"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 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....
Her Iridescent Fragrance by Narciso Rodriguez is the newest flanker to the very successful Narciso Rodriguez for Her franchise which debuted in 2003. Narciso Rodriguez perfumes - it is my contention - do so well because the designer behind the label is really interested in fragrances.
Contrary to what the laconic explanations given by the brand might lead you to believe, the change is not just about a lighter construction or shimmer added to the scent. "This
light and luminous interpretation of 'for her' eau de parfum leaves
skin delicately scented and iridescent, like a veil of silk. The
perfect product for spring."
It is not even a straightforward lighter twist on the sweet fruity Egyptian musk sillage (orange blossom + osmanthus) which has become such a standard attractant note in neo-chypres today. If copycatting can be irritating from an author's perspective (perfumers Francis Kurkdjian and Christine Nagel here), the upside of it from an industry-of-desires perspective is that like in fashion, it co-feeds collective lust for similar - and hence predictable - signs and objects.
As is often the case, the words used here of "light" and "luminous" only describe the scent partially. Mostly they are felt in the need to reapply the scent often despite its narcotic feel and perhaps also because it is a perfume which is on the addictive side. And if these words were put there to fulfill a psychological function such as raising your expectations in a given direction and then overtaking you by surprise, it worked...
"I love floral fragrances, and wanted Violet Eyes to make women feel beautiful, sophisticated, and sensual.It was a great joy to create Violet Eyes with a bouquet of fragrance notes that I adore, carefully fine-tuning every aspect of it.Everything, down to the last detail, comes from my heart and my soul.I send this fragrance into the world with love..."
Elizabeth Taylor
Violet Eyes, the new perfume by Elizabeth Taylor created in collaboration with Elizabeth Arden opens on an absolutely lovely violet and vanilla accord with undertones of exotic fruits, and some amber and woods. The perfume makes me think most of the vanillic softness of Hervé Léger (a hidden gem) but I am sure that the delicious vanilla peach skin of Hanae Mori will also come to mind easily. On a more intellectual level and towards the very end of the drydown, I am reminded of the wonderful vanilla-and-vetiver accord of Habanita by Molinard.
After this velvety, soft overture, Violet Eyes becomes citrusier creating a delayed sparkling quality. Given the thematic of the fragrance - Elizabeth Taylor's legendary violet-colored eyes - you get some sort of allusive olfactory accord to her eyes sparkling in the spotlight, framed by a movie camera. It's a close-up to her scintillating eyes...
Cologne Intense Iris and White Musk by Jo Malone from the new quatuor of Colognes Intenses opens on an olfactory oxymoron: the scent of a dirty white musk. For
an American nose, the musk here will probably be most reminiscent of the musk cocktail found in Alyssa
Ashley Musk at this stage at least. The perfume suggests initially an overbearing violent animalic musk but which is at the same time clean and snow-capped thanks to cool Polar aldehydes. There is a good amount of Animalid, Galaxolide, with nuances of Lactoscaton and Cetalox, and more, to create this feral intensity. The iris note at this point mostly seems to be present to offer a textural effect creating a glacé, frosty finish to the perfume. It makes one think of a road covered by chilly snow drifts but where the macadam would smell of musk and white soap (and later, face powder.) The fragrance after some time seems to release some discreet fizzy soapy bubbles which shed further light on the clean facet of the nether-regions musk accord. As the name of the perfume indicates, a "white musk" thematic (see here also) was deliberately sought out but it is one which interestingly has been vilified more than is usual and stripped off its most commonly accepted nuance of fake innocence thanks to perfumer Christine Nagel's interpretation. Here the musk is white but not coy. If anything, the soap is overtaken by the furry note in the battle of clean against dirt...
As announced previously, Jo Malone are preparing to launch a new quatuor of Colognes Intenses this summer from July 2010 which are inspired by the culture of the Middle East but with a dash of British attitude. The Scented Salamander is pleased to bring you a sneak preview.
In the brand's own words, the scents are "Inspired by centuries old
Middle Eastern rituals of layering scents, incenses and oils, and the beauty of
classic ingredients but with Jo Malone's hallmark simplicity and elegant
restraint,"
All four perfumes were created by perfumer Christine Nagel, an award-winning fragrance composer who lives in Paris. Lately there has been a cultural movement towards getting more literal inspiration from the Arabian style of perfumery, a current that can be felt precisely in Paris and I believe in London too where I've seen tours advertised to visit Arabian perfumeries. The upcoming Jo Malone collection meshes with this trend while continuing their own exploration of world perfumeries, an interest they revealed with the very well done Kohdo Wood Collection (see here and here) inspired by the ceremony of incense in Japan...
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre (lit. Luck Tender Water) is the newest addition to the Chance fragrance franchise which was inaugurated in 2002. The house is presenting the new iteration as a fruity-floral twist on Chance Eau de Parfum (there is also an eau de toilette and an extrait.) It is signed by in-house head perfumer Jacques Polge. When the progenitor Chance launched it was said that the scent was made to feel deliberately young. In 2007 Chance became fresher with Eau Fraîche. In 2010, the name Eau Tendre and the pink-colored jus suggest further interest in appealing to still younger women. Smelling side by side Chance EDP and Chance Eau Tendre, I have to admit that the most recent version of Chance does make Chance EDP smell older even mustier (it's a chypre.) It is as if brands - not just Chanel (cf. Miss Dior Eau Fraîche) are now looking for the fountain of youth in fragrance formulation to appeal to the Millenial Generation.
