When it comes to fragrance, Thierry Mugler never did things by rote. Their perfumers take their time and explore all options to put together a solid offering. Like their previous gourmand fragrances Angel (1992) and Alien (2005),  Womanity, which launches at Bloomingdale’s this August, comes packed with surprises.

First on the list: Caviar. You read that right. To appeal to the multi-faceted woman, Mugler wanted a fragrance that combined both savory and sweet elements. For the sweet top note, he tapped into the mellow fruity scent of fig, and buttoned the fragrance up with a bottom note of fresh green fig wood and leaf, but to balance that, he needed . . . fish eggs? I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t smelled it myself.

The caviar adds a clean oceanic note and keeps the scent from erring on the side of saccharine. Mugler and company extracted these off-beat scents using the new technique of molecular extraction. I won’t go into the scientific details here, but just let me say that in involves liquid gas and it makes it possible to duplicate the exact fragrance molecules from any substance.

All of this comes to a more universal point: Mugler made this fragrance to celebrate all women, and he plans to include it in a larger movement. In March, the website Womanity.com launched as a platform for women all over the country to share their own ideas on womanhood. Users can log on and submit their thoughts for Womanity’s next big idea, be it product, project, or technology. A jury including Mugler himself will select one winning idea and fly its creator to Paris for a week to develop it for the Womanity brand. This move gives a little creative control over to the brand’s namesake.

To upload your own ideas of womanity, go to www.womanity.com. To purchase a travel-size ‘teaser’ of Womanity, visit us.boutique.thierrymugler.com, and stay tuned for the August launch of the full-sized fragrance and its shower gel, body milk, and body cream counterparts.

- Katharine McKenzie

Editorial sample was provided for consideration.

“It’s Coach, but different,” explains their perfume rep at the Coach Poppy fragrance launch. Everyone thinks they know the Coach brand, and though Poppy carries on that timeless femininity of their previous scents, Signature and Legacy, it twists it in a punchy new direction.

The top notes of cucumber and pulpy mandarin keep it juicy while baby freesia leads into the floral heart of gardenia, jasmine petals, pink water lily, candied rose petals and (my favorite) crème brulee accord. To anchor all this sweetness, the bottom finishes off with vanilla, cedarwood, sandalwood, and whipped marshmallow accord (again, yum.)

Coach Poppy took several years in the making for this fruity gourmand treat. Unlike Womanity’s mellower fig-and-caviar offering, Poppy screams “Summer!” at the top of its little fruity floral lungs. Summer may have started this past Monday, but I say it really begins on July 1st, when Coach Poppy hits the market for $60 for 1.7oz at coach.com and department stores across the country.

- Katharine McKenzie

Sample was provided for editorial consideration.

Founded in the UK in 2008, Illamasqua hit the shores of the US only a year ago and is quickly gaining a following. Known for its array of bold, night friendly makeup, Illamasqua has a great selection of matte eye shadows.

We tried the single eye shadow in CanCan - a matte violet shade from their Body Electrics collection.

The formula is silky and easy to apply and the color payoff is good. Though not as heavily pigmented as MAC eye shadows the color is buildable. It is suitable for night and day depending on how heavily it is applied.

The color definitely looks brighter and bolder in the pan than on the lid. It is a great shadow if you’re looking for a violet matte shadow for day – since you can play with the application. There are so many shimmery shadows on the market and definitely not enough mattes – so Illamasqua’s contribution to the matte eye shadow world is very welcome.

It retails for $20 at Sephora.

- Catia Carvalho Trooskin

Have you ever seen a beautiful actress strutting down the red carpet- only to gaze down at her feet and gasp in horror? While starlets’ toes are always painted with glossy Chanel lacquers, spending oodles of money on expensive pedicures at hotel spas is useless if your feet look like you’ve climbed a mountain barefoot. Whether you’re a stylish urban dweller whose feet are hurting from days in 4 inch stilettos, or a seasoned construction worker who lives in boots, Gehwol’s Callus Cream can deplete the rough, flaky skin on your feet in no time.

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A family business originally developed in Germany in the 1800’s, Gehwol’s is a medical foot cream for both men and women. We tried it out after some heavy duty blisters left everything below our ankles looking pretty scary, and were thrilled to have smooth heels and toes every night before bed. Gehwol’s also helps to prevent future foot problems like excessively dry skin, Athlete’s Foot, and intense odor. So if you climb into bed every night hoping your husband’s feet don’t come near yours, Gehwol’s would be the perfect lotion to magically show up on his nightstand.

For more information, visit www.gehwolonline.com.

- Megan Sarah Johnson

Readers, take advantage of the 25 Dollar Tuesday Special tomorrow, 6/22! The Bikini & Eyebrow Wax combo is only $25 (get your steals at www.25Tuesdays.com)

Jeunesse Spa is beautifully appointed and conveniently located from Lincoln Center in New York Center: two qualities I love to see in a spa. As the name “Jeunesse” (French for “youth”) implies, the whole aim is for you to enter looking and feeling years older and leaving with a Benjamin Button experience.

Relaxation Room

I went there last week to get my first ever Bikini Wax treatment. Understandably a little nervous, and feeling flush from the hot weather, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The entrance is on the ground floor, but you take the elevators two floors down to the cool, almost subterranean basement level which is filled with soothing light, peaceful waterfalls, a Buddha statue and a pitcher of clear, cold water with delightful lime slices dancing in them.

