Photos of Manoumalia by Les Nez Launch in Noumea, New Caledonia

The fascinating and individual exotic floral Manoumalia by Les Nez (Parfums d'Auteurs) has found its pride of place at Noumea in New Caledonia (Nouméa, Nlle Calédonie), the place of residence of its talented creator, Sandrine Videault. She must be very proud to have this among the very people who inspired it and I was honoured to receive the photos to post for your delectation!

The wonderful line on the poster reads: "Le parfum, c'est un ami invisible qui parle pour vous" (Perfume is an invisible friend who speaks for you). A line which we, perfume enthusiasts, identify with most decisively!


Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Interview with perfumer Sandrine Videault, Manoumalia review, Les Nez scents.

Frequent Questions: 2000 et Une Rose vs. Mille et Une Roses by Lancome and a footnote on La Collection

One of the most frequent questions among perfume entusiasts who love roses and are discovering the offerings by Lancôme is what is the difference between 2000 et Une Rôse and Mille et Une Roses and why the different names. The explanation is rather simple: They're exactly the same scent, ambery and slightly fruity roses on a vanillic base composed by perfumer Christine Nagel, but they came about in different ways. Let's see how!

2000 et Une Rôse (2000 and a Rose) was a fragrance meant to commemorate the Millenium celebrations (along with less well-known 2000 et Une Folie and 2000 et Une Nuit), which was issued in 1999 as a limited edition in a teardrop-shaped bottle of 30ml/1oz with an accent circonflex on the "Rose" to echo the one in Lancôme (a practice the company follows often with the names of their fragrances). There is a blue ribbon threaded through a small gold loop around the sprayer, tied in a bow, as depicted. Naturally, after a while the fragrance got discontinued, as it was never meant to be a permanent addition to the line-up. However, fans of its unctuous rosiness who really loved it, searched high and low for it and had been pressing the company most energetically to re-release it. Their prayers were finally heard.

When L'Oreal decided to release the more upscale project La Collection with archived scents from Lancôme's illustrious past (Magie, Sikkim, Sagamore, Climat), they re-issued this one again, the juice tinted blue making a wonderful contrast with the other scents in the coffrets which are peachy, ambery and green. The bottle reprised the design of the scents in the line-up in architectural sparse lines reminiscent of the classic design of yore. The name changed to Mille et Une Roses (in plural, please note, due to grammatical structures of French dictating it) which simply means 1001 Roses, because the millenium celebration moniker was no longer applicable.
While Mille et Une Roses by Lancôme can be found at counters which have the other scents of La Collection (such as Saks), 2000 et une Rôse can be found on Ebay now and the lone etailer fetching quite high prices, aimed mostly at bottle collectors.
Comparison testing also suggests that the fragrance is quite close to the ambery rosiness of Stella Rose Absolute Eau de Parfum by Stella McCartney.

The other fragrances in Eau de Parfum concentration in the current coffrets of La Collection -in various arrangements within each presentation- are:
Magie (re-issue of the 1950 aldehydic-floriental scent),
Sikkim (re-issue of the 1971 leathery chypre scent),
Sagamore (re-issue of the masculine citrus 1985 scent) and
Climat (re-issue of the green aldehydic 1967 scent).
In 2007 Cuir joined the collection, with a rejingling of the juice launched as Cuir / Révolte in 1936, but its availability is limited to Europe and that only at select spots. (You can read a review of the re-issue here)
The newest addition is Peut-Être from 2008 by perfumer Natalie Lorson, merely sharing the name of a fragrance originally launched in the 1936 (Qui sait/Peut-Être which means "who knows/maybe").

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Lancome scents, Frequent Questions

Pics via perfumenetwork and Saks Fifth Avenue.

News from Le Labo: new fragrance out Oud 27

Le Labo, the so-hip-it-hurts brand which has been issuing fragrances on an exclusive city-availability basis (read the London-exclusive Poivre 23 review here along with some thoughts on the brand) is issuing a new scent, this time available everywhere by the looks of it (certainly available from the online shop of French Colette boutique):

"On March 27th, Le Labo releases their brand new fragrance Oud 27. As usual, don’t expect to only smell Oud in this creation... Atlas cedar, incense, Patchouli, Saffron or Gaiac wood make this composition an intimate vision of the East. In one phrase it's the scent of 1001 Nights embottled. Never before has one of their fragrances gone as far in sensuality and appeal. Oud 27 is the first new worldwide fragrance since Le Labo was created".

I fear that after that description we will be all heading to sample this anyway...

Info and pic via Colette's newsletter

Un Matin d'Orage by Annick Goutal: fragrance review

In Giambattista Basile's charming tale The Murtle from Il Cunto de li Cunti (The Tale of Tales, 1694), a sprig of myrtle is transformed through the liberating love of a prince into a beautiful woman who regenerates even after evil forces tear her to pieces. Almost tasting the thick retro-baroque prose of the author I am contemplating how the essence of the tale is caught in a fragrance which defies the stylistic approach, choosing to place magic and beauty into a zen setting. Un Matin d'Orage, the latest fragrance by Annick Goutal, means "Stormy Morning" and was inspired by a Japanese garden after the rain, evoking the idea of delicate white petals in dew, with discernible notes of gardenia, jasmine sambac and Indonesian champaca.

Isabelle Doyen, resident perfumer for parfums Annick Goutal, is ingeniously re-interpreting both gardenias and ozonic floral fragrances through an approach akin to painting a watercolour in vivid hues which make you momentarily doubt the duo-dimensional reality of thick drawing paper; an oxymoron that is breaking somewhat with both the well-worn-slipper feel we have come to expect of prettified, neoclasical scents of the Goutal portfolio (for the flowing haired Ophelias and the accompanying Mr.Darcys with bohemian fashion sense) and the en masse manner in which white florals are treated from the perfume industry as creamy textured pattiserie notes folded into huge tropical leis. Like I had said when first reporting the news of the upcoming Goutal fragrance: "This conceptually reminds me of both Après l'Ondée by Guerlain (the after-the-shower garden part) and Un Jardin Après la Mousson by Hermès, (the Monsoon storm evocation ) although from the listed notes one would deduce that the limpid bog water and transparent gloom might not be there. Although Annick Goutal already has a fragrance tagged Gardenia Passion in their line, the scent actually emits the ruberry feel of a proper tuberose rather than gardenia, so it's not like they're re-hashing ideas." Indeed the watery aspect is here but with a softer, less stagnant fruity or spicy nuance than the Hermès offering. Nevertheless if Fleur de Liane for L'Artisan Parfumeur, Vanille Galante and Un Jardin Après la Mousson for Hermès and now Un Matin d'Orage are any indication, the Lazarus-resurgence of the aquatic floral is looking like a strong contestant for your attention in the following couple of years at least.

