Sally sells sea "sel" at the sea shore

It's not unusual that my mind reels into well known quotes/parables/phrases that get twisted to serve my purposes. I'm weird like that I guess and words have always being a playground. However the assonance of "s" in the above paradigm is testament to the powers of suggestion as it combines two languages, english and french, both foreign to me. "Sel" means of course "salt" in english and it rhymes quite nice with the original "shell" of the english exercise phrase.
So what does salt have to do with a perfume article, you might ask. As promised, this is part of a new trend in perfumery that is making waves as we speak (it seems that I am very bent on wordplay and puns today).

For the past year there have been many new releases that capitalize on a new aspect, an aroma that would be better appreciated with our taste buds rather than our olfactory skills. I am talking about the salty aspect that several new perfumes have veered into. Taste really encompasses very few variations: there is sweet (primeval like breast milk and thus a little juvenile), sour (for those who prefer a little animation to their palate), salty (a memory of the ocean and minerals, a grounding experience and a health concern for most), bitter (a taste for the adventurous and oh, how appreciated it is in combination with other tastes!) and finally umami (rich, fatty, meaty, the effect of many foods that transpire as full).
And that's it! All tastes are basically a combination of those basic categories. The rest is flavour ~the mystical tryst of taste and olfaction that gives us real pleasure in savouring petit fours and enjoying tiramisu. And of course other factors such as the food's smell, detected by the olfactory epithelium of the nose, its texture, detected by mechanoreceptors, and its temperature, detected by thermoreceptors, come into play.
So it comes as no surprise that experiments conducted with willing volunteers eating potatoes and apples with their nose closed revealed a complete confusion as to what they were consuming, resulting in hysterical results.

So how can a taste experience such as salty be translated into the olfactory realm of perfume? This is where art and innovation come to the fore. And it is very appropriate that we discuss this now that summer is well upon us.

It all began by Eau des Merveilles (=water of wonders), an Hermès fragrance developed a few years past that took the last available batches of real ambergris (suppossedly; there is no way to confirm that) and made them into a limpid, salty, woody alloy fit for women who were not into florals or citrus for summer, yet who wanted a light and refreshing scent nonetheless. A unisex triumph had just erupted.

And then came The Different Company with its Sel de Vetiver in spring 2006: the olfactory rendition of dirty vetiver roots into a glass of marine water. Many proclaimed that it smells like an unwashed sailor, and for that reason it made an impression. Composed by Celine Ellena, Jean Claude's daughter following the illustrious dad's footsteps, it encompasses notes of grapefruit, cardamom, Bourbon geranium, lovage, Haitian vetiver, patchouli, iris and ylang ylang.
Apparently the inspiration was the "scent of salt drying on the skin after bathing in the sea", which is an image I can very well associate with.

Then came in summer 2006 (for Europe at least) the completely mesmerising and delectable L de Lolita Lempicka(for a full review click here). A fragrance that combined the salty aspect of a mermaid with the opulence of vanilla, tonka and musks for an effect that is like skin baked under the sun on a hot secluded beach on a mediterranean isle.
By then the ground was ripe for more launches that viewed the salty note as an intergral part of their formula.

This past winter saw the launch of one of the best salty-sweet compositions for those who appreciate a few M&Ms scattered into their pop-corn like Sarah Jessica Parker apparently does or for those who like to combine fresh watermelon with greek feta cheese for dessert, like it's customary here. I am talking about Elixir des Merveilles, a take on the original that takes the salty element and incorporates it into an orientalised composition that could be worn in any season. It includes notes of orange Peel, , caramel, biscuit accord (vanilla, tonka bean, milk), sandalwood, incense, resins: Peru balsam and balsam of Siam, oak, patchouli, cedar and ambergris, echoing the original Eau des Merveilles.
For a full review, click here.

Terre d'Hermès , the latest men's fragrance by the luxury house, could also be classified under the salty, although it's more mineral than sea-like and has an earthy quality to it that denotes the light touch of the masterful hand of Jean Claude Ellena, a self-proclaimed lover of the salty and bitter.

And soon everyone seemed to be doing salty fragrances: Jo Malone announced the launch of Blue agave and Cacao (news reported here) with notes of cardamom, agave cactus, sea salt and chocolate. Miller Harris came up this May with the new Fleurs de Sel, part of her New Edition collection, inspired by the childhood home of its creator Lyn Harris in Batz sur Mer, which is a village in Brittany located between beaches and salt marshes. Based on the salty facets of vetiver, with mossy and leathery chypre accords it features notes of red thyme oil, rosemary, clary sage, iris nobilis, narcissus, rose, ambrette seed, woods, vetiver, moss, and leather.
And of course Bond no.9 wouldn't be left out of the game, giving us on June 1st their newest and very refreshing scent Coney Island, the equivalent of a salt-rimmed glass of frozen margarita for when languorously lounging by the pool with notes of margarita mix (tequila included), melon, guava, cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, musk, vanilla, cedar and sandalwood. For a full review click here.

