In an interview she gives to Brendan O'Connor (a professed lover of scent, judging by his wearing of Chanel Bel Respiro), alongside the watching eye of Steve Mormoris, vice president of Global Marketing for Coty, Kate Moss talks about her newest fragrance after Kate (2007), Velvet Hour (2008) and Kate Summer Time (2009). It's called Vintage to reflect her love for old things "that have stories" and her whole aesthetic.
Hot on the heels of her Some Velvet Morning cover, the Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra song she recorded with Primal Scream, Kate has embraced her love for vintage even in perfumes. For this foray into fragrance collaboration woth Coty she went for the softer side, not her party side, she reveals, reflecting a classier aim. The perfume was developed by Olivier Polge and includes notes of pink pepper, freesia, mandarin, heliotrope, jasmine, almond blossom, tonka bean, vanilla and musk. (notes via NST) One could of course argue that that list reads nothing like Vintage, more like another increment in the vast array of modern compositions. Still, Kate Moss Vintage is a fruity floriental, which according to the writer is "a little bit cooler and less overwhelmingly flowery than some other personality-driven perfumes. It comes in a very cool bottle and the whole package is very Kate Moss. It's the Rolling Stones in the Sixties meets Ladbroke Grove punk meets Wicklow trustafarian. It's an afghan coat and butterflies and a glass of champagne"...
Read the whole article on the Independent.ie clicking here And here is the TV commercial directed by leading British artist and photographer Katerina Jebb, featuring her "scanning" technique. Music is taken from Nocturne Op.9 no.1 in B flat Minor by Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. You can call that timeless, for sure!
Photo of Kate Moss via fashionindie.com, bottle pic via shoppingblog.com
It is not unusual to hear the Middle Ages considered as the age of the Great Unwashed or to think that Western Europe had by that time ceased to partake of the pleasures of perfume and aromatic components used for reasons of well-being, aesthetic advancement and spiritual therapy completely. Nothing is further from the truth, which we will try to clarify with this article on fragrance history.
It is often mentioned that the Middle East and Islam in particular were the harbingers of perfumes in the Dark Ages. It's certainly true that during the 7th and 8th centuries A. D. the Arabs engaged in extensive marine commerce with India and China, focusing on spices and aromatics, supplying them to the luxurious courts of the caliphs and the Byzantine emperors. Empress Zoë, in the Christian stronghold of Constantinople, emplyed court perfumers and indulged in fine scents. However we would be mistaken to thus "interpret" the torch-being-held by the Middle East for that time-frame, which would on first thought seem logical because of their scientific advancements (indeed revolutionary in many scientific fields). For example, Avicenna was accredited with revolutionising the plants distillation process by introducing a refrigerated coil, therefore rendering the production of aromatic floral waters and essentials possible for a greater variety of plants, including rose. However archaeological evidence proves that plants were certainly distilled before this time in history and that the tradition had been kept in the west ~as archived through manuscripts, industriously being copied in...western monasteries, of all places!
Aromatic bathswere taken, during those dark times, for medical, spiritual or even merely aesthetic reasons with various essences; and in fact the practice was not restricted only to nobility. Herbalists such as Hildegarde of Bingen and the author of Banckes' herbal recommended them. The strong smell of valerian musk and civet were quite popular as well, probably because they had the power to obliterate other offensive smells in the urban environment (which, due to inadequate plumping or garbage collecting, was thickened with the inevitable pong of the living) As far back as the 14th century there are texts mentioning these practices involving water and soap and other scented products:
"Without permitting anyone else to lay a hand on him, the lady herself washed Salabaetto all over with soap scented with musk and cloves. She then had herself washed and rubbed down by the slaves. This done, the slaves brought two fine and very white sheets, so scented with roses that they seemed like roses; the slaves wrapped Salabaetto in one and the lady in the other and then carried them both on their shoulders to the bed . . . They then took from the basket silver vases of great beauty, some of which were filled with rose water, some with orange water, some with jasmine water, and some with lemon water, which they sprinkled upon them." ~Boccaccio's Decameron, 14th century
Scented tablets for perfuming are also documented as being a recipe for olfactory delight:
"Two pounds of rose water and a pound of citrus blossom water, a pound of benzoin and half of balsam, an ounce of amber and half of musk, a quarter of civet [musk]. All together and ground, put it with the water in a flask, and put the flask on the fire over some embers. Stir it with a stick and cook until it reduces three parts [from?] one. And when it is reduced, remove the paste from that and make it [into tablets], if you wish tablets, and if not, keep it thus in paste" ~Manual de Mujeres, anonymous 16th century text in Spanish.[1]
Medieval people also made practical use of pleasurably scented herbs to discourage vermin and protect their clothes and linen. Tansy against flies; mint against ants; wormwood against mice; lavender and southernwood against moths (southernwood was so potent it was called garde robe, i.e. protector of garments); pennyroyal againts fleas and camphor as a general preventive means. By the 16th century there are literally hundreds of recipes for aromatic preparations for perfuming. Tome upon tome contained formulae for aromatizing clothes, linens and personal belongings as well as human skin. Bulleins Bulwarke (1562) includes this formula:
"Three pounds of Rose water, cloves, cinnamon, Sauders [sandalwood], 2 handful of the flowers of Lavender, lette it stand a moneth to still in the sonne, well closed in a glasse; Then destill it in Balneo Marial. It is marvellous pleasant in savour, a water of wondrous swetenes, for the bedde, whereby the whole place, shall have a most pleasaunt scent" [2].
