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 There is a new confidential niche perfume line that has appeared in Italy called Gocce di Byron (Drops of Byron). The collection is generally inspired by the concept of an olfactory voyage taking precedence over the more habitual first visual sensations on a trip and the idea that perfumes can help us find our own territory and sense of place. More particularly, Gocce di Byron seeks to embark you on a local olfactory voyage thanks to an itinerary delineated by verses of the poet Byron and the five abstract painterly squares that accompany the 5 perfumes, making the set up resemble an installation....
Continue reading "Gocce di Byron Saladero, Tramonti, Volastra, Guvano, Punta Mesco (2009) {New Fragrances - New Line}" »
 Designer Nicole Miller wanted to develop a perfume with Parlux that would be "delicious" yet also cover the range of " energy and emotion that are constants in the life of the woman who wears Nicole Miller." The project was entrusted to perfumer Caroline Sabas of Givaudan who designed a "modern chypre". "I don't like most perfumes," said the designer from her Seventh Avenue
showroom. "I find them too florally or too old. My clothes don't age
people so I wanted that same kind of fragrance that was young and
modern."
Continue reading "Nicole Miller Frenzy (2009): Delicious {New Fragrance}" »
 Added: Review of Idole d'ArmaniArmani is mostly interested in reaching out to the feminine portion of the global and American fragrance market in particular with their upcoming September opus called Idole and they really wished women were not so fickle. This is what transpires from an article in today's Women's Wear Daily where founder Giorgio Armani laments the difficulty of keeping women in the bosom of the brand. Men, that's another story, and Armani confesses to having a better grasp on the male psyche because he is a man himself after all and men are more faithful in their perfume tastes. Interesting conceptions about gender and cultural preferences emerge, "It's much more difficult," he said. "Women are very unfaithful --
psychologically speaking. Maybe it's because I'm a man and I know what
men like. [They] like fragrances that [make them] feel like a man. Now
there is too much promiscuity between a female and a male fragrance."
And,
"American women like a certain kind of fragrance, stronger and very
personal," he observed. "I sometimes say it's a little bit like an
elevator fragrance. When a woman gets onto an elevator, you can smell
this fragrance. It's a bit too much."...
Continue reading "Idole d'Armani (2009): To Conquer or Not The US Feminine Market {New Fragrance}" »
 A King Kong poster from 1933, via All Posters
Vanillary by Lush was originally inspired by " the extraordinary desserts at Heston Blumental's amazing
restaurant, The Fat Duck at Bray", a multi award-winning temple of cutting-edge molecular cuisine. The perfume is composed of vanilla absolute, jasmine absolute and tonka absolute and was created by in-house perfumer Simon Constantine. Its first incarnation was a bath product called Vanilla Fountain Ballistic. It is now available as a spray perfume as well as a solid one. This is a review of the liquid Vanillary.  The fragrance can be seen as a dark floral vanilla scent with a salty edge. The blend opens on a salt-brushed, indolic and brown-toned accord of vanilla with a sweet wood-polish nuance found in lily. Soon an undercurrent of lush, rich, drunk-like, resinous and fruity jasmine with a dash of green surfaces. There are hints of almondy heliotropine. What I appreciate most perhaps about the meeting of flower and vanilla in this scent is how the junction is made through a fresh green sappy bridge, as if made of oozing vine...
Continue reading "Lush Vanillary (2009): King Kong Passion {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance}" »
 This spring Creed is launching a new perfume in its Millésime collection called Acqua Fiorentina. The scent is said to be built around the idea of " a promise of harmony." The perfume is co-signed by father and son parfumeurs Olivier and Erwin Creed. It was inspired by the evocation of a fruit orchard at dawn in July in Tuscany; the orchard sits atop a hill leaning against the walls of a thousand year old village. "In this second, the air seems bathed by a light from the Renaissance, iridescent, condusive to harmony. The world is smiling upon you as if suffused with a newly found beauty....
Continue reading "Creed Acqua Fiorentina (2009): A Promise of Harmony {New Perfume}" »
 Lingerie mistress Chantal Thomass has introduced a new women's perfume cheekily called Osez-Moi! (something like "dare try me!"). The designer says that it is " a very feminine fragrance in line with my lingerie: precious details and noble materials with a touch of the unexpected." Thomass was inspired by the atmosphere of a boudoir and admittedly by what is to me in fact a fragrance genre, the boudoir perfume (my characterization). Usually this involves a powdery note and the fragrance is made to feel intimate and sensual evoking the ritual of coquettry and beauty of a woman. The copy also adds that Osez-Moi is a composition that "... plays with contrasts: vintage and modern; romantic and avant-garde; technical and poetic."...
