Curious things happening at Chanel USA

You had been all lamenting that Gloss.com stopped carrying Chanel perfumes in the previously Rue Cambon incarnation (Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie, No.22 and Gardénia), when they were "promoted" in eau de toilette form in Les Exclusifs range about two years ago.

Well, as a public service, I am in the position to tell you that they are RIGHT NOW available on Chanel USA official site! (200ml Eau de toilette for 200$) Click the Chanel link to see with your own eyes and perhaps order if you had been wanting to. The link mentions them as Rue Cambon (the previous name) although the page announces them as Les Exclusifs (so it is a reworking of the previous pages by their internet designer).
Curiously there is an abscence of No.19, not exactly the most popular fragrance stateside...

So: What is happening? I could concoct a series of theories, but I will let you offer your own first, be my guest!

Personally, I fully expect Beige to join the line-up soon... ;-)

EDIT TO ADD (May1st): An anonymous commentator of this blog, who happens to be someone from Chanel apparently by the tone of it, informs me that the lack of No.19 is simply a goof of the webmaster of the site and the No.19 Eau de Toilette and Body Lotion are still available with no plans to pull them off the USA market.
However, a different reader of mine coincidentally mailed me with questions on an auction for a No.19 embottled in a big 200ml flacon identical to Les Exclusifs! Due to having recently cross-compared a similar batch of Chanel Eau de Cologne which proved to be heavily "cut" with alcohol, I am wary of con-men having devised a way to fake/tamper with Les Exclusifs bottles. Therefore, stay tuned on more regarding this issue on No.19!


Thanks to Fumebag for the alert. Pic of Chanel vials via afternoonrain/flickr

Peche Cardinal by parfums MDCI: fragrance review

"The recipe for Pêche Melba, created by Auguste Escoffier for Dame Nellie Melba, is set down in his encyclopaedic Le Guide Culinaire (1903) with bald simplicity: “Poach the skinned peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup. When very cold, arrange them in a timbale on a bed of vanilla ice-cream and coat with raspberry purée”. Melba apparently adored the chef’s Pêche Cardinal au coulis de framboise, of poached peaches in a “cardinal’s coat” of crushed raspberries". [1] If you substitute Péché (sin) for Pêche (peach), they could be talking about the latest fragrance by Parfums MDCI, Péché Cardinal, hold the sweeter aspects of the famous pod and substitute with lightly phenolic. I might be forgiven the gustatory association, given my intense appreciation for all things culinary.

Péché Cardinal is a naughty, juicy, succulent yet also classy and enticing peach fragrance of the latest crop of fruity compositions. The playful name alludes to both the gigantic peach at its core, as well as Cardinal Sin, what it translates to from the French. The fragrance was developed by perfumer Amandine Marie from the acclaimed Robertet firm, drawing from their rich palette of self-sourced materials.
The Parfums MDCI Paris brand was founded by Claude Marchal, inspired by the "Galerie d'Apollon" in the Louvre Museum, the Musei dei Uffizzi in Florence, the fabulous Schatzkammer in Vienna (the Treasure Room) and the Greek and Roman antiques in the collections of Cardinal Mazzarin, the Medicis, and the Sun King Louis XIV. He wanted to create a line that would make no cut-backs but would give carte blanche to the talented perfumers who were free to explore any direction and to use any precious material they saw fit regardless of the price.

The juiciest, most buttery peach note (is it Decanoic acid 5-hydroxy- lactone?) is immediately bursting on the skin upon application of Péché Cardinal, lasting for several minutes, and with a warm feeling that reminds one of hot spring days and tropical cocktails drunk with an hibiscus tucked beneath the ear. The surprise comes however in the underlying darkness which emerges slowly in the form of va-va-voom tuberose, a little smoky, dusky cedar and the feel of human skin that exalts them. The plummy/fruity/rosy damascones add a plush, silky feeling not unheard of since Nombre Noir and Feminité du Bois became a household name. Davana oil, a CO2 extraction, comes from artemisia pallens, a South India plant cultivated in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and was previously featured in Parfumerie Generale scents (such as the salubrious Cozé, more of which later on). Its rich, fruity candy note with an earthy facet runs through its fibre. The composition of Péché Cardinal is like the most vivid brocard which shines from certain angles and subsides from others. And the lasting power is very good indeed!

Nevertheless, much as I like the peachiness and vibrancy of its mien I cannot really envision myself wearing Péché Cardinal a lot, my usual tastes running into shadier, less vivid peaches overladden with oakmoss galore to make them wistful instead of outright sexy. But those who have been dreaming of an enormous fruity embrace that is devoid of any soupçon of tackiness thanks to its drydown troublant (in a good way!), have just found their peachy floral to end their quest. You can imagine characters such as the following wearing it with panache!



Regarding the much discussed about packaging, personally ~and perhaps exactly due to my background~ I find the Roman bust caps of Limoges/bisque on the bottles somewhat disproportionate (top-heavy) and maybe a bit kitschy in their classical antiquity nuance, reminding me of descendants of glorious civilisations feeling compelled to include gypsum busts of ancient Gods on the front lawn next to the pool. But apart from that very minor gripe, I can't complain as the line is created with exceptional artistry and elegance. Taking in mind the bust-topped bottles retail at 610$ at Luckyscent for 60ml of Eau de Parfum, I find that the modest refills at 235$ for the same quantity are a much more logical alternative.

Apart from samples at Luckyscent (for a comparatively meek 4$), as well as larger ones at Aus liebe zum duft (but for 12 euros each), there is an option of a sampler set at the official MCDI site.
The MCDI line also includes two masculines: Invasion Barbare and Ambre Topkapi as well as three feminines: Rose de Siwa, Promesse de l'Aube and Enlévement au Sérail, composed by perfumers Stéphanie Bakouche, Pierre Bourdon and Francis Kurkdjian. The newest entries for 2009 along with Péché Cardinal, are Un Coeur en Mai, Vêpres Siciliennes, and Le Rivage des Syrtes by perfumers Jeanne-Marie Faugier (Technicoflor) and Patricia de Nicolaï (of parfums de Nicolaï)

More info: Parfums MDCI, Tel.: 01 41 440193.

Notes for MDCI Peche Cardinal:
Davana, peach, coconut, blackcurrant, tuberose, prune, lily, cedar, sandalwood, musc

[1]Jill Dupleix in Timesonline.co.uk,Clip uploaded by sparrowis3 on Youtube, pic of flacon via punmiris.com, of Amandine Marie via MCDI

Discounts at Ayala Moriel: only for April 30th!

Grand Online Shopping Event April 30th Only at Ayala Moriel all natural perfumes.

For 24 hours only on April 30th, all roll-on bottles will be offered for 50% off ($32.50 instead of $65 for the 5ml Purse Roll-On, and $65 instead of $130 for the 10ml Roll-On Bottles). Candles and teas will be 20% off. Don’t miss this opportunity to find the perfect gift for the women in your life, not to mention stock up on your favourite scents.

