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 This summer I discovered the Nemat International line of fragrance oils from India as they are currently being sold in places like Whole Foods and other types of health food stores. I am struck by their good quality. So much so that the Kuumba Made line which previously ranked high in my opinion of such oils has now taken second place. The Kuumba Made oils which smelled satisfying to my nose and are supposed to be 100% natural now take on a less authentic aura compared to the Nemat oils. The latter have more depth, more complexity, richness, and are rounder. Ultimately, they smell more natural. I particularly liked both Musk Amber and Jasmine although I must hasten to add, I am not a jasmine fan. Unfortunately, this flower has been so repeatedly mistreated that your average jasmine oil can feel pretty cliché. Not so with Nemat International, I recommend their jasmine oil...
Continue reading "Perfumista on a Shoestring: If You Like Ambre Passion by Laura Mercier, You Might Like Musk Amber by Nemat International " »
You can order free samples of the new perfume by Lacoste, Inspiration, for yourself and a friend on the Lacoste Inspiration website. You will be asked to fill out a questionnaire. It takes a little while to download the file for the free sample program so don't give up! Update: the offer is no longer available.
 "I for one love perfumes that unveil themselves, that one does not understand immediately; but what is truly moving, what everyone is seeking, is that scent which is closest to skin. The reality of sensuality. " Note: Dominique Ropion is the author, among others, of Givenchy Ysatis, Ralph Lauren Safari for Women, Kenzo Jungle Elephant, Caron Aimez-Moi, Malle Une fleur de Cassie and Malle Vétiver Extraordinaire. Photo is from Parfums & Arômes
The latest fragrance by Jennifer Lopez, Live Luxe, was created by Claudette Belnavis of Takasago. The fragrance is dedicated to J-Lo's love of dancing. Notes are among others, pear, peach, amethyst freesia, muguet petals, diamond musk, and soft amber.  Live Luxe starts with a sharp outburst of slightly tart fruits. It smells of mandarine, perhaps green apple, and overall of the concentrated and juicy smell of a Del Monte fruit salad. Underneath the frutiness, a creamy undertone already indicates the direction in which the perfume will evolve later. As the perfume unfolds a slightly clean ozonic smell envelops the fruits balancing out the creaminess to prevent it from becoming too cloying. (Now that I have read that there is an electric citrus note, that might be it; there is something in the air). Little by little, the fruit medley becomes less indistinct and a juicy pear appears on a peachy background...
Continue reading "Perfume Review & Musings & Sample Giveaway: Live Luxe by Jennifer Lopez" »
Check this richly illustrated article in Luxury Culture showcasing Serge Lutens answering many interesting questions regarding perfumery, luxury, beauty, his life in Morocco, and the completion of his fragrance foundation in Marrakesh...
Continue reading "The 5th Sense in the News: Portrait & Interview of Serge Lutens in Luxury Culture" »
The latest fragrance by Sisley, Soir de Lune (Moonlit Night), was seven to eight years in the making. As Philippe d'Ornano, the son of the founder of Sisley stressed, "You can do a fragrance for a season, or a lifetime," (...) "We are choosing to build a fragrance that will last a lifetime." The perfume comes 16 years after Eau du Soir (1990) and 32 years after Eau de Campagne (1974), the two previous perfumes introduced by the Sisley brand established in 1973 by Count Hubert d'Ornano. Soir de Lune is described as a floral chypre but it is as much a fruity and animalic chypre. The new jus exemplifies elegance and refinement bringing those qualities to a new level.
The commitment to quality on the part of the d'Ornanos is felt immediately upon inhaling the scent the first few seconds. One's nose finds here a sense of accomplishment and refinement that imposes readily the idea that Sisley have not wasted their time, on the contrary winning time over, making it their friend, in brief producing a scent that has unmistakenly benefited from the passing of time and the accumulation of experience. Soir de Lune is an excellent example of how a perfumer can progress from one creation to another instead of seeing the sacred flame extinguish itself. Sisley have taken the same concept, the idea of a luxurious chypre, but have added years and layers of maturity and discernment to it. It has now gained a polish and refinement that truly cannot be improvised or simply willed. I can well imagine the number of trials and the attentive pondering such a scent has required over the years, the number of suppression of unnecessary details and effects. The result is outstanding...
