When I was asked to try out the new Guess by Mariciano fragrance I wasn't terribly optimistic. I associate the brand with a certain level of girliness and was sure it would be another bubblegum pink juice. The fragrance is actually much better than that. It has an attractive triangular bottle with a fishnet motif that features a gold vine motif. According to The Scented Salamander, the vine motif will be distributed as a temporary tattoo in the Guess boutiques.

The scent was created by created by perfumer Barbara Zoebelein of Drom Fragrances for Parlux Fragrances. It has top notes of cardamom, Curaçao orange, starfruit and grapefruit, a heart of pink honeysuckle, peony and crystal jasmine, and a base of musk, vanilla, dulce de leche and blonde wood. It starts off a little powdery but in a half hour or so you are left with a warm and sweet fragrance of musky floral mixed with caramel. Very sensual and a nice summer evening scent. The line includes: 1.7 oz and 3.4 oz eaux de parfum for $49 and $65, a 6 oz. body lotion for $30 and 5 oz. body butter for $35.

Want your own bottle? We are giving away one 3.4 ounce bottle of eau de parfum (sells for $65) at random to a commenter who tells us about their favorite summer scent. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Thursday, May 15, 2008. We'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries and announce the winner on May 16, 2008.

Some other important details:

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below telling us about your favorite summer scent.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before Thursday, May 15 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive the Guess eau de parfum (value $65).
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

See complete contest rules here.

These products are a triple play -- almost 100% organic, luxurious, and free of animal testing/ingredients tested on animals. Using the tagline "Beautify Not Toxify," Luxe Essentials is a simple line with just three categories: body butter ($10 - $30), bath salts ($37), and bath and body oils ($20). Oh wait, two gift baskets are offered -- lavender and lemongrass ($55). I love lavender, just in case you're thinking of sending me one of these. Hey, I'm just saying, if you need an idea. Anyway ...

Luxe Essentials' founder, Nydia Norville, is based in NYC. Read more about her and the line on her MySpace page or her blog, which has some beauty tips to try at home.

Bonuses: The main site accepts PayPal and is affiliated with the Indie Collective.

Jo Malone is famous for their luxurious skin care products and delicious fragrances. Products are always presented exquisitely, the signature cream packaging evokes a similar response as the little blue Tiffany & Co. box! This mothers day, Jo Malone has designed the perfect luxury mothers day gift. Candle Trousseau offers a collection of the most popular scented candles (Pomegranate Noir, Grapefruit, Wild Fig & Cassis) and Jo Malone matches, along with a sterling silver candle snuffer and a key, all presented in a timeless leather box. This is a stylish and stunning gift that will be remembered for a long time. Available on BergdorfGoodman.com for $575.

On Friday, Women's Wear Daily released a sneak peek of Chanel fall 2008 beauty color collection and I have to wonder if the recent spike in gold prices were an inspiration to Peter Phillips, the new creative director of makeup. The collection will come out in July and will be followed in October by Philips' holiday collection. Phillips tells WWD that he choose gold because of the warm metallic colors used in Coco Chanel's apartment on Rue Cambon.

The collection includes Gold Fiction, the nail polish for $30; Facettes D'Or, a loose powder with a golden glow for $56; Gold Light Glossimer lip gloss, $26; Rouge Hydrabase lipstick shades in copper, plum and coral for $27 each, and a quad eye shadow palette with gold, coffee, ivory and dark green eye colors for $56. In a time of economic turmoil will women want to to wear gold on their fingers and toes? Chanel is hoping the new gold nail polish is the next Vamp or Black Satin but it seems an awfully opulent color for an uncertain time.

James Franco has become the latest actor with a fragrance deal. The actor is perhaps best known for playing Harry Osborn in the Spiderman movies but first came to my attention when he played James Dean back in 2001. The new fragrance will be Frida Giannini's second for Gucci, the first Gucci by Gucci came out last year and was promoted with an ad by director David Lynch. No details yet on what the scent's profile will be but it has been developed with the P&G Prestige Products division of Procter & Gamble and will come out in the fall. I can only hope Franco shaves off that bad mustache before the photo shoot.

Does seeing a prestige brand in a store like Target or CVS change your perception of it? More and more it seems that the high-end brands are ending up in the local drugstore and big-box retailer. WWD reports that Clarins, Kiehl's, Origins, Bare Escentuals and Bumble and bumble are now showing up in Target stores (I've also spotted Bumble and bumble at CVS). The WWD article points out that these brands, which spend a lot of money guarding their name and their prestige positioning, are likely ending up in these stores through the so-called gray market. As department stores close stores and consolidate product many of these items end up in Target even though these brands have no official business relationship with Target. Some of these items such as Bare Escentuals and Bumble and bumble are also available on the Target website.

Bare Escentuals has also shown up in Costco and the CEO, Leslie Blodgett, has declared that the company will be working to tighten its supply chain and keep its products out of these stores. Target has a makeup brand of its own. They've worked hard to develop the Sonia Kashuk cosmetics brand. But these high-end brands have an instant prestige. While hair care brands seem to be fighting a losing battle against keeping their brands in salons only (remember those Paul Mitchell ads admonishing consumers about buying the salon brand's products in drugstores), so far high-end skin care and cosmetics have been less likely to show up in your discount store.

