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

October 2006 Archive

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October 14, 2006

Perfume Review & Musings: Secrète Afrique by Estéban

The latest release by the French niche perfume house Estéban is an olfactory pean sung to Africa and is called Secrète Afrique (Secret Africa). The perfume is available in eau de toilette concentration only together with ancillary products devoted to the ritual of bathing. Secrète Afrique is part of the collection called Le Bain (The Bath) which already includes Fraîcheur Anadalouse, Douceur Balinaise, and Sensuelle Russie and which adheres to a travel theme. Notes are very succintly described as including hesperidic notes, ginger, cedar, and patchouli. In France, the perfume retails for 30 Euros.

At first sniff, the perfume does not evoke to me Africa at all except through this purely nominal reference. My puzzlement leads me to playfully suggest that perhaps what Estéban had in mind was a colonial reference to a French bakery located somewhere in Northern Africa. There does not seem to have anything secret about it either (notwithstanding the fact that the secret is partially given out with the name of the scent). If a term comes to mind to describe the perfume, it is "cute". On closer scrutiny (upon a third application), I realize that the perfume reveals an underlying spicy and exotic character that is more deeply set in its heart...

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Previous Posts in Perfume Review & Musings:

Salvador Dali Pour Homme (1987)

Perfume Review & Musings: Dzongkha by L'Artisan Parfumeur

Perfume Review & Musings: 1740 Le Marquis de Sade by Histoires de Parfums

Posted by Marie-Helene Wagner | Permalink | Comments (2)

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New Perfume: Ambre by Estéban

After Pivoine, Tonka, and Cèdre, Estéban has just released a fourth perfume in the same series called Collection Parfums; the new scent bears the name of Ambre. It is described as a vanillic amberey fragrance with gourmand accents and light touches of pink pepper.

Source: Estéban

Previous Posts in New Perfumes:

New Perfume & Perfume Short: Danielle by Danielle Steel

New Perfumes: Un Parfum D'Ailleurs et Fleurs, Un Parfum Des Sens et Bois, & Un Parfum de Charme et Feuilles by The Different Company

New Perfume: Paprika Brasil by Hermès

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October 16, 2006

Fragrance News: Glow After Dark by Jennifer Lopez

"Coty Prestige has unveiled Jennifer Lopez's seventh scent in 5 years. Called Glow After Dark, Charlotta Perlangeli stresses its difference with Glow, saying “The original Glow is angelic and personal but, by contrast, Glow After Dark is mischievous, charismatic and sexy.” ...

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Previous Posts in Fragrance News:

Fragrance News: Further Information on The Coffret Collector by Thierry Mugler

Fragrance News: More on Aura by Thierry Mugler

Fragrance News: West Side by Bond no 9

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New (Bedding) Perfume: Eau de Lit by Guerlain

The house of Guerlain is bringing back into fashion a refined means to help us go to sleep and invite sweet scented dreams. The newly released Eau de Lit ("Lit" means "bed" in French) by Guerlain rekindles the tradition of scenting non-bodily surfaces such as handkerchiefs, clothes, and pillows. Eau de Lit is meant to be sprayed onto the bedding. Its aroma is described as being reminscent of that of our grand-mothers' antique cupboards.

The scent includes notes of bergamot, neroli, and star anise. The lovely opaque bottle will allow you to keep it on your night stand by the lamp without any problem.

Eau de Lit retails for 50 Euros for a 125 ml flacon.

Source: Absolu Féminin

Previous Posts in New Perfumes:

New Perfume: Ambre by Estéban

New Perfume & Perfume Short: Danielle by Danielle Steel

New Perfumes: Un Parfum D'Ailleurs et Fleurs, Un Parfum Des Sens et Bois, & Un Parfum de Charme et Feuilles by The Different Company

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Fragrance News: Eugénie by Rancé 1795

The historic perfume house of Rancé 1795 has released a re-edition of a perfume that was initially blended for Empress Eugénie of France (1826-1920), also known as Eugénie de Montijo. The eau de parfum is simply called Eugénie...

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Previous Posts in Fragrance News:

Fragrance News: Glow After Dark by Jennifer Lopez

Fragrance News: Further Information on The Coffret Collector by Thierry Mugler

Fragrance News: More on Aura by Thierry Mugler

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Fragrance News: Limited Edition of Papier d'Arménie by Francis Kurkdjian

Alert to perfume collectors: perfumer Francis Kurkdjian has now come up with a new scent for the Papier d'Arménie. After Guerlain Bois d'Arménie was issued recently this year, based on the subtle aroma of the traditional papier d'Arménie created in 1855 we have another homage paid to it...