The Menagier de Paris hands down a recipe for drying roses to put among clothes:
"Roses from Provence are the best to put in clothing, but they should be dried, and in mid-August sift them over a screen so that the worms fall through the screen, and then spread them in your clothes."
The same opus also suggests ideas for hand-washing waters for the table (a widespread practice, usually water with rose or violet petals in it or infused with herbs):
"To make water for washing hands at table: Boil sage, then strain the water and cool it until it is a little more than lukewarm. Or use chamomile, marjoram, or rosemary boiled with orange peel. Bay leaves are also good". [3]
In Hugh Platt's Delights for Ladies (1594) there is this formula for "sweet water":
"To make a special sweet water to perfume clothes in the folding being washed. Take a quart of Damaske-Rose-Water and put it into a glasse, put unto it a handful of Lavender Flowers, two ounces of Orris, a dram of Muske, the weight of four pence of Amber-greece [ambergris], as much Civet, foure drops of Oyle of Clove, stop this close, and set it in the Sunne a fortnight: put one spoonfull of this Water into a bason of common water and put it inot a a glasse and so sprinkle your clothes therewith in your folding: the dregs, left in the bottome (when the water is spent) will make as much more, if you keepe them, and put fresh Rose water to it". [4]
And on and on right till the Queen's Closet Opened in the next century...Elizabethans in particular, long before the Victorian "language of flowers", kept scented nosegays terming them 'tuzzy-muzzy' as far back as 1500! (and even older, going by the Oxford English Dictionary)
On the whole, Medieval times are grossly misunderstood by the general public, perhaps due to their unfortunate emphasis on didactical, pontificating religion which seems so backwards to our modern minds: In all reality the people were not as barbarian or underdeveloped as generally thought of! Especially through the Romanesque and Gothic eras people were significantly cleaner compared to the Enlightenment era of the 18th century!
Renaissance is briefly saved by the grace of its profligation of the arts in regard to the general public's perception of bathing and perfuming rituals. Still, it is customary to begin the iterations of perfume history in pamphlets, advertising copy of perfume firms and even serious books solely by the mention of Catherine de Medici and her introduction of Florentine fragrancing methods via her perfumer to the French Court. The latter certainly was the stepping stone to the culmination of Grasse into the fragrant producing capital of Europe but it is not the whole story!
The real reason that a somewhat diminished supply of aromatics and perfumes happened in Western Europe at some point is much more prosaic than philosophical anathematisation of the "corrupt" powers of perfumes: Namely, the loss of the monopoly of the Venetian Republic of the products of the Spice & Silk Route, till then the sole purveyor under gold-sealed agreements with all the powers of the time in exchange for ports protection against other enemies by its mighty fleet. The Mediterranean commerce was conducted principally by Italian cities during the Middle Ages:. Bari, Salerno, Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi reigning above them all, all prominent during the 10th and 11th centuries AD, while Pisa and Venice became the ruling city-states during the 12th to 15th century while conducting the Levant commerce. Acre on the Palestine coast was the most important harbour for scented products ~incidentally the last city in the Holy Land held by the Christians (falling to the Mohammedans in 1291)~, Famagusta on Cyprus, and, Lajazza on the bay of Alexandretta (a junction port for Western and Eastern commerce); they all strongheld the precious commodities which Europe was paying heavily to partake of. However there is an interim between the loss of Venice's might in economic and trade issues (in part due to the Crusades ~which destabilised the status quo in the Eastern Mediterranean, but also brought back copious aromatics to the west~ as well as to the regeneration of the trade by the Byzantins who claimed part of trafficking such precious materials themselves under the Komnene Dynasty) and the discovery of alternative navigating routes bypassing the Mediterranean ~le fin du voyage for the above mentioned ancient routes of the trade with the East~ when the Portugese circumnavigated Africa in 1498 and conquered Ormuz). These factors briefly left Western Europe with a diminished supply of the scented commodities, yet with increased amounts shortly thereafter, by their very fluent nature.
