There's something very wrong going on if after testing two fragrances, one by Donna Karan and the second by Hilary Duff, I positively hate the designer perfume and kind of enjoying the one by a really uninteresting celeb.
Maybe I shouldn't have had too many expectations from Donna Karan's Gold. After all, this is a lily fragrance, and I'm not that crazy about this note to begin with. Also, Karan is responsible for Cashmere Mist, one of my all time hated perfumes. Then again, she's also behind Black Cashmere, which I love and wear on a weekly basis. Sadly, this one will join the Mist on my eww list. Its Liliness is so strong and overpowering that it made my skin smell like a cheap air freshener spray. I found the top and middle notes to be downright skanky and unpleasant. It was very sharp, very strong and terribly floral. The drydown wasn't as horrible. It's softer and a little more creamy, but the Lily still prevails and made my husband wrinkle his nose at it.
I had zero expectations from With Love, Hilary Duff (seriously, even the name conjures up an image of something written in glitter, that probably smells like those fruity gel pens). The thing is, that it doesn't. There is a fruity note, but it's different because it comes from the exotic mangosteen and not from a ubiquitous berry. It also has spice, woods, incense and amber. Not exactly the makings of another teen scent (the questionable honor of doing that belongs to Vera Wang and her bastard of a Princess).
With Love is on the sweet side, but it didn't make my teeth rot. I kept sniffing my arm, trying to catch the notes as they changed on my skin and remember what it reminded me of. Finally I got it: Paloma Picasso's men's fragrance, Minotaur. Back in 1993 or 1994 I bought it for my husband (then my new boyfriend). It was very different than all the standard young men's stuff and I liked it, despite its heaviness and agressive nature. Years later I got rid of the half used bottle, (just as I discarded his entire wardrobe) in favor of more subtle scents.
I searched for Minotaur's notes, and what I found (Top Notes of Citrus, Middle Notes of Lavender, Geranium and Jasmine and Base Notes of Sandalwood, Vanilla, Leather) doesn't fit With Love, but on my skin it smells like a slightly more delicate and feminine version of the long gone mythological monster. I would have probably adored it when I was 23.
Doing her best to help those in need, Hilary Duff paid a visit to Normandie Ave. Elementary School in South Central Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon (December 2).
Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein for Womenswear Designer.
Tom Ford for Menswear.
Tory Burch for Accessory Design. 
I thought that this pic was kinda funny, look how much taller model Karolina Kurkova is compared to Ashley Olsen! She may be on the shorter side, but what an impact she makes! More power to us! (obvs. I'm a bit on the short side as well)
Jason Lewis is popping up everywhere these days, but believe me, I don't mind! 
Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson were hurried out of Tom Ford's Madison Avenue store when they arrived close to closing. "Well, are you going to buy anything?" the manager asked, not realizing who they were.
Former couple Hilary Duff and Joel Madden had their first public run-in yesterdayday since their split last year. "I just did TRL today and Joel was there, and it was the first time we'd seen each other and it was so, like, nerve-racking," Duff said last night at the GLAAD Media Awards. "I knew that he was going to be there and he knew. It is what it is... I mean, what am I going to do? It's life. It was a little strange at first, but I wish nothing but good for him and I know that he wishes the same for me. I'm happy and he's happy and I think that's all that counts."
Hilary Duff admits that her weight loss of recent years is directly related to pressure from the media. "I did get skinny," the singer told a British newspaper. "I've felt that pressure like everyone else in my position. When a newspaper comes out and says 'Duff Puff - she must have gained 15 pounds' or something like that, how would any normal person react? It's so mean, but everyone keeps buying that stuff and talking about it, so it's not going to go away." Duff also spoke about living with big sis Haylie, after mom Susan recently moved out of the house they all shared. "It was her idea," Duff admitted. "She said, 'I want to give you guys more freedom,' and I'm like, 'I don't want that. I want you here.' So I call her everyday and I still always consult her before any big decision."