Continue reading "Perfume Review & Musings: Soir de Lune by Sisley" »
 I just read Chandler Burr's new column in the New York Times. I am somewhat relieved to see that the author is not so keen on using the much advertised 4 star rating system which I cannot help but find a bit crude (please note, Burr does not even get to use 5 stars). But more to the point, I can only express scepticism regarding that approach to evaluating perfumes, so outrageously simplistic it is. It fails to convince because it does not leave room for the temporal, psychological, not to mention individual biological dimensions influencing one's appreciation of a fragrance. Stamping a perfume with one's four stars of approval could look ludicrous. In my opinion, there should be significant room left for doubt and openness, as a perfume, to use Umberto Eco's aesthetic notion, is perhaps more than any other art form, an open work of art...
Continue reading "The 5th Sense in the News & Scented Thoughts: Two Articles by Chandler Burr in the NYT" »
 To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the introduction of 24, Faubourg in 1995, Hermès will issue a limited edition of the perfume, in a bottle designed by Serge Mansau to imitate the lines of the silk scarf issued at the same time. The carré de soie was designed by Benoît Pierre Emery and stylizes the spirals of the flacon and the light shining through the perfume. The fragrance is a creation of Maurice Roucel's.
Source: Cosmoty.de
 The stable of celebrity fragrances managed by Coty, the leader in this area, will soon include a newcomer. A new perfume by Céline Dion called Enchanting will be introduced in September 2006 in Europe and in March 2007 in North America. "Enchanting Celine Dion was developed with perfumer James Krivda of Givaudan and contains notes of osmanthus, cyclamen red berries, orchid, gardenia and freesia. The golden juice comes in a tall six-faceted glass bottle, created in-house." The perfume will be mass-marketed and accompanied by a promotional CD as a gift-with-purchase. The 30 ml edp will come with an amethyst-colored crystal ring by Swarowski. In Europe, the 30 ml eau de toilette will retail for 16.95 Euros and the 30 ml eau de parfum for 19.95 Euros. Source: Cosmetic News
 Hilary Duff has set up a website to showcase her upcoming fragrance, With Love. You can watch a short video showing the shooting of her advertising campaign. With Love by Hilary Duff And here's what Duff has to say about perfume: "I love wearing a beautiful fragrance and don't feel completely dressed without one." Sources: www.hilarynet.org, www.undercover.com, The Moodie report Photo shows how the carton for the perfume unfolds like a flower when opened.
The Hermès boutique in Boston just received the latest release by Hermès, Elixir des Merveilles, which is officially due out in September 2006: Hermès of Paris
320 Boylston St Boston, MA 02116-3917
(617) 482-8707 Source: Hermès boutique
The Editions du Cherche-Midi is going to publish a new book on the house of Guerlain entitled, Le Printemps de Guerlain. It is written by Maryline Desbiolles, the recipient for the Femina literary prize for her book, Anchise. The author traces the 178 year old history of Guerlain. It will be published at the end of October 2006, in the collection "Beaux Livres" and will retail for 50 Euros. The book is 256 pages long and comprises more than 80 unpublished documents. It will be sold in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada in bookstores as well as in the Guerlain boutiques. Source: Au Féminin
Here is a sneak peek at the flacon for the upcoming Hermès release, Paprika Brasil: Source: Au Féminin
After having puzzled over the simplicity of the prestige Baccarat edition, here is the Portieux crystal edition for M.A. Sillage de la Reine. I think that it is beautiful and wittier, if I may say so, than the Baccarat flacon. 1000 copies of it will be released in September 2006. You can already reserve a flacon through the Château de Versailles' website. This flacon or rather phial is inspired by objects having belonged to Marie-Antoinette, such as the bottles found in her travel case. It was created by Magali Sénéquier and Jerôme Dinand.The perfume box is covered with a grey pearl satin in reference to materials used in the 18th century and decorated with Marie-Antoinette's monogram traced in fine gold...
