Perfumer: Daniel Maurel Artistic Director: Christopher Chong Gender label: feminine Notes: top: bergamot, spicy cardamom, cinnamon, ginger; heart: rose, angelica, jasmine, ylang ylang, geranium, orris; base: oakmoss, musk, wood, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean, frankincense Characteristics: a deep dark fruity and resinous rose encased in a classic oriental structure offering a nod to Shalimar and the guerlinade Personality: opulent, rich, luxurious, classic, politely transgressive Wearability: easy in the evening; you will get more noticed during the day Price point: $$$; could have had more originality for that price, not just richness; sorry to haggle Bottle: very nice; the cap is in a heavy good-quality plastic topped with a Swarovski crystal. The flacon is made of hefty dark, almost black-red (darker than on pictures). The Perfumes discussed: Joy, Shalimar, Habit Rouge, Parure, Musc Nomade
This review is a composite picture of several impressions of the scent.
Lyric Woman by Omani niche perfume houseAmouage is rich enough to support a variety of interpretations and can surprise you overtime with its different accents, although I think it is safe to try to encapsulate it as a dark wine-y rose oriental.
Although the rose is conspicuous at first, it tends to lose its centrality in the perception of the perfume as it develops further, for it is a very dressed-up rose in full regalia, bedecked with gold and carbuncles, including no doubt Burmese Pigeon Blood rubies. The rose here is less of a diva on its own than part of a general operatic atmosphere of ostentation with a decorative, ornate style although it blooms at times, especially peeking through a second layer of application.
As I said earlier (Perfumes that Sing Vs. Perfumes You Want To Eat), I am also more struck by the deep colors and tonalities of Lyric than by lyrical qualities, such as flight. The one criticism I have that stays with me with some persistence is regarding the use of a slightly juvenile, "easy" and regressive vanilla accord in the midst of rather convincing opulence and nocturnal ambiance...
Perfumer: Daniel Visentin Artistic Director: Christopher Chong Gender label: masculine, but easily adopted by women Notes: top: bergamot, lime; heart: rose, angelica, orange blossom, green galbanum, spicy ginger, nutmeg, saffron; base: pine, sandalwood, vanilla, musk, frankincense Characteristics: a fresh and warm, dark and transparent green spicy rose oriental fragrance with a sustained aqueous facet and discreet powdery one. Personality: subtle, elegant, offbeat Wearability: very easy for a woman, easy for a man Price point: $$$; worth it. Exceptional lastingness and diffusion Bottle: an almost black-red glass (darker than on the picture) and a lighter black plastic cap than on the women's flacon but without feeling flimsy. Here the Swarovski crystal appears on the face of the cap and a crown motif appears on a metal appliqué on top of the cap. Perfumes discussed: Penhaligon's Hammam Bouquet, Czech and Speake No. 88, Un Jardin Après La Mousson, Fabergé Brut, Yves Saint Laurent Paris, Lyric for Woman, Yohji Homme.
Lyric Rose, The Men's Version, and Gender
Amouage, as is their habit, launched at the same time a duo of fragrances for women and men which in this case turns out to be a dual homage paid to the rose. They being a perfume house shaped by the culture of the Middle East (and that of Oman in particular), it was interesting for me to anticipate how the creative team would work on a masculine version of a rose perfume that would be made, in principle, to stand a few degrees of virility apart from the feminine version while, one could surmise, taking into account the cultural heritage of the rose traditionally considered to be a popular scent in Arabic men's perfumes. By opposition, modern Western perfumery broadly defined tends to interpret the lushness and floralcy of the rose scent, whenever it is showcased prominently, to be women's appanage; it was not so in the 19th century (see for example the literally sulfurous Penhaligon's Hammam Bouquet) and even today Czech & Speake No. 88, a men's perfume showcasing a dark even sombre incensey rose belying these proclivities. It may be due perhaps both thanks to the colonial history of Great Britain and the country's traditional inclination for floral fragrances including soliflores that this cultural perception of the intensity of the rose otto was never completely forgotten. For it is a given that the rose in such cases will be masculinized.
