At this point, I think we can all safely ignore news sources that tell us that the celebrity fragrance trend is over, no? And clearly, the days when a little personal trouble might hurt a celebrity's market appeal are long gone; on the contrary, one might assume the more trouble the better — Paris Hilton, I suppose, qualifies as Exhibit A, although Britney Spears has certainly given her a run for the money (pardon the pun).

Britney's latest entry, Hidden Fantasy, is the first celebrity scent to hit the perfume counters this year. It's the second flanker to 2005's Britney Spears Fantasy, the first being 2007's Midnight Fantasy. My feelings about Fantasy are not all that different now than they were when I tried it shortly after its release:

Given that my expectations were low, I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I like it, but I don't hate it, and if given the choice between this and say, Miss Dior Cherie, I would pick Fantasy.

At the time, I was just starting to explore celebrity fragrances; now that I've tried most of what's been released over the past few years, I'll qualify the above by noting that Fantasy is considerably better than much of the competition...

Remember that syrup-like smell of unknown origin that puzzled New Yorkers back in 2005 and then again later the same year? It's back:

The city’s 311 information line was flooded with callers reporting the smell of maple syrup, or something like it, wafting across several neighborhoods, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management said.

Read more in Mysterious Sweet Smell From 2005 Returns to Manhattan at The New York Times. Thanks to Joe for the link!

When you're in love, everything seems different – and that includes your sense of smell. Women who are deeply in love struggle to recognise the body odour of male friends, but their ability to distinguish their partner's smell is unaffected.

— from Love skews your sense of smell at New Scientist, with many thanks to Jirish for the link!

Clean has launched Simply Soap, a new fragrance for women:

Introducing the latest addition to the CLEAN family of fragrances, Simply Soap evokes the spirit of the beautiful necessities in life - a white cashmere bathrobe, Egyptian cotton sheets and of course, a sudsy bubble bath with your favorite soap. Subtle, streamlined, yet sexy, Simply Soap is a soft floral fragrance...

New at dillards: Givenchy Organza Indecence in the "Les Parfums Mythiques" packaging.

Deal at luckyscent: markdowns on Bruno Acampora Prima T, Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Pineapple, selected fragrances from Montale & more.