Oppose the Safe Cosmetics Act in the USA

News of an ominous nature reached me. It's been in the cards for some time (read our article from February 2010), but now indie perfumers are alarmed enough to notify us of impending changes which are about both to close down their businesses and to effect dramatic changes in the industry at large.

Indie perfumer Ayala Moriel who initially notified me is calling it dire: "The chances that you in the USA and as a result in all North America will be able to use any natural products, essential oils and natural perfumes included, is in danger. Not to mention the livelihood of many small businesses, due to the "Campaign for Safe Cosmetics" for passing the "Safe Cosmetics Act" (SCA for short).The main problem with this act is that it proposes that all compoments of all ingnredients in cosmetic products will be listed on the label. Considering that most natural products are very complex and contain many, many molecules (for example: rose essential oil contains over 200 identified molecules and still has many trace elements that are yet to be discovered), this will make labeling of natural cosmetics (perfume included) non-realistic. There will simply be no room to put all the ingredients on the label... So what this law will really do is ensure that mostly if not only synthetic mateirals (which are "purely" just one or two molecules) will be used in your skin care and body products! This will make it very difficult for the growers and distillers of natural raw materials for perfumes and cosmetics to survive, not to mention eliminate the small businesses who will not be able to catch up with such regulations, labeling-wise and sourcing-wise. This is similar (but even worse!!!) than the nightmare that has been going on in Europe for the past decade with IFRA regulations and RIFM (the EU regulatory body). It is not too late to stop this from happening! And if we don't, than the entire world will be smelling like Calone and artifical fruits, and all we could wear on our skin will be silicone... Renown aromatherapist Robert Tisserand, who is an expert on the issue of safety of essential oils and understand the threat of this act wrote an excellent article which will shed more light on the matter. Here's an exerpt: "The thinking behind the wording of SCA 2010 is naive because there is an assumption that substances are either “safe” or “toxic”, and that if we simply eliminate the toxic ones from personal care products, the world will be a better place. It may seem like an excellent idea, but once you start talking about parts per million or lower, it is unnecessary and unrealistic. Not even foods are regulated to that degree, and our exposure to foods is far greater than our exposure to cosmetics".

Read the rest of Robert Tisserand's article, and if you live in the USA, please act on it and Sign the Oppose SCA Petition (the goal of 5000 signatures is only 111 short, so I trust our readers will do their share and help reach it!), write Congress, write Your Senator, vote "Oppose" on Open Congress, and see your representatives & senators in person during Summer Recess August 9 - September 12. If you are on Twitter, please follow the #OpposeSCA hashtag. to oppose this bill, which is draconian and ridiculous and will only ensure that we will all be only using synthetics that are manufactured by large corporations and are supposedly safe, rather than plants and oils that were used for thousands of years. It will do nothing for improving safety in cosmetics.

Educate yourself, by reading the following relevant links:
Oppose SCA
Indie Business Blog
Essential U
Personal Care Truth
Robert Tisserand's article

Read more also on Ayala Moriel's personal blog (alongside some wonderful news of hers).

Additionally read about the Natural Perfumers' Guild opposing it on this link.

If you want to follow everything about perfumery restrictions follow the label "Restricions" on our Series linked here on PerfumeShrine.

Fresh Index: Bringing Back Favourites by Public Demand

"Exclusive to Fresh retail stores, The Fragrance Bar features nostalgic favorites brought back by consumer-request. These fragrances are available "on tap". Create your own library of scents. Explore fragrance layering; design a signature combination!"

Scents in Eau de Parfum concentration include:

Cucumber Baie(crisp greens and sheer florals)

Patchouli Pure (woodsy with spice and warm undertones)

Pear Cassis (crisp fruity floral with green undertones)

Tobacco Caramel (sweet woodsy with honey)

Violet Moss (powdery floral with earthy armoise)

Check The Fragrance Bar page on the Fresh website.