Despite the constant ebb and flow of the perception of perfume as either a holy commodity or alternatively an unethical, even dangerous, substance through history, it is interesting to note that the dissent to the use of eastern-brought perfumes first arose among ancient Greek society and philosophical circles. The confrontation was poised on the cultural antithesis with the East as a place of unharnessed luxury and ethically-corrupting abundance, tied to their despotic governments: The Spartan values of the Greeks and their strong belief in the freedom of the individual within a law-abiding state, where even the rulers are bound by laws, were considered their cultural and moral supremacy over eastern people and the reason that they had alone remained free from imperialistic attacks (such as the one by the Persians). This is why Socrates said that "using perfume made free men smell the same as slaves" (i.e. a free man is not a "slave" to pleasures and material goods). Few adhered to his words, nevertheless. There was also an economical reason: As the expenses of using pyre aromatics imported by Arabia was so high in his time (so widespread was their use), one of the 7 wise men of antiquity and law-maker of Athens, Solon, had to abolish their use by law. Later they caught on again with a vengeance, especially at the time of Alexander the Great when the fusion of cultures was the vision of the legendary Greek leader.
It increasingly looks like practical reasons are hiding behind any relative diminuation of perfume use in Western Europe in the Middle Ages rather than an ideological aversion to its use. The relationship between man (and woman) and scent is truly indestructible!
Ref: [1]The Manual de Mujeres via Cervantesvirtual, translation by Dana Huffman [2][4]quoted by Jacqueline Hériteau, Potpourris and other Fragrant Delights, Penguin 1978 [3]edited & translated by Tania Bayard
Pic credits: Girl bathing on the Luttrell Psalter from East Anglia c.1325-1335 (via imagesonline.bl.uk) Bains mixtes from The Romance of Alexander c.1388-1344 in the Bodleyan library 264 via home.adelphi.edu, Catherine de Medici attributed to François Clouet via wysinfo.com and Venetian canals via wysinfo.com.
Whenever I break open a big, heavy pomegranate (Punica granatum), admiring the scattering of its brilliant, wine-coloured tangy-tasting seeds, I can't help but cast my mind to the myth of Persephone and Hades, the chthonian deities forever linked with this autumnal aromatic feast. Its name deriving from the Latin (pomum for apple ~meelo in Greek~ and granatus for seeded, resulting in the Italian melograno) reminds us that, like apples, this is another fruit that is forever associated with tales of darkness, corruption, death and rebirth.
In Greek, pomegranate is called ρόδι (RHO-thee) which is extremely close in both sound and sight to ρόδο (RHO-tho, i.e. rose) ~indeed its proud russet colour reminds me of scarlet roses that hide thorns and shadows beneath their flamboyant beauty.
The pathways which introduced pomegranate to the Aegean were the same as the ones that brought the goddess whom the Anatolians worshipped as Cybele and the Mesopotamians as Ishtar (namely what became Aphrodite...). The cult of Persephone however (or Kore or Cora ~young maiden~, as she was celebrated in the Eleusianian Mysteries of ancient Greece along with her mother Demeter, the secret initiatory mystery rites of regeneration at Eleusis) traces a darker path of death and rebirth, the same path that nature seems to go through with the turning of the seasons. While Hesiodus in his Theogony considers her a daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest) and Zeus, other scholars ~among them Gunther Zuntz (1973)~ attribute the cult of Persephone to a continuation of Neolithic or Minoan Earth Mother goddess-worship. Walter Burkert includes that "reading" of this archetype in his definitive Greek Religion (1985). Mythology expert Karl Kerenyi went as far as to identify Persephone with the "mistress of the labyrinth" at the Minoan palace of Knossos in Bronze Age Crete (circa 1700BC)!
In ancient writers she is the parthenogenic daughter of Demeter, recalling shades of other deities who sprang through an immaculate conception, such as Athena and Jesus. The philosopher Plato on the other hand calls her Pherepapha (Φερέπαφα, from the Greek words φέρω ~to bring~ and επαφή ~touch) in his Cratylus, "because she is wise and touches that which is in motion". The Romans took the name from the Greco-cities of the Italian peninsula southernmost extremity as Proserpine (Προσερπινη, Proserpinē) and borrowed her cult as Proserpina. It is under that guise that Persephone inspired the artists of the European Renaissance, when classical antiquity was revisited with a vengeance. It is enough to cast our eyes to the paintings of the Great Masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli to admire the pomegranate into scenes of sunset-drenched beauty.
