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August 2008 Archive
Page 4 of 4 • 1 2 3 4
 I just realized that the word was out already and that prior to perfuming yourselves with the upcoming I Am King by Sean Combs/Sean John, you can start wearing the tees that go with the scent! Two models are available under one of Sean John's apparel labels and there is no doubting the consistency of Sean John/Combs's message. On one tee-shirt you can proclaim simply, "I Am King", on the other, a slightly more confusing motto: "Many Crowns, 1 King". At any rate, you get the meaning, it's all about self-affirmation. The tees will probably smell great sprayed on with the new perfume and will make it last longer, think about it! Now at Dillard's for $22,50 and $25,50, respectively. 
 Magnifique (Magnificent) is the latest major feminine fragrance launch by Lancôme and as its name indicate, it wishes to come across as one of those pedestal-scents that are meant to act as sublime allies of glamazons. The lovely Anne Hathaway is its idealized incarnation. A deep red highlighted by black was chosen as a color-theme meant, no doubt, to celebrate feminine passion. A dedicated micro-website will launch in 14 days. The Nagarmotha TouchA combination of hyper-classic rose (Lancôme's iconic flower) and an exotic grass known by many names, one of them, "Nagarmota" (as picked by the press release), was devised to create a perfume obviously at once very establishment and in quest of new sensations, like a genteel European lady having decided to escape the confines of her countryside manor, the accompanying stifling boredom of a life constrained by too many conventions and rules and burdened by infinite leisure time. At the same time, she is somewhat paradoxically on a budget. Reportedly having traveled to India in quest of unusual exotic scents, tandem of perfumers Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier finally decided to incorporate a central woody-grassy note also known as Cypriol, Umbrella's Edge, Bois de Papyrus or essence de cypérol or more esoterically still in Sanskrit, Bhadramusta. Virtually each Indian language of the subcontinent has a different appellation for it. Its Latin name is Cyperius Scariosus R. Br. If my cross comparisons of the different terminologies used are accurate, it was featured previously in several designer men's fragrances: Xeryus by Givenchy (1983), Gucci pour Homme (2003), L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Intense (also by Jacques Cavallier) and more recently Tom Ford for Men which prefers to reference it as "Cypriol". The latter used the note for a vegetal-musk effect rather than for its woody facet as in Magnifique...  Anne Hathaway at the Lancôme Magnifique launch © Julien Hekimian
Continue reading "Lancôme Magnifique (2008) {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance}" »
 Who knew a perfume could serve as platform for political activism? Many people realize that a fragrance is like a bouquet of olfactory symbols, usually along the lines of aspirational representations. Most often a perfume aspires to irresistible seduction or puts you on the waiting-list for upward social mobility and sometimes, but much less often so, expresses a hopeful political message. Sean Combs will launch a new perfume for men called I Am King in December 2008, first in the US and UK. Before anyone starts thinking it is all about diva P Diddy, Combs makes sure to stress that the name of his new fragrance is a mantra of self-affirmation, a reflection of politico-social ambitions and especially aimed at African-American and Latino men, "You have to look at all of the images they have out about
African-Americans," said Combs. "So when you see this image, you need
to understand it's bigger than the fragrance, it's bigger than me. When
a young African-American male or a young Latino male sees this image,
they see this elegant sophistication and they see I Am King next to it
-- it hits their senses and they believe; that's what motivates me when
I'm taking the pictures."...
Continue reading "Sean Combs I Am King (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume}" »
 I don't know if I have shared one particular Franco-American TV anecdote with you before on this blog, but it is worth retelling in the context of the "controversy" unleashed by Eva Mendes posing suggestively for the upcoming perfume by Calvin Klein, Secret Obsession. But first the context. As we all know, there are no-nos everywhere, the interesting part is that they differ according to the predominant cultural values that are exhibited or advertised by said-culture or sub-culture. In other words, certain things are done in the open and others recede in the background but it is safe to assume that it is not because sexually suggestive images are deemed improper for wider TV-consumption that America is a less sexually active country than others which would, officially, not bat an eyelash at the sight of Eva Mendes's nipple or backside and more generally speaking, soft erotic choreography staged by Fabien Baron to sell Secret Obsession... 
Continue reading "Calvin Klein Secret Obsession, Uncensored: X-tra Sensuous? {Fragrance News} {Perfume Ad}" »
  Good news! Three fragrances that were previously impossible to find in the US are now available online, and at deeply discounted prices to boot! They are Balmain Ambre Gris ($24, 95), Balmain La Môme ($24, 95) and Borsalino Panama ($21,95). How do they manage to slash prices like this?...
Continue reading "Balmain Ambre Gris, La Môme & Borsalino Panama: 3 Hard-To-Find Perfumes, Now Available {Shopping Tip}" »
 Puredistance is a new perfume house presenting itself as an ideal aesthetic space of imaginings created by Dutchman J an Ewoud Vos. A "perfume lounge" in Vienna has literally been consecrated to this unique debut scent, which looks like a temple dedicated to a divinity. The perfumer's photography looms in the background like a major family portrait in opposition to the tendency in the industry of turning these noses into ghost writers and listeners of bigger egos than theirs. Ewoud Vos has been on an aesthetic quest since 2001, following his vision of beauty and purity and abandoning his previous trade to make this dream come true. It is also a dream of luxury and exclusivity as the first perfume by the brand titled Puredistance I embodies this idea both in its formulation and very pricey packaging. An illustrated book of 160 pages accompany the perfume (you can download a summery version of it of more than 100 pages!) as well as a film. It may all sound a bit obsessive and it probably is. The founder says, "Since several decades, people have conceived a very distinct image of what a perfume is about. And that image does not fit Puredistance. This will make it harder for us to be noticed. Puredistance is not made to last for a few years, like most new perfumes do, it is made to last forever." And, "Real beauty will never go unnoticed".