Chance Eau Tendre opens on a very green, very radiant tart and sweet plummy quince with undertones of pencil shavings (cedar wood). The fruity and woodsy notes soon become much more present and pungent with traces of cumin while the white, transparent and salty musks amplify. The fruits in the composition by now have become more stewed-like in quality (cf. J'Adore by Dior). In the midst of the transparent and crisp grassy scent there is an aura of darkness that hangs about like the sheer-veil-like presence of a dark fruity chypre of yore (cf. Femme de Rochas.)...
Starlet by Lulu Beauty comes with two warm recommendations: it's a favorite of its creator who specializes in gardenia perfumes but also of Tori Spelling who even requested that the scent be renamed Stella to give it away to guests on her daughter's first birthday.
The fragrance is a classically lush gardenia scent with green and peppery accents and a gasoline-indolic revving-up of flower engines in the start. The perfume then sweetens down with vanilla and softens with musk while keeping a light new-rubber-glove-scent counterpoint to give it a hint of the reality of a Desperate Housewife. It's slightly woody too. The drydown plays the contrasts of honeyed and ambery with discreet horseradish nuances to allow the gardenia to keep its edge...
Daniela Andrier with Infusion de Vetiver by Prada, which just launched, manages to renew our expectations for a vetiver fragrance by making it smell like purity incarnate at first, then the very soul of vetiver descended upon earth. It is probably closer to home however to assume that Infusion de Vetiver is an illustration of the high-luxury belief which holds that even hidden details show on the outside. In fact, luxury, it could be argued, is all about accessing this essence: the sentiment of an experience which is traceable but not observable.
In this manner, the definition of authentic luxury, by relying on near-immateriality and a non-deictic relationship - it never shows off nor points in any obvious visible direction with its index - becomes more akin to the ideal immateriality and vague, invisible yet all-encompassing experience of perfume. Going back to my religious metaphor, I would say that a perfume created with this notion of luxury in mind is closer to its ancient religious and spiritual function when perfume addressed itself to the Invisible....
Salvador EDT (59€-43€) is the latest creation by Salvador Dali fragrances and will be released in May of 2010. It
is said to be a woody, ambery and spicy scent inspired by the dandy image of Salvador Dali (1904-1989.) This could provide
the basis for a great excursus on a psychoanalysis of the dandy and of Salvador
Dali in particular. But it would be a complex task and it is in the end not
warranted by the composition itself, which prefers to clean up the character of
Dali only keeping the most agreeable albeit slightly musky bits, the ones that
people will agree to wear and buy. This jus is about the authorized version of Dali's biography, although the Surrealist painter authorized himself to
be more himself in Maniac Eyeball: the
Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dali, which I have not read (yet.)
Notes: nashi, peppercorn from Java, cinnamon from Ceylon, leathery cedar, golden sandalwood, incense resins, island vanilla, luminous amber, sensual musk.
At first Salvador which is signed by Michel Almairac of Robertet seems to be a cross between two popular men's
olfactory atmospheres: the peppery aqua facet of many a men's colognes nowadays
and the coumarin galore of 1 Million by Paco Rabanne, a bestseller. After
getting these familiar cues, the composition segues into a more distinctive and
very pleasurable masculine leathery and resinous impression with forest-y hints
of birch tar. The body of the fragrance is sweetly ambery, but less so than for
Salvador Dali pour Homme (1987)....
Gardénia Grand Soir is one of the two latest limited-editions by French niche perfumery Parfumerie Générale to appear this spring, along with Bois Naufragé. It is described as "the white sigh of a gardenia supported by a vibration of sandalwood." My take on it fluctuates from being quite critical to being at long last charmed by it. The issue might be - and this is a problem I can perceive from the start - that the scent is not consistent enough.
My initial title for the article was "Gardenia Cameo" to emphasize this aspect. As you can see, my second title is more positive giving more room to that commonly accepted notion that a perfume's true personality is revealed in its longer drydown. But at the core, I must say that I disagree with this idea although I can enjoy and wear a perfume that abides by this ethos. But I don't think, precisely, that Gardénia Grand Soir follows this ethos. And personally, I think that the whole perfume ought to make sense from start to finish, simply because it has been shown that it can be done and that it indicates mastery...
Bois Naufragé (Shipwrecked Wood) is one of the two new compositions by perfumer Pierre Guillaume from French niche perfumery Parfumerie Générale. It is inspired by the picture entitled Le Nu au Bois Flotté by Lucien Clergue (1971) (see above) the founder of the photographic event of the Rencontres d'Arles, a friend of Picasso and a photographer whose themes of predilection are feminine nudes, nature, elements, but also death. He did series of carrions and dead bulls.
