Update on the Keiko Mecheri interview: I know I said I would publish the Q & A with Keiko Mecheri yesterday, but had to deal with a few things offline. Have to be in and out today too, so - crossing fingers - the interview should be up this evening! (in English and French) If not, tomorrow at the latest!
Thank you for your patience, All the best, Marie-Hélène
Patchouli anklet by Tonya Maria: "This piece was designed around my research and experience with people's
love/hate extreme reactions to patchouli. 90% lovely smooth surfaces,
with euphoric swirls vs 10% bumpy undesirable cone shape protruding out
from beneath with curling twisted tendrils creeping up like scent to a
nose." [...] and amber and orange colored droplets symbolized the colors of the oils
the plant produces when leaves are distilled to make the fragrance."
Pierre Montale perfumes for me are remarkable for their ability to convey an impression of richness, that is, for the best of them. If you are dreaming of wearing a precious potion that unfolds on the skin like a rich brocade threaded with hints of precious metals, then it is a good bet to direct your steps, or fingers as it is in the digital age, to a Montale sales point. Montale fragrances to me are not into being in the vanguard of perfumery creation, but they do know on the other hand about quality and betray an uncanny ability to pick up intuitively on the untiring human quest for luxury...
Atmosphères has an article about Jacques Polge the in-house perfumer for Chanel this April, and what is less commonly done, his apartment, in their Deco section. A perfumer renowned for his discretion, he has nevertheless taken the risk to open the doors of his abode located on the left bank, "...in a Parisian arrondissement bearing the lucky number [Editor's note: 5]" as the magazine puts it...
For a limited time only, rarer fragrances by Guerlain will be available online at Neiman Marcus in an attempt to make their exclusive offerings more widely available to customers.
"Fragrance fanatics and Guerlain devotees can rejoice. Beginning today, for a limited fourteen-day period, Guerlain is offering its renowned Exclusive Fragrance collection on www.neimanmarcus.com - giving women who do not currently live near one of seven Guerlain Boutiques in the U.S. the opportunity to shop these spectacular fragrances from home. [...]
Osmoz, the educational arm of Firmenich, one of the few big fragrance supplying companies in the world, is about to launch a new program which is bound to become popular with perfume-oriented people.
From mid-April 2009, you will be able to shop for three olfactory training cases organized by themes. They were devised to help you train your nose (and mind) to smell better, more analytically.
This new collection is called Les Coulisses du Parfum (Behind The Perfume Scenes) and the 3 first coffrets are called: Volume I, Accords Mythiques (Mythical Accords); Volume II, Fleurs Originelles (Original Blossoms); Volume III, Bois et Résines Légendaires (Legendary Woods and Resins).
Each case contains 12 bottles of essences to sniff and 100 blotters, plus an olfactory exploration notebook containing historical perfume information, anecdotes, games etc. Each coffret is priced at 59 Euros and will be available online soon. We will update the info when it is released.
The debate on naturals in fragrance and flavor, which calls to mind the kind of cultural fracture that appeared in 17th century France in the battle of the Ancients against the Moderns, will be conducted this time by Rochelle Bloom and Mandy Aftel. This event is called,
"A Conversation Between
Rochelle Bloom, President of The Fragrance Foundation and Mandy Aftel
on NATURALS in FRAGRANCE & FLAVOR. [It will be] followed by a cocktail reception
catered by Olives' Chef Todd English and sponsored by Robertet. This
event will take place on April 23rd from 6-7:30 PM in The Wine Room at
Olives Restaurant at The W, Union Square. This is a ticketed event -
$35, and seating is limited. RSVP with Credit Card info please, your
card will be charged at the door.
This is one of several events that coordinate with the opening of the exhibit -Living Perfume: The Natural Alchemy of Mandy Aftel, opening to the public on April 18th and running through Mother's Day - May 11th at renowned retailer, Henri Bendel."
It is my pleasure to bring to The Scented Salamander readers a unique first interview with Keiko Mecheri of Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri on the occasion of the relaunch of her line in a new, sculptural packaging. I have to say that my initial desire to communicate more directly with Keiko Mecheri was due to the fact that I could hardly find any background information about her perfumes on the internet! On the one hand there was this vast collection of perfumes (30) some of which I had personally enjoyed. There was an aura, a presence felt through these perfumes, yet details about their creators or the history of the line remained elusive to say the least. I could not even tell when the line had been established. So, in the era of rapid communication I was glad to be finally able to make contact with Keiko Mecheri. As we remain, however, in the era of everyday life, always, it took some time before we both were finally able to focus on the interview I thank her very much for taking the time to answer our questions.
I discovered a personality who comes across as remarkably clear-headed and passionate about her endeavor - the standard title of the series fits her to a tee I think - and who talks like a fragrance artistic director. What I mean by that is that her references when she talks about perfume is sourced from different venues and not just from the world of perfumery proper. There is a sense of slight distanciation and looking at perfume with a broader outlook. Then there is this evocative, visionary language which hints at the way someone imagines fragrance and then works in collaboration with perfumers to make these "premonitions of perfumes", shall we say, come to fruition.
