Vanilla, which has been in the recent past showcased as a main source of inspiration for perfumes such as Tihota by Indult composed by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian and Spiritueuse Double Vanille by Guerlain created by Jean-Paul Guerlain, while being announced as a key note in the upcoming Vanille Galante by Hermès in the Hermessence series, a work by Jean-Claude Ellena, has visibly awoken the interests of some of the major perfumers of the day.
L'Express is devoting an article to this beloved, indispensable ingredient of perfumery in more or less high doses including a Q & A with perfumer Jean-Paul Duriez of the house of Patou.
From that article we excerpt, translate and comment on a quote regarding the new Vanille Galante (Flirtatious Vanilla) to be launched in February 2009...
Last Saturday November 8th 2008, a ceremony was held at Wingen-sur-Moder in the Bas-Rhin region of France to set the first stone of the building that is going to become the Musée Lalique, a new French state museum, which will house the most important collection of René Lalique's works...
When the movie Perfume came out in 2006 (see our movie review), one knew that Thierry Mugler had been concocting an ambitious project, that of translating Patrick Süskind's narrative into real perfumes created by perfumers Christophe Laudamiel and Christophe Hornetz. The Mugler coffret, with its 15 scents (see also First Impressions on the Thierry Mugler Coffret), was the talk of the town towards the end of 2006 (and I have yet to review it fully although I will eventually get there, if only to recapture that highly exciting period of discovery)...
Youth apparel brand Mark Ecko have announced that they will start venturing in the world of fragrance development with perfumes for both men and women. The first one will be a masculine debuting in the fall of 2009. Their fragrance licensee is Parlux Fragrances (Maria Sharapova, Paris Hilton Can Can, Fairy Dust...). Parlux chairman and ceo Neil Katz said,
"With the Marc Ecko addition to our fragrance portfolio, Parlux will
target yet another consumer group," "We see Marc Ecko's appeal as worldwide and a key
part of our strategic plan." (Cosmetic News)
Photos courtesy of the Society of American Perfumers
This year, the Perfumers Choice Awards 2008 wanted to place their event under the guidance of two inspirational quotes from two women captains of industry to help members of the profession make the final selection of the winners for the PCAs awards (please see previous list of nominees). One is a reminder about the necessity to be creative and is from Coco Chanel who said "In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different," and the other is about the simple pragmatic reason for promoting standards of excellence and is by Estée Lauder who liked to remind people that "If you put the product into the customer's hands, it will speak for itself if it's something of quality."
Perhaps these remarks intervened in an era when advertising for beauty and fragrance products was less important than it is today and image less critical, but one can still, despite this evolution, and in fact, more so than ever precisely because of these new developments, agree with these premises.
The winners for 2008 are:
November 12, 2008
The American Society of Perfumers 2008 Perfumers Choice Awards Winners Announced
Following the recent launch of their first fine fragrance composition called Pearls, bath and body brand Carol's Daughter, who might be looking to emulate a brand like Fresh purveyor of both bath and body and fine perfumes, is preparing to launch their first celebrity perfume inspired by singer MaryJ Blige and named after her album entitled My Life. The artist has been working as one of the brand's celebrity spokespersons and is apparently thrilled by the project as she confesses to being a hard-core beauty junkie,
"I am Carol's Daughter and my fans are Carol's Daughter users so it
just made sense to partner," Blige said in an interview last month.
"Ever since I was a child, I loved buying products that made me feel
beautiful and clean," said Blige. "I'm a total beauty nut -- you should
check out all the junk in my bathroom." (Via WWD)
Perfumer Dominique Ropion of International Fragrances and Flavors was awarded the 2008 International Cosmetic Valley Prize. Since 2000, when it was first founded as the François Coty prize by perfumer Nicolas de Barry, this award has annually recognized a perfumer from the industry for its overall career achievement and also for an important perfume created that same year.
The prize was renamed last year in 2007 as the Prix International de la Cosmetic Valley. In the past, previous awards went to Francis Kukdjian (2001), Maurice Roucel (2002), Alberto Morillas (2003), Jacques Cavallier (2004), Sophie Labbé (2005),Lorenzo Villoresi (2006), and Christine Nagel (2007)...
