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 The latest creation by the house of Balmain is called La Môme (The Kid) and pays homage to an encounter in the 1950s between the great propular French singer Edith Piaf and couturier Pierre Balmain. It was released in February 2007 to coïncide with the debut of Olivier Dahan's biopic La Môme about the life of the singer. The perfume was created by Guillaume Flavigny who is also the composer for Purple Lips by Dali and Lulu by Lulu Castagnette, together with Antoine Lie, amongst others. The young perfumer won a prize in 2002 with the Société Française des Parfumeurs for a fragrance called In The Mood For Love. La Môme has top notes of May Rose, freesia, and pink pepper. Heart notes are Damas Rose absolute, violet, raspberry, and myrrh. Base notes are orris, musk, amber, and opoponax.....
Continue reading "Balmain La Môme (2007) {Perfume Review}" »
 When Elle recently devoted an article to listing ten particularly snob, i.e., confidential niche perfume brands, they omitted to include Ambre et Diamant Noir by Ambregris. We could muse that this is most assuredly due to the fact that the fragrance does not qualify as snob, but rather as - how shall we put it? - extremely snob. The perfume lover is always pleased to discover a very confidential perfume, which moreover turns out to be a superb one. Ambre et Diamant Noir (Amber and Black Diamond) is exclusively sold at the Ritz Hotel in Paris and only in a very few other locations internationally. It was created in 2000. We wished we had discovered the perfume sooner, that is last winter, because it would have ended our quest for a suitable amber scent. Yes, even Ambre Sultan we felt, was not refined enough for us.....
Continue reading "Ambre et Diamant Noir by Ambregris {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
The Total Chanel Look in the 1960s In the weeks leading to the release of Les Exclusifs by Chanel (please read our previous post for a description of the line) what we had to go with were the names of the perfumes, the descriptions of the notes, and the interviews of the perfumers who composed the new fragrances, namely Jacques Polge in association probably with Christopher Sheldrake although this last point is left rather vague. One could identify two aesthetic orientations in the comments: the evocative-artistic one and the tradition-bound house-of-Chanel-inspired one. Names like Bel Respiro, 28, La Pausa, Coromandel were almost Baudelairean or Proustean in their appeal promising us an art of evocation, what perfumery is best at creating: immediate emotion, a sense of place. We would travel on the wings of La Pausa and alight in the villa haunted by Chanel's spirit while feeling the soft breeze caressing the palm trees and even hear the creaking noises of the furniture and smell the fresh velvets of the cushions or something like that. Coromandel would be, could only be terribly poetic and rare. Instead it seems that the tradition-bound Chanel-inspired current of thought has weighed in heavily in the creations of the perfumes......
Continue reading "Les Exclusifs by Chanel: An Overview {Perfume Review & Musings} {Scented Thoughts}" »
The Historical Background The story that is told regarding the creation of this seemingly eccentric perfume is that of a Californian millionaire who ordered it so that it would be used as a substitute for the real champagne that he liked to pour in his bath. The custom-order for the boozy champagne perfume was motivated by the strictures imposed by the Prohibition (1920-1933) but seems also to have been well in tune with the spirit of excess of the Roaring Twenties. So, if you would like to relive a Fitzgeraldean moment, pour some in your bath! One source mentions that William Randolph Hearst is the millionaire in question and that it was meant to be used by "his wife"whatever that might mean concretely (Millicent Hearst or Marion Davies?). I said "seemingly eccentric" because apart from the fact that there was a pragmatic motivation for the creation of the perfume, the association of perfume and champagne was seen as a fairly logical one by perfumers as both offer an image of bottled luxury, exhibit similar colors, smell or can smell fizzy, and are festive gifts. Guerlain designed the bottles of L'Heure Bleue and Mitsouko for example with a cap whose shape is inspired by a champagne cork to reinforce the unconscious associations. Yves Saint Laurent did the same for Champagne/Yvresse. More recently, Mona di Orio has picked again on this tradition by designing her bottle tops with an explicit wired champagne cork design. Félicie Wanpouille who designed the Caron perfume bottle is the one who took the analogy to its maximum conclusion ....
Continue reading "Royal Bain de Caron by Caron {Perfume Review & Musings} {Perfume History & Facts}" »
 Intimately Beckham for Him was created in 2006 as part of a duo of fragrances, together with Intimately Beckham for Her. The idea was to capitalize on the celebrity of the couple composed of David and Victoria Beckham.The ad campaign wanted to lead the consummer into believing that he or she would be voyeuristically stealing a moment of intimacy in the life of the famous couple. The ad photo was supposed to be particularly sexy; instead everyone ended up discussing the size-enhancement or lack thereof of Posh Spice's derrière. Ah, the irony of fate.....
Continue reading "Intimately Beckham for Him by Beckham {Perfume Review & Musings} {Celebrity Perfume} (Men's Cologne}" »
Private Collection by Estée Lauder was launched in 1973 after having been part of Estée Lauder's own very private collection of fragrances - at least this is how the story goes - only shared at one point with a few friends, in particular Grace Kelly to whom she offered it as a gift in the years preceding its official launch. It is reported to have been a favorite of the Duchess of Windsor as well. Finally, pressured by multiple admirers of the fragrance, Lauder gave in and decided to market it. As the advertising copy read "All you need is one beautiful drop to know why Estée Lauder was keeping Private Collection perfume to herself."
