Stafford's Own Kate Middleton: She May Be A Lookalike, But Is She Also A Smellalike?

Following the recent royal tour of Canada, Kate Middleton's popularity is on the ascendant. The word on the street is that she could soon attain the iconic status of Princess Diana, without any recourse to peeping coyly from under her fringe, or batting of spider's leg lashes. Personally I am fixated by her svelte silhouette, and imagine her vital organs jostling for position above and below the Panama Canal of her waist.

Yes, everyone wants a piece of our Kate, and as the runaway success of Illuminum White Gardenia Petals demonstrates, a lot of people are happy to conjure up the Duchess in a bottle with every spritz of her wedding scent.

And for those who haven't managed to catch a glimpse of Kate Middleton in person, or snag a bottle of White Gardenia Petals, there might be a chance to see Kate Bevan instead, her 22 year old professional lookalike - who is originally from Wolverhampton and lives in Stafford!

Now as it happens, the chemist featured in my last post is no ordinary neighbourhood pharmacy. Though not on account of its woefully limited fragrance selection - that is par for the course, more or less. No, the chemist in question has hit the national press because it was there that Kate Bevan worked as a pharmaceutical assistant until she got her lucky career break!

People had often remarked on the resemblance between the two Kates, but from the engagement onwards things really took off. "Nearly everyone who comes through the pharmacy door makes a comment and gawps in total shock", she told The Daily Mail last November. "I went out to buy a sandwich for my lunch and I was stopped four times by people in the street."

Kate Bevan got married herself last May, but she reckons her husband Nathan looks more like Harry than William, and William is apparently not her type...

In the spirit of verisimilitude, Kate Bevan also took elecution lessons to lose her West Midlands accent and sound more of a sophisticated southerner.

Now, because Kate Bevan's job as a professional lookalike is to be a top to toe replica of her namesake, if she hasn't already done so she should research the Duchess's scent wardrobe. Apart from White Gardenia Petals, I received a tip off to the effect that Kate Middleton wears Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDT, and her liking for Dune is well documented.

And it goes without saying that if Kate Bevan wishes to smell the part, she will need to look beyond the perfume range of the chemist where her newfound stardom all began...


Photos of Kate Bevan from zimbio.com, profimedia.si and expressandstar.com

Illuminum White Gardenia Petals Review - A Demure White Floral In A Veil

UPDATE: The following review is based on a sample of Illuminum White Gardenia Petals supplied to me by Roullier White shortly after the Royal Wedding. It now transpires that this was not the correct version of The Duchess of Cambridge's wedding scent. For further clarification and a review of the official White Gardenia Petals fragrance, please see my latest post here.

Today the mainstream press caught up with the news about White Gardenia Petals, with features in the Daily Mail, London's Metro magazine and Marie Claire - indeed there are now articles about the Illuminum scent everywhere you turn! I spoke to the staff at the Roullier White store on Monday and they said they were trying to gear up for future demand, but that it was very hard for them to gauge it, given the massive exposure the perfume is having - first on beauty and perfume blogs - and now, as I say, across the media. Their initial stock of 50 bottles flew out the door apparently, and there is a 10 day delivery delay on the 50ml size, though none on the larger 100ml bottle if any blind buyers are feeling particularly bullish! As the only stockist in the UK, Roullier White is clearly thrilled to be the focus of such a feverish global buying spree on the part of perfumistas and the general public alike.

I note too that Luckyscent has now got some White Gardenia Petals in (good move!), and I would expect The Perfumed Court to follow suit if they haven't already done so. A friend of mine has signed up to a split of this scent (unsniffed), so overall it seems as though perfume fans are setting about acquiring it by every means available.

Now we may not want to marry into the Royal Family particularly, or become a housewife on the isle of Anglesey - I don't know if it is the remoteness of the place or the lack of night life which drives them to it, but as far as I knew Anglesey is most famous for the jumpers off the Menai Bridge (the Golden Gate of North Wales, if you will). Oh, and not forgetting the hell hole that is Holyhead, where those living up the West Coast line may well end up if they are foolish enough to nod off on the train home from London. But notwithstanding all of that, some of us wouldn't mind smelling a bit like the new Duchess, as though that might miraculously confer upon us her nipped in waist, even white smile and perfect smokey eye.

And then today I received my pack of samples from the Roullier White store, comprising White Gardenia Petals and two other scents from Illuminum's quite extensive range; they sound right up my street, just going off the names, though I haven't had a chance to try them yet: Ginger Pear and Bergamot Blossom.

So how does White Gardenia Petals smell, I know you are all wondering...?

