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December 2008 Archive
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 Last year it was Marie-Antoinette that was all the rage and this year it is Gabrielle Chanel that seems to be the feminine icon of the year for the French and fashionistas worldwide. As posted previously on our sister perfume blog The Scented Salamander here and here, several movies about the life of Chanel are coming out in 2008-2009, all at the same time. Karl Lagerfeld seeing the trend did not want to miss out especially since he thinks that these biopics are not all that accurate. His counter-proposition is a silent short running for 10 mn. It was shot in 2 days on the outskirts of Paris with actors plucked out of the fashion world and Chanel house sewing personnel, but it is no ragged and frumpy production....  Chanel in 1920 © Time, Inc.
Continue reading "Coco Mania Continues with Karl Lagerfeld - Notes on a Vampish Chanel " »
 I just posted on Beauty & The Salamander on a new silent movie, a short, by Karld Lagerfeld, dedicated to the life of Coco Chanel: Coco Mania Continues with Karl Lagerfeld - Notes on a Vampish ChanelOur sister beauty blog will probably be more regularly active from the beginning of 2009 as I am still reorganizing some priorities. But meanwhile I will keep you updated here when I see a closer link to perfume.
 Like each year since 1984, author and arguably pillar of the fragrance industry Michael Edwards publishes a new augmented edition of Fragrances of the World, a compendium of the fragrances that are available in the international market in designer but also niche categories (since 1998) while also listing new flankers and limited-editions. Its comprehensive and cumulative character has earned it the nickname of the "Retail Bible" (of the perfume industry). For the 25th anniversary of Fragrances of the World, Michael Edwards is marking the jubilee with a special edition titled the Silver Anniversary Edition. According to the press release, " Fragrances
of the World 2009 classifies over 6,500 fragrances and adds more than 800 new
releases."... 
Continue reading "Fragrances of the World 2009 Silver Anniversary Edition {Fragrance News} {Fragrant Reading}" »
 Bain de Nuit (Night Bath) is a French women's fashion brand specializing in glitzy evening wear (long and short, including pant suits) as well as more recently, wedding gowns. The dream of Chantal Temam its founder who created the label in 1998 was to propose an haute-couture feel to her clients at ready-wear prices. The glamor of the label is expressed through the use of luxurious
materials such as silk and satin further glamed-up by costume pearl,
rhinestone, and stone embroideries, her trademark signature embellishments. Her creations are ultre-feminine, vaporous, sleek, with a Las Vegas and Dallas-series feel to them, in other words from my point of view, a big dollop of American sense of show. It is no happenstance therefore if many celebrities queue up to dress at Bain de Nuit, a brand that makes me think of Ed Hardy for its similar reliance on celebrity culture and the development of a sense of style that does not shy away from the limelight, and in fact craves it. According to the press release, the likes of Karen Cheryl, Victoria Abril, Ophélie Winter, Olivia Ruiz love to slip on a Bain-de-Nuit number...
Continue reading "Bain de Nuit Eau de Parfum (2008) {New Perfume}" »
 Here are our suggestions for perfume holiday shopping this year, in several installments. You can also check our Perfume-Shopping-Tip and Fragrant-Shopping Pages for more ideas (the latter for items that go beyond the personal-perfume category, like tea, chocolate etc.) . The Scented Salamander Holiday Fragrance Gift Guide 2008 - Part 11 - Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Island Night comes in a lovely solid perfume compact decorated with India Hicks's trademark coral branch. It is called the Evening Fragrance Night Compact with Enhancer, the latter consisting of amber. Easy to carry and easy to apply. Price: $50. "Applied to pulse points, Island Night solid perfume warms on the skin,
releasing the intoxicating fragrance of a moonlit tropical garden. To
deepen and intensify the fragrance, apply the amber enhancer over the
solid perfume."Available at Crabtree-Evelyn.com 2 - Bond No. 9 Subway Token Solid-Perfume Compact is a great New York City souvenir, an original perfume container and comes in 6 scents:
" We've re-imagined Bond No. 9's nostalgia-laden
circular "token" as a solid-perfume compact, containing your choice of six of
our most sought-after eaux de parfum.