The Western history of beauty reinforces the feminine attributes of the rose as this most desired and cultivated of flowers has been made to become in the end a stereotypical symbol of feminine beauty since the antiquity when the rose was sacred to Aphrodite. In the Islamic tradition however, the rose's aroma has been exoterically endowed with religious meaning, and if there is any gender association, it might be considered to be just as masculine as feminine through its connection with the figure of the Prophet Mohammad. It is thus said that the emanations of the rose are derived from the very sweat of the Prophet who invites "whoever" wishes to smell his person to drink it in. According to this tradition he expresses his own transfigurative mystical experience by referring to the intoxicating olfactory power of the rose, pointing at the same time possibly to a favorite perfumery accord: rose and musk,
"When I was taken up into heaven, some of my sweat fell upon the earth, and from it sprang the rose; and whoever would smell my scent, let him smell the rose."
The mystical use of the rose trope to express the exquisiteness and ineffability of the divine, further popularized by images of Sufi poetical transcendance. It carries therefore a priori an universalistic message despite the fact that Arabian feminine beauty, as in the West, is also unavoidably and classically compared to that of the rose. Of the rightly-named Rose-in-Bloom in the 1001 Nights, it is thus said that
"her name was Rose-in-Bloom; and the reason of her being so named was her excessive delicacy of beauty and her elegance."...
October rose by Catmadogma: this picture is cool and warm like the perfume with a similar effect of watery transparency
Perfumers: Honorine Blanc and Annie Buzantian Artistic director: Aerin Lauder Gender label: feminine; men could make it their own if they care to remember Macassar oil Notes: Italian Bergamot, geranium oil, cinnamon SFE, Golden Amber, Ylang Ylang absolute, Bulgarian Rose absolute, Honey, Incense, Vanilla and Sandalwood. Characteristics: modern soft ambery oriental with slightly old-fashioned styled florals Personality: soft, sensual, warm, courteous, graceful Wearability: a cinch Price point: $$ (Eau de Parfum) and $$$ (extrait) Bottle: "The parfum
bottle cap is adorned with semi precious stones of tiger eye, smokey quartz
and red agate. The eau de parfum bottle cap was inspired by an exquisite
hammered gold necklace and matching bracelet Aerin received as a gift from her
grandmother Estee." Perfumes discussed: Estee Lauder Intuition, Yves Rocher Voile d'Ambre (just for pointers), Bourbon French Parfums Heliotrope
Estée Lauder Amber Ylang Ylang is the second installment in the Private Collection series inaugurated with Tuberose Gardenia last year. The Private Collection is the equivalent of the concept of the private reserve for luxury alcohols. It aims to bring an enhanced experience of refinement to customers by paying more attention to the raw materials used, letting them speak for themselves if you will.
It is apparent to me now that the collection bears the personal mark of Aerin Lauder: Amber Ylang Ylang just like Tuberose Gardenia bespeaks of a certain brand of soft femininity and social grace. Exotic flowers that could be let loose as unruly, heady and erotic (tuberose; ylang ylang) come here to adorn perfect decoration-magazine pages (or silver-screen imagery) letting go of their reputation for unpredictability in exchange for a touch of gentility. Instead of using the word "polite" I want to use the term "courteous".
Aerin Lauder explained the inspiration for the perfume,
"To me, a perfect evening is a private one, spent at home with family
and friends. So the fragrance captures the essence of an
enjoyable evening in a warm, inviting room filled with the luxurious
textures of wood, velvet and cashmere. "Private Collection Amber Ylang
Ylang represents the relaxed intimacy and quiet comforts that we love
to come home to at the end of the day."
And again,
"For me, there is nothing more inviting and warm than rich browns and gold - brown velvet couches, gold accents in lamps, tables, vases and frames,"...
Niche perfumery is becoming increasingly mainstream as the forums, blogs and magazines attest to the phenomenon, yet sampling some of the more selective and highly-priced brands can still remain a challenge; traditionally this is considered to be part of the game.
Yet the elitist Frederic Malle brand has recently taken the step of making their perfumes available to a larger audience by setting up an online sample program; It has the advantage of being both flexible and low-cost as the price tag covers shipping only...
Etro has launched a new version of one of their harder-to-find fragrances, Via Verri, called Via Verri Vintage; it is a limited-edition.
It is possible that it could be considered as a "reformulation" of the original scent but it could also just as much be a "flanker" of sorts, recycling the name in part with a new jus under a similar name. It sounds like it is the latter case...
Quirky Spanish design brand Custo Barcelona, with an unending affection for bold colors and prints, has launched its first signature fragrance bearing the same name. The perfume was created by perfumer Alberto Morillasand is reported to be both "appetising and innovative"; the novel twist is immediately conveyed by the name of the family of the scent categorized as a "fruity floral cypress", with cypress being more unexpected...
