Guerlain Cologne du Parfumeur: fragrance review & draw

If we lamented the course of Chanel the other day, today is Guerlain's par for the course. Although I am a fervent fan of the house and have worn almost everything ever produced with pleasure and reflective appreciation over the years, I can't warm too much towards the latest Cologne du Parfumeur, especially after the very good and very "Guerlain-feeling" Tonka Impériale which had produced a coup de foudre.
Cologne du Parfumeur comes as the latest installment in the Eaux de Cologne line of classic eaux by Guerlain and the delineating of a continuing tradition is at the heart of the launch's philosophy with a refurbishing of the bee bottles to bear the names of the perfumers who composed each of them: Following in the footsteps of L’Eau de Cologne du Coq (1894), L’Eau de Cologne Impériale (1853) and L’Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat (1920), in 2010, Thierry Wasser presents ‘Cologne du Parfumeur’, issued in May 2010, a creation that Thierry admits having originally thought of for himself.

The key note is Calabrian orange blossom intertwined with other citrus fruit. Yet this fairly classic accord also has a ‘modern twist’ thanks to green, musky and sweet facets. The designer acknowledges that it can be worn alone or layered with your usual scent (and I can totally see the latter). The practice of hereby chronicling the heritage of the house by naming each successive perfumer on the eaux bottles themselves also indicates that the more cynical amidst the perfumeland ~who have been bemoaning the LVMH takeover as the cultural ruin of Guerlain for long~ are being heard. Possibly (but not conclusively) this is also a move to assuage the negativity of the Guerlain detractors being vocal on the Net.

The fragrance however removes itself from any traditional Eau de Cologne mould, injecting an opaline green rather than distinctly herbal/aromatic touch (a hint of rosemary instead of the fuller pungent lavender and bouquet de Provence) atop a very "clean" (not tart!) orange blossom (see Yves Rocher or Prada Infusion des Fleurs d'Oranger) and a pale woody musk at the base which produced a "white" effect. But whereas the dry feel of "vegetal" musks worked superbly (and daringly) in Hermes's Eau de Gentiane Blanche, evoking white washed rocks under a hot sky and staying bitterish and insolent, Guerlain's Cologne du Parfumeur feels pale and wane in comparison, too tame & behaved for a vegetal musk, whereas too subdued and sanitized for a Mediterranean cologne; and believe me, I grew up with the latter. Like the perfumer's country of origin, this is Switzerland among perfumes: Always neutral, never engaging in exalted passions, and sometimes reminding me of the very unfair ~yet perfectly witty~ criticism of Orson Welles: "In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

But of course Thierry isn't to blame solely. Decisions are very rarely only taken in the lab! The cologne is perfectly unisex, undoubtedly pleasant, reminiscent of several familiar themes, but it doesn't really cut through the "white" gauzy net of eaux that flood the market currently, which is its major disadvantage.
Cologne du Parfumeur has average tenacity (not at all bad for a cologne) and subtle sillage, but ultimately it reinforces the idea of Guerlain's "Diorisation" after the take-over by LVMH, a plight which is not ultimately desirable by neither core fans of the brand, nor new audiences who can find catchier names and catchier marketing featured in glossies from other brands.
It is available from May 2010 on those Guerlain counters which carry the Eaux line in a redesigned bee bottle bearing a label with the perfumer's name on it.
Please note the moniker "Les Exclusifs" under the Guerlain name and funnily enough...the French definitive article before the name Cologne (i.e. La Cologne).

Notes for Guerlain Cologne du Parfumeur:
Citrus, Amalfi lemon, African orange blossom, rosemary, mint, lavender, musk.

I was honoured to be sent a generous preview decant from a very dear friend and in appreciation of their kind offer I am extending one sample to a lucky reader. State your interest in the comments! Draw will remain open till Wednesday 8th June midnight.

Read another view by Octavian. Illustration via getnouveau.com

Chanel Chance Eau Tendre: fragrance review

It's always a frightful day when a respected brand falls down from the skies into the puddles of stagnant water in the pedestrian crossing. The introduction might seem dramatic, but it is necessitated. Chanel has so far benefited from a lofty image, a steel-handed management thanks to the Wertheimer brothers and an in-house perfumer, Jacques Polge, who has steered the house into a more or less coherent direction for decades. But it seems that this course has lately diverted: The two flankers of Chance, Chance Eau Fraiche and now Chance Eau Tendre alongside a couple of forgettable masculines, show clearly that Chanel takes into consideration the market angle more than it is getting blame for.

