Christophe Laudamiel on How Smell Works

How does our brain pick up scents? Fractally it seems and not even trained noses get everything at once. As acclaimed perfumer Christophe Laudamiel says:
"[Smell perception of fragrant molecules] is processed like patches, like facets. And even the best experts can smell only five to eight facets at a given time," explains Laudamiel during his Big Think interview. "For the brain to register a facet, you have to have at least several components for each facet which together are going to give this signature that then you will recognize as coffee. But you won't be able to recognize the different things that you would see in coffee. Some of them, if you take them one-by-one... smell like raw potato, another one is going to smell like smoke, another one like toasted bread, another one like earth, and et cetera." And goes on to add that when creating Aura for the Thierry Mugler coffret he composed for the issue of novel-adapting film "Perfume, Story of a Murderer", asked to recreate the scent of a virgin, "he focused on the scents of milky elements like rice and the soft and velvety scents of water lily and apricot skin. Of course, to add a little human je ne sais quoi to the fragrance, he also added an a few aldehydes, which helped to mimic the notes that our decomposing skin emits regularly".
Read the rest of the article on the Big Think link.


Pic from the film "Perfume, Story of a Murderer" via jdnightghobhadi/livjournal

Win an A.Tauer Bottle of Your Choice! (and reviews on Une Rose Vermeille & Eau d'Epices)

Andy Tauer has been at the Pitti Fragranze exhibition in Florence, but his generosity to the perfume community is well documented and knows no territorial bounds. Therefore, he offered a contest for Perfume Shrine readers with a brand new bottle of perfume as prize and the winner gets to choose between his two upcoming launches: ROSE VERMEILLE or EAU D’ÉPICES.
So what should you do to enter the contest? Simple: State which is your favourite Andy Tauer scent & why in the comments; or if you haven't tried any, why you would want to sample an A. Tauer fragrance and maybe which catches your fance.
I will pick the best entry (to my discretion) and forward the winner's data to Tauer, so he can send them the fragrance. Contest is open till the end of the week, Sunday midnight, so you have plenty of time to participate.

In the above context and to help you a bit, I have sampled both fragrances and they're predictably very good. Of course all spicy fragrances by Tauer are awesome and the characteristic "Tauerade" (the house's beloved mix of labdanum, Tonka and the ambergis note) in the base is echoing through both. The spicy bouquet on top of L’eau d’épices is comforting and cozy. I don't know if it's the approaching cool of autumn and the longing for evenings spent by the fire, wrapped with a fluffy blanket and holding a mug of muled wine, but there's something immediately appealing about this scent which I am sure will find many fans. The cardamom is especially nice and coupled with the labdanum at the base created a sweet, resinous feeling. Tauer likens it to a walk through a pineta and I wouldn't disagree. The other spices are more of a familiar clove-y mix which recalls pomanders, the juicy citrus peel festooning the spicy prongs.
Une Rose Vermeille is a fruity rose, but fruity in the way that natural rose essence has a tangy, sometimes honeyed-hesperidic quality: the rose pairs with the mandarin and the framboise very well. After all, Tauer does love his roses and treats them like princesses. Andy here used Bulgarian rose absolute, which is very costly, and bypassed the powdery aspects into highlighting the liqueur-like tones so it reads "modern" and almost edible, like the rose jams we used to make around here, rather than "retro". Succulent!
Both fragrances project clean somehow, they feel "fresh" and bright and could be worn by either sex, but they're a far cry from the laundered & bleached "clean" fragrances that flood the market and recall functional products rather than fine fragrance. This is ascertaindly fine fragrance and is proud of it!

By the way, Andy intimated that he's introducing a smaller 30ml flacon for two of the Homage scents, Une Rose Chyprée (you can read a review here) and Une Rose Vermeille. Good news for those with tighter budgets!


