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Trend Alert Archive
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 Spanish fashion label Mango launched a new mass-market women's perfume in December 2009 called Lady Rebel. The perfume's imagery and spirit is in the same vein as those of Lady Vengeance by Juliette Has a Gun, Paco Rabanne Black XS for Her, Ma Dame by Jean Paul Gaultier and Anna Sui Rock Me! The two latter scents are even fronted by the same model, Agyness Deyn who started to incarnate a spirit of reckless youth for Burberry The Beat and hasn't stopped since then...
Continue reading "Mango Lady Rebel (2009) {New Perfume} - Rock' n Roll Gen Y Ladies {Trend Alert}" »
 Oud across the centuries has been designated by a wealth of names due to its long history and wide geographic diffusion as both a much sought-after wood and perfumery material. To track the presence of this aromatic material in perfumery, you need to build a terminology which amounts to dozens of different terms. Oud was already known in the antiquity and Dioscorides called it agallochum. Later it became known as xyloaloes. Less well-known terms today are calambac, calembour which reveal the itineraries of long sea voyages from Portuguese to Italian to Malay and French shores. More frequently occurring terms today are oud, oudh, aloeswood, jinkoh, gaharu, eaglewood, agarwood to name but a few of the possible lexical occurrences. Highly prized in the Middle East, this material is less central to European perfumery but nevertheless present. The fervor it encounters in the Middle East is however not matched in Western culture where it is often perceived as a difficult material fit for a connoisseur nose only when it is showcased rather than blended in. It also does not possess the same tradition of being an aphrodisiac as in Islamic countries as the body of texts we know of in Europe devotes that kind of central amorous value to musk and civet. This property was however examined. In the 19th century, experiments were conducted by French veterinarians on cows, on the possible enhancement of their reproductive abilities thanks to oud and concluded to the aphrodisiac properties of the ingredient. Some brands such as Montale, Micallef, Oriscent have an ongoing focus on oud and are seen as specialists of this material but are not perceived precisely for this reason for being unexpectedly creative with oud. This natural excretion from contaminated, diseased wood is rare, costlier than gold, which contributes to its mystique. Oud however is now also harvested. Synthetic blends created by major fragrance companies are now also part of the perfumer's palette such as Oud Blend F (Firmenich) and Black Agar Givco (Givaudan). In 2009 an oud trend influenced by Arabian perfumery is perceptible with a rather large group of oud-centered perfumes. This oud interest started gaining momentum in 2007...
Continue reading "Are You in the Mood for Oud Aromania? {Trend Alert} + Oud Timeline {Sniffing Suggestions}" »
 Antarctica 7 by Sebastian Copeland
Please see Part 1: Fiery colognes for the first installment While one notices this season a discreet tectonic shift in the direction of men's fragrances getting more uninhibited and sensual, at the other end of the spectrum this Fall/Winter 2009/2010 you can find extremely fresh to Icy colognes. Key words for this trend are: "Icy", "Snowy", "Chilly", "Cool", "Extreme Freshness", "Cologne" (in the French sense), "white", "fizzy", "electric"  Cartier Déclaration Eau de Toilette CologneThe new Cartier Déclaration Cologne, in fact an Eau de Toilette, borrows its inspiration from the grand tradition of Eau de Cologne. It is a markedly dry and oh-so-fresh-herbal-y twist on the original Déclaration. The brand alludes to " a singular freshness." Freshness does not need be transparent and devoid of character (the dry facet) and this scent proves it. An appealing slightly wild charm...
Continue reading "Men's Fragrance Trends Fall/Winter 2009/2010 - Part 2: Icy {Trend Alert} Holidays Gift Guide {Shopping Tips}" »
 Axel Hütte, Capulin Fire - 1, Dip., New MexicoThis fall/winter 2009 season men are offered very contrasted choices for
their personal fragrances. While at the end of the summer it looked like unusually deep
textures were going to prevail in men's scents heralding a gentle shift in mainstream masculine olfactory codes, it has now become clear
that gentlemen have two extremes to choose from: Fire and Extreme Freshness. Fragrance designers are envisioning men as sensation and thrill seekers and advertising perfume by offering sensory adventure bottled to them. All men might not travel to Africa or Antarctica but their fragrances can satisfy a deep need to do so. The 2009 Fall/Winter Fiery Fragrances for Men - Part 1There is a general push towards more intensity and this is not just
because it is the cold season, like every year. The new men's colognes of fall/winter 2009 are exceptionally rich and more explicitly alluring. They make sure however to evoke a sense of strength and intensity while borrowing traditional tools of seduction from the culture and language of women's perfumes. Men are invited to be in touch with their feminine sides and why not, try stealing
the show from women instead of counting on them to be the birds
with garish feathers perfume-wise. This trend even dares for the
first time in the mainstream to stick the label "Parfum" on
a masculine cologne bottle to entice men out of their comfort zone both
olfactorily and pyschologically. Parfum or extrait is the
highest concentration for a scent and is usually culturally constructed as an exclusive treat for women reserved for their pulse
points. Fiery key words this fall/winter 2009 in the masculine perfume alleys are "parfum",
"elixir", "intense", "absolute" and "liqueur"...
