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 The new Perry Ellis for Men by Perry Ellis represents an avowed effort on the part of the brand to go upscale under the aegis of its new owner since 2007, the Falic Fashion Group LLC. This evolution is immediately noticeable in the design of the bottle which is more soigné; it aims to convey a sense of luxury through the heaviness of the glass flacon especially (it is very heavy) - the cap is made of composite wood and the strap is a nice modernist touch and apparel reference but the metallic details could have been of better quality it seems; then the advertising is aspirational in two senses: both in the sense of presenting an image of luxurious lifestyle somewhere on the Italian coast, but also in making more democratically reference to a carefree summer holiday atmosphere; finally, the character of the jus itself comes across as life-affirming, frank, relaxed, sensual, devoid of complexes - the designers who mothered the scent do not hesitate to underline "... a bright freshness with commercial appeal." Perry Ellis for Men makes you think of a smiling, charming beau gosse who could not care less about what is in and what is out because every clothes fall great on his frame. The fragrance has an easy, smooth charm while being masterfully blended; it obviously did not torture itself about being avant-garde, edgy, or even trendy. It takes a well-tested classic persona of citrus + spices + woods + amber forming a fresh and warm contrast, but manages to impose its personality thanks to the quality of the treatment by perfumer Mathilde Bijaoui who reveals her finesse and a very good sense of balance.... Image from the photo shoot for the advertising for Perry Ellis for Men - model is Nir Lavi
Continue reading "Perry Ellis for Men (2008) {Perfume Review} {Men's Cologne}" »
 Crystal-maker Lalique will launch a new fragrance for men called Lalique White, first next week, exclusively at Harrods in London, and then worldwide in September 2008. The US and Middle East will only discover it in 2009. The scent is described as a fresh hesperidic perfume and was composed by perfumer Christine Nagel who reportedly was interested in bringing out the fresh, cool facets of spices.....
Continue reading "Lalique White (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne} - Thierry de Baschmakoff at Lalique {Fragrance News}" »
NoBs Alpha Male is a fragrance company founded in 2007 entirely dedicated to catering to the perfume needs of a forlorn minority, the alpha males. In the midst of a gender-bending age, someone had to shout enough is enough. Within this brand universe "Metrosexual" is considered a dirty word. As stated, "NoBs Alpha Male is a company of, by, and for the alpha male". We got a comment and advertising tag under our recent post about men's perfume ads, saying "NoBs Alpha Male has come out with a fragrance for Alpha Males, called Fighter, no mixed messages; smell great, and smell like a man. We agree, men want to look at women, not other men." We went to take a look at their website and it is pretty single-minded and picturesque.....
Continue reading "NoBs Alpha Male Fighter (2008): No B.S. Be A Man! & Become No B.S. Girl of the Year {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Kenzo Power by Kenzo, which rhymes with Kenzo Flower no doubt for harmonizing branding purposes, is destined to be the masculine counterpart to their best-seller feminine scent created by Alberto Morillas in 2000. Like its predecessor, the upcoming Power to be launched in August 2008, takes as source of inspiration the imagined scent of a flower. In the case of Kenzo Flower what served as support for poetic license was a scentless red poppy dear to the heart of designer Kenzo; in the case of Kenzo Power the fictionalized floral reference dissolves further into the vagueness of a non-entity just described as an "imaginary flower".
Olivier Polge is the perfumer behind Kenzo Power. He is also the creator of Dior Homme, Guerlain Cuir Beluga, Dior Pure Poison, Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb, among others. Masculines Are Hot
The new Kenzo Power, beyond the in-house reference, appears to be part of new trendy generation of floral compositions for men that were recently reintroduced with some fanfare by Jean Paul Gaultier with Fleur du Mâle (Flower of the Male), a masculine scent centering on orange blossom created by Francis Kurkdjian. If floral notes never really took the exit door of men's fragrances following the prim flowery 19th century filled with gentlemen sporting flowers in their buttonholes and scented with rose at their barber shops, they could be showcased more or less, and as recently experienced, readily flaunted for their modern metrosexual connotations rather than hid as sub-virile. Thus contemporary dandies have pointedly been invited to reconsider their options......