Gardenia is a fascinating blossom, no less so because of its extensive scope of transformative stages: from the slightly bitter budding greeness, the mushroom-like overtones of musty wetness (which nota bene it was Colette who first described as such), into the lush, still fresh flower that has just opened; and from then inevitably seguing into creamy, narcotically sweet and velvety ripeness, into the dying stage of indolic decay when the petals brown and wither...Such a parallel with human growth and decline could not have escaped the attention of perfumers who have been trying to replicate the effects with styrallyl acetate (naturally found in gardenia buds), jasmolactones and at scarce cases with monumentaly expensive gardenia absolutes rendered through experimental enfleurage. Some gardenia perfumes try to be figurative, creating a very realistic olfactory image of gardenia bushes like the ones composed for Yves Rocher (Pur désir de Gardenia), the wondrous hologram of Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia by Lauder or cult-scent Kai. Some don't even try, despite the name, like the suavely musky Cruel Gardénia, traitors to holy causes with variable results. Others go for baroque exagerration which like an angled composition by Caravaggio creates tension through dramatic chiaroscuro and the accentuation of one facet over others, pushed to extremes; example: Tom Ford's Velvet Gardenia. And others still go for an impressionistic approach in which the gardenia becomes an accent piece in a moment suspended ad infinitum, when a coalescence of particular elements creates a dreamy memory ~like gardenias floating on a bowl of water in some postmodern urban appartment in Marc Jacobs eponymous Eau de Parfum, a willowy girl with lank, dark hair picking one up to put behind her ear.

In Un Matin d'Orage that flowing gardenia on the water is prickling and alive, discernible as such, and coming out of the bowl, breathing deeply the steely blue air, under a drizzling mist that showers it with flinty sparks of an impending electrical storm. The tension is provided by a jolting effect of dew-drenched leafy accents reminiscent of green tea and still whitish peach-skin with a slight smokiness and lemony-anisic accents (magnolia, ginger, shiso*) that provide an intriguing contrapunto to the floral smoothness of gardenia, green jasmine vines and champaca. The ozonic cool part feels like a new technique has been short-cirquited into creating what was 15 years ago created through Calone but without Calone*. The flowers are separating into soft billowing layers that overlap, creating a smooth impression of dewy beauty. The jasmine is green and cool between hedione and orange blossom, like the one rendered in Pure Poison. There is no meekness in the gentility, no paleness in the ether of Un Matin d'Orage and the impression subsists for a long time, as if we're left to see a zen garden tingling after the storm. Not for tropical gardenia lovers, but to be explored by modern anchorites.

Notes of Un Matin d'Orage by Annick Goutal:
Sicilian lemon, perilla leaves**, ginger, gardenia, magnolia, jasmine sambac, Indonesian champaca, sandalwood.

The characteristic feminine bottle of the Goutal perfumes gets a pearly white opalesence for Un Matin d'Orage and is issued in both 50ml/1.7oz and 100ml/3.4oz sizes of Eau de Toilette. More widely available in the coming months.

Related reading on Perfumeshrine: Gardenia scents, Jasmine Series, Champaca scents.


*Calone is an aromachemical used in the 1990s to render an ozonic marine note, smelling halfway between a watermelon and a cantaloupe.
**The Perilla note (often referred to as shiso in Japanese cuisine) is interesting in that perilla seeds form an essential part of the seven spices of Japan (originating more than 300 years ago in Kyoto)while green perilla leaves are used for sushi or sashimi. The essential oil steam distilled from the leaves of the perilla plant, consists of a variety of chemical compounds, varying depending on species. The most abundant however (comprising about 50–60% of the oil) is perillaldehyde ~most responsible for the aroma and taste of perilla. (please read about aldehydes here). For reference a fragrance focusing on perilla/shiso is Shiso by Comme des Garcons.

Pic of Un Matin d'Orage bottle copyright ⓒ by Helg/Perfumeshrine
Pic of Japanese Garden by J.Jennings via mobot.org

Lieu de Reves by Sonoma Scent Studio: fragrance review

Some pieces of music are inherently inducive to daydreaming, relying on this art form's absence of visual stimulus to ignite introspection, and Debussy's Rêverie is especially so. Perfume can also be said to act comparatively, as small nuances prompt reminiscences or reinforce our mood, when we reach for a bottle that has the seemingly mystic power to accomplish just that. Violet scents are often tender, understated beauties which lend themselves to feelings of reverie and sotto voce intimations.
In Lieu de Rêves (Place of Dreams) by Sonoma Scent Studio the composition seems to kickstart such a daydreaming mood, blending the scents of violet petals and fallen leaves, alterating cool roots and warm tonalities, thus evoking a spring-like silvery olfactory veil raised ~the full spectrum of aroma derived from violet, rose and heliotrope, elegantly melding into the anticipation of warmer days of spring.

Laurie Erickson, the independent perfumer behind the Sonoma Scent Studio company, created Lieu de Rêves as a continuation on her study of violets, progressing from Voile de Violette , Wood Violet and the now defunct Violette Encens. The comparison between these four fragrances suggests that Lieu de Rêves is closer to Voile de Violette (Violet Veil), minus the myrrh, rather than her other two scents, which present woodier and more resinous facets. Wood Violet in particular also has a pronounced spicy (a bit like fenugreek)-plummy-cedary character which really veers it off the troden path of standard violet fragrances into Lutensian territory.
In creating Lieu de Rêves Laurie intimates:

"I've had this blend in mind for a long time, wanting to use violet, rose, and heliotrope in a powdery scent with a gourmand touch but with some soft woodsy notes and less vanilla than most scents of this genre. The heliotrope, rose, violet, and cedar make nice companions. Like most rose and violet combinations, this scent feels a bit romantic to me, but the drydown is on the quiet and reflective side rather than being a full-blown floral".