Stashed in its own perfect little white leather zipper case, it's so street-smart
it'll glide through any turnstile.
The compact's refillable; the zipper case will lead a double life as a
carry-case for rings, earrings, and lapel pins (with or without the American
flag). Andy
Warhol Union Square, Chelsea Flowers,
Chinatown, Nuits de Noho, The Scent of
Peace or Wall Street: $85." Available at bondno9.com...
Continue reading "The Scented Salamander Perfume Holiday Gift Guide 2008 - Part 1 {Shopping Tips}" »
 This year's Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set is absolutely darling to behold as vanity items. The set immediately caught my eye with all its apricot-y hues and pretty Atomic-Age feel. For Arden, it is "... the first in our "Celebration of the Decades" series." The cream was originally created in 1930 and reportedly developed by Elizabeth Arden to nourish the hoofs of her Kentucky horses to prevent them from cracking. In the past it was advertised as a highly medicated cream, capable of repairing blemishes and taking care of rashes, for all the family. According to the ad copy today retelling a founding tale, the cream earned its name due to its remarkable healing properties reported by a loyal client who had used it to treat her child's skinned knee, "... and "eight hours later" the skin was all better." And 8 hours later, my lip balm was still on, and 18 hours later my skin was still exceptionally soft, are my own twists...
Continue reading "Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set (1930/2008): Rediscover Your Classics! " »
 I found a series of interesting adverts by Elizabeth Arden about their early Babani fragrance co-label. Babani was presented as a partner of the Arden brand located in the French capital - Babani of Paris - with that implicit allusion to a French legitimizing process in the field of perfumery that was important in those days. The perfumes were said on the ads to be bottled in France and imported to the USA, for consumer reassurance. The house of Vitaldi Babani was established ca. 1895. They were known for their oriental imports and their bohemian-style embroidered silk velvets. In 1919, Maurice Babani was the second couturier after Poiret and before Chanel to introduce perfumes as part of a fashion label. More so than Poiret and less so than Chanel. There is above a 1923 advert that mentions several Babani scents: Ambre de Delhi, Ligéia, Yasmak, Ming, Afghani, Daïmo, Jasmin de Corée. They are alluring because they are offered as being both rare and exotic. One of the main tag lines for Babani was in 1920 " Parfums inconnus d'Orient et d'Extrême-Orient" (lit. Unknown perfumes of the Orient and Far-East). The "unknown" part was dropped by 1923. What was exported also, we can easily understand, was not just French essences, but Parisian chic. In an another 1923 ad (not shown here), Babani clearly addressed themselves " To American women" via Arden in a sort of magical prophetic dervish-like way, bringing them in one stroke of the perfume-advertising pen, fine-fragrance civilization. It was, in a way, modeled after the prevalent colonialist ideology of the period, the idea that there existed a mission civilisatrice, but extended here to the new world in the particular field of beauty. The collection of Babani fragrances was itself very much in tune with an Exposition-Universelle mental framework where all the best goods from the colonies were episodically laid at the feet of urbanites. In 1925 (below), we find more explicitly stated the marketing and aesthetic proposition of layering the Babani fragrances (not more than two at a time here; up to three elsewhere) to capture that even rarer essence, the unique reflection of your personality. It is a concept that is now systematically explored by Jo Malone for example, but more from the standpoint of the harmony between the scents themselves than from that of your own personality or mood, although the latter emphasis appears a bit with L'Artisan and other brands... 
