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Scented Thoughts Archive
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 © Panpote, Licensed to TSSSo, I wanted to prune a bit the trees of ideas first by bringing to the front what had already been said on the blog about the question of what it is to understand fragrance and the limits of this movement as I had expressed ideas with readers in a thread but felt it was not the best place for them to be showcased. For the first installment, see Understanding Fragrance (1). I concluded a post on Are Perfumistas Spoilt Brats? by raising the aesthetic, moral and practical issue of "opening up to fragrance." It seems to me a necessary first step which is the attitude of the cultivated instead of the response of the instinctive person: everyone can continue to use their olfactory sense to reject - bad, foreign, different, strange, hard-to-place, and what not scents. It's what it was made for...
Continue reading "Understanding Fragrance (2) {The Readers Talk Back}" »
 Countryside by the seaIt's beach time! (in your mind) We could look at beach and
marine fragrances from a purely practical and functional perspective -
it's summer and for some obscure migratory reason, you feel the need to
replicate and accompany the change of olfactory atmosphere with sea,
sand and marine-floral and marine-animalic notes. Of course, this goes
only for people who do not live by the ocean all year round. Perfume is
the mountain that comes to you but in some cases, it's the mountain you
want to carry an olfactory evocation of while vacationing atop it. We
could also consider these scents as forming a genre which best thrives
in the summer. Do you load on suspenseful, arcane thrillers to peruse
on the beach? Are you more inclined to read travel books while looking at the blue line of the horizon? If
that kind of seasonal and cultural shift takes place in you, then you
may also feel an urge to throw a bottle or two of vacation-time
fragrance filled with relaxing, hedonistic notes that scream "Stop and
smell the roses!" to help you unwind more quickly through the first days
of the holidays. That's our premise. Of course, things can get more complex after that.
Some marine fragrances can be actually pretty challenging to the nose
as they play with our borderline perception of the pleasant and foul
overlapping taste and scent categories. You may like to eat grilled
fish drizzled with lemon juice but you may not necessarily want to
replicate the smell of a swell fish eatery on your person precisely for
it belonging almost exclusively to the food group in your mind. That is
before marine fragrances make you realize you might be wrong about that
assumption. In our 30 of the Very Best Beach and Marine Fragrances List, we look at a mix of old and new while keeping the ones that are memorable, compelling, study-note-worthy, holding their own ground etc. The palette of notes can be farther ranging than initially envisioned, what counts is the olfactory interpretation of a marine theme...
Continue reading "30 of the Very Best Beach & Marine Fragrances - Part 1 {Scented Thoughts} {Perfume List} " »
 Perfumer Calice Becker, the author of J'Adore by Dior, Tommy Girl, Estée Lauder Beyond Paradise for Men and Women, Calvin Klein Secret Obsession, Marc Jacobs Lola, Vera Wang Rock Princess and more, who works in New York City is interviewed in the video below in French by news channel France24...
Continue reading "Video Interview with Perfumer Calice Becker from 2008 {Scented Thoughts}" »
Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian offers his thoughts on perfume and perfumery to Les Echos Série Limitée. The interview is in French. Among other things, he prefers to oppose the notions of a "confidential" perfumery to a more mass-marketed one rather than use the dichotomy luxury-mass, as mass can be luxurious. He also explains that for his own house Maison Francis Kurkdjian he would like to gather a "large audience" rather than a confidential one or a mass one. The entrevista was done last year, a week after the opening of his house....
Continue reading "Video Interview with Francis Kurkdjian by Série Limitée {Scented Thoughts}" »
 The official concept behind the anticipated public launch of Belle d'Opium is not very different from what Opium purported to be when it launched in 1977, to be a modern-day Shalimar better attuned to younger generations. Belle d'Opium plays the same card but by being a direct descendant of its own oriental reference, its classic Opium ancestor launched in 1977 and 1978. The luxurious USA launch party, which is still remembered t day, took place on the Peking boat docked at the tip of Manhattan in the South Street seaport in New York City in 1978 with Yves Saint Lauren himself having come to introduce his new over-the-counter drug.  For Belle d'Opium moreover " The idea is to reinvent the concept of addiction for younger generations today." If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of the original Opium launch both in France and in the USA, you have to read the fascinating chapter Michael Edwards consecrated this modern classic which was designed from the get-go to rival Shalimar by Guerlain (1925) while drawing on the popularity in the US of Youth-Dew by Estée Lauder (1952) in Perfume Legends.... (Belle d'Opium Mix by Alexa Chung and Alexandra Richards on the left)
Continue reading "Yves Saint Laurent Belle d'Opium (2010): More Information on the New-Generation Opium {New Perfume} {Fragrance News} {Scented Thoughts}" »
 Perfumer tombstone, 2nd centuryAn interesting phenomenon which has been created by the anchoring of a 24/7 perfume discourse on the internet and the vast circulation of perfume lovers is the unanticipated for me appearance of virtual mini memorial sites spontaneously erected for perfumes that are no more. Like in a classic cemetery, people visit the "tomb" and lay not a wreath but leave a comment to reminisce about the past life of the fragrance. The difference is that, I believe in most cases, there is a practical, hopeful goal: resurrect the perfume for renewed enjoyment of it. Not all fragrances are equally loved so not all discontinued fragrances get mourned collectively but I thought it would be worthwhile to take stock and list those memorial places which have sprouted within the blog. They have become, I had to realize, veritable places of mourning and fragrance contemplation...
