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Italian brand Vintage 55 has introduced a special edition Aroma Therapy collection of scented T-shirts. These are packaged in glass jars with an aromatic sachet in them that enables the tees to refresh their scents after each washing although the textiles have also been specially dyed with a natural aromatic dye.......
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Mistinguette bracelet with an Hortensia and pink pepper bouquet
Aquarelle is a chain of florist shops in France which succeeds in maintaining an artisan flair. In fact, I just discovered they were a chain as I always thought of them as my neighborhood independent florist. The big wide-open store rue de Buci is charming with its heavy wooden beams and their flower compositions which overflow onto stands on the sidewalk immediately catch your eye with their creative details. Actress Jane Birkin is a fan and can be sighted there regularly.... Place Vendôme ring made out of Eucalyptus fruit
Continue reading "Aquarelle Ephemereal Flower Jewelry {Fragrant Shopping}" »
There is a fascinating interview with author Katherine Ashenburg on the history and practices of cleanliness in Salon. Judging by the exchange she seems to retain the theses of classic works of previous researchers on these questions such as Alain Corbin, Georges Vigarello, or Françoise de Bonneville but she also introduces comparative American material for example on the turning point that the Civil War was in the United-States for the discovery of the advantages of cleanliness and its decidedly democratic flavor. She also brings her own personal reflections which are very interesting. The interview and excerpt form her book were so compelling, we immediately went to order a copy of it........
Continue reading "Interview with Katherine Ashenburg: Do You Prefer to Scrape, Change Shirts or Soap? {Fragrant Reading} {Holiday Shopping Ideas - $20 or Less} {Notebook: Fresh & Clean}" »
We have more details regarding the new collection of decorative scented candles issued by Maxim's de Paris the legendary Parisian restaurant, just in time for the Holidays. We lingered a bit more on the series called Belle Epoque last time, now there is more practical information about the Sem collection named after the famous caricaturist Georges Goursat who used to haunt the restaurant in its early days. Incidentally, please consider all of our new scented products and perfume announcements as ideas for possible presents to be offered this end of the year. These have to be good and if they are new, wouldn't it be even more exciting to offer and to receive as a way of feeling the Zeitgeist? The Sem candle collection comprises Bergamot Eclat, Figuier Blossoms, and Fruit Glace.......
Continue reading "Maxim's Sem Luxury Scented Candles {Fragrant Shopping - Home Fragrance}" »
If you are at least 10 and willing to invest the sum of 19.99 Euros you can now become a perfume developer or at least pretend that you are one on a rainy afternoon. The lessons drawn from the game are rather matter-of-fact. Beauty Factory presents itself as a strategic game around beauty and in particular asks of you to create "perfume formulas that will please consumers the most, then launch the production while choosing the product price and deciding upon the budget for advertising." So it is official? Perfumery is not an art anymore and children should realize that as quickly as possible?.....
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Perfumers sometimes set aside their flacons and notebooks full of formulas and quickly jotted-down notes and instead pick up a more literary or theoretical pen deciding to write a book. Writings by seasoned perfumers are amongst some of the most interesting texts to read on perfume. Edmond Roudnitska, Jean Kerléo, Maurice Maurin, and Jean-Claude Ellena are some of the ones in the contemporary period that have felt the need to express themselves on paper as well as in perfumes.......
Continue reading "New Book: Le Parfum by Jean-Claude Ellena, Master Perfumer {Fragrant Reading} {Fragrant Shopping}" »
Café Scribe, a site selling e-books is taking an innovative step to encourage people to buy its products. Starting in September of 2007, they will send their customers scented stickers with each purchase of an e-book. One will have to stick these onto one's computer to diffuse the fragrances. The selection comprises traditional scents associated with books, either that of musty old books or freshly printed ones.......
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Le Prince Jardinier, a brand whose motto is "Excellence around the garden", is known for its dedication to the art of gardening and interest in perfumes. The label was named after a nickname given to its founder, Prince Louis-Albert de Broglie, also known as the Prince-Gardener......
Continue reading "Tomate Aristocrate, Glycine de Chine, & Scottish Memories by Le Prince Jardinier {Fragrant Shopping} {Scented Candles}" »
 A fun little gadget has appeared, which aims to link more closely the sense of vision with that of smell. You can now plug in an USB drive into your computer and smell a field of roses or jasmine or relax with lavender or get invigorated by peppermint oil while typing away at your desk. The USB drive comes with a bottle of fragrance oil. A few drops last all day and total cost is only $7. It might be worthwhile to give it a try. You can purchase the gadget here.
Absolument, also known under the brand name Parfum d'Interdits, have released a second fragrance creation destined this time to men called Absolument Homme. It comes after Absolument Absinthe in 2006, a green scent based on the mythological wormwood and cannabis....