Continue reading "Kenzo Kenzo Power (2008): Trendy Masculinity By Way of Muji {Perfume Review} {Men's Cologne}" »
 Guerlain is preparing to launch a new perfume for men starting in August 2008 called unequivocally Homme. The brand owned by LVMH has the ambition of making it a pillar fragrance on a similar standing as L'Instant and has invested in it accordingly. The main concept is that this man recognizes that he has a dual nature, both human and animal.......
Continue reading "Guerlain Homme (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Fashion designer Paco Rabanne known for his daring use of metals in the 1960s-1970s on fashion runways as well as for his life-long interest in astrology and numerology is bringing together these two sources of inspiration in a new fragrance for men to be launched in August 2008 called 1 Million. The new cologne is said to feature a coppery note seldom used in men's perfumes and is packaged in a spray bottle looking like a gold bar.....
Continue reading "Paco Rabanne 1 Million (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Ex-boxer Malamine Koné the founder of sportswear brand Airness, reported to be the # 1 French sportswear brand, has partnered up with L'Oréal to propose a new line of 3 Eaux de Toilette and 3 déoparfums for men. The perfumes are called Instinct Cool, Instinct Musk, and Instinct Power while the deo-perfumes are titled Instinct Urban, Instinct Deep, and Instinct Fresh. They were developed by perfumers usually working for the prestige fragrance sector but will be marketed as masstige products.....
Continue reading "Airness Instinct Cool, Instinct Musk, Instinct Power & More Instincts (2008) {New Fragrances} {Men's Colognes}" »
 Surf and lifestyle Australian brand Quicksilver is launching their first fragrance, a masculine cologne, this summer called Quicksilver. It follows their sister brand Roxy's two women's perfumes Roxy and Roxy Love. As a "transgenerational" fragrance Quicksilver aims to reach a broad audience while reportedly leaning towards the 15-35 years old demographic. The perfume was created by Antoine Lie and Antoine Maisondieu of Givaudan (they are known in particular for their co-signed creations for niche brand Etat Libre d'Orange).....
Continue reading "Quicksilver (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Porsche Design as the result of a joint effort between Groupe Clarins and the Porsche SE subsidiary will launch a new masculine fragrance in October of 2008 called The Essence. It is reported to have been originally inspired by a single molecule named "Artical" which has the property of conveying a sensation of extreme freshness without the usual reference to a marine atmosphere. In this case the freshness alluded to is that of the North Pole. Historically this is very interesting as it is not a first despite the forward-sounding name of the molecule; the classic Chanel No. 5 is also said to have been partly inspired by the sensation of freshness experienced by its perfumer Ernest Beaux while in the vicinity of a lake in the Arctic region.......
Continue reading "Porshe Design The Essence (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Jennifer Lopez is adding a masculine scent to her portfolio this September of 2008, for the very first time. Following this spring-and-summer Deseo for women, the new scent, Deseo for Men, represents an effort to broaden the appeal of the brand and challenge its creativity......
Continue reading "Jennifer Lopez Deseo for Men (2008) {New Fragrance}" »
Ferre has launched a new perfume titled Acqua Azzurra for Men. The perfume which is described as being woody and fresh with a salty and aqueous accord in the base was created by nose Mark Buxton.....
Continue reading "Ferre Acqua Azzurra for Men (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Country singer Tim McGraw is set to launch his first signature perfume called McGraw in August of 2008. The simple rather virile name of the fragrance already sets the tone, "Tim resonates with the American consumer — he is admired not only for being a great musician, but also for being a great husband [to Faith Hill] and father [of three]. We see this as one of the most significant mass market fragrance launches since [Coty launched] Celine Dion five years ago.".....
Continue reading "Tim McGraw McGraw (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume} {Men's Cologne}" »
The latest Dolce & Gabbana The One for Men is said by Gabbana to be an all-man's perfume, "I wanted to create a real man's fragrance" and the designer according to WWD emphasized the word "uomo" in the conversation. The ad fronted by Matthew McConaughey in the role of a (fully-dressed for once) Latin-inspired masculine icon was photographed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. A micro site was set up to promote the new cologne.
