|
|
October 2008 Archive
Page 4 of 5 • 1 2 3 4 5
 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
 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}" »
 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...
 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 methyl-ionone 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" »
 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}" »
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}" »
 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}" »
 Cocoa-colored Balenciaga dress by Irving Penn, 1950
The fashion house of Balenciaga which received a new impulse under the stewardship of its creative director Nicolas Ghesquière now feels the need to reach out to a broader audience than its upscale credo permits. 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, they usually don't say. The revival of their fragrance brand will take place under the aegis of Coty Prestige..
Continue reading "Balenciaga To Revive Perfume Brand {Fragrance 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}" »
 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}" »
October 2008 Archive
Page 4 of 5 • 1 2 3 4 5
|
Angela on
Choppy Waters for Stella Cadente Miss Me {Fragrance News}
: I was given a sample of this perfume and have been searching ...
on
Touch of Spring & Hot Play by Lacoste {New Perfumes}
: touch of spring stinks in my opinion i wore it once and ...
k9crazy on
25th Anniversary of Tova Signature Fragrance {Perfume News}
: Is there a way for us to find out why the original ...
SL Fan on
Serge Lutens Nuit de Cellophane (2009) {New Perfume}
: Wow, great photograph. And the notes are promising. Are you sure it ...
Victoria Woeste on
Interesting Hybrid Perfuming Concept by Memo: Grapefruit from Argentina & Orange Blossom from Italy (2008) {Fragrance News}
: Stacy- Thought you would find this of interest. - Vicki
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): Magical Perfumes vs. Illusory Scents {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 ...
All original content and translations herein copyright © 2006. All rights reserved; reproduction requires the author’s prior written consent. You are however welcome to provide a link back to the posts on this site as long as you explicitly mention their authorship, recognize the original source of the information you give, and acknowledge the site of origin.
Powered by Movable Type 4.12
|
Digg This
Stumble
Facebook
Del.icio.us
