Have your wine...and wear it too! Kelly & Jones, an American niche perfume brand, has created a delicious medley of scents inspired by wine.  We'd never thought we'd say this, but wine and perfume meet in their new Notes of Wine Collection, featuring 5 wine-y fragrances, #1 Notes of Sauvignon Blanc, #2 Notes of Riesling, #3 Notes of Cabernet, #4 Notes of Merlot and #5 Notes of Chardonnay.
You may ponder, how exactly did creator Kelly Jones become inspired?  After attending a wine tasting, she noticed how her vanilla perfume intermingled with the notes of the wine she savored, and she knew she had to head back to her fragrance studio to start mixing up the scents, playing off undertones of each wine. So what do the scents smell like?

#1 Notes de Sauvignon Blancis "A crisp, refreshing unisex blend of yuzu grapefruit, starfruit, green apple and a hint of camellia flower."

#2 Notes de Riesling is about "Aromas of fresh-picked white peach, anjou pear, bergamot and raspberry leaf."

#3 Notes of Cabernet: "This swoon-worthy blend has spicy notes of pink peppercorn, ripe black cherry, and tobacco flower on a gorgeous base of vintage leather."

#4 Notes of Merlot is described as "A smooth, balanced essence and beautiful blend of red currant, mission fig, rhubarb and lovely candied violet."

#5 Notes of Chardonnay , the original source of inspiration for the whole line, is "A rich, vibrant and seductive blend of sweet honeydew melon, vanilla blossom and luscious crème brulee all rounded out on a base of toasted oak."
Would you try some wine perfume?

Boss in Motion by Hugo Boss
Design House: Hugo Boss
Year Introduced: 2002
Fragrance Notes: basil flowers, dry pink pepper and musk
Recommended Use: daytime
Scent Life: 6-10 hours
Boss, whose sense of fashion famously melds man with beauty, once again stays true to brand. In Motion’s lone three scent nodes of basil flower, dry pink pepper and musk converge to convey a warm vanilla essence. The cologne, gentle as it may be, is clearly made for a man; though, through an aroma ineffably familiar to the female nostril, In Motion cannot help but be inviting, if not alluring, to the fairer sex—especially if applied to the neckline of a starched oxford or v-neck.

A favorite of ours, Hanae Mori, will soon be launching a fragrance, this time not for women, but all eyes are on the guys!

With a modern man in mind, Hanae Mori has designed HiM, the brands first eau designed for male consumers in over a decade.

According to WWD, “The brand has evolved so much, but we don’t introduce so much newness,” said Thomas Saujet, president of fragrance licensing, marketing and distribution company International Cosmetics & Perfumes Inc., or ICP, which is the worldwide licensee of Hanae Mori Parfums. “We felt we needed some newness.”

We wanted to do a real men’s scent — a rugged, edgy, spicy, woodsy, modern fragrance,” said Saujet. “Everyone [who’s smelled it] thinks we have a slam dunk.”

Top notes include oils of bergamot, mandarin orange, gray pepper, violet leaves and cardamom seeds. Heart notes include cinnamon bark, Mediterranean fig and tonka bean essence.

Photo: George Chinsee

Yesterday, we were proud to say we were one of the 'first' people to see the unveiling of Nicki Minaj's first fragrance, Pink Friday.  The flacon, launching in September, is (no surprise here) a mini Nicki, dipped in gold, sporting her signature pink hair with a sexy, white bustier.  If that doesn't sound like enough, there's a "Nicki Minaj" name chain draped around the bottle for some extra bling bling.

When fans asked what it will smell like, Nicki tweeted back, it will smell "like angels playing".  So...what does that smell like?

Photo: Nicki Minaj, Twitter

Britney was lookin' Cleopatra glam in her recent shoot for her new fragrance campaign, Fantasy Twist.  This will be her third collaboration with Elizabeth Arden, first was Curious in 2004, Fantasy in 2009, and now it's time for the third, Fantasy Twist.

