Fragrant presentation: new Bond no.9 scents ~ Andy Warhol Silver Factory and Saks 5th Avenue

Bond no.9, the New York city downtown brand is about to spoil us with their latest releases that are destined to become cult items, as they exploit iconic images of America: Andy Warhol is the inspiration behind Andy Warhol Silver Factory and Saks is the luxury megastore behind the new scent Saks 5th Avenue, exclusively commissioned for its customers. The new scents will officially launch in the autumn (for Saks) and winter (for Silver Factory), but here is a little preview for our readers at Perfume Shrine.

Bond no.9 is bent on starting a series of Warhol collectibles of which Silver Factory will be the first one. On the bottle’s surface there is a graphic image inspired by one of the pop artist’s most recognizable icons: a boldly re-coloured rendition of the Campbell’s Soup Can, as created by Warhol in a series of his Campbell Soup Can silkscreen paintings in 1965 (apparently he also ate the soups!). Only now, the bottle takes the dissonant colours of turquoise and purple with a silver lining all around.
As Warhol once said “Another way to take up more space is with perfume. I really love wearing perfume.” (and to note, he requested to be buried with a bottle of Beautiful).
It seems though that people at the Andy Warhol foundation are also friendly to perfume, as Michael Hermann, director of licensing at The Andy Warhol Foundation said: “Working with Bond No. 9 represents a unique, unexpected, and exciting opportunity to introduce Warhol to an ever-widening audience.” The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation established in 1987 which promotes the visual arts. In accordance with Andy Warhol's will, its mission is the advancement of the visual arts. The Foundation's objective is to foster innovative artistic expression and the creative process by encouraging and supporting cultural organizations that in turn, directly or indirectly, support artists and their work. The Foundation has given out over 1,700 cash grants totaling more than $70 million. You can read about it clicking here.

The Factory has its own history behind it, an illustrious, if not notorious, one. In operation from 1964–1968, Warhol’s original studio, hangout, and club central, it was located in a indifferent looking building on East 47th Street, yet it acquired visual uniqueness with its aluminum-foil walls. Those evoked silver-backed mirrors ~emblems of the narcissism that suffused the times, perhaps. The Silver Factory served as a galvanizing forum for artists, silkscreeners, actors, filmmakers, debutants, activists, hustlers, and misfits, all of whom somehow contributed to the creativity. It was here that Warhol emerged as an avant garde filmmaker, pop art progenitor, and all-around superstar.
The scent Silver Factory , created by Aurelien Guichard from Givaudan, takes those elements and weaves them into a genderless mix, which per the advertorial

is a smooth, smoky, spicy blend of interlacing incense (a key scent of the ‘60s), wood resin, and syrupy, seductive amber. But just to complicate things, we gave it a heart of jasmine, iris, and violet—a scent that Warhol was especially fond of. These slightly dissonant florals combine to evoke a metallic effect—that of warmed-up, molten silver, And then, for the merest hint of coolness, we threw in a handful of cedarwood.

The official notes in detail are: Citrussy bergamot, zesty grapefruit,lavender, non-shrinking violet (Andy Warhol’s favorite scent), intoxicating incense, sultry jasmine, metallic iris (supposedly smelling the way silver might smell) velvety-soft amber,syrupy wood resin, hinting of a raunchy breed of vanilla and cool but sensual cedarwood.

The Warhol fragrances will be offered as innovative 28% perfume concentrates ~in between eau de parfum and perfume extract at $230, for 3.4oz/100ml. Silver factory will be available only in the 3.4oz/100 ml flacon at Bond No. 9’s four New York boutiques, at www.bondno9.com, at Saks Fifth Avenue nationwide and at saks.com.

