Perfume Notes: Lavanila Vanilla Coconut, Marc Jacobs Pomegranate, Biscotti

Did you catch last week's edition of Perfume Notes? Time and energy permitting, I'm attempting to try a couple (or three) fragrances every week and bring you some quick reviews. This week's sniffage:

Lavanila Vanilla Coconut: I had majorly high hopes for this, and really thought it was going to be love at first sniff. I have issues with many coconut-centric scents; I find them to be somewhat

'Tis the Season for Solid Perfume Rings

Solid perfume rings seem to be cropping up everywhere these days! Last year brought us the Marc Jacobs Daisy ring, and now we have new baubles from Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and Kat Von D.

What do you think of these oversized scented jewels? You know how much I love solid perfumes, so I just had to share, even though I probably won't be buying any of these. They're all around a size 7, and they

Sprouse Book Launch Party

Joanne Sprouse, Stephen Sprouse's mother, Debbie Harry, and Brad Sprouse

Debbie Harry contributed to the book and Mauricio Padilha co-authored the book with his brother Roger.

Teri Toye, contributor to the book Sprouse and Karlo Steel, owner of Atelier the location of the party

Tama Janowitz, novelist, wrote forward to the Padilha's book Sprouse

Marc Jacobs on right with Lorenzo Martone, his boyfriend

Fred Schneider, lead singer B52's on right and Johnny Dynell DJ on left

Fern Mallis, founder and creator of New York Fashion Week

Jeffrey Deitch, founder of Deitch Projects art gallery which is currently hosting an exhibtion: Stephen Sprouse: Rock on Mars

Andr� Balazs, hotelier, owner of The Mercer

Patrick McDonald, writer and journalist

Team Vogue: Mimi Vu from Copy Editing and Brian Fee from Vogue Art

Edwige on Left was an inspiration to Madonna in the early 80's

Larissa, early 80's New York Party Scenester

famed Polaroid artist Jeremy Kost on left and Jun Nakayama

Bill Cunningham, New York Times street fashion photographer since the late 70's

On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of going to the Stephen Sprouse book launch party at Atelier at Hudson and Spring. Style.com did an interview with Mauricio and Roger Padilha who authored the book in homage to Stephen Sprouse, famous for his neon hued marks on Louis Vuitton. The party was amazing and above are a few shots from the evening.

Favorite photographic moments of 2008

First off, I wanted to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. I thought I'd pay homage to the year by quickly sharing with you some of my favorite shots from 2008. With two new fashion months coming up this year and undoubtedly more press too, 2009 stands to be an amazing year with startling photos and inspiration to share. So without further ado, I bring you:

Capturing Agyness Deyn with the sunset background and ensuing bokeh back in June. This was an exclusive shot of Agyness and is special since the Jean Paul Gaultier dress is atypical of her usual style.


Capturing Marc Jacobs and Rachel Zoe together back in spring. This was arguably, the first time the two had been photographed together since the media debacle back in Feb. when Rachel couldn't get into Marc's show. When I saw him again on the corner of Sixth and Bleecker, he said "thanks for that."

This picture of A Magazine's Fashion Editor Annabel Rivera is special to me because it's not just another picture of someone posing for a photo. There is motion: motion in her hair, motion in her shadow on the street, and the lighting was good too.

This picture was taken at Paris Fashion Week--an onslaught of photographers all leaning in the same direction at the same time to "blitzkrieg" Paris Vogue's Emmanuelle Alt. You should have seen the cloud of dust in the air over their heads as they ran across the Tuileries. Wait till I get a picture of that.

Can you say LONDON?


This picture of Net-a-porter.com's Head Buyer Holli Rogers is special to me for a few reasons. First, the background oozes Paris (it was taken outside the YSL show). Second, it was taken at night without a tripod and still turned out sharp. Third, Holli cooperated with me, despite their being a barrage of other flashes and photographers trying to borrow my "set up"

Cheers to 2009 folks! May we all be held in awe at the good things the world has in store for us!

Fragrance Deja Vu With Marc Jacobs

Longtime readers know I'm absolutely obsessed with Marc Jacobs splashes -- the Cucumber one famously charmed the cops, and the Amber, Rain, and Violet varieties took up residence in my fragrance cabinet when I discovered them in a marked down gift set at the Neiman outlet.The new crop of splashes includes Gardenia (lighter and cleaner than the original Marc Jacobs perfume), Fig, and a reissue of

Four Solid Perfumes for Fall

Last year around the holidays, I developed a consuming obsession with solid perfumes, likely spurred on by the annual appearance of the limited edition Estee Lauder solid perfume compacts. Added to that list were a limited edition Coco Mademoiselle solid and one from Covet by Sarah Jessica Parker, which was prettier than the original bottle.A few more solid offerings have appeared of late, so

Marc Jacobs Makes A Splash at the Neiman Outlet

You know how I feel about Marc Jacobs Cucumber splash, right? You know, the one that entrances everyone from cops to bosses to boyfriends?Well, I thought I'd let my NY/NJ readers know that a batch of it has appeared at the Neiman Marcus Last Call outlet in Elizabeth, NJ (Jersey Gardens). That place is like after-work therapy for me on the days when I'm working in NJ!Alongside the Cucumber I

The Scents of Summer

Writing that review of the Michael Kors Island Capri line a while back really got me thinking about my favorite summer scents. Not necessarily the "beachy" ones (see this post for a listing of my faves in that category), but the ones that really evoke summer, or the ones that just seem to smell better on sun-warmed skin.Here are a few of my all-time favorites; there are plenty more, but I tried

Six Spring Scents

We've had a spell of warm weather here in New York, and oh baby, I hope it stays. The breeze is starting to carry that softness, that freshness that is undeniably Spring...and it's got me thinking about fragrances that fit the season. As I mentioned in this morning's post, the official start of it is only 10 days away!I searched my collection for the scents that really scream Spring to me; the

Marc Jacobs in Your Living Room

Marc Jacobs Home. Yum. I wonder if this will have the same effect as the MJ Cucumber we discussed recently? (See the Vegetables are Sexy post...it was one of the most popular of the summer!)In any case, I'm looking forward to having my home scented by my favorite fashion brat, so I'm definitely snapping up a bottle. But deciding between the Room Spray with the fab fabric atomizer and the chic

Vegetables are Sexy

A few weeks ago I was strolling down a Tribeca street during the film festival, on my way to meet someone for dinner. It was one of those gorgeous late spring evenings in New York - warm, breezy, comfortable, not too humid.There was quite a bit of NYPD presence on the street, so I stopped at a patrol car to inquire (they were shutting down a street for a premiere). Just as I was stepping away,

Fragrance Tidbits

While the discovery of Red Door Velvet was certainly the fragrance find of the week, I sampled a few more scents during my travels this weekend and thought I'd share some brief musings.If you're a fan of my beloved Serge Lutens Chergui but not its $92 price tag, check out L'Occitane's Amber. While not as complex as the Serge, it has the same sweet, resinous spiciness, and the mini travel size can