The scent of privilege that Private Collection exudes has resisted this movement of democratization and despite the fact that it is now available easily through the Estée Lauder website at a most amicable price, it might still select its wearers through its olfactory branding of money, luxury, and class. This branding becomes even more apparent when one looks at the succession of advertisements throughout the years that have pointed to the ideal Private Collection woman: she is ever the incarnation of chic and her natural environment is the living room or reception space in which she welcomes her guests as she is emblematically pictured as the most suave of hostesses. The fragrance has consistently been marketed as a formal perfume although its green notes lend it an active, day-time character too which makes it versatile enough.
My perception of the popularity of the perfume today is that it is one of the less mainstream Estée Lauder perfumes, comparable in that respect to Estée, Spellbound, Azurée, and Alliage, but that amongst those who know it and carry it off well, it is very much appreciated......
Continue reading "Private Collection by Estée Lauder {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
  Blood and Sand in Nîmes by loran_denim
Vierges et Toreros (Virgins and Toreros) is one of the two new perfumes launched by the niche perfume house Etat Libre d'Orange, established 2006, whose collection now comprises 13 scents. The fragrance was created by Antoine Lie and Antoine Maisondieu and contains notes of bergamot, pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, tuberose, ylang, leather, animalic base, costus, patchouli, and vetiver.....
Continue reading "Vierges & Toreros by Etat Libre D'Orange {Perfume Review & Musings} {Men's Cologne of the Week}" »
 L'Antimatière is one of the three scents from a triptyque of perfumes created by nose Isabelle Doyen for a new perfume brand called Les Nez: Parfums d'Auteurs (The Noses: Authors' Perfumes), which was established in the fall of 2006. Isabelle Doyen is also the in-house perfumer for the house of Annick Goutal where she created perfumes noted for their beauty and originality sometimes but not for their avant-garde or l'art-pour-l'art characteristics. Les Nez reveals her more modernistic, daring, and experimental side. Stefan Zweig and Jorge Luis Borges, I have been told by the founder of Les Nez, were the literary supports of their brainstorming sessions for the perfumery project.
The person behind the concept of the new label is René Schifferlé, a businessman and fragrance collector from Switzerland with a demanding sense of the creative possibilities offered by today's perfumery, who decided one day that the vaccuum he perceived to exist needed to be filled with certain perfumes of the future that were, he felt, simply "lacking" from the market.....
Continue reading "L'Antimatière by Les Nez {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
Love Bird is the latest fragrance by designer Nanette Lepore and comes as a limited edition just on time to be presented as a gift for Valentine's Day, while both help create and satisfy a yearning for the freshness of spring and even the summery pleasures of days spent by the seaside.....
Continue reading "Love Bird by Nanette Lepore {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfume}" »
Rocabar by Hermès was launched in 1998. It was the house's fifth's men's cologne after Eau D'Hermès (1951), Equipage (1970), Eau d'Orange Verte (1979), and Bel-Ami (1986). It had a limited distribution in the US. The perfume was created by nose Gilles Romey who is also the composer for Eau de Rochas pour Homme, Jil Sander Jil, Hermès 24, Faubourg Eau Délicate, Serge Lutens Rose de Nuit. Rocabar is inspired, like many of their other products, by an equine theme in keeping with Hermès' roots as a saddlery when it was first established in 1837. In this case the perfume's name has an interesting popular etymology directly derived from the history of the house. "Rocabar" today designates their famous safron, indigo, and red horse blanket. According to WWD, "Jean-Louis Dumas Hermes, chairman, reported that the name came about when British saddle makers visiting Hermes in the 1930s called the combed-wool blanket a "rug a barres" (striped rug). Over time, the name evolved into "Rocabar.".....
Continue reading "Rocabar by Hermès {Perfume Review & Musings} {Men's Cologne of the Week}" »
 Lights of Champs Elysées (2006) is the second fragrance, after Vetiver Pour Elle (2004), created by Guerlain to be distributed exclusively in the French airport duty-free stores Aelia. It is available both in France and in the UK. Although the initial announcement regarding the fragrance seemed to point to a very simple, if not simplistic fragrance, it is significantly more complex in reality. The perfume has top notes of almond flowers and pink peppercorns. Heart notes further unfold with mimosa, iris wood, and then ylang ylang. Base notes are light vetiver, sweet vanilla, and Virginia cedar.....
Continue reading "Lights of Champs-Elysées by Guerlain {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Noir Patchouli (Patchouli Black) by niche perfume house Histoires de Parfums is a wonderful dark and dry rose-patchouli perfume. It is part of the collection Couleurs de Parfum (Colors of Perfumes) which also comprises Blanc Violette (Violet White) and Vert Pivoine (Peony Green).
