The Scented Salamander: Perfume & Beauty Blog & Webzine: June 2010

June 2010 Archive

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June 1, 2010

Fragrance Shopping Tips of the Day: Bas de Soie, Personalized Engraving Offered, Sex Pistols, Josephine Baker

• Serge Lutens Bas de Soie (79€ or approximately US$ 96) is now available for international shipping on the e-commerce site salons-shiseido.com. A personalized free engraving service has been set up an will run until June 15th, 2010.

You can choose to have either your initials or first name engraved by hand by an artisan on a spray flacon in one of the 33 perfumes available in the export collection here....

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Bleu de Chanel (2010): First Look + Notes {New Perfume} {Men's Cologne}

Chanel have further unveiled their upcoming masculine fragrance Bleu de Chanel. The strip tease ends on August 19th, 2010.

The jus is housed in a squarish glass bottle tinted in an elegant blue with a good dose of black in it...

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Dior Escale aux Marquises (2010): Couture Oblige {Fragrance Review}

Dior Escale aux Marquises is the new addition to the Escale collection. It is perhaps of the three re-interpreted eaux de Cologne by François Demachy the one in which I feel most the perfumer's personal understanding for the house and style of Dior, of its haute-couture heritage for which he confessed a passion in the past. Of the trio, it is the most refined and understated Escale, the one most indebted to the notion of sartorial elegance.

The word "marquise" (marquess) in its social sense seems to have been an authentic creative hook and was seen to have a connection with a saying by Christian Dior who once exclaimed "There is nothing I would like more than to make every woman look and feel like a duchess."

Escale aux Marquises is your alternative to those tropical scents that make you feel like you might be wearing a Hawaian shirt as it evokes much more a woman dressed in a neutral palette of whites and beiges spending the afternoon on the deck of a sailing yacht in the shade of the buckle and a very large wide-brimmed hat.

Notes: orange, pink peppercorn, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, citrus, clove, nutmeg, coriander, elemi, tiare, freesia, neroli, lemon zest, benzoin, Tahitian vanilla.

The eau de toilette opens on a cool green spicy effect, a light custard-y and breezy impression of tiare flower on a salty, woody background and something else abstract evoking a sensation which is hard-to-place situated between floral petal, dewy skin and musky nether regions.

There is a creaminess to the fragrance but it is not exactly - as often it is nowadays - a sexy dessert-y impression. The creamy nuance is subtle, even a bit ethereal, closer to the feel of a luxurious material like a pashmina beige shawl than to a heavy lactonic effect...

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An Antique Guerlain Flacon Breaks a World Record in an Auction {Fragrance News}

An anonymous French perfume bottle collector just left his mark in the annals of fragrance collecting by bidding high on an 1870 engraved Guerlain flacon (pictured above.)

According to perfume bottle expert Bernard Gangler, this sale sets a new world record and it all happened unassumingly in the South-West of France in Arcachon...

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June 2, 2010

Sky + HD Eau de Stade for FIFA (2010): Fronted by Rachel Stevens {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}

To commemorate the event of the 2010 FIFA World Cup which starts on June 11th, TV service Sky + HD released an unisex fragrance called Eau de Stade which is fronted by British celebrity Rachel Stevens.

In one of the campaign ad shots, Stevens who announced she is expecting, is shown behind an English-only flag and bowler covering part of her naked self in a remake of the Chanel Coco Mademoiselle ad featuring Keira Knightley behind a bowler hat and a rumpled white shirt...

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Tuberose is Oh-So-Trendy this Spring/Summer 2010 {Trend Alert}

One of the advantages of wearing fragrance is that it is such a ductile medium for reflecting your moods. Do you want to feel transported to the 1940s? Get a Lenthéric, or more easily done, Miss Dior. Do you feel like you want to read into the crystal ball of the future? Try Dans Tes Bras by Frédéric Malle, a violet perfume with a Blade-Runner vibe to it. Do you just want desperately to smell like the moment? Are you yearning to capture the transiency and unique character of those few weeks that will never be around again?

One of your safest bets this spring and summer 2010 is to turn to a tuberose perfume if you love to ride a trend and feel fashionable...

