Dior doesn't get high points for originality or cultural authenticity, bearing in mind this new "port of call" in their summery Cruise collection is inspired by Brazil as announced a while ago on these pages. Escale à Parati vividly recalls in the top notes the effervescent composition of classically French L'eau Impériale by Guerlain extended on the petals of (lots of) soapy & tartly clean orange blossom.
The progression in Escale à Parati goes into predictably classic "cologne" notes in the mould of 4711 by Muehlens, uniting herbal and aromatic essences with a lightly sweet note (in the Dior it's tonka bean with its cut hay and lightly vanillic touch). Francois Demachy highlights the verdant tartness of the essence itself with the leafy scent of mint, arguably another trick in which Guerlain has paved the path in via their Guerlain Homme.
There are no discernible fruits to speak of in the mix nor the overt sensualism & sexiness associated with Brazilians (a most carnal people), which makes the whole Brazilian experiment sound more of a marketing positioning on the part of LVMH than an authentic pilgrimage to the vast culutral tapestry of South America. This in itself makes the launch (especially after 2 years since the last, as opposed to the annual churning out at the beginning of the series) rather incomphrehensible; one would think there are enough summery colognes in the Dior range already, why the need for one more? Undoubtedly because Brazil is an untapped market with the potential of exponential growth...
This particular Escale fragrance is fit for sharing between the sexes and the shade of the juice is really inviting, but the lasting power is comparable to the other Escales, i.e. not much. Nevertheless, when it's hot, one doesn't mind respritzing to feel the coolness of the citrusy breeze.
ior's Escale à Parati is meant to be shared between the sexes,
providing a light air inspired by the Costa Verde and its atmosphere of
fun, dance and music. The fragrance includes citrusy and woody notes of
bitter orange (bigaradier), lemon, petit-grain, rosewood, mint,
cinnamon, red berries and tonka bean.
Available as 75 and 125 ml Eau de Toilette from June 2012 at major department stores.
One new bottle (from which 5ml have been decanted for reviewing purposes )for a lucky reader. Draw is open internationally till Monday 7th midnight. (draw is now closed, thank you) Share in the comments to enter the draw, which is your favourite summery cologne and why?
In the interests of disclosure, got the promo bottle through a distributor. Collage by Eric White
Wrapped-up as we so often are in the aphorisms about what we should or shouldn't be wearing ~ according to fashion trends, occasion, the weather or merely how sleepy we have rolled out of bed (you get my point)~ we often forget that perfume primarily has to do with sheer enjoyment! Yes, fitting the surroundings is all fine & dandy and probably earns us brownie points, but what about surprising our entourage (nay, surprising ourselves!) with unexpected choices that don't become stinkbombs either in the summer heat? While discussing this issue with my pal The Non Blonde we came up with memories about summers past, when no one really was wearing citrus dependables like Eau d'Hadrien and when the beauty of Chanel's Sycomore(or Guerlain's Vetiver pour Ellealternatively) hadn't been invented yet.
Here are some of my personal choices, which I have been enjoying on really hot ~and less than that~ summer days & nights. [Links direct you to full on reviews].
Lightweight Ambers
I'm a child all over again: There is something nuzzling and welcome about ambers which seem to bloom when there is warmth around. No wonder they were first composed in the Middle East. For me, the non sweet, diaphanous ones which often leave a trail of frankincense remind me of the Aegean...the hot beach, the white church, the wreaths of flowers inside...
Tropical, lush ylang ylang and slightly medicinal, non sweet amber sing a duet: the feeling of lying down on sugar-span sand, sun high above baking skin. And worries? Like a blister in the sun...they burst!
*I Profumi di Firenze Ambra del Nepal
Not Nepalese, really; I wore this on the island of Santorini, sketching the ruins at Akrotiri, diving at Palaia Kameni and seeing the sun set an agonisingly slow death at Oia. Something about the volcanic earth, all black and scorched, mixed well with this incensy amber with its cool finish. Making me fall in love with life all over again.
Misnomer of the century: There's nothing wintery about this amber. Much like L'Eau d'Hiver is actually the peachy fuzz of a cloud in a springtime Monet sky, this light, powdery, easy amber is fluff and cotton coolness itself. A distant friend, who has since silenced herself, introduced me to it and I think its splash form is ~for once in perfumery~ perfectly apt: You want to bathe it in and its fleeting nature allows you to, come summer or winter. So very easy that you'd never need think about it.
Fangly, Cool Chypres
What is it about cerebral chypres that appeals in the heat? Is it that I do hail from the Mediterranean where they naturally flourished? Probably. I just know they make me shiver with pleasure.
