Back in March, I asked how many of you thought the then-upcoming book Perfumes: The Guide would impact your fragrance spending. About half of you were worried about your wallets. Today's question is a bit broader: I'd like to know about the last perfume you bought unsniffed based on a review you read anywhere. If you're up for a confession, tell us the name of the fragrance, where you read the review, and how the purchase worked out for you.

My last unsniffed purchase was Hermès Un Jardin après la Mousson, but that wasn't based on a review, in fact, if I had waited to read the reviews, I doubt I would have bought it...

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Ava Luxe has launched Sacred, a new limited edition fragrance:

A precious botanical perfume oil composed of rare costly essences of Moroccan rose absolute, Sandalwood oil, Aloeswood (agarwood), Frankincense (premium select), and Wild Myrrh from Somalia...

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Deal at bathandbodyworks: get free shipping on any purchase of $65 or more with coupon code SENDFREE65, good through 5/29.

New at sephora: Izod for men.

Deal at yvesrocherusa: take $10 off a $30 purchase with coupon code MOTHERSDAY, good through 5/12.

Kurt Anderson of Studio 360 takes Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez of Perfumes: The Guide to a Duane Reade pharmacy to smell things. Perfumistas, take heart, you won't have to hear another long discussion of Eau de Toilette vs. Eau de Parfum, etc etc etc. About 11 minutes long. You can listen below, or download an MP3 file at the website.

Update: I had trouble getting the embedded whatchamacallit above to work in Firefox; it worked perfectly for me in Internet Explorer. Your mileage may vary.

Jennifer Lopez will follow up on her most recent fragrance releases, Deseo and Deseo Forever, with her first masculine fragrance, Deseo for Men. According to Lopez...

I wanted to capture the intimate and personal nature of a man who is sexy, yet strong. Deseo means desire. [...] I wanted to take this meaning and put it behind the idea of one desiring another. The smell is warming and creates a provocative and sensual texture...

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“Those Axe ads are relatively accurate,” Herz says of the TV spots depicting women mauling cologne-doused schlubs. “If a woman likes how you smell, she’ll be drawn to you.” (That’s not a license to shower in Drakkar Noir, gentlemen—we still have to like the stench you’re sporting.)

— Rachel Herz, author of The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell, quoted in Follow your nose: Arousal starts with a sniff—so watch where you dab that perfume in Time Out New York. Thank to Jessica for the link!

A recent study shows a strong correlation between the lack of genetic diversity and the poor population density of sandalwood trees in south India. Penalties and absence of uniform laws have been a deterrent to nurturing this treasure.

— From Fading Fragrance?, an article about the threats to sandalwood in the wild, in the Deccan Herald.

Cartier will launch Roadster for Men this coming September. The "mineral fougère" fragrance with a "powerful mint note" was named for the Cartier Roadster watch, and was developed by Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent, who noted...

It was interesting to work with because it is difficult to make mint play well with other ingredients. The manner of working on it was very Cartier; I used the ingredients as a jeweler uses precious stones...

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This year marks the 40th anniversary of Diptyque's first fragrance, L'Eau, originally introduced in 1968. To celebrate, the line has launched a trio of unisex colognes: L'Eau de L'Eau, L'Eau des Hesperides and L'Eau de Neroli. All three were developed by perfumer Olivier Pescheux.

L’Eau de L’Eau pays homage to L'Eau (go ahead, translate that in your head), which was said, in turn, to have been based on a 16th century potpourri recipe. I haven't tried L'Eau in some years; my testing notes, probably written in late 2003 or early 2004, say "it is warm and spicy but sheer at the same time: an almost aqueous feeling: potpourri under water. Very nice, would absolutely never wear it." My tastes have expanded pretty dramatically since then...

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Ghost has launched Ghost Sweetheart, a new fragrance for women:

An enchanting new feminine fragrance to capture the fresh, spontaneous spirit of sweet, new love.

Love is in the air, beguiling you with the tender-sweet innocence of new, young love...

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New at barneys: Strange Invisible Perfumes Eaux de Parfum line.

New at first-in-fragrance (Germany): the Nez a Nez line.

Deal at jomalone: get free overnight shipping today only with coupon code NEXTDAY2 (be sure to select overnight during checkout).