The One for Men is a warm, sweet and fruity tobacco perfume in the oriental genre. The brand describes it as "a spicy, oriental perfume developed on the harmony of tobacco with refined boisé notes". The flacon is meant to directly reflect the fashion sense of the brand as "the proportions of the bottle recall a tailor suit made by the fashion house" (see also Narciso Rodriguez for Him). Noteworthy points are the fact that the scent emphasizes the fruity tonality - less common a phenomenon for masculine fragrances than for feminine ones currently (see Calvin Klein Man) - and that you can find a well-developed quote in the heart from a famous discontinued Italian oriental classic.......
Continue reading "Dolce & Gabbana The One for Men (2008) {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Fashion design brand Ted Lapidus has released a new masculine perfume called Altamir. The scent is described as an oriental featuring a delicate yet intense note of orange blossom further encased in an orange-y accord. Last year, Jean Paul Gaultier put the spotlight on this floral note in his (officially) gender-bending masculine fragrance, Fleur du Mâle....
Continue reading "Ted Lapidus Altamir (2008): The Trail of Orange Blossom {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Thierry Mugler AngelMen Pure Coffee is a new interpretation of Angel Men launched in 1996, four years after the original women's Angel which revolutionized our perception of the seductive oriental fragrance by pulling all the stops on extreme edible sensations such as chocolate, honey, and caramel but darkened and turned into a dusky-voiced femme fatale thanks to indomitable notes of patchouli. Shalimar had met its match in gourmand and alluring shock-value nearly seventy years later. One can well imagine that smelling the overdose of vanilla in Shalimar in the 1920s when Vanillin was but an unfamiliar sensation in the world of fragrances must have been the equivalent of inhaling Angel in the 1992 and finding it curiously voluptuous, intense, and almost edible.....
Continue reading "Thierry Mugler AngelMen Pure Coffee (2008) {Perfume Review} {Men's Cologne} {New Fragrance}" »
Fashion brand Izod is launching a new men's signature fragrance called Izod, targeting the 18-35 year-old market. For a month, it will be sold exclusively at Nordstrom......
Continue reading "Izod Fragrance (2008) {New Perfume} {Men's Cologne}" »
Unforgivable Black and Unforgivable Woman Black by Sean John are the two latest additions to the Sean John perfume portfolio. His debut scent was Unforgivable for Men in 2006 which was a commercial success earning the brand $150 million globally. Last year Sean Diddy Combs also designed a women's version of Unforgivable, which he noted had nothing to do with the original men's version except for a subtle "synergy note" of bergamot as he wanted the feminine scent to stand on its own. He told Women's Wear Daily,
"I didn't want to take the easy way out as far as just making a feminine version of the men's. Women and men are totally different. I like a woman to smell like a woman, and a man to smell like a man."
After everyone has had time to take in this statement and digest it, we can point out that this time the Black duo takes the synergy route that was rejected the first time around. The two perfumes are very much two birds of the same feather but this time they seem to belong to one of those species of birds where the male's plumage is more colorful than the female's one due to male active sexual competition over female mates......
Continue reading "Unforgivable Black & Unforgivable Woman Black (2008) {Perfume Reviews} {New Fragrances}" »
 Coty will release a new limited edition fragrance as part of the David Beckham Instinct franchise inaugurated in 2005. The new scent is called Instinct After Dark, "Intinct After Dark, according to various report, opens with sparkling, tangy-fresh citrus notes of grapefruit, Italian bergamot and mandarin leaf. The middle note is pure elegance with pimento, star anise and cardamom, culminating in the magnetic sensuality of vanilla and white amber."....
Continue reading "David Beckham Instinct After Dark (2008) {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume} {Men's Cologne}" »
 Following the developments of higher profile fragrances in collaboration with luxury designers Christian Lacroix for Rouge and Noir and Cynthia Rowley for Flower and Petal, Avon will now offer a new duo of perfumes created in partnership with couturier Emmanuel Ungaro from August of 2008. The fragrances are called Ungaro U for Her and U for Him, not to be confused with last year's Ungaro by Ungaro fragrance bottled in a U-shaped flacon.....
