Ineke, the San Francisco-based niche brand, presents “Gilded Lily” , the next installment in her ABCD series. “Gilding the lily with sparkling fruits and cypriot woods"” Ineke Rühland announces the latest eau de parfum in her alphabetical line of fragrances, called “Gilded Lily”. When Ineke read about the amazing scent of the Goldband Lily of Japan (lilium auratum), she felt compelled to order a few for her garden to study their fragrance. This note became the heart of Gilded Lily. Historically, Victorian plant hunters discovered this lily growing wild in the mountains of northern Japan, where it is known as “yama yuri”, and brought it back to England. Afterwards, it became the basis for many of today's lily hybrids. Gilded Lily’s "fruity chypre" structure opens with sparkling top notes of pineapple and rhubarb followed by the goldband lily, and closes with patchouli, oakmoss and amber. Gilded Lily is the quintessential well-groomed scent, accompanied by a head-turning deliciousness. The phrase “gilding the lily” was coined by William Shakespeare in his play, King John. Ineke feels it is an apt description for perfumery in general since perfumers are always looking for ways to embellish the beauty of nature. To convey the intersection of Elizabethan England and modern Japan, the artwork for Gilded Lily has a “Shakespeare meets manga” theme. Gilded Lily and the rest of Ineke's line (After My Own Heart, Balmy Days &Sundays, Chemical Bonding, Derring-Do, Evening Edged in Gold and Field Notes from Paris) are sold worldwide at the fine stores listed on her website, www.ineke.com. Gilded Lily will be available in late September 2010.
Michelle Obama was gifted a Miller Harris mini candle set from the original Notting Hill store, chosen by Samantha Cameron herself, the wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, while the latter were visiting the US. Apparently Michelle apart from being a prime target for being given scented gifts from companies (i.e.Creed) is keen on scents herself as attested by her Boedicea fragrance shopping we had reported. Good to know!
I smelled a lot of fragrances made of all naturals for the Mystery of Musk project. Some went for carnality (see Kewda), some opted for sensuality (see Eau Natural), others were firmly into gourmand territory (Cravinganyone?) and others still were bacchic (Graines de Paradisand Dionysus). Sensual Embrace by JoAnne Bassett was a surprise: Uncitrusy citrus on top (mandarin and clementine have a mellower, sweeter aspect than what we usually associate with tangy tart citrus, i.e. bergamot and lemon), almost aqueous progression, a hint of violet and rose of all things and then less suprisingly tobacco muskiness; honeyed and smooth, baby, yeah, let's get into that groovy feeling! Not exactly what we have come to associate musk per se (or at least what most people conditioned into drugstore musks have come to expect), yet very animalistically and pleasantly so (jasmine pairs incredibly well with musky smells, its indoles enhanced). Sensual Embrace is a proper perfume rather than a plain musk "accord" for sure, like a diaphanous and creamy-retro scent for dilettanti. The only drawback is its lasting power is rather short. Joanne Bassett's site can be found on this link.
Difting Sparks was composed by Lisa Fong and if your idea of musk is close to powdery rose and honey (or if you like Lorenzo Villoresi's take on his Musk, to make things simper), then it's a must try! Mastic gum for instance gives that hazy, fluffy, and at once oleaginous feel that could be close to a rose-musk. The rose here is resting atop polished woods, like a parqueted floor in an old appartment: aristocratic, classy, inviting, warm. Ambergris provides the right touch, someplace between an object and human flesh. The intriguing ingredient of motia attar I learned is jasmine sambac from India co-distilled in sandalwood, producing a soft note without the heaviness of traditional full-on jasmine ~curiously enough. Makes your mouth water at the thought of those two delicious essences coupled...Still, very well blended, so you can't pinpoint it as such, you just feel the creaminess and the depth. I found that the overall smoothness, almost linear (after the first three minutes), assured progression and the good manners of this perfume managed to please me, even if a muskier or more animalistic composition was at the back of my mind initially. I can't see Lisa having too much trouble selling this one!
The notes for Drifting Sparks are mastic absolute, beeswax absolute, rose otto, bois rose and cedarwood for the top; rose absolute, orange blossom absolute, jasmine sambac absolute, and essential oil of the blossoms of the nyctanthes aboritistus tree, from India for the heart; ambergris, agarwood, angelica root, ambrette seed absolute, black current absolute, motia attar, sandalwood and siam wood for the base. Lisa Fong resides in Oakland, California and her Artemisia Natural Perfume site can be reached here.
