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Monday, October 25, 2010

9021-Eau! Beverly Hills Beauty Must Have, Rodeo Dr. and Iconic

By Tom

When I read that the city of Beverly Hills was looking to bring out a beauty line I was of two minds. As Mayor Jimmy Delshad, who originated the project said "Beverly Hills people usually use a tremendous amount of beauty products" and why shouldn't the city profit from its recognized name? I knew that Mayor Delshad wouldn't let something out that was at all second-rate: nothing naff like the city shield-shaped bottle. But with about a bazillion new scents coming out each year, how would these set themselves apart?

First, they separated themselves from the pack by insisting the perfumers use plants and flowers that could be found in the city, using the citys own arborist as a consultant. Second, they hired Zoltan Pali of Studio Pali Fakete (working in the city of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in town) to design the bottle. That bottle is a handsome, spare curvilinear rectangle that fits inside an outer sleeve that is subtly patterned with the letters "BH". So subtly in fact it took quite a while for it to register with me.

The fragrances are fairly subtle as well.

Must Have is meant to evoke the California sunshine and features a happy citrussy lichee opening joined with sweet pea and lotus and a warm, woody drydown with a whisper of amber.

Rodeo Dr. is the "Red Carpet" scent, and it smells red: mandarin, hibiscus and peony open and jasmine, gardenia and a light patchouli ground it.

Iconic was my favorite of the three, with its sorbet-like berries opening quickly mixing in a handsome tea-rose and finishing with a very nice patchouli/vetiver/sandalwood finish made deliciously caramel with the addition of vanilla.

Would I wear them? Personally? I'm surprising myself by writing that I would, especially Iconic. The ingredients don't skew so femme that a man couldn't wear them, and the concentration is EdP at most so they don't have a huge amount of throw. I would recommend them to people as very well-done "no brainer" kinds of scents for days (or nights) where a one wishes to smell very nice without worrying that they are wearing something too (ahem) challenging. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the upcoming mens scent (note to Mayor Delshad: think driving a classic Jaguar E-type on Sunset on a summer evening..).

The three will be out at BHBeauty.net in late 2010 (the website isn't up yet) and selected retailers in early 2011. The price will be $120, but they didn't note bottle size. I received my samples from the City Chamber of Commerce.

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15 Comments:

Blogger Flora said...

Tom, I love your title! :-)

They all sound nice to me. I even want the Must Have, even though some people shy away from lychee, it happens to be a favorite of mine as long as it's done well. And Sweet Pea? Yum!

9:50 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Donna- these are surprisingly nice. I'm trying to talk them into doing a sample pack like the one they gave me to test.

11:47 PM EDT  
Blogger pitbull friend said...

Sounded uninteresting until you mentioned that the ingredients had to be things one could actually find in BH - what a smart idea! The "red" one sounds rather like Fresh Index Pink Jasmine, which is a good one. I sure hope they take your advice & do a sampler, Tom - unless they mean it to be only for those who can buy full bottles unsniffed.

12:52 AM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

PF-

That and hiring the architect to do the bottle makes it stand out a lot.

11:15 AM EDT  
Blogger Tammy said...

I am generally put off by this kind of marketing, but for some reason, I think this is very clever!

I find myself wishing they had done one with iris. Iris smells very rich and expensive and elegant to me, even though I don't care much for it.

Will definitely have to try these, though, thanks for the review!

1:14 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Tammy-

I was kind of relieved, frankly.

Iris would be nice, but I don't think they grow in the city, and that was one of the stipulations.

2:27 PM EDT  
Blogger Tammy said...

Iris has certainly been done to death lately!

I have seen it growing in gardens...at least I think I have...orris root is grown from the kind of iris with variegated leaves, correct? They can't possibly have meant native to the area... I don't think lychee or hibiscus are native, and peony certainly isn't.

3:28 PM EDT  
Anonymous eleven european mystics said...

These sound so on the right side of Now. Young, but not silly young. Sexy, but not compromising. Fresh, but not detergentish.
And please, would they ship globally?

3:56 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Tammy- I don't think they meant native, no. Nothing's really native to BH, including the residents..

4:26 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

EEM-

They're actually going to be rolling out in Europe and the Middle East before they come to American stores.

"Young, but not silly young. Sexy, but not compromising. Fresh, but not detergentish."

That's perfectly put!

4:27 PM EDT  
Anonymous Marian said...

I'm embarrassed to admit that the sweet pea and lotus combination sounds particularly yum, especially since I spent the day tearing sweet peas and other scensational-smelling annuals out of my garden. If Must Have really captures the aroma of two of my favorite flowers I know I will love it :-)

8:45 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

I wish they'd gone about 5 times stronger with the sweet pea since it's an scent I really, really love..

10:00 PM EDT  
Anonymous eleven european mystics said...

:-)
I only phrased/mused to myself what you told us, dear Tom.

oh......had a chance to get a 'tasting' of 3 Fleurs...it is lovely.

7:17 PM EDT  
Blogger tmp00 said...

eem-

3 fleurs is gorgeous..

it makes me think of a cream-colored bias-cut silk gown.

11:44 PM EDT  
Anonymous eem said...

exactly...a doubled skin angel, that's what i (wished) became when i tried it on.
a la prochaine, mon cher ami

6:12 AM EDT  

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