In an article I read this morning on Times UK, Scarlet Johannsen said that scents are a way of making memories, and that ideally, fragrances become a signature for different moments in our lives.

I believe this, and I know you do, too. Dior’s powdery Dune will always remind me of high school and my father (he was the first man to buy me a perfume – a bottle of Dune purchased at the duty-free during one of his many overseas trips for work). Issey Miyake’s L’eau d’Issey was a staple during uni, and Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic (which I still spray on today) was the only scent I could handle while I was pregnant.

I’m only just starting to explore new scents again, when Estee Lauder’s latest one, Sensuous landed on my lap.

I’ve always like Estée Lauder as a brand – the skincare products are good, make-up is getting better, and the perfumes always end up as classics.

Thing is, I’ve never fallen for any of its perfumes … Knowing, Beautiful, Beyond Paradise were just too … feminine for me. That is, till now. It has been a long, long time since I got excited over a perfume, and you cannot imagine how happy I was to fall in love with this one.

Before you wonder why I’m amazed that I like this scent, consider this. I’ve always preferred perfumes that are a little … different. My daily spritzes are Thierry Mugler’s Alien and Angel, Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B, Prada Classic, Chanel Allure and Creed Virgin Island Water.

Somehow a floral perfume from the EL stable never quite fitted into the group.

Back to Sensuous, it was created by perfumer Annie Buzantian of Firmenich (most of EL’s scents are from the group), in collaboration with Aerin Lauder and Karyn Khoury, who is the brand’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Fragrance Development Worldwide. I’ve interviewed both Aerin and Karyn, and they’re just so passionate about perfumes. Just to hear them talk scents was amazing!

Sensuous comes under the new perfume category woody-amber. “When creating Sensuous, we wanted to re-invent the idea of feminine woods and change the texture and sensation of woods for women,” said Karyn in the press release. “I felt that woods could smell sleek, modern, and sophisticated, but in the past they have come across as too harsh and masculine for a truly feminine fragrance. In Sensuous, we created a woody accord that is fluid, warm, inviting and distinctly feminine.”

I think they succeeded. Don’t let the woody notes scare you off. Woods might be traditionally masculine notes, but there is nothing manly about Sensuous. The scent has a bit of everything: floral notes like jasmine, magnolia and ghost lily accord, some spice in the form of sandalwood and black pepper, and gourmand-y with honey and mandarin pulp. And of course, to round it up, amber. Funny enough, there’s no vanilla in the fragrance, though I swear I can smell it.

This isn’t a dramatic scent like Angel or Alien, so don’t expect it to scream for attention. When I spray it on me, it smells like sweet, warm amber. It’s a little creamy, like a warm, fluffy dessert dish (with marshmallows!) - and somehow, the rich, heavy notes are balanced so beautifully that I can wear Sensuous day and night. And every time I use it, I can’t help but marvel at its staying power. Which reminds me on a tagline in the press release:

“Lingering long after she’s gone, Sensuous is a celebration of a woman in full possession of her powers. Warm, luminous and feminine. Every woman wears it her way. 

A bottle the colour of pink champagne, coupled with such a delicious scent makes this a new favourite.

I’m a little worried at the how quickly the juice is depleting, though - I spray it on ALL THE TIME. But there are plenty of options from the Sensuous range once I finish by current bottle. I’m thinking … splurging on the Parfum, or perhaps the Pressed Powder? The idea of brushing on a perfume sounds rather sexy, no?

The Sensuous Collection available at all Estee Lauder counters nationwide.

The range includes the EDP, 50ml for RM210 and 100ml for RM310, Satin Body Lotion, RM160 for 200 ml and Silk Shower Creme, RM110 for 200ml. Other decadent treats (available only at Isetan) are the Parfum, RM390 for 7ml, Touch-On Fragrance, RM148 for 10ml, and Brush-On Perfumed Pressed Powder, RM245.

