Summer can be the busiest time of year for many of us. Three months of vacation, travel, weekend excursions, surprise visits and spontaneous road trips! All those days at the beach, evening concerts and other balmy night activities sure are fun, but keep us busy and running all around! What is the best way to stay looking and smelling so fresh and so clean (clean) if there’s no time to stop by the house in between things? There’s travel size cosmetics, blotting papers, compact mirrors, mini hair brushes and even dry shampoo! But what about perfume? Continue reading...

I have never really been into cologne. They all more or less smell the same to me, i.e. “ugh, way too much cologne.” That being said, my blase reaction to cologne is probably partially due to the fact that I have yet to run into a dude wearing a cologne by Demeter. Calling Demeter’s scents “run of the mill” is like calling Michelle Obama’s arms puny. Sure, there are the more traditional sniffers like Earl Grey Tea, Cannabis Flower and Redhead in Bed, but these are not what caught my attention. Oh no, the real eye brow raising scents were those reminiscent of our childhood.

Victorinox, purveyors of Swiss Army knives and all manners of utilitarian items, is no longer content with being confined to outdoorsy devices. They’ve moved into the scent market with the recent release of Swiss Unlimited, an eau de toilette that smells like “Swiss essence with notes of wooded silver fir, alpine herbs, and absinthe.” So rejoice, you can now smell like nature and illegal, hallucinogenic alcohol any time you want! And because the handy-dandy bottle—which looks more like a flask than a perfume container—comes with a carabiner, you’ll never be without the option of freshening up, even when stranded in the woods being mauled by a grizzly bear. [WWD]

Ever wonder what music smells like? Just ask Christophe Laudamiel and Stewart Matthew, perfumers who are at work creating a “scent opera” called “Green Aria.” Except in this case, there are no singers or actors; fragrances serve as the characters. As the listener takes in the original score composed by Valgeir Sigurdsson and Nico Muhly, a “scent microphone” placed near each seat blasts odors to accompany the music.

During the experience, the darkened room will be filled with flavors like Crunchy Green, “a fresh, watery smell,” and Magma, which reeks of tar. While you won’t get Chanel No. 5 or Marc Jacobs Daisy wafting pleasantly into your nostrils, the purpose of the duo’s scent-sational opera will be familiar to women on the hunt for their signature scent. “The real challenge,”  asks Laudamiel, “is how do you give a scent meaning?” [Wall Street Journal]

“Green Aria” will be at the Guggenheim, beginning May 31.

You don’t need to get sandy to experience the beach. Lilly Pulitzer’s new Beachy fragrance smells as yummy the real thing. If you’re a fan of watermelon, citrus, and jasmine blossoms, you’re bound to become a fan. The delicious scent will set you back $48, but the delicate blue bottle it comes in (and adorable mini scarf wrapped around it) makes it so worth it. So, give yourself a spritz or two and escape to the shore. [$48, Sephora]

We discovered the Japanese Cherry Blossom shower gel back in December and were instantly hooked. So we’re totally psyched that Bath & Body Works now offers the scent, a combo of Asian pear, mimosa petals, Kyoto rose and Himalayan cedarwood, in an eau de toilette. The scent lingers on the skin, but isn’t overpowering. At a cost of less than $30, we’ll be able to pick up the perfume along with the lotion and some more shower gel. [$26.50, Bath & Body Works]

• Tyra Banks is making a “comeback” of sorts: “America’s Next Top Model,” cycle 12, is back on the air tonight. I wonder what over-the-top schtick Ty-Ty will go for this year? [The CW]
• He’s not MY choice for sexiest royal, but whatever…“Esquire” voted Prince Charles, second in line to England’s throne, as one of their “Best Dressed Men” in their April issue. [Daily Mail]
• Jennifer Lopez borrowed $50K worth of bling from Swiss billionaire/diamond aficianado Robert Mouawad for an event at Barney’s…and liked the diamond jewelry so much she kept it.  No hard feelings from the billionaire, though.
• Somewhat inexplicably, Paris Hilton will be the first recipient of The Fragrance Foundation’s “Celebrity of the Year” award in May.  You know, we actually have a bottle of her Fairy Dust perfume and just haven’t gotten around to trying it yet…. [Now Smell This]

