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October 2008 Archive
Page 1 of 3 • 1 2 3
 1931 advert for Un Air Embaumé by Rigaud from Memory Pub Smelling some recent releases in the past few days, one of them being Lyric by Amouage, it has struck me how, precisely, perfumes might have lost their lyrical, limpid and aerial quality and that this is the reason why artistic director Christopher Chong, an opera singer by training, might have wanted to recapture that quality with both the Jubilation (2007) and Lyric (2008) duos. These fragrances do make me think of the opera, but do they make me feel that they are like a voice that soar with longing in the air and makes an opera house come alive or even riotous as in the olden days? Not necessarily. In the case of Jubilation for Women I readily think of a sumptuous stately marble and golden staircase strewn with ladies in evening attires making their way to the deep velvety reds of their private boxes; in fact the image that superposes itself on the impression of the scent is that of an advert from the beginning of the 20th century depicting such a scene for the once wildly popular Un Air Embaumé (Balmy Air) by Rigaud. In the case of Lyric for Women, I also think of the ruby reds of the opera house but more also of a fine dinner by candlelight taken after the performance, a little Dame-aux-Camélias like. Somehow, the first perfume by Amouage, Jubilation, seems to allude to the anticipatory moments of emotion prior to going to listen to the opera. Somehow, the second fragrance, Lyric, makes me think of a night after the opera, of a meal taken à médianoche with its hedonistic hints of wine, roses, and something palatable like chocolate and vanilla. Lyric is billed as a floral oriental and the rose is its major floral note, but it seems to my nose to contain the olfactory allusions of a gourmand oriental as well, like so many other perfumes nowadays. It is even more subtle than that; it is not really gourmand, it is gourmand by allusion as the oriental notes have been worked in such a way as to be on hanging on the cliff of a gentle precipice called ganache...
Continue reading "Perfumes That Sing Vs. Perfumes That Eat: Rooting for the Return of the Aerial in Perfumery {Scented Thoughts}" »
 Last year, L'Artisan Parfumeur started a collaboration with British fashion brand Burberry working in particular with artistic director Christopher Bailey to release a series of four-seasons candles. L'Artisan have lately been engaged in a number of co-branding ventures, bringing their know-how and good reputation to similarly finely reputed brands interested in developing perfumes. The first one in the collection was Burberry Hearth introduced in the fall of 2007 which was inspired by the autumnal atmosphere of the English countryside with its scents of fall leaves and forest-y humus, which all sound very appealing this October 2008...
Continue reading "L'Artisan Parfumeur Burberry Crocus (2008) {New Fragrance - Candle}" »
 Britney Spears at the MTV Awards in Los Angeles in September 2008
The embryo of a news has started circulating whereby we learn that Britney Spears will release a new scent on December 2, 2008 called Hidden Fantasy to coincide with the release of her album Circus. According to Celebrity Wonder, an Elizabeth Arden insider revealed it features notes of cherry and vanilla and that the bottle is the same as the two previous Fantasy fragrances but colored red this time.
 You may have followed the news with us regarding the upcoming launch of I Am King by Sean John, which comes with a message. Here is a sneak peek at the advert for the fragrance that will appear in national books from December 2008. From the press release, "Sean John Fragrances introduces "I Am King," the newest men's fragrance
from Sean "Diddy" Combs. A decadent and sensual scent for the power
players of the world - "I Am King" is designed to inspire those who
dream big and want to live large - the ultimate, empowering fragrance
for today's modern man.
Available at Macy's nationwide in December"
 An article in the American Chronicle discusses the issue of allergic reactions to fragrances, based on one illustrative case, and compares perfumes' toxicity to that of second-hand cigarette smoke. There is just one reference used: Lessenger, JE. "Occupational acute anaphylactic reaction to assault by
perfume spray in the face." The Journal of the American Board of Family
Practice...
