Kate Walsh- Boyfriend

I never watched Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice, so I mostly knew Kate Walsh from her red carpet appearances and the occasional talk show interview where she seemed like an intelligent well-spoken actress who supports several causes that are also close to my heart. Kate Walsh's look is more unique than cute, she's not very likely to appear in Transformers or a Judd Apatow movie, and I doubt teenagers, girls or boys, have put her posters on their bedroom walls. All that means Kate Walsh was not the first name that sprang to mind as the next celebrity perfume candidate.

Perhaps that's a good enough reason to pay attention to her perfume, Boyfriend.

I actually like the concept. Kate Walsh wanted a perfume that reminded her of the scent a beloved man leaves behind- on your pillow or the hoodie you borrowed from him. Nowhere in the promotion materials or interviews I've seen with her did Ms. Walsh said anything about "light and fresh" or any of the crap that usually accompanies attempts to sell modern mainstream perfume (and translates in reality to chemical melon, radioactive water and cotton candy). The idea of smelling like a warm person is actually very appealing, at least if you're into the skankier side of scent.

I'm amused to think any of Kate Walsh's boyfriends have smelled like a buttery toasted coconut with a hint of vanilla. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Boyfriend is a cozy cashmere scent with a fuzzy musk dry-down. It's cleaner than Kiehl's and less powdery than Clair de Musc. There's a nice woody incense there that's a bit spoiled by a not very compatible sharp note (I'm guessing really cheap jasmine). The annoying note is gone after about 45 minutes to an hour and is not horrible or anything, but I prefer my woody musks smoother. Maybe an iris would have made a nicer heart note. When all the notes come together and melt on my skin the warm buttery coconut becomes a lot more pronounced and I really like it. Boyfriend becomes very soft and cuddly, not too sweet despite the ambery vanilla base and very inviting.

Kate Walsh's Boyfriend is a staying-in perfume, or a Sunday afternoon stroll on a wintery weekend, when you admire the city and eventually take refuge at a cozy bistro, sit by the fire and indulge in a hearty soup. It's intimate, romantic and while not very original, still miles ahead just about any other perfumes you can find at Sephora (not to mention at this price point).

Notes (from Sephora): plum, myrrh, jasmine, benzoin, musk, amber, vanilla, woods.

P.S. My husband seems to be mostly anosmic to Boyfriend. I could probably make a joke or two about that.

Kate Walsh Boyfriend ($35, 0.5oz EDP) is available at Sephora and from HSN.com. The bottle I have was part of a gift bag at a FiFi Awards event.

Photo by Sanjay D Gohil.