Notes: carob tree also called Egyptian fig tree treated as a flotsam note; salt (fleur de sel); ambergris.
On skin, Bois Naufragé opens on a mineral coconut impression quickly followed by a very, very green note feeling like an oversized grass blade as sharp as a knife. On paper, it mostly smells of a very transparent, spacious and very cold fast-ventilating note which feels like you just opened the door of the fridge and are receiving a blast of cryogenic-grade temperature. As you will see, this cold accord manifests itself differently on skin. The blotter is not the best way to experience this perfume. The lactonic coconut note, which does not smell very fig-like in my view, is paired like in Jo Malone Cedar and Lime with a lime-like note which makes the scent feel very much akin to that of Thai coconut curry, probably a result of technical constraint more than due to the will of offering a gustatory reference which would be irrelevant here. At least, it feels that way.
The mineral note of the beginning becomes less vague taking the smell-shape of large smooth stone pebbles on the beach whose smells would be released by hard-hitting drops of rain water on their dry and hot surfaces. Here, one can recognize the mineral beach accord found in Côte d'Amour by L'Artisan Parfumeur, which is, as I see it, rather standard as I have smelled it in home fragrance. It is of course, as we can guess, the reference to the central motif of Bois Flotté to that piece of derelict, shipwrecked wood on which a nude is lying...
I wanted to smell Laughter by Space NK or a long time, for two reasons. One, because it is credited to perfumer Christopher Sheldrake now working at Chanel who was before attached to Serge Lutens: he is perceived to be a perfumer with artistic credentials. And two, because you simply get curious about knowing how ticklish and happy a perfume can smell. Not surprisingly, Laughter is a citrus fragrance, thought most of the time to convey an optimistic, summery tonality. Beyond that, the fragrance is a bit less predictable in terms of its gender-connoted personality and its overall impact.
If there isn't necessarily a Manichean combat taking place between the masculine and feminine principles inside the bottle of all unisex fragrances, in this case, Laughter seems to put the feminine principle K.O. during the first seconds of the first round. My first thought is: this perfume has a masculine vibe.
Although offered as a fragrance for both women and men, the juniper berries mingling with the dry and clear citrus, the black pepper and the woody-ambery rather standard and synthetic-smelling base - there is simply too much of the synthetic Galaxolide in here, a cheap, universal toiletry-musk with overtones of wood splinters - all contribute to making the jus come across as a splash of cooling eau at the end of a shaving session at your friendly neighborhood barber shop. This normally entails shaving your beard in public, not your legs...
The Japanese spring ritual dedicated to the aesthetic contemplation of cherry blossoms or sakura has been transplanted to global markets to give birth to a very popular, non-elitist japonisant genre of sorts: the cherry blossom fragrance. If in the realm of visual arts, the same current of inspiration gave the rich cloisonné effects found in Impressionism, in perfumery, it contributes to a taste for purer, simpler and understated affordable scents. In both cases, it can be called a movement corresponding to a vogue, a Zeitgeist and a collective shift in taste rather than to an avant-gardist one.
Indeed, a sign that the cherry blossom fragrance is becoming even more of a mainstay is that L'Occitane en Provence just released two cherry perfumes together this spring...
Kylie Minogue Couture was launched in 2009 and is the singer's fifth feminine fragrance. She more recently turned to masculine inspiration for a cologne called Inverse. I was asked to give my opinion on some scents for a magazine and so decided to write a full-fledged review on the blog of this one since I had enough notes and had not reviewed it in the past.
Celebrity fragrances suffer from many preconceived opinions and stereotypes. They are easily targeted and ridiculed. Like those figures at the fair that you see kids throw little rice sacks at to make them tumble, celebs seem sometimes to be handsomely payed just to channel the pent-up frustrations and need for derivatives of the crowds and in the meantime avoid a social revolution. For this reason alone, their existence is justified and productive. People tend too often to view only the lucrative aspects of the celebrity-fragrance game but really think about the social coping mechanisms they help set. People can reaffirm their collective purported values by spitting on Paris Hilton and lavishing adulation on the nice celebs...which are??? Wait, let me pause to help clarify the fuzziness of the universe which is in dire need of some clear landmarks. I'll pick Tilda Swinton and her upcoming fragrance: she is not exactly nice but she is interesting at least. Oh no wait, there is Queen Latifah who is nice: you could really tell people wanted to love her fragrance in advance. Fortunately, her jus was up to snuff...
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...
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The new flanker to 
Her Iridescent Fragrance by Narciso Rodriguez is the newest flanker to the very successful Narciso Rodriguez for Her franchise which debuted in 2003. Narciso Rodriguez perfumes - it is my contention - do so well because the designer behind the label is really interested in fragrances. 
Cologne Intense Iris and White Musk by Jo Malone from the new 
As 
Starlet by Lulu Beauty comes with two warm recommendations: it's a favorite of its creator who specializes in gardenia perfumes but also of Tori Spelling who even requested that the scent be renamed Stella to give it away to guests on her daughter's first birthday.
A girl helping friend pin a gardenia on her dress before the Smith College Super Dance, 1937 © Time, Inc/Alfred Eisenstaedt
