Toulouse-based perfume house Berdoues best known for their violet fragrance (also here) have launched a new collection of fragrances titled Les Contes Bucoliques (Bucolic Tales.) The range comprises Rose, Jasmin and muguet perfumes called Clair de Rose (Roselight), Brume de Jasmin (Jasmine Mist), Bal des Clochettes (The Ball of the Muguet Bells.) The compositions are presented as solar compositions inspired by gardens...
Captivating is the latest fragrance by Ghost, a perfume brand which is popular in the UK and less well-known elsewhere but is accessible at discount stores abroad and from British online sites.
"The new fragrance GHOST Captivating perfectly encapsulates modern
elegance and sensual femininity as well as radiating an enticing blend
of mysterious charm.
It
is a fragrance which is not afraid to exude passion and embrace life -
the wearer is driven by her inner voice which tells her 'I am
captivated by the mystery that awaits me'..."
Italian luxury shoemaker SalvatoreFerragamo will have a global launch in September 2010 of a new women's perfume titled Attimo (Moment). Details about the composition are still kept under wraps although it was already introduced to a professional audience at Cosmoprof Bologna 2010.
It is not overly helpful to hear for example that the perfume is meant for a woman of timeless elegance, but this might indicate that the fragrance is not going to be too much oriented in the direction of a flirty, pink bonbon fragrance...
Lingerie label Victoria's Secret have introduced a new limited-edition scent called Heavenly Flowers which was launched today 24 April 2010 at Victoria's Secret Soho in New York City (see party pictures here.) The Eau de Toilette is explicitly said to be an olfactive flanker to Dream Angels Heavenly...
Omega watches have released their first men's fragrance called Omega Aqua Terra. It was composed for the elegant and sport-oriented man by perfumer Alberto Morillas who happens to be a connoisseur and collector of luxury watches.
"Like the watch, the fragrance conveys the essence of the wearer's
personality. Just as there is a subtle complicity between the watch and
its owner, there is an understated bond between a man and the fragrance
he chooses."...
After introducing in 2009 a collection of 5 nature-inspired twists destined in part to revitalize the 4711 Eau de Cologne classic and called Lemon & Ginger, Lavender & Thyme, Royal Riesling, Vetyver & Bergamot, Melissa & Verbena, the brand owned by Mäurer and Wirtz has introduced two new additions to the library of adapted Eaux de Cologne this spring 2010 called 4711 Acqua Colonia Blood Orange & Basil and Rhubarb & Clary Sage...
"PureDKNY
speaks to the core essence of who I am and what I want to touch -- the people
and children I love, and being at one with nature, It's about those little
moments that bring you joy, pure and simple. Sometimes, those simple things are
the hardest to find."
Donna Karan
Pure by DKNY was launched around the globe in February 2010 but
won't officially launch in the US before July. According to WWD, it is a
fragrance that wants to promote ethical living and the feminine condition,
ideas that are embodied by a single raw material, vanilla from Uganda, which
was sourced with the help of humanitarian association Care in order to help Ugandan women. "CARE is excited to partner with PureDKNY on
an initiative that will support women in Uganda, while also educating U.S.
consumers about the important role women play in breaking the cycle of global
poverty," said Helene D. Gayle, president and chief executive officer of CARE.
The fragrance is taking for symbol of its mission "a drop of vanilla"
which illustrates the idea of making small incremental differences in
the world, one drop of soothing-smelling vanilla at a time.
Notes: dewdrop petal accord, lotus flower, Bulgarian rose;
transparent jasmine, freesia, lush orchid; white amber, creamy sandalwood and
vanilla in water.
Pure by DKNY opens on a sweet note and much
more tonka bean than I would expect from a fragrance called "Pure." It is actually the Ugandan vanilla note which is the central note of the composition, one that was described by Trudi Loren of Estée Lauder as offering a unique "creamy fluidity."