Continue reading "Avon & Ungaro U for Her & Him (2008) {New Fragrances} {Men's Cologne}" »
Sean John is releasing a new limited Collector's Edition of a duo of fragrances in April of 2008 called Unforgivable Woman Black and Unforgivable Black. The news have not just to do with the packaging which is now all lacquered black but with the more luxurious renditions of the perfumes themselves for which "...only the most premium and luxurious ingredients were used..." The new fragrances are "extracted and re-created from the original Unforgivable" using top grade quality ingredients labeled "Orpur". As stated by the press officer, "Orpur ingredients are naturally grown and harvested to the strictest standards, causing the fragrance to have a concentrated and intense scent.".......
Continue reading "Sean John Unforgivable Woman Black & Unforgivable Black (2008) {New Fragrances} {Men's Cologne}" »
Dirty English has been identified by Nash-Taylor of Juicy Couture as a cross between the influences of her own Anglomania (she is married to John Taylor of Duran Duran), Skaist-Levys’ “CZ Guest Style”, a dash of punk (Sex Pistols) while its style (the bottle's?) borrows from their flagship store located on Rodeo Drive. She also promised that, "Any self-respecting bad boy will want to wear it." (Women’s Wear Daily) The name of the perfume is immediately catchy and if we were to start drawing a list of The Best of 2008, it would have to be nominated under the category "Best Fragrance Name". It actually makes you want to create the category. The first whiff from the bottle promises the scent to be less than pale. It is sweeter and more heavily resinous than average.
The perfume turns out to be a noteworthy twist on a traditional woody-leathery-tobacco scent for men with fresh fougere accents. It demonstrates how you can play with the idea of excess without being excessive in reality. Its most traditional facet suggests the suave after-shave of a gentleman frequenting the requisite club with all the necessary trappings of leather furniture, books and polished woods with beeswax that one would expect. This is deemed an ideal by many and it is a comfortable one. Its more adventurous facet is a humorous and sensual play on the notion of human foulness and extreme bodily exhalations as it plays with the notion of dirtiness but ultimately and paradoxically in a clean and allusive way. This Englishman is indeed a bit dirty and it is not just a play on words but really a play on olfactory sensations......
Continue reading "Juicy Couture Dirty English (2008) {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
After having mostly focused on aromatic fougères, Hugo Boss will launch a new cologne for men called Boss Pure, which is inspired by the abstract smell of water and classified as a fresh scent. Reportedly, fresh perfumes are popular enough to constitute 45% of the men's market....
Continue reading "Hugo Boss Boss Pure (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Tonino Lamborghni, the prestigious Italian car brand, has signed a deal with Coty to release three new colognes for men in April of 2008 titled Mitico, Feroce, Forza. Each will illustrate a different fragrance family....
Continue reading "Tonino Lamborghini Mitico, Feroce, Forza (2008) {New Fragrances} {Men's Colognes}" »
Amor Pour Homme by Cacharel was composed by perfumer Sophie Labbé together with Pierre Wargnye in 2006. Thanks to 22 Perfumers in Creation by Clara Molloy, we learn that just like for her other fragrances, the perfumer used a code name to inspire her efforts and in this case it was "Men's rose", in English, that she repeated to herself from time to time to keep her eyes on the prize. Labbé also further explains that when the idea came to her (date unspecified), it was difficult to impose this concept of a floral for men, which literally obsessed her, but that after Dior Pour Homme, which was released in 2005, this concept of a paradoxical fragrance for men based on a flower - a note commonly perceived as being feminine in Western perfumery culture - became much more established. We have to understand that this remark applies essentially to the mainstream market. Thus in 2005, there was an iris for men, in 2006 a rose for men, and in 2007, an orange blossom for men with Fleur du Mâle by Jean-Paul Gaultier.......