I first discovered the emerald green scalpel of Silences one summer when I was studying Italian "without toil" in order to accomodate university needs: required reading involved a certain Italian doctor who didn't have the good grace to get his research translated in any other language. One long-winded morning in the library ended into perfume discussion with the librarian assistant who was wearing...Silences. No pun whatsoever, I swear!
Bandit has long been my "sexy summer scent" when I'm all sweaty. In fact I cherish being sweaty when I'm wearing it, which is as rare a reaction for me as snowing in the middle of August is for weather forecasts in southern Europe. Why, you ask? Because the heat seems to bring out the very best elements in that state of undeliberate disarray, which might be indicative of its mischievous, promiscuous proclivities in the first place; after all Germaine Cellier did undress models off the runway off their underwear for "study" while composing.
Zen has the bitter, cool taste that you expect brainy, tech-geek types to appreciate: Calatrava architecture, smoked aubergines and Pernod. It doesn't smell of any of these things, of course, but I happened to discover the vintage edition (there are at least three versions, see this) one summer when all these were combined in a whirwind in my life. The summer Olympics had come to Athens and though nothing was zen-like, Zen gave me some grounding and sang froid.
*Guerlain Derby
My wild card and an ace in the sleeve at that. Consider this the classiest choice among them all and save the best for last. Is it fair that it's intended for men? I should think adventurous women who were never tomboys would not only "get away with it", but would highlight its luxurious character even more. Basically Guerlain took the formulaic leather structure and span it on its head, adding the cool bitterness of artemisia and a minty note which make this one the chypre equivalent of the ice-cubes I melt on my chest on summer mornings when I can't bring myself to get dressed. I particularly enjoy the bracing, strident top! Wonderful in vintage form (1985), still amazing in the current Les Parisiennes edition and that's hopeful.
Spicy Orientals
Not your typical "summery" category for sure. Yet sometimes they sing magically, with all the bright peak of crystal on a Fellini-esque ship of fools like our lives occasionaly become.
*Yves Saint Laurent OpiumFleur de Shangai
Opium summer editions have all been really good, which is almost a sacrilegious thought now that the real deal has been butchered irrevocably. This one is my favourite of the bunch, worn during romantic evening walks at the seashore, its orchid powderiness a welcome lightening -but not diluting- of the density of the original when it's been 38C all day.
It's so easy to dismiss a spicy oriental, and a dressy one at that, on the power of its prowess. Well, fear not, the aldehydes and clove combo in this one gives the clean feeling of iron passing clean linen and the pepper spice would scare microbes on a petri-dish away. Big nights out, you're covered!
*L'Artisan Poivre Piquant
If Parfum Sacré had a little sister, permeated with eroticism, soft and pliable, this would be she. Drier, more reflective and without the emphatic rosiness, Poivre Piquant weaves in a cooling trail of incense into its peppercorns goodness to cut through the heat like tiny diamonds cut through crystal.
Don't forget to check out Gaia's atypical choices & memories at The Non Blonde.
For a more familiar, summer-friendly fragrance wardrobe for every occasion, please check last year's entry on this link.
Clips from the films The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (2005) by Sanaa Hamri, Le Mépris/Contempt (1963) by Jean-Luc Godard and E la Nave Va (And the Ship Sails On, 1973) by Federico Fellini. Photo Swallow Dive (SPAARNESTAD PHOTO by Het Leven) via the Nationaal Archief
In a feverish summer stroke of genius Ayala of Smelly blog aided by the ever resourceful Gaia of The Non Blonde came up with a project more substiantial than simply a list of summer favourites: here you will find assorted creative minds proposing scents for almost every summer eventuality, in essence the ultimate summer scent wardrobe! Perfumes which you can take or leave, arguably, yet these lists are by no means exhaustive and are intended to give a little nudge into finding your own special fragrances for this summer. So, have fun and tell us what your preferences are for your own summery occasions! I have been hearing how this summer has been rather cool for most of Western Europe and North America so far, but let me tell you in the Hellenic land of the Gods, it's never a summer without a mean case of the heat (and inevitably the hots!). We have been having cloudless skies ever since May and temperatures above 32C for 2.5 months now and you can see lightly bronzed, slick bodies aplenty on the beach and in the streets, so I have pretty much adjusted myself in the fragrance department pretty well by now. Here are my preferences! (click the links for reviews)
Hitting the beach is but a stone's throw away and even if not dipping in the cool Aegean waters, just inhaling the iodine-rich smell of the sea-spray is invigorating. We used to count our summers by how many swims we had taken when we were children (much like others did by counting how many ice-cream sticks they consumed), but nowadays I find that even a leisurely walk on the sugar-spun sands adds a special something to my day. When I go for a swim I prefer to pack Dior Bronze Monoi Gelée in my little nécessaire, a perfect monoi smell (tiaré and amyl salicilate) which I put on both body as a moisturizer and on hair. It wafts deliciously, isn’t photosensitive and never clashes with my trusty La Prairie sunblock.