Via press release

Idylle by Guerlain: the new feminine by Thierry Wasser

In June we will be all sniffing and smelling the newest Guerlain to hit counters, the one on which Thierry Wasser the in-house perfumer has been working on for so long, apparently. [adding: the international release has been pushed to September] A witty commentator on this venue, March, when describing Wasser as lost-in-action was wondering if "he fell off the stairs" or something, it was so long since his name had been tied to a Guerlain project! (Last time, for those who forgot, was a year ago when he was credited with Guerlain Homme, shortly after the announcement on his head-perfumer position of the venerable house). We have highlighted the miss while commenting on the upcoming city releases, Paris-Moscow, Paris-New York and Paris-Tokyo as well as while critizing the recent exclusive release La Petite Robe Noire, the newest flanker of Mitsouko , Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus, or the limited editions of Fleurs de Shalimar. As I was safely predicting, the new fragrance could not be called Gold, as rumoured on online discussions, because this is the registered name of the very good lily fragrance by Donna Karan.

The new Guerlain feminine fragrance for mainstream distribution is therefore called Idylle , a name hoping to bring on an idyllic smile of daydreaming on our faces. It will feature floral notes with rose as the star ingredient: "Thierry Wasser created this fragrance using the Bulgarian rose as a star ingredient, in Guerlain’s Perfumer tradition he selected personally the very best roses ensuring the exceptional quality of the fragrance". The bottle design is created by Ora Ito, while the advertising face will be Nora Arzeneder, the young singer/actress of Faubourg 36. The advertising campaign will be materialized by Paolo Roversi, the mn responsible for the latest Shalimar commercial with Natalia Vodianova. Although that commercial was aesthetically successful and tasteful, I am holding out for a little less sexiness on this project. Too much sex in fragrance advertising somehow has started to look cliché.
Notes for Guerlain Idylle: lily of the valley, peony, freesia, lilac, Bulgarian rose, patchouli, white musk.

Idylle is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml of Eau de Parfum everywhere where Guerlain is sold.

Source : Stratégies via au parfum
Updated with ad pic via belezza.pourfemme.it

A Taste of Bergamot

While travelling on scented adventures across the globe I distinctly recall the uplifting properties that a rind of bergamot tucked in my pocket for difficult moments imparted on my nausated self. A brief whiff of its aromatherapeutic properties was my lucky charm to aliviate the stress of traveling and make me focus. It was only much later I learned that it was the traveller of travellers, Christopher Columbus, who first brought the tree to the Caribbean, where it was popularly used in voodoo rituals to protect against misfortune and that it's still used in in hoodoo rootwork, to control or command individuals!

Antonio Familiari, an 80-year-old former school teacher who tends bergamot groves off Calabria's coast in Italy is definite on the subject:"The bergamot is an intelligent creature. Its arrival in Calabria is shrouded in mystery, and even though it grows elsewhere, only in this area does it give us the essential oil", while his nails claw on a bergamot releasing the little stream of droplets that posses a soft orange undertone under the lemon sharpness. Ezio Pizzi, a 62-year-old former lawyer who returned to his family's bergamot plot after his father died a decade ago is equally enthralled by the fruit: "When I think about the possibilities for bergamot fruit, I get goosebumps." On the outskirts of Reggio di Calabria, Francesco Crispo, director of the state-founded Consortium of Bergamot Growers, has a plan for a 1,500-square metre, seven million-euro institute of perfumery.
But apart from the established role of bergamot in perfumery, is there some way of utilizing this heavenly scent into something that combines the aromatherapeutic with the gluttony? As in food and drink?

The stimulating and pleasantly refined aroma of bergamot has always been a companion in my black tea, in the form of beloved Earl Grey, possibly the best-known incarnation for most people. Its distinctive flavour and aroma derives from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange; the name on the other hand derives from the 2nd Earl of Grey, British Prime Minister (1830-1834) and author of the Reform Bill of 1832, who reputedly received the aromatized tea and the recipe as a diplomatic gift by a Chinese nobleman who thus thanked him for saving his life. History proves otherwise, but that shouldn't deter you from enjoying a full cup nevertheless! Twinings, one of the loose leaves black tea brands I buy out of tradition, still has the emblem of the Earl on their nostalgic, metallic canisters. Their newest addition Lady Grey is a little pale for my tastes, but you might like it. Fortnum & Mason has a superior Earl Grey blend in their loose leaves tins and is a purchase that won't break the bank. Clearly the many drinkers of Earl Grey have been enjoying this rich, elegant richness above all else and one of the loveliest blends you can try is Adagio Earl Grey Bravo (or Aristocrate), while I also like the balanced approach of Upton Teas Earl Grey Ceylon Select. Perhaps the best novel idea I can give you is to actually ice the tea and drink it for refreshment in the summer: much more invigorating and satisfying than plain black tea with lemon!

Yet bergamot has other uses in flavourful incarnations, even though the fruit is inedible, prompting the owner of this small garden on Zante island to proclaim on this funny placard on his midget trees "they're bergamots, not lemons", to deter poachers from cutting off the fruit to use in their kitchen.

One of the loveliest and easiest ideas is to aromatize a white liquor with the washed, peeled rind. Just peel the fruit, remove the white underside, cut in small rolls and press them inside the neck of a bottle of alcholic drink. Leave them be for a couple of weeks and you will see. The idea is not drastically creative, as Triple Sec has been using citrus essences on a base of brandy distillation to act as a digestif for decades. But it's good to expand. The idea works well with Italian Grappa as well as Vino Greco and I have personally used it with good results in light white rum and local ρακί/raki. The resulting potion can be used in cocktails, imparting a delicately bitter fruity flavour.

The most traditional and devilishly tempting proposition of them all however is the Greek Bergamot spoonful treat: a single spoonful of candied fruit dessert that is served on very small crystal plates and chased down with an icy cold glass of water. The flavour is so concentrated and intense that you won't need another one. And although it's so full of sugar it has no fat whatsoever, rending it a very healthy dessert. You can buy them ready-made, but they're breezily easy to make, so here is a handed-down recipe.