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Previous Posts in Fragrance News:

Fragrance News: Eugénie by Rancé 1795

Fragrance News: Glow After Dark by Jennifer Lopez

Fragrance News: Further Information on The Coffret Collector by Thierry Mugler

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New Perfumes: Kinmokusei by Ayala Moriel Parfums

Canadian natural perfumer Ayala Sender, owner of, and nose for Ayala Moriel Parfums, is launching a new fragrance this fall called Kinmokusei to celebrate the season of the osmanthus harvest. The name of the perfume designates the osmanthus flower in Japanese.

According to the press release, "Osmanthus is a unique Asian flower, with a smooth and rich scent of green tea, apricot and leather...

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Previous Posts in New Perfumes:

New (Bedding) Perfume: Eau de Lit by Guerlain

New Perfume: Ambre by Estéban

New Perfume & Perfume Short: Danielle by Danielle Steel

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October 17, 2006

New Perfume: Nuit d'Amour by Guerlain

Nuit d'Amour is the latest creation by Jean Paul Guerlain. The perfume was inspired by the nose's fascination for a painting by Gustav Klimt called "Woman With Hat and Feather Boa". The conjoining of artistic forces also characterize Mitsouko, which was inspired by Turandot, just like Vol de Nuit was by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Chamade by Françoise Sagan...

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Previous Posts in New Perfumes:

New Perfumes: Kinmokusei by Ayala Moriel Parfums

New (Bedding) Perfume: Eau de Lit by Guerlain

New Perfume: Ambre by Estéban

Posted by Marie-Helene Wagner | Permalink | Comments (2)

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Scented Thoughts: Perfume Symbolism in Liliana Cavani's The Night Porter

The Night Porter (1973/74) was a very controversial movie at the time of its introduction and remains to this day. It is the story of the destructive and sado-masochistic relationship uniting a concentration camp survivor and her former Nazi torturer. The movie was based in part on interviews done by Liliana Cavani with concentration camp survivors.

As the characters, played superbly by Charlotte Rampling and Dirk Bogarde, Lucia and Max, meet again in post-war Vienna 13 years later in 1957, the intensity of their relationship, to say the least, fully resurfaces, this time to demonstrate the impossibility of its continued existence and its doom. Lucia was 15 when she became Max's victim and lover and she seems to be irremediably marked by the experience.What had been limited to a game, paradoxically, when millions of people were being killed, notwithstanding the fact that it had been a dangerous and sickening one during the Nazi period, becomes suddenly something much more threatening. Max, who is trying to preserve himself from the new historical context by living like a "church mouse" in a hotel patronized by covert former Nazis, will not be able to fulfill his modest plan upon reconnecting with Lucia.The re-established rules of normal society now fail to be able to preserve their deviant behaviors and will even call for their condemnation by former Nazis who fear Lucia could stand as a witness against their crimes.

It is easy for someone external, like a spectator, to decide that Max is a deeply deranged individual whose pathology found expression and nourishment in the Nazi period and, were it real life, would have to be avoided at all costs. The problem of course is that looking at Max through the eyes of Lucia makes the situation much more ambiguous as it becomes quite evident that the former Nazi officer is able to have her experience an almost animalic joy and happiness that is best expressed by her strange, deep, and happy laughter punctuating her descent into oblivion. Undeniably, Lucia is happy, much more than she ever was with her conventionally handsome American husband who represents by contrast urbanity, culture, civilization and who happens to be a renowned music conductor. She may be, we suspect, at the center of Max's life in a way that she never was at the center of her husband's life...

Continue reading "Scented Thoughts: Perfume Symbolism in Liliana Cavani's The Night Porter" »

Previous Posts in Scented Thoughts:

Scented Thoughts: On Chandler Burr's Take on Dzing! by L'Artisan Parfumeur

Scented Thoughts: Not Knowing How To Perfume The Season

Scented Thoughts: The Flacon of M.A. Sillage de La Reine by Le Château de Versailles

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October 18, 2006

Perfume Short & Celebrity Scent: Maria Sharapova by Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova by Maria Sharapova was launched in 2005 and was created by nose Carlos Vinals. The tennis player reportedly actively participated in the design of the fragrance. She follows the examples of other tennis players who launched celebrity fragrances and which include Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert.

Maria Sharapova includes notes of sweet mandarin, bergamot, pomegranate leaf, cassis berries, lemongrass, gardenia, jasmine, magnolia, dewy English rose petals, Wimbledon grass, Cashmere musk, white amber crystals and a dash of vanilla.....

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Previous Posts in Perfume Shorts:

Perfume Short: Mitsouko Eau de Toilette by Guerlain

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