In the case of Chance Eau Tendre the effect feels like dumping down, instead of modernizing an idea for a young audience; unlike the excellent No.5 Eau Premiere which took a classic and flew it into the ethers of poetic but approachable Elysium. In short, Chance Eau Tendre is only technically a well-crafted formula (good tenacity, plenty of sillage, coherent notes in unison) but artistically it's a plea to the lowest common denominator. And that's surprising from someone as skillful as Jacques Polge who clearly knows better, so it cannot be anything but a deliberate marketing decision from above.

A soapy fruity on a white musk base which recalls every similar major department store launch of the last coupe of seasons and in particular Daisy by Marc Jacobs. No offence to Daisy, but there is something seriously wrong when a Chanel fragrance starts smelling like Daisy. The fabric softener (on pale woods that read as non-descript) feel is especially in contrast to the haute ambience of other Chanels, even in their modern versions. There was a hint of a diversion when Beige by Chanel was launched in Les Exclusifs sub-line, its approachability and pastel-coloured smile easier and friendlier in its mien than other specimens. Yet whereas in Beige this worked due to the overall honeyed floral character and the suaveness of the hawthorn note which enveloped in a hug, in a fruity white musk composition any such intention falls flat and feels like an air-kiss at a social gathering of no greater importance than the pocketbook.

A pity...I wonder how well Chance Eau Tendre will sell, since similar smells can be had at a lower price. Then again, the whole axis of a luxury brand lies in selling even mediocre products just because they bear a prestigious name...

Might I remind you that the upcoming masculine is called Bleu de Chanel, scheduled for release in August 2010 with an international ad campaign shot by Scorcese as previously announced. As for the scent itself, according to the website RelaxNews, "it is fresh and woody, with notes of citrus, pink pepper, mint, ginger, jasmine, cedar and patchouli". [source]


A propos: L.Turin had said it best talking about brands: "To borrow terms first applied by 19th century journalist Walter Bagehot to the monarchy, brands have both an "effective" and a "dignified" function. [...] The dignified function is image: the buyer advertises his purchase to others.[..] That label, not the white baby sealskin bag to which it is attached, then gradually comes to mean "money". In other words, it becomes a currency. Once you have a currency, you can do lots of fun things with it. You can debase it (real Vuitton bags); you can counterfeit it (fake Vuitton bags); but best of all you can play on the fact that all currencies work by mutual consent. In other words, if you can persuade the rich to use your debased coinage, then the poor who buy real fakes and fake fakes will not feel shafted or silly and the scam becomes self-sustaining. [...] This is what is called brand "mystique" and it works best when those who produce the lies believe in them. [..]You have to believe, and to communicate the belief, that there is something intrinsically different about an object that bears a particular name. This is not a new trick: the aristocracy has practiced it to great effect since the French Revolution. A titled name used to mean having, it now means being. Titles are, in marketing terms, the human limited edition. What this means in practice: you've just bought a frog, but the ads swear it's a prince".

Notes for Chanel Chance Eau Tendre are:
Top: grapefuit, melon, quince
Heart: hyacinth, jasmine
Base: iris, white musk, Virginia cedar, amber

The campaign is fronted by Sigrid Agren, and photographed by the legendary Jean-Paul Goude, a longtime collaborator of Chanel parfums. Chanel Chance Eau Tendre will be available as an Eau de Toilette in 50ml/1.7oz and 100ml/3.4oz at major department stores.

Illustration via Foliadesign

Looking good...

1	Now Smell This
2	The Scented Salamander
3	Blogdorf Goodman
4	Scent Hive
5	Perfume Posse
6	Perfume Shrine
7	Katie Puckrik Smells
8	First Nerve
9	Nathan Branch
10	Perfume in Progress
11	Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume Blog
12	Glass Petal Smoke
13	indieperfumes
14	Signature Scent
15	OlfactaRama
16	Notes From the Ledge
17	SmellyBlog
18	the beauty alchemist
19	J'aime le parfum - I love perfume!
20	the aromaconnection blog

Ranking made by Wikio

The IFRA 45th Amendment: Not What You Expected

The sensationalist titles and the panic woes across the Net about perfume reformulation due to perfumery restrictions issued by regulatory body IFRA (International Fragrance Association) bring on more traffic, furore and fame to the authors than positive results for the industry and the consumer, but that's an old story. True to form and confirming our previous balanced and rational treatment of the subject, the latest amendement of IFRA regulations comes with only 7 changes which will not impact the industry as significantly as claimed.