Recipe for Bergamot Spoonful Sweet
You will need:

7 fresh bergamots
white sugar, as much in weight as the bergamots
water
juice of 1 lemon
1 and 1/2 cup of water for the final boil
juice of 1/2 lemon for the final boil
toothpicks
clean, boiled jar with tight-fitting lid

1. Wash the bergamots, wipe and using a kitchen scrub pad scrub until outer becomes bright yellow.
2. Cut a little off the top and the bottom and score with a sharp knife into three or four parts. With the tip of the knife, remove the skin and throw away the inner part. Remove as much white pith from the bergamot peels as possible, because it's very bitter.
3.Pick the rolls of rind and roll them securing them with the toothpicks. Place them in a large saucepan and cover them in water.
4. Bring to boiling point for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove the water and substitute with fresh. Repeath Step 4 for 3-4 times. This can be done on consecutive days or on the same day to remove some of the bitterness. The more diaphanous the water becomes, the less bitter it has got.
5.On the last boiling procedure empty hot water, add fresh cold water and the juice of 1 lemon. Put them again to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from stove and leave until the water cools. Drain them and put them on the pot again.
6.Now add the sugar and the water. Leave them for half an hour and then boil. Lower heat to medium for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and leave for a while.
Bring the bergamots again to a boil, simmer for about an hour, or until the liquid becomes clear and thick (You'll know it's ready when it forms "set" droplets that leave the spoon reluctantly when dropped). Finally add the other lemon juice, stir and leave to cool completely.
7. Place the fruit in clean jars with a lid, close tightly and place them upside down for a couple of minutes. You can keep them in a cupboard for a year.


Related reading on PerfumeShrine: the Bergamot Series, Aromatic Cuisine (scented escapades in the kitchen)

Photos copyright by PerfumeShrine and via Gayot.com

A most obscure Guerlain! "Guerlain Marie Claire"~fragrance review

There was a time when Guerlain had an honestly more daring approach to everything they did. Daring in not being condescending to their audience; daring in presenting something that recalled more "barbarian" approaches which challenged the tastes of the times instead of going with the flow; daring in that they ventured into presenting something for the readers of a very popular magazine, which managed to be a thing of beauty and not some liquid complaisant trash for juvenile air-heads.

In 1996 Guerlain created a limited edition feminine fragrance for the readers of French edition of Marie Claire, simply called... "Marie Claire". A discerning collector with whom I am in correspondence sent me some to try it out and it was a revelation smelling it and comparing it to more current tastes running the gamut in the brand's offerings. Simply put Marie Claire is a "fleurs blanches" type of fragrance, a white florals sonata that is a throwback to 1948. Why 1948? Because this is when Fracas by Robert Piguet came out, a fragrance of such a dedicated following that it shows no signs of abating. The almost brutal approach of Germaine Cellier (1909-1976) in instisting on short formulae, which targeted bull's eye, manifested itself into creating the most ebullient, the most expansive and the most complacent tuberose in existence; a fragrant labrosone typhoon for women with personalities that announce their arrival from two blocks away. One almost expects a military band with euphonia trumpeting coming marching on at any minute!

Guerlain's Marie Claire is taking a page off that book and dresses it in the dusky, fetish-clad in vinyl skin of tuberose and what seems like jasmine-y ylang ylang to render an interpretation of that effect of glaring luminosity and abysmal darkness. And all that, just imagine, at the height of the popularity of L'Eau d'Issey and all those oceanic scents that acted as chastity belts for modern Victorians! The base of Guerlain Marie-Claire seems to be earthy, vetiver-rich, a memento of dry Guerlain bases from Djedi onwards; it has the caliginous ambience of a basement where dead bodies are slowly decaying over which a garden with the most dramatic flowers is growing nevertheless as a red herring.
What I was completely struck by is the awesome radiance of the fragrance which emitted its strong emanations even before spraying it and by the prolonged evaporation which lasted for days on a blotter which I used, remaining true to the very end. What can I say? If Guerlain deemed a commercial commemoration to be so worthy of attention, I sure wish they'd do more of those.

NB. Guerlain Marie-Claire was in fact re-issued in 1999 under the name Belle Epoque in the long fluted perfume bottle that is called "the umbrella bottle". 

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Guerlain series

Pic "Bewegung" by Rudolph Koppitz

Online voting for Fifi awards has begun

Online voting for The 2009 FiFi Awards & Celebration officially opens at 12:01am EST tonight, April 27th, 2009. A complete list of this year's nominees can be found at:(Fifi My Space)
There's also a Facebook GiveAway for a chance to win a full size set of this year's FiFi Stars. You only have until April 29th, 2009 to enter your chance for the first round of prizes, so if you haven't yet, swing by and check out the details. Find the official rules at:Facebook FIFI giveaway)

Click the buttons below to cast your vote!

Fifi Awards finalist: what a joyful surprise!

It was my utter surprise and pleasure to see I made it to top 5 finalists at the 2009 FiFi Awards Nominees out of more than a hundred submissions from top venues! The article cited in the "Editorial Excellence in Fragrance Coverage" category is "Jean Claude Ellena is all about the Dirt!" and was submitted by my hard-working editor at Sniffapalooza Magazine, Raphaella Brescia Barkley, who believed in it from the start (and good thing too, as I wasn't even aware of the contest regulations and never submitted anything myself!) Can I say I'm overwhelmed? (Especially since I'm writing in a foreign language.)

The Editorial Excellence in Frgrance Coverage (Blog category) is an historic appreciative gesture on the part of The Fragrance Foundation for the quality work that is being conducted on online venues, legitimising them as editorial vehicles. My congratulations to all the winners, sincere thanks to the Fragrance Foundation panel and it's wonderful to belong to such an interesting community!

You can read my article on this link and see the full list of finalists here.

And to celebrate the happy occassion and thank my loyal readers, may I extend a lucky draw for a 10ml decant of my favourite fragrances of all: Jubilation 25 by Amouage! (Draw is open till 30th of April, midnight)

Disclaimer: the scent was bought on my own hard-earned cash!

The Galaxy Tastes of Raspberries and Smells of Rum

Apparently the unifying logic of the Universe has a sweet n' sour tooth! Ethyl formate, which gives raspberries their flavour and smells of rum, has now been found in deep space, the center of our galaxy. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, were searching for evidence of amino acids ~and consequently evidence of the building blocks of life~ in a giant dust cloud at the heart of our Milky Way when they came up with the surprising discovery.

Amino acids found in interstellar space can be said to be astrobiologists' Holy Grail because amino acids are the building blocks of proteins (critical for complex life to exist anywhere in the universe); a fact which would therefore indicate the possibility of emerging life on other planets after being seeded with the molecules.
In 2008, astronomers Arnaud Belloche and Robin Garrod almost managed to come across amino acids in space when they discovered amino acetonitrile, a molecule that can be the building block of aminoacids and consequently proteins. Previously, astronomers had detected a variety of large molecules, including alcohols, acids and chemicals called aldehydes. Those chemicals form when pre-existing chemicals on dust grains, such as ethanol, link together to make more complex chains. But recent discoveries suggest the molecules are as large as the simplest amino acid, glycine, which is heartnening.

The astronomers used the IRAM telescope in Spain to shift through signals and electromagnetic radiation emitted by Sagittarius B2, a dust cloud around a newborn star at the centre of our galaxy. Failing to locate any aminoacids, they nevertheless came across ethyl formate, a chemical responsible for the flavour of raspberries. But ethyl formate has another distinguishing quality that ties it with scent ~it smells of rum! Talk about boozy -inspired creation! Yet evidence for the deadly chemical propyl cyanide was also present in the same cloud, making them the largest yet discovered molecules in deep space and food for philosophical thought around the duality of life and death; but perhaps that's fodder for another discussion.