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Benefit Crescent Row Lookin' to Rock Rita, So Hooked on Carmella, Garden of Good & Eva (2010) {New Fragrances}

Benefit Cosmetics have launched a new trio of fragrances inspired by the Crescent Row story which they started telling last year where three girls are living next door to each other while living in the skins of very contrasted personalities.

After Laugh with me LeeLee, There's Something about Sofia and My Place or Yours Gina, Benefit hooks up with Lookin' to Rock Rita, So Hooked on Carmella and Garden of Good & Eva...

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June 3, 2010

Scarface Fragrance Collection for Men & Women (2010) {New Fragrances} {Celebrity Perfume}

3B International and Universal Partnership & Licensings (UP & L) have partnered to launch a duo of perfumes inspired by the movie Scarface (1983) starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana. The new scents are part the Scarface Fragrance Collection which comprises a set of accessories such as a money clip, key chain and designer scarf(ace)...

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Stop & Smell the Steak on Highway 150 {Fragrance News}

Olfactory advertisement is taking some giant steps to try to grab your attention while you drive. Seeing that gaping at a monumental morsel of juicy steak evocatively planted on a fork is not enough to make you crave the food, company Scent-Air is bringing in its know-how to lure motorists with the smell of grilled steak...

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The Brothers Quay Introduce Wonderwood by Comme des Garçons (2010) {New Fragrance}

Comme des Garçons are preparing to launch a new fragrance from June 24th 2010 in London called Wonderwood which seems to have benefited from a particularly lavish attention on the part of the label, what with a dedicated website incorporating a countdown feature like the best of the very commercial brands but especially a fabulous 3:16 mn stop-motion animated short by the Quay Brothers, Timothy and Stephen. Its only defect is that it doesn't last an hour, and more.

"The piece, entitled WONDERWOOD, is about a man who loved trees more than words could say. An allegorical representation of non verbal passion, the film expresses through visual rapture the beautiful exorbitance of this new Comme des Garçons fragrance."....

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June 4, 2010

Halle Berry Reveal (2010): Halle to Unveil Another Facet of Herself {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}

Halle Berry fragrances are doing so well, that Coty and the actress are pairing up again to launch a third perfume this summer called Reveal from August and working on a fourth. Her second jus, Pure Orchid only launched in January. According to Women's Wear Daily, Pure Orchid was the #1 seller in feminine mass-market scents in January and February, still holding out at #3 in March.

Halle Berry said of her new signature fragrance,

"I had an understanding of a direction I wanted it to go. With each one, the goal is to make them different, yet the same in that it's reflective of who I am. I wanted this one to be a little more floral, but the inspiration was still about keeping it classic and easy." .....

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Hervé Léger is Back with Avon and a Femme and Homme Duo (2010) {New Fragrances}

Designer label Hervé Léger is making a comeback in the world of perfumes this fall 2010 with a duo of fragrances developed with Avon under the guidance of BCBG Max Azria Group Inc. which owns the brand.

Hervé Léger Femme and Homme will succeed to the house's debut scent Hervé Léger launched in 1999 and created by Alberto Morillas (a hidden gem available at discounters) which was followed by Rose Léger in 2006...

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Parfums Delrae Coup de Foudre (2010) {New Perfume}

American niche perfume brand Parfums Delrae with a definite Francophile slant and a foot in Grasse founded by DelRae Roth have launched their 7th perfume called Coup de Foudre (Love at First Sight). It is a composition which pays homage to May Rose (Rosa Centifolia) after a recent exploration of iris with Mythique. Both perfumes were composed by nose Yann Vasnier...

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Jennifer Lopez Love and Glamour (2010): The Never-Ending Quest for a Signature {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}

Jennifer Lopez who recreated the 21st century version of the celebrity-fragrance business by encouraging everyone to jump on the bandwagon so easy and popular it seemed is still a veritable motor engine for this section of the fragrance industry having sold more than $1 billion worth of fragrance bottles in the course of 16 launches. Her latest creation is called Love and Glamour to be introduced in the fall of 2010.

The only thing the singer and actress is a bit critical of in the context of a booming business for most however is that too many celebrities join the game only for the money. She reveals that as far as she is concerned she invests the venture with authenticity and passion. She also explains her method which is to always look for the creation of a recognizable perfume signature.

