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The Scented Salamander Blog A Culture & Beauty Blog: from Olfaction to Imagination in Perfumes, Movies, Beauty Products, Food, Literature, & Fashion, Mostly. "Perfumes' & movies' common point: you smell and watch them better in the dark" Latest Fragrance Reviews Dior Escale à Parati Prada Infusion d'Iris EDP Absolue Ferragamo Signorina Thierry Mugler Miroir des Majestés Jo Malone Plum Blossom Madonna Truth or Dare Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum
Carolina Herrera 212 Sexy 8 Best Perfumes to Herald Spring Stella McCartney L.I.L.Y. Guerlain Parfum Initial L'Eau: Going Back to the Purer Language of Perfumery Guerlain Parfum Initial L'Eau: Un Langage Plus Pur pour la Parfumerie Fragrance Essays Perfumes & Candies are Kissing Cousins: Anis de Flavigny & Guerlain Anisia Bella Jicky, The Ultimate Aphrodisiac for Both Sexes? Jicky, L'aphrodisiaque ultime pour les deux sexes? Best Rose Fragrances for Valentine's Day: The 2012 Edition How I Think about Perfume when I Review Them: a Practical-Theoretical Outlook on the Perfume Shopping Culture Bint el Sudan, The Other, African Chanel No.5 - Interview with Nick Evans of IFF Smelling Tommy Girl Now: When the 1990s Smell Like The 1940s White Accords in Perfumery: So Long The 70s Liberace Wore Perfume, So What? Homosexuality as Given Away by an Indiscreet Fragrance Trail in the 50s
Reviews of New Perfumes Diptyque Eau Rose Isabel Derroisné Eclat Eternel Sisley Eau d'Ikar Mary Greenwell Plum Parfum d'Empire Azemour Les Orangers L'Artisan Parfumeur Batucada Les Parfums de Rosine Glam Rose Clinique Aromatics Elixir Perfumer's Reserve Prada No.11 Cuir Styrax 6 New Celebrity Fragrances to Try Out this Fall The Body Shop White Musk Libertine Cartier L'Heure Convoitée (English Version) Cartier L'Heure Convoitée (French Version) Karl Lagerfeld Karleidoscope Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Cuir Fétiche Estée Lauder Wood Mystique Thierry Mugler Angel with Bitter Cocoa Powder Diane Von Furstenberg Diane Bottega Veneta EDP From the Archives Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar: An Euro-American Curio Reviews of Past Fragrance Launches First Impressions on the Thierry Mugler Coffret Based on the Novel by Süskind.
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December 2008 Archive
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 Aquolina which has managed in a relatively short span of time since 2001 in imposing a brand with an iconic appeal thanks in particular to Pink Sugar (2003) has launched a new perfume called Tweety which promises to be as offbeat and attractive as its predecessor thanks to a bold and uncomplicated but not overly simplistic message. Tweety is a fragrance about color and texture but also aspirational feminine identity. The tag line is " Escape the Cage" (translation: escape the crisis; escape the strictures of convention, everyday life and of whatever ties you down. Just spray and fly!) "...Tweety, an eau de toilette inspired by sunshine yellow tones and floating feathers to escape the boundaries and bring you to a world of feminine sensuality."...
Continue reading "Aquolina Tweety (2008): Yellow Is Good {New Perfume}" »
 Italian fashion house Byblos has released a new perfume simply titled Essence. It was created by perfumer Christine Nagel. The bottle is by creative agency Sylvie de France (Lolita Lempicka, Fleur de Corail, Givenchy Jardin d'Interdits, Lacoste Dream of Pink, Georges Stahl Elle d'Elissa...). It reminds one a bit of the original modern-retro packaging for Frapin 1270...
Continue reading "Byblos Essence (2008) {New Perfume}" »
 Photo © Gaetan Lee
French physicist researcher Gérard Liger-Belair used to be an oceanographer before having to quit his profession due to an accident. Next, while he was feeling bluesy and contemplating beer bubbles he decided to research the dynamic of their effervescence. This led him to a doctoral dissertation on the topic with Champagne wine now a prime object of research. Among the things his research shows is that bubbles form because of impurities and that the more bubbles there are, the more aromatic molecules get released. From a practical point of view, the Champagne flute therefore wins over the round cup as it encourages the formation of more numerous bubbles spread out evenly. They are also bigger in a flute thus debunking the myth that fine bubbles signal a better Champagne as is commonly asserted by tasters. Read more (in French)....
 The German house and fragrance-developing company of Mäurer and Wirtz (Tabac Original, Tosca, Nonchalance, Pussy Deluxe...) have introduced a new duo of scents for designer Otto Kern called Otto Kern Signature Man and Woman. The tag line is: "Make your mark - with Otto Kern Signature Man and Woman." Both compositions are presented as status scents and were inspired by the crest of the brand. The types of persons who should wear these scents are described in detail, "...the allure of Otto Kern Signature Man and Woman fragrances
corresponds to the high-flying, modern and self-confident identity of
their wearers. Convincingly expressing the elite attitude to life, the
new twin fragrances make a clear statement and consistently fulfill the
role of an unobtrusive yet exclusive accessory."...
