Today’s a quickie because all the kids are home underfoot until school starts next week and I have a work project to attend to. The girls and I had a great time smelling some new scents from Demeter:
Tootsie Roll. I am the Tootsie Roll Queen. The Tsarina of Tootsie. They are my drug of choice for movies, winter nights, and moody blues, and I bet you five bucks there’s at least one wrapper in the bottom of my handbag right now. So it is with some authority that I pronounce: this fragrance, my friends, is no Tootsie Roll. The girls and I agree: it is Canned Chocolate Frosting. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. To those of you who are now thinking, who the heck would want to smell like a Tootsie Roll? I reply, who would want to smell like half the stuff we wear?
Also slightly off kilter: Junior Mints. It’s chocolate-y and minty, yes, but has an additional cookie accord that makes it, in fact, much more reminiscent of Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookies. I want a box now, so am thinking this would not be a good fragrance if you are dieting.
Tropical Dots — It’s been awhile since I’ve eaten these, but the girls felt it was right on target. What I find amusing is the fact that I think you could stick it, sans label, next to the Escada summer LEs and various similar scents at Nordstrom or Macy’s and it would blend right in.
Finally, there is:
Swimming Pool, an oddball thing that does in fact smell like an idealized swimming pool, sort of along the lines of Snow — a broad-brush scent that is appropriately chemical with maybe a little touch of the surrounding lawn and some warm concrete. Ultimately we decided it is significantly less skeevy than the smell of our pool, which if bottled would probably be labeled Sewer.
In closing, let me once again wax poetic over the range of fragrance coverage in the new issue of Allure (September) which arrived today — interesting fragrances referenced in various features, in addition to the regular Frederic Malle Fragrance Guy column (maybe they can get Lagerfeld to be Dress Dude?) and a nicely-thought-out article on the unisex fragrance trend, including asking various couples to try out some scents. I am particularly pleased with the Allure coverage because Allure seems targeted to a relatively young audience, and broadening the perspective of young female consumers regarding the simple existence of fragrances like Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille can only be a good thing.
If you need me I’ll be by the pool, reading Allure. Bring me a Coke, will you? And some more Tootsie Rolls.
Hi- I was just wondering – what is all this “Total Beauty Network” stuff on the blog. Are these by guest posters? Are they marketing material?
Yeah, what IS that stuff??!? I asked Patty, our blogmistress, the same thing. Then she reminded me we’d gotten them as advertisers. To be honest, I thought their ads would go up differently — fitting into the bottom of the blog rather than as posts, we’re still tinkering with that.
Does it annoy you? We could use the revenue (this isn’t exactly paying my mortgage) but don’t want to p*** people off either.
Well, as a business owner I say if you are getting revenue stream, we (at least I) am more than willing to deal with it. You guys give an incredible amount of unpaid time and energy to this blog – gotta get something back other than the absurd amounts of luuuuurve we all have for you.^:)^
I think now that we (I) know what it is, it’s totally okay – like I said, at least with me. I, for one, was just confused.
Okay. Have I made it clear that I am ONLY speaking for myself?:)>-
Hi- if you are getting paid for them, then I guess I would say leave them in. The way they are in the blog, they look like posts and they had me wondering if you and Patty were expanding into blogging about haircare products.
I haven’t clicked on them and don’t know the content but you guys have such an excellent blog that I hope their info is of decent quality so it does not detract from what you all write about…. That’s all. I love this site and will come back no matter what!
Hi
This is in response to March.
The Sept. issue of Elle with Jessica Simpson on it looks awful!
I perused it and will not buy it, and I love fashion and fragrance.
The cover is awful!!!!! What is she wearing? That outfit she has on is bad 90’s!
To get back to fragrances, I live in San Francisco, and it is never warm here. While you have been talking about the heat, it is misting here every morning. I am still waiting for summer.
In the meantime, I am wearing Creed’s Virgin Island Water.
I can dream can’t I?
WEll, I already own it cuz I have a subscription. I already ragged about it on someone’s blog, although I thought she was channeling the 70s with that hair. Mostly it makes me mad because with all the choices Elle has, they go with Dimbulb and a plaid flannel and a big, ugly belt buckle? Puh-lease.
I’m a NECCO Wafers kindsa boy myself, but if someone handed me a bottle labeled “Tootsie Roll” and I got canned frosting, guts would be garters… :((
Necco wafers! Do say more about what you love about them. I have an occasional hankering for them but I can never explain to myself or anyone else exactly why… Something about that odd brittle texture, the way it breaks on the tongue, and the way they all share that vaguely sweet mintiness tempered by the barest hint of whatever “flavor” they’re supposed to be.
