Narciso Rodriguez Essence: fragrance review

Narciso For Her by young, hip and understated designer Narciso Rodriguez had me at hello all those years ago with its delicious musky trail that is too sexy for words, yet polished enough to pass off as classy; ever since the brand has me curious as to what they come up with next. Proving to be a mega-trendsetter ever since its launch, Narciso for Her catapulted the market into a gene-pool sharing the same musks and "clean" synthesized patchouli bases shaped into the beautiful but traitorous dress of the "modern chypré"; in moments of truth and Sundays' waking up too late after a night partying next to delicious-looking strangers those scents shed that pretentious dress for the comfortable and more accurate flannel PJs of "woody florals with musks" and that's perfectly all right by me. But I digress... Luckily for all of us, the tremendous success of Narciso For Her didn't wind the Rodriguez brand into mechanically and pacingly launching myriads of "flankers"; with the exception of slight differences between the original range itself (eau de toilette vs eau de parfum vs parful roll-on vs Musk For Her oil) and the masculine counterpart issued one year ago, they have restrained themselves into an elegant rhythm which I respect.

Essence, Rodriguez's newest feminine fragrance, didn't grab me as much as Narciso For Her initially did, but that doesn't mean it is a bad fragrance; on the contrary it has a strangely insidious, undercurrent appeal of being made by very skilled hands who were given a not-too-precise-brief and although I am snobishly trying to write it off as repetitive and trite, I can't really. In Essence Rodriguez collaborated again with Beauté Prestige International, the Paris-based fragrance division of the Shiseido Cosmetics Corporation, aiming to capture a "sensual and luminous fragrance with a modern heart of musc enhanced by radiant notes of rose petals, powder notes of iris and hints of amber resulting in a floral, powdery musc fragrance". It doesn't sound terribly exciting, it utilizes the same well-known notes that Narciso Rodriguez obviously loves and I bet that the Spanish-born perfumer Alberto Morillas of Firmenich ~at once a classicist and a modernist and amazingly prolific in his almost 40-years-long career~ could have provided the formula with both hands tied behind his back and blindfolded at the drop of a hat! A recipient of numerous awards, among them the coveted Prix Francois Coty in 2003, Alberto Morillas is responsible for such bestsellers as Armani's Sensi and Aqua di Gio, Bulgari Blu, Omnia and Thé Blanc, Carolina Herrera Chic and 212, Cartier's Le Baiser du Dragon , M7 for YSL, Marc Jacobs Daisy and of course another huge influence on the market: Flower by Kenzo. The man knows how to attract the audience's loyalty, therefore enough said.

The overall effect of Narciso Rodriguez Essence is a clean unctuous almost soapy/aldehydic scent with classical mementos of White Linen minus some of the sharpness and Chanel No.5 minus the sweet florals or the skanky sexiness of lacy panties underneath prim suits, yet with an eerily reminiscent warm-skin-feel that the original Narciso for Her possessed as well. The clean musks featured, with their lathery bubbliness, have their lineage in Morillas's 212 and Daisy, while the powdery segment takes a page off Flower. Little development happens from the initial dryer-sheet sharply aliphatic and abstractly floral opening to the polite muskiness skin-like effect of probably Ambroxan*, (wishful-thinking) Muscenone** and Habanolide**. For what is worth the current modern white musk accord was first created by Alberto Morillas himself in Emporio Armani White for Her (combining Habanolide to Helvetolide**) and he used Muscenone in both Flower and Vanille 44 for niche brand Le Labo. The whole pared-down approach reminds me of the Escentric Molecules line. Although the powdery hazy effect is often attributed to iris, I do not detect any of its melancholic earthiness in the composition, same as with Infusion d'Iris by Prada which utilized a similar approach to the upscale-shampoo-latheriness vibe which seems to be all the rage now (judging by even such offerings as Chanel's Beige from Les Exclusifs). Luckily for the anosmiacs to Narciso For Her it seems to be rather different, enough to maybe give a jolt to their hypothalamus and be discernable to them.

Rodriguez wanted Essence to represent duality: "the intense and the ethereal, the simple and the complex" with an emphasis on "sun's purity" which reminds me of the "solar musks" accord of his first feminine perfume. I guess it's shorthand for "clean and warm" which Essence most certainly is. Lovers of that unperfume-y aspect as well as adventurers of all things delicately musky should flock to at least try it, the rest might find it non remarkable or even unpleasant in its screechy soapy tonalities which overstay their welcome impressively. It's pleasant enough for people into that genre, quite unisex and rather fun (for the price asked) to wear when that Sunday in flannels comes around once in a while, although not as enjoyably fulfilling as the original Narciso for Her is.

