Perfume author Annick Le Guérer will publish a new book from December 17, 2009 entitled Si le parfum m' était conté (If The Story of Perfume Were Told to Me) at Editions Garde-Temps made in collaboration with l'Osmothèque in Versailles. The foreword was written by the President of the Osmothèque Patricia de Nicolaï.
Like other tomes at the publishing house and her previous work Quand le parfum portait remède, the book is transformed into a less abstract object that is usual for print and scented with 12 perfumes from the past....
Sean John did so well for his first time on HSN that his perfume I Am King sold out in the first 15 mn of the show. After a caller asked if he would create an I Am Queen Perfume, P Diddy said that the women's version of I Am King was already being developed and is called Empress with a launch scheduled for next year.
Nasomatto the Italian perfume brand that claims to be the work of a "crazy nose" might finally convince the last of the remaining skeptics that this is not just marketing. Black Afgano, an ink-colored hashish-based fragrance reportedly painstakingly sourced from behind the lines of fire in Afghanistan is now available in an oversized flacon of extrait that seems to be a candidate for the Guinness Book of World Records while appearing to be seen through the eyes of Alice in Wonderland. It is bigger than the 1 L Fontaine Impériale by Guerlain.
Black Afgano is now bottled in a 2 Liter giant incarnation of its own self, with the same burnt oak wood cap, and its new name is Black AfganoExtrait de Parfum 2000 ml...
Number one luxury group LVMH has felt particularly targeted by the gray market and vulnerable to counterfeiters operating on the #1 online auction site eBay. In a step-up of their demands (see series of posts), they have been wanting for eBay to stop allowing the "distribution" of their goods even when authentic.
For this reason, it has become for example virtually impossible to find vintage perfumes by Guerlain or Givenchy or even empty bottles of those on eBay.fr except when someone goes undercover selling them without using the brand name.
LVMH is keen on publicizing a zero-tolerance policy and continues to sue eBay until it seems they can get to the last private seller standing, a position that eBay finds practically unreasonable and objects to on the grounds that LVMH are trying to crush the laws of market competition.....
Designers Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas have been called upon by Azzaro artistic director Vanessa Seward to decorate the flacon of Azzaro Couture perfume. After they did a duo of candles for Diptyque based on the story of Beauty and the Beast, they now offer another pair, "La poupée et son ours" or The Doll and her Bear.
A bottle of perfume is priced at 230€, 192.31€ duty-free. Exclusively available at Colette and in the Azzaro boutiques.
A new aromatherapy product called Tantrum 911 has been introduced to help rescue your kids from their meltdowns and salvage your "nerves" at the same time. The website advertises notes of strawberry, banana and spices and promises that the scent,"Gently settle uncontrollable tantrums, drug-free, using only the sense of smell." ...
Time:
Let's aim to meet at noon (12:00) for a couple of hours. We can stay
there, or walk around to some other nearby locations. In the area are
various boutiques (Chanel, Geurlain, Hermes) and some other stores like
Andrew's and Holt's... Let's see how things go and decide at the time.
To Bring: Yourself, an open mind, maybe some cash, your significant others, and any books, samples, etc "
For more info, contact danieljoffe at gmail dot com
Claridges have partnered with Christian Dior to offer a supplementary luxury room service with the creation of the Dior Dressing Tables.
"The Dior Dressing Table includes a carefully curated range of timeless
accessories, including an elegant silk Claridge's dressing gown and
slippers; a cashmere eye mask; and a selection of classic Dior
fragrances including Diorella, Dioramma [sic] and Dioressence, as well as
range of beauty kit essentials.
"
The idea behind the Dior Dressing Table is also to help create a 1930s atmosphere. You can order a cocktail from the period amongst the "swizzles, daisies, sours, juleps and pick-me-ups" from the hotel's Fumoir Bar. They are served in Lalique
glasses. Books and music come complete the picture with works by Evelyn Waugh and
Nancy Mitford and songs by Josephine Baker and Fred Astaire.
Sounds to me like a perfect recovery plan for someone stuck in a hotel room with a cold or prevented from shopping due to a storm or alternatively for people who cannot resist things being brought to them on a tray.