Continue reading "Cacharel Amor Pour Homme (2006) "Men's Rose" {Perfume Review} {Men's Cologne} {Smell-The-Roses-Till-Valentine's Day Challenge - Day 13}" »
Voleur de Roses (lit. Rose Thief or "Stolen Rose" per L'Artisan's translation) was created by perfumer Michel Almairac in 1993 for L'Artisan Parfumeur. In the recently published 22 parfumeurs en création by Clara Molloy, the book opens on his interview, one of the most interesting, humane ones in it, and the one leaving one of the more lasting impressions despite the fact that you read it before all the others, as they are organized alphabetically. What makes him stand apart from the rest of the perfumers is that he reveals somewhat of an unexpected rebel's personality, not easily satisfied with his corporate lot. He acknowledges the fact that he stands firmly on the side of the raw materials themselves rather than the concepts presiding over them. This position is commonly seen to be that of the Grassois school of perfumery, which is perhaps usually less publicly articulate about its preferences than the more intellectualist one working with ideas or stories as points of departure. Hence, a sense of difference that is more marked in the current media context. Last but not least, he is the only one who confesses publicly and candidly to having been "hurt by a perfume", Minotaure by Paloma Picasso, which was not successful commercially, for reasons that are hard to decipher. His creations are wonderful and we can particularly call attention to Gucci Pour Homme, Burberry London/Classic, Rush, and Saks For Her. He himself says that of his own perfumes two that he can say he "adores" are Burberry London/Classic and Rush. He likes Casmir a lot and he likes Zino by Davidoff.......
Continue reading "L'Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses (1993): An Earthy Masculine Rose {Perfume Review} {Men's Cologne} {Smell-The-Roses-Till-Valentine's Day Challenge - Day 7}" »
Thierry Mugler will release a limited edition of AngelMEN sub-titled Pure Coffee in mid-April of 2008. The original AngelMEN or A* Men was introduced in 1996 followed by B* Men in 2004. This new version takes as a point of departure a coffee note that was already present in A*Men, but which thanks to "new CO2 technology allowed the company to extract a natural note directly from Columbian coffee beans,".....
Continue reading "Thierry Mugler AngelMEN Pure Coffee (2008) {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Versace is going to introduce a new cologne called Versace Pour Homme, inspired by a return to Mediterranean roots and Donatella Versace's father. He loved to wear neroli and the scent features this note. Interestingly, Versace is promoting this time a minimalist approach to perfume composition thinking that too many fragrances in the market are too ornamented and made with too many notes. Versace wanted its scent to smell simple and strong....
Continue reading "Versace Pour Homme (2008): A Return To Simplicity {New Fragrance} {Men's Cologne}" »
Etat Libre d'Orange is on the verge of launching its new fragrance, Tom of Finland. WWD reports that the Tom of Finland foundation, which commissioned it, requested that it, "does not disturb the odor of men,". The perfumer-composer for the fragrance is Antoine Lie and to him it had to smell like "a guy coming out of a shower. He's clean, but not fragranced. And he puts on leather pants.". There is also an outdoorsy aspect to the scent and themes of "metal, leather, sensuality, beauty and radiance" inspired by Tom of Finland's drawings. Perfume wearers will be carded -- that's right -- as a suggestive sketch is part of the outer packaging. You will have to be 21 in the US and 18 elsewhere (how will you be able to buy it over the phone?) Well, it looks like it will be the first non-liberated Etat Libre d'Orange and will serve to underline all the straight-laced Victorian values surviving from the era of our great-great-let me add one more-great grand-fathers .....
Continue reading "Etat Libre d'Orange Tom of Finland (2008): The New Prudish Gay Scent {New Perfume} {Men's Cologne}" »
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The new Perry Ellis for Men by Perry Ellis represents an avowed effort on the part of the brand to go upscale under the aegis of its new owner since 2007, the Falic Fashion Group LLC. This evolution is immediately noticeable in the design of the bottle which is more soigné; it aims to convey a sense of luxury through the heaviness of the glass flacon especially (it is very heavy) - the cap is made of composite wood and the strap is a nice modernist touch and apparel reference but the metallic details could have been of better quality it seems; then the advertising is aspirational in two senses: both in the sense of presenting an image of luxurious lifestyle somewhere on the Italian coast, but also in making more democratically reference to a carefree summer holiday atmosphere; finally, the character of the jus itself comes across as life-affirming, frank, relaxed, sensual, devoid of complexes - the designers who mothered the scent do not hesitate to underline "...a bright freshness with commercial appeal."
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