Regarding Saks 5th Avenue, the store has commissioned Bond no.9 perfumery to design specialty scents and there will be a feminine (For Her) as well as a masculine version (For Him). That way the iconic destination store located in the heart of Fifth Avenue, establishes itself through Bond no.9, as an ultra-sophisticated neighborhood unto itself.
According to Deborah Walters, Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager, Cosmetics and Fragrances, Saks Fifth Avenue:

“Saks Fifth Avenue is excited to be collaborating with Bond No. 9 on Saks Fifth Avenue for Him and Saks Fifth Avenue for Her. This will allow our customer across the country to experience the quintessential Saks Fifth Avenue scent. Everyone here at Saks is thrilled to be a part of such a unique fragrance collection of New York neighborhoods and feel it is such an honor to have two scents dedicated to our New York flagship.”

Saks Fifth Avenue for Her signals the return of the classic gardenia eau de parfum, given a chic contemporary twist with the addition of sparkling jasmine, a little tuberose and vetiver, along with smooth vanilla. This all-white bouquet captures the cutting edge essence of 21st century Saks, but also the eclectic downtown spirit of NoHo-based Bond No. 9.
Saks Fifth Avenue for Him is an elegant aqua scent, containing an initial dash of Sicilian bergamot for coolness, followed by cardamom, chili, black pepper, incense, baased on amber, guiacwood and cedarwood for warmth.

The bottles depict a pattern that consists of quadrants containing refined, deconstructed, and then reconstructed versions of the signature stacked-script Saks logo that held sway from 1973-1997. The letters now serve as design elements containing Saks’ “DNA” motif. (Visible, for instance, on the front of the Bond No. 9 flacon are parts of the “n” and “A” from “Avenue.”). The slender bottle is the Bond No. 9 superstar flacon, its circular centerpiece logo inscribed with both SAKS FIFTH AVENUE and BOND NO. 9.

The official launch is set for September 1st for Her and October 1st for Him and will be sold exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide and at Bond No. 9’s four New York stores. Prices range for 3.4 oz/100ml at $185 and 1.7 oz/50ml at $125.


Pics from Bond no.9

Belle en Rykiel: fragrance review

This is the time to test your span of attention, dear readers. Remember how I had talked about the upcoming new fragrance from Sonia Rykiel, madame de tricot, full of anticipation, back in the day? It was last October on my previous venue, on another host. You can read what I had written and the official info on the new perfume here.
Today I will occupy myself with accounting my actual sniffing experience for your delectation.

Sonia Rykiel is a true Parisian eccentric lady with elegant daughter Nathalie as precious accomplice in their adventures in knit, navy clothes Breton-style and the ubiquitous black. Her signature frizzy red mane is only a hint of her willingness to participate in outré concepts like their new boutique with all the naughty props...
In perfumery she hasn't made any faux pas, starting their fragrant stable with the great dry woody Sonia Rykiel Le parfum in 1993. It was as late as 1997 that they issued their next one, named simply Sonia Rykiel in the sweater torso bottle with the strass on the chest, boxed in an orange rectangle and smelling of sweet fruits mingled with vanilla and caramel, inspired by the success of Angel, making this one for gourmands in every sense of the word. The following year saw L'eau de Sonia Rykiel, a predictably aquatic "blue" scent to satisfy the end of the market that had moved on from L'eau d'Issey because of its mass popularity and wanted something a little more private and subtle; while 2000 was the year Rykiel catered for men as well with her dark Rykiel Homme. The collection now seemed complete.
However when something is good saleswise, perfume houses and marketing teams want to capitalize on that: enter Rykiel Rose (2000) in a version of the original sweater bottle, this time tinged in a very becoming pink hue, redolent of succulent tarter fruits and a sparkling interpretation of the king of flowers (for most folks, I'm not one of them!)
By the same token Rykiel Grey (2003) was a male tart and sexy musky version in another sweater bottle, while the true masterpiece came out that same year and was emphatically and irrevocably destined for women: Rykiel Woman, not for men!(in eau de parfum; the eau de toilette that launched two years later is sadly different and not on a par).