Sailing is another typically Greek expedition for summer and apart from afternoon lazy fishing we also discover many unchartered, unreachable from tourism beaches that way! (I call this heaven, don't you?) For lounging on the deck you can't beat the light and refreshing vetiver and light smoke of Chanel’s beautiful Sycomore; it even takes a subtle chocolate nuance when in the sun! The iodine aroma of Goutal's Vetiveris more hard-core, reminding me of days seeing workers doing metal-working on large boats, the fiery metal-induced sparks bursting all around mingling with the scents of tar and salt.
Al fresco eating in summery tavernas ~often right after that sea dip, hair up with a silk scarf and body wrapped in a Pucci-printed sarong~ demands something uncomplicated. If I had opted for only the monoi gel I follow with a spritz of my purse-sprayer of Malle's Carnal Flower. Its green tuberose along with the subtle coconut touch is the epitome of summers outdoors (and would also be fabulous for a summer wedding, but more of that on a seperate article). For a warmer feel I have been also using Tauer’s Une Rose Chyprée and Chanel’s Bois des Iles parfum a lot.
If it’s a Bar-B-Q I am attending (Greeks are infamous carnivores, but we also roast our seafood to great aplomb) I can get away with a smoky little something: lately that’s Encens Flamboyant from Goutal’s "Les Orientalistes" collection.
Jet Setting is another option. I try to travel light and bring few key pieces that match each other in multiple combinations, usually in the palette of white-red-blue. My suitcase has room for vintage souvenirs, foreign editions of books I've meaning to hunt down and of course new local fragrances! Two scents which are comforting and non obtrusive on airplanes and trains are Vanille Galante by Hermès and Bois d’Iris by The Different Company. I am also flirting with the limpid, coolly spicy Un Jardin après La Mousson.
Walking around town visiting open-air book fairs is one of my favourite past-times: The view of all the titles stacked neatly beside each other, the exhibition cubicles all identical creating a long uniform line of knowledge and the smell of new paper and freshly printed ink is intoxicating. I don’t want to compete with them, so I choose the complementing Messe de Minuitby Etro which really comes alive only in the heat of summer. Sometimes there's even a school band performing! If I am only out shopping and walking I pick Guerlain’s Vétiver pour Elleor Diorella: elegant and exuberant! And if there’s a heatwave, nothing but the most bitter green chypres will do: vintage Shiseido Zen, Silences by Jacomo and Piguet’sBandit.
Siesta napping in a cool room while the heat blazes outside is one of the great comforts after a hot morning. The lazy, languid feelings evoked are perfectly encapsulated by L’Artisan’s Extrait de Songe(re-issued as L’été en Douce), a scent of dry white cotton, smooth sheets and the hay nuance of coumarin. (come to think of it, if you can locate a bit of the African Dreams home oil of The Body Shop to put on a burner it’s just as clean-cool). For an upscale indulgence I bring out the cool Iris Pallida by L’Artisan.
The fun fair is brash and weird and I love the illusions in the mirrors chambers or the terror train: Dzing! by L’Artisan with its cardboard and zoo animals' aroma captures the warm, yet strange atmosphere perfectly.
Cinema in Sicily, Naples and Greece is often an open-air affair during summer evenings, big yards with fine peeble, rows of seats across the silver screen and gigantic vines of honeysuckle, ivy and jasmine garlanding the perimeter. There’s a nostalgic air about it, either watching Stromboli with Ingrid Bergman or Nuovo Cinema Paradiso and I like to bring out my most romantic scents: Grand Amour by Goutal exploring lilies, honeysuckle and hyacinth, Molinard by Molinard, a cherished gift of that special someone with jasmine under green and fruity accents or Chamade by Guerlain with its blackcurrant buds and hyacinth heart.
A big night out in the big city demands a different, sexier approach and I have curiously gravitated towards ambers and spices lately: Perfumerie Generale liquorish Cozé, a tiny dab of Ambre Sultan on pulse points or OpiumEau de Toilette over my navel so it wafts upwards. I also love the honeyed sensual smell of Une Fleur de Cassie by F.Malle and the silken polish of Tubéreuse Criminelleby Lutens .
I am leaving you with Loukianos Kelaidoni's nostalgic song Summer Cinemas about the passing of youth:
Please check the following participating blogs for more ideas:
Vintage pic found thanks to The Non Blonde, Santa Monica Pier 1920 from Dr. X's Free Associations. Pics via culture.ana-mpa.gr, athens-gree.com, montesorri.gr, photonet.com, and Life mag (Greek billionnaire Stavros Niarchos on his sailing boat)
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