Target is also in a unique position in that in some ways it might be attractive to prestige brands. It has an odd cachet, and its association with designers such as Isaac Mizrahi , Liz Lange, Michael Graves and Thomas O'Brien as well as the designers featured through the GO International program have drawn many luxury shoppers to Target to save money on the essentials. But is Target making a mistake by selling the high-end brands against the company's wishes? In the WWD article statements from Origins, Clarins and Bumble and bumble indicate that the brands are not pleased with their products ending up on the mass market. I wonder though, if these brands prove to be successful for Target if a deal might not be in the offing. In the long run it doesn't seem that introducing brands that you can only obtain through the gray market is a good strategy for a large chain. In both CVS and Target I have been excited to find a prestige brand in the stores, only to show up the next time and have it nowhere in sight, which is frustrating. Also, as a consumer, I am aware of the ethical considerations regarding fake merchandise but not so clear on whether or not finding a department store brand in a place it shouldn't be is a bad thing or not. Perhaps it falls to the companies to educate the consumer on why they should purchase these products only from certain retailers.

Talk about a "designer" accessory -- this post WWII "Bird in Hand" compact was designed by artist Salvador Dali himself. Of course you would never really use it, but talk about an interesting collector's piece! He's a cute little bird (not at all bizarre like so many of Dali's art pieces) with all kinds of compartments inside. He opens up by pushing on the tail, which reveals a place for powder (the original puff is intact) and a place in the tail for pills, plus his head pulls off as a place for lipstick. $1695

Very cool and funky -- they just don't make them like this anymore!

Via Book of Joe

Usually children follow in the footsteps of their parents, but in the case of the Hiltons one parent is following in those of her children: Kathy Hilton has her own fragrance. Called "My Secret" it comes in a very pretty jewel-like bottle (a pink heart though? Come on) and has top notes of mandarin, freesia, and peony, middle notes of rose, jasmine, and apricot leaf, and bottom notes of sandalwood, vanilla musk, and sandalwood. Available at Macy's for $52-$68 (FYI this version of the bottle featuring Kathy's signature is a limited edition).

BONUS: Register at KathyHiltonFragrance.com to win one of 20 vintage roller-ball heart 1.0 fl oz bottles of the Eau de Parfum or the Grand Prize of a Mother's Day brunch for you and your daughter with Kathy Hilton and her two daughters.

The renaissance of Patrick Dempsey's career continues with the news that he has his own fragrance. Dempsey, whose recent surge of popularity includes his role as McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy and his turn as a Versace model, is working with Avon to be the face of a men's fragrance set to be launched in November. The fact that he's going with Avon is no surprise, his wife, Jillian Fink Dempsey, is Avon's global creative color director. WWD reports that the multiyear contract with Dempsey could be bring him as much as $5 million to $6 million over three years.

There's no easier or simpler way to both boost your mood and give an entire room a makeover than to infuse it with a beautiful scent. The Michael S. Smith Collection for Agraria is a great way to do that, with two scents available in your choice of mix and match candle, fragrance sheets, and AirEssence options. The new fragrances, Angkor and Palma, are born of quite different inspirations -- Angkor coming from deep in the Cambodian rainforests and Palma heralding from sunny Mallorca. Prices range from $28 to $105, depending.

Whether you've been a fan of Diptyque's L'Eau for years or looking for a new scent, the celebratory new line of unisex fragrances may be what you've been looking for. As part of the 40th anniversary of L'Eau, creator Desmond Knox-Leets' first eau-de-toilette, three new colognes are being released in mid-May. Each with a distinctly different approach, L'Eau de l'Eaue (wow, that one is repetitive), L'Eau de Néroli and L'Eau des Hesperides will be in 220 mL bottles, the same look as the original L'Eau and will cost $145 each.

Acqua Di Parma brings you their most luxurious shave set yet, The Collezione Barbiere. Based in Parma Italy and started nearly a century ago, Acqua Di Parma remains one of the most sought after makers of fine men's products. This eye catching set stands out in any bathroom as a refined and worldly reflection of Italian elegance. With a brush crafted from wenge wood and the finest badger hair, and a stand made of burnished brass, this set retails for $600. Acqua Di Parma products make exquisite gifts for the distinguished man in your life, available exclusively on barneys.com.

Earlier this week the first quarter statements for two of the biggest luxury retailers, Saks and Neiman's, reported a healthy status but both aren't seeing as many shoppers as usual. For February, Saks enjoyed a small, little bump in revenue as sales rose 3.4 %, but Neimans dropped 7.3.% after January promotions. Although a recession never seems to affect the uber-affluent who will continue to shop for premium luxury items, the economic woes of late may make the aspiring customer hesitate until the market turns back around. I think its impressive how much internet buying adds to the bottom line -- last quarter Neiman's online sales were $180 million, up almost 16%! Both retailers are finding every opportunity they can to cut costs and provide items that will appeal to their customers, such as specialty items and certain must-have colors. Maybe they aren't enjoying the crowds of yesteryear but they aren't in any real pain yet...

Coty Beauty US is bringing a fresh face to their product lines -- Halle Berry. Her iconic beauty and mysterious ways are what attracted Coty to Halle as a celebrity fragrance candidate. Her line is expected to launch globally in Spring 2009, starting in mid-tier department stores such as J.C. Penny's and then filtering out more to the masses. If Halle's fragrance smells as lovely as she is gorgeous I think we are all in for a real treat!

Chantecaille makes some of the prettiest compacts around. Their Protect Paradise compacts definitely fall into the almost-too-pretty-to-use category. The eye compact contains fish in deep aqua and rose gold on a gray base with a sheer green overlay. The face compact is a palette of sheer hues ranging from pink coral to pale pink sand. Both compacts come in a galvanized nickel compact. Each sells for $90 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation that funds vital research on fish sustainability and marine preserves.