beauty queen

Antica Farmacista: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine," Humphrey Bogart memorably says of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca. Now, for those of us whose apartments occasionally smell like gin joints, comes Antica Farmacista's new home fragrance collection, the star of which is a deliciously spicy scent called Casablanca. Once exclusive to an apothecary in Florence, Italy, Antica Farmacista specializes in products formulated with essential oils and natural ingredients; the full range includes a room and linen spray, perfume (which lingers on the skin longer than most fragrances due to the high oil content), body moisturizer, and a bath and shower wash. Best of all is Anntica Farmacista's Home Ambiance Fragrance - a scent that is disseminated via a cluster of wooden reeds inserted into the neck of an antique-looking bottle. Providing a lasting, room-filling aroma without the fire-and-hot-wax-hazard of a candle or the what-am-I-an0old-lady? maintenance of a room spray, having this stuff in your house meansyou'll always be ready for unannounced guests, stinky un-emptied trash cans or not. And in addition to the warm, Moroccan-inspired floral notes of Casablanca, Antica Farmacista have also introduced a rich fruity Pomegranate and Currant scent, so you can indulge in a little variety as, uh, time goes by. April Long. Home Ambiance Fragrance $58 at Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, and Tamashimaya.