Continue reading "Elizabeth Arden Babani Adverts 1920-25: Mission Civilisatrice & Early Perfume Layering in 1925 {Perfume Adverts}" »
 In the 21st century what will probably take place more and more and has already started to concretize is the olfactory design of public and private spaces. The movement has to do with the realization that scents are not just pleasant additions to your surroundings but that they contribute in meaningful ways to anchoring further a place for its inhabitants and adding an invisible yet soon-to-be indispensable dimension to the architectures in which we live. If the future will be much more sophisticated, we can imagine, the present has started to look like that future, for example, under the guise of olfactory branding. Hotel Le Bristol Paris has asked perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez, the in-house nose for Patou and now Rochas to create scent interpretations of the place. After undergoing a visual renovation in 2004, Le Bristol thought it was time to offer themselves and their clientele a new olfactory identity...  Le Bristol
Continue reading "Le Bristol Paris in Scented Form (2008) {New Perfume}" »
 Here
is Part 2 of our Holiday Perfume Gift Guide 2008, expanding on the
theme of (indispensable) fashionable perfume accessories. Please check here for Part 1. 1 - Estée Lauder Collectible Butterfly Perfume Compact filled with the solid perfume of Beyond Paradise created by perfumer Calice Becker. $350, available at Bergdorf Goodman. 2 - L'Occitane Limited Edition Golden Branch Mini Pomander.
This open-work vinaigrette looks much more substantial in reality and has a nice patina and weight to it. Insert one of the two clay beads that come with
it, sprayed on with a scent that inspires you. You can wear it as a
necklace, a bag pendant or hang it on a door knob or wherever you think
it will look good and waft delicately. $20 at L'Occitane...
Continue reading "The Scented Salamander Perfume Holiday Gift Guide 2008 - Part 2 {Shopping Tips}" »
 Hoyts German Cologne postcard from Hannibal1107. The word "lasting" takes on a new meaning today. I received a message that I thought would be of general interest to readers, so here it is. Don't hesitate to chime in!
"I've
found myself in one of those situations people infrequently find
themselves in when the ordinary and routine so often taken for granted
turns in to some Hitchcockian head-scratcher.
I purchased D&G The One at the Duty-Free in London
Gatwick November last, a newly-released fragrance I was happy to try
since Light Blue had been so compatible with my desire for
understatement with scents.
Anyway, when I ran out, I replaced it at Dillards in Barton Creek
Mall in Austin. It had only just arrived and my brother and I each
bought a bottle.
I ran out again a couple of days ago, and that's where the story
begins...
Continue reading "Could My Favorite Cologne Have Been Tweaked? {Ask Marie-Helene}" »
 A kind reader sent us a link to the short movie by Karl Lagerfeld entitled Chanel Paris-Moscou depicting Coco before Chanel in 10 mn. I wrote an earlier post about it on our sister blog Beauty & The Salamander and Octavian Coifan from 1000 Fragrances also posted his thoughts here. The movie is both fun and funny. Lagerfeld showcases Gabrielle Chanel's indomitable self-confidence, her mastery of the art of the mauvaise foi, her expert delivery of vacheries, her militating bitchiness (she disses Paul Poiret, her rival)... Cossack-uniform inspiration for a Chanel dress that is both sober and opulent. It strikes me as being perhaps the most Chanel outfit in spirit of the collection without being slavish and a mere copy of the previous glories of the house, with that same potential for turning into a classic, pared-down look that is essentially timeless.  
Continue reading "Chanel Paris-Moscou Silent Movie by Karl Lagerfeld: Flawed Coco - A Look at the Pre-Fall 2009 Collection {Cultural Notes} {Scented Images}" »
 Avon will launch a new celebrity fragrance for women in April 2009 called Spotlight (because nowadays everyone wants to be in the spotlight as Andy Warhol predicted, but without the "want-to" part which is very internet, very 21st century). Its spokesmodel is actress Courteney Cox. The scent, described as a fresh oriental, was created by perfumer Jean-Marc Chaillan of IFF and
"...is composed of top notes of shining silver, mandarin and Italian
bergamot; middle notes of white freesia, tuberose absolute, and mimosa,
and bottom notes of cashmere sandalwood, vetiver and white vanilla
musk. It will retail for $22.50 for 1.7 oz."... 
