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Alex Curran, "über-WAG" wife of UK footballer Steven Gerrard, has launched her debut fragrance, Alex, in collaboration with OK! magazine.
The notes include bergamot, lemon, rose, jasmine, creamy vanilla, tonka bean and powdered musk. It will be available in 100 ml Eau de Toilette for £19.95.
So, somebody please explain to me what is going on in the UK lately. The US strikes me as completely celebrity-obsessed, yet we don't have all these B-list celebrity fragrances — why? Or do we?
Just in the last few years, the UK has seen Coleen, Jade Goody Shhh, Jordan Stunning, Kelly Brook, Samanda, Shilpa Shetty S2, The X Factor, and I'm sure I'm missing a few. As near as I can tell, all you have to do to launch a fragrance in the UK is appear on a reality show or marry a football (soccer, for us Americans) player. Do any of my fellow Americans even know the names of any of the spouses of well-known sports figures? Would you buy a fragrance from any of them? Has there been a single fragrance from a reality show star? Is it just easier to launch fragrances in the UK for some reason?
Friday, November 2, 2007
Alex by Alex Curran ~ new fragrance, and a plea for enlightenment
Burberry Men's Fragrances ~ 4 mini reviews
Burberry For Men is the oldest Burberry scent but has been reformulated several times since its release in 1981; the current version contains lavender, bergamot, thyme, mint, moss, cedar, amber and tonka bean. Burberry for Men opens loud and proud: it’s cool, sharp and herbal. Burberry for Men’s lavender is enlivened, and somewhat disguised, by strong bergamot, mint and thyme. Straight out of the bottle, Burberry for Men smells like a lip-puckering French mouthwash I used to buy at Caswell-Massey. As I wore Burberry for Men, I experienced other “medicinal” moments — again, associated with my mouth. I like it when perfumes remind me of faces and places, but I don’t want a fragrance to prompt me to call my dentist and arrange a check-up — Burberry for Men is the scent of my dentist’s office!
Burberry Touch for Men was created by perfumer Jean-Pierre Bethouart and was released in 2000. When I read Touch’s list of ingredients, I was excited by the “promise of GREEN” — artemisia, violet leaf, mandarin leaf (other notes are white pepper, Virginia cedar, nutmeg, vetiver, tonka bean). On application, Burberry Touch for Men reminded me of an old fashioned barber shop with its scented suds, pomades and hair dressings. Touch opens with the smell of fresh leaves (violet leaf, artemisia) and as the leaves lose their punch, a pleasant vetiver aroma arises. Touch’s “mid-section” reminds me of Guerlain’s Vetiver (after it’s been on skin a few hours). Touch ends with a light vanilla-tonka bean accord. My overall impression of Touch for Men is of cleanness — not only the clean lathers and talcum powders of a barber shop, but the clean smell of freshly laundered clothes, dried outdoors in summer sunshine.
Burberry Brit for Men’s (2004; perfumer Antoine Maisondieu) list of ingredients intrigued me — green mandarin, bergamot, ginger, “frozen” cardamom, wild rose, nutmeg, cedar, “oriental” woods, grey musk and tonka bean — but when I sprayed on the fragrance for the first time I thought: “This is the BLANDEST of the Burberry bunch so far…even with ginger, rose and nutmeg….” At first sniff, Burberry Brit for Men seemed over-blended, its notes pounded together to produce a character-less blob. Just as I was about to wash my arms to rid myself of the boring Brit fragrance, something pleasant began to happen — the lemony scent of freshly grated nutmeg appeared, accompanied by sweet musk, tonka bean, and a calming vanilla-cedar accord; I felt cozy and content and Brit for Men became my favorite Burberry scent at that point, toppling Touch for Men from its pedestal.
The most recent Burberry men’s fragrance release is Burberry London for Men (2006, Antoine Maisondieu). By this stage of my testing, I knew that Burberry men’s fragrances changed and “developed” on the skin and should not be judged until they were worn for a few hours. London for Men starts safely, with the scent of lavender-bergamot, then comes cinnamon, pepper and wine (with a faint hint of leather). For me, it’s ALL about the base notes in this fragrance: the rich amber, the strong, but mellow, tobacco leaf, and smooth guaiac wood. London for Men is the most powerful and masculine of the Burberry men’s fragrances and it became my favorite — poor Brit had but a day in the spotlight. (Since mimosa flower is listed in London for Men’s ingredients, but is not readily apparent, one day I wore London for Men layered with Diptyque’s mimosa room spray and the result smelled great.)