Two musk submissions by two very different artists: one by a rather well-known perfumer in her niche with ties to Hollywood, the other a small indie one hailing from the far away land of Australia. Result: I tend to prefer the latter and not without good reason.
Alexandra Balahoutis (head perfumer of a perfume lab in Los Angeles and owner of a retail store) first ignited my interest when I saw her ripped apart for the prose on her site of Strange Invisible Perfumes on a certain expert's now defunct blog back in 2005. You gotta question why someone is getting so much attention and that makes you wonder about the work produced, no? The prose was indeed less than satisfactory at the time and has now been removed from her site. Of course, even though her business seemed doomed at that point, after the perfume enthusiasts' siding with the expert on this, Alexandra has remained totally unscathed by a business point of view and goes on strong. Still, I never actually pursued to test her perfumes till this project came along, which I recognise is an error on my part. Pity that my first encounter with her Temple of Musk proved less than satisfactory.
First of all, it was among the last bunch of samples I got. It even managed to arrive a day later than something all the way from Australia! So tsk tsk tsk, I thought the project seemed a little rushed. I understand that SIP had other fish to fry and all, but hey. And smelling the strips and then on skin, I can see that it was a bit rushed, including the tiny quantity sent: A harshly medicinal musk with murky facets and vine-like nuances (possibly the stated myrtle could do that, it reads a little lemony though) which I couldn't pull apart, like a vice grip from which one cannot escape make heads or tails of. It's heavy and "catty" (blackcurrant buds?), but it's not the kind of "heavy" which we associate with opulent orientals or retro scents. It just sat there refusing to do anything... What can I say? I don't want to bash small indie perfumers and prefer to keep silent when I find something they produce subpar. I am making an exception today because I have heard many good things about her work from people whose opinions I respect. And hope her ~undoubtedly more carfully turned out~ Musc Botanique is exactly my cuppa...Someone has promised me to introduce me to her other perfumes, because Alexandra is clearly capable of so much more. I have absolutely no doubt it is so.
Craving by Ambrosia on the other hand proved rather delightful, if only tempting me to dive into a cookie jar of home-made biscotti to scoop darl chocolate ice-cream with! The name is of course delectable, by nature... The perfumer, Ambrosia Jones, impressed me first of all with her professionalism. Although the scent sample took its while to arrive all the way from half the world over (a given), she was among the very very first to inform me of her intentions and send me info on the creative process. Kudos, Ambrosia, this is how business is contacted. Regarding the perfume itself, she explained: "It's got all the animalistic base notes you'd hope to find in a decent musk perfume, with middle notes of warm roasted hazelnuts, sweet caramel and dark sultry cocoa liquor. OK, so I'm a food head. I can remember someone asking me years ago wether I prefer Sex or Food...and I honestly couldn't say!My idea of a perfect afternoon involves lot's of sexy nakedness...pheromones and wild passion....with intervals of chocolate cake, roasted nuts and more......Hey, why not make it perfect and combine them both?!"
To accomplish that she blended cocoa absolute (this stuff smells like real chocolate with an edge of human skin), real oud, two varieties of vetiver, hyraceum (harvested from a small animal cruelty-free and smelling intensely animalic), ambrette seed for that touch of vegetal muskiness and of course Australian sandalwood. The result smells like you're having an intimate dinner where the course is yourself and the drippings of caramelised chocolate are just the appetizer...You've been warned, this is sexy, comforting and tittilating stuff! She needn't have worried so much about the competition, her submission has been one of the best received ones! Now, I'm more than psyched to try her Death by Chocolate. Perfume by Nature by Ambrosia can be found on this link.
With his newest fragrant offering to the Gods, Serge Lutens invades the territory of Chanel. In lewd terms "Lutens does Chanel"! Simply put, his Bas de Soie (pronounced BA-de-SWAH) will help establish a new audience who have been hankering after new territories of upscale refinement, but will also challenge his older acolytes to engage in combat with new elements which they considered "stuffy" for long. An encomium to iris and hyacinth, Bas de Soie had me perplexed for several days after I broke into my preview sample, which is why I took my while to post a full review after announcing the news of its introduction a while back.