Salon

Just as you can always tell the quality of an Italian restaurant by the kind of bread they serve, you can tell the quality of the spa by the products they offer. As soon as I spotted the Swiss company Valmont on the shelves, I knew I was in good hands.

A beautifully appointed treatment room

My bikini wax was painful, I’m not going to lie. But my aesthetician, Sarah, was extremely calm and comforting. She held my hand (metaphorically speaking, of course) through the process and used a more temperate wax (not the hot, scalding variety) to smooth and strip. Throughout the entire process, I was trying hard not to think of The Forty Year Old Virgin but I failed. As soon as the strips came off, all I could think of was Steve Carrell’s face.

I had a happy experience with my chin and eyebrow waxing (she used a wax specially formulated for sensitive skin) and the entire process took less than 15 minutes. I was in and out of the calm Jeunesse Spa in less than a New York Minute but felt as though I had been recharged for eight hours.

1885 Broadway (@Lincoln Center)
New York, NY 10023
(212) 245-4606

- Charu Suri

There’s no denying that Stila is known as a powerhouse cosmetics company. We’ve been wearing Stila’s One Step Primecolor in a pale pink shade called kitten for a few days, and have only rave reviews. A universal item that functions as a primer, eye shadow, blush and bronzer, we’ve been slathering it on our face instead of foundation for lazy mornings around the house. It helps to minimize pores while giving a luminous glow that doesn’t look like the heavy-handed blush of a Texas beauty queen. The light, non-greasy texture is less sticky than tinted moisturizer, so heavy temperatures on hot summer days are much more tolerable. All that and oil control? For $22 a bottle, it’s a steal. For more information, visit www.sephora.com. – Megan Sarah Johnson

The last place we would expect to find blueberries is on our eyelashes. Smeared on our face from a last night smoothie? Sure. But eyelashes? Apparently, the key ingredient to Lumene’s mascara is Finnish blueberry seed oil, and if that’s what is given our lashes a real boost, we’re entirely in favor of it. The plastic brush is big enough to guarantee wide-eyed flutter all evening long, and we haven’t been hanging any flaking below our eyes throughout the day.

Sounds almost good enough to eat. Almost.

Lumene Blueberry Curl Mascara retails for around $10 at your local drugstore. There’s also a Volume option.

- Megan Sarah Johnson

Editorial Sample was provided for consideration

We know not all fathers look like a page out of Esquire Magazine. Whether your pop wanders around the house in a ratty bathrobe, or his beard is looking a little bit like Colonel Sanders, there’s always room for improvement in the style and grooming department. That’s why the experts in gentlemen’s grooming, Truman’s NYC, is holding the Father’s Day ManUP! Competition, which invites you to nominate a man to win a Truman’s membership (a $600 value!). All you have to do is send in a photo and explain in 50 words or less why you know a deserving guy who could use a haircut, shave, massage, shoeshine, and handshake maintenance lesson. After fans vote on Facebook, the deserving dad with the most votes will win the membership.

Submit your comments to manup@trumans-nyc.com by June 15th at midnight to be considered.

Truman’s Gentlemen Groomers is the perfect answer to the endless stream of salons devoted to female clients. At Truman’s, men get the special treatment they need, like shaving and shoeshining. They also perform services such as back hair removal and massage, without the frilly ambiance of spas that cater towards women.

For more information, check out Truman’s website at www.trumans-nyc.com.

I was sure that I had been to the Frying Pan before: a lightship boat that rocks gently on the water and filled to the brim with people, fast-food style American fare and a seasonal bar and grill. It redefines cool.

I was there because I wanted to show my support for the co-hosts of the show, Jeanine Morris from BeautySweetSpot, and Kimmie Smith from The Kitten Lounge. These two stylish ladies never cease to inspire and enthrall with their highly addictive sense of style, beauty and fashion.

Walk on Water was a fashion show sponsored by Forever 21, and heralded a new Reality TV Series called To Be A Star, which tracks the lives of six models who want to make it big in New York City.

The models literally walked on water on a runway way at the back of the Frying Pan and sported several versions of every day clothes from casual everyday chic to beachwear to glam.

I was pleased to see a rich cultural diversity in the choice of models: from African American to Asian, the coterie resembled a cast of America’s Next Top Model.

In addition to the girls, the show had some gorgeous, hunky guys with genuine washboard abs to complete the Baywatch-style setting. Even Reality TV never had it so good.

I was glad to see the crowd bursting at the seams for this event. Every seat was taken.  Which is the way it should be.

She may be known best for her portrayal of discontent housewife Betty Draper on AMC’s powerhouse drama Mad Men, but January Jones knows how to use her position for the greater good in real life.

Today, June 8th, 2010 is World Oceans Day, and as spokeswoman for Oceana, (www.oceana.org) the world’s largest organization solely focused on ocean conservation, January is speaking out to help the cause. Co-sponsored by skincare company La Mer, Oceana has debuted this dive video explaining to viewers why protecting our oceans is so vital. And with the recent oil spill tragedy in the Gulf, January’s message hits even closer to home.

Check out this You Tube video of their message here.

And in honor of this day, La Mer has launched a brilliantly-packaged commemorative edition of their world famous cream, inspired by the azure colors of the sea. It is priced at $310 and contains La Mer’s original, miracle broth goodness.

As a life long supporters of the environment, and as travelers who long to see the Great Barrier Reef before global warming does its proverbial damage, this day and cause are near and dear to our hearts.

- Charu Suri & Megan Johnson