The Scented Salamander: Perfume & Beauty Blog & Webzine: May 2006

May 2006 Archive

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May 5, 2006

Scented Quote of the Day, from Jean-Claude Ellena:

"Perfume is nothing other than touch felt from a distance"

Previous Posts in Scented Quote of the Day:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Victoire Gobin Daudé:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Rabindranath Tagore:

Scented Quote of the Day, from John Keats:

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Perfume Review & Musings: Pamplelune by Guerlain

Pamplelune is part of the Aqua Allegoria line and was composed by nose Mathilde Laurent who is also the creator of Shalimar Light (the 2003 version) and of Attrape-Coeur. It was launched in 1999.

Pamplelune offers an original variation on the grapefruit theme. It is a fresh and sophisticated fragrance with a marked presence, some may say, too marked a presence. It is not as light and fruity as some of the other Allegorias. This scent contains certain asperities and it does not compromise with pleasantness.

The perfume opens up with a burst of acidic, juicy grapefruit enhanced by other citrus notes like bergamot and petit grain. Some dryness is immediately apparent, I can smell light, dry touches of patchouli. I also detect some mint. Next, the perfume becomes rounder, sweeter, fruitier and a little flowery with the neroli and the blackcurrant notes becoming most apparent to my nose. Then, the sweetness starts receding and a more acrid, austere accord emerges with the fruity grapefruit still in the background but now softened down. It is at this stage that the sulpherous note that is natural to grapefruit and blackcurrant makes its presence felt. The perfumer has chosen to emphasize this aspect of the fruits rather than suppress it, unlike the choice made for Eau Fantasque by Fragonard which also contains both these notes. It is a very astringent and dry, even acrid note, that is not unpleasant, but certainly not easy.

Luca Turin proposed a small experiment where he suggested we should try smelling garlic and Pamplelune side by side to catch a whiff of the common sulphur note. Out of curiosity I decided to follow his suggestion and did perceive the kinship between the two but I must say that despite this, I would not say that Pamplelune reminds me of garlic or spring onion.

However, Pamplelune does evoke B.O. to me as the drydown progresses. It makes me think of natural musk but since this note is not mentioned, it looks like it is the result of an accord. This odor is very present and becomes more pronounced as the drydown evolves.

Pamplelune is a difficult fragrance to wear in the context of the "deodorized society" in which we live nowadays in the West where body odors are supposed to be masked and an agreable, non-offensive, scented barrier put between you and the rest of society. This trend I would say is particularly strong in the US where the acronym B.O. perfectly illustrates the deep fear most people have of smelling a little too natural, that is bad. In 17th century France, for example, it was not so, people wore perfumes to enhance their natural body odor according to cultural historian Alain Corbin, hence a marked taste for animalic scents such as amber, musk, and civet.

Personally, I like Pamplelune because I find it interesting. It goes against the grain of current societal preferences and affirms a personality of its own. Out of the many Guerlain fragrances I smelled one afternoon at their counter, this one stood out (together with Mouchoir de Monsieur and Angélique Noire). I had the opportunity to sniff Grosellina and Tutti Kiwi that same day and didn't like, nor hated them.

Earlier today I stopped by The Body Shop and tested their new Rose Cassis. Well, my conclusion is that between smelling controversial and smelling cute (and sickeningly banal in this case), I'll choose the controversial perfume anytime.

Notes are: California Grapefruit, Italian Bergamot, Neroli, Petitgrain, Black Currant, Patchouli, Vanilla.

You can find a 4.2 oz bottle of Pamplelune for $33.73 at Amazon.com

There is a review of Pamplelune by Cait Shortell available here on Legerdenez

Previous Posts in Perfume Review & Musings:

Perfume Review & Musings: Violetta di Parma by Borsari 1870

Perfume Review & Musings: Eau de Patou by Patou, plus Mother's Day Perfume Giveaway

Perfume Review & Musings: Trouble by Boucheron

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Perfume History & Facts: Fragrances Inspired by our Saliva, Tears, and Sweat.

