Stuart Stein
Some would be content with just one successful career. Others (myself included) let the type “A” part our brain rule. Enter Ashley Peldon – actor, director, producer, entrepreneur – and all before she turns thirty. Some “stars” use their celebrity strictly for monetary purposes and ethics and commitment be damned.
Not so for Ashley Peldon and her sister Courtney. Started in 2006, Starring…! Fragrances is a cosmetics company with a difference. It combines “the allure of Hollywood glamor with their commitment to health and wellness.” Starring…! products are hand crafted and are a collection of natural, organic, environmentally friendly and paraben free perfumes, body scrubs and 100% soy wax melts. Their lineup includes everything from “playful, dessert-inspired scents to sexy, attention-grabbing florals.” Many are biodegradable, hypo-allergenic, 100% free of genetic modification and contain no lead, petroleum, chemical/synthetic fixative, or animal products/by-products.
Being a chef I know that smell, memory and taste are forever linked. I am one of those culinarians that can imagine and visualize tastes and smells in my minds eye. That’s why names like Tempt me Chocolate, Trip to Pear-adise, Pink Marshmallow, Brulee On My Mind, and the“Bake-Off” Collection of soy wax melts are so intriguing. Not to mention fragrances that include Blonde Bombshell, Femme Fatale, and Triple Threat. Combining seduction and food is a guys dream. Just ask the “fornicating gourmet” George from Seinfeld.
These products are delicious. From a man’s point of view, we want a scent on a woman that gives us an experience that is something special and new yet familiar and comforting. Men are a contradiction you know. For a woman, hopefully the scent will make her feel confident and empowered. Starring…! IS all that and more.
The problem, the selection is actually too diverse, fun, exotic and unique. Add a custom blend service and a men’s Power Players Collection for me and the real question is how can anyone choose. This is a problem that all entrepreneurs wished they had.
The Starring…! collection is available at www.starringfragrances.com and select Whole Food Markets and boutiques.
Guest contributor Stuart Stein is a chef, restaurateur and author of The Sustainable Kitchen Cookbook. He writes for Eat Drink Better,“inviting readers to explore the environmental issues surrounding their food choices.”
