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  The history of Quelques Fleurs (1912) by Houbigant Est. 1775, is so compelling and interconnected with that of other significant perfumes that it is today a reminder to me of why I do not review those deep historical fragrances more often: they reveal so many ramifications and further pockets of shadows to shed light on, that it is difficult to contain all the information and questions within one article. It is probably actually laughable to try to do so. In fragrance anthologies, and for some reason, Quelques Fleurs is often overlooked as preference is usually given to L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain when proposing a canon of classics for and around the year 1912. I had therefore to simplify and decided to offer three short comparative reviews of three versions of Quelques Fleurs which I have available at hand and make them be preceded by a general historical summary. This is a project which was triggered by the reception of the most recent version of the perfume, a recreation entrusted to fragrance expert and unflagging defender of the great classics, Roja Dove of Haute Parfumerie at Harrods. He worked in collaboration with the Perris family who are now the proprietors to the rights to Houbigant fragrances as their grand-father had ties with the original Houbigant family, we were told. The re-worked jus was re-introduced in 2009, the last one in a series of relaunches and tribulations in the course of its existence. Again, for some reason, Quelques Fleurs does not merit a separate treatment even in the book signed by Dove, The Essence of Perfume. Quelques Fleurs is an early floral aldehydic perfume which inspired in particular the creation of Chanel No.5 in 1921, with a detour for Ernest Beaux the nose of No.5, via Le Bouquet de Catherine (1913) which was meant for the Russian market. I happen to have at my disposal the version which was reintroduced in 1985 as "Quelques Fleurs l'Original." The Neiman Marcus site, which also sells the Quelques Fleurs Royale version, states about the 2009 version that, "The true Quelques Fleurs formula has never been published. An ancient
formula still kept in the family archives, this fragrance will never be
duplicated. The blend of soft, sensual florals uses over 250 different
raw materials and more than 15,000 flowers to create just one ounce of
Quelques Fleurs eau de parfum."...
Continue reading "Houbigant Quelques Fleurs (1912 / 2009): 3 Stages of its Existence {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 The weather has been rather ambiguous this year in Paris, alternating between regular spring and summer and odd bouts of atypical, quirky weather. As we progress into August, again the temperatures seem to hesitate between muggy and hot and cool and autumnal. In the mornings, you can feel an anticipatory atmosphere of crisp fall air with in the background promises of burning fall leaves and mounds of apples. In the afternoons, it still can be sultry inviting you to wear a big moaning tropical floral while you get a chance...
Continue reading "Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia (2010): Wanted Rustling Russet Leaves {Fragrance Review} {New Perfume}" »
 Warm Vanilla Sugar Eau de Toilette by Bath and Body Works (2007) (to be distinguished from the 2006 limited-edition BBW Seductive Perfume Mist Warm Vanilla Sugar) has an interesting background story to it. It was specifically designed by perfumer David Apel, like a puzzle to be solved, to consist of the most popular common notes which he could find both in the European and American markets at the time he was inspired to create it. Veltol, which is another name for Ethyl Maltol and which smells of cotton candy and caramel, is one of the 8 transatlantic notes. "I looked at [the top fragrances in the] US Market and the European market -- they were completely different." At the time, gourmand notes dominated in Europe, while the US list was ruled by "very aquatic, sheer" scents. I made a compilation of just the raw materials that were common between the two," he says. "There were only eight. Those eight raw materials in that proportion is Warm Vanilla Sugar by BBW. Everyone said, "This will never sell,"but we presented it and [the client] snapped it up. It's fun to find some kind of puzzle." [Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine]
Notes: sheer florals, vanilla absolute / Basmati rice, coconut, vanilla absolute / vanilla absolute, heliotrope, musk, Veltol, sandalwood. The perfume opens on an airy floral, orchid-like note of vanilla with a nuance for me of exotic Jackfruit followed next by a more toffee-like impression of sweets but enlivened and spiced up by a hint of smokiness. Yes, smoke can feel like spice for its wake-up-call effect and light jolt given to the nerves...
