On the way home from da club last Saturday night, my friend turned to me in the car and said, “I have to tell you something, but you have to promise not to judge.”
Um, that’s usually what people say right before they admit to breaking and entering, or lewd and lascivious conduct, so I steeled myself before replying. “I’ll try to keep an open mind.”
“I watched Burlesque last night…” She let it hang out there for an uncomfortably long moment before adding, “and it was really good!”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” she explained, “well, that little man next to the review in the [San Francisco] Chronicle movie section was clapping out of his seat.”
(I knew the guy she was talking about.)
“So I figured I’d give it a chance.”
It sounded reasonable, but I’d seen the trailer a few times. “Seriously?”
“Yes!” she charged, “and no judgment, remember?! It wasn’t as bad as everyone’s been making it out to be.”
Hmm… This morning, inspired by my buddy’s willingness to give Xtina the benefit of the doubt, I tried to keep an open mind when I tried the diva’s two new fragrances, Christina Aguilera Eau de Parfum and Christina Aguilera By Night Eau de Parfum ($39 each), even though I wasn’t crazy about her last scent, Inspire.
Even before the first sniff, they were getting mad points for the lovely lace pattern on the bottles.
Officially, the one called Christina Aguilera is described as a fruity floral with notes of fruit sorbet, blackcurrent tea, peony, jasmine, musk and vanilla. The one called By Night is described as an oriental fruity blend of tangerine, red apple, freesia, vanilla, amber and peach.
For starters, I like the soft aroma of tea, musk and jasmine that emanates from the bottle of Christina Aguilera, but there’s something about the scent that doesn’t mesh with my body chemistry. It’s sharp, a little like sour lemon drops, and when I breath it in, makes me want to purse my lips.
The By Night version, despite being described as an oriental with fruity notes, also takes the candy theme and runs with it. It reminds me of red licorice…incidentally, my least favorite sweet treat.
I’m still a fan of Christina’s (the Dirrrty years hold a special place in my heart), but so far I haven’t been a fan of her scents. My interest in them ends at the bottles, from afar.
PRICE: $39 each for 1.7-oz. bottles (currently on sale for $35 each)
AVAILABILITY: At Kohl’s stores and kohls.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I haven’t smelled either of them, but I think I have enough perfume to last a decade! Btw, that was a really sweet story about your friend. Usually stories that begin with that sentence end much worse. I haven’t even seen a trailer for Burlesque yet (I know, I’ve been under a rock) but I love Moulin Rouge. And that is a musical. So, well, never mind. 🙂
LOL, I enjoyed Moulin Rouge as well! Then again, one of my fave movies of all time is Sound of Music, soooo….
You won’t be too surprised to hear that I almost wrote “AND the Sound of Music”. I love it too. So heartwarming and all-around wonderful! 🙂
‘..and it was really good!’ I’ll see! Haha..
I have the regular eau de parfumscent. I don’t like it.
I cannot describe the scent but it’s just not my favorite.
Hi Stephanie,
Hmm, do you get the same sharp sort of fruity vibe that I do?
I wanted to watch that movie for some time now.
The packaging makes me want to buy them.. not sure if I’d buy the actual fragrance.
If you end up watching it let me know what you think! I’ll probably watch it when it comes out on DVD.
Nope, thanks. But celebrity parfumes is not my thing.
Some of them are actually pretty nice! I like a few by J. Lo, Britney and SJP.
ive never been a fan of celeb perfumes …. seems every celeb has em now …
i did like one by britney from last year …
Loved the movie! Karen, it is a fun, sheer entertainment.