Well, it's very pretty, soft and faintly powdery (unless that is the vestiges of yesterday's decanting, but on balance probably not). It is delicate and feminine, not sweet, not particularly coconutty, but rather like a very diaphanous white floral blend that has been slightly "muzzified" by a wispy veil - like Catherine's veil of silk tulle, indeed! And though there's gardenia, ylang ylang and jasmine in there apparently, White Gardenia Petals is not at all heady. I'd go so far as to call it demure and ladylike, with a slight hint of danger. Slightly more dangerous than Serge Lutens' Un Lys, say. On the "louche-o-meter", where 10 is an out and out slutfest, I'd call Un Lys a 2 and this a 3. Maybe a 3.5 if you really sloshed it on. That is the sort of vibe, yes.

And then I can't quite decide whether I detected a slightly plasticky note when I first applied it - like the opening of Iris Ukiyoe or Kenzo Amour L'Eau Florale, especially the latter if anyone is familiar with it. However, it doesn't detract unduly and dissipates after a few minutes, as the white floral bouquet starts to cloak itself in the muting, fuzzy sea of tulle...

Update: eight hours in I can report that the longevity is good - there is additionally a sultry, tangy bite now to the powdery, musky drydown, which I guess must be the ylang ylang's last stand.

So....setting aside the HUGE "Duchess in the room" factor - to the best of my ability, at least - I will say on record that if I had bought a bottle of White Gardenia Petals unsniffed (as so many will have done), I wouldn't regret it...





Photo of the Duchess of Cambridge from herroyalhighnessprincesscatherine.com, photo of the Menai bridge from gallery.hd.org, photo of a gardenia from greatgardensecrets.com, photo of the Duchess waving from vendo-me.com, photo of White Gardenia Petals from the Roullier White website.

Kate Middleton's Wedding Perfume: The Stopper's Out Of The Bottle...

Well, as my Facebook friends will know, I enjoyed the coverage of the Royal Wedding today enormously. Mrs Bonkers Senior and I celebrated in style by drinking Kusmi leaf tea out of proper china cups, Charlie Bonkers the cat had two helpings of festive turkey leftovers, while Mr Bonkers sat on the sofa furthest away from the TV pretending (with an unconvincing display of bluster) not to watch. I wore Floris Wedding Bouquet (which I recently reviewed here on Ça Fleure Bon) because it is pretty and weddingy, and I just thought someone ought to. I cried loads, laughed at "for richer, for poorer" in the vows, and scoffed at Princess Beatrice's ghoulish make up and outlandish cookie cutter fascinator, which I also heard compared to antlers, and even explained away as an integral part of her head. It was in fact yet another Philip Treacy hat, which - according to one rather generous commentator - "rose like a modernist building from her hair".

Then I looked in vain for evidence of bra straps under Kate's lace bodice, while others marvelled at the seamless contours of her sister Pippa's frock, fuelling mischievous speculation that she may have gone commando and/or have copped off with Harry by the end of the night. A Facebook page has even sprung up today, devoted specifically to the appreciation of Pippa's shapely rear. Oh, and there was also that funny moment when the little flower girl on the royal balcony put her hands over her ears to block out the noise of passing tornadoes.

But at the back of every perfumista's mind was the burning question of what perfume Kate Middleton ended up wearing on her big day. It now turns out that it wasn't Wedding Bouquet or Grossmith Betrothal, or a specially engraved Clive Christian, or even the His and Hers duo of scents from the Hamburg perfumer Kim Weisswange, which she claimed had been specially commissioned by the palace for the occasion.

No, I have it on good authority from British Beauty Blogger that Kate - or the Duchess of Cambridge as we must learn to call her now - actually wore:

WHITE GARDENIA PETALS BY ILLUMINUM

On Illuminum's website, there is a description of this scent:

"As fragrant as a vase of white flowers quivering in the breeze by an open window, this is a delicate and nuanced scent. The top note of coconut evokes a seaside location, while heart notes of muguet, ylang ylang and jasmine breeze bring a trio of white flowers into play. Amber wood underscores this capricious and light bouquet."

Okay, so that all sounds very summery and lovely, though I am not sure that a "capricious" scent is an ideal choice for a bride... After all, Kate didn't just promise to have and to hold Prince William until a better idea strikes her. But other than that it sounds perfect. And well, she certainly slipped that one past us, for I had never heard of the brand, never mind the scent itself. It is available only from Roullier White in London.

Here's the full article from British Beauty Blogger, a respected industry insider, so I am going with her version of events. I would also be interested to know what Kate's lip gloss and eyeshadow were, come to think of it. And I wouldn't mind her teeth and eyebrows either. Damn it - I just wish I looked like her altogether. But meanwhile, I'll see if Luckyscent has got any samples of this in yet...



Photo of Illuminum perfume from beauty.lovelyish.com, photo of "hat" from anorak.co.uk, photo of wedding car from zimbio.com