Continue reading "For Some Wearing Fragrances Is A Criminal Act {The 5th Sense in the News}" »
 As previously announced, Baume du Doge is the latest creation by niche perfumery Eau d'Italie, a brand which continues to show consistent interest in capturing the distinctive atmospheres of the Italian regional landscape and history (see our reviews of Rose Paestum, Sienne L'Hiver, Bois d'Ombrie, Magnolia Romana). The composition is by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour who is able to go on collaborating with Eau d'Italie thanks to his flexible appointment as the new resident-perfumer for L'Artisan Parfumeur. This time the source of olfactory inspiration is the merchant past of Venice, a city seen as a crossroad of civilizations where spices from the East came to mingle with the indigenous agrumes of the Italian peninsula. "Slowly making their way from India, Persia or China on the back of mules and
woolly Bactrian camels, then aboard daring merchant ships, a world of spices
found its way to Venice, their names as exotic as the languages spoken by their
traders.
Roots, barks, seeds, pistils, flowers, rhizomes and resins took hold of the local
taste, flanking and often blending with local produce. Thus myrrh and
frankincense, saffron and clove, cardamom and vanilla met sweet oranges, sharp
bergamots and wild fennel in a rich and warm fusion, the use of which ranged
from medicine to perfumery, often at the same time."
The wish to go back to a time when the line between a medicine and a perfume was thin is further emphasized by the beautiful name of the fragrance, Baume du Doge, which sounds like a wound-healing balm both for the body and soul. We are invited to imagine a recipe favored by one of the 120 doges that crossed history and perhaps passed on as a secret a balm imbued with the curative properties that paradoxically one always wants to ascribe to those very persons that can issue a death or torture warrant and take your lives, or at least conspire towards your demise; historian Marc Bloch studied this mystical power in Les Rois Thaumaturges. The Doge of Venice, whose title derives from the Latin Dux (Duke) remained a merchant as his salary was less than substantial and so, as in the case of the Bourreau de Paris who could also be a little bit of a cosmetician-pharmacist, he might have concocted a recipe on the side based on his experience of Oriental ingredients, sold to secure additional earnings ...  Doge Leonardo Loredan (1436-1521) by Bellini
Continue reading "Eau d'Italie Baume du Doge (2008): Renaissance Italy In A Contemporary Style {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Cocoa-colored Balenciaga dress by Irving Penn, 1950
The fashion house of Balenciaga, which has received a new impulse under the stewardship of its creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, now feels the need to reach out to a broader audience. For doing so they will turn to a well-tested venue, perfume, the most accessible form of luxury after makeup, Champagne, foie gras and designer Evian (in France). The revival of the fragrance brand will take place under the aegis of Coty Prestige...
Continue reading "Balenciaga To Revive Perfume Brand {Fragrance News}" »
 You can now contemplate Britney Spears in her new, freshly-minted ad for her upcoming fragrance Hidden Fantasy to be launched in December 2008, as previously announced. It was taken a week or so ago. The main theme is red, red, red and the fantasy seems to be to spend a fall vacation on planet Mars observing leaves turning from red to hopeful green... 
Continue reading "Britney Spears Hidden Fantasy: The Ad {Perfume Images & Advert} {Celebrity Fragrance}" »
Dans Tes Bras by Maurice Roucel for Frédéric Malle Editions de Parfums
The Skinny:
Perfumer: Maurice Roucel
Artistic Director: Frédéric Malle
Gender label: Sexless
Notes: bergamot, clove, violet, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli, salicylates, incense, Cashmeran, heliotrope, white musk.
Characteristics: nostalgic and futuristic; a violet perfume looking both towards the past and the future, attempting to decipher the unknown, the yet-to-be-smelled.
Personality: a beautiful refined and subtle skin scent
Wearability: very easy
Price point: $$$: entirely worth it
Bottle: Editions de Parfums use a standard flacon in two sizes which resembles a modern, round inkwell; simple and elegant.