Francis Kurkdjian for British Elle: Win a Rare Autographed Bottle of Elle 25

How would you feel if your favourite fashion magazine engaged one of the most acclaimed young perfumers to fix a special fragrance for you? And on top of that made it in extremely limited quantities as to be able to call this "your very own"? Good idea? British Elle had just that thought when they asked Francis Kurkdjian, the perfumer behind such blockbusters such as Le Male and Narciso for Herto create a bespoke pefume, called, Elle 25 for the 25th anniversary of British Elle magazine.

This special edition is available in just 25 bottles, each of them signed by perfumer. Francis explains his vision: "She is a woman of many emotions who is liberated, humorous, tender and elegant". The Elle 25 fragrance notes include: floral bouquet accord, cedarwood essential oil, musk and a chypre base, according to British Elle.

The only way to own the perfume is to take part in the contest organized by Elle UK: "Write your own brief for bringing ELLE to life as a scent in under 70 words and email it to elle25@hf-uk.com by 1st October. The best 25 entries will win a bottle of ELLE25 signed by Francis".

Bearing in mind that such efforts have in the past produced a beautiful tuberose, all lush and expansive, for the similarly limited commemorative edition Guerlain Marie Claire, we're optimistic that this isn't just marketing drivel.

Buzz by The Sun: Tabloid Perfume

Did you think that the celebrity perfume business was a tired concept? After thousands of A-, B- and Z-listers having their very own celebo-fragrance out, now it's the time to see something unusual: A famous tabloid, UK's The Sun collaborated with no less than Roja Dove (of Guerlain and Harrods Haute Parfumerie fame) to bring out their new fragrance, aptly called...Buzz!

Taking inspiration from The Sun, Dove has created Buzz, a perfume that embodies the glamour of a movie premiere and the excitement of a red carpet line up. To create the scent, Dove has created a heady blend of the effortless style of Sarah-Jessica Parker, the charisma of Sophia Loren, the intoxicating sass of Beyonce Knowles and the girl-next-door charm of Cheryl Cole. Speaking of his exciting project with The Sun, Roja Dove said:

“Collaborating with The Sun is an unusual step for me. In my work I create bespoke one-off fragrances for individual clients so I was surprised when I was asked to create a scent for a newspaper. “However, I’ve always loved the idea that everybody should be able to share the world of exquisite fragrance. Working with the biggest newspaper in the English speaking world is a fantastic opportunity for me to bring my world and my work to a wider audience and share the magic of fragrance".

Entertainment comes in many guises but the one thing it should do is feel good and leave us buzzing with happy memories. Buzz Eau de Parfum opens with a blend of bright, breezy citrus notes where Bergamot reigns supreme, before leading directly to a sensual heart of Jasmine and Ylang Ylang which capture the glamour of the Oscars, BAFTAs, opening nights and debuts, before revealing a soft layering base of Vanilla and Sandalwood, that enhance all sensations of pleasure, evocative of a red-carpet moment.

Buzz eau de parfum will be sold at £59 per 50ml from September onwards at the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie on the fifth floor of Harrods. More details can be found at the-sun.co.uk/buzz

What do you think? Is this an original concept or what? Do you have expectations from the juice?

The 20 Best Ever Perfumes List

The Daily Mail has devoted an article by Elsa McAlonan to a selection of the 20 best ever perfumes for women. The selection includes:

Anais Anais by Cacharel
Angel by Thierry Mugler
Beautiful by Lauder
Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden
CK One by Calvin Klein
Classique by Jean Paul Gaultier
Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel
DKNY by Donna Karan
Eau Dynamisante by Clarins
J'Adore by Christian Dior
Je Reviens by Worth
Joy by Jean Patou
L'air du Temps by Nina Ricci
Lime, Basil and Mandarin by Jo Malone
No.5 by Chanel
Opium by Yves Saint Laurent
Poison by Christian Dior
Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent
Shalimar by Guerlain
Youth Dew by Lauder

Certainly there is an emphasis on tried-and-true classics, but also the effect of best-selling status entering the equation (CKOne, Beuatiful, Coco Mademoiselle etc). Each and every one on this list is a perfume that has sold millions of bottles over the years.

What say you? Which would have been your picks for a top-20 best ever list?