Critically, the rumours on new policies regulating methyleugenol and fyrocoumarins are not verified by the official source.
“This year’s Amendment will hardly affect the palettes of perfumers,” said Jean-Pierre Houri, IFRA director general. “Previous years have seen quite heavy Amendments due to the change over to our new Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA)* approach. However, this is nearly complete and is reflected in this year’s very light Amendment,” explained Houri as featured on Perfumer & Flavorist.

In regards to whether all companies are bound by the policies of IFRA, let us state that the regulatory restrictions are mandatory for the companies who are members of IFRA (IFRA began as a self-regulatory body and the vast majority of perfume companies are adherening therefore to its rules)

*Quantative Risk Assesment is a process through which fragrance materials suspect for skin contact sensitisation are rationed and was introduced in 2005.

You can read the whole text of the IFRA 45th Amendment announcement follow this link.
Please refer to this link for ingredients restricted and that link for ingredients prohibited.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Restrictions part 1, Restrictions part 2

The winner of the draw...

...for the Shiseido fragrance decant is Diana. Congratulations and please email me with a shipping address so I can have this in the mail for you soon!

Thanks for the enthusiastic participation everyone and till the next one...

Fifi 2010 nominee Giveaway 12

As we announced previously, the Fragrance Foundation is giving away bottles of the nominees of the 2010 Fifi Awards every day starting Monday 17th.

Today's fragrance giveaway (and the last one) is Anthology by Dolce & Gabbana: And yes, we're talking about the whole collection of fragrances in the Anthology line, aka 5 full bottles!

All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until Friday 5pm (the sooner the better obviously) for a chance to win one of the free bottles.

Certain terms and conditions apply.
Disclosure: We are not affiliated with either the Fragrance Foundation or the companies which provide the fragrances for the giveaway. This is a public service announcement.

45,600 Euros for a Guerlain Bottle! Say What?

If the price is shocking to boot, let me clarify this is a historical collectible Guerlain flacon engraved and dating from as far back as 1870 which was sold at an auction in Toledano at Arachon (Gironde) this past Saturday 29th May and bought by a serious French collector.

The auction included many worthwhile specimens, among them various designs by René Lalique and one by Gabrielle Chanel, signed Ivoire, which began its course at 200 euros only to hit the ceiling at 1300 euros! At least 81% of the bottles auctioned were sold to buyers from around the world, mostly French, but also Australian, Russian, Canadian, Indian and Chinese.



According to Bernand Gangler, professional appraiser of perfume bottles, who proclaimed the auction "one of the most beautiful in the world", this particular Guerlain perfume bottle sale is a world record that will take a long time to be surpassed. The initial appraisal was estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 euros, but it skyrocketed in the end. The "Rue de la Paix" engraved bottle (featuring the original address of Guerlain, 15 rue de la Paix) was part of a massive auction of 250 lots produced between 1870 and 1900. Nota bene this was not the Rue de la Paix perfume, issued in 1908 but merely a bottle of unidentified as yet perfume signed with the old address.
Another world record was set by "Fontaines Parfumées" signé Depinoix et Julien Viard which settled at 32,400 euros while originally estimated around 10,000 euros.
It's clear that valuable perfume bottles collecting has legs! Be extra attentive to whom you're leaving your perfume collection in your will.

photo via bibliodyssey blog

The Mystery of Musk: Revolutionary Joint Project in Animalic Notes

Do you miss a little skank in your life? Do you often wonder how does real musk smell or would like to find beautiful alternative fragrances to your cheap or oil favourites? It is my honour to announce to our readers that under the kind invitation of the Natural Perfumers' Guild I am organising an exciting and truly pioneering new project, called The Mystery of Musk. The project took the form of inviting several worthy perfumers who dabble in naturals on occasion of the 4th anniversary of the Guild to come up with that most elusive element of them all: a real-smelling animalic musk base for perfumery! Musk is possibly the number one subject of interest among those who love all kinds of perfume, both natural and synthetic. Musk fascinates! Many perfumistas realize that natural perfumers don’t use synthetic musks and civets and such, but that they search for alternatives that give the same effect. The Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group, the Basenotes forum contributors and a pleiad of prominent bloggers will be evaluating the fragrances thus produced in a few weeks. Best of all, each and every one of these musk perfumes will be optioned for a bottle giveaway through the participating venues, just for you! (one bottle giveaway for each blogger, one for Basenotes and one for the Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group, so you will have several opportunities to enter to win). Considering these are very costly creations to begin with due to the high prices of the essential oils, absolutes and essences used, I know you will appreciate this unique chance. The giveaways and reviews will roll out at the beginning of July. And in preparation of that, the Musk Series on The Perfume Shrine will be enriched with more musk reviews and relevant commentary for your enjoyment!