Continue reading "Chantal Thomass Osez-Moi! (2009): Scent of a Boudoir {New Perfume} {Fragrance Advert}" »
 Cacharel will launch a new women's perfume from mid-July 2009 called Scarlett in reference to an archetypal feminine heroine. The brand wishes to go back to the roots of what made it successful in the 1970s thanks to Anaïs Anaïs, an iconic perfume of that decade. The motto is " romantic, fresh, and daring." The perfume was composed by triumvirate of noses from Firmenich Honorine Blanc ( Usher She; Polo Explorer; Amber Ylang Ylang...) , Alberto Morillas, and Olivier Cresp (Angel; Light Blue; Kenzo Jungle pour Homme; Nina Ricci; Bond Girl 007...)....
Continue reading "Cacharel Scarlett (2009) {New Perfume}" »
 Cartier have announced that they will introduce a collection of high-end fragrances called Les Heures du Parfum (The Hours of Perfume) this fall 2009 in the US saying that " The inspiration came from the fact that memory is always linked to time" and that the sense of smell is intrinsically linked to memory. It is a step-down from their high-luxury activity of bespoke fragrance led by in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent billed at $79,630, but a step-up from their more mainstream offerings like Must or Le Baiser du Dragon or Déclaration (their best-seller). Cartier see the new collection as " a really haute collection of fragrances for connoisseurs." A 75 ml bottle will be priced at $255 and will be very selectively distributed...
Continue reading "Cartier Les Heures du Parfum: Number 1 L'Heure Promise, Number 12 L'Heure Mysterieuse & More (2009) {New Perfumes}" »
 How It Wafts, At FirstWhat they say: A warm and romantic vetiver inspired by Paris in the late 20's and its
infatuation with African culture, art, music and dance. A mix of the
Parisian avantgardism and African culture shaped a unique and vibrant
expression. The intense life, the excess and euphoria is illustrated by
Bal d'Afrique's neroli, African marigold and Moroccan cedarwood.
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Neroli, African marigold, Bucchu
Mid: Violet, Jasmin petals, Cyclamen
Base: Black Amber, Musk, Vetiver, Moroccan cedarwood
 The press release further states that the "croisière noire" by André Citroën, the so-called "black cruise" that took place across Africa in 1924-1925 was yet another source of inspiration.
Bal d'Afrique by Byredo, launched last February, opens on the scent of both soft grassy skin and violets succeeded by light sweet notes of marigold served on wood shavings soon followed by candied and juicy fruit sours (buchu?) notes of berries and grapes underlining the violet accord which recedes in the background. Buchu is said to have a sour smell and is used as a body ointment in Africa. The jasmine is very subtle and green with gourmandish indolic notes in the direction of angelica, which is actually the vetiver + cyclamen, and other things. The jasmine is used as an underlining facet rather than a focus. Dots of almond contributes to the sweet feeling operating at both the obvious and less obvious levels. The obvious level of candied notes is very in-your-face. This mostly exaggerated gourmand opening immediately strikes one as an interesting choice given the personality of the Byredo brand. In this context, the highly regressive accord cannot be mistaken for a lack of ideas but rather, is a willed effect. It is here with a purpose, but which one is not apparent right away. At first you think that it is as if the perfumer Jérôme Epinette had decided to take the candied facet of violet perfumes and pushed it maximally instead of just giving a tip of the hat to sugar-dipped violet petals as one of our most traditional violet associations. As Bal d'Afrique develops, it continues to defy the conventions of the well-bred, tasteful and urbane genre of a certain type of niche perfumery and next takes on a sticky, childish texture, to the nose, going now in the direction of syrupy but still counterbalanced by light green and woody notes, the vetiver facet, suggesting banana leaves, banana fruit and passion fruit. Cellophane-wrapped candies continue to impose their imagery. But in-between the literal scent of sweet-toothed sticky kids' fingers and banana - did I say banana, ah yes, of course, (a moment of enlightenment to the non-prejudiced), it is the banana girdle worn by Joséphine Baker in her legendary la danse des bananes - there is a more subtle and vague accord of vetiver introducing a bit more of the unstated quality of perfumery.... 
Continue reading "Byredo Bal d'Afrique (2009): Cake-Walking at the Bal d'Afrique {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Tova Beverly Hills just added a new fragrance called Tova Signature Platinum to the Tova Beauty line. More than a new perfume it is a newly baptized perfume officially aiming to recapture the original formulation and lustre of Tova Signature. With a war name like Tova Platinum, one will have gathered that the scent is also meant to be a new chapter in her communication efforts with her loyal customer base and fans of the Tova Signature.  As readers of this blog may have read about already, Tova Signature is arguably one of the most popular and beloved perfumes in America. People are very attached to it and the old version is consistently reported about as a major compliment-gatherer. The problem is that the flip side of this unconditional love is what could be termed reformulation rage. Just like there is such a thing as road rage, there is also a less prominently publicized phenomenon which exists nevertheless called reformulation rage #!?!!§! which affects long-time fragrance customers and seems to run the gamut from disappointment to heartache to anger to explosive rage over changes perceived in their favorite fragrances.... Picture: Untitled by Rosemarie Trockel (ceramics, glazed, platinum)
Continue reading "Tova Signature Platinum (2009): Trying To Recapture The Old Mystique {New Perfume}" »
  HSH Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi have released two debut perfumes which can be called new and ancient at the same time. The multi-secular family archives as well as the art of Villa Aurora in Rome the ancestral home of HSH Prince Nicolò Boncompagni Ludovisi, have been put to contribution. The feminine fragrance is called L'Aurora and is named after a
ceiling fresco by Guercino depicting the chariot of Aurora making its way in the sky.
