Thursday, November 19, 2009

Christmas '09 Gifts Ideas: Special Flacons

Christmas is a prime time for treating others or you to that special something that seemed unatainable the rest of the year. Accordingly, perfume companies issue their very best, choicest , weirdest or just plain ginormous at the countdown till Christmas and the New Year (especially since they have been witnessing a 11% decline in sales). Here are some of the most impressive specimens this season.

Nasomatto (the line respendid with a manifesto) issued Black Afgano in a gigantic limited edition of extrait de parfum of 2000ml! (that's two liters of parfum folks, enough to last two lifetimes). Only 20 engraved packages are issued around the world. What can I say? You have to reaaaaaally love Black Afgano!



Thierry Mugler (and the Clarins company behind him distributing his fragrances line) is no stranger to the game of limited editions. Each year they bring on something out. This year the collector's Superstar flacon encrusted with Swarovski crystals is a staggering 14.2oz for an equally awe-inspiring 3,000$. Well... Another approach is story-telling: In collaboration with Givaudan, the Seven fashion boutique in New York created the Six Scents Series. Each of the 6 scents comes accompanied by a DVD that contains a film and photography that tells a story around the theme of each of them.

Others are more designer-cool: Frangrance by German designer Alexa Lixfeld extold the virtues of concrete-block lids and comes as a jarring surprise on one's vanity (the mere thought of it on a vanity is an oxymoron, come to think of it; you might want to exhibit it on a Phillipe Stark designed countertop or your Saab-hiding garage). Clearly just the bottle to jumpstart spirited discussions on contemporary design!




And there is also the angle of nostalgia. Grossmith (with whom we will occupy ourselves very soon, promise!) is a fragrance line originally founded in 1865 and regally worn by Queen Victoria. The commercial demise of the house in the middle of the 20th century left the brand in limbo until the great great grandson of the founder relaunched the scents with updated flacons subtly nodding to the retro bottles.





Pic via psfk.com, premiereavenue, saksfifthavenue

10 comments:

  1. those Grossmith bottles- ooh la la

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  2. I'm with Rose, those Grossmith bottles are gorgeous.

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  3. Fiordiligi14:52

    Hello my dear!

    You won't be surprised to know that I love the Grossmith bottles too, but I have recently bought some of the Shem el Nessim extrait, and it isn't in a bottle like that.....hmmm. Have you sniffed them yet? They are gorgeous.

    My Other Half would love the concrete-lidded bottles as a design statement but I'm not sure whether the contents would be for him.

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  4. K,

    they're very nice, I agree. They're retro-nice to give a qualitative nuance.

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  5. M,

    I bet many people will find them gorgeous indeed. They're so glamorous!

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  6. D,

    I knew I could count on your on the latest. I deduce they're for the parfum? I see stoppered lids, so...I could be wrong. I am about to sample the line, so will know for sure in a short while and report back.

    The concrete block lids are surely a design piece. Assuming one buys for the design, the juice isn't important. Or is it? LOL!!

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  7. Mystic Knot10:57

    Not sure I need 2000ml of Black Afgano ! :D

    However, the Grossmith flacons are wonderful . I am so glad to see this house come alive again.
    Lovely bottles !

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  8. The Grossmith flacons are something aren't they? But what's with the gold, shredded ribbon bow ties? I really can't stand the trend recently of wrapping ribbons around flacons and boxes. Just shouts kitsch to me.

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  9. I have to agree with Mark42 - the ribbon tie seems a bit of a trend. Some even have one made into the design (Wanted by HR maybe). Youth Dew classic retro or pre-Xmas? You decide.

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  10. The Grossmith bottles! Oooh--but I'd never be able to justify buying one.

    When I read mark42's comment, I had to go back and look for the ribbons. The bottles themselves knocked me out so much that I hadn't even noticed the ribbons. :-D

    I went to the Grossmith site for another look. I think if you want your perfume in those bottles, it's a special edition price.

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