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.