STYLE : LOOKS : Pretty Potions

Softer, less aggressive fragrances have replaced asphyxiate-everyone-in-the-elevator scents this fall. Many are exotic or Oriental florals; a couple are fresh and quirky. But the most noticeable differences among five of the newcomers have less to do with the fragrances themselves and more to do with their presentation. Bottles range from the strong and straightforward to the curvaceous and downright frilly.

Jil Sander No. 4, with fruity top notes, spicy middle notes and Oriental bottom notes, comes in a bottle that resembles an old-fashioned inkwell. Shiseido’s Feminite Du Bois is rich with the aroma of cedar and bottled in an elegantly elongated column of smoky glass. Chloe Narcisse, topped by a frosted flower-shaped stopper, is an Oriental floral that looks the way it smells.

Christian Dior’s Dune, an “oceanic” floral with hints of broom, lichen and lily, comes in jewel-like containers: a rounded glass flask for the vanity and a sleek, gold-tone spritzer for travel. The bottle for Donna Karan New York, an exotic floral that the designer says reminds her of lilies, suede and cashmere, is a work of art. Karan’s husband, sculptor Stephan Weiss, took inspiration from the human form in creating it for his wife’s first fragrance.

Even the marketing of these scents is noteworthy. Donna Karan New York is available only by calling (800) 647-7474. And while Chloe Narcisse has gone the usual department store route, Jil Sander No. 4 is being launched at I. Magnin and Neiman Marcus, Feminite Du Bois is being introduced at selected Nordstrom stores and Dune debuts at Robinson’s, I. Magnin and Beverly Hills’ Christian Dior Boutique.