Continue reading "Abolument Homme & L'Orgue à Parfum Absolument Parfumeur/Absolument Fragrance Organ {New Perfume} {Fragrant Shopping}" »
Duo of authors Luigi Cristiano and Gianni De Martino have written a book entitled Viaggi e Profumi (Urra, 2007) (Travels and Perfumes). It is a descriptive and sensualist travelogue through space and even time in quest of iconic natural essences produced in specific world-renowned locales. Gianni De Martino is a writer and journalist from Milan who has written another book about the fifth sense entitled Odori: entrate in contato con il quinto senso......
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The DVD of Perfume, The Story of a Murderer is coming out tomorrow, July 24th 2007. We will soon review the DVD(s) and especially the Collector Edition from Europe, which contains a number of interesting, nay, fascinating featurettes. Paramount is sending us some copies of the US edition, which contains one behind-the-scenes featurette and we will organize a giveaway of these at the end of our review of the DVD......
Continue reading "DVD of Perfume - The Story of a Murderer (2007) Out July 24th 2007 + Giveaway {Fragrant Shopping}" »
Using a hand-held fan is one of the most elegant graceful gestures one can think of. Ladurée, a Parisian pastry house and specialist of delicately fragrant macaroons established in 1862 is reviving this refined tradition this summer by proposing a scented fan that will be available from July 1st 2007. It was made fragrant with "delicate and exquisite violet", like their home fragrance Paeva.
Also a reminder that after the lily-of-the-valley macaroon in May, the new seasonal flavor is grenadine for the summer.
Perfumer Christopher Brosius of CB I Hate Perfume has a book coming out, which bears the title Scent: Mysteries of Perfume and The Smell of Happiness. The author is widely known for his work as a realistic and psychological perfumer. He was the founder of the Demeter line of perfumes, which offers a library of scents based on the search of simple yet unusual olfactory facets of our world once seen bottled, from Between The Sheets to Dirt to Wet Garden and Sushi.......
Continue reading "A New Book On Perfume By Christopher Brosius {Fragrant Reading} {Fragrant Shopping} {Scented Quote of the Day}" »
 The DVD of Perfume, The Story of a Murderer is going to be released in France on May 4th 2007. The US Amazon site is not yet offering a release date. Apart from the movie, the DVD Collector Edition of Perfume will comprise two discs with a number of extras that will rejoice perfumistas.......
Continue reading "DVD Collector Edition of Perfume The Story of a Murderer by Tom Tykwer {Fragrant Shopping} {Fragrance News}" »
Michèle Gay is a self-described "culinary creator" who offers a range of products centering on the arts of the table that build a bridge between cuisine and perfumery. Her concept is called Parfums de Table (Perfumes for the Table). If her approach taps into a branch of gastronomy that is very trendy today yet remains original within the contemporary context, it is not entirely novel.......
Continue reading "Parfums de Table by Michèle Gay {Fragrant Shopping} {Fragrant Recipes}" »
 Carole Bouquet is a French actress who has fallen in love with Pantelleria in Sicily and its tradition of wine-making. Over the years she succeeded in buying the small lands of over 70 peasants from the island in order to revive the making of a Passito wine from Pantelleria. The result is reportedly "divine". The grapes, a muscat grape from Alexandria called Zibbido there, are hand-picked and left to dry on the ground so that they can imbibe the aromas of figs and fennels. The result is a rich fragrant wine with further hints of cinnamon, orange blossom, and candied apricots, amongst other notes.
You can read a review of the wine in French on Sommelier-Consultant, Paris. You can buy it here for 40 Euros. Other source: Chroniques du Plaisir
If you think teddy bears are cute but are not exactly your style, check out the Shunga Erotic Art line with their "intimate moment products". Amongst others, you will find a chocolate body paint set: "Combine adult play with romance. Use this chocolate body paint to write love poems, draw hearts, flowers, and reveal your artistic side. It's insanely delicious." A 100 ml bottle retails for $10.99
 If you are still wondering what Christmas tea you want to sip over Christmas or bring as a gift to a host, I would recommend the Kusmi Christmas Tea. I prefer it over the popular Spiced Christmas Tea by Taylor's as it has a deeper, smokier, and spicier flavor. The Taylor's one makes me think more of a classic English breakfast tea. It is also not that flavorful in my opinion and hence feels less of a special tea during that special season of the Holidays.....
Continue reading "Kusmi Christmas Tea by Kousmichoff {Fragrant Shopping} {Holiday Gift Idea}" »
 The Scented Salamander has spotted these elegant and ecological silk pouches made out of recycled vintage Geisha kimonos from the 1930s-1960s, all hand-sewn. You can use them to carry purse-sized perfume bottles or a compact mirror to avoid scratching its precious surface or cosmetics or even a cell-phone....
Continue reading "Perfume Pouch by Aroma M {Fragrant Shopping & Gift Ideas} {Countdown to the Holidays}" »
 The Japanese brand Fuwarinka has taken the classic concept of the fragrant chewing gum to the next level: chewing some gum should not only freshen your mouth, it should do the same job for your whole body....