But perhaps the most popular myth concerning Persephone, the one that ties her with the autumnal crepuscule into winter and the flamboyant pomegranate, is the one about Persephone's abduction by the dark prince of the underworld, Hades or Pluto, brother of both Zeus and Poseidon: "As she was gathering flowers with her playmates in a meadow, the earth opened and Hades, god of the dead, appeared and carried her off to be his queen in the world below. ... Torch in hand, her sorrowing mother sought her through the wide world, and finding her not, she forbade the earth to put forth its increase. So all that year not a blade of corn grew on the earth, and men would have died of hunger if Zeus had not persuaded Hades to let Persephone go. However, before he let her go Hades persuaded her eat three seeds of a pomegranate, and thus she could not stay away from him forever. So it was arranged that she should spend two-thirds (according to later authors, one-half) of every year with her mother and the heavenly gods, and should pass the rest of the year with Hades beneath the earth.... As wife of Hades, she sent spectres, ruled the ghosts, and carried into effect the curses of men." (source: Encyclopedia Britannica) The pomegranate became her inextricable tie with the world of the dead, the somber world of shadows. In a patriarchal reading of the myth, the abduction becomes the motif of marriage, the submission of the primordial female to the male, reminding us of the comparable survival of that theme in the Abduction of the Sabines tale by the Romans. The demise of the earth-worshipping of the mother goddess in the now industrialised city of Eleusis, near Athens, is what inspired the Greek composer Manos Hatjidakis and Greek poet Nikos Gatsos to come up with this ritualistic lament named "Persephone's Nightmare" (sung by Maria Farantouri); its somber introductory bars of music a homage to the fragmented ancient classical Greek music:
"There, where mystics joined hands reverently on entering the sacrificial site, now tourists throw tab ends and gaze at the new oil refinery. Sleep Persephone in earth's embrace, to this world's balcony come out no more"
It is no coincidence that in today's Greek culture the offerings to which all participants partake in the Christian Orthodox memorials of the dead still consist of agricultural products, in the form of a sweet named κόλυβα (KO-lee-vah); made of boiled shredded wheat, cast sugar, various nuts and raisins and indeed ...pomegranate seeds! A small pagan homage to Persephone who sealed her fate by tasting the fruit of the underworld. It is assumed that like her, the connection of the dead with the living will be possible. But it's also a reminder of the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, the pomegranate being a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and his resurrection, finding its way into religious decoration liturgical vestments and hangings as well as art, such as this Madonna of the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli. In a reverse case of exorcising the spirits of the other side, another Greek custom enacted on New Year's Day, demands that the first person to step into a home bringing the tenants luck (what's called ποδαρικό from the Greek word for foot, πόδι) crashes a ripe pomegranate with their right foot: the scattered seeds are respresenting the flooding of good things to come. Like the Qur'an says, pomegranates are among the good things the merciful God creates!
Fragrances with pomegranate notes are delightful for this time of the year when the fruit is in season: From the darkish, mysterious Pomegranate Noir by Jo Malone and the arrestingly unusual Grenates by Keiko Mecheri with its angelica running thread, to the more standard-fruity-juicy Euphoria by Calvin Klein and Tropical Punch by Escada, pomegranate scents run the gamut all the way to the incensy Melograno by Santa Maria Novella. The lists includes Moschino's Couture, the elegant Ferré Rosé, Tocca's subtle Touch and the spicy-cuminy oriental Aziyadé by Parfum d'Empire . Others yet reference the scarlet beads as grenadine: In Baby Doll by Yves Saint Laurent it is married it to complimentary bittersweet grapefuit, in Ma Dame by Gaultier it's used as a neon accent in a flashy composition and in Heiress by Paris Hilton, well...it alludes to her cocktails sipping activities, I guess.
Today pomegranates are cherished for their complex textural and aromatic nuances ranging from the peppery to the lightly tangy all the way to the nectarous sweet and for the bright juice they bring into several recipes: One of these embodiments takes the role of grenadine, the name of a fruit syrup popular in Gallic cultures, originally made from pomegranates (the French word for pomegranate being grenade), used as a cordial and in numerous cocktails as well as in a number of Iranian recipes. Hence also comes the name of one of the most majestic cities of Spain, the regal Granada! One of the most delicious uses of pomegranate syrup in cooking is in muhammara, a roasted red pepper, walnut and garlic spread consumed in Turkey and Syria, while the Azeri people of Goychay, Azerbaijan devote a whole festival to the fruit's charms drenching them in wine and dance.