The newest Belle en Rykiel , created by nose Jean Pierre Bethouart (working for Firmenich), crossed my path for real this time like an accidental rencontre with someone you had heard lots about half-remembering what that someone was like. Time had passed and I did not remember any notes or description, just that it was a promising new release from the designer who captured my heart with Rykiel Woman,not for men! rich crayons of a dusky, musky hue. I was therefore a complete virgin in regards to sampling it when the genuine surprise of seeing the heavy architectural bottle subsided. Surprise, because although I had been informed that it had already launched since last autumn I had not yet located a tester. This is an irritating phenomenon that has to stop: how is it possible to sell something, a new product on top of that, without a tester available for the buyer to sample from? Some mysterious clairvoyant act of genius must transpire, I guess...

The official description promised an aromatic oriental, presumambly because of the inclusion of one of the most traditional aromatics in perfumery that has done a comeback -much like the also for long forgotten violet note- that is lavender. Now, lavender is usually a masculine element, both because of its traditional and somewhat expected inclusion in so many men's scents, from Grey Flannel to Goutal's Eau de Lavande. And to tell you the truth it is not my personal favourite note in a women's perfume, because if it is the real stuff it smells quite medicinal which I find offputting, and if it is not it's even worse; a travesty smothered in easy to swallow vanilla cream like kid's pills. If you have to have something, be a man and take it as it is, is my motto!
However, truth be told, in Belle en Rykiel it smells neither very prominent, nor masculine.
Its celebral coupling with incense, as promised by the promotion text, gave me an idea that maybe it would be an echo of Encens et Lavande by Serge Lutens, a Paris exclusive with the most gorgeous drydown (final phase) of smooth olibanum/frankincense that recalls the heavy damasc drapery of a baroque cathedral in the time of the Spanish Inquisition.
However in Belle en Rykiel, I am a little disappointed to report that the final impression is not as dramatic or richly evocative of similar decadence with the resplendour of such historical periods.

Upon spraying the light golden liquid on my wrists the tartness of mandarin and berry overtook any possible medicinal tendency lavender has, with a projection that at first seemed a bit strong for my taste. It took a while for it to unfold the powdery and sweet heliotropin which emerged triumphantly in the middle along with a garland of light incense that is nowhere near the eclesiastical dense cloud of Avignon or the sheer drama of Norma Kamali Incense.
Patchouli seems like such an ubiquitous element in half of today's perfumes that frankly, although I love its aroma, it's getting me a little bored. Here it offers its sweet ambience in compliance to the amber, never overstagging it. The bois d'acajou (mahogany) note listed is something to which I am unfamiliar with, excluding the eponymous limited edion by Etro and furniture of course, but admittedly the composition smells more like a woody oriental to me than an aromatic one.
On the whole, although Belle en Rykiel starts with somewhat of a blast it soon becomes soft and subtly sweet staying close to the skin the way another sensual Lutens scent, Chergui, does or even evoking the baked skin of L de Lolita Lempicka, the whole lasting quite a while.

Would I rush out and buy a bottle? Probably not, because I feel that it is not terribly original to warrant a purchase since I have similar things in my collection already; however it would not disappoint the woman who is tired of fruity florals or overtly foody scents and out to purchase a modern oriental that would never garner comments of it being out of synch with today's sensibilities, yet manage to smell feminine and inviting.

Belle en Rykiel comes in Eau de parfum concentration in 40, 75 and 100ml priced 40, 60 and 75 euros respectively. Available from major department stores in Europe. Soon to be released in the US and rest of the world.

Pic came uncredited to me via email, probably courtesy of Lavazza calendar campaign.

Angelical demons or how something so dark can smell as sweet?

One might wonder what a picture of the Austrian actor Helmut Berger has to do with the legendary perfume commissioned by Marlene Dietrich to the house of Creed, Angélique Encens. And yet there is an unmistakable connection.