In a witty quip Belloche replied as to whether the galaxy tastes of raspberries that: "[Ethyl formate] does happen to give raspberries their flavour, but there are many other molecules that are needed to make space raspberries!" Dr Belloche and his colleague Robin Garrod at Cornell University in New York have amassed nearly 4,000 distinct signals from Sagitarius B2, analysing about half of them so far. "We have identified around 50 molecules in our survey, and two of those had not been seen before" said Belloche. The results are being presented at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science at the University of Hertfordshire.


News via Guardian.co.uk, pic Raspberries, Rubus ideaus L, after passive self-pollination (left and middle) and open insect pollination (right). (Photo by Jim Cane, Bee Research Institute, Longan, USA) via what-is-this.com

Images of Chanel No.5 aboard a train....

With the anticipation building for the new campaign for Chanel No.5 aboard the Orient Expess en route to Constantinople/Istanbul, uniting new Chanel face Audrey Tautou (the protagonist of an upcoming film on the life of Coco Chanel, as analysed here) and a beautiful stranger (Travis Davenport) entranced by her perfume, we're all awaiting to see how the new spirit will materialise in the short film by Jean Pierre Jeunet (of Amélie and Delicatessen fame).

The good people at Chanel sent me a link with a teaser sequence of fragmented shots of the new mini-film which lasts 2.5 minutes and took 3 weeks to shoot in Paris studios, central France and Istanbul.

Take a look clicking on this link (and click on the other "titles" as well) and prepare yourselves for the full clip on May 5, symbolically in tandem with the perfume's number...

We will return with full commentary!

Pics from Vogue.fr, hellomagazine.ca, maxitendance.com

Guerlain The Voyage Collection: Moscow, Tokyo, New York

In an idle mood last summer we had played the guess game on some new releases from Guerlain. It seems that fact corroborates our suspicions and the company has caught a genuine case of the Travel Bug. (It's become a luxury market standard to issue a cruise collection of scents; enter the latest Escale à Pondichery from Christian Dior which we reviewed here). In short Guerlain are issuing a Voyage Collection, inspired by three major (and vastly different) landmarks: Moscow, Tokyo and New York, all in relation to Paris, exactly as we had predicted. After all there was already a Météorites Voyage powder, so the recycling of names is expected. (Come to think of it, wasn't Chanel's collection from last winter called Paris Moscou?)
Please observe how Thierry Wasser, head perfumer, is nowhere to be mentioned yet again and how the retired Jean Paul Guerlain is brought back into the scene to add gravitas and a sense of tradition to the project. As to the ad copy, have they been reading our Travel Memoirs? It seems our original idea has already found imitators... But kudos on not falling back on the pseudo-erotic tales of the previous trio of Elixirs Charnels/Carnal Elixirs.
{Oh and I would have loved to see the plural of metropolis (μητρόπολις) as metropoleis (μητροπόλεις), instead of the anglisized metropolises, but Ι realise I'm overanalysing}.

"At Guerlain, it is a tradition. Crossing borders. Encountering new places. Discovering unfamiliar, exotic essences. Capturing the soul of a place by uncovering the emotional enchantment of its raw elements. In 1828, pioneer and visionary Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain already understood the importance of travelling the world in search of new fragrance sensations. More than just innovative scents, he offered an escape, a voyage for the senses.
“A perfumer must go looking for scents,” observes Jean-Paul Guerlain. And today, in the grand Guerlain tradition of exploring the world's riches, he has created a travel diary of scents, three new fragrances that pay homage to three fascinating cities: Moscow, NewYork and Tokyo.
Paris-Moscow, Paris-NewYork, Paris-Tokyo.
Three evocative fragrances that convey the identity and the heartbeat of these electrifying metropolises.Three liquid memories, presented in bottles embellished with drawings by sculptor Serge Mansau and topped with metal caps embossed with the emblematic double G. For each bottle, graphic artist Carla Talopp has devised a log, a scrapbook of cards, images, drawings, iconicphotos and symbols of the spirit of each city.

Moscow has awakened. Sleeping Beauty has opened her eyes, and her heart is fluttering. Moscow the serious has reinvented itself as Moscow the prosperous. Here and there, a hammer and sickle engraved on a building façade remind passers-by of its recent, restless history. But today, a fresh chapter is beginning. Each month, almost every day, Moscow's inhabitants write a new paragraph. They celebrate the arrival of a luxury boutique or a lavish restaurant. Women vie with one another in elegance. Businessmen bustle about. All of them are part of the metamorphosis of a capital city that proudly displays its new modernity.

With its musk, fruit and wood notes, the ultra-feminine Paris-Moscow perfume echoes the heartbeat that pounds through the Russian capital. This city throbs with life! Strolling through the opulent shopping arcades of the GUM, you are intoxicated by the heady fragrance of white musk and tonka bean. A carnal, sensual and elegant trace of vanilla and bergamot stays with you as you cross the Red Square. As you pass the Bosco Café, a sudden aroma of red currants delights your senses. The Moscow locals are enjoying their brunch, sipping their favourite beverage. Your senses stirred, you head off for some refreshment at the Botanical Gardens. A welcome respite. You close your eyes and watch as images from the day parade past. Electrified, you take in the hint of absinthe, a sparkling lemon, a note of plum. In the distance, you glimpse a verdant forest of pine needles. You can still hear the heart of Moscow beating.

*Notes for Paris Moscow: lemon, plum, pine needles, absinthe, red currants, white musk, tonka bean.

New York, New York! How many films, books and lyrics have sung the praises of the city where anything is possible? A land of dreams and pioneers, the Big Apple welcomes your deepest desires and craziest ambitions. This remarkable city boasts countless styles and atmospheres. A melting pot of communities and personalities, it evokes greatness with its skyscrapers, broad avenues and financial centre.At the same time, it cherishes its 'villages': Little Italy, Chinatown, the West Village with its tree-lined streets, low-built houses and tiny restaurants crowded with regulars. Day and night, New York is always bustling. Here, a young woman arrives at the gym as the clock strikes midnight.There, a man and his dog share dinner by the first light of dawn. Only in NewYork…

A woody oriental fragrance, sparkling and sweet, Paris-New York excites the tastebuds by transporting the senses to the heart of Manhattan on Christmas Eve. From the elegant Uptown to bohemian Downtown, children are dreaming of their Christmas pudding.Their nostrils quiver. Smells of vanilla and cinnamon float out of kitchen windows. A joyful frenzy of holiday anticipation reigns on Broadway, whose lights seem to sparkle with a new radiance. A pause; serious Wall Street goes quiet. The pedestrians on 5th Avenue finish their last errands.The sky is still the luminous, cloudless blue of a New York winter. The celebrations will start in just a few hours. Already, the air is thick with a scent of cedar, cardamom and bergamot.