Baptizing fragrances with tactile, fabric-reminiscent names, as was Serge Noireand Fourreau Noir, is not a new game for Lutens. In this case the name is erotically charged as it translates as "silk stockings". The feeling of Bas de Soie is not sexualized however, but eroticized; there is a difference. Picture the repressed, frigid sexuality of bourgeois doctor's wife Catherine Deneuve in classic film Belle de Jour; she needs the compulsion of the underground, afternoon bordello in order to blossom into sensuousness and have an illicit lover with flawed teeth by the name of Marcel. Yes, I know, the flacon Severine has in her bathroom (and accidentally smashes) is Mitsouko, its own connotations enriching the viewer's thought process (You can read our own take in the article The Agony & Ecstacy: Control & Surrender in Fragrances). But the celebrated Roger Vivier and Yves Saint Laurent attire of respectability (see this spot-on analysis of her feet) recalls Bas de Soie more than that "doomed love affair scent" by Guerlain. The mere mention of that film sounds ~by 2010 blogging standards~ cliché, as it has been dragged through the mud to reference myriads of scents & associations. But never before had I felt that it was merited like it is now... What Serge Lutens himself says about it? ‘This fragrance strikes a fine balance between hyacinth and iris, which intermingle. It's a black mass where dark guipure encounters white lace, in a union that involves smocking the stocking with silk.’ This new Lutens Bas de Soie is crepuscular, silvery fresh, reminiscent of Iris Silver Mist in its unapologetic sexless positioning; although not quite, the former's greenness being less invasive than the nitriles in the latter (plus Bas de Soie feels like it smells of iris Pallida more convincingly). To expand the simile I made in the beginning, "Lutens does Chanel", besides the lewd implications that might infer, the effect isn't that far fetched; or less perversely appealing: After all, the man behind the jus, perfumer Chris Sheldrake, whose alma mater was Chanel, is indeed again working at Chanel after many years, his tenure still allowing him to continue the wondrous collaboration with the virtuoso of Le Palais Royal. The core of the Bas de Soie composition would indicate a bulbous, undergrowth smell fit for chthonian, Eleusinian deities; after all both orris and hyacinth come from undergrowth (one is a rhizome, the other a bulb). Yet it presents itself decidedly above the ground and into an expensive salon where pearls glimmer down long, ivory necks flanked by beige-blonde hair, and ivory terry cloth hides delicate shoulders.
The iris in Bas de Soie is dry, soapy rather more than powdery, retro starched instead of rooty (he explored this "starched" idea recently with the anti-perfume L'Eau Serge Lutens), with the expansive feel of luminous silver tentacles engulfing you, much like they do in Chanel No.19, 28 La Pausa and to a lesser degree Cristalle in Eau de Parfum (which use natural orris butter). The molecules giving iris its character of coolness are called irones and this feels like an irone-rich composition. The hyacinth is subdued, not tremendously "oily" or warm like it can be (its cinnamic facets usually giving a peppery jolt) or even "romantic" like we know it from Chamade orGrand Amour. Instead what I smell is lightly metallic, soapy-sweet, the way orris fragrances can take a nuance of violets sometimes, with a wink to Balmain's Ivoire and a galbanum-substitute/artemisia top note. You'd be hard pressed to recognise specific flowers within the composition: rose or peony perhaps seem apparent to my nose, their soapier-citric facets exalted in favour of their sweeter, warmer, liqueur-like ones.
The cool "clean" and creamy drydown (musks and pale woods with a wink to Infusion d'Iris by Prada) confirm that this is an atypical Lutens which eschews the spice bazaar and the resinous mysticism he has familiarized us with for so long, in order to introduce a new direction of cool composure and aloof pedigree.
Tenacity is good and sillage is medium. I allow myself to be even more thrilled by the leathery Boxeuses, the Paris-exclusive which will launch in September 2010 as announced here, but Bas de Soie is something I'd wear with pleasure and yes, cool composure.
Bas de Soie is part of the export line, an Eau de Parfum in the standard oblong bottles of the Lutens line, available from the usual suspects on August 1st according to the official info (some take pre-orders). The limited edition bottle (depicted) shows a pair of crossed legs sketched, wearing...silk stockings of course.