Perfumes discussed: Après L'Ondée (inspired by); Jicky
The Review:
Violets for the FutureDans Tes Bras, the latest creation by Editions de Parfums a French perfume house specializing in fragrances with a more demanding than average sense of authorship, is at its most immediate level a perfume showcasing peppery, powdery and leathery violets. In a more sophisticated fashion, the perfume manages to convey the impression that it owes its very existence to the progresses of fragrance chemistry and more particularly the presence of an unnatural-smelling aromachemical component that comes across as beautifully synthetic without losing its power of poetic evocation. The sensation of smelling an odd olfactory intruder remains a bit vague and cold yet harmonious like the atmosphere of a modern art exhibition set in an ancient 19th century factory made of concrete and steel both ancient and very current, playing up contrasts and welding them at the same time...
Continue reading "Editions de Parfums Dans Tes Bras (2008): Futuristic-Nostalgic Violets {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Will QVC be forgiven by the numerous Tova signature scent fans who have abundantly complained about its cheapened reformulation on this site? This is the question one can ask around the new Ambre d'Oro, Tova's fifth fragrance to date, due to launch in November 2008. Tova Ambre d'Oro (Gold Amber) is inspired by scents indigenous to Italy and is described as a "modern musky-floral" playing as is usual for Tova the sexy feminine musky card...
Continue reading "Tova Ambre d'Oro (2008) {New Perfume}" »
The dominant interpretation, that I am aware of, regarding the origins of the celebrated Femme by Rochas composed by perfumer Edmond Roudnitska (1905-1996) has been one reported by Michael Edwards in Perfume Legends (1996). Last summer, I came across the summary of a very interesting conversation that took place over a business luncheon one day between Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus and Armand Petitjean, the founder of Lancôme. The latter drew a panorama of French perfumery for his colleague and at the same time interjected some precise footnotes toward his interlocutor's understanding of certain perfumes. The conversation is condensed into a 2-page summary in Marcus's well-written account of his single-minded obsession for the search of quality goods entitled Quest for the Best.
What immediately caught my attention was the mention of a link that I have not seen mentioned elsewhere between a Guerlain perfume called Vague Souvenir (1912) and the much more enduring one Femme de Rochas (1944), still in production today under its officially reformulated form by Olivier Cresp in 1989. What is even more interesting is that both accounts put central emphasis on the fruity aspect of Femme and Vague Souvenir, based on a plummy molecule and peachy aldehyde C-14 for Femme. The first one is showcased in the story told by Edmond Roudnistka to Michael Edwards. In Perfume Legends, this reportedly "unusual methyl-ionone" was found by Roudnitska in the factory in which he worked at the time. He wanted to compose a perfume for himself, it was the war and the perfumer was in the habit at that time of exploring whatever left-over materials he could find within the premises. He happened in this manner on a drum that contained a product with a very peculiar aroma reminiscent to him of candied plum...
Continue reading "Guerlain Vague Souvenir (1912) & Rochas Femme (1943-1945): A Note on Perfume History" »
 The Islington Gazette reports that a truck carrying a load of Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums fragrances was robbed. 227 bottles vanished including a contingent of the new Dans Tes Bras. I wonder how the robbers could resell those without being noticed given the selective distribution network of the brand? "A DELIVERY driver was held at knifepoint while robbers stole eight
boxes of rare perfume worth more than £7,000 from the back of his lorry."Read more...
 Estee Lauder Cos. Aramis and Designer Fragrances will launch a new line of fragrances for young women from December 2008 titled C-Thru. It will be their first venture into the mass-market arena as the perfumes will be distributed through Wal-Mart first then Kohls,Target and other such mass retail outlets from January 2009. The collection debuts with three fragrances named after gems, Ruby, Purple Diamond, Blue Opal and are priced to appeal to the budgets of budding consumers. They will be available in two sizes, 1-oz. and 2.5-oz. eau de toilette sprays, priced at $17 and $25...