Continue reading "Functional Candy & Gum by Fuwarinka {Fragrant Shopping & Gift Ideas} {Countdown to the Holidays}" »
 It's that exhilarating time of the year again.To get into the holiday spirit The Scented Salamander is going to go window shopping and bring you some gift ideas. It's always a good idea to shop in advance for the holidays to get the best selection available and reduce your stress levels later on. This year's limited edition of bejeweled figurative solid perfume compacts by Estée Lauder is a great resource. Some people might think they are a bit kitsch, but what's wrong with Kitsch anyway one may ask?... 
Continue reading "The Holiday Favorites Collection by Estée Lauder {Fragrant Shopping & Gift Ideas} {Countdown to the Holidays}" »
 Frederic Malle has released a series of four luscious and refined body butters based on 4 of their 15 fragrances from the Editions de Parfums line. Those are Beurre d'Iris (90 Euros) based on Iris Poudre, Absolue Cassie (100 Euros) on Une Fleur de Cassie, Absolue de Rose Turque DM (110 Euros) on Une rose, and Absolue Tubereuse DM (125 Euros) on Carnal Flower.
The hydrating base was created by an MD, Dr. Patricia Le Bastard. The Beurres Exquis (Exquisite Butters) come in 200 g jars made of luxurious black bakelite. Source: Chez Sarra
 Pierre Dinand after designing perfume bottles for 40 years has turned to sculpture. You can visit his site to learn more about the master's work and even purchase a small version of a bronze sculpture conceived of as the integration of several famous fragrance flacons into one unique brute form. Personally, I love it and find the price surprisingly reasonable!
The original work can be seen at the Oita Kaori-no Mori perfume museum in Kiushu, Japan. The smaller replica of the sculpture is sold for $200.
I was offered some time ago a wonderful fragrant present. Quê is the name for cinnamon in Vietnamese and in this case it designates boxes handcrafted out of cinnamon bark from the cassia tree. These scented boxes, I was told, are popularly used as tea boxes so that the sweet, spicy, and woody aroma of cinnamon will penetrate the tea leaves left there to macerate in protected obscurity....
Continue reading "Fragrant Shopping: Aromatic Cinnamon Bark Boxes From Vietnam" »
 Convenience chain operator Seven-Eleven Japan Co. said Thursday it will start marketing two types of canned oxygen designed to help consumers alleviate or soften fatigue and stress.
The 3.2-liter canned supplements, named O2 Supli, provide an oxygen density ratio of 95 percent in relation to the container's volume, the company said.
Oxygen inside the container is sprayed into a transparent plastic mask which is initially attached to the can as its cap. Users wear the mask, whose other end is inserted into the spray's nozzle.
The canned oxygen products, developed with household products manufacturer Hakugen Co., will help refresh users, especially when they are driving automobiles or working at offices, the company said.
The products will be offered in two types with one carrying ''aroma'' sheets soaked with peppermint essential oil, and the other with grapefruit essential oil. The sheets are to be put near the nozzle to convey their fragrances to oxygen.
Both products will sell for 600 yen apiece. Seven-Eleven said it will put the products on store shelves in Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa on May 23 with their marketing areas to be expanded to all stores in the country on June
 
The house of Monin, world-famous for its high quality flavored syrups and extensive selection, of sometimes, unusual fragrances for the palate such as pistachio or roasted chestnut syrups, has developed a line of gourmet syrups composed of flower scents called Le Bouquet de Monin. Pushing the limits of our gustative habits and inviting us to taste what flowers smell like, Monin offers us a selection of four, apparently, delectable fragrances for us to pour in our drinks or use in our food; they are, violet syrup, jasmine syrup, rose syrup, and finally, lavender syrup. An elder flower syrup is also available in France but doesn't appear to be marketed in the US. Monin is responding to a popular contemporary trend in cuisine which makes use of edible flowers. Their site proposes recipes to make use of the flowery scents, such as violet milk shake or mozarella marinated in violet syrup, a shrimp and salmon quiche with Monin rose, a lavender Martini, or simply a hot jasmine tea. I, personally, would be tempted to use them in sorbet recipes.
Recipes for Le Bouquet de Monin The syrups can be purchased in the United States for $5.38 at Eurocafé Imports LLC Photos are from the Monin website
 Apparently, these soaps are so good, they send people head over heels. They are not just content to flirt with them, they want to marry them, for all eternity. The other day, I happened on a press article about the couple that makes these soaps in Missouri and then went to read the testimonials on their website....and thought I had mistakingly clicked on a soap cult website. It sounds like we all need to try these soaps before we die!!! From the standpoint of scents, the line appears to be rather unsurprising albeit very fresh-smelling. The Black Forest Chamomille one sounds interesting in its purported attempt to capture the scent of a country; it is said to combine the "traditional scents of Germany, bergamot, cinnamon, lavender, lemongrass and orange." They also have an Old Fashioned Lye Soap which may be helpful to those of us who are looking for an unscented soap to serve as a discrete base for perfume-wearing; I'm always looking for one of those personally. The line is composed of 6 different soaps having different properties.
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