Continue reading "Men's Fragrance Trends Fall/Winter 2009 Part 1: Fiery {Trend Alert} Holidays Gift Guide {Shopping Tips}" »
 Red, as we all know is more often seen on lips, relatively less often on cheeks
(real red that is, like Exhibit A by Nars, say) and even less frequently
on eyelids. Making up your eyes in red can be dramatic, romantic, antiquated or Goth. It's a
look with historical precedents like the Geisha look, the Chinese Opera
singers look, the courtly lady's look with her rouge that was applied so high up on cheeks in
the 18th century that it went up to the eye level, the ethnic look like in the use of red mud
to adorn the body in Africa, or the vampire/Gothic look, and more. And no, not the rabbit look. In
Part 1 we present some of the makeup product launches this fall that have been inspired to make the color red migrate onto the eyelids. In Part 2, we will round up red eye
makeup from alternative brands. In Part 3, we'll take a look at the
runway looks that used red on the eyes. And how about a bonus Series on Red Perfumes?  This fall we are seeing a lot of red both on the runways and in the makeup pans. Chanel has launched its Venetian collection and one of the most interesting items in it is the eye-gloss quad featuring a deep antique red that could also make you think of a nature morte depicting a butcher's display. This red can be both kept saturated to the point where it looks like makeup for the stage to make believe you were bruised or be worked into a more classic red look.  Armani has a terrific mascara, Eyes to Kill, in Rouge Iron. The swatch on the Armani site does not do justice to the original color which is a rich terracotta red and makes me think most of an African color, like a landslide of red clay after the rain. It applies beautifully and although it will not make your eyes stand out as much as with a darker color, it's so luscious you want to find a way to use it to full effect. They also have the new Eyes to Kill Eye Shadow in Red Iron: 3 colors to apply at different levels of the eyelid. Isn't this a to-die-for coral-y tomato red?...
Continue reading "Take The Red Eye This Fall 2009 -- Part 1: Makeup Launches {Trend Alert} {New Beauty Products - Color}" »
 Trend Alert: Fragrances' Semantic Love Affair with Love in the Fall of 2009Bath and Body Works have added a new scent to their Signature Collection called P.S. I Love You. Love is apparently in the air this fall because you can also expect to have to decide if you prefer this perfume or the upcoming Love Etc...by The Body Shop. A bit more up-market, you will have further the option of an In The Mood for Love by Gianfranco Ferre or Idylle by Guerlain which translated into English means Love Affair. JLo is also tapping into our sentimental selves with My Glow (that of fulfilled motherhood). Last spring we had a Love by Nina. This summer there was L'Amoureux by D&G. More subtly put, we also have L'Humaniste by Frapin this autumn that is, the lover of mankind...
Continue reading "Bath & Body Works P.S. I Love You (2009) -- The Love Trend {New Perfume} {Trend Alert}" »
 In an age so characteristically drawn to images and by extension to celebrity dazzle, it is no surprise to see a trend of perfumes emerge that are inspired by this particular moment of modern-day glory: the red carpet. From Cannes to Hollywood, beauty parades on long avenues of plush crimson red and become haloed by the flashes of the paparazzi's light bulbs. But why this year? This past half-year and this half-year year is or was the recession. A perfume idea gets floated about two years in advance on average. Did designers dream of the red carpet a while ago or is it just appropriate to make people dream even more glamorously when reality is less than perky? Movie tickets have never sold better than in the current downturn in a recall of the Great Depression. Obviously the red carpet is the right kind of dream to have these days.
