Boyfriend by Kate Walsh. Personally, I think Kate Walsh is currently one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood. I adore her red hair, and she her makeup is always impeccable. I hadn't heard she was doing a perfume until I saw the perfume listed in an email from Sephora. The concept of her perfume is that lingering scent of your boyfriend's cologne that you smell on his shirt or pillow. Here's what Sephora says about Boyfriend:
She inhales his shirt, taking in the scent of the man she loves. It lingers on her clothes, her sheets, her hair—all over. Imprinted on her body and in her mind, it radiates within her, filling her with feelings of warmth and desire.
Actress Kate Walsh wanted to capture the scent of a guy on a girl: a man's cologne mixed with perfume, the smell that lingers on the skin. This fragrance evokes memories of that time after he has left for the day—when she gently awakes in a bed that's still warmly redolent of "boyfriend."
The notes for this perfume are: Dark Plum, Myrrh, Night Blooming Jasmine, Benzoin Tears (wtf?), Skin Musk, Golden Amber, and Vanilla Woods. I smelled the plum, vanilla, jasmine, and the musk and amber. I would describe this perfume as a soft floral with a top note of a man's cologne. When I first read about it, I was intrigued but wondered about the scent really working as said. I am really impressed with how well Kate Walsh really pulled this scent off. While it is a sweet fragrance, there's enough of the amber/musk to keep it from being too florally. Another thing I love about this scent that despite the vanilla and musk, it's still a pretty light fragrance that can be worn all year long. While I'm really not in the market for a new perfume, I really do think I'll be buying a bottle of this soon.
Grade: A+
Jennifer Aniston by Jennifer Aniston. As I had mentioned earlier, there was a lot of buzz when this perfume was recently released. Apparently, it was a big seller in Europe, and so people who had smelled it across the Atlantic were eager to get their hands on it here in the States. Here's what Jennifer herself has to say about her fragrance:
In the creation of her debut fragrance, Jennifer Aniston called to mind her earliest and most beloved recollections of scent. Evoking memories of sunny days at the beach and happy summer nights, this captivating composition includes light, blooming floral notes set against a sensual base of musk and woods.
"I wanted this fragrance to be a personal library of scent memories. For example, my love of night blooming jasmine has lasted a lifetime. Growing up in California, I distinctly remember the scent of jasmine on summer evenings. I consider the scent of the ocean to be one of life's most uplifting sensual experiences. No aroma is quite so purifying, humbling and exhilarating. The combination of the salty air and tropical oils reminds me of long sunny days on the beach-pure happiness."
The notes are listed as: Citrus Grove Accord, Rose Water, Jasmine, Violet, Amazon Lily, Musk, Amber, and Sandalwood. Normally, I don't like beachy scents because perfumers call "beachy" to me smells "soapy." But I could actually smell "beach" in Aniston's perfume. She really did hit her goal in making a perfume that smelled like a day on the beach. For some reason, I also smell peach, but that might be one of the other notes in the perfume. I like this perfume, I really do, but it also reminds me of a powdery floral scent my grandma used to wear from Avon when I was little that I wasn't crazy about. I just squirted a bit onto a shirt I'm not wearing because I keep getting both the Boyfriend and the Aniston perfume confused. Honestly, I think the Aniston perfume is what Boyfriend would smell like if you took out 80% of the musk and 60% of the vanilla. The floral undernotes smell the same to me, probably the jasmine. I like Aniston's perfume, but I wouldn't buy it. At the same time, if I was given it as a gift I wouldn't be upset either.
Grade: B
Both scents are what I'd describe as day scents. appropriate for the most conservative of business places and dressy events. Both perfumes would be okay to wear to a happy hour, but I don't think either would be good for a pub crawl with the girls. Well, maybe you could get away with the Boyfriend, but not the Aniston.
Availability: Jennifer Aniston is only available at Sephora right now, and I'm not sure about Boyfriend. Both range in price from $20 for a rollerball to $75 for a 3.5 oz bottle.