*Notes for Paris-New York: bergamot, cardamom, cinnamon, cedar, vanilla.

Some say that you must see Tokyo before you die.To them, the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun is a required destination. A ground to tread. An atmosphere to soak in. An experience to live, no matter what. Tokyo fascinates, Tokyo charms, Tokyo intrigues, Tokyo intimidates. Tokyo leaves no one untouched. The surprising, completely alien metropolis embodies ultimate modernity. Tokyo is a dense anthill, gradually stealing from the sea and sky what it can no longer find on the earth. The most daring architects eagerly orchestrate these extensions into space. The city is immense; it offers an invitation to lose yourself and discover its contrasting districts,smaller cities within a city, which fit together like the animated pieces of a giant puzzle.

Green and floral, fresh and delicate, Paris-Tokyo evokes all the subtlety of the Japanese capital. Willful, yet subtle. Ultra-modern, yet bound to its traditions. The sun is still low in the sky; it is the perfect time to awaken your senses in Hibiya Park, a rare green space designed with a Western aesthetic.Very few people are walking; you pass mainly joggers. As you stroll along a pond, the morning dew gives off a fragrance of jasmine and violet, intertwined with Hinoki cypress. You stop in a teahouse, slipping out of the stream of time into a cocoon of tranquillity in the midst of turmoil. In this world apart where green tea and jasmine scent the air, you allow yourself be transpor ted by the legendary, almost magical tea-drinking tradition. It is with regret that you leave the ceremony you wish could last forever. But Ginza, the Champs-Elysées of Tokyo, is already calling your name."

*Notes for Paris Tokyo: green tea, jasmine, violet, Hinoki cypess.

The Guerlain Voyage Collection will be widely available in June and the prices will be $220 for each of the bottles.

Related Reading on Perfumeshrine: the Guerlain series, Travel Memoirs.

Pics via russianblog.org, blog.aia.org, the designblog.org

Al Maali by Itarji: fragrance review

It's always interesting to witness the intercultural exchanges between newer and older worlds and especially so in fields that pertain to olfaction: the amount to which French perfumery and tastes have been influenced by the Anglo-Saxon "clean" trend is staggering; as is the intergration of classical "stinky" notes into modern compositions (Stockhausen meets Rameau, so to speak), or the worldwide influence of the Asian school of diaphanous treatment. But never is the effect more eye-opening to the globalisation of the international market than upon experiencing an Arabian fragrance of all things that smells like a modern French classic: in short, Al Maali by Itarji is an Arabian speaking fluent French of Angel-ic cadenzas of agility.

We have been conditioned to believe the reverse is more common (isn't Nahéma the reference Franco-Arab masterpiece?) and rather en vogue, what with the Serge Lutens seraglio and the plethora of ouds or oud-inspired fragrances on the market (witness the Montale line), as well as the increasing popularity of getting to know the Arabian rituals of fragrancing [click for article]. Yet as previously discussed there is also the side of Arabian attars vaguely smelling like ideas that belong in a westernised society, scattered among more traditional offerings. But then again, it's not uncommon to encounter small local companies using ingredients by the big aromachemical producing companies, such as Givaudan, Firmenich and IFF, even in the medinas of the Arabian peninsula! So nothing comes as a shock to my eyes any more...

I was sent a little of this intriguing Arabian fragrance by my eloquent friend Maria from Bittergrace Notes in a back and forth of perfume haikus to communicate impressions on the most evanescent of small pleasures. She had described it as "a rich, green patchouli-fest" and she proved to be dead-on. The opening of Al Maali has an interesting spicy-limpid accord that reminds me of wet nutmeg and cardamom pods, ready to be used in Easter bread dough or a smidge of the spicy-powdery top of Yves Saint Laurent's discontinued Nu in Eau de Parfum. Maybe even a small, small hint of saffron? Yet wait a couple of seconds and with a rushed dash patchouli enters the scene unapologetically, its radiance and warmth being generous and "open", quite natural in fact and capturing the audience for the duration of the performance. I am quite fond of patchouli and in fact have a precious bottle of 20 years old essence which I cherish. When patchouli oil ages it gains in complexity and acquires a round effect which adds to its charm.

The effect in Al Maali is semi-gourmand, quite coumarinic with a whisper of sweetness minus the caramel tonalities of the usual treatment in that mold and with a dangerous undercurrent of sensuality. I don't quite understand how the desciption on the site states "Light floral, green scent; fresh and understated". It is anything but light or floral (or traditionally fresh) and it asserts its presence in a most delightful way. Yet I can see how this is excellently suited to both sexes and suitable for year long wearing if you use it sparingly. I would hazzard that it would please the numerous fans of the progeny of both bittersweet gourmands in the mold of Lolita Lempicka and Angel as well as the boho-chic youth of today with their nostalgic eye on the 60s. The lasting power is exceptional and the diffusion/sillage very pleasing, radiating warmly without making you choke to your death upon spritz (at least judging by my sample sprayer which diffuses it in a light and steady mist).

You can buy Al Maali on the Crescent Beauty site (what a cute name!) and the price is quite advantageous compared to the western equivalents.

Pic via pxdaus.com

Tocadilly by Rochas: fragrance review

There is a French expression "mettre en valeur" which roughly translates as to highlight, to draw attention to one's best features. This is what Tocadilly by Rochas does; an ethereal scent that highlights the flowers of spring I love ~lilac, wisteria and mimosa~ beautifully, yet transcends the genre of floral. The feeling I get, when I sort this out of my perfume wardrobe at the first hints of spring, is just like the interplay of cool and warm one experiences upon imprinting their breath "fog" on a wet window pane.

Tocadilly by Marcel Rochas is a floral which launched in 1997 amidst a sea of aquatics and marines. It was said that it represents the younger sister of Tocade, an intensely rosy vanillic fragrance by Maurice Roucel from 1994, yet I do not perceive the kinship of spirit that should tie them in such a close relationship. They both have the same design of flacon, nevertheless, created by bottle designer Serge Mansau; but to Tocade's red packaging hues Tocadilly conterpoints blue-green-purple tones and the aura of the scent is complimentary.
Perfumer Christopher Sheldrake (currently at Chanel) is best known for his oeuvre under the wing of Serge Lutens composing a sumptuous line of persuasive orientals and opulent florals. In Tocadilly those preconceptions are shed and Sheldrake reveals a light, lacy touch that is capable of creating diaphanous effects which do not lack staying power or diffusion. The composition is segmentated into interesting facets of aqueous, fruity, floral and lightly ambery-powdery, fusing into a playful, cheerful and tender composition that is above all soft.