The bottle glows from within its mirrored core, round in its glass curvaceousness, created by noted industrial designer Ross Lovegrove (recipient of the prize Royal Designer for Industry in 2004 and art-exhibitor at MOMA and Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris as well as the Design Museum in London). The eye-catching design is almost a futuristic, rounded interpretation of the original solid and austere Narciso For Her flacon.
The advertising campaign shot by the lens of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin
features supermodel Catherine MacNeil to whom Narciso "was drawn to instinctively".

Notes for Narciso Rodriguez Essence:
iris, rose, benzoin, modern musks


Narciso Rodriguez Essence is available in Eau de Parfum 50ml/1.7oz and 100ml/3.4oz exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue from March and globally in April.
Ancilary products include a body lotion, a bath and shower cream and a deodorant spray.

Ad pic via fibre2fashion.com , soap courtesy of sassylicious.com.au

*Abroxan is a synthetic aromachemical mimicking the ambergris sensuous note.
**Muscenone, Habanolide, Helvetolide are gtrademark names for different varieties of synthetic musks.

STR8 to the movies

Of all the very successful commercials of the Sarantis Group for their fragrances (C-THRU, B.U., Xpose etc) the ones which made more of an impression to me due to their very cinematic and sensuous nature are the ones for the masculine fragrance STR8 (ie. straight), titillating without being vulgar and with small details that make them a little "story" in themselves.

The constants are cars, American "heavy" cars in particular with their big skeleton of steel, expanses of skin mapped like roads, darkness and light, liquid drops oozing like pearls and teeth (mechanical and otherwise) gnawing on soft parts...

The first one set the tone under the haunting notes of Motorpsycho's Stalemate with its rhytmic staccato echoing the editing "cuts".



The one to follow had a gothic-vampiric feel seen through the masterful direction of Eric Barbier and the jazzy ambience of The room by Sillyboy.



The newest one makes the very American Kerouak's On the Road take a whole new dimension with the long-winded J.Butterfly from the longplay "From One Human Being To Another" by Mourah.



All clips originally uploaded on Youtube.

Much ado about Nothing in the End: Terracotta Sous Le Vent by Guerlain

Let me preface this post by saying that I am not inferring that the products in themselves are "much ado about nothing" because I haven't even tried them yet, but that the clamor and furore over the supposed "sacrilege" by Guerlain of mixing names etc. producing the upteenth flanker were exactly that, in this particular case: a bubble that burst!

It turns out as spring and summer makeup collections roll around that the above mentioned Terracotta Sous Le Vent was nothing more than part of the skincare products belonging to the beautifying tanning/makeup line of famous "Terracotta", responsible for a couple generations equating it with "chic in the sun". Definitely NOT a new flanker fragrance, then! Not meant to reprise any element of the classic Sous Le Vent, now part of Il Etait une Fois line at the boutique Guerlain, either. We had been wrestling the cause for nothing (on this particular case at least, because it's worth fighting on other products of the brand).
The Dry Oil below is included to give some hint as to how the corresponding Mist might be smelling as well; the official PR machine at Guerlain via Isabelle Rousseau likens the smell of the Mist vaguely to the lily-spicy-baked Terracotta Voile d'été (created in 1999 by Jean-Paul Guerlain as a limited edition and reprised in Quand Vient L'été for Les Parisiennes exclusive line). Heavily diluted, then, I presume. And the Sous le Vent moniker is only mentioned to evoke the exotics of the islands of the Carribean thus grouped.

Here are the relevant details courtesy of temptalia:

"Terracotta Eau sous le Vent Soothing Moisturizing Mist $55.00 (in the pic on the left)
A delicious mist that improves hydration in the skin and amplifies the tan while enchanting the senses with a sun-soaked scent. Its refreshing texture is enriched with a vegetable protein to bathe the skin in softness and protect against the dryness and heat of summer. Moisture levels in the skin are increased up to 35% as the Tan Booster complex simultaneously works to enhance and prolong your tan day after day.
Terracotta Huile du Voyageur Nourishing Dry Oil SPF 8 $59.00 (in the pic on the right)
Sensuous and nourishing this silky-light, dry oil leaves the skin with a divinely smooth and luscious finish. The lightly perfumed scent of the Tiare flower immediately takes you to an exotic, faraway paradise while the oil’s Tan Booster Technology and Roucou, a reddish-brown vegetable pigment, intensify the golden colour of your skin. The soft, satin finish is radiantly accented with an iridescent veil made of golden mother-of-pearl particles".