Continue reading "Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar (2007): Euro-American Cultural Curio {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 For a shorter, lifestyle fragrance review of Acqua di Gioia, please see here. Armani's latest launch is Acqua di Gioia, the soul sister to Acqua di Gio a perennial masculine bestseller. Offering a less neutral image, it may come across as a limited-edition marine for summer while in fact the rain-forest and sea backdrop are arguably more like the creation of the conditions of mental escapism to be experienced at leisure. What struck me the most about this work is its sophisticated fragrance structure and its ability to please the senses each time in a varied fashion, something that has less to do with natural raw materials as is traditional than with precisely the structure of the scent. Notes: crushed mint leaves, Calabrian Limone Primo Fiore Femminello / pink pepper, aquatic jasmine and dewy peony / cedarwood heart, brown sugar and labdanum. Marine, aquatic fragrances can suffer a priori from the perception that they have issues with paleness, lack of substance and the suspicion that like milk during WWII during the occupation of Paris, they were watered down. Unless their very temperament is exaggerated and idealized so as to become pure style, they will always appear to feel a bit famished and vanquished next to their richer sisters. In a certain sense, introducing the idea of water into the palette of sensations covered by perfume is going against the ages-old ideal representation of a fragrance as a special quintessential distillation meant to intoxicate the senses thanks to its sheer complexity and opulence. Water is traditionally the refuse and by-product part of an essence-extraction process, you turn it into a floral water, not perfume actually. Fy! The relationship of wine to fine perfume therefore reveals probably materially more affinities than that of water to perfume (see Kyphi), unless we are talking about archaic symbolism translated into fragrance motifs and effects, something I could experience when reviewing L'Eau by Serge Lutens. Although I am not averse to watery perfumes, I can feel less urgency when spotting a new fragrance which is clearly going to replay the water-fall theme in any obvious manner. The fact that the print advertising for Acqua di Gioia is like a feminine version of Homme by Guerlain (same color palette, same jungle thematic) did little to make me feel this could be a distinctive launch. The TV advertising is more atmospheric and soigné and better conveys the desire of the fragrance to be lasting and timeless. There was also a bus-shelter ad campaign in France...
Continue reading "Armani Acqua di Gioia (2010): Jukebox-Fragrance {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Fragrance}" »
  If you don't have the time to peruse a long review, there's a short, more practical Lifestyle-oriented version of it here. Jennifer Aniston Eau de Parfum has been one of the most anticipated
celebrity perfumes by the internet in part due to tabloid-worthy
material regarding her personal life around the Brangelina axis of
attention as well as her own, rapid fluctuations
and speculations surrounding the name of her debut perfume and finally,
the preview tagline coined by Aniston herself who gave the new
fragrance as being " a nonperfume perfume." Mmmm, interesting. As
an observer of the perfume scene, one can only be struck in the case of
this launch with the constant discrepancy appearing between discourse
and actual juice as if Jennifer Aniston had had time to change her mind
50 times before finally settling on the opposite of what she claimed
she would do. Thus the quirky, inscrutable "Lolavie" is replaced by the
much more sedate and self-evident "Jennifer Aniston eau de parfum" and
the "nonperfume perfume", it turns out, seems to be laughing somewhat
at its own description. Even the official description of the fragrance
is rather misleading, calling attention to the chasm existing between
the copy writer's and the perfumer's languages. In the end though,
Aniston apparently wholly embraces the result, saying '... it's turned out to be an extension of myself as opposed to slapping my name on something." JF
EDP could get our prize for most confusing, complicated and discrepant
fragrance launch so far this year. Even Aniston's own descriptions of
the perfume culled from a Women's Wear Daily interview at the time the
perfume was announced as Lolavie are like hearing someone talk past the
composition: " floral, but not too flowery," and ".. most of all I wanted it to smell natural" and " I am not a big perfume-y fragrance fan"
are not exactly what comes to mind when smelling the perfume -- well,
perhaps the first descriptor is still defensible, but the second and
third ones, hardly. Notes: citrus grove accord, rose water / night
blooming jasmine, wild violets, Amazon lily /
sensual musk, golden amber, sandalwood.... 