According to an October 8th 2008 market research of the NPD Group, the tendency, already seen last year, for US women to turn to the classic or the familiar when it came to buying perfume is showing no signs of abating. The current economic context is probably going to support further developing of this trend. But according to that report, US women are nevertheless still interested in perfuming themselves, more so than last year for the same period and more so than men this year, unless the latter are using different strategies for scenting themselves than can be tracked down by consumer spending in the mainstream channels like the beauty prestige one...
Lanvin have announced that tennis champion Rafael Nadal will be the spokesperson for their upcoming new line of men's scents called Lanvin L'Homme Sport. Nadal has been ranked #1 tennis player in the world since August 2008.
The first perfume in the line, which will be developed by Lanvin's fragrance licensee Inter Parfums SA, is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2009. (Via WWD)
Fresh has re-edited two perfumes from their catalog in the Index collection, Patchouli Pure and Tobacco Caramel originally introduced in 2001 and 1999 respectively. They were discontinued two years ago and are back by popular demand. Tobacco Caramel, in spite of its reference to the voice of Billie Holiday, is explicitly billed as an unisex scent.
Patchouli Pure is an "An intoxicatingly fragrant blend of ginger, patchouli, cinnamon, and vanilla."
Tobacco Caramel is "Infused with voluptuous notes such as tobacco flowers, French tarragon and rich amber."...
After posting about the event, I received further information. The Perfumers Choice Awards, besides the more classic fine-fragrance categories, offers an interesting array of categories not found in other awards ceremonies in the industry, such as Laundry Detergents, Candles, Fragranced Line Extension, and even more technical, Challenging Bases. The PCA Awards furthermore pays attention to scent in both perfumery and beauty products.
What I see is a list of great recommendations! And it can only help further consumers' understanding and appreciation of the art and craft of perfumery.
Here is the list of products that were nominated in 2008. Perfume aficionados will also be interested to know that they define categories such as eco-friendly fragrances and baby/children fragrances, that do not appear in other competitions. Fine Fragrance: Women's classic Beautiful By Estee lauder Paloma Picasso by L'Oréal Opium By Yves Saint Laurent (see also our review of Opium Poésie de Chine)
Fine Fragrance: men's classic Eternity By Calvin Klein Fahrenheit By lvmh (see Fahrenheit 32) Obsession By Calvin Klein...
The American Society of Perfumers was established in 1947. It is currently headed by president Marvel Fields and vice-president Jim Krivda. The upcoming Perfumers Choice Awards will showcase the debut perfume by actor Tony Sirico from the Soprano series, called Paolo per Uomo.
From the press release,
"The American Society of
Perfumers, Inc. (ASP) will host its Perfumers Choice Awards ceremony on
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 from 6:30 to 10:30 pm at Tribeca Rooftop in New York
City. The annual fragrance industry award event acknowledges outstanding
individuals, consumer products, and corporations in the US fragrance industry,
with the winners chosen by their peers."...
The Soprano cast at the 14th annual screen actors guild awards on January 27, 2008. Tony Sirico is second from left.
The president of the Fragrance Foundation Rochelle Bloom went to Dubai recently to sign an agreement to set up a chapter of the foundation which will cover the Middle East market.
Cosmetics International has now confirmed that the new branch, called Fragrance Foundation Arabia is based in Dubai and is headed by chairman Shahzad Haider and president Grit Pannier...
Ok, so you weren't able to make it to the world premiere of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace in London yesterday (you wanted to have first dibs on the new Avon fragrance Bond Girl 007 of course).
The next best thing is to listen to Gemma Aterton talking about the perfume, take a peek at the behind-the-scenes and even - surprise! - listen to perfumer Olivier Cresp explaining his ideas for the perfume he helped create. It had to be both attractive and dangerous, says he. I am ready to believe Avon can put the equivalent of some kind of
perfumery glutaminate of sodium in their scents because their Wish of
Happiness seemed to operate exactly at that level.
So we get the addictive part for the drydown but then he adds that the top notes are sparkling. Is that supposed to mean dangerous as in an overdose of champagne?
Watch the commercial and then the interviews after the jump and let us know what you think!
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