So what do you do when one of the most iconic fashion brands decides to delve into the world of beauty and create their own fragrance? You run out and buy it. I mean, why wouldn’t you. The brand: J.Crew. The beauty product: Their own exclusive line of fragrances. When I read the news via Refinery29 last week, I literally counted down the days until these soon-to-be iconic fragrances would be available to purchase. I probably don’t need another fragrance, especially having been employed in the beauty industry for over seven years – but this was J. Crew. This was Jenna Lyons. I could not resist. As I continued to read the post, I realized that the two fragrances that they were launching was a collaboration with none other than Arquiste – the parfumeur known to draw inspiration for their fragrances from specific times and places. J.Crew worked with Arquiste to create two signature fragrances – No. 31 and No. 57. These two scents (created exclusively for J.Crew) were inspired by “Exhibition by 31 Women,” the first all-female modern art show in the United States, curated by Peggy Guggenheim in 1943. In essence, you relive history through scents.
No. 31 takes cues from the fragrances worn by the artists themselves: a mix of damson plum, Bulgarian rose and patchouli are designed to evoke an avant-garde crowd.
No. 57 gets its name from the Art of This Century gallery on West 57th Street in New York City, where the show was held. The curved oak walls of the gallery and the aromatic cocktails at the bar are evoked in a woodsy blend of cedarwood, aged whiskey and cinnamon.
I knew immediately that No. 57 was going to be my favorite for obvious reasons – with cinnamon bark and aged whiskey notes, I could not resist. Available in two sizes: a 1.7 oz spray for $78 and a .34 rollerball for $25 either size or delivery of these aromatic fragrances will make perfect scents.