Continue reading "Avon Spotlight Fronted by Courteney Cox (2009) {New Perfume}" »
 From left to right, Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill on November 24, 2008 at the 56th annual BMI annual awards in Nashville. All the folks here have had their names attached to a perfume (Kidman to Chanel No. 5), except Keith Urban: Keith, what are you waiting for? You obviously need to jump on the bandwagon! © RDiamondSinger and actress Faith Hill is to follow in the footsteps of husband Tim McGraw by launching in her turn a signature perfume in the fall of 2009. After having reportedly offered continuous input during the creation process of hubby's men's cologne named McGraw, the number 1 bestseller in men's mass-market stores currently, she progressively warmed up to the idea of launching a fragrance of her own. She said about her fragrance-developing philosophy for women, "A fragrance is part of what a woman wears, fashion that is 'visible'
to the sense of smell," she continued. "A scent should remind one of a
place, a time and a person...a pleasant memory. I am inspired by my
travels around the world as well as my home. These experiences have
made a mark on my style in what I wear, my surroundings (home decor)
and the perfume I choose."
Continue reading "Faith Hill to Develop Signature Scent with Coty {Fragrance News} {Celebrity Perfume}" »
 I received another general-interest question about where to shop for both authentic and heavily-discounted perfumes. Here is my selection of some of the best and cheapest perfume stores on the internet. Please do not hesitate to chime in! "Scented Salamander:
I found your blog last night and it's really helping me with various
choices. It's a great site.
My question is this:
With all of the online sites to buy from a novice like me is at a loss
as to who to buy from as the horror stories of knockoff sites abound.
Price is a primary consideration as I'm just one of the common folk. The
site I've found to have the best prices is Scentiments.com and since it's been
in business for about ten years I thought I might try it.
My question to you is should I? Or is there a better site to buy
from?
Thanks for your time and I'll be waiting your reply.
Regards
Ray Bayer"...
Continue reading "What Are The Best & Cheapest Online Discount Perfume Stores? {Ask Marie-Helene} {Shopping Tips - Coupons & Deals}" »
 All photos in the post © A.K./The Scented Salamander
A. K. sent us some pictures taken from the new fashion exhibition in Paris entitled Sous L'Empire des Crinolines (Under The Influence of Crinolines). They were taken during a private viewing on inauguration night, with a cell-phone, which gives you an instantaneous reportage quality and casts on the gowns a crystalline light and opaline-like finish, adding to the sense of distance in time while turning them into never-before-seen modern snapshots of antique fashion, taken on the quick. In that era, the famous perfumers of the day were Guerlain, Coudray, L.T. Piver, Lubin, Houbigant, Gellé Frères... But beyond a short-list of names, we have a passage from La Curée (The Kill) by Emile Zola (translation by Brian Nelson) which beautifully conveys some of the atmosphere and habitual practices in the arenas of fashion and perfume under the Second Empire in Paris as character Maxime visits the great couturier of the second empire, Worms (the fictionalized character of Charles Frederick Worth).  Summer gowns
In fact fashion and perfume here seem to become one under Zola's pen, whose writing as usual offers uncanny evocative power based on and prepared beforehand by meticulous ethnographic research (he would routinely note down in his notebooks the smells he encountered in his literally, fieldwork trips). One should also note that the fashions of the time were said to have become so
ostentatious that an observer reported that it had become nearly
impossible to distinguish an honest bourgeoise woman from a peripatetician
based on their outfits alone. Scented Quote of the Day from Emile Zola: "This quaint little creature (Maxime), who during his English lessons read the prospectuses which his perfumer sent him every Friday, could have delivered a brilliant lecture on the fashions of Parisian high society, customers and purveyors included, at an age when country urchins are too shy to look their housemaids in the face. Often, on his way home from school, he would bring back in his tilbury a bonnet, a box of soap, or a piece of jewelry which his stepmother had ordered the day before. He always had a strip of musk-scented lace in his pockets...
Continue reading "Cell-Phone Pictures from an Exhibition: Beautiful Milkescent Crinolines {Scented Paths & Fragrant Addresses} {Scented Quote of the Day, From Emile Zola}" »
December 2008 Archive
Page 1 of 4 • 1 2 3 4
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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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