It is not so ethereal after all. I expected a more crystalline, impalpable scent after browsing the advertising campaign featuring Angela Lindvall. Rather, it seems to pull the fragrance in the
direction of a pure nursery ambiance of cuddly smells like vanilla-scented
cereals cream for babies and tots but as if it were lingering on a blue woolen
blanket near a bottle of baby powder and then - as it gained some intensity -
could be traced back to mommy's perfume. The "tonka" which is not officially listed but could have been added to reinforce the vanilla-in-water accord is a bit mineral and
"hard;" I realize after a little while that this stony aspect in my
mind is one I associate with laundry-detergent-types of white musks which are
not particularly subtle and seem to have been contaminated by the hard water in
which they are meant to swish around...
The concept of the anti-perfume seems to be the new trendy or cutting-edge critical thinking in town, it's still hard to tell. Even Jennifer Aniston, who comes across as intelligent by the way, managed to plug it in the celebrity fragrance category for Lolavie described as a "non-perfume" (there might still be a distinction with anti-perfume.) I have written a post on the Pure White Trend in fragrances, but I am still trying to sort out the implications of this movement and its connection to the anti-perfume concept. Please stay tuned for reviews of DKNY Pure, the latest Clean fragrances and L'Eau Serge Lutens to try to understand these olfactory ideas. This wave is of course encouraged by the societal anti-perfume movement in North-America which tries to limit the wearing of perfume in public spaces, but it has also received wider artistic credentials through art happenings such as that of Dadadandy and their non-perfume called Choix in 2007. In this vein, Biliana Velkova proposed the Celebrity-Perfume-Mirage concept in 2008. Long before them, arguably, there was the seminal Belle Haleine Eau de Voilette by Marcel Duchamp in 1921 which made do with anything liquid altogether...
If the French admittedly love perfume (especially in Paris and the South of the country), they seem to be less inclined to partake of the pleasures of celebrity fragrancing as if those two terms didn't mesh well. It must be the emphasis of the art-for-art ethos and the normative influence of the cinéma d'art et d'essai versus the Hollywood sense of spectacle. I already wrote that while celebrity perfume in France might be less of a circus-ring phenomenon than in the US (no offense meant), it's been there for a while. But it looks like things are evolving. Cathy Guetta shook it at Sephora Champs-Elysées proposing disco-balls of fragrances. Christian Audigier who now lives in LA and has mastered the art of celebrity marketing asked Johnny to be present at a perfume introduction event at the same place. Johnny Halliday is a pop singer in France who is considered a national monument but he got fed up with the national tax system and went to live in Switzerland.
The new upcoming Le Tapis Rouge (The Red Carpet) by reality French TV celebrity Christophe Guillarmé seems to be also more American-style and is revelatory of a more democratic, grassroots approach to celebrity perfume...
Eau d'Italie will add a 7th fragrance to their library of perfumes after Eau d'Italie; an Italian History and Landscape trilogy comprising Sienne l'Hiver, Paestum Rose, Bois d'Ombrie; Magnolia Romana; Baume du Doge. Au Lac (At the Lake) is a perfume inspired by the tragic love story between princess Vittoria Colonna and painter, sculpturer and theoretician of Futurism Umberto Boccioni. A correspondence revealing the secret love story was found not long ago and has been published in Italy under the title Una Parentesi Luminosa.
Au Lac is described as the result of a project of creating an authentic Italian floral "...with the qualities of a classic, but with an innovative contemporary twist: an avant-garde romantic floral." The perfume was created by perfumer Alberto Morillas...
While the American market is seeing the release of the new So Elixir Eau de Parfum by Yves Rocher (now $30 introductory offer instead of $58) this April 2010, which was initially introduced in Europe last year, the European market will once more be ahead of the So-Elixir game and welcome the latest variation on the perfume, the So Elixir Eau de Toilette which will be launched in the US and Canada only in 2011.