All in all, this is a promising market and a new trend that is set to get us out of the well-established sweet tooth of the fruity florals and into the more aspiring compositions of slightly weird yet savoury compositions that call upon our summery disposition and our memory of the ocean from which we came. I don't call this a bad sign. Do you?



Top pic is of Faneromeni Beach at Lesvos, Greece, courtesy of Lesvos.gr
Bottom pic is painting Waves by Katsushika Hokusai (1831) courtesy of allposters.com

Bond no.9 Coney Island: fragrance review

The time is ripe for me to present one of the better known niche brands with a unique concept that is not actually centered on an olfactory vision or a conceptual design, but instead on one of the most fascinating cities in the whole world: the Big Apple; New York and its exciting neighbourhoods, each one of them captured in a luxurious bottle reflecting its qualities and landmarks in aromas that entice.

Bond no.9 is the brainchild of Laurice Rahmé, a modern woman of firm business savvy, born in Paris, living in New York for the past 25 years and formerly known for her distribution of the prestigious Creed brand in the USA. Laurice began her career as an antiques dealer having studied art at the Louvre in Paris. But pretty soon she joined Lancôme-Paris as international training director, became the director of the Lancôme Institut de Beauté in 1976 and relocated to L’Oréal USA’s headquarters (formerly Cosmair) in New York City. In 1989, Rahmé became the partner of Annick Goutal’s operations in New York and contributed to the brand reaching cult status among the congnoscenti and sales that amounted to 90% of the brands worldwide business. Next, in 1995, Rahmé became the exclusive U.S. distributor for Creed and helped propel it into the conciousness of every discerning customer.
When that became a thing of the past, she realised that her own vision was left to be realised ~according to Bond no.9 website :

In 2001, Rahmé was able to realize her dream of launching her own collection of fragrances named after different neighborhoods in New York City. The collection’s name, Bond No. 9, is derived from the actual address of the flagship store, which is located at 9 Bond St. The store features self-serve stations from which different scents can be sampled and poured into a selection of bottles from one of many freestanding, mannequin-shaped displays. “For me, the store is a continuation of the packaging,” says Rahmé. She now owns and operates a total of four stores in Manhattan.

The concept of the perfumes is "to restore artistry to perfumery and to mark every New York neighbourhood with a scent of its own": from uptown to midtown to downtown, every little speck is covered in the huge collection of 28 women's, men's and unisex eaux de parfum so far in bottles that usually capture the eye and create cravings for luxury.
Of course the claim to restore artistry to perfumery can be pretty much attributed to every niche brand operating under the same principles and indeed that is one of the main reasons for choosing niche over more mainstream products. However the uniqueness of the locale concept is undisputed and always fun to peruse.
Indeed she reached great critical acclaim when her offering Chinatown by young nez (that's french for nose, the perfumer behind this) Aurélien Guichard was highly praised by none other than Luca Turin in one of his articles for NZZ Folio. West Side seems a perennial favourite among perfume afficionados, while my personal favourite remains New Haarlem with its strong coffee notes that make me swoon like a good demitasse and I do enjoy wearing the blackcurrant laced light musk of Scent of Peace. But there's something for everyone in this line.

As Laurice revealed in an interview at Basenotes to Danielle Osbourne on October 26 2006:

“It is the Bond Street store that inspired me to create a brand out of our address, Bond No.9. Yet, it is the events of September 11 that motivated me to make New York smell good again and take on the ambitious project of creating a fragrance for each of its neighborhoods (this was done for Paris, my native city in the 20th century with a dozen fragrances made by a handful of companies created for Paris neighborhoods). Now, in the 21st century it is New York's turn to become the capital of fragrance.”

Myself I find that endearing and respect Laurice for saying this. Additionally a fresh approach and a desire to break the rules and molds of yesterday can be a positive thing after all.