Continue reading "Jennifer Aniston EDP (2010): Remake Made in Hollywood {Perfume Review & Musings} {Celebrity Fragrance}" »
 Lola by Marc Jacobs, we were told when it was set to come out last year, is a more smoldering Daisy. The flacons containing the perfume look fab. They are putting frilly back into fashion. When the bottles seem to have sucked all the energy out of the creative team, you can usually hear a rumor of suspicion arising that the jus inside is bound to have been trimmed of its best ingredients. All you can hope for in this economy where real perfumes are dead and faux shampoos abound is to get a luxury version of a hair rinse, some would say. But, surprise! This is counting without the extremely skilled perfumer who created the fragrance Lola, Calice Becker, the author also of J'Adore by Dior and many others (see here). Her style, from what I have seen of it, can attain perfection from a technical point of view, and although she seems to refute the term, appear neo-classical in its capacity to balance out almost any jus into a curvy formula which leaves no room at the seams. As for herself, she prefers to talk of an assemblage of moods and I agree with this characterization for this perfume, as I find it very atmospheric when you discover it for the first time especially. Her style is also commercial in the best professional sense of the term in that she seems to be able to juggle successfully marketing and aesthetic concerns instead of being weighed down by tensions inherent to her profession. She co-created the scent with perfumer Yann Vasnier. Fragrance consultant Anne Gottlieb is also credited for the job. Calice Becker said about the main idea for the perfume, "I was inspired to create a feeling to reflect the color violet, a very saturated, rich, warm color of femininity. I wanted the perfume to convey the same intensity and vibrancy of this jewel-like violet which is fun, sexy yet elegant. Just like Lola." ....
Continue reading "Marc Jacobs Lola (2009): Femme-Fatale Accord {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson is the third fragrance by the pop star following Fancy (2008) and Fancy Love (2009.) This time around, we were forewarned that the perfume would be particularly sensual. While I cannot deny the work on a deepening of sensual accords, what strikes me even more than this velvetier atmosphere are rarer things such as a sense of humor and a certain spirit of anti-conformism. Labeled as a spicy floral oriental, Fancy Nights is one of those fragrances that are not just an inert addition of notes that will smell pretty like an image. It reveals a certain psychological depth and dynamism. Right along the material perfume notes of citrusy bergamot,
papyrus, patchouli,
Bulgarian red rose, Night Blooming Jasmine, creamy vanilla, soft sandalwood, amber and
oakmoss, you'd need to write: a good dose of humor, playfulness, a spirit of independence. I am almost tempted to use the word "wit" but it wouldn't fit completely as I do not sense that indispensable pinch of cynicism that you need to add to shake it and get wit. This is not the perfume made by someone observing Jessica Simpson from a distance, Oscar-Wilde-like, pulling a well-rehearsed line written on a folded paper from his pocket - Wilde was a dreadful histrion and left nothing to chance - but rather a fresh pop art portrait of Jessica Simpson painted by perfumer Steve de Mercado, which additionally captures well a more general American pop-culture ambiance. This may sound odd, but to me, there is very much of an Independence-Day accord in this perfume...
Continue reading "Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights (2010): American Gum-Popping Princess {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Scents}" »
 Coup de Foudre by Parfums DelRae is the new fragrance by the San-Francisco perfume brand founded by DelRae Roth in 2000. It is offered as a rose composition signed by perfumer Yann Vasnier who also created last year's iris composition by the same house called Mythique. The name which means "Love at First Sight" in French is an allusion to DelRae Roth's as well as Yann Vasnier's love of roses rather than to a throbbing love story. As Roth confirmed when I asked her about the inspiration for the scent, which I thought might contain an allusion to Diane de Poitiers's known predilection for rose and lily of the valley, (she dedicated an iris perfume to Diane de Poitiers in 2009.) She confirmed that " Diane de Poitiers was not part of the inspiration for Coup de Foudre, although I do, without a doubt, think she would love Coup de Foudre. My personal love of roses and my own romantic sensibilities were my inspiration. And, Yann loves roses too!"
In her newsletter, DelRae Roth penned her background story, "Roses have always been my favorite flowers. In their infinite variety
they never disappoint. For years I collected books on roses and made
lists of my favorites. I often went to the various rose gardens in the
area; the Berkeley rose garden, the rose garden in Golden Gate Park and
others. But I never had a rose garden. And then-- years ago I rented a
small cottage in Berkeley hidden at the back of a very large and
overgrown parcel. On my birthday one year, I came home from work to
find my brother Patrick had transformed this urban jungle into a rose
garden."