Jacques Polge, Egoiste, Blue, Sex and Clean: an Interview

"Egoïste is about seduction. I have a funny anecdote about sex and smells. An American woman once asked me if French people took showers before or after sex. I answered, “After, of course.”

"Bleu is the opposite of Egoïste. Egoïste was inspired by a woman's fragrance* [Bois des Îles], whereas there is nothing feminine about Bleu. I wanted to do something very direct. You know, men's fragrances are still very linked with shaving. When I find myself in planes, at some point I always see those business men coming from the bathroom smelling of aftershave. So Bleu is spicy, woody, and dry. There is no fantasy."

"I started my career in the United States. Perfumes were then made of both good-smelling and bad-smelling ingredients. But the bad-smelling ingredients, when used in a certain way, brought something sensual and interesting to the final scent. The first time I arrived at work, they told me, “You want to work here? Then smell this.” They made me smell chives. With American puritanism, all these kinds of fragrances disappeared".

*Hence its original name, Bois Noir. Only offered in Chanel boutiques at the time, Bois Noir was in production for only a few months in 1987 before it was withdrawn from the market, later to be replaced with the more widely available Egoïste.

Thus reminiscences Jacques Polge, the master perfumer at Chanel since the 1980s and responsible for the marvel that is Egoïste. Read the entire interview following this link.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine:
Bleu de Chanel (new fragrance for men),
Pushing Boundaries in Perfume advertising,
Why the French grow up to love smells while Americans don't,
Top 10 Masculine Fragrances.

Link brought to my attention via nowsmellthis/twitter. Pic of Bois Noir bottle via basenotes, still from Egoiste ad from my archive

My Wife Smells Since Changing Perfumes!

"My eye tastes bad art the way a restaurant critic tastes boiled duck confit in an orange chipotle sauce, with revulsion and pure anger. My nose is even more refined, as it can smell burgeoning mould on a Njursholm moose milk cheese from over 30 feet away. So, when the second Mrs. Mullpenny, Margarette, started using a perfume that I deemed to be like apricots farting, I swung into action immediately.
As it was soon to be Navidad, I spent a considerable amount of money and bought everyone on staff at Mullpenny Manor bottles of that wretched parfum. When they began wearing it around the house while doing their duties, Margarette immediately deemed her scent to be pedestrian and switched to a more overpowering bouquet, so as to drown out the smell of our help."

In a hilarious article in the format of a 'Dear Abby' column, Steve Murray on the National Post {click the link} replies to a husband's query on how to solve the problem of his wife's body odour suddenly surfacing through her change of perfumes (a matter of body chemistry if you please, from the male perspective).

Definitely worth a read..and many (unfeminist) belly laughs!!

Photo via askaden

The Fascinating Input of Flavour: Vegan Meat and Yoghurt Flavourings

We know that taste is largely dependent on smell: The combined process has its own word in English, flavour. But have you stopped to think that the fragrance industry is taking the matter of flavour into a most sophisticated level? Apart from the rather standard flavourings one meets in beverages, canned foods, prepackaged meals and desserts, there lurks a whole fascinating world of unusual and as of yet uncharted territories of flavour ingredients and molecules which might give us pause for thought in the near future.

According to Datamonitor, Comax Flavors, a company with a strong presence in the industry, has launched a line of kosher vegetarian meat flavors for meat analogues from sources such as soy and wheat to serve the needs of vegetarians and vegans, an increasing percentage in the US, the United Kingdom and Asia, who do not consume meat products but -apparently- like the flavour of animal-sourced food. Faux meat if you please. The Comax products include roasted chicken, roast beef, bacon, pork, hot dog, turkey and roasted ham flavourings. The interesting bit is that flavors are available in a variety of permutations: natural and artificially flavored, oil soluble and water soluble, and liquid and powdered versions.
"To the casual observer, creating vegetarian meatless-meat flavors may seem like a relatively generic job for a flavor developer, but it actually holds its own special challenges. For instance, it’s very important that such flavors be strong enough to stand up to highly-absorbent vegetable proteins. Through the art of reaction technology, Comax is able to provide ingredients that replace and enhance the flavors of meats while still keeping the final product in line with vegetarian consumption. Applications where these flavors tend to be most advantageous are broths, sauces and marinades, but they come in handy for a whole range of other meatless products as well.” So say Gladys Slovis, applications lab manager.