I liked three of the four Burberry men’s fragrances; I don’t need full-size bottles of any of them but I may seek out a miniature of the London for Men. The Burberry men’s scents are calm and collected and pleasant to be around and though their vibe is “traditional” the perfumes are not dull. I was happy to wear a men’s line of contemporary designer scents that didn’t make me gag or feel like I was being sanitized by a mist of cheaply scented rubbing alcohol.
Damn you, Central Processing!
I also really wanted to play with the iPhone, but Apple was having some kind of nerd party, so I didn't go in.
Now, considering the drubbing I took for shamelessly telling the world that I actually liked the Proenza Schouler lipstick in the zinc-oxide-pink, I was a little wary of trying anything this trendy-limited-edition-overhyped-expensive. But I started hearing rumblings of positive reviews from Blogdorf Goodman, the Beauty Addict, and All About the Pretty.
Normally I steer clear of dark lipstick shades, since it makes me feel a little like I'm walking down K Street. At night. On a Wednesday.
But, in the name of research I stalked the Lancome lady and begged her to let me try out the tester, since they were totally sold out.
It looked good on me. Definitely a wine color, but with a little extra brown. Requires a lot more maintence than my favorite glosses to make sure that it's in the lip line and even across my mouth. Not unlike the Robert Palmer girls from the Addicted to Love video, but interesting.
The surprise happened later, after the lipstick stayed on through an apple (mmmm, Honeykrisp apples, how I love thee). At dinner, a very tired fiance looked up at a frizzy haired me and stated, "You look really pretty today."
I asked, is it the lipstick? He took a second look (always careful, this one) and said, YES.
Since I knew that Nordstrom's was inconveniently sold out, I spent the weekend trying on other shades to see if they could reproduce the effect on said fiance, but no dice. On Sunday night I broke down and ordered it from the Nordstrom's website.
And now it sits...taunting me with it's "order in process" sneer despite my constant refreshing of the page. (Shocker, I know)
Ship it! Please! Pretty please??? My future marriage might depend on it!!
Just kidding. Maybe.
South Carolina Rejects Colbert
S.C. Dems reject Colbert candidacy
Stephen Colbert’s satirical run for the presidency has run into its first roadblock — his bid to be on the ballot in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary was rejected on Thursday.
The party’s executive council voted 13-3 to refuse Colbert’s application for a spot on the ballot.
“The general sense of the council was that he wasn’t a serious candidate and that was why he wasn’t selected to be on the ballot,” said Joe Werner, the party’s director. “There was discussion — I wouldn’t call it a heated debate — but there was discussion about it.”
There is no appeal process, Werner said, adding that the party will certify its ballot as final later Thursday with the South Carolina State Election Commission.
The Democrats had to decide whether they considered Colbert to be a bona fide Democrat who is nationally viable and has spent time campaigning in the state.
A South Carolina-based lawyer who was working to get Colbert’s name on the Democratic ballot could not immediately be reached for comment, nor could members of the executive council that made the decision.
Colbert could still run as an independent in the general election, though he’d have to collect 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot, said Chris Whitmire, a spokesman for the State Election Commission.
Colbert’s candidacy posed a tricky question for the Democratic Party executive council, which has to approve all candidates for the party’s ballot.
If it allowed Colbert to appear as a presidential candidate on their ballot, it would generate attention that might swell the party’s ranks and coffers by attracting previously unaffiliated voters.
But it likely would also attract allegations it was helping Colbert, the host of the popular faux-news program “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, make a mockery of the election system.
On the flip side, by rejecting Colbert, the council might satisfy purists but be scorned as killjoys by others.
Members of the executive council expressed a range of similar sentiments before the vote, according to a CNN story.
It quoted council member Waring Howe Jr. saying Colbert would appear on the party’s ballot “over my dead body.”
Many members of the executive council likely voted against giving Colbert a spot on the ballot because they have allegiances to specific candidates, said former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat who knows many council members.
