Anthropologie cannot put a foot wrong these days. We’ve already all bought the oversize flannel shirts, the tunics, the plaid coats, the charming housewares. Now, Urban Outfitters’ sister store is stepping up its already-not-too-shabby beauty game with some serious collaborations. The first, with ritzy Paris fragrance-maker Givaudan, is a collection of six scents made by five perfumers (Stephen Nilsen, Adriana Medina, Marypierre Julien, Caroline Sabas, and Claude Dir — trust us, in the beauty world they’re Stella McCartney) called A Rather Novel Collection. The perfumers took their inspiration from teas from around the world, and while all the scents smell heavenly, we couldn’t tear ourselves away from “Cape of Good Hope” by Claude Dir. The backstory is a little complicated (workers loading wooden chests filled with Rooibos tea in South Africa during 1498, etc.), but the juice — a delicious mix of red tea leaves, gardenia, and Madagascar vanilla — is just … mmm. This is exactly what fragrance should be: thought-provoking, complex, and made with the utmost care.
$48; available through 2010 at Anthropologie, 50 Rockefeller Plz., nr. 50th St.; 212-246-0386.