Three years before the modern aqueous lilacs of En Passant (2000), realised by Olivia Giacobetti for éditions des parfums Frédéric Malle, Tocadilly had captured this unholy allience between "clean" and "dirty" (Lilacs naturally have an anisic spiciness/powderiness recreated through anisaldehyde and heliotropin in fragrances, as extraction is so uneconomical/unyielding*; yet they often also possess an animalic undercurrent like pollen dusted on impolite feminine parts, especially the mauve-tinged blooms). The watery impression of Tocadilly is less "marine" than En Passant and the yeasty note is absent completely, rendering a must-try for both lovers and haters of En Passant.
The unusual pear note comes from the flavour industry and was contemporarily explored in Annick Goutal's Petite Chérie. Yet in Tocadilly it's not as easily decomposed and the absence of intense sugary lappings helps along, focusing instead on the almost pollen-like aroma of wisteria and lilacs. The mimosa is detectable ~and delectable, providing the emotional foil for the overall spring-like tonality which runs through the fragrance. Yet one would be hard pressed to designate Tocadilly to any particular season. It's utterly friendly and wearable in almost all settings and all climates, easing itself with an insouciant shrug of the shoulders and a child-like innocence that's not without a little mischief.

Notes for Rochas Tocadilly:
Top: cucumber, lilac, hyacinth, pear, jasmine, tiare, wisteria, mallow, mimosa and mandarin.
Heart: glycine/wisteria, coconut and heliotrope.
Base: sandalwood, musk and amber.

Sadly discontinued, Tocadilly is still available online.

*There is a fragrance that is purpotedly using a natural extraction of the flower itself, Highland Lilac of Rochester, to which we will return soon.

Photo Dreams and Cookies II via meren.org. Lilacs shot by PerfumeShrine, all rights reserved.

Christian Dior Escale a Pondichery: fragrance review

If the idea of travelling to far away, sweaty places full of the pungency of warm bodies, overripe fruit at the marketplace, mud and animals' dung appeals to you more than the actual travelling, there is the escapism of travelogue fragrance snippets meant to ignite your olfactory nerve in stictly non-offensive ways. Escale à Pondichéry is the latest release from parfums Christian Dior following Escale à Portofino from 2008. The new cologne is a tribute to the erstwhile ex-French Colony in India and is the second instalment in the series "les escales de Dior" (Dior's ports-of-call), initiated and composed by François Demachy, Senior vice president of olfactive development of perfumes for the LVMH group(he created Fahrenheit 32 for Dior as well). And is appropriately accompanied by a make-up follow-up in a Rose Pondichery nude-rose gloss to go with it (don't ever let anyone tell you you're not matchy-matchy, huh?)


According to the Hindu Business Line, Dior scheduled the official fragrance launch at The Dune Eco Beach Hotel in Puduchery in a move of almost parochial emphasis. The celebration took 3 days and 40 journalists from around the world staying at the popular 36-acre eco-friendly resort.

The Eau-de-Cologne-with-a-twist interpretation of the Escales de Dior series blossomed into pleasantly appealing local folklore in last year's Escale à Portofino with its Italian accents of bergamot, citron, petitgrain, glorious orange blossoms and bitter almonds, all part of the local flora. The pneuma of those colognes is expressed by the link between the raw materials and the chosen destinations, lands of culture and fragant history. François Demachy next chose India, inspired by the fragrances from Pondicherry and Kerala, to unravel the exotic fragrances of India and the raw materials we have come associate with the peninsula: Jasmine, sandalwood and tea. According to the press release "The perfumer has selected a black tea enwrapped in a fresh and light signature that harmonizes with a spirit of happy insouciance".

The idea of a light cologne in an Indian setting has been previously explored in the perplexing yet astute Un Jardin après la Mousson by Jean Claude Ellena for Hermès. Boucheron created Jaipur, a different beast, a fruity oriental inspired by the legendary city of jewels; Patou featured the banana note of ylang- ylang and jasmine in the floriental Sira des Indes; while Kenzo Amour Indian Holi even has "holi hai" written on the red bottle in Hindi! Even Cabochard was inspired by memories of a soujourn of Madame Grès at the exotic peninsula. And of course there's always Shalimar... India has never been short of pefumes dedicated to its olfactory traditions!

It seems however that travel destinations are very popular right now with big companies (judging by the travelogue of the Guerlain scents which we were the first to reveal back in August last year or the travel exclusives of Lauder and Lancôme) as are Eaux de Cologne in general (from the new Hermès Cologne collection including Eau de Pamplemousse Rose and Eau de Gentiane Blanche to the Chanel Exclusif Eau de Cologne which pre-emptied the trend).

India however has not been unknown to the Christian Dior fashion house: Chandernagore/Chandannagar, another Indian town of French colonisation, was referenced as early as in Dior's Fall-Winter 1947 collection! In 1962, Dior held two shows in Delhi and Mumbai and the last creation presented was ‘Voyage en Inde’ (Voyage to India). And of course the Dune hotel nicely references the now classic Dune fragance by Dior, a non-ozone "marine" for the 90s. However Goa, the ulta-popular destination for the new generation of India-travellers was eschewed in favour of Pondichéry, “a distant and exotic destination, an ideal of escapism and travel”, according to Demachy.

In Dior's Escale à Pondichry the diaphanous, almost colourless juice ~in the matelassé glass bottle that is meant to transcend the collection~ delivers a shot of refreshing and nicely bittersweet aroma meant to act as a journey carnet in very simple strokes. Four major Indian ingredients went into the making of this perfume and they're mingled into the composition with delicate mannerisms that should please without aspirations of symphonic cadenzas. Demachy lists them as Cardamom Essence in the top; Jasmine Sambac Absolute in the heart; Sandalwood Essence in the bottom; and Black Tea Extract as a "fil rouge" (common thread). Although one almost expects by default some spice in a composition inspired by India, the graceful weaving through of cardamom, used to aromatize both coffee and tea, is the protagonist in the delicate and contemporary take on a refreshing cologne of citrus opening with a pleasingly dry base and very transparent floral accents. The composition doesn't especially smell of the tannic facets of stong brews of black tea (and aren't there enough tea fragrances on the market already?), but more of an abstract idea of ambery woodiness and lightly smoky powder (probably due to synthetic musks). Will it prove as popular as Escale à Portofino did? It remains to be seen. The demographic is the same, but I predict that this one might attract more men without being too masculine in scent.

From a visual point of view the advertisements with the big-straw hat blonde Edita , all decked in white bat-sleeves and pop sunglasses bring to mind more of Estée Lauder or Elizabeth Arden cruise-style collections for WASP ladies than the exotic locales of India or the boho-chic tourists that pilgrimage. And it leaves one in aporia as to why Kalyani Chawla (the indian face of Dior) wasn't appropriate for this project of all projects! But the marketing angle is thus apparent and who can blame them? The modern consumer of globalised galivanting is far removed from the Ravi Shankar apprentices who followed en route to the spiritual. Perhaps taking that last observartion in mind might ellucidate the facets that surface in the latest fragrance.