“There are various candidates who don’t get the joke in the Democratic Party and who, for whatever reasons, want to keep him off the ballot,” said Hodges, who signed a petition supporting Colbert’s candidacy. “I personally think he doesn’t hurt any of them. He brings a sense of levity to politics that’s needed, and the people in South Carolina would enjoy it. We probably would have some people participate who otherwise would not do so.”
Hodges, who served from 1999 until 2003, met Colbert at a recent party and said, “I even offered myself up as a vice president. I told him that he could think of me as Dick Cheney but as a better shot,” presumably making a crack about Cheney’s infamous hunting incident.
Less than one hour before a noon deadline, Colbert filed to get on the ballot. He submitted a $2,500 filing fee — paid with a personal check from Colbert — and a letter explaining to the committee why he wanted to run, said Werner.
“It is a very, very nice letter. If you’re from South Carolina, this is going to play a role in the decision, I’m sure,” Werner said before the meeting.
Another issue the council may have considered: The state Democratic Party has to pay the state a $20,000 fee for each name it places on the ballot.
The council did grant a spot on the party’s ballot to former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, whose presidential campaign barely registers in most polls and who the Democratic National Committee has barred from participating in official debates.
Also getting approval at Thursday’s meeting: Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Joe Biden of Delaware and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico.
Colbert brought his “campaign” to South Carolina last week, speaking at events Saturday and Sunday, attracting a college crowd of about 1,000 people at the latter.
On his show last month, Colbert announced he would run on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots in his native state of South Carolina.
But the fee to apply to get on the Republican ballot was $35,000, while Democrats asked for only a $2,500 fee or the signatures of 3,000 registered South Carolina voters on a petition.
Colbert had posted a downloadable copy of the Democratic Party’s petition on a bare-bones campaign website, www.colbert08.org.
Though Colbert submitted petitions, Werner said they were unnecessary because he paid the filing fee. He added that he did not think Colbert had collected 3,000 valid signatures.
“There are some names on the petition that are interesting names,” Werner said, including Hodges'.
Ironically, even though he likely won’t be on the Democratic ballot, his effort brought him at least halfway to being considered a real candidate under federal election laws.
The laws impose strict rules on anyone who raises or spends more than $5,000 to promote a candidacy.
If Colbert hits that threshold, whether his campaign was intended as a joke or not, he’d have 15 days to form a campaign committee and file a statement of candidacy with the FEC.
Kim Kardashian Playboy Leak
There's been a leak of Kim Kardashian's Playboy photos from the upcoming December issue. Those interested in saving the subscription price and seeing thumbnails can do so here.
For higher resolution images (and tastefully cleaned up a little) of the Kim Kardashian Playboy leak, there here, here, here.
I will admit to being a little surprised though. It's only a few months ago that Kim was suing to keep pictures of her naked off the net instead of on it:
Kim Kardashian, who in February sued adult video distributor Vivid Entertainment for releasing a homemade video of her having sex with ex-boyfriend, singer Ray J, without her consent, will be paid by Vivid a settlement totaling close to $5 million.
Sources also say that Vivid has agreed to cease distribution of the video by the end of May (but a Vivid source claims the settlement payment is “closer to $3 million” and that “no decision has been made as to whether or not distribution will stop”).
“Kim is relieved that she can now move on from this embarrassing chapter in her life,” says a Kardashian pal.
Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, released a statement saying, “We are pleased that Kim has dropped her legal action against us. We met with her several times and finally reached a financial arrangement that we both feel is fair.”
Hirsch continued, “We’ve always known we had the legal right to distribute this video which became an instant best-seller and we’ve always [wanted] to work something out with Kim so she could share in the profits.”
The other thing is that when I first saw the headline "Playboy Leak" my thoughts immediately turned to tits and silicone: but apparently hers are real.
General Paul Tibbets, Pilot of Enola Gay, RIP
Brigadier General Paul Tibbets, best known as the pilot of the Enola Gay that dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb onto the Japanese war-supporting city of Hiroshima, has died at the age of 92. In recent years he has made the news about being unrepentant over what some vocal (revisionist) critics consider a war crime.
Paul Tibbets, who etched his mother’s name — Enola Gay — into history on the nose of the B-29 bomber he flew to drop the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, died Thursday after six decades of steadfastly defending the mission. He was 92.
