's Allure Homme Sport has arrived at area stores. As far as I know, they do not have testers yet, but they should be arriving any day now. The new fragrance is not a lighter concentration of the original Allure Homme Sport, but an entirely new fragrance that is actually of Eau de Toillette concentration with a lot of citrus.

From CHANEL.com:
"This season, the fresh, sensual men's fragrance gets a burst of energy from an infusion of sparkling citrus. The sporty scent, noticeably lighter now, exudes a newfound freedom, a sense of spontaneity, a non-stop vitality."

UPDATE: The notes in the fragrance are as follows:

• Top Notes: Mandarin Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Bergamot
• Heart Notes: Elemi, Spicy Note
• Base Notes: Cedar, White Musks

UPDATE: The fragrance comes in a 5 oz. bottle and is on sale now at Nordstrom (online and in stores) and CHANEL.com for $75. Now available online at Sephora, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Still unsure about the status of Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

(Image from CHANEL.com)