AromaRama:
Our Unbiased Critique of 14 Popular Fragrances

If you're like us, you've no doubt come across a magazine article highlighting popular fragrances and wondered what the point of it was. After all, you might learn that a certain perfume or cologne had subtle notes of bergamot, but had no indication as to whether it was actually any good or not. More importantly, you'd have no idea whether the opposite sex thought so.
"I've inhaled fourteen different bottles of perfume in an hour, and I feel GREAT!"

In an effort to make some sense of it all, we enlisted six members of our staff with vastly different tastes to rate fourteen popular fragrances on a scale of one to ten and comment on them in our highly scientific testing facility, armed only with bushels of coffee beans and noses of steel. We enjoyed the process so much we plan on doing it as a recurrent feature.

Our editorial staff runs the gamut of style, and often, we noticed that opinions would be divided sharply, but we were able to come up with a few unanimous winners. We think that, should you take our advice, you and your special someone will thank us. Our testers included:

E. R. Kessler, our style writer, who describes her style as preppy with a twist. She loves Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar, and despises Eternity for Women with a passion.

Laura Francoeur, our lifestyle writer, who describes her style as tailored yet comfort-conscious, with accessories and shoes for pizzazz. Her favorite fragrances are Cool Water for Women and Modern by Banana Republic. Poison by Yves St. Laurent makes her violently ill.

Laura Laria (a.k.a. L2), our design guru, who opts for a sexy, funky, just-wanna-get-my-groove-on style, loves Clinique Happy, Laura by Laura Biagotti, and Colonia De Azahar. She regularly pickets chain drugstores that sell Babe.

Leigh Rhodes, our Webmaster, who rocks a funky, hip and practical style, loves Aramis and Kenzo for Men, and once threw a man out a fifth-story window for wearing Avon Black Suede.

Peter Carbonaro, our Editor-In-Chief, who dons a sleek, urban modern style, goes positively gaga for Issey Miyake For Men and L'Occitane Eau De Contadour, and carries rotten vegetables to throw in the event he runs into someone wearing Jean-Paul Gaultier for Men.

Shawn Rahman, our Managing Editor, who prefers an All-American style with a touch of the avant-garde. His favorite fragrances are Grey Flannel, Versace Blue Jeans, and Joop! for Men. He recently declared a fatwa on all those who still wear Drakkar Noir.

To see what our distinguished panel thought, click on any of the highlighted links below. Enjoy.