Notes on the two new scents from Tauer Perfumes:
Scent N0. 12-EAU D’ÉPICES (eau de parfum, in the classic blue Tauer 50 ml flacon).
HEAD NOTES An Indian basket of spices with cinnamon, cardamom, clove and coriander with red mandarines.
HEART NOTES An opulent heart of orange blossom, jasmine, orris root and incense.
BODY NOTES A woody cistus ladaniferus resin, softened with ambergris, Tonka beans and vetiver.
Available worldwide end of September, about 120 $US

Scent No. 10-UNE ROSE VERMEILLE (eau de parfum, in a new 30 ml flacon, presented for the first time in Florence, September 10).
HEAD NOTES A citrus chord with lemon and bergamot with a whisper of lavender.
HEART NOTES Sumptuous bouquets of roses and violets, kissed by luscious raspberries.
BODY NOTES The richness of vanilla, sandalwood and Tonka beans, touched by the elegance of ambergris.
Available worldwide end of September, about 130 $US

Disclosure: samples vials of the scents were sent me by the perfumer

Ormonde Jayne Gold Rush: new products

Ormonde Jayne is spoiling us rotten again with a slew of new products:

Gold Crème, an opulent scented crème for the décolleté and shoulders is available in two of Ormonde Jayne’s award winning fragrances, Orris Noir and Ta’if. Gold Crème leaves skin delicately fragranced with a beautiful golden shimmer.

Price: £56 for 15ml
Stockist: 12 The Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4SL, 020 7499 1100
Ormonde Jayne, Harrods, Black Hall, London SW1X 7XL, 020 7730 1234
http://www.ormondejayne.com/

Gold Dust on the other hand is decadent, recalling retro films with dangerous heroines who wrecked havoc with their enchanted entourage and used big puffs of powder in front of their mirror. Gold Dust will be the ultimate luxury this Christmas and is exclusive to Harrods. 24-carat gold dusting powder, housed in a black lacquered handmade gold box crafted by British carpenters. The lavish puff is hand sewn in the Ormonde Jayne London studio in French satin with a beautiful champagne coloured marabou feather trim. Gold Dust is perfumed with the rare and exotic Ta’if Rose. Ta’if Roses are harvested only during April and are handpicked early each morning, five thousand feet above the shores of the Red Sea and overlooking the Arabian Desert. For the ultimate evening glamour, apply over Ormonde Jayne Ta’if Eau de Parfum or Parfum to leave you with an enthralling fragrance which will last the length of any party. Linda Pilkington, creator and owner says: “The ultimate in decadence and glamour for that bit of vampish femme fatale in all of us.”

Price: £400 for 15ml gold dusting power and handmade puff
Stockist: Ormonde Jayne, Harrods, Black Hall, London SW1X 7XL, 020 7730 1234

Finally, there is the Navidad Scented Candle for Christmas 2010. Fragranced with warm, festive notes of Mandarin, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Bay, Amber and Tonka, this limited edition candle creates the perfect Christmas atmosphere. Each of the three hundred limited edition Navidad candles is housed in an beautiful antique gold box with an embossed gold lid. Every candle is hand poured and finished in the Ormonde Jayne London studio.

Price: £60 for 290g Limited Edition Candle in luxury Christmas presentation box.
Stockist: as above for the Gold cream

some info & pic via press release

Hang on to your seatbelts!

I have been so burdened with fragrance writing and projects my arms are stiff, but I will come back with a BIG surprise and contest you won't want to miss in a short while. Very soon, promise!

Aftelier Candide: new fragrance

From niche, indie brand Aftelier, headed by Mandy Aftel, comes a new fragrance, Candide.

Candide is a bright, uplifting floral, expressing its theme of optimism through sublime jasmine and age-old frankincense. Recent research in the Journal of Biological Chemistry finds that the scent of jasmine is better than Valium at calming and soothing. The sunny color comes from the orange shades of jasmine , pink grapefruit, and blood orange essences. The smell of jasmine is uplifting and cheerful in a sexy way – the perfect blend of high and low, sweet and dirty. The pink grapefruit is juicy and sweet; the blood orange smells of mouth-watering orange mixed with raspberries. The name is an homage to the great novel by Voltaire, with its theme of optimism.