Fragrance Hits

• Cartier’s Les Heures de Parfum, a quintet of unisex scents, reference not only “the special moments of life,” but also Cartier’s watchmaking heritage. [ApetoGentleman]
• Blumarine to launch its first perfume, Bellissima. [Stylecaster]
• Kim Kardashian is launching a fragrance for spring 2010. Lighthouse Beauty will produce it, the same company that launched 50 Cent’s fragrance this year. [WWD]
• Pamela Anderson tweeted that she’s launching a fragrance named Malibu by Pamela in November. [PamelaDAnderson/Twitter]

That’s right, folks – you have two more days to go and try to win your very own STAGE Standing Ovation mascara! It’s sooo simple - just email me at yani@redlusciouslips.com.my and tell me why you need one!

This Giveaway closes at midnight, 31 August 2009 and winners will be notified on redlusciouslips, and via email.

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This Fall, Clinique, the brand that’s famous for keeping things simple, decided to, well, keep things simple. Instead of launching an entire new range, they thought, why not celebrate their best-selling colours and package them in one nifty palette?

That’s it.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Clinique make-up. As a skincare brand, they’ve made their mark, but are never quite as influential with their colours. Wth the exception of their iconic Black Honey Almost Lipstick, nothing has stood out, although there are some products really worth taking a look at, like the High Definition mascara, Superbalm (which I love), and the High Impact Lip Colour. Putting out a pretty plain Fall range like this just, in my personaly opinion, doesn’t help and is a bit disappointing.

For the collection, Clinique’s hottest lipstick shades are categorised under three group shades: Most-Wanted Nudes, Most-Wanted Berries and Most-Wanted Deeps. And together with corresponding limited edition palettes, make up the Fall collection.

The palettes are pretty useful, and great for when you’re on-the-go. They each feature a trio of eye shadow colours and one cheek colour. The one shown here is the Most Wanted Nudes, which includes the Colour Surge Eye Shadow in Nude Deluxe and Soft Pressed Powder Blusher in Pink Blush. Great colours if you’re the basic make-up kinda girl. Me? I’m curious to see the Most-Wanted Berries palette. If only because it just sounds more delicious …

The limited edition Most-Wanted palettes are RM150 each. Available at Clinique counters. 

Last week, I posted a quickie entry on how Mrs Bono, founder of Nude Beauty skincare was suing Stella McCartney for using the word “Nude” – for her upcoming StellaNude perfume.

Well, Stella won – and launched her new perfume last weekend. Apparently, the judge deemed that the block would cause a “massive disruption” to the company, and that any damage to Nude and its brand was likely to be minimal.

So I’m thinking, that while it was a bit silly for Nude to be suing another brand for using the word “Nude”, I also can’t help but wonder if the reason the case went Stella’s way was due to the fact that YSL Beauté (who owns Stella’s beauty namesake) is owned by beauty giant L’Oréal. It was pretty much the case of David versus Goliath (but Goliath won).

Or maybe Mrs Bono just doesn’t like Stella McCartney? We’ll never know … but she didn’t sue Dior Cosmetics for launching its Diorskin Nude skin colour range …

The range I’ve also had the privilege of using the last couple of weeks.

The genius that is Dior’s creative director, Tyen was inspired by John Galliano’s nude-coloured pieces in his couture collections, and created the skin make-up which consists of the Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup, Fresh Powder Makeup and Concealer. The objective? To create the illusion of a perfect, bare complexion. 

Think of it as Dior’s mineral make-up. The products use a blend of 100 percent natural mineral pigments and Dior’s exclusive active mineralised water that works to boost cellular activity. I’ll file Diorskin Nude under my “make-up that’s good for you” list.

Right now I’m not so sure about the foundation making me look younger – coverage is medium, but the texture is beautiful – goes on easily to create a “smooth-skin” effect. I get beautiful, dewy skin all day with this. I still look like me – only better! *grin*

The loose powder is another wonder product – slightly pigmented, but goes on (with a kabuki brush) beautifully on naked skin, giving really good coverage – as in enough-to-cover-PMS-pimples-on-my-chin-completely-coverage!

On a normal day, I try not to use both the foundation and loose powder together, because as much as I’m used to wearing full make-up, I think that the effect seems too “made up” – perhaps for a night out?

Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Fresh Powder Makeup (RM140), Natural Glow Hydrating Makeup Fluid (RM140) and Nude Concealer (RM92) is available at Dior counters.