But not everything revolves around meat either! Comax is intent on the marketing of coconut water flavours (due to the high potassium quota) and a pleiad of sweet & savoury flavourings to be used in Greek yoghurt, often reminiscing classical Greek delicasies such as baklava. The rest of the flavours include cinnamon bun, cucumber (obviously the prime ingredient in a good tzatziki, hold the garlic) and cherry black currant.
"With its unique body, silky mouthfeel and satisfying richness, Greek yogurt offers the ideal vehicle to showcase ... true-to-life flavors to suit a given product application," adds applications lab manager Gladys Slovis. "Even at 0% fat, Greek yogurts taste decadently rich.” We couldn't disagree, even though we prefer our baklava on the side.

Further reading: Bell Flavors & Fragrances present the 10 "trends" in the way of smells for 2010 (including grapefruit rhubarb rose, Seashore driftwood, White amber/patchouli, Mahogany vetiver, Absinthe, Mandarin/orange blossom, Mojito, Woody iris, Satinwood and Szechwan pepper. Now you know why your contemporary fragrance is smelling the way it does.

photo via seattleweekly blogs (possibly subject unrelated to Comax)

Roger Vivier and Ines de la Fressange: 5 new fragrances

"After shoes and bags, Roger Vivier, part of the Tod’s Group, present their perfumes for Autumn 2010 to be sold exclusively in their boutiques". (Today we found the video accompanying the news via dailymotion, see below)

Five new fragrances in extrait developed by Rami Mekdachi, lined-up like a niche line based on raw materials (La Rose, Le Sandal, L'Iris, L'Ambre, Le Néroli) & identical-designed bottles which are presented by former Chanel model in the 1980s and French "Marianne", Inés de la Fressange. She wanted a sultry signature fragrance and she explains: “Our goal was a perfume with personality, style and quality, not just a huge launch with lots of ads,” she says, “so we used very precious and rare ingredients, just like a couture collection.”
According to Modelinia: "The model turned purveyor of Vivier style has been working with Rami Mekdachi to distinguish just what the brand smells like, and found it absolutely impossible to narrow that down to just one aroma. So she decided to go with five different perfumes: which are set to hit stores in the US in October, just in time to update your winter fragrances. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Inés has put her nose into the world of scents. She has her own eponymous perfume". [correction: had, I believe it's discontinued]
The new fragrances will retail at 195$ a bottle debuting at Fashion’s Night Out on Sept. 10 at the New York boutique (750 Madison Avenue), and will then be available at all Roger Vivier boutiques in October.

Isn't it endearing that she says has "an old lady trapped inside her" and "luxury is about not having to scent"?



photo of bottles by Travis Rathbone via New York Times

In Memoriam: Corinne Day 1965-2010

Fashion phorographer, famous for catapulting Kate Moss's career and photographing her in raw, documentary style for fashion and perfumes.

photo of Kate Moss posing for Obsession by Calvin Klein ad shot by Corinne Day via simonrasmussen

Amouage Memoir Man & Memoir Woman: new fragrances

The House of Amouage’s latest enigmatic Memoir fragrances for both man and woman explore the inseparable nature of beauty and depravity. In the words of the American writer Gore Vidal, “a memoir is how one remembers one’s own life” and in this fourth installment, the identity of Amouage Man first introduced in the series of narratives developed for the House’s Silver Jubilee, is revealed.
Inspired by the decadent mien and genius of the 19th Century French poet, Charles Baudelaire and the German philosophy of the doppelganger, Amouage Creative Director Christopher Chong, embarks on a deep and inquisitive voyage to unlock the unfathomable mysteries that reside within human nature. He expresses these influences by coalescing the provoking and potent ingredient of Absinth with other floral and wood accords to evoke a sombre mood. Incarnated from the introspective pages of Baudelaire’s volume of poetry Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowers of Evil), Chong’s Memoir Man seeks to uncover his identity by seeking the
underworld where he meets his other self and alter ego, the Black Swan. In this emporium of vice and damnation, the anguish, the unwanted, the dark, the haunting and the unmentionable are all beauty of the truth.Represented as the female gender in this story, the Black Swan is Memoir Woman; she is him and he is her. Hauntingly, they come together as one representing each other’s past, present and future in which they mimic each other’s sorrow and pain. They are separated and reunited by the memoir they share, which Chong constructs in these philosophical and mesmerizing fragrances by piecing together contradictory fragments of accords.

