Lancome Magnifique has notes of saffron essence, cumin, Bulgarian rose, Mai de Grasse rose, jasmine, sandalwood, nagarmota and vetiver. Hey, this could work. Eh, maybe… not. Fruity’ish on the open, it does improve quite a bit in the first 15 minutes. The sweetness in the open fades nicely, then it smells just a skosh spicy/earthy, and then it pretty much drops off the fragrant earth and there’s nothing, nada, a little bit of a floral something. So I’m either slightly anosmic to this or it truly doesn’t work with my skin. But have I ever said how much I love their mascaras?
But I had better luck with Cartier Roadster. Created by Mathilde Laurent with notes of mint, lavander, patchouli, cistus labdanum, vanilla, and Cashmere wood, it goes on slightly mineralic and very, very earthy. There’s an understated, firm-footed elegance in this that’s really, really great. It’s fresh in what should be a traditional men’s cologne way, but that earthiness from the vetiver and incense pins it firmly to the ground and makes it completely different from about any other men’s scent I’ve smelled in ages. I’m smitten with this, and its one of the first men’s scents I’ve loved in a long, long time.
But can we chat about the bottle? I’ve seen this in person, and it really could sub in for, well… you know. It takes the top prize for me easily of most sexually suggestive perfume bottle of the year. If this one isn’t the most erotic for you, which one would you nominate?
Magnifiques smells like drugstore perfume as does most of Lancome’s fragrances. I really didn’t like it at all, but on a positive note, Anne Hathaway looks gorgeous.
What cracks me up about the bottle in the ad is the way it seems to be speeding forward…
The bottle ? it’s either , you know , or it’s a baby bottle . How’s that for Freudian ?
I tried the new Lancome & I liked it as much as most of the new stuff out there which is NOT! It’s funny really because I used to be a counter manager, but not for very long. I used to go up to the Chanel counter & spray No. 5 since the only Lancome I liked was Magie Noir & no one else at my counter could tolerate it. My latest purchase was Secret Obsession lotion. I liked it enough for the lotion but not enough for a full bottle. It at least doesn’t smell like cotton candy. A little fruit but subtle to me & the dry down is nice. And while we’re on Lancome, I was told once by an old Lancome SA that their mascara comes from the same vat as Great Lash. Who knows if that’s true.
They’re made in the same factory (so is all the L’Oreal stuff, I think), maybe that’s what she meant?
I’ve always heard that Lancome and L’Oreal were made in the same factory and just packaged differently. But didn’t know about Great Lash — it’s not surprising, since most of the money in cosmetics is spent in packaging and advertising anyway.
My dad used to work for L’Oreal USA, the parent company for Maybelline, L’Oreal, and Lancome(they also do the Ralph Lauren, Armani, and Victor & Rolf fragrance lines, from what I saw in the company store), so I got to go on plant tours on “Take your daughter to work” day. They’re made in the same factory, or at least they wereabout five years ago, but I got the impression that they had different formulas. Not that I have that in writing, but yanno.
Pierre Cardin. Now THERE’S some obvious symbolic reference. 😉
Oh yeah! I remember that one. Even looking at it was embarrasing.
I posted something on Roaster today too…I wish I loved it as much as everyone else. Brilliant mint topnotes, but the drydown is brash and nasty.
I guess I was too busy playing with the cap of the bottle to notice how suggestive it was!
Love both Lancome’s lipsticks (great smell) and mascaras, but Magnifique definitely doesn’t live up to the name. Look forward to sampling Roadster and the bottle absolutely cracks me up.
No idea what the Lancome smells like, and I’ve never fallen in love with any of their fragrances (but I do love how Tresor smells on my mother-typical “mom-smell”!!) but yepppp, they do make good mascaras! My all-time-favorite is Virtuose!Girls, you just have to try that one!
The Cartier one sounds really interesting..I’m actually looking for a nice scent for my dad (the new Guerlain is great too, by the way..maybe a bit too fresh for fall-winter)..and this could be a good idea!
I swear I gave Magnifique at least a 2-spritz try, before dashing to the ladies room-heaving slightly, to scrape off my skin :-&
Gotta try Roadster. The bottle is cool, yup, suggestive of something…hmmm. But I think the new YSL Homme has much, um, cleaner lines (thanks to the Scented Salamander for the image):
http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/images/Nouvel-Lhomme-YSL.jpg 😉
Cockadoodledoo.
I wasn’t as taken with roadster as you. I vouchsafe that I need further sniffage.
Erm, you don’t mean…a nose hair trimmer?!?
Oh…forgot to add most erotic…I’m going to go down a different path and vote for the Les Exclusifs bottle. Solid, handsome beauty, with beautiful lines as you look…you know there’s plenty in there…and to top it off, there’s that oh-satisfying *ka-thunk* that both helps draw the cap to the bottle and help emphatically bring it to a close.
Well…jeesh…I thought it looks like…dare I say it…a…rollerball…
Jeesh-
I thought it looked like a pen…