There is some kinship with other violet powdery combinations like the underappreciated -but lovely- Météorites by Guerlain, or the much more strongly vanillic talc-like Teint de Neige by Lorenzo Villoresi. Admirers of Flower by Kenzo and woody Genie des Bois by Keiko Mecheri should also take note, although Lieu de Rêves is much subtler than the former in terms of sillage and projection, remaining polite in its invitation-only disposition. Laurie masterfully restrained the usual sweetness of violets, injecting somber woody touches and a delicate silvery-green transparence in the form of jasminy hedione. The combinations of damascones and ionones to render an amalgamation of rose and violet is akin to a seamless blend of micronised particles on a big pon-pon of face powder the shade of iridiscent orchid-purple, like Cattleya labiata blossoms. The rose takes supportive role behind the violet powderiness and the hazy soft focus ambience of heliotrope (the common garden variety Heliotropium arborescens) which has a fluffy almond-vanillic note like air-spun meringues that is hard to harness as it is inherently sweet and is usually rendered via heliotropin. The coumarin-rich tonka bean is also complimentary to sweet notes, creating a "clean" powder vibe. Yet here the trick seems to consist in upping the somber cedar and grassy-woody note (vetiver) and adding a quite discernible overlay of soft-focus iris coolness (the irones of iris are ionone-like and complimentary to the violet notes). This gives Lieu de Rêves a somewhat wistful, tender beauty of a bygone era that doesn't fall back on oversentimentality nevertheless. Much as it being a floral fragrance, it possesses a well-bred character with some appetite for healthy pleasures that would suit a heroine in a Henry James' novel. It makes me reach for kitten-heels and goose-down puffs and dream about traipsing across Giverny in spring.

Notes for Sonoma Scent Studio Lieu de Rêves:
Heliotrope, violet, rose, jasmine, cedar, amber, vetiver, tonka, orris, vanilla, musk, very soft aldehydes.

The perfume launched in February '09 and is available in 17ml or 34ml bottles, directly from Sonoma Scent Studio.



For our readers Sonoma Scent Studio is organising* a lucky draw of 5 sampler duos of both Lieu de Rêves and Sienna Musk (another one I loved). State your interest in the comments please!

*{Please note some shipping restrictions due to Customs apply as stated on the SSS site}.

Pic Les Reves d'Amelie by BigboyDenis(fc02.deviantart.com). Claude Debussy's Rêverie clip originally uploaded by atrafalgar on Youtube.

Optical Scentsibilities: the Divers

On Optical Scentsibilities we often showcase similar visual concepts in fragrance advertising, comparing and contrasting as well as discussing sources of inspiration in the arts. But rarely does the homage present itself in such a glaring way!
First there was George Hoyningen Huene and his magnificently late 20s-mood-whispering of his famous black & white photograph "The Divers".



And then, there came Guy Laroche with his fragrance Horizon pour Homme to reprise the exact same photograph. Back of the heads, bodies poised in 90 degrees angle, gazing into the horizon and leading us to gaze through their eyes as well and dream a little...



Pics through parfumdepub and patriciasilva.files.wordpress

The winner of the Nuit de Cellophane sample draw is Carolina. Please mail me using the email on the profile on the right so I can send this out shortly.
Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation and get ready for the next one soon!

Bergamot in Fragrances and in Eau de Cologne: a Match made in Heaven

The use of bergamot in the Mediterranean fragrant waters is something of a tradition, even to this day. My mother, same as lots of men and women in my culture, used to carry a small splash bottle of fragrant alcoholic “eau” in her purse at all times, to refresh her hands or handkerchief during the day with a swift and effective “pick me up” and to even quick-cleanse mine in the absence of water and soap as a small child, thus killing two birds with one stone: eliminating some bacteria from casual contact with dirt and making me a fragrance aficionado ever since!


Although she kept her precious exotic perfumes at home, the bergamot, lemon or even pine-infused eau de Cologne travelled with her, refreshing many a time a weary travelling companion and alleviating a stuffy atmosphere of a couped- up car on a long drive across Europe. The citrus base of such waters has left an indelible mark on my conscious making me hanker after the smell of bergamot as the one cure to prevent nausea. But the history of Eau de Cologne and its inclusion of bergamot goes far, far back...
Although technically neroli (the essence rendered by the steam distillation of orange blossoms) is the prime constituent of an Eau de Cologne "type" of fragrance, bergamot gives it a finishing joyfulness and polish like no other thing.

The most influential scent of the 18th century and the court of Louis XV (nicknamed la cour parfumée due to the dictation of wearing a different scent every day) was Aqua Admirabilis, a composition by Gian Paolo Feminis. G.P.Feminis blended grape spirits (instead of today's undrinkable perfumer's alcohol), along with essences of neroli, lavender and rosemary adding the basic component of freshness, bergamot essential oil, thus creating the first recipe for what would later become celebrated by another name: Eau de Cologne. When Feminis moved from his native Italy to Köln/Cologne, in Germany, his nephew Jean Marie Farina from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo, in Italy, tweaked the refreshing elixir, which then became known by its place of production as Eau de Cologne or more specifically “Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz” (John Maria Farina opposite the Jülichs place) ~the address of the world's oldest Eau de Cologne and perfume factory.

In 1708, Farina had written to his brother Jean Baptiste: “I have created a perfume which is reminiscent of a spring morning following a soft shower where fragrances of wild narcissi combine to that of sweet orange flowers. This perfume refreshes me and stimulates both my senses and imagination...” [1]. In June 1709 Johann Baptist Farina travelled to Cologne where his younger brother Johann Maria Farina had been working for his uncle since 1708. And so on the 13th of July Johann Baptist founded the company G.B.Farina, its production uninterupted ever since. Such was the popularity of the scent that according to records, 3700 bottles were delivered to a total of 39 addresses between 1730 and 1739! [2] Small papier-mâché boxes aromatized with bergamot were used to keep small precious mementos like locks of hair and billets doux wich showed bergamot's already established popularity. So the fragrance of the new "water" delighted the upper nobility and soon became a royal and imperial favourite. The red seal bearing the family crest which appeared on all products was a token of quality and authenticity. The bottles were moreover accompanied by a signed document with directions for use as “Eau de Cologne” wasn’t exclusively for exterior use. It was recommended for dental hygiene, a cure against bad breath and a way of avoiding infectious diseases! A panacea in disguise!
Napoleon Bonaparte who favoured Brown Windsor soap (which included lavender, bergamot and clove oils) used Eau de Cologne by the gallon, going through a bottle a day and consuming sugar cubes dipped in it. The German composer Richard Wagner on the other hand is credited with this quote in his correspondence: “I expect to use one liter of Eau de Cologne per month. Please send me three liters for one quarter so we can see how we manage”
Other Eaux de Cologne, such as the famous Cologne 4711 (Echt Kölnisch Wasser), named after its location at "Glockengasse No. 4711", share the name in common but not the formula. Before retiring, Farina sold the formula to Léonce Collas, while in 1806 Jean Marie Joseph Farina, a grand-grand-nephew of Giovanni Maria Farina (1685-1766), sold the rights to Armand Roger and Charles Gallet in 1862, the duo behind the Roger & Gallet brand [3], who produce the Eau de Cologne Extra Vielle in contrast to the Original Eau de Cologne from Cologne.

