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The Buzz

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Van Cleef & Arpels Oriens

The Popularity of Clover Aroma and L.T. Piver Trèfle Incarnat in Literature and Perfume since the 19th Century - Part 1 

Like This, Tilda Swinton

The Pure White Trend in Fragrances

Voyage d'Hermès

Three Cherry Blossom Perfumes

Balenciaga Paris Eau de Parfum

Sarah Jessica Parker SJP NYC

Bath and Body Works Twilight Woods

Burberry Sport Women and Men

Guerlain Flora Nymphea

Green Fragrances were Back in 2009 and will Stay in 2010

Valentine's Day 2010 and Beyond: Exploring Musk Oils Part 2

Valentine's Day 2010: Exploring Musk Oils Part 1

Lanvin Jeanne and Jeanne La Rose - Part 1

Les Parfums de Rosine Secrets de Rose

Maison Martin Margiela (Untitled)

Michael Kors Eau de Parfum

Kim Kardashian Eau de Parfum

Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio

Issey Miyake A Scent

L'Eau Serge Lutens: The Enduring Scent of Anti-Conformism or the Anti-Anti Perfume

L'Eau Serge Lutens: Un Parfum d'Anti-Conformisme qui Perdure: L'Anti-Anti Parfum
 
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March 19, 2009

Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle Geranium pour Monsieur by Dominique Ropion (2009): Bye-Bye Fougere, Hello Geranium {New Perfume} {Men's Cologne}


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Since Paul Parquet's Fougère Royale for Houbigant introduced in 1882 which created the abstract proposition of the scent of a fern in a forest thanks in part to the adjunction of the synthetic coumarin, so-called fougere scents have become the signature scent of the masculine half of the population. A classical fougère accord is distinguished by notes of geranium, lavender, oakmoss, coumarin (hay). There are variations and sub-families.

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle has introduced a new perfume composed by perfumer Dominique Ropion (winner of the International Cosmetic Valley Prize 2008) titled Géranium pour Monsieur in both a throwback to those classic men's perfumes linked to memories of his childhood and as a renewed take on them. The name of the scent is a reference to a key component of fougeres, geranium, which is to be found in the heart of the fragrance here together with Rhodinol which keeps only the fresh facets of Chinese geranium, and which Malle calls "fantastic."

A note to readers: many consider press release documents as suspicious literature, I tend to consider them as historic documents and advise skeptics to just read in-between the lines. Of note here is the fact that a trend that has appeared more and more in this type of material but which is shown in full here is a technical detailing of ingredients. Editions de Parfums is taking the lead in going further than most descriptions of perfumes nowadays by giving out not one or two synthetic molecules but a whole list...   

Continue reading "Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle Geranium pour Monsieur by Dominique Ropion (2009): Bye-Bye Fougere, Hello Geranium {New Perfume} {Men's Cologne}" »

Sports Interactive Scent of Success (2009): Smells Like Winning Football Teams {New Perfume}


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The designers of popular computer game Football Manager, Sports Interactive, have gone a step further with the release of a perfume meant to boost the flagging morale of football aficionados. Called Scent of Success, what makes it a unique and authentic experiment is that it was created thanks to recorded smells and odors taken from the environments of locker rooms of winning football teams...

Continue reading "Sports Interactive Scent of Success (2009): Smells Like Winning Football Teams {New Perfume}" »

March 16, 2009

Kylie Minogue Inverse (2009): New Men's Fragrance + TV Commercial {Celebrity Perfume}


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Kylie Minogue has been putting out a number of perfumes under her name since her debut one Darling in 2006. I have somewhat lost track of all of them because they resemble each others too much in names, colors, concept. When perfumes aim for indifferenciation, or more nicely put, brand cohesion, my brain tends to respond adequately.

Still, I covered two sequels, Sweet Darling (2007) and Showtime (2008). There is also a Sexy Darling and a recent 2009 Couture. Now on to something a little different, I guess...

Continue reading "Kylie Minogue Inverse (2009): New Men's Fragrance + TV Commercial {Celebrity Perfume}" »

March 13, 2009

Baxter of California Bravado 2 & Bravado 3 (2009) {New Fragrances} {Men's Colognes} {Scented Quote of the Day}


Bravado_2-small.jpgAmerican men's grooming company Baxter of California will introduce two new scents from mid-April 2009 inspired in name only by the original Bravado cologne launched in the early 1970s. In fact, the new owner Jean-Pierre Mastey knew he didn't want the new Bravados to smell anything like the earlier woodsy-floral cologne which has been retired for 7 years. He turned to fragrance supplier Belmay who blended the original to archive Bravado and create 2 and 3.

Bravado 2 and Bravado 3 are described as being both "...light and sophisticated scents designed to fringe on unisex."...

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Continue reading "Baxter of California Bravado 2 & Bravado 3 (2009) {New Fragrances} {Men's Colognes} {Scented Quote of the Day}" »

March 12, 2009

Estee Lauder Pleasures Splash Collection (2009) {New Fragrances}


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Estée Lauder is going to launch a collection of three cooling splashes this spring based on Pleasures, from April 2009 (both in the US and Europe). The trio is described as,

"Three all-over body splashes inspired by the liveliest notes within the classic Estée Lauder fragrance, Pleasures, created in 1995."...