The masculine perfume is titled Giove Nettuno Plutone after the only known fresco of Caravaggio which was painted in the Alchemy Room of the Villa Aurora. L'Aurora is a reenactment of a feminine floral from the Renaissance and Giove Nettuno Plutone, that of a masculine perfume which used to be a signature scent of the first Prince of Piombino. They are the first in a series of fragrances that will be co-created and endorsed by the Prince and his bride to be, an American woman whom we only know by the name of Rita...  
Continue reading "HSH Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi L'Aurora & Giove Nettuno Plutone (2009): Art, Love & Italy {New Perfumes} {Historic Fragrances}" »
 From the upbeat name, Flowerific, to the eye-popping colors of the petals on the flacon and finally hopefully ending on equally fluorescent perfume notes, the latest Flirt! fragrance promises that " This vibrant and exhilarating fragrance imparts a fresh, playful lightheartedness to those who wear it." Yes, this little number is advertised as your other Prozac. Flowerific does that with "A blooming blend of tingling fruits, water lily and blue freesia. And the tag line? Fresh. Floral. Flowerific." Repeat the mantra ten times for best results.
(Due to the contents of this product, we regret it cannot currently be shipped to Alaska, Hawaii or APO/FPO.) Only at Kohls, now at $29.99 instead of $35.00
 Parfums 137, co-owned by Alexandre Bigle and Richard Ekert have released their latest opus in their library of coffrets of perfumes-to-be-layered (or not) inspired by true yet little known chapters of the history of perfumery. Following Nara 1869, the new perfume set called Hollywood Stromboli 1950 follows the traces of Betty in Tinsel Town ca. 1950. She is a woman with a strong temperament who is this unusual combination of moll and dame-perfumer and who happens, not fortuitously, to be a descendant of perfumer Akimoff featured in the previous coffret. We don't know if Betty studied perfumery formally but it appears that she inherited some of the skills of her ancestor and started creating perfumes for the Hollywood crowd. They were a hit, so much so that mobster Jack D decides not only to date her but to exploit her perfumery skills. She is held against her will but is rescued by another thug, Mike R, with whom she escapes to Stromboli and where she continues to make perfumes. When Jack D is arrested later on, she will go back to the US to testify against him before returning to Stromboli and the arms of Mike R...
Continue reading "Parfums 137 Hollywood Stromboli 1950 (2009): Betty, a Moll & a Dame-Perfumer All The Way From Hollywood to Sicily {New Perfume}" »
 For Mother's Day (in France), L'Occitane have introduced a duo of fragrances in two different concentrations built around the May Rose. The new perfumes are called Intense Rose Nuit de Mai and Rose Nuit de Mai Eau de Toilette. They were created by perfumer Alexis Dadier of Mane ( A Travers Le Miroir and Le Miroir des Vanités in the Miroir, Miroir series by Thierry Mugler, Fancy by Jessica Simpson, Oxbow for Men, Courvoisier L'Edition Impériale...) "In May in Provence,
the young people from the Pays de Forcalquier celebrate the joys of the
first harvests. According to tradition, they dance and sing around a
tree decorated with rose garlands and colored ribbons. In the whirl of
the night, when the scent of flower petals blends with the woody trail
of bonfires, the perfume in the air bewitches and seduces...
The Rose Nuit de Mai Eau de Toilette evokes the atmosphere of those May festivities with a floral woody sensuality."...
Continue reading "L'Occitane Intense Rose Nuit de Mai & Eau de Toilette (2009) {New Perfumes}" »
 La grande dame terrible of British fashion Vivienne Westwood has released a new perfume called Boudoir Jouy to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original Boudoir launched in 1998. The new composition is inspired by Madame de Pompadour and the imagined atmosphere of her 18th century boudoir, as well as by the famous toiles de Jouy that would have hung in that intimate room. Precious, coquettish, child-like, sophisticated, and newly fashionable, the toile de Jouy with its pastoral scenes appears on the new bottle while serving as the guiding theme for a fresher interpretation of Boudoir... 
Continue reading "Vivienne Westwood Boudoir Jouy (2009) {New Perfume - New Flanker}" »
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Fin O'Suilleabhain on
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A Funny Post About Scented Candles {Fragrant Reading}
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Top 12 Best New Department Store Fragrances of 2011 for the Holidays {Perfume List}
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Dance with Givenchy (2010) {New Perfume}
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Mona di Orio Chamarré (2009): Perfume Review in Memoriam
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Bint el Sudan, The Other, African Chanel No.5: Interview with Nick Evans of International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. {Perfume Q & A - The Scents of Africa}
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