As is often the case with Perfume Shrine, obsessions take on many forms, one of which is cinematic. Helmut Berger, né Helmut Steinberger in Salzburg, Austria in 1944 was director Luchino Visconti’s preferred actor and also partner for the length of Viconti’s last 12 years of life.
In the latter’s magnum opus “The Damned” (also featuring a very young Charlotte Rambling, another one of Perfume Shrine's fixations; the film is originally named “La Caduta degli dei”, meaning Fall of the Gods, and has influenced both “Cabaret” and The Night Porter artistically) he plays the role of Martin Von Essenbeck, black sheep of a rich family of pre-WWII steel industrialists, marxistically scrutinized in their entrapment into the Nazi rise and their role in history as they first resented Adolph Hitler, then accepted him, and at last embraced him.

His memorable tour de force as an immature, closet pedophile, perverse son to the unscrupulous arch-mother of the dynasty included a priceless segment in which he reprises the role of Marlene Dietrich in Josef von Sternberg's Blue Angel , her classic film of fatal seduction, for the delectation of family viewers.
The sight is compelling, disturbing and alarming to watch as real-life bisexual Berger, dressed in transvestite attire, down to the hat and stockings of Marlene, performs a dance and song at the beginning of the film.

Angélique Encens has an uncanny way of reminding me of that performance in its haunting quality. Created in 1933 by the house of Creed it ties in with the background of the byzantine plot of the film as well, which contributes to my fixation. Apart from Marlene Dietrich, less mysterious Marie Osmond is a great fan as well, which is perhaps something you were better off not knowing, if you recall the cute image of the latter from 70’s shows.
Today the fragrance is part of the Private Collection, a collection of scents by famous patrons, which basically translates as very expensive and hard to get perfumes, if only because they come in truly huge bottles of 250, 500 or 1000ml. That’s a lot of jus! Enough to bathe in it literally. Luckily my sources are more cunning than that and I was able to procure a "decant", perfume-talk for a small quantity taken from someone’s larger bottle; naturally at a more reasonable price than that for the entire bottle.
Although Angélique Encens was created for a woman -albeit a woman that proved to be an icon for homosexuals for so long, still to this day- I can see it effortlessly worn by discerning and adventurous men, even if they do not share Berger’s sensibilities.

Built around the dark green of the strange angelica plant, the harsh green of it tied to Chartreuse , here it couples it with sensuous vanilla and incense. Angélique Encens is an anomaly in the house of Creed, because it lacks the shrill metallic note that most of the other offerings possess; sometimes to their detriment (Spring Flower), other times to their advantage (Silver Mountain Mist). Instead it is smooth and rich from the very start, which makes for an orientalised feeling right away. The vanilla shows itself through from the very beginning. It’s as if one has taken the peeled black pods and immersed them in a seemingly innocent beverage quickly under the table, adding dashes of alcohol; some person who is trying to hide the darker side of an addiction with a wide smile, seemingly appreciative of all your jokes and ramblings but with a too bright, crazy eye.
The inclusion of carnal tuberose takes an unexpected turn that astonishes with its intricacy and pairing with the herbal aspects, as it only reveals itself sporadically at the mid phase of the development of the glorious bouquet. Each unfolding stage is a wonder of velvet plush and baroque that entraps you in its spin of strange twisted comfort (an oxymoron if there ever were one). The inclusion of ambergris and unidentified precious wood and resins makes the perfume mysterious and mesmerizing, completely fit for the colder season, just like The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky is too. A little childish amusement, a lot of dark russian soul. The final drydown of vanilla and amber lingers on and on and on, making us doubt our ability to disentangle ourselves from our obsessions.

Official notes: angelica, tuberose, amber, incense and vanilla

Available from Bergdorf Goodman in the US, Les Senteurs and Escentual.co.uk (later by phone or mail order only and not on-line)
Mail info@escentual.co.uk or call 02920 437343 (shop: 63-67 Wellfield Road, Cardiff, UK)


Top pic of Helmut Berger courtesy of Robinson Archive. Pic of Visconti's "The Damned" DVD jacket from Wikipedia.