So without further ado, may I present you the participating perfumers.

Participating Perfumers for The Mystery of Musk project:

Adam Gottschalk – Lord’s Jester

Alexandra Balahoutis – Strange Invisible Perfumes

Alfredo Dupetit – BioScent by dupetit

Ambrosia Jones – Perfume by Nature

Anya McCoy – Anya’s Garden Perfumes

Charna Ethier – Providence Perfumes

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz – DSH Perfumes

Elise Pearlstine – Tambela Perfumes

Jane Cate – A Wing and a Prayer Perfumes

JoAnne Bassette – JoAnne Bassett Perfumes

Lisa Fong – Artemisia Perfume

Nicholas Jennings – Sharini Parfums Naturels

The evaluators members at the Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group as well as those from the Basenotes forum are announced on the respective venues. The president of the Natural Perfumers' Guild, Anya McCoy, will keep you abreast of the details.
The participating blogs will be: Bittergrace Notes, Ca Fleure Bon, First Nerve, Grain de Musc, Indie Perfumes, I Smell Therefore I Am, the Non Blonde, Olfactarama, Olfactory Rescue Service, and of course the Perfume Shrine.

Stay tuned for all the exciting new features!
Related reading on Perfume Shrine: The Musk Series


Pic copyrighted by the Natural Perfumers' Guild, reproduced with permission.

The World Cup Found its Scent: Eau de Stade

No, no, not lockers and athlete's sweat on the green grass of South Africa literally (although do read on, there's interesting mention of all of those), but a fragrance specifically made for the football World Cup which is about to begin capturing the imagination of the world.
Pop sensation Rachel Steven is the face and here are the details: Eau De Stade is designed to combine the smells of the football field and the host country South Africa in a unisex fragrance designed by Sky+HD in advance of the finals and aimed as a limited edition, being sold for a limited time only. As well as essential oils sourced from South Africa, it features "the smell of fresh grass, leathery notes and the musky hints of sweat" (told you so!). Top 'nose' John Bailey of The Perfumers Guild Limited conjured up the new aroma: "Salty notes have been used to encapsulate the smell of the fresh sea breeze in Cape Town- known as the 'Cape doctor' - alongside woody, smoky hints to represent the nation's passion for barbecues, and also Tagette, an essential oil sourced directly from South Africa" he tells us.
Let's raise our glasses in hopes of the sweet smell of success for the team each one of us is rooting for!

Out starting today, June 1st 2010, at Soccer Scene's World Cup pop-up store in central London.

Info & pic from various online press sources

Fifi 2010 nominee Giveaway 11

As we announced previously, the Fragrance Foundation is giving away bottles of the nominees of the 2010 Fifi Awards every day starting Monday 17th.

Today's fragrance giveaway is Lola by Marc Jacobs. Created by Calice Becker and Yann Vasner and art-directed by Ann Gotlieb, Lola is a floral bouquet with fruity topnotes of pear, ruby red grapefruit and of pink peppercorn, a heart with rose, geranium and fuschia peony while the base is composed of vanilla, musk and tonka bean.

All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until 5pm (the sooner the better obviously) for a chance to win one of the free bottles.

Certain terms and conditions apply.
Disclosure: We are not affiliated with either the Fragrance Foundation or the companies which provide the fragrances for the giveaway. This is a public service announcement.

Xerjoff Shooting Stars fragrances: new luxury line review

Whenever a new luxury line of niche fragrances launches the main question at the back of my mind ~and often on my lips too~ is "why". Isn't the niche market already saturated? Is there something beyond formulaic that is lacking? Why do new brands bring out a "collection" in one go? Is perfume business the latest it-maker, coached by perfume labs churning juice in a niche degeneration phase? Some examples might point out that entrepreneurs are often tricked into believing that yes. One might wonder what type of business schools these entrepreneurs graduated from.
The latest incriment in the perfume market bidding game comes from an exotic sounding brand by the name of Xerjoff. Now before you misread this as Jerkoff, a plight that is plausible for native English speakers (thankfully I have escaped that peril, thanks to my non Anglo-Saxon credentials), let me spell it out to you: X e r j o f f. Something tells me we'll see a lot of misspelling on that one. Anyway...
The point is I came to try the line through the enslaving kindness of one of my loyal readers, the lovely Mystic Knot. She kindly assembled a comprehensive collection of ample samples of the whole Shooting Stars line (and included other treats as well), so it was a mini-Christmas in the warmth of May. Thank you dearest! But I digress yet again.