Continue reading "C-Thru Ruby, Purple Diamond, Blue Opal: Estee Lauder Cos.' New Mass-Market Line {New Perfumes}" »
 I love this picture of a flacon of Shalimar being delicately combed at the Guerlain Orphin factory
Joyce.fr has put together a nice photo album to celebrate the 180th anniversary of the house of Guerlain. Some rarer pictures appear, especially those of ancient Guerlain cosmetics.  Don't tell me it's true they discontinued Secret de Bonne Femme! I loved its aerial consistency, its smell, its mother-of-pearl color, not to mention its adorable blue indigo glass jar. It was a feel-good traditional face cream that had managed to survive since the Belle Epoque (1904) into the 21st century.  A Guerlain cream made with bear's fat, la Graisse d'Ours Liquéfiée
 This could be a post in a sub-category of our celebrity page called "Celebrity Roses". Tomorrow on October 17th 2008 will be officially baptized and presented for the first time to the public the Rose Molinard, a rose developed over more than 7 years by the Roseraies Delbard to celebrate the 160th anniversary of the Molinard perfumery in 2009... 
Continue reading "A Rose Molinard for the Perfumery's 160th Anniversary & Another One for Le Prince Jardinier {Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses}" »
October 2008 Archive
Page 1 of 3 • 1 2 3
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Fin O'Suilleabhain on
Les Exclusifs: Bel Respiro, No 18, & 28 La Pausa by Chanel {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfumes}
: Hi ... can I ask about the Stravinsky / Chanel image. Is ...
Thalestris Dupont on
Fragonard Caresse (1929/2008) {Perfume Review}
: Lovely perfume! Reminds me of the spring 2011 when I was wearing ...
Karen Lindsey on
Long Lost Crabtree & Evelyn Fragrance: Help Please {Ask The Readers}
: I just found this site and I so need to find someone ...
Regina on
Happy New Year 2012!
: Valentine's Day will soon be here. Any recommendations?
C Sasich on
Easy Tricks To Create Golden Globes Hairstyles! {Beauty Notes - Hair}
: My fave was Michelle Williams - modern , effortless not overdone . ...
kelvin neo on
Victoria's Secret Life is Pink Wish Pink, Live Pink, Hope Pink (2010) *New Fragrances*
: Hi good day, Can i know where can purchase or order Pink ...
Alan on
A Funny Post About Scented Candles {Fragrant Reading}
: Hell-scent candle, lol.
Gina on
Two Organic Oud Scents: Sama Oudh Jasmin & Undergreen Black Classic (2011) {New Perfumes}
: I want to try Sama Oudh Jasmin but checked the websites. I ...
Tammy on
Top 12 Best New Department Store Fragrances of 2011 for the Holidays {Perfume List}
: Wish this came with a little print out sheet for my next ...
Toñi on
Dance with Givenchy (2010) {New Perfume}
: Where can I get Dance with Givenchy? It's impossible to find it ...
Toñi on
Dance with Givenchy (2010) {New Perfume}
: Where can I get Dance with Givenchy? It's impossible to find it ...
evageli karounzou on
Choppy Waters for Stella Cadente Miss Me {Fragrance News}
: at 2007 i was in paris an i bought this perfume.Since then ...
Mandy Aftel on
Aftelier Perfumes Secret Garden (2011): Featuring Real Civet & Castoreum {New Fragrance}
: Thank you so much Marie-Helene for your lovely review! You are great ...
Kay on
Mona di Orio Chamarré (2009): Perfume Review in Memoriam
: This is very interesting. First thing that came to my mind when ...
Maddy on
Bint el Sudan, The Other, African Chanel No.5: Interview with Nick Evans of International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. {Perfume Q & A - The Scents of Africa}
: Interesting post. I've lived in Ghana but I don't remember encountering anyone ...
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