Continue reading "Fragrance News: The Portieux Flacon for M.A. Sillage de la Reine by Château de Versailles" »
As previously reported, Chandler Burr will start publishing a regular perfume column called "Scent Strip" in the New York Times' Style Magazine. Look for the first column this Sunday August 27 2006.  We now learn that Burr will be using a rating system ranging from 0 stars to 4 stars based on the restaurants' rating system. The fragrance author says, “I want to focus on the artistic aspect, the beauty and innovation of perfumery,” [...] “Perfumery is a fine art, a commercial art just like movies. Artists are behind the creation of movies and [movies] are systematically reviewed,” [...] “It will be a change for the [fragrance] industry to have criticism but I feel that in the long-run it will help the industry because consumers will be more interested in fragrance creation.” He also promises to be less than complacent, “I slaughter one [fragrance] in the second column and one in the third because they are without innovation, creativity and are not aesthetically beautiful, and I see nothing wrong with calling it like it is!” Source: Cosmetic News
The new men's perfume by Yves Saint Laurent, L'Homme, is described as a masculine floral oriental. It aims to be an elegant mainstream yet sensual perfume. The face for the product is French actor Olivier Martinez.The fragrance was created by Pierre Wargnye, Anne Flipo, and Dominique Ropion. According to Wargnye, [It's] a contrast between some typical masculine notes and then an almost floating mystery of flowers [...] When you bring a touch of femininity to a very masculine scent, you increase its sensuality..."
Continue reading "New Perfume: L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent" »
The house of Cerruti will launch Cerruti 1881 Black for Men in Europe from October 2006. It was conceived as a modern twist on the original Cerruti 1881. The scent was created by Michel Girard of Quest. The perfume is said to have been inspired by the balmy yet refined atmosphere of an Italian evening. "The top notes include black pepper combined with cotton lavender micro-absolute and bitter orange. The heart is a blend of Texan white cedar, nutmeg and fresh black cumin; the base features marzipan micro-absolute, plus guaiac and agar woods." Source: The Moodie Report
Fashion Fragrances & Cosmetics is releasing its third reedition and adaptation of one of the classic fragrances in the catalogue of the former fashion house of Robert Piguet. This time, it is Baghari, named after the evocative exotic syllables of a city's name in India. The jus was introduced in 1950 and was the last fragrance created during couturier Robert Piguet's lifetime. Nose Aurélien Guichard of Givaudan rebalanced the scent. Like its predecessors, Fracas, a rich creamy tuberose soliflore and Bandit, an iconic leather chypre, it will come in the trademark art deco elegant Piguet black faceted glass bottle adorned with a transparent stopper (for the pure parfum)...
Continue reading "New Perfume: Baghari by Robert Piguet" »
We love perfume flacons and in this sense we are the children of 20th century perfumery as defined by François Coty. This innovative entrepreneur and perfumer was a man of instinct and vision as he helped define the perfume concept as a mass-marketable object of luxury in which the container played an equal aesthetic role to that which was contained in it. He once said, "a perfume should attract the eye as much as the nose." The adequacy between the two signalled to Coty a successful fragrance, that is a fragrance capable of becoming the focus of women's aspirations and desires, their very expression in fact, until then perhaps only confusely felt and dreamt about. This message of Coty's is famous but not necessarily ingrained, even today 102 years later, in people's mentalities. Many a perfume wearer today will still consider the juice itself to be more significant than its container. This is a perfectly acceptable proposition but it does not explore fully what beauty and luxury can be as fuller, more complete experiences...
Continue reading "Scented Thoughts: The Flacon of M.A. Sillage de La Reine by Le Château de Versailles" »
 Montblanc has unveiled its new women's fragrance, Femme, which aims at creating a sense of sophistication and luxury in its wearer. It is recommended for wearing in the evenings and on special occasions...
Continue reading "New Perfume: Luxe Femme by Montblanc" »
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