A team led by Dr. Nick Lavidis from Queensland University Australia has developed a scent that smells of cut grass at higher doses but is virtually undetectable by the nose at lower levels yet impacts the functioning of the brain to relieve stress and anxiety symptoms.
Serenascent "...is a mixture of hexanals, hexenols and pinenes in very specific ratios."
It was tested on animals to positive effects and will be first launched
as a room spray that can be applied to clothing and bedding...
Two years ago, an informed rumor surfaced on the internet via the fashionweekdaily.com announcing that Frederic Malle of Editions de Parfums was hunting for a store in New York City. The new boutique is now open. It is "...a 900-square-foot space located at 898 Madison Avenue at 72nd Street, in Manhattan."
Malle reportedly had had his eye on the building since his days as an arts student at New York City University, with an impression filed away under a tag saying something like "great building!"...
Lubin, perfumer since 1798, have completely relooked their website. Entering it now is like walking through different rooms, galleries, or atmospheres also created by varied musics and animations. The text clarifies some sources of inspiration like the medieval one for Le Vetiver. History is used to legitimize the brand...
A 19th century British perfume brand that few remember today, Grossmith, has been re-established by a descendant, Simon Brooke, with the help of perfume expert Roja Dove.
J. Grossmith Son & Co which has had slightly differing company names since 1835 the year of its original establishment was a contemporary of familiar-sounding fragrance brands to the contemporary ear like Eugene Rimmel, Yardley, Jean-Marie Farina or more obscure ones like George Payne from the Isle of Wright and T. W. Fisher & Co.
One of their bestsellers seems to have been Shem-El-Nessim the Scent of Araby. When looking at advertisements for Grossmith perfumes, one cannot but be struck by how they carried the prejudices of its time offering some of the most colonialist imagery I have seen, and certainly as appearing behind the name of a fragrance.
For Wana-Ranee the Perfume of Ceylon and in 1918 it won't do if the perfume is not presented as a quasi devotional offering by a deferential Indian woman who is either on her knees or hunched and extending her arms from afar (in terms of social distance hinted at by her gesture) towards a group of Blond, European maharanis as if all English women ought to be ideally blond as cherubs. It is unsettling to the modern eye and we see that Grossmith was a great supporter of the British imperial crown...
Rochas have finally set up their new website at Rochas.com showcasing their perfume collections.
The design pays homage to the signature Rochas lace that appeared on the perfume packaging of Femme. The contents feature the commentary of in-house perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez.
One notes that sadly Madame Rochas and Femme are now officially only listed in Eau de Toilette concentrations, not their best incarnations....
We have the scoop on exciting celebrity fragrance news from French label Etat Libre d'Orange. As we indicated early on in the process, indie perfume brands have become increasingly interested in the celebrity fragrance market, just like the big dogs, so to speak (Coty, Avon, Parlux, Elizabeth Arden/Unilever...).
You have to realize that this is a fun way to take a second, closer critical look at the notion of being an "independent" niche house, when you see that the movement was initiated by major fragrance labels first and that indies followed the lead. But as noted earlier, indies tend to pick celebrity personalities that are relatively more underground and quirky (as compared to Britney Spears, still quirky admittedly, and JLo)...
Yesterday night at the Chambre de Commerce de Versailles, perfumer Olivier Polge (left on the picture) was the recipient of the 10thPrix International du Parfum.
The jury was composed of members of ISIPCA, a major (external) school
of perfumery. The prize was handed to him by Baroque music conductor
and founder of Les Arts Florissants William Christie (center of the
picture)...
Perfume author Annick Le Guérer will publish a new book from December 17, 2009 entitled Si le parfum m' était conté (If The Story of Perfume Were Told to Me) at Editions Garde-Temps made in collaboration with l'Osmothèque in Versailles. The foreword was written by the President of the Osmothèque Patricia de Nicolaï. 
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2009 Holidays window display at Louis Vuitton
A new aromatherapy product called 
A team led by Dr. Nick Lavidis from Queensland University Australia has developed a scent that smells of cut grass at higher doses but is virtually undetectable by the nose at lower levels yet impacts the functioning of the brain to relieve stress and anxiety symptoms. 
