I love perfume! These reviews are totally biased--I prefer light, feminine floral scents for myself and light, citrusy-woodsy things for men (though some women--Katarina!--smell phenomenal in heavier fragrances.) I hate unisex colognes like CK One. Call me old-fashioned, but I think there's a reason the words "unisex" and "unsexy" look so alike! I like men to smell like men, women to smell like women, and everyone to smell better than dirt and days-old sweat.
All I really know about perfume is how to buy it, how to use it, and how to find what I like. Everyone has their own unique tastes and body chemistry, so what works for me and/or my friends may not for you. These reviews are meant to share stuff I like, or hate in extreme cases. Experiment, experiment, experiment!
Sometimes you can get good stuff in the drugstore or supermarket! Such is the case with The Healing Garden, a division of Coty. Coty already makes such drugstore legends as Airspun powder, Vanilla Fields, Calgon Body Mists, and Ghost Myst (as well as the Exclamation! that became THE overwhelming, and I mean that literally, choice of my middle school.) The Healing Garden makes incense, bath products, potpourri, room freshener, moisturizing lotion, and of course cologne in four varieties: Lavendertherapy, Jasminetherapy, Tangerinetherapy, and Green Teatherapy.
They smell like what they say, which is a rarity at the drugstore. Lavender is my favorite because lavender is my favorite scent in general. It is unavailable in incense, though if you're real lucky you can get the delicious bath gel. It's billed as being "relaxing". I combine the lavender spray cologne with Tangerinetherapy or Vanilla Fields, and it also layers brilliantly with Yardley's lotion. (Have I thanked you enough for the tip yet, Cia?)
Tangerine is "energetic", sweet and very citrusy. Sharp on its own, it definitely makes an impression. Citrus fans should like it a lot.
Green Tea turned me off--it's seriously herbal. But it is a really refreshing scent for a room. It is billed as being "insightful", and comes in incense form as well as the others. Look for it to be popular for rooms, but not for wearing--I felt like I had spilled herbal tea on my wrist. (Yet I like Calgon's Spiced Tea body mist! Go figure! The tea scent is strong there, good if you like that sort of thing, but balanced by cinnamon as Green Teatherapy was not.)
Jasmine is described as "sensual." It is also available in the incense. My boyfriend liked it a lot, which I guess means that it has done it's job. A single, simple, perfect jasmine note, it also combines well with the tangerine. Very pretty.
All in all, Coty has come out with another affordable class act. Yes, I know they aped from the Body Shop and related companies. But they did good by those of us with more limited budgets. And just so nobody thinks I'm totally shilling, let me just say here that Nokomis and Gossip are perfectly disgusting!
Now, where do I go to get Coty sponsorship for this site?....
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