The Body Shop Love Etc...


I'm always cheered by the appearance of a pretty perfume or credible cologne at the mass market level. Usually, if the bottle or the face on the magazine ad resonates with the young 'uns, it barely seems to matter that the fragrance itself is 1.7 fluid oz of cynical slop. So when Dominique Ropion's perfume for The Body Shop, Love Etc..., turned out to be a successful marriage of high/low (high quality/low price, that is, rather than the more usual reverse) I was as pleased as a tickled pink pony. Love Etc... is the perfume I regularly recommend to girls looking for something low-key but flirty-girly. And because it's so beautifully calibrated, with the grassy/anise tang of tarragon adding interest, it works for grown-up girls looking for something soft and comforting -- and not too heavy. I'm adding Love Etc...to my Body Shop hot list, which includes White Musk for Men and Moroccan Rose. And although it's not technically a perfume, I love the smell of the Body Shop's Hemp line. Fumies, care to share your Body Shop success stories?
Love Etc... is available from Amazon.com and TheBodyShop.com, starting at $24 for 1 oz
Looking for a fragrance recommendation? Visit Fume Finder: the Katie Puckrik Smells fragrance app.

19 comments:

  1. I haven't tried Love Etc., but I will next time I'm near a Body Shop....I'm always looking for something "low-key and flirty-girly" ;-)

    I have very found memories of White Musk Oil (although, I'm sure my room mates at the time would say otherwise)....during my college years in Seattle, I used to use White Musk as a "base" for Hermes' Bel Ami and regularly stank up the whole apartment with a sweetish, musky, burnt leather odor. I thought I smelled "cool" and "unique" - others told me I just smelled "unusual" - ha. Ahhhh, the joys of college experimentation.....

    A few years ago I tried the mix again, but I think both formulas (esp. Bel Ami) have changed so much, it was definitely a "no go" (but close enough to bring back some great memories).

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  2. Marko, I'm due for a revisit of White Musk Oil. That seems to be the perennial (oops, that started to come out "perineal") favorite. And perineal favorite, for some.

    It cracks me up when I hear about folks "jazzing up" already plenty-jazzy perfumes. One of the Juicy Couture ladies was telling me that she likes to throw some musk on with her Carnal Flower. Hey! And Thierry Mugler has just done the same thing with their new Taste of Fragrance line. "You know what this bland Angel really needs? *More* chocolate!"

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  3. I often layer Stella over TBS coconut oil or cocnut lotion. It gives Stella a coockie/gourmandy, jammy feeling.
    /Anna Strömberg

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  4. Oh wow, Anna, that sounds intense...and highly caloric!

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  5. Someone posted on a board somewhere that they liked wearing Guerlain Theorema with Guerlain Mitsouko...

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  6. ^^^oops I mean Fendi theorema

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  7. Fleurine, that's getting into the territory of that YouTube video with the stripper-looking lady spraying Juicy Couture down her cleavage and Coco Mademoiselle down her bum crack in order to create her own personal blend.

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  8. Will cautiously give a sniff -- haven't really ever recovered from their Dewberry...AnnieA

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  9. Nothing wrong with a bit of caution, Annie.

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  10. Great review as always.Love etc to my nose was a boring fruity floral. But after your beautiful review I need to give it a second sniff.I love Moroccan rose. Plz can you do a review on The body shop's tobacco flowers perfume?

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  11. This is interesting to me. For Ropion to do a fragrance for TBS is like designers doing clothes for Target.

    I'm not sure what the point is that I'm making here. But I'm gonna smell this stuff.

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  12. Your point is accessible luxury, Nora. The hand of a master behind a quotidian item.

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  13. Yay!!! I am gonna buy it to my bf because I love this So so so much!
    Thank you very much for sharing!

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  14. What is the 411 on the Moroccan Rose, BTW?
    ~fleurine

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  15. Fluerine, I'm going to move Moroccan Rose off my hot list and onto my tepid-to-warm list. I resmelled it the other day, and decided it's missing heft. Still loving the White Musk for Men, though.

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  16. I just smelled Juicy Couture for the first time the other day in Sephora (not bad), and immedicately my mind went to the stripper butt crack thing you mentioned here. I think that probably ruined the fragrance for me, even if I didn't really love it, that killed it permanenetly. Do I need to see the you tube video?
    ~fleurine

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  17. fleurine, I can't believe I actually found the clip! (I searched on "perfume spray butt crack" and I finally found it.)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92_OXwHEqqE

    The lady says, "I buy them for the bottles."

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  18. Could you tell me some fragrance that are similar to this? Excellent review as usual :)

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  19. Hi Katie! I was wondering if you've ever smelled The Body Shop's "Dreams Unlimited" line? That one is actually quite nice too! :) And I don't know if you've heard, but TBS did a little twist on Love Etc. (and Dreams Unlimited) and came out with summer versions for both. Not sure if they're still available anymore though. Keep calm and smell on. ;)

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