Pics from the 1967 film by Luis Buñuel Belle de jour starring Catherine Deneuve, via frederika.canalblog.com, ctache.blogspot,leopoldphotos & hazardousoperation both on Photobucket. Bottle photo uploaded by HighMaintenanceGirl on MUA.
The industry standard, Perfumer and Flavorist Magazine, did a post concerning the latest restrictions on perfumery ingredients, as determined by the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) in its 45th Amendement (You can read about past restrictions and ramifications clicking the label IFRA or Restrictions). We had breached the subject with saying it is not as severe as past version, but we're reverting with specifics.
The latest installment features seven changes. Of the announcement, IFRA president Jean-Pierre Houri said, “We have seen quite large Amendments in the past due to the change-over to our new Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) approach. This change-over process is now nearly complete and therefore we have a smaller Amendment.”
Revised Restricted (QRA) materials include Verbena absolute (Lippia citriodora Kunth.), the culprit being its eye and skin sensitisation properties.
Revised Specifications include:2,2-Dimethyl-3-(3-tolyl)propan-1-ol (otherwise known as Majantol, which was used previously up to 20%, specifically for lily of the valley notes and in fruity-floral compositions especially for functional products), Musk Ketone which is prohibited, as well as Quinoline ~chemically speaking C9H7N~ due to its risk of skin sensitisation (The quinoline family mainly produces leather notes in fine fragrance such as inShalimar or Bandit, but not Cuir de Russiewhich relies on birch tar -previously restricted)
Jennifer Aniston went topless for the promotion of her new scent Lola Vie (basically LOL @ vie, which means "life" in French, as we had pointed out when first announcing the news on the scent). The campaign was shot at Cabo San Lucas in Mexico which happens to be Jennifer's favourite spot. The New York Daily News mentions: "In a series of sexy black-and-white shots to promote her new scent, Lolavie, the 41-year-old actress looks stunning as she poses topless, covering her chest with just her arms while wearing nothing but a white skirt hung low on her hips." The international campaign starts on Wednesday at Harrods department store in London where she will meet and greet customers and sign bottles for them. Personally I don't think the campaign looks half bad. It's suggestive but not vulgar. What do you think?
EDIT TO ADD: A reader informs me that despite aspirations, the name was dropped in favour of simply "Jennifer Aniston" due to concerns over the already existing Lola by Marc Jacobs.
Britney Spears on the other hand isn't known for her non vulgarized image. In fact I'd bet there are good bucks to be made in actually condoning a vulgarized image, for some reason! Anyway, the troubled Pop princess has a lucrative business in the perfume segment nevertheless with 8 fragrances under her belt and counting...The 9th one, Radiance is set to launch this coming September 2010 and is purported to be a ‘stylish’ perfume. Encased in a faux rhinestone encrusted bottle, the girly design is blue and pink. Radiance by Britney Spears will smell like a bunch of ‘wild berries and soft, dewy petals’ which will include tuberose, jasmine, orange flower and iris. According to reports the new scent Radiance is set to be released in September. Prices? It will retail for $63 for 50 mL; $78 for 100 mL. Where? At Ebay, Sears and Pharmaprix/Shopper’s Crug Mart. Possibly the new fragrance will tie with a new album set to be released this year according to inside gossip. We'll see. In the TV commercial, Spears sneaks out of a theatre to avoid a waiting crowd of photographers and fans. She then visits a fortune-teller, who asks the singer if she wants her to tell her about her future. “No thanks, I choose my own destiny,” replies Spears. (we will update when the clip becomes available)
Technology would get to perfume; it was only a matter of time! Studies had suggested that "particularly among young people, there is no propensity to buy perfume, but on the contrary, they are enthusiastic about technology" (according to Maurizio Volpi). So in order to boost perfume sales, what better than to engage them through technology? This after all is the method employed by several companies of other products as well: entice with something irrelevant so as to stir into the wanted direction. We "consume" loads of digital media every day (blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) so is this the new direction, especially for luxury brands to communicate their message? And is this message a frank one? Vivien Westwood had said during a speech at Unesco: "We can lie to one person once, two persons twice.... but never to everyone everytime".