See? Now I want some. But I didn’t exactly make them sound scrumptious, did I?
That’s it! That and the factor of never quite knowing what “flavor” each color is: I can never remember what the brown ones are. And how many candy companies still put out old-fashioned licorice? They’re so old school- you can imagine that they’re made on some press that’s run by Oxen or something…
Brown=chocolate!
No, really! Those and the licorice ones (sort of faded blue/black) are the only ones that really have a strong flavor for me, and I’m surprised every single time…
I think the brown is clove- which makes me love them all the more
From the Necco.com FAQ: “The original eight flavors: orange, lemon, lime, clove, chocolate, cinnamon, licorice and wintergreen.”
Gad, I love the internet.
Bonus Question: What are the six flavors in the Sweethearts Conversation Hearts?
A: The six flavors in the sweethearts Conversation Hearts are cherry, banana, lemon, grape, orange and wintergreen.
OK — that settles it. The integrity of my memory is at stake. I will do candy research tomorrow and report back on the dirt=clove or chocolate issue. Something tells me you may be entirely right, Tom… 🙂
I grew up on those things. I still buy them occasionally at the little family market down the street. I love those “flavors” as well. Let’s all have a moment of silent nostalgia…
My sister and I used to swap colors/flavors. I recall giving her the one that tastes like Pepto-Bismol for the one that tastes like licorice, sort of. She didn’t like the dirt-colored ones either.
Agh, might have to go get some right now. :”>
Heh, never thought of the Demeters as a gateway to perfumista-dom, especially for children/teens, but there you have it! And wouldn’t it be a nice change of pace if locker rooms started smelling like the Demeter line ups instead of Axe, Tag, and the cheap Calgon and BBW body splashes…My two-year-old is already getting into the different scents and smells of things as we explore our garden and kitchen. I think he may become interested in perfume later in life. 🙂
I wish they had a bigger retail presence. My kids and their friends would be all over htem. Kids have purchasing power but not online purchasing ability (not my kids anyway) and can’t order them. Your right — a huge improvement over Axe, etc.
I cannot go near a Demeter, ever since Suntan Lotion nearly blew my head off. It was like mixing ammonia and bleach.
Have never heard of Tropical Dots, even though I live in the subtropics.
Have not tried their suntan lotion, perhaps I will skip it. /:) I have gotten the occasional “bad bottle,” wonder if there was something wrong with it.
I have a real affection for Demeter scents. Always fun. Am not a real chocolate person, but am wondering how I have missed ever even trying Tropical Dots. Must go find some. My primary sweet addictions are dried Chinese plums (think salt and licorice) and Scandinavian double salted licorice. Happy sigh. Also have a thing for marzipan. Adore DSH’s Marzipan layered w/ Hinoki. Would love to see Demeter do salted licorice. As an aside, I just got a new scent from Claude Hebert w/ a great licorice note. Apparently it’s his signature scent, but can’t find a listing of notes. I initially dismissed it, but kept on sniffing something that made me happy all day and realized it was coming from the section of my arm that I’d put his scent on.
Yes, you are my marzipan twin. 😡 We are the only two people on the planet that understand marzipan to be edible. I also like various revolting marzipan/choco tidbits like those Mozartkugels or whatever they are called. And I absolutely MUST TRY marzipan layered with Hinoki, that sounds like heaven! And who is Claude Hebert? Maybe you should be writing this blog…. my tolerance for licorice has really gone up. In fragrance. 😉 I will leave the salteds for you.
Me, too, me too! I adore good marzipan, the confection, that is. My aunt used to get green ovals of it, dipped in dark chocolate. And there was great stuff to be had when Yorkville on the Upper East Side was still mainly German. And Mozartkugeln aren’t to be sneezed at!
Ooooh, come sit by us! We can bite the heads off the marzipan :@)
Tabacco Vanille’s the one that smells (allegedly) like coke, right? 🙂 I seem to remember getting a lot (a lot a lot) of “vanille” with a tiny whiff of some tabacco. Is it good enough to order a sample?
Anyway, I’m also a Tootsie Queen. Those and Reese’s were my favorite Halloween candy as a kid, and we’d go to the rich neighborhood where they gave out king size bars to all the kids, so I would get one of those huge 3-piece Reese’s cup packages. Those were the days. Hate Kit Kat bars.