Just to be fair...

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: Guerlain news, reviews and discussion

C-Thru fragrances et al from Sarantis Group: some musings

Many of you must have seen the new advertisements and editorials on the newly exported fragrance line C-Thru in Allure magazine and been wondering about them. The line comprises of identically shaped/designed bottles in different shades with various gemstone names corresponding to different scents. As they have been produced by the Greek company Sarantis for quite a few years I am in a position to let you know that they're competently made but rather derivative of well-known styles of fragrances that are popular, offering a low-budget solution of a twist yet without them being dupes. After all, their motto is "great brands for every day".
C-Thru of course stands for See Through which evokes both the diaphanous packaging but also -subliminally- the showcasing of one's personality through their scent choice and the fantasy taking flight via choosing a personal fragrance, as if our eyes "see through" a story. I think the name choice for the line is quite clever, actually!




The Greek-aired commercials featured Andriana Sklenarikova-Karembeu, extremely popular in Greece because her footballer husband had at the time signed a contract with a Greek football team and thus Andriana was a common sight in the fields and the streets of Athens. Comparatively the US-airing commercials are less "sharp" and more "romantic".
The line consists of gem-named fragrances in Eau De Toilette 75ml, Eau De Toilette 30ml, Deodorant Body Spray 100ml and Natural Spray 75ml.
The company urges us to "Discover...
...the purity and fascination of water in Aqua Marine,
...the warmth and nobility in Ruby
...the sparkling light in Emerald
...the vitality and beauty in Amethyst
...the ultimate love and eternity in Black Diamond
...and the purity and luminocity in Pearl Garden".

Sarantis has never been short of budgeting nor attention given towards their advertising, producing small "films" that have actually a story-line and recognisable frontmen, judging by their B.U. (ie. Be You) fragrance line especially (a comparable project with mass-market fragrances encased in tin cans looking shiny and bright on the drugstore aisles), when they hired local pop-sensation Sakis Rouvas to front their commercials, quite memorably.



And they had also the good instincts to hire Christina Aguilera for their more "out there" fragrance line Xpose (with the characteristic netting on the bottles recalling both fishermen's nets and spider webs, entangling men).



From a marketing point of view, the expansion into the very competitive market of the US, especially in terms of drugstore and mass-distribution (let's not forget the giants Bath & Body Works and Coty), is well-timed. Sarantis has striken when the drop in consumers' buying power is directing them to 'combustible' products that do not present a huge commitment but brighten their day a bit with their optimism. The fragrances are shiny, fun, and tongue-in-cheek enough and I bet they seem completely exotic due to their origin to the average American consumer. Are they really that exotic smell-wise? Not really. The company kept that characteristic Mediterranean touch for their Olympic products called Olympic Spirit commemorating the Athens Olympics of 2004, which are now sadly quite rare to get.

But my favourite commercials were shot for a masculine fragrance: to follow on the next post!

Clips originally uploaded on Youtube.

L'Occitane for Spring: Rose Nuit de Mai and Fleurs du Pecher

L'Occitane en Provence, the small French brand with the trademark provencial touch, famous for their skincare as well as their aromatic products, is welcoming spring with two tempting fragrances in their familiar country-chic style: Rose Nuit de Mai and Fleurs de Pêcher (Peach Blossom) to reflect two different moods or two different personalities.
Both scents will come with an assortment of ancilary products apart from the standard Eau de Toilette promising to holistically complete the experience.

Rose Nuit de Mai, set to launch in May 2009, is composed by Alexis Dadier (best known for his Mugler creations A travers le Miroir and Miroir des Vanites). Rose Nuit de Mai faitful to its mysterious name encompasses delicate wild roses and fresh May roses (Rose de Mai/Centifolia Rose), coupled with violets, black currant and cinnamon, to add floral, fresh and spicy accents to the fragrance. The base is composed by the warm trail of vanilla, sandalwood and cedar, while the overall character is deeply floral-woody and a little of an enigma to unravel.
Available in Eau de Toilette 75ml, a bath creme and shimmering body lotion as well as Rose Nuit de Mai Intense Roll On 10ml for the purse.

Fleurs de Pêcher on the other hand is a solar scent of a happy disposition, featuring succulent white peach, peony, almond and lemon tonalities over a woodsy-powdery base for when we want to feel insouciant and let our hair down.
Available in Eau de Toilette 50ml and 100ml as well as an accompanying skincare range, lip balm and candle for the home.


Pics via Fragrantica and Osmoz