This May will see the release of the latest Star Trek movie, directed by JJ Abrams and starring Chris Pine, Erica Bana, and ... Winona Ryder? Since Star Trek-loving nerds still abound, and what with a whole new generation of Star Trek geeks waiting to happen, a bevy of Star Trek related merch will be hitting store shelves when the movie premieres, in hopes of squeezing as many dollars as possible out of wannabe Trekkies. Star Trek Uno, anyone? Perhaps you’d prefer a Vulcan cookie jar. Or maybe you’d like to buy your man some ... Star Trek cologne? Genki Wear is producing a trio of Star Trek inspired scents: Tiberius, Pon Farr, and Red Shirt. So, if you want your man to smell like Captain Kirk, go into a Vulcan heat, or get down like a red shirt, Star Trek cologne can make it happen. That is, if you’d date a guy who’d wear it. [Huffington Post]

Sofia Coppola’s a busy lady these days. Not only has she been designing bags for Louis Vuitton, but Coppola also directed a commercial for Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie fragrance. It has a jealousy inducing I’m-fabulous-and-live-in-Paris-in-the-‘60s vibe to it. If this is the kind of life I’d live if I wore the perfume, I’ll buy myself a king-size bottle and play Brigitte Bardot’s song “Moi Je Joue” on repeat. [Fashionista]

What would you do without your girl friends and sisters? If it weren’t for them, you probably wouldn’t know about threading as a form of hair removal, would never have received an invitation to Gilt Groupe, and would have to watch “The Notebook” DVD alone every time. You better get your girls some good stuff this year…

Today, some sad news, if you consider The National Enquirer a reputable source. According to the tabloid, Elizabeth Taylor was put on life support and is in very grave condition. While our fingers are crossed that Liz pulls through (she’s cheated death before!), we’ve pulled together a list of her films that you simply MUST NOT miss. While she’s become known in her later years for her work with AIDS charities, her friendship with Michael Jackson, her eight marriages, her portrayal of Helena Cassadine on General Hospital (maybe that’s just me), and her stupendously old-fashioned and glam fragrance line, it should not be forgotten that Liz is one of the best actresses ever. Consider the montage of her perfume commercials (above) to be a trailer. Her Top Ten Movies are after the jump…

My problem with wearing perfume may have been solved by scientists! Researchers in Portugal have developed a way to insert microcapsules into fabrics. While scent microcapsules are usually made from formaldehyde, which isn’t exactly safe to have next to your skin, these scientists have developed a new, more environmentally friendly plastic out of limonene (found in the rinds of lemons), and the lemon-y scent even lasted through dry cleaning. Sadly, it seems there’s only the one scent available right now, but it could soon be used to make BO-neutralizing suits, socks, and underwear, and maybe after that they’ll find a way to embed Burberry Brit in dresses—then I’ll be set. [LiveScience]

Even though I have tried to wear perfume (Coco Chanel once said, “A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.”), scents seem to fall off my skin, and I have basically given up on smelling nice. Perfume blog The Fragrance Fanatic just posted some tips for making your perfume or eau de toilette stay put, but the whole process seems a little too product- and time-intensive to incorporate into my morning routine.

Recently, someone told me my hair smelled nice, so maybe instead of going through the trouble of using scented body washes and lotions, I’ll just spray the stuff on my head. [The Fragrance Fanatic]

I have loved Audrey Tautou ever since she put that spoon to her nose in Amelie. Now she is the face of Chanel No. 5 perfume, replacing Nicole Kidman. This ad is flipping hot. Any woman that is cool enough to pull off a suit and tie is sexy to me. But this begs the question: Why have most of my “Girl Crush Alert!” choices been French?

Previously:

A new French perfume by Etat Libre d’Orange called Sécrétions Magnifiques smells just like what the name suggests it takes—a combo of blood, sweat, and spit. [No tears?—Editor] Although the scent alone is enough to trigger your gag reflex, the $150 price tag will probably do that too. The perfume has been selling at Harvey Nichols, the favorite high-end department store of Absolutely Fabulous’ Patsy and Edina, but has just hit the American market at Henri Bendel. Kudos to Antoine Lei, who created the scent that flies in the face of what perfume is even used for—a fresh, pleasant smell to mask body odors. But gosh, doesn’t everything sound super chic in French? [The Sun U.K.]