Mary J Blige My Life fragrance at HSN

HSN and Mary J. Blige are launching Mary’s fragrance My Life exclusively at HSN this Saturday, July 31.

This is a fairly newsworthy deal for several reasons: primarily, because it’s the first time a fragrance is being launched through a multichannel retailer like HSN.  The beauty industry has gone through a lot of big changes these past couple of years, so I’m always intrigued when companies decide to take a risk and shake things up.

It’s also newsworthy, though, because it’s the 1st fragrance from Mary J. Blige (who I can’t believe doesn’t already have a fragrance!) and also the 1st celebrity fragrance to be developed by Carol’s Daughter.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now (FFAWN).

Get it for yourself by tuning in this Saturday, July 31, at midnight (12 EST).

Mary will be on-air live at 12AM–2AM, 7AM–9AM, 10AM-11AM, 1PM-3PM, 4PM-6PM, 9PM-11PM.

Mary J. Blige My Life eau de parfum retails for $55.

Jennifer Aniston’s new fragrance launches today, and to celebrate, she’ll be making a live appearance at Harrods in London, in the Georgian restaurant from 1-2 pm.

The fragrance was initially called Lolavie, which roughly translates from French to “laughing at life,” but has reportedly been changed at the last minute to simply Jennifer Aniston.  I think it’s a smart move. I wasn’t a fan of Lolavie as a fragrance name–and as far as branding goes, there are obviously millions of women who’d love to smell like America’s favorite friend.

The ads are decidedly sexy: the initial shots were of Jennifer on a beach in a towel.  The photos just leaked are even more spicy, showing Jen topless from the waist up.  All of the ads were shot on the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Jen’s favorite beach destination.  (I went to Cabo about a year and a half ago and had a blast–it’s clean, American-friendly, and the beaches are gorgeous.)

According to Jen, the fragrance will smell “sexy and clean…floral but not too flowery.”  Unfortunately, it’s only available at Harrods (for the time being?) so I can’t wait to get my hands on this one and finally smell it!

Cologne posted her review of Thierry Mugler’s new perfume Womanity earlier this week, then I also had the chance to try it out.  Naturally, since I’m having a renewed love affair with YouTube (but, for some reason, only find myself really inspired to do videos when I am late and running out the door), I decided to film a short spot talking about the juice, the bottle and my thoughts.

(What do you think, by the way, of my new video background?  I’m digging it.)

So you can get in on the Thierry Mugler action, 3 readers will each win your own 80ml bottle of Womanity! Enter by visiting my YouTube channel (click on the video above twice to be redirected) and subscribing, then leaving a comment on the video itself.

We’ll choose 3 North American winners at random next Friday, July 16th.  Bonne chance!

Contributing Editor Cologne Schmidt writes:

Thierry Mugler–the iconoclastic fragrance house which birthed love-it-or-loathe-it Angel and Nadine’s great obsession Alien–has just launched a new original scent: Womanity.  Mugler describes Womanity as the “The invisible bond between women,” and its baby pink liquid juxtaposed against its tough, statuesque flacon is certainly as bizarre a combination as the conflicting traits possessed by most women.

Like all Mugler perfumes, the juice is highly creative, and in this case, savory and sweet: the pretty notes of citrus and fig are made surprising by a salty base of caviar. Meanwhile, the flacon is supposed to represent whatever you want: tribal, urban, art deco, gothic, hippie, warrior, etc. We are connected though our own interpretations of something identical.

To me, Womanity smells more woody than sweet, but of course, perfume smells unique on each woman’s skin.  Certainly, the scent itself is bold and beautiful–just like the bottle!  (Note from Nadine: I concur–it’s a very cool, different fragrance worth checking out.)

Womanity is currently available on the Thierry Mugler website, and will be released at Bloomingdales in August.  Sizes range from 10 – 80 ml refillable bottles, at $28 for the smallest size.

Thank you all so much for your support, kind words, and love last week during the Vera Wang Princess giveaway! I’m biased, but I’m pretty sure I have the sweetest, most loyal readers in the blogosphere.

And the winner is…

Sharon!

Congratulations!  You should have already received an email with instructions – send me your address and I’ll have the perfume sent to you asap.

Don’t forget to enter the other giveaway we’ve got going on now: click here to win a bevy of goodies–including a signed Glee DVD by star Lea Michele–from Dove!

Giveaway alert!  One lucky reader will win a bottle of Vera Wang Princess signed by Zoe Kravitz. A bottle currently sits on my bathroom sink and I spritz it happily–and often.

Notes include lady apples, golden apricot, dark chocolate and vanilla.  Yum-my.

Plus!  The bottle is topped with a gold ring featuring “amethyst-hued crystals.” Can I admit that I occasionally wear the ring out and about, pretending it’s about five-times more expensive than it actually is?  (Sooo, now you know my secret.)

The giveaway is open to North American residents and runs until Wednesday May 26th.  To enter, I simply ask a favor of you in return!

Jolie has been chugging along for 5 years now, and I feel like we’re members of a secret beauty club, you and I.  If you enjoy reading the site, will you simply email a friend (or 2!  Or 5!) and tell her about it?  You don’t have to do this, of course–commenting below will act as your entry–but I’d be so appreciative.

This blog, and all of you, have given me so much over the years, now that I finally have some help and momentum behind the scenes, I’m kicking it into high gear!  Look for many more giveaways, contests, helpful tips, great contributors, and product suggestions you will actually use–starting, well, now!

Love to you all, and good luck! (more…)