Britney tweeted this pic,  'Channelling my inner Cleopatra today at Elizabeth Arden Fantasy Twist shoot. Fragrance is out in Sept. 1st look on Path.'

What's your take on the fragrance campaign? Extraodinary or plain ol' ordinary?

Photo: Britney Spears

Burberry The Beat for Men
Design House: Burberry
Year Introduced: 2008
Fragrance Notes: vetiver bourbon, violet leaves accord, leatherwood, black pepper cedrat
Recommended Use: Casual
Scent Life: 1-5 hours
Burberry’s aptly monikered The Beat packs a palpable briskness, positioning it above the ranks of otherwise stodgy upscale competitors. Though the seedlings of traditional masculine essence are apparent, with hints of leatherwood and black pepper cedrat to wit, therein lies an undeniable vigor—a fragrant sense of pace—that would allow this eau de toilette to cut through a winter chill or the dankness of a dreary autumn day.

We've heard of a fragrances giving tribute to a city, like Sarah Jessica Parker's NYC, or DKNY's Be Delicious Heart NYC, but more recently in perfume news, the windy city of Chicago will be getting it's own fragrance!

Tru Blooms Chicago First Harvest, a project linking several communities, will launch a limited edition eau de parfum this coming October.  Tru Fragrance made a plan to find ingredients indigenous to Chicago so that the ingredients in the parfum are locally grown.

Roses, lavender and violets were selected as notes for the perfume, which was concocted by Ungerer & Co. The scent will be available in 15-ml., 50-ml. and 100-ml. sizes. 

Monte Henige of Tru Fragrance noted that the city list could expand. “We’ve gotten inquiries from other cities,” he said to WWD. “You train and employ 100 people to plant gardens, they get paid and you beautify a city.”

The new Yves Saint Laurent women's fragrance will be a "declaration of contemporary femininity," said Stephan Bezy, international general manager of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté at L’Oréal.  This scent is said to celebrate modernity, audacity, and youthfulness. 
“This brand has youth in its genes,” said Bezy, who explained YSL doesn’t age and has always been on the cutting edge, having introduced fashion such as the tuxedo for women.
“Yves Saint Laurent gave power to women,” he continued.

The new scent is a woody floriental, including notes of jasmine, white corollas, lily of the vaelly, blackcurrant, vanilla, tonka bean and cedar. 
Manifesto will first be introduced in France on September 10th. In March 2012, we can expect it to come to the US. We can't wait!

Photo Courtesy: Yves Saint Laurent; Manifesto

Are you enough of a scent critic that you can be part of a new social media fragrance community? Fragrance Flight, an invitation only olfactory club is taking flight this fall under the founders, the Curators of haute parfumerie MiN New York in SoHo NYC.  50 respected fragrance and luxury experts have joined together to create Fragrance Flight's platform, fusing together features of popular social media hubs like Facebook, Pinterest, basenotes, nowsmellthis, etc.

"We stand on the threshold of a fragrance revolution. It's important to lead and serve our passion with other experts who genuinely care. Transforming virtual community islands into tangible, authentic moments centered on sensory exploration and curated lifestyle will facilitate how we gather, share, learn, and grow together. Fragrance Flight is custom tailored to serve the needs and desires of individuals who are serious about scent," said Founder Chad Murawczyk. "Communities are all about the people involved... By transcending organizational structures and boundaries, our influential collective will nurture and grow via diverse experiences, perspectives, and talents."

Will you become an exclusive member? Register for membership here: http://www.fragranceflight.com/

Behold, Prada's newest scent for men, Luna Rossa. 
“It’s not a typical sport fragrance,” said José Manuel Albesa, chief brand officer at Puig, Prada’s fragrance licensee. He explained Luna Rossa is an authentic, long-standing part of the brand’s universe. “It is very linked to technological excellence.” (WWD)

The scent is said to be much more complex and interesting, a key note being lavendar, which is not often used with men's scents.

After such success with the brand's Candy fragrance for women, Albesa said it was time to bring something to the men's arena.  Excited for what's to come? Stay tuned for it's debut in the US, March 2013.

Photo Courtesy of Prada