The suaveness and complexity of bergamot make it a supreme choice for inclusion in many an aromatic blend, not only for Eaux de Cologne, where it pairs with neroli (the par excellence ingredient in the Eau de Cologne blends), but other fragrances as well. Apart from the classic chypre accord and its ubiquitness in the olfactory family of “mossy woods”/chypres, bergamot adds its magic in a plethora of fragrances from other families as well, both for men as for women. It's especially welcome in leather scents, where its suaveness provides the perfect pairing for the pungent hide notes or bitter greens of quinolines.

Here is a small (by no means all inclusive) list of fragrances in which bergamot is clearly discernible:

Antica Farmacista Alonissos,
Antica Farmacista Mediterranean,
Aramis Aramis,Aqua di Genova Colonia,
Aqua di Parma Colonia and Colonia Intensa,
Bois 1920 “1920 Extreme,”
Boucheron Boucheron femme and Boucheron homme,
Calvin Klein CKone,
Cerrutti 1881,
Chanel Allure,
Chanel Allure Sensuelle,
Chanel Bois des Iles,
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle,
Chanel Cristalle (both EDT and EDP),
Chanel No. 19,
Chanel Pour Monsieur,Christian Dior Miss Dior,
Christian Dior Diorling,
Christian Dior Diorama,Creed Amalfi Flowers,
Estee Lauder Azurée,Etro Palais Jamais,
Fabergé Brut,
Floris Cefiro,
Gianfranco Ferré Bergamotto Marino,
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Orange Magnifica,
Guerlain Cologne du 68,
Guerlain Derby,
Guerlain Jicky,
Guerlain Les Eaux : Eau de Coq, Eau Impériale, Eau De Fleurs De Cedrat, Eau de Guerlain,
Guerlain Mitsouko,
Guerlain Parure,Guerlain Rose Barbare,
Guerlain Shalimar,
Hermès Amazone,
Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade,
Institut Tres Bien Cologne à l'Italienne,
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male,
Jo Malone 154,
by Kilian Cruel Intentions,
Knize Knize Ten,Lanvin Arpège,
Lancôme Cuir (2007 re-issue),Ormonde Jayne Ormonde Man,
Parfums de Nicolaï Cologne Sologne (a citrus explosion with lime and lemon too),
Ralph Lauren Safari for Men,
Rancé 1795 Eugénie,
Robert Piguet Bandit,Sisley Eau de Soir,
Sisley Soir de Lune,
The Different Company Divine Bergamote,
Visconti di Modrone Aqua di Selva,
Yardley Gentleman,
Yves Saint Laurent Y

Sources:
[1]Markus Eckstein, Eau de Cologne, J.P. Bachem Verlag 2006, Cologne
[2]http://www.farina1709.com/
[3]Edwin T. Morris, Fragrance: The Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel. E.T. Morris and Co. 1984, New York.
Pic Gates of Handax, Crete taken by Tsoublekas/flickr
Pic of Risoli flacon of Farina Eau de Cologne via wikimedia commons

Travel Memoirs: On the Bergamot Trail

Sailing on the Mediterranean Sea under the sweltering sun of late summer on a wooden built gulet, rubber-soled feet on parquet decks, scarf on salty-sprayed hair, and the guarantee of sunshine and clear blue waters, is almost an unbearable reminiscence in the heart of winter. Relaxing on deck, wining and dining under the stars in eno-gastronomical matchings to threaten even the toughest dieter’s plan and hopping off to catch couleur locale wherever interesting is the nomadic life I would love to be able to live in full 12 months of the year, if only I could. But snippets will suffice and trailing the route where bergamot ~this prized material for both perfumery and aromatherapy~ abounds, has its own rewards to last throughout the year into the months of cold and dreary.
Bergamot is inextricably tied to Sicily (the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea), the Calabria coast of Italy and the Ionian islands at the west of Greece.
And indeed despite current cultivation on the Ivory Coast in Africa which produced a cheaper product, it is still Sicilian bergamot (and lemon too)which is considered the highest quality in the world ~although it's sad to see the groves now seem erratic and neglected. It's the kind of rich joyous aroma that scents the finest morning Earl Grey cup of tea and gives it its delightful flavour. The fruit of the bergamot is inedible but the peel can be candied into a highly scented preserve which is very popular along the breadth of the Mediterranean; an exquisitely bittersweet marmalade, yummy on rye bread and butter, is painstainkely made by housewives.

Trekking over the villages my heart aches a bit from the echo of Grecanic (Griko or Katoitaliótika), linguistic remnants of the time when Sicily and Calabria were called Magna Graecia (Greater Greece) because of the numerous villages that survived from the colonization of the Greeks in the 5th century BC. So many relics, so many conquests have left their indelible mark on this austere place…
The history of Sicily has frequently seen the island controlled by greater powers—Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Hohenstaufen, Catalan, Spanish; yet periods of independence, as under the Greeks and later as the Emirate- then Kingdom of Sicily- are also part of its multi-hued fabric. Since antiquity, the Sicilian landscape has hosted the cultivation of groves of Hesperidia trees, specializing in growing the sweetest lemons in the Mediterranean; cultivations interwoven in many facets of the Sicilian lifestyle.
The Garden of Hesperides according to classic Greek mythology belonged to Hera, Zeus’s wife and the Hesperides (Ἑσπερίδες) were nymphs, the daughters of Hesperus (God of the Evening Star, from whose name Vesper derives), who tended a blissful orchard in the far western corner of the world.

The peaceful place was either located near the Atlas Mountains in Libya, or on a distant island at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean, while Sicilian Greek poet Stesichorus and Greek geographer Strabo state that the orchard lies in Tartessos, at the southern edge of Iberia. In that garden a grove of immortality-giving “golden apples” grew. Those were planted from the fruited branches that Gaia (mother Earth) gave to her as a wedding gift when Hera married Zeus and the nymphs were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally plucked from it themselves. Hera also placed in the garden a never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon, as an additional safeguard. The eleventh labour of Hercules consisted of being ordered to steal the golden apples and bring them to Argos, Greece, although Athena later returned the apples to their rightful place. But in a strange course of events the mythological name Hesperide came to be applied to the golden fruits that came from the east, oranges, and ultimately to the entire citrus family!


