Organic-Grade Solvent is the New Holy Grail for Aveda & a Note on Organic vs. Natural {The 5th Sense in the News} {Green Products}
Here is an article about Aveda's senior perfumer Ko-Ichi Shiozawa. It touches upon the difficulty he currently experiences producing wholly desirable organic perfumes in a competitive market that has an increasing demand for such scents seen as ideals of cleanliness, greenness and purity. It is no mere chance if the Aveda perfumes are titled "Pure-Fume".
For Shiozawa it mainly seems to be a critical problem with finding an organic-grade solvent (see for comparison the issue that was raised around tap water being used by Bayliss Ranch as a so-called "organic" ingredient). For the President of Aveda Dominique Conseil it is about investing in a higher proportion of organically-certified ingredients, passing from 25% to more than 90% for the new generation of Aveda products (no further precision added).
According to organic certification grades recognized and controled by the USDA, if it is less than 95% - 70 to 94% - the products can be called "Made with Organic Ingredients" as opposed to the next level, "Certified Organic", i.e., 95% or higher. The highest organic grade is "100% Certified Organic". The lowest grade is found at below 70% and the product then cannot be called "organic", only the relevant ingredients...
Gold Medalist Isinbayeva Wants to Create a Perfume for Strong Women {The 5th Sense in the News} {Celebrity Perfume}
Pole-Vaulter champion Yelena Isinbayeva has her eyes on other prizes besides Olympic gold medals: a signature perfume and a fashion line, the latter possibly with Adidas.
She is currently looking for a top-notch fragrance company to make her perfume project come to fruition. She already has the name of the scent and apparently some very clear ideas about what feminine virtues it should embody...
Juicy Couture is fast becoming a recognized perfume brand, with anticipated launches, after making their mark as a fashion and accessory one. Following the original Juicy Couture, inspired by Paris, and well-served by an eccentric, a-la-British advertising, Crittoure, a dog's scent was up next, then a men's cologne with Dirty English (see also advertising). And now Viva La Juicy has hit the shelves at Sephora (but is still on pre-order on the brand's site).
Pam Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor, the founders and now co-CEOs of the design label, also make sure that new smart packagings and perfume concentrations keep our interest in their universe alive...
Meet the Pam and Gela Barbie dolls before acquainting yourself with the upcoming Pam and Gela fragrances, to be layered or worn alone
TV Ad with Anne Hathaway for Lancôme: Ooh La La, C'est Magnifique {Perfume Ads}
Here are two slightly different versions of the TV commercial for Magnifique by Lancôme featuring Anne Hathaway. The second one is for Macy's and skips on the "You are unique, you are Magnifique" line.
Both the TV and print ads were shot by Peter Lindbergh. The male model is Roman Seefeldt.
Kate Moss Velvet Hour (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume}
As previously announced (see sumptuous ad), iconic super model Kate Moss is preparing to introduce her second namesake perfume following Kate, this time named Velvet Hour.
Since we know that Guerlain l'Heure Bleue is one of two of her favorite perfumes, with Bluebell by Penhaligon's, it is very tempting to think that Velvet Hour is a poetic translation of the first one. We are in fact encouraged to do so by the description of the atmosphere that the scent conveys, if not by the literal notes themselves.
The press release invites us to imagine that the new scent might be a reinterpretation of a sensation linked with the Guerlain fragrance famously known to, itself, translate this time of the day suspended between day and night,
"With her new fragrance,
Kate invites you to be part of her 'Velvet Hour',
a brief, precious moment as dusk settles, when the air is electrified
with possibility. It is all about entering an intimate, almost
ritualistic moment of intense sensuality and seduction as she describes
it herself: "this scent conjures up that special moment when night
time comes and envelops you in velvet. I really love that time,
it's very sexy and sensuous, full of longing and promise." ...
Space NK Quintet of Earth-Friendly Signature Scents (2008) {New Fragrances} {Green Products}
Space NK Apothecary is interested in spreading its DNA via five perfumes, including a relaunch of Laughter (1999). The four other compositions joining the stable are: Champaca, Jasamber, Tuberoli and Santalrosa. All were inspired by travel memories of Space NK founder, Nicky Kinnaird.
Perfumistas will be interested to know that perfumer Christopher Sheldrake, who now works for Chanel and collaborates with Serge Lutens, is the author, after Laughter, of Tuberoli and Santalrosa as well. Champaca is by Azzi Glasser and Jasamber by company Robertet...
Following The Beat (for Women), Burberry will launch the men's version in September, and like its feminine counterpart it wants to breathe a new young life into the brand while recreating a sense of "being young and effortless". To that effect, music by the Fratellis, Razorlight, Kasabian and Arctic Monkeys were listened to by perfumers Olivier Polge and Domitille Bertier and translated into perfume notes...
In typical fashion for our general approach and perception of a perfume, images come first and then the first inhale. How much this precedence of the visual over the olfactory guides our thoughts about a fragrance is hard to decipher, yet we can recognize this shaping, almost hierarchical quality of vision over our nose where fine fragrances are concerned (except when a reviewer is offered the opportunity to sniff unnamed and unadorned lab samples, but then again, we see something before we smell it). Left to fend off in a less civilized environment or simply put in such conditions as to be able to smell natural aromas freely and unaware, the relationship of precedence inverses and we will experience oftentimes the sudden intrusiveness of a smell before finding its origin and identifying it with the help of our sight as we request for further clarification.
Lush Sees Link Between Naked Backsides & Packaging {Scented Picture of the Day - Perfume Images & Adverts}
Nudity on the street was a chosen theme for Agent Provocateur to advertise their lingerie line at the beginning of this year. Lush, another British beauty brand, is now seeing a link between proud derrieres offered to the four winds and a green message protesting the overuse of packaging in the beauty industry.
Trussardi Essenza del Tempo (2008): Slow Food, Slow Life {New Fragrance}
Trussardi will launch a new perfume illustrating an original concept in September called Essenza del Tempo (The Essence of Time). This time rather than to focus on a more classic, for perfumery, seduction or fashion topic, the brand wanted to pay homage to a social movement in tune with their own values, the Slow Food grassroots movement founded by Carlo Petrini with its prototype Arcigola in 1986 followed by the Slow Food organization in 1989 (there is no original Italian designation; the original name is in English). The movement has now even opened two universities of gastronomic sciences in Italy.
The message of this movement, symbolized by a snail, is rooted in a protest movement against the fast food economy. Slow Food wants to help raise standards of culinary and gourmet appreciation worldwide while actively supporting local food cultures and traditions. If it is an international movement, it tends to be thus anti-globalization at the same time.
For a luxury brand like Trussardi, one can surmise that what is mostly retained here is a philosophy of high quality of life and this idea that time constitutes the true luxury in a fast-paced environment. To stop and smell the roses, so to speak, or rather cook from scratch at least once a day or as Slow Food says, learn to take the time to squeeze an orange by hand above a wine glass is of the essence and aims to be perceived as a progressist and sustainable message...
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