Scent my NEST – new home scents from Laura Slatkin, Satisfy

Laura Slatkin proudly shows off one of her scented candles

Some of the Laura Slatkin’s new, Project Art Collection

These NEST diffusers are not part of Project Art, but they’re gorgeous!

Do you want a luxurious and lovely way to scent your NEST?  Well, we have one!  Laura Slatkin is the co-founder of  Slatkin & Co. with her husband, Harry . They are also the creators of  the luxurious home scent collection called NEST,

The fragrances are wonderful, and authentic, fruits, florals and more. What’s so nice about NEST, is that the overall package is so pleasing, from the outer cartons to the containers, to the gorgeous fragrances that fill your world with sensory pleasure.

Back in 2008, I did my first review of NEST Fragrances and I recommended some candles for the holidays. I am now a big fan of NEST candles, distinguished in a sea of home scents by being not just lovely to look at, but to smell. So I was highly motivated (on one of the hottest and stickiest days of the season so far), to attend an event to learn about Laura’s latest visionary collection, called “Project Art.” Ms. Slatkin actually opened up her amazing, Manhattan townhouse for this event. After the disgusting smells on the subway and in the street, walking into Laura and Harry Slatkin’s elegant, serene home, was at treat. But what really struck me right away in the hallway where I was greeted. was the air smelled wonderful! That instantly put me in a good mood, reminding me that there is true magic and power in home scents!

Editors got an eyeful of the pretty collection, ogling the displays of candles in clear, glass votives with brushed, silvery lids ( 22 oz, $24.99: 4 oz votive $9.99), athe Reed diffusers $22.99, and the clear, plastic pump bottles (I’m guessing about 10-11 oz.) holding Hand Lotion ($14.99) and Hand Soap ($12.99).

Ms. Slatkin spoke for a few minutes, explaining the motivation behind the collection. Although NEST products are geared toward the luxe market, the Project Art by NEST Fragrances contain the same quality, distinguishing itself in a crowded market of not-always great, modestly priced home scents. Project Art is a boon for the average consumer who may be on a tight budget, but Slatkin doesn’t feel that these consumers should have to settle for so-so home scents. She is passionate about bringing beauty, and beautiful fragrance, into everyone’s home, no matter what.

The project art “Poster” depicting all the scents in the collection

What you sense has a lot to do with what you see, as well as what you smell. So what Makes Project Art unique, is Ms. Slatkin’s approach to color and packaging. She worked with a variety of Photographers, including some of the note-ables who produce those delicious photos for glossy magazines like Real Simple, to create colorful labels that depict the main notes in the products, in a modern way. You have a good feeling about the fragrance, even before you smell it, because the packaging is very enticing.

There are a dozen scents in the Project Art Collection (I am guessing that more will follow): apple, cinnamon spice, juliette rose, lavender & sage, lemon verbena, mint leaves & lime, orange kumquat, pear, pumpkin, tulip garden, winter forest, vanilla glaze, and two holiday fragrances: holiday and peppermint twist.

As I went around and sniffed all the fragrances, I found a few that I really liked, such as the Cinnamon spice, and the mint leaves & lime. But, there’s something for everyone from fruits, to spices, to florals, to herbs. The scents are not just pretty, they smell authentic instead of like lab creations. For example, the Juliette Rose candle I received in my press bag really smells like a tea rose, and not like the often cloying (and chemical) rose scents in modestly-priced candles.

The label of three, full opened, peachy roses was pretty enough to put on a dressing table if just for decoration. A tulip garden hand soap and hand lotion was more light and fresh than sweet and floral. *the reed diffusers, hand lotion and soap , are available only in juliette rose, apple, lavender & sage, lemon verbena, orange kumquat, and tulip garden. The calming and yet still subtle, lavender and sage scent was being featured (through candlelight) in the Slatkin’s front parlor (no wonder the weary editors were all smiling and relaxed by the end of the presentation)!

*I should have taken a photo of the now sold-out White Castle slider candle that gives back to Autism Speaks @autismspeaks — the holder looks just like that little cardboard wrapper that holds the burger, and the smell is the way you remember it from the fast food restaurant. Luckily, there are plans to revive it. I’m predicting it would be a serious man magnet!

Bridal dreams: The Vera Wang Home Fragrance Collection

Of course, there are additional collections from the vision (and nose) of Laura Slatkin, including this lovely collection of silver accented candles, scented with Vera Wang fragrance. Ms. Slatkin said that when she married Harry Slatkin, she wore one of Ms. Wang’s first wedding dresses, and kept that memory in mind when she was designing these home scents that would be a bride’s dream. One of the candles comes in a silver bucket that can be used as a champagne chiller for a split of bubbly, after the candle is gone. Another’s base and top convert into a diminutive ring holder.

If you want to try the new NEST Project Art Fragrances, you can find them in select Bed, Bath & Beyond stores and Hallmark stores, in September 2010. If you’re not happy about the end of Summer, at least you have nifty new scents to look forward to when the warm weather ends and the kids are back to school.

The rest of the NEST fragrances are available at http://www.nestfragrances.com/