According to the press release by Givaudan who introduced the iPerfumer application (for iPhone) in mid-June, shortly after beauty giant Estée Lauder announced its Ascent iPhone application to facilitate in-store perfume shopping: "Givaudan, the industry-leading perfumery house has created a unique tool to help individuals select their perfect fragrance. Now available for free download from the Apple App Store, iPerfumer offers individuals tailored advice on which perfumes to try, removing the confusion that often surrounds choosing perfume. Revolutionary in its approach, iPerfumer is a personal fragrance consultant in your pocket. It provides fragrance recommendations to help make informed choices, either for yourself, or when buying gifts for others". The technique is a rather standard one, pioneered by Michael Edwards who also has his own "recommendations" method on his Fragrances of the World site and has Sephora utilize his system (by fragrance sub-families and common notes). On iPerfumer, after identifying yourself by sex, age and country, you're asked to take note of the six olfactory families proposed (Citrus / Chypre / Floral / Fougere / Oriental / Woody) ~famous examples for each provided to make it easy for novices. Then you can enter some of the perfumes which you like. And after processing those results, the application recommends several fragrances for you personally. But is the new iPerfumer application as plain sailing as all that? We decided to investigate.
Michel Gutsatz, a brand strategy expert at The Scriptorium Company and the head of Le Jardin Retrouve, takes a critical look at the iPerfumer application by Givaudan at LuxurySociety.com. His doubts corner three drawbacks which also seem crucial to me: no motivation to try out the recommended fragrances (no info, no story, nothing), lack of ergonomy in acessing previous part of the profile created, "sterile" treatment of perfumery (the application doesn't create any of the inherent magic of perfume). The matter of Augmented Reality (a hot topic that garnered a lot of momentum after the success of James Cameron's Avatar) surfaces when talking about how the iPhone rates compared to other methods. iPhone applications are entertaining, but the technology within the iPhone (and soon the iPad) is not yet able to unlock the true potential of Augmented Reality to the same extent that different media (a web-cam enabled shop display, a home computer or laptop) can. In the luxury industry (and perfumes do belong there for better or worse) where gimmicks are usually not taken very seriously will the iPhone and its applications find the fertile ground they need to catch the eye of the consumer and would they need to make the leap from "techie geek" to "lifestyle" to do so?
My additional qualm is that the results garnered on the iPerfumer often bear little relation to what a seasoned perfume enthusiast would expect out of the submitted information to begin with. But bearing in mind how in order to get recommendations in the first place, you're asked to "rate" (enough) fragrances according to preference, I would think that the ulterior purpose of the application is to provide Givaudan with an extraordinary cheap market research tool via which to monitor the scented tastes of iPhone users worldwide! And it does look like it's going to be updated at intervals, with a version 2.0 to roll around when there is need for yet more monitoring and see how tastes have evolved.
...for a full bottle of pure parfum by DSH Musk Eau Natural is Dionne! Congratulations!!
Please email me with a shipping address so I can forward to the perfumer to get your prize in the mail for you soon.
Thanks everyone for playing along and till the next one.
I'm reminding you that there are still three members who haven't contacted me for the Aftelier giveaway (or you can email Mandy at Aftelier directly): Lilacskin, Arch.memory and Lavanya. Please do so, the prizes care waiting to get mailed to you!
I will be announcing the winners of the full Tauer bottles giveaway in a short while.
And there will be a full review of a much anticipated non-yet launched perfume later on. ;-)
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
The name Dionysus, coming from the classical god of wine but also of sacred ecstasis/έκστασις (i.e.divine madness), is indicative of the mood set: restlessness, abandon, raw energy. Then again the fragrances by Lord's Jester ~composed by all-naturals perfumer Adam Gottschalk~ do often bear ancient names (Ares, Zephyr, Demeter, Hera, Phoebe, Selena etc). Does it have to do with a Grecophile German-roots past? Is it a homage to an august culture that was so in tune with its natural surroundings yet managed to harness them through reason, as natural perfumers would hope to do with natural ingredients? Dionysus is indeed wild, untamed, very potent, with a rich trail like a strong moschato wine. The formula seems short, focused on the raw potency of a few select ingredients rather than delicate accords of numerous essences.
