It probably doesn’t get much more under the radar than Home Shopping Network (HSN). I would imagine most of you reading this skip past that channel as you are flipping through all of the offerings of your cable service. I’m no better I can’t say that HSN gets much airtime in the Colognoisseur household. If your timing is right though you might be surprised to find that HSN is the home of one of the best celebrity perfume collections I know. Dita von Teese has produced four perfumes for the shopping channel and they are all very good. The price is also very good at $30/0.7oz. I like all four but it was the fourth one, Erotique, which I think is the best of the bunch.
For those unfamiliar with Dita von Teese she has been called the “Queen of Burlesque”. She has made sure that true burlesque will not disappear as long as she can perform. Burlesque has long been associated with stripping and those two activities are far apart. Burlesque is all about the style behind a sexy striptease which emphasizes the second part of that compound word. You think you see more than you really see. To be an accomplished burlesque performer a woman needs a personality that keeps the audience engaged all while she moves and seduces without showing you everything. Ms. von Teese has become the face of this modern version. The perfumes that she has leant her name to are also meant to be inspired by aspects of this personality. Erotique is the culmination of that performance as it is meant to seduce and beguile.
Erotique opens on a spicy accord of pepper and coriander. This is much more pepper than coriander. This is also a bit of slap and tickle pepper as it generates a bit of heat along with nose-wrinkling energy. Erotique then holds out a rose as enticement in the heart. This is kept simple with just the rose and the pepper holding the stage for a little while. This transitions to a leather and sandalwood base. The leather seems appropriate as there might be a sense of something dangerous underneath it all. The sandalwood has a bit of cedar to keep it on the drier side and keep it from getting too creamy.
Erotique has 6-8 hour longevity and average sillage.
Most of the time the celebrity name on the bottle has had nothing to do with the fragrance inside. Ms. von Teese participated fully in producing the perfumes. That she also chose to do it for an economical price is also to be lauded. So if you’re channel surfing one night and you see an HSN host holding up a perfume bottle stop and check it out. You might find something surprisingly good.
Disclsoure: this review is based upon a bottle I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
I have all the Dita von Teese scents – HSN did a 3-bundle of the first three a while ago. Can be found on their website.
I agree that Ms. von Teese has done something both interesting and special here.
Dita Von Teese has so much talent ,she is trying something that most woman would not attemp!