Celine Dion Spring in Paris

Celine Dion will launch Spring in Paris in March. The fragrance was created by perfumer Richard Herpin, and features notes of redcurrant, blackcurrant, mandarin, lilac, osmanthus, lily of the valley, jasmine, musk, vanilla and soft woods.

Spring in Paris is an Eau de Toilette, and will be available in 15 and 30 ml bottles and in Natural Deodorant.

Jennifer Lopez Glow After Dark

Jennifer Lopez launched Glow After Dark late last year. It is her 7th fragrance, and the 4th in the Glow franchise (following Glow, Miami Glow, and Love at First Glow). The notes feature mandarin, melon, white cherry, passion fruit, jasmine, peony, freesia, rose, orange flower, pink musk, tree moss, blonde woods and patchouli.

Glow After Dark is being advertised with the tag line "wild. sexy. breathless.", and as a late at night, out partying 'til dawn sort of perfume, rather like Britney Spears' Midnight Fantasy. Britney's fragrance, despite the sexy advertising, seems largely geared towards an audience that probably isn't allowed out that late, so I was curious to see what J Lo would do with the concept.

The requisite sweet fruits are there in the top notes, but not for long: this isn't the girly-fruity floral that was Love at First Glow, and it doesn't even begin to approach the sugar levels of Midnight Fantasy. The heart is that sheer blur of nondescript florals that characterize all the recent celebrity releases; the dry down is lots and lots of pale woody musk. The notes call it "pink musk", and that is exactly what it smells like. It soft and velvety-plush, more clean than not, and too bland to describe in any more detail than that.

It is marginally more sexy than Midnight Fantasy, I suppose, but only because it leaves out the grape Kool-Aid part. The truth is that if you put Midnight Fantasy on one arm, and Glow After Dark on another, after an hour you'll be hard pressed to remember which is which — they smell slightly different, but neither has enough personality to make it worth sorting out. After two hours, it might take a trained perfumer to correctly identify them from a line-up. Of the two fragrances, I like the Glow After Dark a bit better, but I'd much rather wear Glow, Miami Glow, or Live, any of which have more spunk and vitality than Glow After Dark.

Glow After Dark by J Lo is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml bottles of Eau de Toilette (with matching bling), or in Night Bright Body Lotion, Liquid Pearl Shower Gel and a Wearable Solid Perfume Pendant. Unlike Miami Glow and Love at First Glow, Glow After Dark will be an addition to the regular line (i.e., not a limited edition).

At the moment, you can request a free sample via the Jennifer Lopez Beauty website, and don't forget to vote for your favorite Glow Girl.

Midnight Fantasy by Britney Spears

Midnight Fantasy is the fourth and latest fragrance release from Britney Spears, and is meant as the sexy, late night ("a mysterious realm of temptation and intrigue") follow-up to 2005's Fantasy. It was created by perfumer Caroline Sabas, and the notes include black cherries, framboise, plum, orchid, freesia, iris, musk, amber and vanilla. The bottle (see it here) is the same as Fantasy's, done up in dark blue.

If you were expecting a darker, warmer take on Fantasy's medley of cupcake and sweet fruits, Midnight Fantasy may come as something of a surprise. The top notes, like those of Fantasy, are largely candied fruits, and as has been pointed out numerous times on MakeupAlley, it smells an awful lot like grape Kool-Aid. Thankfully, it calms to a more palatable (if still relatively sweet) berry-ish sort of mixture fairly quickly. The heart notes add an entirely anonymous blur of sheer florals, and the base is velvety but surprisingly pale and clean: I waited for something va-va-voom, but I waited in vain.

The original Fantasy did not strike me as a particularly sexy fragrance, but Midnight Fantasy is even less so — once the burst of fruit settles, it is comparatively bland and lacking in personality. It is is easily my least favorite of the line so far. It didn't even make me laugh (thank you, Paris Hilton Heiress).

Midnight Fantasy is an Eau de Parfum; the 50 ml bottle is $45 and the 100 ml bottle is $55. If you have your own web page and would like to display your allegiance, there is (I am not making this up) a Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy Countdown to Valentine's Day widget available for download via the Britney Spears Beauty website.

Jonathan Rhys Myers for Hugo Boss

Last year, Hugo Boss named Jonathan Rhys Meyers the new face of the Hugo by Hugo Boss fragrance for men, originally released in 1995. You can see the first commercial (and it is worth a peek, even if you aren't a Jonathan Rhys Meyers fan). Next month, the Hugo fragrance will also be released in a Limited Art Edition (see bottle at right) in an urban graffiti style that links back to elements in the commercial.

Christina Aguilera new fragrance

Pop singer Christina Aguilera will launch a new fragrance in conjunction with Procter & Gamble.
I love trying new things in my music and in fashion. To have a perfume of my own is the beginning of an exciting adventure. Procter and Gamble is the ideal partner for this new experience.
Sounds excited, doesn't she? Look for her new perfume around the end of this year.

Clive Owen for Lancome

Lancôme has announced that British actor Clive Owen will be the new spokesperson for its male fragrance and skincare lines:
Mysteriously hypnotic and resolutely masculine, Clive Owen was definitely the perfect choice to embody Lancôme’s new fragrance for men Hypnôse Homme and new anti-aging skin care range Lancôme Men.