Notes: spicy pink peppercorn, bergamot, Italian lemon 'sfumatrice', pink grapefruit, Rose de Mai France Orpur absolute, Purple Peony, Egyptian jasmine absolute, creamy magnolia Orpur, geranium bourbon, tonka from Venezuela, vetyver, white moss, velvet musks... 
Summer Roses by Cora Ogden
Continue reading "Parfums DelRae Coup de Foudre (2010): Rose Lover's Cup of Tea {Perfume Review & Musings} {Rose Notebook}" »
 Une Rose au Bord de la Mer (A Rose by the Seaside) by Les Parfums de Rosine is the latest opus by the house destined to women
(Rosissime is their latest masculine cologne) and the third one in the
range of the Eaux Légères (Light Waters) for the summer. It is a limited-edition which
was released in May of 2010 in a timely fashion to coincide with
the period of anticipation of holidays by the sea. The Eau Fraîche was
composed by perfumer François Robert and is his second "marine floral" for the house after Ecume de Rose (Rose Sea Spray) (2002). At
this point in the genealogy of modern marine perfumes (see A 19th Century Precursor of Marine Scents), it appears
that the challenge is to refine the concept, if not necessarily renew it, while
still carving out the
possibility for fine perfumery to paint artistic, evocative marine
landscapes. The fresh seaside
breeze accord having become such a signature in home fragrances, not to
mention the more localized bathroom fragrances, there is the risk of an
automatic sentiment of a lack of refinement when smelling a scent which feels too much like a smell counterfeiting the sea. Indeed, a
seaside holiday is a symbolic currency worth something these days...  Roses and Koi by David Kroll, 2008
Continue reading "Les Parfums de Rosine Une Rose au Bord de la Mer (2010) {Perfume Review & Musings} {Rose Notebook}" »
  Tubéreuse Crimininelle (Criminal Tuberose) must be the most medicinal tuberose
composition that breathes under the sun. It smells for the first part
of its life like a tuberose escaped from a psychiatric ward after
having been committed there by a malevolent, evil perfumer who wanted to drown her floral beauty in antiseptic Listerine and shut her out behind closed walls. Serge Lutens together with Christopher Sheldrake seem to weave the tale of a tuberose murder plot where one twin disappears to be replaced by her identical, much tamer one. In perfumery, some notes are reputed to be difficult in a technical sense. Where tuberose is concerned, it would be how to showcase it without it taking over all the other fragrance notes due to its sheer natural heady presence. The solution which was found here seems to have been to have her be subjugated by one of her facets, the one most susceptible to come across as bitchy and cold as she can be: camphor. Both tuberose and camphor have this uncanny gift of being able to suggest stillness and death. Later on, the perfumers tuned down, lobotomized the tuberose to make her more adaptable to the norms of society and the difficulty of creating a narrative tuberose soliflore, not just a rebottled tuberose absolute. Notes: tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom, hyacinth, styrax, musk, vanilla. At first, the perfume is like a distortion of the scent of tuberose seen through the
eyes of someone who wants to embalm the beautiful, lushious tuberose in
cryogenic fluids. Or make her a necklace with moth balls. Or hide her
away in a camphor sarcophagus. The nose that created it both hates it (1st
part) and loves it (2nd part.) -- maybe just "likes it" on second
thoughts as the tuberose seems singularly quiet and gentle after having been seemingly ready
to freeze you with a glacial Medusa stare...
Continue reading "Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle (1999): The Perfumers Killed the Tuberose {Perfume Review & Musings} " »
In preamble, I just wanted to say that the review of Bluff is meant to be my 4th of July (weekend) review to commemorate Independence Day. Hope you had a great Independence Day celebration!
 Vétiver Bluff by Lubin is part of the recent release of a quatuor of fragrances in a collection entitled Les Métalliques referring itself to the visual aspect of the flacons, two of which prolong the Eau-Neuve experiment and the two others, the Vetiver-de-Lubin one. The part of the name which is "Bluff" is a tribute to Far West legend, gunman and gambler Wild Bill Hickock whose last hand at the time of his death when he was shot from the back in the head is still known as the "Dead Man's Hand" (2 black aces, 2 black eights and the jack of diamonds.) On the olfactory plane, Bluff reconnects with an antecedent vetiver accord but adds the spin of a new-frontier kola-nut-based drink inspiration, a homage to early American versions of frontier tonic drinks, which are now almost universally known under the labels Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola. Lubin stress the origins of the drink, mentioning "...the invigorating remedies supplied to the pioneers in the Wild West during the gold rush. Once developed by emigrant physicians, these tonics were first considered as medicines. They would soon become a part of American culture, and later be transformed into soft drinks for young people."