If you want to try pomegranates in an easy and aromatically titilating dish, I recommend you my personal recipe for Pomegranate Seed Salad:
You will need some young lettuce leaves (preferably bought when it's very cold so they "hold" and are crunchy), a peeled apple (I prefer Starkins), a heavy pomegranate, extra virgin olive oil and aceto balsamico di Modena. Chop the apple in small pieces, wash and cut the lettuce leaves in thin slices in a plate and sprinkle over the two the pomegranate seeds, the ensuing juice that drips from the fruit. Finally drizzle the whole with olive oil and balsamico to your taste. Serves 2. Extremely yummilicious, visually welcoming and quite filling! Bon appetit!
Pomegranate photo via and painting of The return of Persephone by Fred Leighton and Madonna with the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli, all via Wikimedia Commons. Photo of Pomegranate Seed Salad by Elena Vosnaki (click to enlarge)
We are hosting a giveaway of two full bottles of CK Free, the newest Calvin Klein fragrance, courtesy of their promo company. Simply enter a comment you'd like to be included and we will pick two winners. (Contest is reserved to US residents, only*)
If I were to review the brand, Calvin Klein fragrances have gone through an arch, I notice: from the provocative/innovative (Obsession for men and for women, CKOne and CKBe, last one my personal pick for great visuals and nice musk scent) to the mainstream (Contradiction, Euphoria, Crave, CKIn2 and their respective progeny), all through the surprisingly nice (Truth). These are seperate continents with nothing but vast expanses of water to separate them: There is no cohesive glue sticking them together, no matter how acute your Magellan abilities are. Simply put, there is no single "Calvin Klein style"(no Calvinade, if you please) which makes every one of them something of a bet when choosing. I have noticed that Europeans have a higher regard than Americans for the brand, probably due to the syndrome of "no one's a prophet in their homeland", which is interesting to think about. Then again they did combine innovation and surpreme marketability in their CKOne more than a decade ago, got to give them that, I suppose. Since Calvin has disassociated himself from the house the path has been taken from the off-piste to the middle of the road.
The newest CKFree is a guy's scent for guys who don't really want to be edgy or provocative, just smell nice and fresh in the "just showered" sort of way with a splash of cooling spicy/gin&tonic accent in there. There is also a microscopic smoother woody element, which is completely inoffesive. If you're after an office scent or a gym scent or a scent for whatever activity will have you around other guys who want to smell nice and are appreciative of that quality on their peers, then you're set.
The scent is fronted by model Jaime Dornan (who also starred in Dior commercials, I'm reminding you) and well...with a face like that, one can recite off the telephone book and someone somewhere is going to pay attention! (Good choice marketing & advertising team guys!) I wish they'd go back to the agent provocateur visuals which we had celebrated in our Advertising Series here, though...Oh and nice packaging from what I see.
More information clicking here (the playlist includes such classic favourites as It's a beautiful day by U2 and Freedom by George Michael ~all with the word "free" in the lyrics in there, someone was toiling on Lyricsfreak for this). In classic high-tech age mode there is also a Twitter page, for those interested. But the catch in my humble opinion is this feature on the website which allows you to see the best places "to live free" via Google Maps.
Notes for CK Free: Top: Thailand star anise, jackfruit, absinthe, juniper berry Heart: suede, tobacco leaves, coffee absolute, South African buchu Base: patchouli absolute, oakwood, texan cedarwood, costa rican ironwood
*NB the bottles will be sent to winners directly from the company in the USA and not myself, as I am stationed in Europe.
...for the Le Cherche Midi gift set of candles is Samantha D and for the Le Cherche Midi complete fragrances samples set is Zazie. Congrats and please mail me using the email on profile with your shipping addresses so I can send these out to you!
Thanks everyone for the participation and till the next one!
Fans of the definitive girly brand Hello Kitty by Sanrio ~and there are many~ will be delighted to find that after children's fragrances and millions of accessories, a new (pink) juice for adults (debatable...) under the name Hello Kitty Woman is launching under the aegis of Koto Parfums. Composed by Corinne Cachen, this new gourmand is based on the preference of the creator on candied red apples: The glossy sugar exterior hiding freshness inside, created by hesperidic notes of grapefruit, is also featuring notes of licorice which remind Cachen of her childhood, as well as raspberry and musk.
