Lots of new items on the fragrance front, some more interesting than others.
Tova Borgnine, wife of actor Ernest Borgnine, has created a niche in the beauty industry and gained a following on QVC. Her new and fifth perfume, Love Everlasting, contains Arctic snow flowers, blue iris, white pepper, black raspberry, cashmere woods and a glacial accord ($38). It launches on the shopping channel at 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. Aug. 27 and will be available on QVC.com.
Tommy Hilfiger celebrates the 10th anniversary of Tommy and Tommy Girl with updated reformulations of both. Tommy 10 and Tommy Girl 10 contain new ingredients from across America such as Seattle rain, Kentucky bluegrass, Hawaiian pineapple, Cape Cod cranberry and Rocky Mountain blue spruce in his version and Indian River grapefruit, Mississippi magnolia, Virginia water lily and California honeysuckle in hers. Macy's and tommy.com will have them in September ($39.50 each).
Miss Sixty, popular for jeans and sportswear, has launched an eau de toilette of the same name that contains red currant, rhubarb, amber and a blend of fresh, fruity green notes; $45 at Sephora.
Fashion designer Betsey Johnson delivers her first perfume, a fruity "floriental" with tangerine, freesia, red apple and praline ($55 at Macy's and Sephora); Elizabeth Arden introduces spicy-woodsy-amber With Love ... Hilary Duff ($35 at both stores); and Desperate Housewives Forbidden Fruit by Coty Prestige seduces with a blend of peach, spicy pepper, wisteria and vanilla ($49.50 at Macy's).
And file this one under Decadence 101: Missoni, a fruity floral women's scent that debuted in Sak and Neiman Marcus and Saks in March, rolls out four body products infused with the same floral, fruity and Gianduia chocolate notes as the perfume. If the $45 shower gel and $50 body lotion aren't enough, there's an $80 body butter and a round pillar candle for $150. Find them locally at Saks in September.
Hair models wanted
Wanna be a hair model? Five lucky women will get to be just that in a 2007 advertising campaign for Finesse hair care products.
Women 18 and older may enter the Finesse Models LifeStyle Contest by going to finessecontest.com and uploading one "before" and one "after" picture of herself demonstrating changing hair styles. Applicants also must respond to a question about her changing hair style and why she should be selected as a winner.
The public's online votes, along with the opinions of a panel of professional judges, will determine the winners. The deadline to enter is Dec. 31 and winners will be announced Feb. 14, 2007.
Pretty boys
The marketplace now offers men their own beauty products, and -- according to a new Glamour poll -- men are using them.
Men account for 10 percent of cosmetic sales, according to the magazine's August issue, which also reports that 63 percent of 1,529 women polled said their man regularly buys and uses skin and hair products. Seventy-eight percent of those same women also said they wouldn't date a man who uses more beauty products than they do.
It seems women don't have to worry: Another survey, conducted for Boss Skin, a new men's grooming line from Hugo Boss, found that 36 percent of the 559 men questioned knew their skin should be moisturized, but only 10 percent said they washed, exfoliated and moisturized each day.
There's an art to balancing beauty and masculinity. When Frederic Fekkai opened his new flagship salon and spa in the Henri Bendel store in Manhattan, he added a men's styling lounge called L'Atelier de Frederic. The decor includes stainless steel sink faucets, white subway tiles and tufted sofas.
Fekkai stylist Stephane Andre offers tips for men:
Don't try too hard. Keep your look simple.
Exfoliate scalp once a week since clogged pores can be attributed to hair loss. Shampoo and conditioner should be used after exercise because salt deposits from sweat dry out hair.
Cut hair regularly, about every six weeks. If hair is thinning, keep it short -- no comb-overs. And don't forget to trim ear, neck, eyebrows and nose if necessary.
For a more natural look when you start to gray, don't color it completely. If a little bit of gray shows through it won't look as fake.
Using a small amount of gel, wax or pomade will make hair shinier, but don't overdo it.
-- Associated Press