Before cola drinks were made in America, there was a well-known direct French ancestor called Vin Mariani short for "Vin Tonique Mariani à la coca du Pérou," a so-called "cola wine" which contained 6 to 7 mg of cocaine per bottle. An antique advert for the English-speaking market states "Vin Mariani, popular French tonic wine. Fortifies and refreshes body and brain. Restores health and vitality." It was also dubbed "King of Tonics, Tonic of Kings," as virtually all the royalty and intellectual elite of the time, such as Queen Victoria and Thomas Edison, were drinkers of Vin Mariani. Mariani, a Corsican chemist, was apparently also a marketing genius and set up a huge and what looks like to be the first celebrity media campaign for his invention of a Bordeaux infused with coca leaves.
Bluff is signed by perfumer Thomas Fontaine, who also composed two other scents in Les Métalliques: Inédite and Figaro.
Gilles Thévenin, the president of Lubin Parfums, when I asked him why this interest in American history confesses that as a child he adored the legendary David Crockett. More recently, he became aware of the American heritage of the house of Lubin Est. 1798 by going through the archives of the house. In September 2010, as part of the upcoming Haute Harrods event, the perfume house will lend to the prestigious London department store their earliest known export document dated from 1809, a "travel parchment" which belonged to Ernest August Saffers, the partner of founder Pierre François Lubin and the person in charge of all export operations...
Continue reading "Lubin Vétiver Bluff (2010): My 4th of July Review on the 5th of July: Of Coca-Cola, Sweat and Pioneers which all Contributed to Building the Nation {New Fragrance} {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
 Gucci Guilty is the new perfume by Italian fashion label Gucci (see here and here.) When the fragrance officially launches in the fall, Evan Rachel Wood will be fully featured to embody the scent and the aspirations of her cohort. Gucci Guilty forms with Gucci by Gucci and Flora a series of recent mainstream feminine launches by the house. Artistic director Frida Giannini does not leave as strong a mark on the perfumes she supervises as Tom Ford did (this is why he has Tom Ford Beauty), but she seems to have a pretty good idea of what kind of femininity (and masculinity with James Franco) she finds desirable. This is the coherent theme I see running throughout the recent Gucci women's fragrances: there is a quest to capture the woman of today without forcing her into a mold but rather approaching her from different angles. The brand without being uninspired is not interested in being ahead of the curve but rather in being sensitive to the Zeitgeist. Gucci by Gucci exemplified a neo-chypre approach and hence is probably the one with the most gravitas out of the three due to its chypre lineage, a brainier genre in essence due to the fact that it is the genre which originally would have been the furthest away from instinctive regressive tastes: bitter, dry, and unsweetened. Flora seems to be more for young girls with its emphasis on an insouciant style of fruity-florals. Gucci Guilty seems less young-lady than Gucci by Gucci and more bachelorette on the prowl to me. The very coded language of its composition where nothing really surprising emerges despite a geranium note used it seems for a hint of fougère freshness which might subliminally convey the idea of toughness Giannini saw in Evan Wood, suggests playfulness and serious urbane sexiness. It is therefore really not about art here but about lifestyle, a concept I would like to defend in perfumery but will only broach upon here. Gucci Guilty can be seen as a fairly convincing finishing touch for the pretty woman of 2010 who will even be able to use the sleek bottle as a purse mirror to retouch her lips. The fragrance's spokesperson Rachel Evan Wood is 23 and was selected as Frida Giannini made explicit to reach her age group as well as to project an image of sexiness. It is all clearly premeditated. Notes: mandarin, pink pepper, peach, lilac, geranium, amber and patchouli...