The Red-Carpet Perfume TrendJessica Simpson said it so herself. Fancy, her debut perfume was meant to prepare her/you for all the situations in life one might encounter " With FANCY, I wanted to create a pretty fragrance, one that I could be just as comfortable wearing on the red carpet or every day with my favorite jeans," To quote the classics, the 15-mn of fame dictum by Warhol anticipated that one day we would just need that kind of fragrance: the red-carpet ready one. The bottle was über-shiny but not particularly red-carpet themed unless you see an allusion to the Oscar statuette in the bottle topper. Let's call it a transition red-carpet perfume.  Badgley and Mischka wanted to pay homage to all of their glamorous women friends who are red-carpet regulars and highlights. Couture was born. The bottle is designed after a red-carpet-worthy gold lamé dress with the shoulders of the star peaking through nude.... 
Continue reading "The Red-Carpet Perfume Trend: Jessica Simpson Fancy, Badgley & Mischka Couture, Michael Kors Very Hollywood, Chopard Cascade {Trend Alert}" »
 After reviewing Vanille Galante by Hermès which showcased the addition of Vanilla Absolute as a sign of luxury and authenticity, as opposed to synthetic Vanillin, I started noticing a bevy of perfumes that had the much touted luxury vanilla touch. Some come after the release of Vanille Galante but many, in fact, were released before as, simply enough, a quick keyword search in The Scented Salamander blog search-box indicated to me. As I said earlier somewhere else on the blog, 2007 saw the beginning of the development of an interesting vanilla-perfume trend because it was very much linked to an authorial position in perfumery. What I mean by that is that the trend was not primarily commercially driven but came as the result of perfumers' interest in and ideas about the material injected into relatively confidential releases. The change also took place around the place accorded the ingredient: vanilla was made to leave its traditional and essential supporting role to take the lead role in compositions, namely Tihota by Francis Kurkdjian for Indult and Spiritueuse Double Vanille by Jean-Paul Guerlain for Guerlain in a limited-edition perfume. Vanilla, the commercial aroma if there ever was one (Vanilla Planifolia is also called "commercial vanilla") became the sign of rarity in these attempts at bringing the flavor vanilla into the fold of fine perfumery in its most exclusive incarnations, a little bit like what frayed blue jeans would signal if they made a come back on haute-couture runways and were pounded to become cashmere-grade soft...
Continue reading "Rewind on Vanilla Absolute in Recent Fragrances 2007-2009 {Trend Alert}" »
 Nina Ricci will launch a new flanker to its blockbuster French success Nina called Love by Nina in March of 2009. If the first fragrance featured a caramelized red apple, the new version goes for more freshness by replacing that central note with a tart and crunchy Granny-Smith one. The composition is by perfumer Olivier Cresp of Firmenich who is also the author of the original Nina (with Jacques Cavallier)....
Continue reading "Nina Ricci Love by Nina (2009): Color Code Green, Smell Code Cherries & Almonds: The New Youth Theme {New Perfume} {Trend Alert}" »
Pure perfume extracts are making a comeback this fall and winter 2008 and sometimes where you least expect them to appear. Synonymous with classical luxury traditionally, the extracts this fall and winter 2008 still want to impress you, and so they dress up and heighten the concentration of their oils and change a few notes to lure you in with more promise, but at the same time they have been adopted by brands that have a much hipper and younger, even laidback image than is usual to see in this category. Chanel, Guerlain, yes, fur and perfume, yes, but Aquolina, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Fragonard, (nice) tee-shirt and perfume (?) Yet they do come on the tails of earlier this year John Varvatos for Women parfum, Mariah Carey Gold and Usher for She. This must mean that everyone is now convinced that this is the in thing to do. What you can expect from a pure perfume extract is a higher concentration of perfume oils, from about 15% to 30 %, and also a higher proportion of natural perfume oils that add that extra multi-layered effect that can only come from the richness of natural essences made up of hundreds of naturally-occurring molecules, mixed with the more stable synthetics. Pure perfumes will be longer-lasting than in the other concentrations but often have an aura, a sillage that is closer to the body, more velvety and muted in a sense. Usually the pure perfume version is tweaked and rebalanced to slightly new effect. It is not just more of the same compared to the eau de parfum, eau de toilette, as if you had just amplified the sound on your stereo. 1- Kenzo Amour Le Parfum"A woody oriental composed of rich ingredients coveted in Asia. A fragrance sculpted by the woody tones of patchouli, the sensuous richness of benzoin balm from Siam, the roundness of amber, spices and incense like an offering. Bottle: A matte gold bottle inspired by the temples of Southeast Asia." 30ml $65.00 50ml $85.00 ...
Continue reading "Precious Pure-Parfums Trend, Fall-Winter 2008 {Trend Alert} {New Perfumes}" »
Trend Alert Archive
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