In Europe, So Elixir Eau de Toilette launches with the tag lines "So feminine," and "Glamor, always." The scent is described as offering a more dazzling freshness, a less opulent floral heart and less gourmand base notes...
Cosmetics and makeup label Urban Decay owned by Castanea Partners since 2009 (also owners of Betsey Johnson) are turning again to
perfume after a 6-year creative intermission and for a limited time only
creating a web-exclusive event with the release of Revolver perfume oil. Their first venture in this arena was in 2004 under the Falic Group with the launch of a trio of fragrance oils called Pistol, Sin and Go. The label is reconnecting with a similar playful fragrance universe originally described as "feminine, dangerous and fun." In 2010, the Urban Decay girl still likes to shoot from the hip.
"Smith
and Wesson ain't got nothin' on Urban Decay! Be armed and sensuous with
our new fragrance, Revolver, a powerfully sexy weapon of love, and an
urbandecay.com exclusive." ...
The new flanker to A Scent by Issey Miyake (2009) comes with a little bit of a surprise factor attached to it because - if you care to remember - the original fragrance was inspired by green smells and wide-open spaces like the Mongolian grasslands but also Mount Fujiyama; this is how the creative mind works: there are no contradictions, only layers of meaning, happenstance, collisions sometimes. The surprise in this case is that Issey Miyake was willing to let go of some of this poetic vagueness and abstract character to have the perfume become a floral composition. The couturier wanted to or saw some marketing logic in introducing a more intense version of the orignal Eau de Toilette but was not content with the idea of proposing only a new Eau de Parfum. The new scent was going to be a floral reinterpretation. The perfumer, the facilitator of designers' ideas, has changed too. Succeeding to Daphné Bugey, is now Annick Ménardo....
Our contributor Yasmine brought us back a report in words and images about the inauguration of the new Parfums de Nicolaï boutique located 45, rue des Archives which took place on April 15th, 2010. One can admire there the new scent called L'Eau Mixte inspired by a study on the grapefruit note as well as later on the memories of a trip to Sicily. Please stay tuned for a review of the new fragrance. -- MH
A New Parfums de Nicolaï Boutique where Simplicity is the By-Word, A Fresh Unisex Perfume Redolent of Citrus Fruits by Guest Contributor Yasmine
« Sicily? It evokes
for me of one of the most beautiful trips I have made! »Patricia de Nicolaï, the creator of
Parfums de Nicolaï told us. She went to Taormina last spring when the orange
trees and lemon trees were in full bloom. Wherever her steps led her, from one
grove to the other, on the road which snakes up to mount Etna, in the city which
hangs over the sea, everything was redolent of citrus fruits and orange
blossom. At that time of the year, contrary to preconceived notions, nature there
is particularly green and lush!...
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Italian luxury shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo will have a global launch in September 2010 of a new women's perfume titled Attimo (Moment). Details about the composition are still kept under wraps although it was already introduced to a professional audience at 
Lingerie label Victoria's Secret have introduced a new limited-edition scent called Heavenly Flowers which was launched today 24 April 2010 at Victoria's Secret Soho in New York City (see 
Omega watches have released their first men's fragrance called Omega Aqua Terra. It was composed for the elegant and sport-oriented man by perfumer 
Gap have released a follow-up to Close called Stay, which comes bottled in the same drop-shaped bottle but color-coded blue this time. It's a shade in vogue this spring-summer 2010 if you consider 
After introducing in 2009 a collection of 5 nature-inspired twists destined in part to revitalize the 
The concept of the anti-perfume seems to be the new trendy or cutting-edge critical thinking in town, it's still hard to tell. Even Jennifer Aniston, who comes across as intelligent by the way, managed to plug it in the celebrity fragrance category for 
Eau d'Italie will add a 7th fragrance to their library of perfumes after Eau d'Italie; an 
While the American market is seeing 
Cosmetics and makeup label Urban Decay owned by Castanea Partners since 2009 (also owners of 
The new flanker to 
A view of old Paris in a neighborhood 