Continue reading "Gucci Guilty (2010): The Blended Aesthetics of Life & Comparative Notes with Datura Noir by Serge Lutens {Fragrance Review}" »
 Lady Million is the new, much anticipated release by Paco Rabanne following the top-of-the-chart successful men's version 1 Million which launched in 2008. So hooked are people on the original cologne that a 200 ml size oversized flacon was released this spring for Father's Day in France. The message of carefree high-living behind the original scent embodied by the character of a high-roller; the bottle shaped in the image of a gold ingot and the overdose of sweet comforting slightly graphite-smelling tonka in the perfume have apparently won over men - and also women as far as I am able to tell. Paradoxically, but perhaps not surprisingly, it all took place during a period of economic recession as if the fragrance stood for a reassuring aspirational dream of prosperity during leaner times. As is the case when a major fragrance-success hits, the magic is not just about the scent itself but everything else around it plus the scent all found in a seamless system of symbolic correspondences between image, bottle, story and perfume...
Continue reading "Paco Rabanne Lady Million (2010): Definining Femininity & the Amorous Code {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Fragrance}" »
 Dior Escale aux Marquises is the new addition to the Escale collection. It is perhaps of the three re-interpreted eaux de Cologne by François Demachy the one in which I feel most the perfumer's personal understanding for the house and style of Dior, of its haute-couture heritage for which he confessed a passion in the past. Of the trio, it is the most refined and understated Escale, the one most indebted to the notion of sartorial elegance. The word "marquise" (marquess) in its social sense seems to have been an authentic creative hook and was seen to have a connection with a saying by Christian Dior who once exclaimed " There is nothing I would like more than to make every woman look and feel like a duchess." Escale aux Marquises is your alternative to those tropical scents that make you feel like you might be wearing a Hawaian shirt as it evokes much more a woman dressed in a neutral palette of whites and beiges spending the afternoon on the deck of a sailing yacht in the shade of the buckle and a very large wide-brimmed hat. Notes: orange, pink peppercorn, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, citrus, clove, nutmeg, coriander, elemi, tiare, freesia, neroli, lemon zest, benzoin, Tahitian vanilla. The eau de toilette opens on a cool green spicy effect, a light custard-y and breezy impression of tiare flower on a salty, woody background and something else abstract evoking a sensation which is hard-to-place situated between floral petal, dewy skin and musky nether regions. There is a creaminess to the fragrance but it is not exactly - as often
it is nowadays - a sexy dessert-y impression. The creamy nuance is
subtle, even a bit ethereal, closer to the feel of a luxurious material
like a pashmina beige shawl than to a heavy lactonic effect...
Continue reading "Dior Escale aux Marquises (2010): Couture Oblige {Fragrance Review}" »
 The latest perfume by Serge Lutens, Bas de Soie (Silk Stockings) offers two obvious lines of continuity with the Palais Royal collection. First, it now composes a quatuor with the previous more or less loosely fashion-themed fragrances Serge Noire (Black Serge), Fourreau Noir (Black Sheath) and Fille en Aiguilles (Girl in Stiletto Heels is one of the possible meanings of the name.) Serge Noire which debuted this more or less metaphorical sartorial series was said to be in part the result of an autobiographical reference to Lutens's past when he was working at the couture house of Christian Dior. It is also the second iris composition signed SL offering this time less of a soliflore interpretation, as for Iris Silver Mist, and more of a two-note pairing with hyacinth. Although you will find a few detours in the review of the fragrance, ultimately Bas de Soie could be said to be simply an iris and hyacinth perfume with two of the usual trademarks of the brand: subtlety and deceptively-simple. It is often hard to pinpoint a starting point in the creative process and decide which one of many references took precedence over another one over time. Serge Lutens is - at least we can be confident in that - the man with the initial ideas, which then trigger a more complex and ambiguous process in the interaction which exists between his vision and critical appraisal and perfumer Christopher Sheldrake's fine-tuning of the perfume and creative input too. Bas de Soie at first for me was an iris shock, so much so that I had to ask what quality of iris had been used. Serge Lutens answered and gave more than a factual piece of information. He does not just specify what iris is used. He explains in his answer that it was the contemplation of the color of the hyacinth flower itself that gave its slant to Bas de Soie and in particular and interestingly offered a visual means of evaluating for him the right balance between hyacinth and iris in the composition.... Hyacinth and Iris Pallida by Redouté, 1840
Continue reading "Serge Lutens Bas de Soie (2010): Deceptively Simple yet Regal {Perfume Review & Musings}" »
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