According to the official blurb regarding the Xerjoff luxury Shooting Stars fragrances: "In frosty Siberia in 1947, a glowing fireball illuminated the dawn before elongating and shooting over the horizon. In its wake shimmered a trail of meteor dust. This meeting of heaven and earth inspired Xerjoff to create the Shooting Stars collection of twelve exquisite fragrances. Each Xerjoff scent is a modern classic, painstakingly crafted with old world artistry and the finest raw materials. Among the collection is a fragrance to reflect every mood, from serenity to seduction. Each selection comes in an etched Tuscan glass bottle with a heavy gold-plated top, and is enveloped in a silken pouch". The collection is promised to "lie at the perfect nexus of luxury and fantasy".
The fantasy sounds like it was conceived in the mind of Italian businessmen who have a thriving Russian and Arabian clientele; hence the names, I'd venture.

What is immediately striking about the packaging is just how gorgeous and (yes!) truly luxurious the Xerjoffs are: They -supposedly- include a piece of a meteorite in each. Someone with more connection in NASA than I do, should perform the test I guess. If you really want to dazzle your eyes with beauty and brilliant photography nevertheless I urge you to go visit this and that link on the worthwhile site hesmellsshesmells.com where the bottles shine in all their glory. Beautiful, no? It's an utter pity that the fragrances inside do not justify the high prices asked, however.
Not that they're not competent or smell bad. But I did not detect that special something that would make them the stuff of dreams; at least in what concerns the Shooting Stars collection (I will return for the rest of them which haven't hit the US shores yet...).

Right in the midst of them there are at least two which remind me clearly of other things: There is the ubiqutous Angel sister in the exotically named Dhajala: a little less dense in patchouli and instead suffused with galbanum, but the fruichouli skeleton clearly legible. Ibitira is a violet laced with a smidge of orange blossom and rose and a hint of spice (like in carnations, but much lighter), "reading" on skin like a Meteorites wannabe. Lua is another fruitchouli, proof positive that the genre has legs and is not set to die any time soon. It's pleasant in the Coco Mademoiselle meets Lys Mediterranée mould and I predict it will be well-received, its most interesting subfacet a light salty note in there, like lilies wafting in the sea breeze. Modoc will probably prove quite popular: It has the smooth ambery sweet character that produces cooing recognition voices from perfume aficionados around the world: amber is a popular theme after all; but nothing revolutionary is hiding here. It's a decent, spicy amber with subtle floral and citrus notes. Oesel reminds me of Fleurs de Citronnier by Lutens: a soapy floral with orange and lemon blossoms, musky honeyed base with a little patchouli thrown in to be a little different, quite nice actually.
I found the masculine Dhofar interesting, if a little thin: Supposedly a "complex oriental chypre", it has the nice aromatic bite of pine needles and laurel, but not sweetened. Nio is a standard aromatic fougère, with a weird -to me- ozonic middle stage. You could grab some vintage Paco Rabanne Homme and be set. Tobacco Oroville smelled as if it contained higher naturals than the rest of the line, clearly discernible tobacco and quite a bit of sandalwood.
On the whole they're conservative, well-behaved and just the thing if you want to have something flashy looking in your wardrobe. No moral judgements on that last bit whatsoever and I was very excited to have been able to sample them.

The Xerjoff line includes the following fragrances:

For Her:
Esquel - Floral Fougere
Shingl - Sparkling Floral
Dhajala - Green Oriental
Ibitira - Woody Powdery Floral
Lua - Juicy Gourmand Oriental

For Both:
Oesel - Intriguing Woody Floral
Modoc - Spicy Amber Chypre

For Him:
Uden - Tantalizing Marine Fougere
Dhofar - Complex Oriental Chypre
Tobacco Oroville - Rich Fresh Tobacco
Nio - Refreshing Woody Aromatic
Kobe - Sweet, Tart, Woody Citrus

The sampler of all Xerjoff scents retails at Luckyscent right now: 50$ for 1ml samples of all 12 scents. Each bottle of 50ml/1.7oz of Eau de Parfum retails for 345$ (or 470$ if you want the whole caboodle of the gift box presentation). Something tells me there will be travel sets and refills in about a year or so...but it's just a hunch.

Paco Rabanne Lady Million: Bottle like a Diamond

The new feminine fragrance by Paco Rabanne, Lady Million, is packaged in an impressive diamond shaped bottle with the spray mechanism incorporated in the design. Looks stunning as far as Im concerned. I don't know how the fragrance will smell (like a million bucks, they'd want us to believe obviously), but if you missed the news about the latest launch, you can read it all in this article.