Throughout his life, Tibbets seemed more troubled by other people’s objections to the bomb than by him having led the crew that killed tens of thousands of Japanese in a single stroke. The attack marked the beginning of the end of World War II.
Tibbets grew tired of criticism for delivering the first nuclear weapon used in wartime, telling family and friends that he wanted no funeral service or headstone because he feared a burial site would only give detractors a place to protest.
And he insisted he slept just fine, believing with certainty that using the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved more lives than they erased because they eliminated the need for a drawn-out invasion of Japan.
Considering the estimates AT THAT TIME were over a million Allied casualties, and more than that on the Japanese side, I think Tibbets has the moral high ground here. The war ended in August 1945 only because of the unprecedented entry of the Emperor into Japanese politics, after the atomic bombs. The Generals and Admirals were generally ready to fight to the last man standing in Japan, until the Emperor said no.
Tibbets, a 30-year-old colonel at the time, and his crew of 13 dropped the five-ton “Little Boy” bomb over Hiroshima the morning of Aug. 6, 1945. The blast killed or injured at least 140,000.
I’m not sure what that phrase means, “or injured.” Today it means a broken fingernail, but then it was more significant, as the WaTimes coverage clarifies quoting Tibbets,
“I remind you, we were at war. Our job was to win. Once the targets were named and presidential approval received, we were to deliver the weapon as expeditiously as possible consistent with good tactics,” Gen. Tibbets once recalled. “The objective was to stop the fighting, thereby saving further loss of life on both sides.”
Estimates of deaths in Hiroshima top 140,000 within one year of the blast, which rose up in a massive mushroom of smoke and fire, the shape and image itself destined to become a visceral cultural icon in the years to come. The U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki 72 hours later; the Japanese surrendered shortly thereafter, ending the war.
“It did in fact end the war,” said Morris Jeppson, the officer who armed the bomb during the Hiroshima flight. “Ending the war saved a lot of U.S. armed forces and Japanese civilians and military. History has shown there was no need to criticize him.”
Former U.S. Sen. John Glenn, a former Marine fighter pilot, said people who criticized Tibbets for piloting the plane that dropped the bomb failed to recognize that an allied invasion of Japan, which the bomb helped avert, would have resulted in the deaths of several million people.
“It wasn’t his decision. It was a presidential decision, and he was an officer that carried out his duty,” Glenn said. “It’s a horrible weapon, but war is pretty horrible, too.”
Tibbets said in 2005 that after the war he was dogged by rumors claiming he was in prison or had committed suicide.
“They said I was crazy, said I was a drunkard, in and out of institutions,” he said. “At the time, I was running the National Crisis Center at the Pentagon.”
The difference to today is that the military would have a dozen Colonels/Captains, and a General/Admiral in charge for a similar program - and I’d guess there were more generals then.
Author Richard Rhodes said Tibbets’ feelings about the bombing he helped plan embodied public opinion at the time.
“He was so characteristic of that generation. He was a man who took great pride in what he did during the war, including the atomic bombing,” said Rhodes, who wrote “The Making of the Atomic Bomb.”
“It’s hard for people today to think about the atomic bombings without feeling they were just out and out atrocities, but people at the time had a very different sense of what they needed to do,” Rhodes said
An exceptional man – Colonel at 30 (even Lt Colonel at 30 is an achievement).
For details on his long Air Force career, see his updated USAF bio He was in the Air Force (Army Air Corps) for almost 20 years after Hiroshima including several major commands, but he is known only for one event.
And via DefenseTech comments, I find this link for his interview with Studs Terkel
Note: I have been at ground zero in Nagasaki.
Frederic Malle's Bois D'Orage
I sniffed Bois D'Orage at Barneys in NYC.I thought it smelled liked warmed hay.The Malle sales associate smiled warmly but indicated with a curt negative head bob that I was way off base. There was an opening note of bergamot with angelica and cedar in the drydown. It was more masculine than I would normally wear but I just could not stop sniffing my wrist.I can only imagine how fabulous this scent would be on the nape of the neck of an attractive man.It is currently available at Barneys in NYC for $185.The listed notes in the Barneys catalog are nutmeg, iris, cedar, cardamon, musk and pimento.