Perhaps there is a wine note in the opening, or the effect which I associate with it, the tannic facets in cognac essence, which I know natural perfumers use. The Bacchic, orgiastic ambience is rendered through a lush floral with an oily, narcotic backdrop (possibly narcissus) and the powerful inclusion of African stone, more commonly known as hyraceum. Possibly repulsively sourced, as it is reconstituted via the excrement of a small African animal, but providing a strong pheromonic and territory-marking aroma that would have animals go wild nevertheless. Still, the overall composition is not what I would call musky or floral musk, not in the manner that real deer musk smells (rather urinous) or in the mould that the fragrance industry has accustomed us to musk (warm, powdery, nuzzling), diverging from my own preconceptions. It's pheromone-rich, growling at several feet away, but of a different kind than human, bringing out the Cat People. Or a modern day Maenad.
Revisiting a spicy oriental amidst the heat and turpor of the big metropolis when it's 38C outside is not exactly conductive to proper thinking. All that density might go to one's head and have bystanders get murderous thoughts! And yet, Teatro alla Scala, a forgotten masterpiece by Krizia, doesn't produce any of those effects. All right, it's not citrusy, it's not a clean musk, it's not even a tropical floral. It's an effing spicy oriental! But you know what, sometimes that's what the doctor ordered. The spice is so jolting that it manages to create the impression of cleaness, if you can believe it!
A similar effect was first explored in Caron's Poivre and Yves Saint Laurent's now changedOpium. Some spices in collaboration with aldehydes create a hot-cold effect (non mentholated, it's a different vibe), reminiscent of the feel you get after the passage of a hot iron over clean cotton or linen. The scent also brings to mind the vibrancy of Coco by Chanel (the original oriental from the mid-1980s, specifically the vintage Eau de Parfum) minus the leathery facets. It stands to reason, Teatro came out in 1986, two years after Coco. Another kinship could be argued to be with the original Fendi, but I personally always found that one to be denser and more masculine and definitely only suitable for the coldest nights of winter. I don't know who the perfumer is and couldn't find it in my guides, but it feels like a Jacques Polge extension of his Coco mods. The Krizia outfit is rather underappreciated in perfume circles, although they produce fabulous things (even sparkling and dry wines!), another fragrance worth noting the cool, mossy and all around lovely K by Krizia, more of which on a later day.
Suffice to say Teatro alla Scala is discontinued (Murphy's Law, all the good ones eventually seem to head that way; or else they're mutilated through multiple Joan-Rivers-worth facelifts...). I sourced mine through a swap. The ratio of phenylpropanoid eugenol (a gigantic clove-peppery note) is just the sort of thing that would have the current IFRA-police erupt in hives and have it ostracized to outer space. Then again fate and time saw to that before they did. In a way, I'm thankful: It means each Art Deco style bottle surfacing would be the good stuff; it saves us the trouble of going through endless deliberations on bottle styles changes, packaging design and searching all surfaces of bottle and box for tiny printed or etched codes denoting different batches. Even at the heights of its popularity it wasn't distributed in France, which makes me think there are some great things in perfumery that even the French fail to appreciate. Even if it evokes the paradisal nights spent at the famous Milanese theater. Does anyone still wear it and appreciate this scent? I'd be interested to find out.
The opening of Teatro alla Scala cuts through a wall of bricks with its symphonic spicy note of clove and pepper while the flowers emerge slowly, with assuredness and without any distraction from the majestic track troden. Many orientals cede into plush amber notes that engulf you in tentacles of sweetness and powderiness, which comforting though it might be on ocassion, sometimes reminds of big bosom-heavy aunts hugging too enthusiastically which unfortunately can put the "sexy" out of the window once the thought crosses your mind. This one is certainly not gaunty, the way some cerebral chypres or medicinal orientals can be ~more brains than heart~ but instead has a fine, sculpted feminine figure, the incense and moss at the base restraining the honeyed, sweeter notes, the naughty, "dirty" civet bringing out the carnation at the heart underscored by a soupçon of cool rose. Yet it never vulgarises itself through too much cleavage or low tricks, it's always classy. Almost begs for an encore after the performance. Its perfect, sultry proportions slink through simple, bold evening dresses for a big night out. Yes, even if it's a hot night, as long as you know how to use only one spray over your navel...
Notes for Krizia Teatro alla Scala: Top: aldehydes, coriander, fruity notes and bergamot Heart: carnation, tuberose, orris root, jasmine, beeswax, ylang-ylang, rose and geranium. Base: patchouli, musk, benzoin, civet, oakmoss, vetiver and incense.
Photograph of Anna Magnani via iiclegrado.esteri.it
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Ineke Rühland announces the latest eau de parfum
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