The kawaii packaging in white and rose will have Japanese young ladies all amok, I predict! Just what we needed I guess, another pink fruity floral! But well, fans of the kitschy kitten aren't to be trifled with. Have you seen their guns???
Available in 50ml/1.7oz and 100ml/3.4oz for 48 euros and 68 euros respectively at 80 Marrionaud in France, whereas beginning of December 2009 Hello Kitty Woman will expand into larger international markets.
With personal objects from Malle's collection and art deco exteriors hiding the futuristic "smelling columns" that were popularised for the ultimate sniffing experience in his other shops, the first free-standing F.Malle boutique in New York is reality. His 18 fragrances composed by some of the star-perfumers of today along with his new home fragrances collection (which we highlighted previously on this article) are waiting for the takers.
"Frédéric Malle’s new Upper East Side store — his first free-standing location in the states — is much like his fragrances: refined and multilayered. Nestled in a former doctor’s office at 898 Madison Avenue, the jewel-box boutique was designed by the French architect Patrick Naggar, who drew inspiration from the building’s storied Art Deco exterior."
Radiant, yet weightless, Tiare radiates the sharp, bright light one notices reflected on sunny days in the northern extremities of the Northern Hemisphere rather than the tropical beaches evoked by the name (coming as it does from the national emblem of Tahiti). Possessing an arresting optimistic streak of intense hesperidic notes ~lime and mandarin~ along with shimmering, diamond-like florals in the heart, the composition of Tiare projects with an unexpected verdancy and a scintillating aldehydic shimmer akin to sipping champagne on ice. In its way a discombobulating fragrance, but all in the best possible sense!
With the citrus touches, the (unmentioned) lily of the valley sweetly-piercing floralcy, and the delightful white florals (green jasmine and a subtle budding gardenia/tiare note) underpinned by a mossy-woody base I feel I ought to be out hopping along in a brightly reddish-coloured tartan skirt, getting the kind of frivolous and topsy-turvy fun we see in 50s and 60s black & white photographs that requires a cunningly naughty (gay?) male friend, a well-decked bank account and a big dollop of sentir bien dans sa peau. The amazing thing about Ormonde Jayne's Tiare is that it manages to give that feeling even if you do not possess any of the above, instantly putting you in the brightest mood as if the world is your personal buffet and you're choosing your hors d'oeuvres with gusto!
Linda Pilkington, the founder and creator of Ormonde Jayne, has used Tiare Absolute from Tahiti (extracted in Tahiti, refined in the US and furthermore in France before it reaches the OJ studio in London). The process is labour-intensive: the Tiare flower is hand picked whilst still unopened and laid in oil for 15 days to extract the fragrance. “From the moment I first encountered Tiare, the search was on to find the purest oil extraction. Tiare is a flower that doesn’t give up its secrets easily and it took many different incarnations, finding a subtle progression from citrus to flower, before I felt that we had an exceptional perfume.[...] Like the woman who wears Tiare, this is a perfume that totally ignores seasons and the time of day, a perfume so artfully blended and infinitely refined... but with a dash of scintillating appeal".
While talking with Linda, among other fascinating stuff, she had intimated that in her youth she had been an enthusiastic perfume wearer who mixed Diorella and Eau Sauvage. With such illustrious specimens as amulets, it's not hard to see how the best elements of both have sneaked their way into her latest creation. The initial impression of Ormonda Jayne Tiare is similar to the one I get when spraying Cristalle by Chanel, the folding of mossiness and cool grass into hesperidia. The kinship is more pronounced with Cristalle's Eau de Parfum concentration, in which the floral heart shimmers underneath the sharper elements, lending creaminess and descreet sensuality. In Tiare the gardenia, ylang-ylang and jasmin take the role that in the former was reserved for honeysuckle, imparting a mild sweetness that never becomes too much. Another example of the delicious champagne-bubbles-feel I am getting would have been Miller Harris Fleur du Matin and lovers of either scent are strongly urged to sample Tiare. You can thank me later...The lasting power is beyond amazing, which is usual with Ormonde Jayne scents (if you notice they tend to leave a tad oily film on the skin which proves just how generously rich they are in pure essence).
What is most impressive however is that despite Cristalle's pedigree it can often come across as bookish-secretary-in-a-sterile-office which limites its romance-wearing after-hours potential, but somehow, someway Ormonde Jayne managed to bypass that and combine both worlds: the intellectual and the sensual, the upbeat and the romantic; in a word, I'm hooked and my dithyrambic isn't at all misplaced! Tiare could be panseasonal, easing its way from the coolest of winter to the humid days of summer. In fact I long to wear it on the brightest snowiest morning when all the world looks like a tabula rasa for my writing, under the silent blanket of white...