Somebody (Kevin?) reviewed Purple Patch recently and reminded me I need to dig these up and re-smell them. I found them completely overwhelming when they came out. The first mass release I can remember where I sort of said “screw it, it’s too much.” I kind of blew them off, I have samps of all of htem. You sure Purple Patch isn’t the Coke one?
I feel slightly douche-ish (douchey?) for continuing to plug this, but try Noir de Noir–it’s my favorite from the line, a real stand out, full-bottle-worthy etc etc etc. GORGEOUS, sexy rose saffron nighttime black tie perfume. Mmmmmmm….
Anyway, I wouldn’t really know what coke smells like to be honest, since my, ahem, experience has been fairly fleeting and not exactly clear-headed either 🙂
My goodness, I am so out of touch I thought you meant Coca Cola! Which think about it the TFs definitely could smell like, they can be sweet.
I am not the world’s greatest rose fan but promise to revisit them all with an open mind.
Dang! I’m spending my day in the car. 🙁
Do you remember Demeter’s version of Altoids? I’d donate an organ for another bottle of that. Talk about spot on – literally was Altoids in a bottle.
I wanted to love the perfume coverage in September Allure. The article mentioning TF Tobacco Vanille was OK, but I’d be thrilled if they would really pick FM’s brain about fragrance instead of just making him comment on whatever they’re shilling. I just read a great interview with Roja Dove on the British website Beauty & the Dirt.
I’m sorry, but Allure has turned into another bland, middling waste of paper. And, by the way, the September Elle just about killed me, and a whole forest of trees. Very sad…
Well, yeah — but your bar is higher. 😉 I read most of those rags, and Allure is the only one that regularly features frags found outside of Macy’s. Vogue (ostensibly the wealthy adult mag) has completely crap fragrance coverage, I wonder if Anna Wintour hates perfume? I mean, they had AG Ambre Fetiche in the Malle column — THAT’S pretty far off the beaten path.
Let me ruin any remaining cred by saying I’m looking forward to the YSL Elle Extreme they mentioned.
Yeah, I’m kinda tall so the bar has to be a bit higher. :d
I read somewhere that Anna Wintour is a fan of Jozef Statkus (and so am I!). Other than that, I have no idea why Vogue does not devote more space to fragrance.
Confession time: despite my opinions, I read the rags, too. I have been a subscriber to Allure since the very first issue.
Diva went to some Barnes & Noble teen-goth party the night the most recent one came out. Pretty funny. They are making a movie? TV or theater, I am not sure. The guy who plays (I guess) the main vampire is easy on the eyes. I am reminding myself he would be the age of my son. [-x
I love it when the slutty March peeks out:))
:”>
I know. I found myself, while reading the book, getting all swoony over a teenage vampire and I thought, “Omigod, he’s not even legal.” Then I thought, “Hell, he’s not even human.” I had never even heard of the series until the other day, a customer, a twelve year old girl who always has her nose in a book, raved enthusiastically about it for twenty minutes. She had me sold on it in ten.
Wait … he’s the UNDEAD. I haven’t read the book, but he could be hundreds of years old, right? Thousands, even. So I think we are totally in the clear on this one.
O.K. I’ll hang my head in shame and admit to stealing my teenage daughters’ books and yes i read them and that includes the latest one that has just come out. I was decent enough to at least wait until they had read it first.:”>
Edward the Gorgeous has been permanently 17 for only a century. Jake the Werewolf really is only 16/17. I am an undead addict from way back. My brother recently wrote his doctorate on teenagers and witches and next month he and his partner are having a pagan wedding. Soooo looking forward to it:x
I’ll meet you at the pool with some Skittles, a copy of the Star, and this Twilight book all the youngun’s are reading. Damn, if it hasn’t hooked me. Now I just wanna be a teenage vampire in love.
Whoops — forgot to thread! See below. (See, the BLOGMISTRESS SCREWS UP TOO.) :d
Twizzlers, please. I am horrified that I caught a non-black-licorice addiction from my office mate last year, after years of disdain for any thing other than the real stuff, but there you have it. Also-the Halloween candy corn re-appeared yesterday at the Giant; I think I’d prefer to smell like the Twizzlers.
How can it not be sheer, unadulterated pleasure to attend to the every need of 4 kids during the last count-down week before school ;)? Teachers went back yesterday, and it was oh, so quiet hearing…nothing, for just a little while longer :)>-
TWizzlers — the Cheese is a Twizzlers addict. I find the empty wrappers lying around on a regular basis. The red ones. What are they, strawberry? Interesting smell.