Memoir Man unmasks itself with a seductive green sensation of Mint pervading to an intoxicated journey of Absinth and Wormwood, which opens the door to the underworld of self discovery. The fragrance continues to express the complexity and philosophy of the Black Swan with the intricate richness of sophisticated Vetiver.
Memoir Woman manifests with a spicy fusion of Absinth to resonate the magical aura of the Black Swan. This transformation is enhanced by deconstructing the redolent Tuberose to its core and reassembling the note in a white floral accord with Lisylang and Orange Blossom. As Chong explains, “I wanted to create a haunting fragrance that is beyond the restriction of gender and one that is both hypnotic and bewitching. I articulate this aspect by increasing the dark
wood accord with cashmeran, sandalwood and patchouli supported by an animalic accord in the base to neutralise the gender difference.”
Resembling black fog rising from the wet cobbled streets of Europe, both bottles are made of black glass crystal graduating from a dark to a lighter shade with silver metal caps accentuated by a multi-faceted black Swarovski crystal. Memoir is presented in a silver-tone coffer with myriad shades of black to support the Black Swan feather motif and is available in 50ml and 100ml Eau de Parfum. The fragrances will officially launch on September 22nd.

NOTES FOR AMOUAGE MEMOIR
Memoir Woman
Category: Leather / Animalic Chypre
Top Notes: Mandarin, Cardamom, Absinth, Pink Pepper
Heart Notes: Pepper, Clove Bud, Opulent White Blossoms, Rose, Jasmine, Precious Dark Wood,Frankincense
Base Notes: Styrax, Oakmoss, Castoreum, Leather, Labdanum, Fenugreek, Musk
Memoir Man
Category: Leather / Woody Fougere
Top Notes: Absinth, Wormwood, Basil, Mint
Heart Notes: Rose, Frankincense, Lavender Absolute
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Vetiver, Guaiac wood, Amber, Vanilla, Musk, Oakmoss, Leather, Tobacco

info/notes via press release

Memo Manoa: new fragrance

Reserved for revealing in Pitti Fragranze 8 exhibition in Florence, Manoa by Memo Paris is the newest fragrance to join the line up of the niche brand, masterminded by perfumer Clara Molloy. The inspiration comes from the El Dorado myth (the words meaning "gilded") and the fragrance is warm and luminous, as befitting the tale.
According to that a Muisca tribal chief covered himself with gold dust (thus becoming El Dorado, i.e. gilded) and dived into the lake Guatavita as part of an initiation rite.
The ceremony involved scented products as well, as recounted by Juan Rodriguez Troxell in 1638:

"During the ceremony which took place at the lagoon, they made a raft of rushes, embellishing and decorating it with the most attractive things they had. They put on it four lighted braziers in which they burned much moque, which is the incense of these natives, and also resin and many other perfumes. The lagoon was large and deep, so that a ship with high sides could sail on it, all loaded with an infinity of men and women dressed in fine plumes, golden plaques and crowns.... As soon as those on the raft began to burn incense, they also lit braziers on the shore, so that the smoke hid the light of day".

Manoa became the island which was formed from the deposited treasures for the gods.
In later years the gilded man became a city, the lost "city of gold" fascinating and eluding explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors. Deluded by the legend, Francisco Orellana and Gonzalo Pizarro would depart from Quito in 1541 in a famous and disastrous expedition towards the Amazon Basin.

Manoa the fragrance is comprised of notes of bergamot, lemon, ginger, cypress absolute, tonka bean, vanilla, opoponax and labdanum.

pic via extrait.it