Native to China and Southeast Asia (with mentions in the Nan-Fang Ts’ao Mu from the 4th century BC) and encompassing hundreds of variations, citruses were brought to the west by the Arabs through the Spice Route during the Middle Ages.
Sicily (and Spain, to a greater extent due to the longer Arab conquest) thus became centers for the cultivation of hesperidia. During the 14th century, the spice and precious metals trade was the origin of wealth for the city-states of Italy, Venice and Genoa, until the battle at Chioggia in 1380, when defeated Genoa succumbed to a new reality: monopoly of the trade by the Venicians. Often Venetian galleys intercepted easterm caravans carrying wares at Aleppo, Handax or Alexandria, transporting the loot to European artisans. Among them, citrus fruits, only much later prized on board for their ability to fight scurvy.

One version of bergamot’s etymology attributes the root to a Turkish word meaning “Princess Pear”; another, after a small town in Italy where the oil was first sold. But it is Christopher Columbus who is said to have brought bergamot oil from the Canary Islands back to Spain and Italy. The bergamot tree (citrus bergamia) is the result of cross-breeding a lemon (citrus limonia) and a bitter orange tree (citrus aurantium). Classified as a citrus, the plant originated in tropical Asia but found an excellent breeding place in Sicily, Italy and the Ionian islands. Bergamot trees grow up to 16 feet tall, producing an almost pear-shaped, yellow fruit that is highly aromatic, similar to lemon, smaller than an orange. It was once called the Bergamot Pear Tree, not be confused with "false bergamot" used to aromatize Oswego-tea and derived from the plant Monarda didyma, a type of mint indigenous to the New World. Italian-conducted research indicates that bergamot oil relieves fear and anxiety, lifts the spirits, combating depression and calms anger by balancing the activity of the hypothalamus. Bergamot oil with its optimistic ambience evokes feelings of joy and acts as a confidence booster. Bergamot essence is easy to render, as are most citruses. I still recall how transfixed I was as a child scraping my nails on a bergamot or a lemon and being left with hands that almost dribbled with the bitter-tasting sour oil which scented them for hours on end. Cold-pressed /expressed from the rinds of the sour green fruit, a pale emerald-hued oil results, bergamot essential oil, possessing a refreshing lemony-orange smell, complex and with flower accents, yet also a subtly sweet balsamic undertone that makes it pliable to numerous uses in perfumery. The main chemical constituents in bergamot oil are limonene, linalyl acetate, nerol, and linalool; all are substances antiseptic and astringent with a fresh facet. The one constituent which might be possing a certain problem is bergaptene, a photosensitising agent, which has been under the radar of recent IFRA restrictions, although since forever the advice on putting fragrance on is not to use it on parts about to be exposed to the sun.

Bergamot and its uplifting aroma is traditionally paired with materials with citrusy nuances, such as lemon, coriander or orange blossom; rosey shades such as geranium or palmarosa; aromatic herbs/trees such as lavender, cypress or juniper; and flowers such as jasmine, ylang ylang and violet. Its alliance to erotic labdanum and darkish oakmoss (often with some inclusion of patchouli) creates the classic chypre accord, to which we have devoted a whole Series. But its wondrously influential use in simpler fragrance-waters hailing from Europe cannot be ignored!

To be continued...

The joyous spirit of hesperides matches the uplifting mood of this lovely Italian song which will surely brighten your day!



Song "Vanità di Vanità", written by Angelo Branduardi from the 1983 picture "State Buoni, Se Potete" directed by Luigi Magni. This film depicts the time and life of Filippo Neri.
All pictures © copyright by Elena Vosnaki/Perfumeshrine

Olfactory Revolution at Sisley: new fragrances

New things are brewing at Sisley, to be uncovered this coming April. According to Osmoz: "Cosmetics and fragrance brand Sisley will be launching a collection of 3 eau de toilettes {sic} christened Eau de Sisley and bearing the numbers 1, 2 and 3".

While pondering on the strange numerotic tendency among the new collection, it's not an exagerration to say that everyone in the fragrance-playing game is eager to launch a line-up collection of fragrances in similar bottles from pioneer Serge Lutens to Tom Ford private blends, Armani Privé and Guerlain L'art et la Matière collection. But Sisley had been going on a snail's pace comparatively issuing just 3 fragrances in 33 years, which is roughly one new scent every decade! Those were the initial tomato-leaf green Eau de Campagne in 1976 by Jean Claude Ellena, the rich perfume-y chypre Eau du Soir in 1990 and the more piquantly youthful fruity chypre Soir de Lune in 2006.

The new line-up has been given every bit of attention possible: "The bottles are graced with a cap designed by the Polish sculptor Bronislaw Krzysztof and come in attractively colorful packaging. As for the juices, fans of green scents, spices, aromatic herbs and chypre accents will be thrilled. Although the presentation is fairly feminine, the juices themselves turn out to be perfectly unisex. Eau de Sisley 1 is a somewhat woody citrus-green chypre; Eau de Sisley 2 is an aromatic chypre with a sparkling green opening; and Eau de Sisley 3 is a piquant-mellow ginger rose that will thrill fans of Japanese cuisine. The price comes at 100 euros for 100 ml (3.4 oz.)".

Pic via Osmoz.

Perfumer Palette Training Programme by Cinquieme Sens

Cinquième Sens, the Paris-based with a NYC branch perfume-training organisation, is now offering a 3-hour training called “The perfumer pallet” , a short and comprehensive olfactory training allowing you to acquire, develop, or structure your olfactory skills. The program is aimed at enthusiasts and potential employees in the field alike and includes:
- Smell test
- Olfaction and emotions
- Chinese portrait of an odour memorisation tips
- Description of the Perfumer-Creator's organ
- Introduction to natural and synthetic raw materials
- Explanation of the olfactory pyramid

There are also some extras promised such as
- A fun learning module
- A short module (3 hours), adaptable
- Increased awareness of olfaction and the profession of perfumer when hiring or promoting an employee

Next session is scheduled for March 11th at 274 Madison Avenue Suite 1804, between 39th and 40th streets, New York City. Inquiries on availability and prices by tel: 212 686-4123

Pure White Linen Pink Coral and Pure White Linen Light Breeze by Estee Lauder: fragrance reviews

Estee Lauder, the quintessential American collosus of perfumery, issued Pure White Linen, a "flanker" to their classic White Linen, in 2006, fronted by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The scent was refreshingly upbeat without being silly, pleasantly modern, less sharply aldehydic than the classic soapy White Linen and aimed at capturing a segment of the market that was feeling too young for a classic aldehydic fragrance (they associate those with their mothers or grandmothers it seems) but rather sophisticated for a teeny fruity-bobber scent either. The success was guaranteed and Pure White Linen is a well crafted mainstream fragrance for women (which men could also sneak up on and use from time to time) that has its earned place among elegant and easy-going fragrances for every day.