My credit card trembles with fear at the prospect of having fallen hard for its charms. So should yours!
Notes for Ormonde Jayne Tiare: Top: Mandarin, Orange Flower and Sicilian Lime Heart: Tiare, Freesia, Water Lilies, Jasmine, Orris and Ylang Ylang Base: Cedar, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Moss and Musk
Prices: £68 for Eau de Parfum 50 ml spray bottle and £ 180 for pure Parfum (50 ml with stopper). Available from The Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street , London W1S 4SL and Ormonde Jayne at Boutique 1 Jumeirah Beach , Dubai as well as online at Ormonde Jayne (worldwide shipping) from November 19th.
Photo of model Suzy Parker and Robin Tattersall in Scottish tartan wear by Richard Avedon via schukina/photobucket. Art photography by John Ralwings for Vogue (March 1943) via vsnrydrmr.com. In the interests of disclosure I was sent a sample vial from the manufacturer.
You had been saddened to find yourself bound in your own city when fragrant treasures were issued exclusively for other destinations? Now you can sigh with relief. "They are making only 25 bottles of each scent, so if you’ve been pining for the tuberose and white flower laden New York fragrance or the woody, sexy vanilla-bourbon-drenched smell of the Paris perfume Vanille 44, now’s your chance to grab a bottle, without having to travel across the world. Previously only available in the Le Labo stores for which each scent was created, the six City Exclusive fragrances are now available on luckyscent.com in limited quantity until Nov. 30". They are: Aldehyde 44 (Dallas), Vanille 44 (Paris), Gaiac 10 (Tokyo), Musc 25 (Los Angeles), Poivre 23 (London), and Tubereuse 40 (New York).
After the definitive 90s bestseller L'Eau d'Issey and the definitive 90s commercial "tank" Le Feu d'Issey (affectionately termed "Phew d'Issey" by its detractors, but rhapsodised by fragrance critic Luca Turin for its undoubted olfactory innovation), Miyake who has been held on public record saying he doesn't like perfume and never wears it, launches his third "elemental"-inspired scent. A Scent, inspired by air, no less! Much like this would seem like a joke, I assure you it is not. The fragrance is very, very pleasant if not groundbreaking and I would like to think that the inane name is merely a break-down of Ascent, denoting ascendant, a rising and optimistic sign that points to the skies above. After all, air can be charged with its own aroma, especially before and after a springtime thunderstorm! A Scent by Miyake does reprise an airy electricity-charged green smell that recalls spring mornings of crushed greenery underfoot, still holding dew on it, and it's a mystery why it was launched for the autumn-winter season. I suppose they figure it will pick up sales-wise come February, when people are sick and tired of the drab days of sleet and mud-trampled snow and will want the promise of sharp cool air in the tall grass, the touch of a dryad...
Created in collaboration with perfumer Daphné Bugey of Firmenich (who I am reminding you is responsible for those reportedly amazing Coty classics reconstructions and the mean vanilla of Kenzo Amour), designed by Arik Levy and produced by Beauté Prestige International, the Paris-based fragrance division of the Shiseido Cosmetics Corporation, A Scent had all the prerequisites to become a new "classic". Will it? Only time will tell, but it doesn't seem as original as it should for it to become so. Then again, technically neither was L'Eau d'Issey: In the aqueous ozonic stakes, drenched by gallons of Calone (the melon-fresh aroma-ingredient that characterised the decade), New West by Aramis beat it by three years coming out in as early as 1989.
Is Miyake's A Scent “a scent as simple and beautiful as the air we breathe” as purported in the ad copy? I would venture that for the average urban dweller this would be an ironic line, but let's not digress. The green notes of galbanum (nothing too bitter in this interpretation) and hyacinth, reminiscent of the re-issued Vent Vert, Guerlain's Chamade opening and Chanel No.19's verdant patches ~before the iris takes over in plush~ fold the floral heart while a lemon note echoes throughout. The core is garlanded by vivacious hints of citrusy-green notes (verbena apparently) and a carnal-devoid diaphanous jasmine. The remaining tonality is a white-musk-infused base that whimpers off skin infrequently with slightly soapy reminiscences like just showered bodies. Comparisons with Estée Lauder's Private Collection Jasmine White Mossare pretty obvious, as the same citric and green spike emerge on contact and the common lineage is none other than Chanel's Cristalle, especially in the more hesperidic-toned Eau de Toilette. Arguably however the predecessor is much more daring and stealthy, while the limited-distribution parable by Lauder is more polished and lasting (especially in the wonderful extrait de parfum), leaving A Scent in some kind of limbo state despite its surpreme wearability by both sexes.