Philippe Di Méo is a French designer, the founder of the RESO Multidesign agency and R'Aliment. In 2005, Di Méo undertook an innovative project in association with Quest International which aimed at creating three different perfumes based on three different excretions of the body. This line was called "(My) Liquid" in reference to those particular bodily fluids we excrete such as, in this case, sweat, tears, and saliva. These very intimate liquids were selected as they were viewed as being the most emotional of our bodily fluids. Philippe Di Méo has said that he had grown progressively tired of the tabooization of body odors and liquids that he felt one was subjected to in contemporary society and that he wanted to counteract that mainstream orientation with his creations. He is therefore inviting us to think differently about these physiological regulative events that are the natural expressions of human emotions and that we usually try to tone down or hide in public.

As stated by RESO, "(My) LIQUID, reveals an intense olfactory state, a biological juice related to an experienced emotion. Mixed with one's skin, it becomes a unique emulsion, a human and intimate perfume, of one's true nature." The three perfumes called Larmes, Salive, and Sueur were conceived as three different types of "water", each having a different emotional attribution. Tears represented "eye water" and constituted the perfume of Being Moved, saliva was "mouth water" and was the perfume of Lust, sweat was seen as the "body water" and constituted the perfume of Excitement.

The perfumers for Salive are Christel Bergoin and Jean-Pascal Osmont; the perfume was evaluated by Caroline Dulon. For Larmes the team was composed of Frédérique Lecoeur and Alexandra Kosinski and Karine Dupas evaluated the scent. Sueur was created by perfumers HeeSoon Oh and Sébastien Lienhart and evaluated by Bibiana Lim.

Notes for the Sweat perfume are, among others, cumin, spices, and smoke...

Philippe Di Méo was also considering producing perfume patches of these scents.

They are sold in spas in France.

Previous Posts in Perfume History & Facts:

Scented Facts: Jicky and Gender

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May 6, 2006

Scented Quote of the Day, from Jean-Claude Ellena:

"Atlas cedar smells of churned wet clay, but also of warm human skin, of bodies after lovemaking. I like putting something human into a perfume. Nowadays, a lot of them smell clean, as if they were at war with the smells around us."

Terre d'Hermès:

Top: Grapefruit and orange*.

Heart: Gunflint, flint, peppers, pink peppercorn, geranium leaves and patchouli.

Base: Atlas cedar, vetiver and gum benjamin.

*Note: There's no "real" orange in the top note - Ellena had a note created which had no hint of something edible, it was just pure sparkle.

Source: Cosmetics

Previous Posts in Scented Quote of the Day:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Jean-Claude Ellena:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Victoire Gobin Daudé:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Rabindranath Tagore:

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Perfume History & Facts: Muguet by Guerlain

This year, in April 2006, the Guerlain perfume house released an extremely limited edition of a new fragrance called "Muguet" (Lily of the Valley) created solely for the purpose of marking the celebration of the 1st of May 2006. It is a reinterpretation of the original "Muguet" by the same house which was introduced 100 years ago, in 1906. Only 190 bottles were released for just one day, on April 29, and were exclusively sold in the Guerlain stores in Paris. The price was 130 Euros for a 30 ml bottle. Muguet was composed by Jean-Paul Guerlain. The bottle was made in a Louis the XVI style.

Notes include lily of the valley, jasmin, Turkish rose, lemon, and sandalwood.

You can still be part of its history; a bottle is available on eBay for $299-350.

The new version of Muguet

The old version of Muguet

Previous Posts in Perfume History & Facts:

Perfume History & Facts: Fragrances Inspired by our Saliva, Tears, and Sweat.

Scented Facts: Jicky and Gender

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May 7, 2006

New Perfumes: Sonia Rykiel Spring & Summer, FlowerByKenzo Artistes, Limited Edition

•Sonia Rykiel Spring & Summer is now available exclusively at Marionnaud. It is described as a fruity-floral.