"And where does the new Coney Island fall?" you might ask.
I can tell you that it is a fun scent inspired by one of the most fun locales in New York City.
Purpotedly containing notes of margarita mix (tequila included), melon, guava, cinnamon, chocolate, caramel, musk, vanilla, cedar and sandalwood, it is certainly citrusy in its character and radiates a fun, pool-side languor in tropical sharongs with a fiery bright hibiscus pinned behind one ear.
The booze of the Margarita is very apparent to my nose, with slices of fresh lime and some salty element, adding fun and excitement and making this a great fragrance for a hot day spent at a fun and casual occassion. Just like Coney Island the locale stood for for the 1920s crowd who, aided by public transport, rushed to its shores to enjoy the beach and the fairs.
The salty sweet combination has been explored by Elixir des Merveilles and L de Lempicka recently with great success but in those instances the overall orientalised tone veers the end fragrance in different avenues.
The addition of fruit to the lasting citrus of Coney Island combines with a watery, acqueous element probably due to Calone (which is hinted at by the mention of melon) that manages to not make me shudder -taking my usual tastes into account- because of the slightly warm notes that evolve after a while to give roundness to the sharp start. The slightly spicy heart is evident if one waits a while, while the promisingly gourmand middle is not very pronounced, so people who have a sweet tooth looking forward to the candy floss and chocolate of fun fairs could become a little disappointed; however I do not think it was the brand's intention to construct a gourmand, sweet fragrance in the first place. This is a fragrance to evoke hot sand and drinks with little paper umpbrellas in them, none of the noir ambience that the real Coney island held at some point in Hollywood movies or contrarily the simplistic vanillic sweets of children sucking on lollipops. Today of course Coney Island is famous for its circus and mermaid parades which provide a unique sight replete with the shock value factor that New York City is famous for.
A slight warm amberish and musky accord is melting the whole into a light base in which the announced notes of sandalwood or cedarwood are not particularly evident either, yet it reminds me of a cross between YSL In Love again and Aquasun by Lancaster. Which is a good thing for a summer scent that is meant to compliment and not overwhelm.


According to the Press release:

What is the smell of fun—and how do you bottle it? That was our mission at Bond No. 9 when we decided to capture the essence of Coney Island and turn it into an eau de parfum. Why Coney Island? We were intrigued by the vintage allure of this century-old fantasy-land with its honky-tonk chic, its Mermaid Parade, its incomparable hotdog haven (Nathan’s Famous) fronting the Atlantic Ocean along Brooklyn’s southernmost edge. But we wanted to celebrate its future, too, just as a formidable revival is getting under way.

Coney Island isn’t just any amusement park. In its early 20th century heyday, New York’s premier people’s playground was a rowdy, mind-numbing pleasure-mecca that more than matched the energies of the city that contained it. Its daredevil rides—the legendary nine-hill Cyclone roller coaster … the Wonder Wheel … the freefall Parachute Jump—set a fevered, frantic pace, while its bathing pavilions were more like phantasmagorical gilded palaces that shimmered in the air. Not to forget the raucous nightspots. For a city that where glancing at strangers for more than two seconds has always been an impertinence, here was an escape hatch—a Bacchanalia where one and all had free rein to scream together in terror and joy. Sure, in recent decades Coney Island fell into decline, but today it is decidedly on the upswing, with brand new rides, a water park, and a mammoth glass atrium in the works.
Bond No 9’s Coney Island conjures up both the magical history and the reawakening of this beachfront paradise. Combined in this contemporary gourmand delight are the sugar-cool notes of margarita mix, hypnotically seductive chocolate and caramel, plus cedarwood. The high-voltage blue bottle recalls the Coney Island’s expanse of sea and sky, while the contrasting gold neck evokes the thousands of electric lights that once lit up its night sky.

The turquoise bottle is fetching in its bright shade garlanded by a ribbon of gold as if to represent little blub lights of fun fairs, although not as covetable as the bottle of Chinatown in all its Swarovski glory.

The new fragrance will officially launch on June 1st, but the stores take pre-orders by mid-May. It is sold at all four Bond No. 9 stores, at selected branches of Saks Fifth Avenue, and at Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Paris Gallery, Lane Crawford. Besides being available in its 3.4 oz. artist-designed superstar bottle and box presentation ($180), 1.7oz travel size ($125), Coney Island may be purchased by the ounce ($40), either in a 2-ounce basic spray flacon with gilt honeycomb cap ($25) or in unique vintage or art bottles, featured in a wide variety of designs ($60 - $200).
Bond no.9 perfumes can be ordered online at the official Bond site and at First in Fragrance/Aus liebe zum duft in Europe.


Top pic from Coney Island photoshoot on April 21 2007 by Mike on photomeetup.com
Pic of bottle comes from the advertising campaign of Bond no.9