Escale à Pondichéry launched in India on Saturday March 21st, launches in European boutiques on May 28th and is expected to arrive on the US shores in July 2009. It will be available in 75ml bottles of Eau de Toilette for 64,95€ .

Oh and if Dior is taking ideas, might I suggest the next escale is inspired by Assos in Cephalonia, Greece? (click for pic here)

Pics via Dune hotel blog and fr.bkrw.com.

Mapping Scents of Spirituality

While I am sitting on my desk with the open window rushing in the fragrant air full with the blossoms of bigaradier and the trembling dew of spring on them, my elderflower cordial by my side, I am thinking of how this Good Friday reminds me of Good Fridays past, those of my formative years and the thoughts that accompanied them.

I recall as a teenager sitting on the old, wooden pew and smelling the luminous, Byzantine, old church. Not only the predictable incence smoking in the cencers; neither the peeling varnish off the old egg tempera icons, nor the slight mustiness of the corners of the rugs on the floor where feet slightly wet from the spring showers had walked on; not even the flowers garlanding the "epitafios", the symbolic deathbed of Jesus: lilacs and narcissi (it was a country church; in the city it's lilies and roses). It was the assembly itself emitting its own smell of humanity and through it all a familiar smokish vanilla with slight accents of the inside of an old leather handbag. The scent assaulted my nostrils with the vexing pang of unidentified familiarity. I couldn't place it...And then out of blue the realisation hit me like a ton of bricks: Shalimar! Some unidentified woman wearing that most carnal oriental, bronzy like the candelabras that burned over our heads bearing the history of centuries. It puzzled me...

Good Friday is traditionally a day of abstinence, often subsisting on nothing but bread and water. And yet, here there was a carnal scent reminding me of non spiritual matters on that day. This chasm between the spiritual and the carnal is at the heart of matter. If Orthodoxy is antithetical to the Protestant faith in embracing the most humane of our faults while at the same time not granting the forgiveness that is so tangibly accessible in the confessional of Catholisism, how is it even possible that the carnal is so much accepted? How can the pleasure of the senses subsist into the celebration of the celebral and the divine?
But the Pagan survival in almost everything involving the rituals I remember is omnipresent: The beeswax candles that drip on the sand trays where old people stick them decisively yet with trembling hands, the wine that gets spilled on the floor as a tribute to the power of mother earth, the fires lain on the street of the castello fortified villages on the top of the Greek islands and the purotechnics shot on Easter's Eve midnight with their sulphurous smell...And most importantly, the death of the young god whose resurrection in the middle of nature's releafing is the return of Dionysus.
When my steps in assorted historical pursuits later took me to "ascetaria" (places of hermites) the myrrh exuded off the craggy walls of the caves stopped me in my tracks with its beauty and its caressing of the senses. How a person who lived on faith and little else could emit such a strong smell of holiness, and on top of that how could this smell be so pleasurable? Isn't sanctity synonymous to refusal? The question bugged me for long and it lay hidden at a corner of my mind, peaking its thorny head from time to time when an occassionary excess of the flesh filled me with an unexplicable sense of sorrow and unfullfilment. How could the Dionysian and the Appolonian, the Cthonic and the Olympian, coexist in a single soul?

Years enriched me with experiences and my dreary feet took me to various places with spiritual connotations. To the Bangkok Buddist temples with their serene smoke and the colourful blanket of different races entering and leaving, their skins and breaths speaking of exotic fruits of far away origin and pungent fish-soup. To the Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain where Muslims kneeled beneath the pointy minarets, their clothes and bodies bearing the scented traces of lives lived beneath shady patios where the jasmine vines grow rampant. To the mahleb and cardamom smelling bakeries of Istanbul preparing the yummy desserts of the holy days, bought by Christians and Muslims alike, and the street vendors on Boğaziçi Köprüsü selling salep and salty mackerels to ease the hunger of the tourists. To the foreboding Minster in Ulm, Germany, its vertical majesty evoking thoughts of awe, where people pin little prayers on the cork board beginning "Liebe Gott" and the aroma of Eau de Cologne on the hands of the waiters in the cafeteria across the square. To the colourful vitraux of the York Minster, England, where the humidity of the soil and the sharp northern lights of the sky cannot hide the splendour of the roses blooming in the church yard and the women who stooped to smell them going out of the vesper service. To the modern synagogues of the East Coast of the US where kindly people share their cookies recipes in hushed whispers, whetting my appetite for culinary escapades upon returning home. And coming full circle, to immigrant familiar Greek churches in Melbourne, Australia, where the familiar, thick and smoky stench of Easter "lamb on a spit" roasting is never farther than a stone's throw away and where the whole street down the neighrhood is invited to the feas, no matter their adherent religion.

Because spirituality, I finally realised, is independent of religion and cannot be experienced if one has not first embraced all that this wonderful, this amazingly rich and truly wonderful life has to ferret: the good and the bad and the thorny. And the fragrant.



The kontakion "Ω γλυκύ μου έαρ" (My sweet spingtime) was written by Saint Romanus the Melodus in the 6th century AD and is the standard song of the Good Friday street procession throughout Greece.

Pics via greekingreece.gr, amorgos.blogs.gr, lovingit.co.uk

Hanami by Ayala Moriel at Blunda Los Angeles

It all started with a poem and a blog project: In March 2008, perfumer Ayala Sender was invited along with 14 other leading perfumers in the niche perfume industry to interpret a haiku-like poem by Ezra Pound, "In A Station of the Metro" for a project titled "Perfume In A Poem" on Memory & Desire blog. One year later, Ayala Moriel releases the perfume, named Hanami, at Blunda Aromatics in Los Angeles, in the 2nd of their 8-part Natural Botanical Perfume Exhibitions.
You can read more about Hanami on this link.
What:Natural Botanical Perfumery Exhibition #2: Hanami by Ayala MorielWhen:Saturday, April 18th, 1-5pmAyala Sender will speak at 2pmWhere:Blunda Los Angeles304 South Edinburgh Ave.Los Angeles, CA, 90048RSVP: (323) 658-7507 or email: rsvp@blundaaromatics.comFollowing the exhibition, Hanami perfume will be available exclusively through Blunda and Ayala Moriel's studio @ #314-1230 Haro Street in Vancouver, and the online boutique www.ayalamoriel.com

The Strange Case of Dr.Oakmoss and Mr.Citrus (part 2)

We talked about the latest restrictions and how oakmoss is one complicated issue and tried to disentangle it a bit in Part 1. But there are more resticted ingredients, whose pros and cons we hope to analyse here. Yet revelations happen with the sudden “swoosh” of pyrotechnics.