Candide is available in one quarter ounce ($150) and 2 ml mini size ($45). Our one quarter ounce perfume comes with a complimentary mini kit. Contact info@aftelier.com

Lady Gaga and her celebrity scent

Can I just yawn my way out of all these celebo-scents? Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with a famous person having a fragrance out bearing their name and ugly (or pretty, as the case is) mug on the bottle, but so very often the juice inside is just swill... Not to mention it's often unlikely that there would be any class involved (see this) or innovation (see that) or at the very least a sense of continuity with the "brand? (see that, for Pete's sake).
At any rate, who else but Lady Gaga, the major pop culture phenomenon of the last -oh, how long was it, again?- years, to bring out a new celebrity fragrance. According to People, Gaga has signed a deal with Coty to launch her own fragrance, set to be in stores in spring 2012. The lady herself has been known to wear Chanel Gardenia. Go figure! Who knows how the new fragrance will smell like, but I guess we're to be greeted with news of "rock accords" and "jarring fashion sense chords" soon.
Wondering what will really set it apart? Perhaps much like the eponymous pop star's garments, it will require special staff to hold on and use for its designated purpose. Or something...

Photo of Lady Gaga in all her feathered glory via zimbio

Evening of British Perfumery at Harrods

Harrods Perfume Dairies exhibition is inviting you to an Evening of British Perfumery on Thursday 16th September 2010 6.30pm - 8.00pm
Explore the best of British perfumery, led by curator Roja Dove, with speakers from Ormonde Jayne, Floris, Grossmith, Penhaligon's and Clive Christian

A Very Special Guerlain Event: Fragrant Reportage at Harrods Perfume Diaries

~by guest writer Fiordiligi

The Perfume Diaries exhibition, currently attracting plenty of attention at Harrods department store in London, offered an enticing and perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Guerlainistas last Thursday, September 9, 2010. Harrods and the organisers of this exhibition managed to persuade the legendary but now somewhat frail Jean-Paul Guerlain to travel to London, accompanied by his successor as “nose” at the house of Guerlain, Thierry Wasser, in order to participate in an interview for a few fortunate perfume fans.

From left to right (click for reviews): Guerlain Pour Troubler, Chant d'Arômes, Fleur Qui Meurt, Après L'Ondée


In an intimate setting within the exhibition space, Jean Paul Guerlain and his protégé (who clearly enjoy a relationship of mutual respect and admiration), responded to questions from the Harrods Fashion and Beauty Director Marigay McKee. A measure of the importance of this event was the appearance of Harrods owner (but perhaps not for much longer if the Press reports are to be believed) Mohammed Al Fayed at the beginning of the session.

The opening question and its response summed up the entire Guerlain ethos: when asked by Ms McKee to explain Guerlain’s longevity as a perfume house, Jean Paul had an unhesitating one-word response: quality. Later, he also insisted that another reason for the success of the House was the fact that they only sell what they can produce; in other words, Guerlain is a perfumer, unlike the fashion houses which “buy in” a fragrance to which the designer’s name can be appended and which can be sold alongside handbags and dresses.

Jean-Paul Guerlain’s first creation for the family business was when he was 15 years old, and he is still making perfume (thank goodness!) some 58 years later. When asked for his most personally meaningful creations, he cited Vetiver and Samsara, and then added Nahema. It is well known that the Guerlain family has always nurtured a tradition of stories lying behind the creation of each fragrance, and Jean Paul talked about the creation of a fragrance being linked to love, being in love or wanting to woo someone. Later, the relationship between food and perfume was also discussed (Jean- Paul apparently being a wonderful cook).

Mention was made of the next scent by M.Guerlain (Arsene Lupin), already discussed here, and the travels he still undertakes in search of the raw materials for Guerlain fragrances, including to Liguria, Calabria (for bergamot) and India. He loves to travel, still, and has particularly fallen in love with Nepal and Tibet.