Top notes are: bergamot, cedar, redcurrant

Heart notes are: Freesia, jasmin sambac, raspberry

Base notes are: Amber, musk

•Kenzo has released a new limited edition set of Flower called FlowerByKenzo Artistes. The set comprises three different bottles illustrated with three different artistic renditions of the poppy flower. The artists are Pierre Mornet (blue bottle), Rebecca Dautremer (red & white bottle), and Lorenzo Mattoti (green bottle).

Previous Posts in New Perfumes:

New Perfume: Maria Sharapova, The Fragrance

Index of New Perfumes 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009; New Fragrances in Chronological Order

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Fragrance News: Montana 3 Moods, Boss, Cartier, Lacoste, Montblanc, Miyake

•Montana will release three new perfumes composing a trilogy and describing three different moods: Montana Mood Sensual, Montana Mood Sexy, and Montana Mood soft. They are expected to be issued in May-June, date to be confirmed.

•Cartier will release a limited edition of Eau de Cartier starting in May.

•Lacoste will introduce a new fragrance in August called Inspiration. The notes are: pink pepper, pomegranate, mirabelle, lemon peel, jasmin, tuberose, lilly of the valley, sandalwood, vanilla, iris, musk.

•Montblanc will launch Montblanc Le Parfum in October to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

•Issey Miyake will introduce a limited edition of L'Eau Bleue d'Issey Eau Fraiche for Men on May 29.

•Boss Femme Eau de Parfum will be issued in October.

Previous Posts in Fragrance News:

Fragrance News: Lutens Chypre Rouge, Givenchy "Bourgeois", Perles de Lalique, AP Eau Emotionnelle

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May 8, 2006

The Fifth Sense in the News: Of Scents and Human Productivity

Here is an article by Virginia Matthews in the Guardian of May 8, 2006 regarding the use corporations make of scents to encourage higher productivity in their employees; it seems to work:

Is the smell of cinnamon or sandalwood really capable of lightening the mood and productivity?

Previous Posts in The Fifth Sense in the News:

The Fifth Sense in the News: Olfactory Movies Coming Soon To Your Home

The Fifth Sense in the News: Fragrances and Public Space

The Fifth Sense in the News: The Fragrance of Pine Forests

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Scented Quote of the Day, from Jean-Claude Ellena:

"To imagine a perfume is to create an illusion. I try to achieve the maximum of effects with the minimum of ingredients."

Le blanc seing by Magritte. Photo is from www.clarku.edu.

Previous Posts in Scented Quote of the Day:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Jean-Claude Ellena:

Scented Quote of the Day, from Victoire Gobin Daudé:

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Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses: The Ultra Peau Exhibition, Roger Hiorns, Barfumista

•A very interesting exhibition is currently taking place in Paris devoted to a renewal of our perception of skin. For instance, a sort of wall-skin called "emotional skin" has been designed so that people can see it move or blush when they touch it. Artists comment on their visions of skin on videos and the visitors are invited to watch them, lying down on a mattress. The relationship between skin and identity is explored. And last but not least, a section of the exhibit is devoted to how the skin smells depending on the state it is in, for instance, depending on how soft or dry it is. The exhibit runs at the Palais de Tokyo from April 25 to June 21 2006.

Ultra Peau

•British sculptor Roger Hiorns, well-known for his use of scents in his sculptures, is currently holding his first major exhibition at the Milton Keynes Galllery. It runs from April 8 to May 28 2006.

Milton Keynes Gallery

•A new niche scent boutique may open in New York city by the end of the year according to Cosmetic news. It will be a branch of the already existing Barfumeria in Spain. The owner, an American, is hoping their planned move will come through. You can check their site in Spanish:

Barfumeria

Previous Posts in Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses:

Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses: Of Scents and Spaces

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