Green chypres are becoming popular again (just contemplate Cristalle Eau Verte, a twist on the refreshing classic) and they have taken on a new mantle it seems, one of intense subtlety (there's your oxymoron!) and seeming attenuation, one of less conviction if you please. More an environmentalist-streak running through the market, rather than a "let's get back to nature" 60s song, they seem catered for the urbanite who is commuting to work with i-Pod at hand. But in a world that is almost faced with complete extinction of that venerable fragrance family I can live with that rather than hundreds of fruity-florals and fruitchoulis, I guess.
The bottle looks like a slice cut out of a block of transparent slob (jn fact it is) which is perfectly cool in its own tongue-in-cheek way (there's luxury products for you!) and fitting with the scent image.
Notes for Issey Miyake A Scent: galbanum, hyacinth, verbena, jasmine, "crystal moss" (A Firmenich patent on a mossy substitute for oakmoss)
A Scent by Miyake is available in department stores in a 5 oz Eau de Toilette ($115.00 USD), a 3.3 oz Eau de Toilette ($89.00 USD), a 1.6 oz Eau de Toilette ($65.00 USD), a 6.7 oz Moisturizing Body Lotion ($48.00 USD) and a 6.7 oz Moisturizing Shower Gel ($42.00 USD).
Tree in the form of a woman via heandfi.org, bottle pic via popsop.ru
The bestseller of Annick Goutal, the bracingly lemony Eau d'Hadrien with its refined cypress and citron accents is issued in a limited edition Noel 2009 in a precious flacon boule (ball bottle) with a butterfly top and printed gold stars. The bottle is numbered, issued in only 639 pieces around the world and signed by Camille Goutal. Additionally there is a Coffret Noel with 5 small candles of 35g each retailing for 40 euros, as well as Christmas coffrets offerings of the popular Eaux de Toilette in 50ml bottles along with the crème corps parfumée tube (100ml). Available in Un Matin d'Orage, Eau d'Hadrien and Petite Cherie. Retail price: 65 Euros for each set.
Three new candles by Diptyque come in a brilliantly coloured presentation Wycinanki, making them each a perfect Christmas stocking stuffer! The scents are: Marrons Grillés (Roasted chestnuts): The scent mixes the gasoline-like Cade and birch to the sweetness of tonka bean and vanilla. Benzoin: The benzoin essence is caressed by a charismatic patchouli and woody cypriol from India, sublimated by the darker and softwood cist, possessing the evocative power of a spellbinding journey. Sapin de Noel (Christmas Fir): Its evergreen branches, emerging green accents and air from wormwood and galbanum, are colored by the intensity of sour eucalyptus. 190g/6.5oz, 50Euros each
There is also the limited edition for Xmas 2009 Coffret d'Hiver/Winter Coffret: 3 small-size candles in a thematic black and gold sleeve. It contains Feu de Bois (logwood fire) 70g, Oranger (Orange tree)70g, and Pin Sylvestre 70g. Retails for 65 Euros.
But apart from gifts to others, they are spoiling us with suggestions on gifts for ourselves as well! Solid perfumes in a metal box with the shiny black oval Diptyque engraved intaglio are now available in L'Ombre dans l'Eau and Philosykos, two of the brand's bestsellers. Makes for purse-friendly touch-ups through the day! (and a nifty idea for travelling too) 4.5g for 30 Euros
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Hot on the heels of her Some Velvet Morning cover, the Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra song she recorded with Primal Scream, Kate has embraced her love for vintage even in perfumes. For this foray into fragrance collaboration woth Coty she went for the softer side, not her party side, she reveals, reflecting a classier aim. The perfume was developed by Olivier Polge and includes notes of pink pepper, freesia, mandarin, heliotrope, jasmine, almond blossom, tonka bean, vanilla and musk. (notes via NST) One could of course argue that that list reads nothing like Vintage, more like another increment in the vast array of modern compositions. .jpg)
Still, Kate Moss Vintage is a fruity floriental, which according to the writer is "a little bit cooler and less overwhelmingly flowery than some other personality-driven perfumes. It comes in a very cool bottle and the whole package is very Kate Moss. It's the Rolling Stones in the Sixties meets Ladbroke Grove punk meets Wicklow trustafarian. It's an afghan coat and butterflies and a glass of champagne"... 
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