Continue reading "Cyber Perfume Cemeteries, Virtual Fragrant Memorial Stones {Scented Thoughts}" »
When I watch movies, of course, I tend to notice more than your average person perfume scenes. In the past, I wrote about the movie in this regard, Perfume (I know, the 2nd part is still to be written) and also managed to see a perfume theme running throughout The Night Porter by Liliana Cavani.
On a much lighter note this time, I caught a moment of perfume battle royal in Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton.
It makes me laugh retrospectively because beyond the meaning of the scene which is to show the inventiveness of the Mad Hatter who is able to use all sorts of unconventional devices to try to fend off his enemy, it seems to be a good albeit exaggerated illustration of the quasi fanaticism with which some perfume lovers can stand by their belief in the quality or nastiness of a perfume...
Continue reading "An Eye for Perfume, Always {Scented Thoughts}" »
 If you like to smell of fresh, tart mango for summer and/or regret the disappearance of Eau Exotique Eau Fraîche by Parfums de Nicolaï (2005), the scoop is that it was very discreetly reincarnated as Eau Turquoise (2008)...
Continue reading "Fragrance Shopping Tip of the Day: Nicolaï Eau Exotique still Available as Eau Turquoise...or How Words Matter in Perfumery" »
  As I am smelling the drydown of the new Trésor in Love in the quiet of the night, I have to ask myself: aren't perfumistas simply spoiled brats when it comes to fragrance? Honestly, this smells good. Earlier on today, while I did give it good points I was also being critical of its detergent-like white musks leanings. Its caving-in to "commercial" tastes. But it occurred to me that if I were smelling this perfume as my only possible fragrance to be had at hand, that I would have found, say, in a bathroom hotel in a foreign country, I would be very happy with it. So, I propose that from time to time when the hour of judgment comes, instead of pursing lips at the banality of this and that note and sighing with dissatisfaction, just to remember that in each (good) fragrance there is something inviting about it, a friendly voice, a sense of the familiar and human warmth. It may not be absolutely original if you compare it to the competition on the market trying to decide which perfume it is best for you to purchase, but it is good...
Continue reading "Are Perfumistas Spoilt Brats? And The Hotel-Bathroom Test to Replace the Desert-Island One {Scented Thoughts}" »
 This is a little zakuski of what's to come on the blog before I have to dash out (and come back.) Yesterday, we had a nearly last-minute inspiration to take a day off and travel to the Loire valley for a well-deserved break. Chenonceau is Beautiful and Exquisite-Smelling! Not only my eyes but my nose are still ravished. I never suspected the castle with its very strategic placing across the Cher river just lets the perfumes of fragranced flowers that are displayed on purpose within the building bloom and waft around like... suave creeping snakes hissing with soft and heady floral notes...
Continue reading "A Trip to the Fragrant Castle: Chenonceau {Scented Thoughts}" »
  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... 
Continue reading "Christophe Guillarmé Le Tapis Rouge (2010): Again on Celebrity Fragrances in France {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Perfume} {Scented Thoughts}" »
 Le saut dans le vide / The Leap into the Void, with Yves Klein. By Harry Shunk via Wikimedia Commons.Lately, a number of perfumes have started trickling into the market
which present a common point: the oxymoronic structure.They claim to be
the plausible combinations of lightness and depth using a different
approach from that of the classical pyramidal structure starting with the
fastest-evaporating notes at the top and drying down to the most
lasting notes. Other prototypes approaching this description in the
olden days would have been the genre of the fresh oriental or that of
the ambery eau de cologne. It remains to be seen whether the approach
is indeed reflected in novel olfactory impressions or if the newness is
to be found more in a discourse attempting to influence our perceptions
of these fragrances. What I find noteworthy is that these fragrances more
clearly indicate that there is a turning point and a distancing from
the New Freshness of the 1990s which emphasized stretchable
transparencies in empty space. For lack of a better expression, the new
movement could be termed New Depth for its oppositional and dialectal
relationship to New Freshness. It is a return to skin. Whereas New
Freshness made the human body feel more ethereal and weightless and
called attention to space surrounding it, New Depth is a return to a perfumery which is more about the immediacy of skin and is
therefore person-centric. At the same time, dialectical progress has
been made which creates a new synthesis trying to preserve both the
teachings of old-school corporeal perfumery, in which lightness and
depth are not ideologically separate, and New Freshness perfumery, which distinguished itself from corporeal perfumery by dichotomizing itself into pure- and ethereal-smelling molecules,
offering as a result in reaction to it, New Depth ...