Yeah, you enjoy that quiet while it lasts. I’ll be over here screaming at the kids to clean their rooms and finish their summer packets. :)>-
I love Twizzlers even more than Sno Caps!!! No, it’s not strawberry, they’re their own Twizzler Red flavor. I love black licorice too … favorite black licorice cheap thrill = Good ‘n Plenty. Love me some pink & white sugar high ….
I love chocolate twizzlers. Do they make those darn things anymore? They were the best…
Love all Twizzlers but bring on the chocolate! Kinda odd, because I’m not a chocolate addict in general and I prefer dark chocolate to light. Twizzlers are…neither? My mother loved chocolate Twizzlers before dementia made her forget what she loves. Maybe that’s the reason for my fondness for them.
Have never seen a chocolate Twizzler.
Are Good n’Plenty a candy? I thought they were a food group 😮
I’m a Mike n’ Ike gal…
And I am the Junior Mints queen, so please, please don’t tell me that the fragrance smells like those Thin Mints that the Girl Scouts sell every year. That’s an outrage! 😮
I can’t wait to get my Allure…hopefully before we head off for a long weekend on Friday…Now that’s great poolside reading!
Hugs!
I know, I know … close, but we connoisseurs can smell the difference. Sorry. Maybe your opinion will be different!
Have a nice weekend!
My candy drugs of choice are Swedish Fish (thanks a lot, Nancy!;) and Sno-Caps. You always know a Sno-Cap lover, especially if they have perforated leather car seats! Those little nonpareils…..they get into everything!
I love the smell of Swedish Fish – so artificial and tangy – but I am not sure I would want to smell LIKE Swedish Fish. The only Demeter fragrance I enjoy is Gin and Tonic (ya think?) though their smells are very synaesthetic (I came nowhere near that, did I?) Shortly after my brother died my sister and I were at a shop smeling frags – our brother was an avid fisherman and one of the Demeter fragrances smelled like a lake or something – she took one whiff and burst into tears (but sort of in a good way). The power of scent to evoke a memory……..
I’m waiting for that scent called 11cwt emerald-cut,flawless diamond, shallow weasel that I am!
Swedish Fish!!! There is a local two-man shaved ice cart business (whole nother story — getting permission from the local powers to be allowed to stop their cart in various areas) and their signature is they tuck a Swedish fish into the center of the shaved ice. First time I ever had one. They must put crack in those things.
I would totally wear Swedish Fish. But that’s just me.
Sno-Caps. That is so funny about your car — your version of the Tootsie wrappers.
At their best, the Demeters are wonderful. If you search on here I’ve written about a bunch. I can see your sister’s association. Holy Smoke is glorious. And Thunderstorm still makes my hair stand up.
I have a Thunderstorm candle that I picked up on a whim (my sinuses usually cannot support much in the way of scented candles). Every time I light that thing George starts getting nervous (he hates thunderstorms). So now I only light it DURING a thunderstorm which is kind of …..I dunno…..overkill?
But it is a cool smell for all that!
I’ll talk to the Demeter folks this very afternoon about getting up a Swedish Fish fragrance – if you wear it, I’ll try it, too. Just don’t be surprised if a pack of psychotic perimenopausal women start following you around….
ahhh Sno Caps! Totally forgot about them. The chocolate’s not so great tho it’s dark enough to be passable, so it’s not a chocolate kick. The lure of the Sno Cap is the crunch, those rock hard little nonpareil bittey sprinkly bits that sound like gravel when you chew them.
I skip the chocolate and just eat those nasty candy things straight out of the plastic shaker jar. Possibly. Well, some people in our house do this. They also give that nice crunch effect on ice cream. :”>
I really need to find and smell Swimming Pool. It’s what I do for a living, pools. So gotta try it. As for your sewer- please go buy loads of pool shock( the good kind) and it’ll be fine. feel free to contact me for all the free advice you could want .
Well … it’s our neighborhood pool, which is in its own way quite lovely (quiet and tucked into a leafy residential area). But the pool house is old and there seems to be some sort of septic tank issue. b-( Is my best guess. Either that or they’re burying the bodies a little close to the surface, but I’m guessing that would have a different smell. They’re certainly out there on a regular basis doing the little dippy thing with the little colored waters, so it looks very reassuring. OTOH they don’t reinforce the no-diapers rule very diligently, and last night there was a footprint trail of … waste … across the women’s locker room floor. Baby footprints. Because the people here are pigs.
… should I not be writing this so early? Well, I’ve been up since four. What can you recommend to get rid of the sense of entitlement and indifference to one’s fellow pool users? Is there a chemical for that? :o)