Fresh is promoting Cannabis Rose, their latest fragrance release, as the sensual, seductive partner to 2006’s male-targeted Cannabis Santal. When I first sampled Cannabis Santal, I thought of Linda Richman (Mike Myers) from the old “Coffee Talk” sketch on Saturday Night Live, who would have said, “Cannabis Santal is neither cannabis nor santal. Discuss.” Instead, that fragrance was a chocolate-patchouli cousin to Thierry Mugler's Angel, and it sold well with women as well as men.

Cannabis Rose gives a more typically feminine first impression: a winsome burst of fruity rose, similar to many fruity-rose notes on the market today. However, this citrusy floral introduction only lasts for a minute or two...

Pavillon des Fleurs is the debut fragrance from Septimanie Perfumes. The ad copy calls it a "luminous and refined fragrance" and a "sonata of white flowers", but Angela described it more bluntly in an email as "a good wallop of jasmine". Who doesn't love a good wallop of jasmine? (If you're thinking: uh, me, then move on to the next post, there's nothing else to see here today.)

Pavillon des Fleurs starts out, actually, with a little slap of jasmine, lightened by orange blossom and a touch of citrus, and only slowly builds up to the goodly wallop stage, although do bear in mind that I'm trying it from a vial...

As I write this review, I am drinking a cup of coffee. It’s not an unusual circumstance for me, and I suspect that more than a few of you might be joining me in this ritual as you read. If so, you might share my interest in Perk Lip Lattes. Each of these lip balms, made by a small Brooklyn-based company called Crazy Rumors, is labeled as “a coffee break for your lips.”

So far, I’ve tried two of the six blends of Lip Latte: Coffee Bean and Mocha. Smelling the Coffee Bean balm, I felt as though I had just entered one of those little shops that roast and grind their own coffee, where you can order beans by the pound or just a freshly-brewed cup to go...

Jurlique’s Lavender Hand Cream was one of the first products I ever owned that incorporated natural ingredients into a luxury treatment, and I used it down to the very last bit in the tube. That was a while ago, but when I recently noticed that Jurlique had updated its packaging and added new products, I thought I’d revisit the line. I spent some time browsing the company’s revamped website, which offers information about Jurlique’s organic farms, its use of botanical essences, and its emphasis on “sustainable connections,” before I tried its shower gels and lotions. I haven’t explored the other redesigned product groups yet, but these body products weren’t quite what I expected.

The shower gel, for example, includes several chemical detergents and other not-so-natural ingredients; this surprised me, since Jurlique stresses its commitment to healthy beauty. (Yes, the plant extracts are in there too, but they’re listed after the detergents and surfactants.) In the shower, the gel did feel foamy and gentle enough, but the fragrances left something to be desired...

Spring is coming. There are days when the pure white bells of the snowdrops lift my spirits and assure me that this is true. And I am even more convinced now that I have seen the bright yellow sun of eranthis petals against the richly dark and still cold wet earth, their little green leaves spreading out like a fan around them. But it is still March, and it is still part lion! And even my skin confirms that winter has not disappeared — so I continue to take refuge in an array of body scrubs in the hopes of staving off that late winter sense of 'dried out' blues.

My latest favorite — not least for the reasonable price and eco-friendly approach — is the Hugo Naturals Brown Sugar & Kumquat Body Scrub. It contains brown sugar and emollients such as kukui oil, jojoba ester, kosher vegetable glycerin, and others, and offers a warm and cheering scent without being too overbearing or winter-like...

I’ve come to think of Space NK as a “post-Sephora” shopping experience. At first, Sephora was exciting: the aisles and aisles of fragrance and beauty products, often accompanied by a pulsing dance-music soundtrack, induced a feverish high of trying and buying. After a while, however, too much choice can feel exhausting, particularly when so many products start to seem alike. Nowadays, Sephora gives me the feeling of a crowded party, while a visit to Space NK is more like brunch with one or two friends. It’s selective and it’s simplified, and I can trust its suggestions.

In keeping with its streamlined, user-friendly style, Space NK offers its own line of fragranced products, which are sold both as individual items and as sets. I sniffed a few scents before making my choice...

Back in December, Robin capably tackled the topic of fragrance layering, with suggestions for combining scents to enhance and emphasize certain notes. I must admit that I’m something of a purist: I prefer to wear one perfume at a time. However, I’m willing to experiment with layers of other products underneath. Although some fragrance lines do offer their own matching body products, those shower gels and lotions are often disappointing. Sometimes, the fragrance just doesn’t live up to the richness and complexity of the original perfume; in other cases, the formula of the gel or lotion is surprisingly low in quality.

Instead, I prefer to find unrelated scented products that harmonize with my favorite perfumes, based on broader fragrance families or single notes. I’ve written about my quest for rose lotions once or twice before, and vanilla is another category that seems to merit frequent layering discussion here on Now Smell This as well as at MakeupAlley and other forums. The right lotion can moisturize the skin so that perfume “clings” better, and a vanilla-scented body product adds an extra, underlying dose of warmth and sweetness to any fragrance. Here, then, are a handful of vanilla lotions that have recently impressed me, with suggestions for fragrance matches...

Bedroom Soap belongs to an entire “Bedroom” line of products made by an Australian company called Dynamo House. When I first spotted it, I couldn’t resist the Modigliani-inspired illustration on its box, and when I opened the box just enough to inhale the soap’s fragrance, I was sufficiently seduced (if you will) to bring it home with me.

Bedroom Soap is blended from coconut oil, palm oil, and sweet almond oil, and its long lasting, finely milled bar produces copious, creamy lather...

Among the many repercussions of severe fragrance addiction is that eventually, your critical eye (nose?) is cast upon everyday functional products you used to enjoy. I find this especially true with haircare products, which tend to be heavily, and often unfortunately, scented. The banana aroma of Joico's Intensive Moisture Treatment conditioner, which I don't think I used to even notice, now nauseates me, and the smell of another longtime favorite, L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Mega Moisture Nurturing Creme, became so unbearable I had to give it up entirely.

So back in December, when I was formatting the article on Perfume: The Best of 2007 and I saw that Kevin had included a jasmine shampoo by Oscar Blandi in his list of favorites, I sat up and took notice...

On a recent morning, I washed my hands with Malin + Goetz Rum Hand Wash just before leaving the house for work. During my commute I caught myself thinking, “Something or someone smells good,” before realizing that I was breathing in the lingering scent of my own hand wash.

The fragrance of Rum Hand Wash is a match to Malin + Goetz’s popular Rum Tonic Eau de Toilette and delightfully potent Dark Rum Candle: it combines top notes of bergamot and plum, middle notes of rum and leather, and a base of amber, patchouli, and milk. The resulting scent is fruity, but not orange-juicy, and sweet, but not cupcake-y...