"I go back and say things like, 'Can we push the sandalwood a little bit more, can we make a tiny bit more sexy?' To translate that into actual chemistry is a difficult thing. Then they go back and say, 'What does she mean by sexy?' And I'm like, 'You know if you [take] that little piece that smells a little bit like wood but has a little bit of musk?...

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L'Eau Serge Lutens (2010): Renewing the Mythology of Perfume: Between Water and Smoke {Perfume Review}

Foreword: This is a review I wrote in April 2010, which I thought I would complete but re-reading it, I feel there is no need to wait forever for a more complete form. I was a bit weary of my own enthusiasm for the perfume so decided to wait. I might be more down to earth about L'Eau today. But why not just be sincere and a little less critical? I can always write another review of the same fragrance if I feel the need for it, something I am tempted to do not infrequently but there are time constraints, and new launches!

This is why for instance, I have not included remarks on Bas de Soie nor Boxeuses nor insights gained from his other oeuvre, his house in Morocco although I am not sure it would have brought anything vital to my initial take on L'Eau.

One thing I won't budge about is that this is not essentially or just a soap perfume. There are soapy accords, but it actually resolves into a beautiful magnolia composition.

L'Eau Serge Lutens: Renewing the Mythology of Perfume: Between Water and Smoke

Serge Lutens is an aesthet and artist who debuted his career in the world of beauty as a very young hair stylist, then a makeup artist and a photographer of his own work. His photographs are stunning and reveal a high degree of perfectionism and visual achievement. He is often reported to have been inspired to turn to perfumery after an olfactory shock derived from the scent of a piece of cedar he picked up one day in Morocco which led to the creation of Féminité du Bois in 1992 although his first ever opus in the art of perfumery was really Nombre Noir in 1982, a composition which he retrospectively has labeled as being "too safe" in an interview he gave to the blog in 2008.

In a way, his own brand can be seen to have been built based upon this intrinsic fear of the artist of not going far enough in a certain direction, of being too timid and weighed down by conventions, including after a while, the ones he creates for himself. The fact that he does not compose himself his fragrances but rather acts as creative director and critic towards them while working with perfumer Christopher Sheldrake, who is one in a more technical and interpretative sense, may contribute to this quality while liberating him at the same time from the thinking-in-the-box aspect of a professional perfumer who will have undergone a certain training and received more conventional education in this field....

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June 2010 Archive

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Monthly Archives from March 2006

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Latest Posts from Beauty And The Salamander

June 1, 2010

Fragrance Shopping Tips of the Day: Bas de Soie, Personalized Engraving Offered, Sex Pistols, Josephine Baker

Bleu de Chanel (2010): First Look + Notes {New Perfume} {Men's Cologne}

Dior Escale aux Marquises (2010): Couture Oblige {Fragrance Review}

An Antique Guerlain Flacon Breaks a World Record in an Auction {Fragrance News}

June 2, 2010

Sky + HD Eau de Stade for FIFA (2010): Fronted by Rachel Stevens {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}

Tuberose is Oh-So-Trendy this Spring/Summer 2010 {Trend Alert}

Benefit Crescent Row Lookin' to Rock Rita, So Hooked on Carmella, Garden of Good & Eva (2010) {New Fragrances}

June 3, 2010

Scarface Fragrance Collection for Men & Women (2010) {New Fragrances} {Celebrity Perfume}

Stop & Smell the Steak on Highway 150 {Fragrance News}

The Brothers Quay Introduce Wonderwood by Comme des Garçons (2010) {New Fragrance}

June 4, 2010

Halle Berry Reveal (2010): Halle to Unveil Another Facet of Herself {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}

Hervé Léger is Back with Avon and a Femme and Homme Duo (2010) {New Fragrances}

Parfums Delrae Coup de Foudre (2010) {New Perfume}

Jennifer Lopez Love and Glamour (2010): The Never-Ending Quest for a Signature {New Perfume} {Celebrity Fragrance}

L'Eau Serge Lutens (2010): Renewing the Mythology of Perfume: Between Water and Smoke {Perfume Review}

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