If you have been surprised by the richness of her collection of fragrances, so have I. Well, the news is that the library is going to get even bigger this year. As previously announced, a new sampling program is now available so you could explore this library of perfumes more easily now. Please stay tuned also for some reviews of her scents in the future on TSS.
Without further ado,
Interview with Keiko Mecheri
TSS: When were Les Parfums Keiko Mecheri founded and what was your vision for the brand at the time?
Keiko Mecheri: It was created in 1997 in Beverly Hills, CA. My vision for the brand at the time was to create an authentic independent perfume house miles away from Old Europe, outside the perfume "establishment". To provide perfumes with detail-to-quality that prompt enchantment, to initiate a new approach and to elevate the level of perfumery in the US (without any false modesty of course).
TSS: How would you define in your own words the Keiko Mecheri style of perfumery?
KM: Artisanal, eclectic, lover of precious and rare ingredients, modern-classy...
L'Artisan Parfumeur is going to release their second very green and eco-conscious scent following Jatamansi last year. Like the first scent in the series, it is Ecocert Certified and Cosmebio labeled.
The new jus is called Côte d'Amour in reference to the coastal area defined as "... the coast west of Nantes and just south of Guérand, that runs north of
the Loire estuary from St Nazaire to le Croisic."
The composition is by perfumer Céline Ellena who last year introduced a fragrance called Sublime Balkiss for another niche perfume house of which she is the nose-in-title, The Different Company. I mention that other scent as I see a common point between the two perfumes as both hold a reference to the wind, misty air, and external elements, albeit Côte d'Amour appears a priori more solar and drier...
Roger et Gallet, best known for being one of the owners of an ancient original recipe of the Eau de Cologne together with Mäurer & Wirtz 4711, have launched a new perfume called Bois d'Orange (Woodsy Orange), an Eau Fraîche. As its name suggests it is derived from the idea of the traditional eau de Cologne choke-full of citrusy notes with a focus here on a fruity hesperidic note of orange and woodsy and musky notes for added body...
After reviewing Vanille Galante by Hermès which showcased the addition of Vanilla Absolute as a sign of luxury and authenticity, as opposed to synthetic Vanillin, I started noticing a bevy of perfumes that had the much touted luxury vanilla touch. Some come after the release of Vanille Galante but many, in fact, were released before as, simply enough, a quick keyword search in The Scented Salamander blog search-box indicated to me.
As I said earlier somewhere else on the blog, 2007 saw the beginning of the development of an interesting vanilla-perfume trend because it was very much linked to an authorial position in perfumery. What I mean by that is that the trend was not primarily commercially driven but came as the result of perfumers' interest in and ideas about the material injected into relatively confidential releases. The change also took place around the place accorded the ingredient: vanilla was made to leave its traditional and essential supporting role to take the lead role in compositions, namely Tihota by Francis Kurkdjian for Indult and Spiritueuse Double Vanille by Jean-Paul Guerlain for Guerlain in a limited-edition perfume. Vanilla, the commercial aroma if there ever was one (Vanilla Planifolia is also called "commercial vanilla") became the sign of rarity in these attempts at bringing the flavor vanilla into the fold of fine perfumery in its most exclusive incarnations, a little bit like what frayed blue jeans would signal if they made a come back on haute-couture runways and were pounded to become cashmere-grade soft...
Comptoir Sud Pacifique is a perfume brand that has been working for a good while now on lighthearted variations of sweet foody notes, namely vanilla or coconut, often paired with other notes meant to flatter the taste buds. Old users of the brand usually regret the more complex past of the brand. Now, however, CSP have turned their attention towards a more "challenging" perfume note: aoud or aloewood. It is an aroma, that of putrefried infected wood turning into an aromatic resin appreciated by connoisseurs in the Middle East and to some extent in Europe as well. Montale, Micallef in France for example use it abundantly in their creations which bear an Oriental signature.
The new, unexpected oud-quatuor Aoud de Nuit, Aouda, Nomaoud and Oud Intense inaugurates a collection entitled Voyages to the Orient, which incidentally works in the direction of maintaining the personality of oud as an Orientalist note. Aoud de Nuit, which retains a gourmand touch, is described as,
"A sensual and
captivating nectar revealing the magic of the East thanks to an armful
of precious woods and vibrating spices wrapped up with musk and
vanilla, sustained by a pinch of warm caramel."...
It's kind of silly, but it happened. Halle Berry went on the Ellen de Generes' TV show to promote her new perfume Halle. What happens next is not your usual style of perfume advertising although Letterman came up with the idea before: De Generes uncorks the bottle of Halle and pours it into glasses then takes a swig. Halle Berry follows and not wanting to come across as, ahem, not-fully-standing-behind-her-product even drinks her Halle-on-the-Rocks bottoms up.
Don't try this at home kids, you might get hurt.
The perfume segment starts at 5 mn or so and lasts about 2 mn (more perfume bites towards the end).
Comme des Garçons are launching new incarnations of two favorites from the brand. Avignon from the Incense series is now available in their original medium, so to speak, in incense sticks, and Hinoki now comes in two sizes of home candles sheltered by black glass.
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