Continue reading "The Latest Teachings in Perfumery are the Oxymoron and New Depth + Jo Malone Cologne Intense Collection (2010) {New Perfume} {Scented Thoughts}" »
Dear readers, here is my belated clover essay inspired by St Patrick's Day. The Popularity of Clover Aroma and L.T. Piver Trèfle Incarnat in Particular in Literature and Perfume since the 19th Century - Part 1Clover is one of those scents that like that of the violet can be considered modest, yet like the latter gave rise to an extremely popular appreciation for it expressed both in literary form and perfume. In honor of St Patrick's day and the green shamrock, I decided to take a closer look at clover as a scent in history. The 19th century seems to have been particularly sensitive to its rustic, bucolic charm, a taste which culminated in the creation of Trèfle Incarnat by L.T. Piver by Pierre Armingeat, Jacques Rouché (the son-in-law of L.T. Piver) and Georges Darzens at the turn of the 20th century. The dates for its introduction are conflicted ranging from 1895 to 1896, 1898 and 1900... Summary of the Article: • Clover and the Diffuse Pantheistic Sensitivity in the 19th Century and early 20th Century
• Created Clover and the Modernist, Industrialist Sensitivity
• The Rise and Fall of Clover from the Fresh Air of the Countryside to the Confined Air of the Whorehouse
Continue reading "The Popularity of Clover Aroma and L.T. Piver Trèfle Incarnat in Literature and Perfume since the 19th Century - Part 1 {Scented Thoughts (on St Patrick's Day)}" »
 Purity by Iran Issa-KhanOne perfumery trend which emerged from 2009 and is garnering momentum this spring and summer 2010 is the Pure White Trend in Fragrances. It is as if the recession had helped get people in touch with basics and simplicity overall. Maybe, if you consider the recession like a minor scourge, it is also a way of purifying ourselves from our excesses and consumers' sins. One of the effects of the recession which has been observed is that people started giving renewed value to human relationships and putting all-out materialistic pursuits on the back burner. As it turns out, the Pure White Trend in perfume is not just about cleanliness but sentimentality and refocusing on the home front. Images surrounding several of these fragrances involve family imaginings. The scent of laundry never smelled so comforting, poetic and evocative...
Continue reading "The Pure White Trend in Fragrances: A Return to Fundamentals {Trend Alert}" »
 Nudo con el calze rosse by Giuseppe De NittisI hope that you had a lovely Valentine's Day and that you celebrated in high or low style. A rose, a glass of wine, sweet words will do, at every opportune occasion -- or when you're not running after time. As promised, albeit belatedly, I am now turning again to those straight-up musk oils that I started talking about last week or so. What I have learned in-between is that there are many more brands that I would need to reference to produce a comprehensive little guide to musk oils that this series of articles is going to be, hopefully. They are a little daunting, these oils, due to their proliferation. Why am I fascinated by musk oils? For one thing they are very much pop-culture and I adore pop culture. I think it is also because in their very mushrooming and ubiquitous existence they seem to express such universal hope that something unique is going to take place between a mysterious musk cocktail and your own skin-and-personality chemistry. I think the descriptive musk-cocktail is particularly appropriate in light of the fact that different musky synthetic molecules are routinely mixed and shaken to overcome the rather largely occurring problem of musk anosmia: the incapacity to smell a particular musk. Even perfumers are not immune to the issue and according to Richard L. Dorty "... an informal poll among perfumers, for example, has elicited the fact that most of them are completely anosmic to one or more musks..." Galaxolide, the laundry-detergent musk of choice, is a prime candidate in this regard. [Richard L. Dorty, 2003]. Next to anosmia, there is the lesser evil of parosmia which allows you to perceive a scent, but feebly...
Continue reading "Valentine's Day 2010 & Beyond: Exploring Musk Oils - Part 2 {Scented Thoughts} {Perfume List}" »
Scented Thoughts Archive
Page 2 of 8 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Fin O'Suilleabhain on
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Fragonard Caresse (1929/2008) {Perfume Review}
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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}
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Aftelier Perfumes Secret Garden (2011): Featuring Real Civet & Castoreum {New Fragrance}
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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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