The perfume was created by Annie Buzantian of Firmenich and constitutes thus one of those niche side-projects that professional perfumers nowadays enjoy taking on if only to take a step back from big-corporate and more commercial perfumery...  Annie Buzantian
Continue reading "Puredistance I by Annie Buzantian (2008) {New Perfume - New Fragrance House}" »
 Maestro Profumiere Lorenzo Dante Ferro is a little-known, by the wider public, independent Italian perfumer whose perfume house, Profumi d'Autore (Author's Perfumes) was founded in 1982 after an international stint in the corporate world of fragrance in Grasse, Zurich, New York, London, and Paris. The main concept of the brand with its book-publishing references follows the same intuition as that of Editions de Parfums by Frédéric Malle, which was established nearly two decades later in 2000, except that here it is a one-man show centering on Dante Ferro while the latter proposes perfumes by several perfumer-authors. But it is about the same idea that certain fragrances can be considered not just as fashion accessories but as works reflecting an intellectual and artistic process and to be enjoyed similarly, by devoting mental energy to understanding them rather than just saying "Hmmm, it smells good (or bad)" or "I like it (or don't like it)". The perfume house is also about a respect for the historical tradition of Italian perfumery, and the Venetian one in particular, an interesting element to take into account in our appreciation of this brand when perfumistas are more accustomed to thinking about Florence or Rome or Parma when thinking about Italian perfumes, Florence especially... 
Continue reading "Profumi d'Autore by Lorenzo Dante Ferro {Spotlight on a Brand}" »
 Dior just launched a new cologne for men (in France) called Dior Homme Sport avowedly destined to rope in a younger consumer, aged 25 to 40, as well as a more international audience. The brand decided to achieve this goal by resorting to a gourmand connotation as well as to freshness, the latter interpreted as being a more accessible trait in fragrances. It will be introduced more widely at the end of August and in September 2008. The beautiful transparent, red and black packaging, which caught my eye earlier on, on Sephora.fr contains a jus described as being both red hot and fresh, inspired by a "red pepper candy" that perfumer and director of olfactive development François Demachy found in the US, some kind of Atomic Fire Balls, Red Hots or Hot Tamales, one can only guess (no brand names were given out) "The original idea was to transcribe the sensation of eating the
candies," he explained. "Paradoxically, there's the fact that they are
very peppery, very burning, but give a fresh effect simply because one
is obliged to breathe very deeply.".. 
Continue reading "Dior Homme Sport (2008): Red Hots & Jude Law {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
August 2008 Archive
Page 4 of 4 • 1 2 3 4
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Cait on
Q & A With Serge Lutens - Part 2 {Perfume Q & A}
: I am impressed at all that you drew out of M. Lutens ...
Andrea on
L'Artisan Parfumeur Mechant Loup (1997) {Perfume Review & Musings}
: Thank you for this review! I love Mechant Loup, I did not ...
chichi on
Aquolina Tweety (2008): Yellow Is Good {New Perfume}
: I hope everyone realises that Tweety is actually a boy canary. It ...
MensNecklaces on
Calvin Klein Man (2007) {Perfume Review & Musings} {Men's Cologne}
: I just love that necklace, I actually have something similar to that ...
jenny on
Emeshel Nubia Yellow, Green, Red, Rose, Violet (2008): Sensually Inspired by Ancient Arabian Virility {New Fragrances}
: Sexy bottles! Anyone can tell me where I could buy one of ...
Flora on
En Passant by Olivia Giacobetti at Editions de Parfums by Frederic Malle (2000) {Perfume Review & Musings}
: Happy New Year to you too! I adore this perfume, if I ...
stephanie on
Perfume Review: Nina (The New Version) by Nina Ricci
: Crazy feminists trying to find an excuse to call anything "degrading". If ...
Mary on
Index of New Perfumes 2006, 2007, 2008; New Fragrances in Chronological Order {New Perfumes}
: I wore Must de Cartier Parfum (not EDT) from 1983 until 2001. ...
Paula Contreras-Carballada on
Perfume Review & Musings: Terracotta Voile d'Eté by Guerlain
: Totally agree with you and you are an excellent writer. I lo-lo-love ...
Anne Moralis on
Fashion Exhibition on the Second Empire, 1852-1870: Sous L'Empire des Crinolines {Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses}
: Par ce site tu accède à de nombreuses descriptions de mode de ...
Mitsouko on
Bulgari Omnia Green Jade (2008): Green with White Shadows {New Perfume}
: I like this. It has character. Not the tiresome nice, safe, "girly" ...
polarbear2 on
Olivier Durbano Parfums de Pierres Poèmes Jade (2008) {New Perfume}
: Sounds very interesting. I like green perfumes and if theres wood and ...
polarbear2 on
Bulgari Omnia Green Jade (2008): Green with White Shadows {New Perfume}
: What is spring water doing in a perfume ? Is this ...
Steve Chacon, Jr. on
Sean Combs I Am King (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume}
: I was at a mall recently, here in Miami, and I tried/got ...
Béatrice on
Avon Bond Girl 007 (2008) {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Fragrance}
: So, all in all, on which occasions do you think you would ...
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