2008 saw the introduction of a first flanker in pastel green hues, a sparkling citrus interpretation for the warmer season going by the name Pure White Linen Light Breeze. I am reminding you that there was a flanker to the previous, iconic White Linen mentioned above, named White Linen Light Breeze, an aquatic-ozonic fragrance in the 1990s which has been since discontinued; a little confusing, admittedly, but the moniker had been already copyrighted and it's so handy to recycle. "Wet citrus notes of luscious bergamot, orange zest and white grapefruit combine with Darjeeling tea, colorful florals and sheer woods". Despite the long name and the confusing connotations with the former Lauder progeny, Pure White Linen Light Breeze interpolates a shiny bitter and green note of grapefruit in the proceedings which ties extremely well with the already warmly bitter-ish tonality of the original and winks at the direction of the already successful tannic facets of Bulgari's Eau Parfumee au The Vert and a boost of Iso-E Super for diffusion and lasting power. As every summer I pick one "got to" fragrance for a no-brainer decision for every sweltering day that I can't summon any mental capacity for more difficult decisions (previous picks have included Extrait de Songe by L'artisan, Un Jardin sur le Nil by Hermes and Vetiver Tonka again by Hermes), I can see myself enjoying a bottle of this one this summer.

On the other hand, this spring's anticipated new version, Pure White Linen Pink Coral is more in step with the sweeter aspects of fruitier compositions that already take space at Sephora's and Macy's shelves and, although competently made, it lacks that individuality that the original exhibits. Pure White Linen Pink Coral is pastel pink and smells like one.
The fragrance opens on the fruity notes of Chinese berries, apple blossom and pink pepper, seguing to a floral heart of standard flirty and light flowers such as jasmine, cherry blossom, and pink peony. The base is also classical, including the tried and tested combo of sandalwood, vanilla and heliotrope. The overall feeling is a little too sugary to make it stand out from myriads of fragrances that showcase those tonalities, although the diaphanous treatment ensures that it can never become too invasive or cloying, which is rather good manners on its part.

The bottles of both Pure White Linen Light Breeze and Pure White Linen Pink Coral follow the frosty glass design of the original, simply architectural Pure White Linen flacon and come at either 30ml/1oz, 50ml/1.7oz or 100ml/3.4oz of Eau de Parfum concentration.

Pics courtesy of cosmoty.de

The winner of the John Varvatos Woman sample draw is Pam/& amp ; .
Please mail me using the email in the profile on the right hand column with a valid address so I can send this out.

The other draw winner will be announced soon, keep watching this space!

Dunhill Black for men

I am running terribly late on everything today, so I only have a little clip for you for the new masculine by Dunhill, Dunhill Black. Hope you enjoy it though, it's full of eye candy! (and is that a fetching Bentley by the way?)



Brought to my attention by the eagle-eyed Mike Perez.

Hermessence Vanille Galante by Hermes: fragrance review

"Days begin and end in the dead of night. They are not shaped long, in the manner of things which lead to ends – arrow, road, man's life on earth. They are shaped round, in the manner of things eternal and stable – sun, world, God". ~Jean Giono

Jean Claude Ellena's ~resident perfumer of la maison Hermès~ favourite author sums up the mise en scène that the newest Hermessence radiates quietly: roundness, grace and a nostalgic lapsarian intimation of the eternal upon gazing beauty.
Revisiting my musings on how Jean Claude Ellena would interpret a note that is quite taken for granted, that of vanilla, I am reminded of what I had said: "Vanilla is exactly the cliché note that begs for Jean Claude Ellena's modus operandi: chastizing it by food deprivation would be beneficial pedagogically, I feel". It is with some suprise and delight, now I have obtained my own bottle of Vanille Galante, that I realise he doesn't focus so much on the bean flavour as much as on the fluffy, almost cloudy, cotton-feathery aspect it reproduces as a memento of certain flowers' inner core: lily, ylang ylang, and what I sense as the innermost pollen of lilac and wisteria, flowers which exude the most intoxicating, spicy and a little "dirty" underside. I have long felt that Jean Claude is an extremely sensual man with a keen intelligence that makes him exhibit a subtle eroticism in his creations and the language of flowers is by its nature supremely erotic. (After all flowers are the reproductive organs of plants and their aim is to attract pollinators). Let's not forget therefore that vanilla itself is a flower ~an exotic orchid of aphrodisiac properties with which Jean Claude has occupied himself even as an co-author in "Vanilles et Orchidées". And for those who believe in his transparent trajectory through le corps du métier he never produced a foody vanilla, there is proof to the contrary in his woody-edible Sublime Vanille (2001) for Lily Prune!

The French adjective "galant" (or "galante" for feminine nouns) has an intriguing background: In the romans de cour/courtly literature, that is the medieval novels of nobility (for example "Le Roman de la Rose" from 1420-30), "galant" signifies the quality of courteous, gentlemanly and often amorous. The phrase "en galante companie" thus signified the company of a representative of the opposite sex. An attracting vanilla then, but also idealised, exalted, romanticized in an almost Platonic ideal. In musical terms, "galant" refers to the European style of classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era in the third quarter of the 18th century with pre-eminent representatives the rhythmical composers François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Georg Philipp Telemann and Antonio Vivaldi . Their cyclical forma ties in with the theme of La Reverdie (the return) in literary roman: that of eternal return of spring, a theme of pagan connotations . The common trait would be the lyrical approach of solidly thematic subjects, which could sneak into the treatment of vanilla in Vanille Galante, or what I will from now on affectionaly call "péripéties de vanilla". Thus Jean Claude ambitiously set out to produce an « insolent, complex et paradoxical» blossom that would shatter all preconceptions of how a vanilla fragrance would smell, aiming not at a photorealistic figurative imprint but an almost narrative play at personal impressions devoid of cheap sentimentalities. We reference Jean Giono again ~he says in "Voyage en Italie" that "Describing a painting in sentiments might seem better [than describing it in colours] but it only serves to shuffle the cards". Thus Ellena finds the core of his artistic philosophy anew: He reads "le sentiment" (the sentiment), but he hears "le-sens-qui-ment" (the sense that lies).