Continue reading "Maurer & Wirtz Otto Kern Signature Man & Woman (2008) {New Perfumes}" »
 Italian video artist Francesco Vezzoli has decided to illustrate the theme of greed in the art world with the support of a faux perfume commercial for Greed shot by none other than movie director Roman Polanski and featuring actresses Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams. The idea came to Vezzoli as he noticed that the world of art is more and more about the construction of desire, that is, yes, more and more like a bottle of perfume on which you are made to want to drool and that you covet. From the perspective of someone more into the world of perfume this realistic take can sound ironic at a time when a good contingent of people are desirous to bring to perfume the recognition that it is an art form first and foremost. What kind of art do you mean? one might ask. The latest news are that art has turned into a market full of commodities! The faux perfume commercial will debut at the Gagosian Gallery in Rome on February 6th 2009...
Continue reading "Faux Perfume Commercial Ad by Roman Polanski for Greed & Real Art Project by Francesco Vezzoli {Fragrance News} {Cultural Notes}" »
 Can perfume help you get into a more festive mood on New Year's Eve? Yes, it can! Champagne is the it-scent to celebrate the New Year in style. Scent yourselves or bring a gift for your hostess or host which will be much appreciated. 1 - Yvresse by Yves Saint Laurent (1993)Initially called Champagne it had to change its name due to trademark reasons to Yvresse meaning "intoxication" (normal spelling is ivresse; Y was added for branding reasons as the initial of Yves). The flacon, one of the best-quality ones to be had, is inspired by a bottle of Champagne and the scent is fruity and fizzy, more like pineapple than bubbly per se, but the spirit is there, joyous and optimistic. The composition by Sophia Grojsman is one of the best fruity chypres out there. It develops a very seductive sillage. Notes: nectarine, mint, aniseed, cumin, violet, blue rose, rose, lychee, vetiver, oakmoss, patchouli. Available at discounters 2 - My Champomy BoxChampomy, "the festive drink for children" is a brand of non-alcoholic Champagne-inspired drink based on fruit juices that was created especially for children in 1989. This year they offer a special limited-edition coffret containing a bottle of kids' bubbly together with 2 crumpled golden porcelain gobelets. 20 € at the Grande Epicerie. Only 100 copies are available....
Continue reading "The Scented Salamander Perfume Holiday Shopping Guide 2008 - Part 5: Have a Taste of Champagne {Shopping Tips}" »
 The most Byronian of French perfume brands, By Kilian, have announced that they will launch an eighth scent in September 2009. Details are kept at a minimum for now. The cat came out partially out of the bag however as we learn that the new perfume might possibly (hint, hint) include a tobacco and woods accord. It will be developed by perfumer Calice Becker of Givaudan who already partnered with founder Kilian Hennessy to create five out of the seven existing perfumes...
Continue reading "By Kilian Announces 8th Scent {Fragrance News}" »
Méchant Loup by L'Artisan Parfumeur - Perfume Review & Musings
Official notes: cedar, licorice, hazelnut, honey
What they say: All dressed with the scents of the forest; a hazelnut core; a very tender woody and gourmand fragrance; for the inner unrepenting seducer found in every man (source: the French L'Artisan Parfumeur website in 2008).
My initial intention for today was to review Poivre Piquant but I became quickly so intrigued by Méchant Loup (Big Bad Wolf), also by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour, that I decided to substitute a review of the latter for one of the former. A first element of surprise for me springs from the perception that this time Méchant Loup smells different from that other point in time where I experienced it in the past. Going back to it - precisely because it smelled sub-par the first time - smelling it from a different sample I am wondering now what happened to the original unpleasant astringency and the mini chemical blast I got then. It is now complex, subtle, soft and original. A second element of surprise comes from a familiar sensation lying in the heart of the fragrance which made me wonder for several hours what it could well remind me of? An Eureka moment finally occurred and made me situate the composition within an interesting genealogical map of fragrances. Magical Perfumes vs. Illusory Scents
A compelling trait of this perfume is how it manages to distill an aura of magical wonderment - which can be explained in part by an unconscious association with the liminal quality of the deep forest (here the smells of the forest) - to contrast this notion with the idea that a perfume and a good perfume at that should succeed in creating an illusion. Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena for example promotes the latter idea often declaring himself to be essentially an illusionist. Within that worldview there is no belief nor hesitation as to what the real world is. Art and reality are two separate distinct planes in the mind of the creator. And in fact, it could be argued that these types of perfumes rely heavily on real-world scents as points of departure for the illusory construct. On the other hand, in magical perfumes there are references to real scents but those are less clear-cut and and tend to appear elusive, like uncertain apparitions and explanations. Here with Méchant Loup we enter a different dimension, one that is not wholly set within a rationalist framework but which seems to hint at a world where dark sylvan forces still lurk embodying sexual impulses in a symbolic manner, an idea which is convincingly rendered through perfumery accords. We are asked to believe rather than to be the spectators of an illusion. Perhaps the most seductive characteristic of this fragrance is its fundamental ambiguity... 
Continue reading "L'Artisan Parfumeur Mechant Loup (1997): Magical Perfumes vs. Illusory Scents {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Berdoues released a new flanker to the original Violettes de Toulouse eau de toilette created in 1936 called Violette Chérie (Darling Violet). It was specifically created to attract a younger clientèle, "In 2008, Violet is not only a fragrance...It takes you to a world of freshness and sensuality...It attracts the young and romantic women looking for softness, pleasure and delights...Pastel colors..."
Continue reading "Berdoues Violette Cherie (2008) {New Perfume}" »
December 2008 Archive
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