Continue reading "Estee Lauder Pleasures Splash Collection (2009) {New Fragrances} " »

Le Labo Balms (2009): New Silicone-Based Perfumes {Fragrance News} {New Packaging}


le-Labo-Balm.jpgLe Labo has launched a range of silicone-based perfumes of their library of scents called Balms. They are available at Colette.fr (which has gone web 2.0) in 10 ml basic spray containers in keeping with the spare lab atmosphere of the brand.

"This new alcohol-free silicone blend is simply a new way to perfume yourself. A more intimate, delicate and personal gesture that suits people who per [that part is missing]..."

Each balm is priced at 70 € or $ 89.50

Vous pouvez lire l'article en français sur Anthropologie du Parfum

March 10, 2009

Annika Sorenstam Annika (2009): Sneak Peek for Golf Fans {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume}


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Golf champion and sportswoman Annika Sorenstam has now introduced her signature fragrance simply called Annika, available from www.annikafragrance.com (see earlier announcement for more "historic" details and read about her wine project as well). About the perfume,

"Marking the first time a professional female golfer has launched a signature fragrance, ANNIKA by Annika Sorenstam will particularly appeal to golf enthusiasts, career-minded professionals and active, fashion-forward women.  Like Annika, the fragrance will be casually elegant and unpretentious."... 

Continue reading "Annika Sorenstam Annika (2009): Sneak Peek for Golf Fans {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume}" »

March 9, 2009

Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme (2009) {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Juice}


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La Nuit de L'Homme by Yves Saint Laurent is the latest men's fragrance to be issued by a brand that has shown in the past that it could create some fascinating masculine compositions even and especially when you were not necessarily going to wear them. But at least scents such as Kouros and M7 made you, arguably, pay attention and L'Homme is, for all of its popularity, somewhat edgy. The new La Nuit de l'Homme (The Night of the Man) on the other hand is safe, oh-so-safe a launch in a time of recession and a big let-down in terms of creativity although it can still pretend to the designation of "sent-bon" (a smell-good scent), undeniably and unsatisfactorily so. Three obstacles were not surmounted it seems: 1) being an interesting flanker 2) being a celebrity scent that made sense when compared to the person embodying it 3) managing to add a big dose of warm oriental amber without losing all of its edge as that scent is so round and skin-friendly.

To refresh our memories we can turn again to the original L'Homme which I reviewed last week and which reveals itself to be a much more interesting concept with its central duetto of bilge and florals, like a gentler, more pastel version of Sécrétions Magnifiques.

Its transparent fruity undertones, including a trace of cool cucumber, make for a more complex, aerial blend than LNDLH. Although on a blotter the new La Nuit de L'Homme seemed in the first moments to project a stronger personality than its progenitor, on the longer run it turns out to be a more mechanical and conventional version of a masculine perfume. It is the difference between showing off and imparting a smidgeon of inner life to your perfume.

la-nuit-de-lhomme-YSL.jpgThe obvious structural difference to my perception is that the new flanker went by a pattern, re-utilizing, the skeleton of L'Homme but emptying it of its inspiration and originality and decided to incorporate a twist. That new element is noteworthy in and of itself, or rather noticeable, but creativity was very limited. La Nuit de l'Homme is a true commercial flanker, unlike, for example the very personal Kelly Calèche EDP 2009 which is based on a perfumer's leitmotivs and feels authentic using the flanker category as a vehicle for personal variations rather than appearing to think in terms of mechanically applied "codes".

You know when you read the word "code" all over the place that the marketing forces had a heavy hand in the design of the scent and in this case the perfumers complied, a little too obediently. If sometimes, you are delighted to find the perfumer(s) using a secret language in her or his composition to say something a little more interesting than found in the official spiel, here it looks like they went by the marketing book. The trio of noses are the same ones that worked on L'Homme: Pierre Wargnye, Anne Flipo, and Dominique Ropion... 

Continue reading "Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme (2009) {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Juice}" »

March 8, 2009

Calvin Klein CKIN2U Heat (2009) {New Fragrances}


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The Calvin Klein CKIN2U franchise sees the addition of a new her-and-his duo of fragrances this year with CKIN2U Heat, apparently the most sexually explicit CKIN2U to date.

When the original duo was launched sex pheromones were flying around in the air already but they got rapidly cooled down by the term "technosexual" which sounded a little inhuman. The target audience was not pleased...

Continue reading "Calvin Klein CKIN2U Heat (2009) {New Fragrances}" »

Calvin Klein Euphoria Spring Temptation (2009) {New Perfume}


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Calvin Klein is introducing a fresh and green floral twist on the 2005 floral oriental Euphoria called Euphoria Spring Temptation. It is a limited-edition flanker for Springtime 09. The tag line is "Let spring reveal your femininity." To mark the occasion, the bottle was decorated with the rendition of a tropical garden in metallic hues.

The perfume, as suggested by the advert, plays on sensations of dewiness featuring notes of guava leaf, pear blossom, a water fall accord, pink lily, freesia and violet petals covered with dew drops, creamy sandalwood, white amber, frosted musk.

A 50 ml bottle of Eau de Parfum is priced at 54 €.

Source: News Parfums


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