Benefit Crescent Row Trio of Fragrances

The makeup brand Benefit has come up with a particularly creative and whimsical idea for creating a trio of fragrances embodying three different feminine universes. The label imagined three girls who are neighbors, as in a Georgian-styled twist on Friends. Inspired by a visit to the Royal Crescent, a spectacular example of Georgian architecture of a row of townhouses laid out in a semi-circle in the town of Bath, the new collection is called Crescent Row and features three feminine scents corresponding to three different flats: Laugh with Me LeeLee, Something about Sofia, My Place or Yours Gina...

The perfumes were entrusted to perfumer François Demachy of LVMH and developed by Benefit founders Jean and Jane Ford over two years with fragrance companies Robertet and Firmenich.

Laugh With Me LeeLee, a woody floral designed to be fun and feminine, has top notes of cassis, melon and citrus; a heart of black violet, lily and jasmine, and a drydown of blond wood, amber and santal.There's Something About Sofia, an oriental created to be bit more free-spirited, consists of top notes of mango and freesia; middle notes of sheer lily, jasmine sambac and peony petal, and a drydown of musk, white caramel and vanilla bean. The more provocative My Place or Yours Gina has top notes of pink pepper, bergamot and tangerine; a heart of peony, wild raspberry and white lily, and base notes of patchouli, tonka bean and vanilla. The perfumes are bottled in flacons inspired by an American lady's cocktail shaker excavated from the founders' grandmother's belongings from the 1920s, back then when they knew how to party. The design was slightly modernized and recreated by Ateliers Dinand.

Laugh With Me LeeLee, Something About Sofia and My Place or Yours Gina come packaged in a 1-oz. bottle for $36. A holiday gift set will contain a 1-oz. juice and a 2-oz. body lotion, retailing for $46."Crescent Row launches in July 2009.

The Crescent Row trio will launch in 750 U.S. doors July 1, including Sephora, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Henri Bendel, as well as in Benefit's freestanding boutiques and online. The San Francisco-bred brand will simultaneously launch in 950 international doors across the U.K., Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Russia.