Eschewing the typical synthesized vanillin used in gourmand compositions as an easy trompe nez, Jean Claude went for a segment of authentic vanilla extract's olfactory facet; that of the slightly powdery and ethereal, producing a lithe, delicate composition like a swan's feather, like the whitest cotton balls, that truly breathes sensuously only on skin with the achingly poignant timbre of beauty destined to be ephemeral. Using a technique à rebours, Ellena doesn't use vanilla as an anchor of more volatile components nor does he render it dark, boozy and sinfully calorific à la Guerlain (Spiritueuse Double Vanille but also Shalimar and Shalimar Light ;and let's not forget Ylang et Vanille). He diffuses his vision into the clouds with adroitness and a playful sense of optimism, much like he did with L'Eau d'Hiver, when he was playing with the cassie, anisaledhyde and the warm savoury aspects of Apres L'Ondée.
The secret of Vanille Galante is kept by the great master in his favourite conjuring bag of tricks, to be partially revealed at his discretion. He had expresssed similar magical resourcefulness in Bois Farine and in the adumbration of saddlery hinted behind the florals in Kelly Calèche. In Vanille Galante the intriguing touch is the merest whiff of salty, of savoury, upon opening ~a facet that is used in haute patisserie to enhance the flavour and balance the sweeter aspects~ foiled into a lightly spicy one (comparable to how the innnermost stemons of white lilies smell) taking flight onto a mist of salicylates for diffusion (ylang ylang naturally encompasses benzyl salicylate and eugenol). The play is between spicy flowers, yellow flowers and anisic ones. The slight greeness, almost filled with watery liquid, note of jasmine vine is soon engulfed by a finespun suntan, powdery musky* and smoky balletic move.
*{Ellena likes to use Musc T, Muscone and Muscenone, which are rather powdery , expensive, non-laundry musks}.
In whole, there is no mistaking the European pedigree and atmosphere of Vanille Galante! There is no heaviness of languid exoticism despite the mental connotation of Marie Galante, the island of the Caribbean located in the Guadeloupean archipelago. Nor is there the escapism of endless summers under the cruel sun of the Tropics of Atuana. Urban sophistication and modernity prevail: The sense of the perfume is not diaphanous, nor opaque, but somewhere in-between, a little carnal, a little "dirty" underneath it all, forming a new direction in the mold of an airy floral gourmand that will have everyone copying it soon enough.

Lovers of Serge Lutens' Un Lys and Donna Karan's Gold would find a kindred spirit in Vanille Galante; nevertheless, the waxier aspects of the former are here rendered in a language of less oily interplay and the disposition is more in the Pantone scale of yellow than monumental marble white.
Vanille Galante is not only graceful, but terrifically gracious as well, offering a glimpse of warm sun and fleshy, smooth shoulders in the heart of winter. J'aime bien!

Vanille Galante forms part of the Hermessences collection and is accordingly available exclusively at Hermès boutiques around the world in a 100ml/3.4oz bottle or as a travel set of 4 smaller flacons of 15ml/0.5oz each.

Related reading on Perfumeshrine: Jean Claude Ellena scents review and opinions, the Hermessences, Hermes news and reviews.

Other reviews: Perfume Posse,Grain de Musc, 1000fragrances, auparfum, Peredepierre

Bottle pic © by Helg/Perfumeshrine
"A ride in the country" by H.Toulouse-Lautrec
Swan feather caught in foliage, via ngsprints.co.uk

Declaration by Cartier: fragrance review & comparison with L'essence and Bois Bleu

In horror fiction phantoms are creatures who consume other life forms as sustenance, and are able to perfectly mimic any creature they consume. Déclaration by Cartier is perfumer's Jean Claude Ellena's own homage to a phantom's mental connotations and in its turn the propagator of legion of phantoms in modern perfumery. But like its namesake aviation F-4 counterpart (affectionately called "the rhinoceros", although its first proposed ~and quickly rejected~ names were Satan or Mithra) it has done everything in a stealth of silent power!
Largely unsung and not given the proper attention it so richly deserves, almost taken for granted, it is nothing short of an absolute masterpiece of fusing cutting-edge modernity into a classical aromatic cologne formula for men. Eau d'Hermès (a 1951 Edmond Roudnitska creation) has been haunting Jean Claude Ellena's subconsious for ages, it seems. Its fantastically ripe, "skanky" interweaving of cedar, cumin, birchwood and moss manages to provide snippets of Jean Claude's insignia in almost everything he touches, interpreted and sieved through the most minutiae-capable colander; in Déclaration we see the student at once pay homage to the teacher and further the cause in most confident and spiritual brushstrokes of a mature Sōsho calligraphy. So much so that Jean Claude himself has admitted a partiality to this one out of his scented progeny. But whereas Eau d'Hermès went for the leathery, Jean Claude opted for the dry woody, injecting a large dollop of woody synthetic Iso-E Super, a material with which he has been experimenting for years to impressive effect.

"Created for men, but also enjoyed by women, Cartier's Déclaration was created for those who are in love, have an appreciation of openness, and feel passion". The fragrance erupted on the scene in 1998 like the ripples of lava slowly coming down the mountain: it has since consumed everything in its trail, influencing major players in its aromatic wake and pre-empting the new sharp, dry woody masculines like Colonia Intensa for Aqua di Parma (also by Jean Claude Ellena), Cipresso di Toscana by Aqua di Parma, Gucci by Gucci, John Varvatos Vintage and the newest niche masculine by Ormonde Jayne, Zizan; fragrances which gracefully followed the dearth of marines inaugurated by Bourdon's Cool Water two decades ago. And not a moment too soon!
My own personal encounter with it was buying it for myself upon launch, lured by the sexily fresh-sweat-vibe it exuded and then having my other half smelling it on me, usurping it most decisively, claiming it and making it his own ever since, to the most delicious effects which are better left to the reader's fertile imagination. It makes him feel refreshed , as if he's seeing the dawn for the first time opening windows which give on a view of the autumn forest, he says. Needless to say Déclaration occupies a very special segment of my olfactory cortex!

My friend Dane described it in a conversation as "a taxi driver in a forest" the other day and he couldn't be more accurate. If he had likened Déclaration to chantey, that would be close as well: The sweaty side married to the freshness of open horizons, all obeying a rhythmical discipline that engulfs you. The marriage of lucid clarity and sous-bois depth prove its masterful treatment of contrasting elements.
The jolting cumin opening is often feared as coming across as sweaty and indeed this is no scent for Waspy brokers who want to exude the prolonged latheriness of a morning shower-blast topped with a hundred grooming products à la Bret Easton Ellis heroes. On the contrary, this is very à la française, a scent for men the old style. Not caricatures of manufactured virility, you comprehend, but men who breathe and live and wear T-shits or wife-beater vests with a little humidity on their chest hair; a little overbearing or even narcissitic at times but passionate and sincere nonetheless. The idiosyncratic bitter citrusy elements (bergamot and bitter orange) and the green artemisia recall the comparable treatment Ellena reserved for his lustruous bitter-orange and limes themed Cologne Bigarade and Bigarade Concentrée for the Frédéric Malle line. But the real coup de grace comes in the guise of another exotic spice, cardamom, which makes me envision a slightly cocky chap in pressed chinos enjoying his aromatized inky tea taken in long, sensuous sips while checking the atractive passerbys.
This is Ellena's nod to Bulgari's tea-themed creations he authored previously, Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert (1992) and Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert Extrême (1996). What is left is the ambience of a lasting warmth, not rendered easily by laundry musks but fanned out on dry, luxurious, slightly smoky woods, which manage to not obscure the composition but play upon light and shadow like a black & white photograph of a compelling and charismatic French actor.

