Its been a long week and if you are one of my 3 followers you already know that I am juggling a lot of balls at the moment. Some days I drop a ball and some days I wing those balls at whomever crosses my path, consider yourself warned. Yesterday was one of those days. I had been working for hours on my Boot Camp post, I was determined not to let 4 weeks go by without finishing it. Its a long arduous task when your talking 250+ photos that need editing. The phone rings its my CPA, I just received word that the auditor now wants 2 more pages of “stuff”, great there goes my weekend at the same time my 4 year old comes in from the garage hysterical, evidently she crawled in the backseat of the car buckled her seat belt and couldn’t get out, super. Its now almost noon and the teenager is still asleep and refuses to get up, fantastic. Now the 4 yr old is screaming that the cat just vomited (again) in the kitchen, awesome.

And then I get something like this in my mailbox that just lifts me up!

The most personalized thank you I have ever received!

Meet my two new BFFs from the Bond counter at Saks Briana & Harry.

I open and inhale…. ahhhhh it’s The Scent of Peace. The heaviness of the day starts to lift and for once I feel a genuine smile take over.

Last Friday at 30,000 feet somewhere above California, Kathleen (my bloggy boot camp wingman) and I decided that we were each going to purchase a bottle of perfume as our token treasure to remember our travels. No sooner had we checked in our room we walked outside the hotel and spotted Saks Fifth Avenue across the street. My wing man was on a mission to retrieve some of her coveted Tom Ford cologne for her man as I spotted a counter filled with rows of these colorful geometrical glass bottles. You know I have a weakness for shiny pretty things.

Are you familiar with Bond No 9? Briana asked.

No, actually I have never smelled this line but I love the bottles!

Briana jumped right in and began spraying blotting papers and handing me scents to inhale.

Mmmmmmm I like this. Nice Fresh mmmm citrisy

Ok, then if you like this try this….

Mmmmmmm oh I like that too.…. and I found myself pressing the blotting paper against my nose. It felt like catnip. It calmed me.

I like this…. I REALLY like this

Briana gave me a few more samples… she nailed it. She knew exactly what I liked but I kept coming back to one appropriately called …

The Scent of Peace

Created in honor of 9/11. “It takes a neighborhood: The sparkling-fresh scent of our civic dreams. For men and women alike, a mélange of sparkling florals and citruses, balanced by a woody-musky détente.” -bondno9.com

Notes: Grapefruit, black currant, lily of the valley and musk

I learned that Bond No. 9 (named for it’s boutique address on Bond St.) is a niche fragrance line that was started in 2003 by Parisian Laurice Rahme. Her goal was to bring a Perfumery to the city she calls home, New York City. Each scent represents the spirit and energy of the unique neighborhood of New York including NoHo, Chinatown, Chelsea Flower District and the newest release Montauk.  The fragrances are 18-22% of Eau de Perfume and come in a refillable glass bottle. There are also offer pocket size, candles, body lotion, solids along with the assorted mini bob bon collection in their gift line.

image Bond No.9

and if you really like BLING - there are Limited Edition Swarovski crystal encrusted bottles.

I knew I had found my scent but I had a hard time deciding in what form was I going to take this home in? Bottle? Lotion? Solid? The deliberations could have gone on all day. Ultimately it made more sense for me to bring home a bottle (I was debating smaller sampler pack).

While Briana wrapped up my perfume, we talked about my blog and how I have met the most incredible people like her because through events and conferences. I asked to take a few photos so I could share my Bond No. 9 experience and not only did they help me style the impromptu photo shoot they made up a special sample box filled with brightly colored Bond No. 9 bon bons that I get to share with ONE lucky winner. Thank you both I heart you!

To enter all you need to do is comment and answer the following question:

What is your favorite scent and why? It can be food, a perfume anything you want.

Contest ends 9/11. Open to US residents only. The free samples in this giveaway were provided by Saks Fifth Avenue. the modchik did not receive any compensation for the above review, this was my personal experience. Thank you again Briana & Harry!

Next time you are in San Francisco look up Briana & Harry at the Bond No. 9 counter and give them a ((hug)) from me!

click on the more tab to read what I learned about perfume

If you remember last Friday I talked about a new scent that I was completely gaga over. Although some likened it to a dryer sheet fragrance I thought it delivered more than what I expected from an Eau de Toilette.  If you don’t know the difference I found a great article on iVillage Fragrance Guide by by Chrissie Painel.

the cliff notes:

Classic French fragrances are created by combining three layers of scent, called notes. These different notes can be synthetically created in a lab or extracted from natural sources like flowers or fruits.

The top note, which contains the most volatile oils, lasts the least amount of time; the middle note lasts a bit longer and forms the heart of a scent; and the base note lasts around 24 hours. With most fragrances, you’ll smell the top note first, then the scent will change and you’ll detect the middle note a few hours later.

There are five main types of fragrance.

Perfume, is the purest of all the concentrations of fragrance and the most expensive by far. It contains 20 to 40 per cent of fragrance oils held in alcohol. Perfume is generally dabbed onto the skin rather than sprayed on.

Eau de parfum is the most popular kind of fragrance and contains seven to 14 per cent fragrance oils.  Apply your scent of choice to the places where the skin is the warmest – the wrists, collarbone, between the breasts, in the crook of the elbows, behind your knees, on your inner thighs, and around the ankles.

Eau de toilette contains one to three per cent fragrance oils, of which 80 per cent will evaporate within three hours. It’s advised not to spray eau de toilette on your pulse points – instead spritz your hairbrush and run the brush through your hair for a lasting effect.

Eau de cologne, the first type of commonly used fragrance that was popularised by Napoleon, is rarely made any more and doesn’t have the same structure as classic French perfume.

General fragrance tips:

• Don’t apply fragrance behind the ears there are too many sebaceous glands in the area that can affect the way a perfume smells.

• The best way to make your fragrance linger all day is to layer your scents. Bath gels, lotions and then perfume.

• Don’t be afraid to experiment with your everyday fragrance in a new way. Carolina Andrina Herrera likes to mix her perfume with almond oil. ‘I rub it into my arms, stomach and legs,’ she says. Coco Chanel used to perfume the hems of the clothes she had designed so that her models trailed clouds of scent down the catwalk. Estee Lauder advises spritzing your scent into the air a few inches in front of you, then stepping into the perfumed mist. <– we asked about this at Saks and we were told to go ahead and spray the Eau de Perfume directly onto the skin for more depth and lasting power.

• Fragrance tends to last longer on well hydrated skin and stress, medication and hormonal changes, including pregnancy and menopause can also affect how a fragrance smells on you.

I also asked what the typical shelf life for a high end Eau de Perfume was and I was told perfume essentially is meant to be consumed not stored. Keep it out of direct light and at moderate temps and the bottle should last 2-3 years. I’m of the belief that its better to by small bottles if you rotate several fragrances or don’t wear them everyday.