If you can't stand sniffing, or even looking at, one more overhyped, over-marketed, over-engineered fragrance from the department store counters...

If you are tired of perfumes that boast overused and way-too-trendy notes - think pink-pepper-tahitian-vanilla-cotton-candy-cupcake accord...

If that bottle of In Control Curious just doesn't go with your decor...

You need to try Scent by Alexis.

Created by classically trained painter Alexis Karl, Scent by Alexis is an exquisite line of hand-blended fragrances, works of art in both their composition and their presentation. Each is carefully created with all-natural oils and all the precision of the time-honored art of perfume (Alexis counts the elixirs and potions of ancient Greece, Egypt and China among her inspirations). Her scents are like nothing else on the market - warm, organic, complex, and entirely unique.

Best of all, the packaging is just as unique as what's inside. The fragrances are available in sold form, housed in ornate, antique inspired boxes and lockets in sterling silver or porcelain; or in oil form, bottled in gilded flacons. Each is unique, from the colors of the gorgeous hand-gilding to the shape of the bottle (round, apothecary-style, or "genie") and the stopper (glass, sterling silver, and a gorgeous hummingbird to name a few).

I had the pleasure of meeting Alexis at Henri Bendel this spring and testing out everything from her line - I was so overzealous that I nearly ran out of real estate on my hands and forearms! As I've said in previous posts, it's so inspiring to "talk shop" with someone who really puts her heart and soul into her craft - and at the end of our conversation I was more than happy to plunk down my Amex for a gorgeous silvery genie bottle of White Sable, an warm, creamy blend of amber, vanilla and gardenia. (For those of you more adventurous than I, you must check out Venus in Furs and Queen Bitch - the scents do live up to their creative and intriguing names!)

White Sable is not only an original and wonderful fragrance, it has made a gorgeous addition to my dresser - and the only others that occupy that space are my treasured Chanel parfums.

So when Gucci Envy Yourself, Escada Essence-of-the-Island-from-Lost, and CK Fifty Seven just don't cut it for you anymore...go for something a little different. Available online at scentbyalexis.com, and at a smattering of shops in the Northeast and California. Samples are available for everyone in between!