Noir Patchouli is one of those perfumes that make one irresistibly think of the sound of the crack of a whip as expressive of a perfume's and woman's sexiness. The end suggests that she gives in to her more romantic side. I must say that this perfume makes my heart beat the chamade (i.e., more quickly) as I come under its charm. The scent at first is full of nervous energy without being shallow as its impressions are deepened by rich spices. If you enjoy Estée Lauder Youth-Dew, I recommend that you try Noir Patchouli....
Continue reading "Noir Patchouli by Histoires de Parfums {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
Indult is a new high-end French perfume label that made its debut in January of 2007 and is currently exclusively sold at Sephora France. The name of the brand comes from Christian Latin "Indultum" meaning "concession, favor". Their name embodies their marketing approach which is typically one that is characterized by a new-luxury philosophy. As we already noted on TSS, "...Indeed to buy one of the Indult perfumes amounts to being a king or a prince granted a privilege from the Pope or feels like paying the King of Spain's tax on precious metals and products originating from America as the historical references go. Only 999 copies of each will be marketed...." Buying an Indult perfume in fact equates to buying a membership into a select club of perfume aficionados as only those who have purchased one of the fewer than 3000 flacons will be able to re-purchase in the future.
The three perfumes were composed by nose Francis Kurkdjian. Each one of the scents is said to be dedicated to the interpretation of an important note in perfumery: rose for Manakara, Patchouli for Isvaraya, and vanilla for Tihota. The perfumes convey a sense of luxurious exoticism coupled with urban elegance and even edginess, the latter trait not being too overtly expressed. The complexity is more structural than narrative, that is, the perfumes do not offer very complex developments but the satisfactory olfactory experience one derives from them rests upon an inner, understated complexity. The fragrances are high quality and elaborate. There seems to be a common thread running through them pointing to an interest for a sugar theme. Rather than feel infantile, it evokes the passionate quest for the raw material and the connoisseur's appreciation for its many nuances. It explodes nowhere better than in Tihota....
Continue reading "Manakara, Isvaraya, & Tihota by Indult {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfumes}" »
 Rousse (russet, ginger, red-headed) is the silken and frothy-sounding name in French given to the upcoming spring 2007 perfume launch by designer Serge Lutens. It will be available from February in the export line. Like the rest of the collection, it is the result of an on-going collaboration between Serge Lutens and nose Christopher Sheldrake. It is said to be inspired by the finale of French pop singer Mylène Farmer's show "Avant que l'ombre" and the russet-colored couture dress she wore on that occasion made for her by Franck Sorbier.
Rousse contains notes of mandarine, cinnamon, carnation, cedar, sandalwood, violet, vanilline, amber, balsamic notes and more since it develops a Tiger Balm accord (like the recent Heeley Spirit of the Tiger)....
Continue reading "Rousse by Serge Lutens {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfume}" »
HH Maharaja Sir Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo (1912-1975) and HH Maharani Kailash Kumari of Patna Maharanih is the latest creation by Patricia de Nicolaï, nose and founder together with her husband Jean-Louis Michau, of Parfums de Nicolaï, a Parisian niche perfume house created in 1989. Overview of the Line In a milieu where heredity and tradition still play an important role, it is not irrelevant to point out that Patricia de Nicolaï is a member of the Guerlain family. What is less conventional is that as a woman she decided to pursue a career as a perfumer, a decision that was initially met with skepticism by the Guerlains.....
Continue reading "Maharanih by Parfums de Nicolaï {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfume}" »
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Fin O'Suilleabhain on
Les Exclusifs: Bel Respiro, No 18, & 28 La Pausa by Chanel {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfumes}
: Hi ... can I ask about the Stravinsky / Chanel image. Is ...
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Fragonard Caresse (1929/2008) {Perfume Review}
: Lovely perfume! Reminds me of the spring 2011 when I was wearing ...
Karen Lindsey on
Long Lost Crabtree & Evelyn Fragrance: Help Please {Ask The Readers}
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Happy New Year 2012!
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Easy Tricks To Create Golden Globes Hairstyles! {Beauty Notes - Hair}
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Victoria's Secret Life is Pink Wish Pink, Live Pink, Hope Pink (2010) *New Fragrances*
: Hi good day, Can i know where can purchase or order Pink ...
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A Funny Post About Scented Candles {Fragrant Reading}
: Hell-scent candle, lol.
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Two Organic Oud Scents: Sama Oudh Jasmin & Undergreen Black Classic (2011) {New Perfumes}
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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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Dance with Givenchy (2010) {New Perfume}
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Choppy Waters for Stella Cadente Miss Me {Fragrance News}
: at 2007 i was in paris an i bought this perfume.Since then ...
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Aftelier Perfumes Secret Garden (2011): Featuring Real Civet & Castoreum {New Fragrance}
: Thank you so much Marie-Helene for your lovely review! You are great ...
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Mona di Orio Chamarré (2009): Perfume Review in Memoriam
: This is very interesting. First thing that came to my mind when ...
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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}
: Interesting post. I've lived in Ghana but I don't remember encountering anyone ...
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