First Annual Best Scent Awards:
The Bottle Worthy Scents We Adore + One More
By Michelyn Camen
(Compiled by Michelyn Camen, BN Fragrance Editor and Karen Dubin, Founder of Sniffapalooza)
I hate having to make definitive decisions. Inadvertently, I worry. What if I make a mistake? I’ll obsess about it for weeks. I am instinctive and passionate about fragrance, but I also have one nose. Fortunately, I met Karen Dubin, Founder and Director of Sniffapalooza, (www.Sniffapalooza.com), the world-wide organization for fragrance aficionados, through Chandler Burr, the Perfume Critic for the New York Times. She enthusiastically agreed to co-author BN’s First Annual Best Scent (2007) Awards . Karen is a true “sniffa” chick; she’ll do just about anything (short of cutting her way through the Amazon with a machete) to find the most amazing fragrances. I don’t have to work quite that hard… but I won’t give up until the latest, greatest and most spectacular scents find their way into Beauty News Magazine.
Between Karen and I, THOUSANDS of fragrances have been tested, sniffed, and spritzed. Together, we chose the categories and then selected our respective Best Scent winners; we sealed our envelopes. Agree or disagree, the winners are:
…(Drum Roll)…
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| **Best Limited Edition | L’Artisan Parfumeur Iris Pallida | L’Artisan Parfumeur Iris Pallida |
| Best Scent to “Drink” | Frapin 1270 | Ginestet Botrytis |
| Best Scent to “Eat” | Apothia Velvet Rope | Parfumerie Generale Musc Maori |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Scent for a Teen Girl | Moschino Funny ! | Oilily Papillion |
| Best Men’s Scent | Ulrich Lang Anvers | Narciso Rodriguez for him |
| Best Unisex Fragrance | The Different Co. Sel De Vetiver | Penhaligon’s Quercus |
| Best Designer Scent | Gucci by Gucci | Armani Prive Pierre de Lune |
| Best Celebrity Scent | Cumming by Alan Cumming | Unforgivable Sean John |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Single Note Scent | Santa Maria Novella Mimosa | i Profumi di Firenze Vaniglia Del Madagascar |
| Best Skin Scent | i Profumi di Firenze Muschio e Ambra | Creative Scentualization Peace Comes from Within |
| ##Best Amber | Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan | L’Artisan Parfumeur Amber Extreme and Hermes Amber Narguile |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Scent Masterpiece | Parfums DelRae Bois De Paradis | Parfums DelRae Bois De Paradis |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Scent You Never Heard of | Olivier Durbano Black Tourmaline | Ineke Chemical Bonding |
| Best Cult Scent | By Kilian Straight to Heaven | Etat Libre D’Orange Rossy De Palma Eau de Protection |
| Best Scent Name | Etat Libre D’Orange Jasmine And Cigarettes | Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance |
| Best Avant Garde Scent | Etro Messe De Minuit | Mandy Aftel Tango |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Scent For Seduction | Costume National Scent | By Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses |
| Best Scent for a Second Date | Narciso Rodriguez for her | Creed Love in White |
| Best Scent to Give As a Gift | Hors La Monde Shiloh | Jo Malone White Jasmine and Mint |
| ##Best Scent for the Office | Annick Goutal Eau D’Hadrian | Beth Terry Element of Surprise and Prada Infusion D’Iris |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Scent For Hot Weather | Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil | Manuel Canovas L’Ile Bleue |
| Best Cold Weather Scent | Serge Lutens Chergui | Parfumerie Generale Aomassai |
| Best “Go To” Scent” | L’Artisan Parfumeur Poivre Piquant | Ajne Collection Luxe Lakshmi |
| Karen’s Picks | BN Editor’s Picks | |
| Best Bottle | Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory | Lubin Idole |
| Best Classic Scent | Guerlain Mitsouko | Rochas Femme |
| Best Buzzzzzz | Thierry Mugler Angel | Tom Ford Black Orchid |
(# = tie)
(* = independently, we both agreed!)
Many of these award winning fragrances can be purchased online at www.luckyscent.com, www.beautyhabit.com, www.aedes.com and www.lafcony.com.
Most are available at the fragrance’s company’s website or free standing store. We also recommend Barneys NY, Henri Bendel, Takashimiya, Bergdorf Goodman, Apothia at Fred Segal Melrose and Select Saks Fifth Avenue Stores.