The bottle reprises the watch mechanism of Cartier watches' winding section with its cap (You have to pull the little metal holder down to let the sprayer free, just like releasing the security of a watch winder). The glass part looks as if two parts of a whole have been cut and re-assembled at an angle creating a small heart on the shoulders if looked from above, which gives a playful and even eerily girly vibe (and which bodes well with the unisex concept).

Notes for Déclaration by Cartier
Top: bergamot, bitter orange, birchwood
Middle: cardamom, wormwood, juniper wood, artemesia
Bottom: vetiver, oakmoss, cedarwood

Déclaration by Cartier is available at major department stores around the world.

Two flankers exist, both created by Jean Claude Ellena: L'essence de Déclaration (2001), a minimally different version on the original with the addition of rosewood, immortelle, a little amber and a lightening up of the slightly medicinal aspects of the original, encased in the same design bottle in teal glass; and Déclaration Bois Bleu (limited edition in 2001), which is a "fresher" interpretation in a light blue bottle (which to me is usually foreboding of "sporty" things for people not into sports, really). For the latter Chandler Burr commented: "This one is PG-13, but that simply means the cuminic body odor is gone (some will miss it; more will not). Its personality has been smoothed and calmed and de-Frenchified". Personally I'd rather have the original, as I feel the aquatic addition skews it in a direction I am not sure I'd want to stalk.
There is also Déclaration Eau Genereuse (a Limited edition from 2003), of which "generous water" the concept of is reportedly a re-working in Eau de Cologne style.
Cartier went on and produced Roadster for men recently. Which is pretty nice, but no match for the strange allure of Déclaration, despite aiming at roughly the same demographic.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Jean Claude Ellena scents and opinions, Masculine fragrances.

Pics via Couleur parfum and Parfum de pub. Vincent Cassel photographed by Vincent Peters.

News on Availability of exclusive Chanel

Sources intimate to Perfume Shrine let it be known that Beige by Chanel, the latest fragrance to join the upscale line Chanel Les Exclusifs, and up till now a NYC Saks exclusive in the US, will hit the Chanel boutiques on the 20th of February. Taking pride of place in the esteemed lineup, Beige comes in a 200ml/6.8 bottle of Eau de Toilette.

You can locate a store near you internationally using this link.

You can read a full review on Beige by Chanel and some backstory on its inspiration and history here.

Myth Debunking: the Truth about Phthalates

There is a very interesting article in PDF form which you can down load for free from the Fragrance Materials Association of the United States clicking The Phthalates file link. It explains what they are, their subdivisions into different kinds, whether they are included in fragrance or not and discusses their risks. Recommended reading!

The Real Nose: Interesting Article involving Luca Turin and MIT

According to the Perfumer & Flavorist magazine, Flexitral Inc. and MIT will be in collaboration to Create the “Real Nose”.

"Flexitral Inc. (Chantilly, Virginia) will provide a principal investigator, founder Luca Turin, to the MIT RealNose project funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). According to DARPA, “The key to the program concept is that by simulating the entire mammalian olfactory system (from air intake to pattern recognition), revolutionary detection capabilities will be created. The primary goal is to create a more advanced model of the e-nose, one that can detect specific substances at increased distances and with higher accuracy (essentially, to be as reliable as a dog).” The program will utilize Turin’s well-publicized “vibration” theory of olfaction".

The full article appeared on the Jan 14th issue of Perfumer & Flavorist magazine.

Happy Valentine's

From the film by Alfonso Cuarón Great Expectations after Charles' Dickens novel

Originally uploaded by Filth2476 on Youtube

L'air du Printemps by Nina Ricci: new edition of L'air du Temps

Nina Ricci is launching a spring spin on their iconic L'air du Temps fragrance, the one which sells one bottle every 5 minutes somewhere in the world: The new fragrance is called L'air du Printemps (Spring Air)
and has been slightly adapted by Olivier Cresp who retained the freshness of the original juice but injected some more powdery and sensual notes with a crystalline, modern facet. In the heart jasmine is married to rose and frangipani, while a pear note on musks provides more powderiness. The final accord of cedar and sandalwood affirm its femininity. The interlocking doves of the original bottle are kept, while the body of the flacon is given a rosy hue matching the romanticism that the fragrance always evoked.L'air du Printemps by Nina Ricci is going to be a Limited Edition. I admit that although I am usually not drawn to concepts of festive editions, this looks to me like a most romantic gift to be received. Available from March, 69,50€ for 100ml

Pic via Vogue

Christian Lacroix Absynthe: new fragrance and advertising campaign

The advertisements for the new fragrance by Christian Lacroix Absynthe (tagged "undefined") are decked in the green fairie shade of hallucinogenic properties ~that of absinthe, the verbotten drink of the damned poets of the 19th century: a bright, acid yellow-green hue which makes a comeback every few years in the fashion vogues.
The advertisments are well done with the green chiffon dress being meshed into the liquid and acting as a visual extention of it, fronted by Lacroix runway model Vlada Roslyakova . The bottle follows up on Lacroix's Rouge previous effort in red (and the Noir for men) and is encasing 50ml of Eau de Parfum concentration. The fragrance is reportedly a mysterious green-oriental, inspired by "the green faerie of absinth", with notes of absinth, anise, saffron, floral touches of freesia and narcissus, on a bed of smoked woods, ebony, musk, myrrh and a smidgen of amber.
The licence is held by Avon, a cosmetics giant responsible for the distribution of parfums Lacroix among many others in the mass-market. The slogan says it all on the smartness of the collaboration: "Now everyone can experience haute couture". The clip for the new campaign is already available on Youtube .You can watch the previous scents presented here and an interview with Lacroix in English here with subtitles in Portugeuse.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Absinthe, Anise, Angelica & Wormwood series.

Pics through Maxitendance.com