For those interested in both beauty and perfume, a new bilingual dictionary by Michel Husson entitled Beauty Talk dictionnaire de la parfumerie, de la cosmétologie & des produits de beauté français-anglais/anglais-français and Dictionary of Perfumery, Cosmetology & Beauty Products - English-French/French-English, has come out this month.
Twelve themes are developed, perfume being one of them, alongside with skin, skin and sun, hair, packaging, etc...
British perfumer Mark Buxton has launched a collection of 7 fragrances under his own independent label called Metamorphoses of Colours and Moods. The idea behind it is to enable you to find the perfume best-suited to your personality or mood by inviting you to look at a color chart and clicking on the square that is most attractive to you.
The seven perfumes that you can discover are: Wood & Absinth, Black Angel, Hot Leather, English Breakfast, Around Midnight, Sounds & Visions, Nameless...
Ok, so you weren't able to make it to the world premiere of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace in London yesterday (you wanted to have first dibs on the new Avon fragrance Bond Girl 007 of course).
The next best thing is to listen to Gemma Aterton talking about the perfume, take a peek at the behind-the-scenes and even - surprise! - listen to perfumer Olivier Cresp explaining his ideas for the perfume he helped create. It had to be both attractive and dangerous, says he. I am ready to believe Avon can put the equivalent of some kind of
perfumery glutaminate of sodium in their scents because their Wish of
Happiness seemed to operate exactly at that level.
So we get the addictive part for the drydown but then he adds that the top notes are sparkling. Is that supposed to mean dangerous as in an overdose of champagne?
Watch the commercial and then the interviews after the jump and let us know what you think!
"Boys in Car, Halloween" by Peter Hujar, 1978, Howard Yezersky Gallery
I was scratching my occiput seeking late inspiration for a Halloween-perfume article when I happened on this post from last year, which had slipped out of my mind. The picks still feel relevant so I am posting the list again:
I just want to update my comments about Halloween in France a bit by saying that although Halloween is not a big, momentous celebration in Paris there are still signs that it is celebrated...
Oooh, I happened on these pens that do double-duty as perfume roll-ons. Don't you love it when people recognize the need to put perfume everywhere and consider fragrance a first-necessity item?
It might be a great solution for those perfumes that you worship but that tend to be fleeting on your skin.
I'll test them when I receive them hoping the scent does not escape the confines of the perfume tank or get transformed into an involuntary home-fragrance device...
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is expanding further the lure of her Lovely Collection with three new perfumes meant to mark three different periods of the day: Dawn, Endless, Twilight. In other words it is an invitation to stay longer with your Lovely choice.
The original Lovely was launched in 2005 and was followed by a Liquid Satin version. Coty Prestige reportedly intends to develop this franchise still further in the future.
Regarding the time-of-the-day concept, Lisa Hoffman, Dustin Hoffman's wife, already had the idea not too long ago with her Variations Collection. According to WWD, Coty Prestige was inspired by their other fragrance-development venture, Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers, a set of five perfumes...
• For Paris and France Travelers: Le Printemps department store, where you can find one of the best offerings of niche and designer perfumes in the French capital city offers a 10 % discount on a selection of luxury, beauty and fashion brands until 12/31/2008 upon presentation of a valid foreign passport. The tax refund* is further applicable on your discounted purchases.
Code is: 18900861. Please click here for further information...
A study at Northwestern University in Illinois (is this a coincidence?) shows that there are consistent trends in people's reliance on "cognitive short-cuts" to help them select a political candidate running for office. It is not the best man or woman who wins their votes necessarily (we didn't know that yet) but the better-looking one, a tendency especially apparent in the cases of women running for office when not too many other female colleagues are competing.
Apparently, we tend to choose a candidate, say for the presidency, as we would a mate with a view to biological reproduction, except for an air of competence that has to be there. A scary thought for Halloween no doubt, but yes, we would tend to be visual animals responding to sexual cues, in courtship as in politics even when we make the effort to go vote after having read and dissected the news. And then it's all about the survival of the prettiest anyway!
"Everyone had to seem competent to get a vote. But while men needed
to appear approachable to get an edge, women had to be good-looking,
the researchers found...
"Scientists in Italy have found bacteria in the root of a tropical grass
whose oils have been used in the cosmetic and perfumery industries.
These bacteria seem to promote the production of essential oils, but
also they change the molecular structure of the oil, giving it
different flavours and properties: termicidal, insecticidal,
antimicrobial and antioxidant."
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