The very perceptive Pat from Olfactarama sent me this most eye-opening comment:

“I poked around a little and came up with the RIFM's [Research Institute for Fragrance Materials] annual report. You may already have seen this document, but if not, there is a lot of interesting info here. I'm wondering if this organization isn't one of the ways the labs are funneling research funding into these studies, which may then be used to strongarm the fragrance industry. Since annual reports must be available to the public, it's possible to bypass the "members only" logjam at the site's opening -- I believe some of the publications papers are also available for reading. The list near the back gives RIFM's "partners," and most of the big fragrance manufacturers (Chanel, Estee Lauder, et. al.) are on it. Here is the link: RIFM.Org

I urge you to click the link (it's NOT the well known IFRA amendement, it's a different organisation) and read the participating members on the last page; blink a little and read again!

Chanel….The one company who profited by the downfall of Guerlain to the eyes of many perfume enthusiasts. The one company who salvaged their reputation through the hardships of having to appeal to mainsteam tastes and all with easy elegance. Now, there is proof that they do not oppose the restrictions which are set to harm them most: the jasmine restrictions (as well as the coumarin, ylang ylang, eugenol, oakmoss et al). Octavian had succintcly put it:

“Remember that not only the perfume extract contains a great amount of French jasmine but also this is at the heart of all marketing stories of Chanel. Chanel always insisted on the quality of its jasmine, being one of the very few to use the French type, also cultivated by Chanel” and from a marketing point of view, how can you communicate about jasmine now? Can you show the fields, the extraction and write articles about No5 history and quality when IFRA tells that "jasminum grandiflorum" is "poison"?

It’s a problem. The continuation of the myth will necessarily have to be a covert lie.

However Chanel in either an attempt to salvage what they can (how? I’d advise the Wertheimer brothers to make a statement to that) or to retain their market share without increasing prices are condoning the reformulations. I do know that they are rigorous in preserving quality and just as there are different grades of foodstuff so there are in perfumery ingredients, so they will use the best available. But still the question is: what will there be available?

And Lauder is also a member of RIFM. This makes the futile hope of people in the US that American made perfumes might retain their formula unchanged just that…futile. It was plainly to see before, since Lauder fragrances are made by IFF (who belongs to IFRA), but since not all people know that tidbit, it’s worth mentioning now.

On what concerns citrus restrictions, the kerfuffle is too much for no special reason in most cases. Many people exclaim –justifiably-: “Ridiculous! I get more orange essence on my hands by peeling an orange or on my mouth by eating it than by using perfume!”. True, but there’s a catch: Most citruses in perfumes are synthetic already! Yes, yes, even those you think are naturals. Yes, yes, even some very respected brands (Shalimar anyone? Mitsouko?) . And you know, the difference isn't that perceptible to the majority of even discerning noses and bergamot in particular has been substituted for years due to its photosensitizing begaptene. Which is why I witnessed the groves in Sicily and Calabria being a waning craft...
Yet some citrus essences can be realistically replicated. Want proof? Go smell In Love Again by Yves Saint Laurent. Great realistic grapefruit note, huh? 100% synthetic. But that doesn't diminish the artistry of it, nor should it deter you from using it.

Of course there are several niche and small perfumers (notably the all-naturals field) who continue to use natural extracts and they'e taking a hard blow with the latest; this might make them outlaw indeed! Anya McCoy said:

"There are few willing to take a stance on this. I will. I will continue to use all of the aromatics I wish, with a warning label. If, as it seems it will, the regulations come to the USA, and the FDA enforces them, I will protest and am willing to become a legal case, if necessary. I dare others to join me. That is my solution to the oakmoss, orange, rose, ylang ylang (ad infinitum materials) problem."

Of course that means solely Internet sales... No brand which hopes to have their scents in brick and mortar stores can afford this, since they are subject to import laws (from either the EU or the US).

Brands which use a high degree of natural extracts, citrus and otherwise, such as Annick Goutal, Miller Harris, and Ormonde Jayne are facing a very real problem, hitting them like a ton of bricks. Their buying of raw materials will be seriously challenged thanks to the tale-over of the Grasse companies of raw materials (as discussed here) and due to their drastic change in the formula they will have a hard time adjusting to the changes. You might stock up on those as well. In fact a MUA poster, Alabasterkitten, has noticed a bunch of them at Loehmann's last night, $50 for 1.7 oz - Songes (jasmine, ylang ylang), Mandragore (bergamot), Eau de Hadrien (lemon and citruses, oakmoss), Petite Cherie (pear synth), Gardenia Passion (oakmoss, jasmine) and Nuits d'Hadrien (citrus)!

As to other ingredients, there are many but there are ways around them without much compromise. Verbena has been singled out in online discussions, because it's a common aromatherapeutic infusion and oil and it created the question how it could be regarded as a "bad" thing. Well, litsea cubeba has a bracing lemony note that could sufficiently substitute it and in fact it extends the effect nicely into the middle notes, a trick often used by pefumers to extend tangy aspects. So, no problem there.

Hydroxycitronellal (lily of the valley) is on the chopping block, as is majantol. Obviously lily of the valley will suffer as a note, not mentioning Lilial (by Givaudan) and Lyral (by IFF), which have also been examined regarding their sensitizing properties. Lily of the valley is a more common note than one would suspect, because it both opens up the bouquet of classic perfumes and it imparts a collateral “clean” note to modern ones (perhaps due to its mega presence in functional cleaning products). Diorissimo has already changed it packaging to denote the change that has been implemented to the levels of hydroxycitronnelal: the newer white packaging with pink “oval” bearing the name states hydroxycitronellal further behind other ingredients instead of the slightly older batch of pink packaging with white oval. The change is subtle and very cunning: while right now the packaging can be an indicator of batches, the introduction of a different colour schema is an optical blurring, ready for further –and final- chopping off! The consumer will never be able to realise without minutely examining the allergens list, which -let’s face it- is not what most people do.

Ylang Ylang is that rare thing: a comparatively inexpensive natural. Which poses a question over its impending restrictions. Baffled there.

The most serious aspect however and I don't know how it can be bypassed is jasmine....
Jasmine grandiflorum will be limited to 0.7% and jasmine sambac to 4%, under the latest 43rd amendement of IFRA. They are potent, so even a little helps, but 0.7% is getting pretty low...Jasmine is the emblem of quality French perfumery, a whole mythos behind many famous classics (No.5, Joy etc.) as stated so passionately on Grain de Musc and sadly both the grandiflorum and the sambac variety come under the latest restictions. And since Grasse jasmine was used in only the extrait of those classics, if you absolutely love those, you might stock up. Although don't be fooled, they have already been altered numerous times. No.5 has been stated to have changed its musks (eradicating the nitromusks so maligned by environmental studies) but smelling olde batches confirms that it’s not only them that changed. Since P&G (who belong to the RIFM oganisation, as stated in the above PDF) are the licence owners for parfums Patou, Joy is also to be changed irrevocably, probably to the great chagrin of resident perfumer Jean Michel Duriez.

The matter is terribly complicated, but....Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose!

Pic of Dr.Jekyl and Mr.Hyde cover via sbfmedia.relationalhost.com. Diorissimo through photobucket search. Jasmine by Perfumeshrine, all rights reserved.