Naturally, the bulk of the short interview was spent in discussion with the Guerlain legend, but Thierry Wasser, an elegant figure in a dark suit, who clearly worships his mentor, spoke modestly and self-effacingly about how he came to Guerlain through his work at Givaudan and, interestingly, how he always makes up the original formula of the Guerlain “greats” as a reference before attempting to re-work it. The mention of the new IFRA restrictions led to the most marvellously eloquent Gallic shrug and hand gesture from M Guerlain – “pah” would describe it best! Clearly, he, like the rest of us, is not impressed.
Mr.Wasser would obviously not be drawn on any new projects although he did say that something was being planned to celebrate the centenary of Jacques Guerlains’ masterpiece L’Heure Bleue in 2012.

Just one or two questions came from the small audience before the interview ended, to prolonged applause, and it would not be an over-statement to say that Jean Paul Guerlain looked very touched by his reception.

Fiordiligi is going to a private view of the actual exhibition guided by Roja Dove on Tuesday, so hopefully she will grace is with a companion piece here soon!

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Guerlain news, Guerlain Series of reviews


Photo of Guerlain bottles via Grant at Basenotes, many thanks and please visit

Rihanna is Out with a Perfume Soon: Reb'L Fleur

In a chat on her official fansite, Rihanna Daily, Rihanna(identified by a special pink admin name) told fans she’s done recording the entire album and promises it won’t disappoint. [...] The pop star also revealed the name of her new fragrance, which will be out by the end of the year, and it’s a familiar name to the Rihanna Navy: Reb’L Fleur. It’s much like the new tattoo she recently got on her neck, “rebelle fleur.” [source]
Guys, it's official now!




Update: According to the Parlux press release the new Rihanna scent is "Daring, sexy and truly memorable, Reb’l Fleur is as much in tune with Barbados-born Rihanna’s roots as it is with the glamour of her present life in New York City." The bottle design is rather quirky: an inverted stiletto heel wrapped with satin ribbon and topped with a gold ring. Reportedly, however, industry professionals weren't wowed and I kinda see why.
The scent will be available for purchase from February 2011. Reb'L Fleur by Rihanna includes fragrant notes of tuberose, violet, hibiscus, and coconut water [source].



Top pic via popcrunch ,second pic via Rihannadaily.com, bottle pic via Parlux

Top 5 Sexiest Fragrances

A BellaTV snippet (via PopSugar) featuring 5 picks from Scent Bar in Los Angeles (the brick & mortar store of Luckyscent). Basically a promo for Luckyscent, but oh well...it's a rather fun clip! Gotta love Zelena when she wrinkles her nose sniffing a bottle at 00:05. What bottle is that, by the way, anyone knows? Is it a Nanadebarry, Monocle Laurel or one of the Six Scents? And again when she first smells Molecule 01 (watch her expression, priceless micro-detail there) and proclaims it smelling very natural. I mean...Yeah, baby, yeah!

The five sexiest fragrances for men and women in the world according to Steven Gontarski, Scentbar expert (cute guy) are:

Lumière Noire pour Femme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Monyette Paris by Monyette Paris
Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules
Costes 2 by Costes
CDG Red Series Sequoia

Agree? Disagree? Have your say! Which scents rate as sexiest to you?

Annic Goutal roses review: Rose Absolue, Rose Splendide, Quel Amour

Annick Goutal is no stranger to roses: From the retro-smelling rosiness of Ce Soir ou Jamais, to the refined Turkish rose on a powdery base of iris & sandalwood of Heure Exquise, all the way through the fabulous skincare which utilizes rose serum for its caring and skin-regenerating properties, high quality rose essence has a pride of place in the Goutal range, reflecting Annick's passion for the fragrant bloom. The three latest launches come as a trio of limited editions nicknamed Rose So Chic that highlight varying facets of "the king of flowers", the rose, resulting in as many permutations created by perfumer Isabelle Doyen, fit for a different woman or a different mood. Two of them (Rose Absolue and Quel Amour) are lighter interpretations of the existing perfumes in the line, while Rose Spendinde is a new release.

From lightest/fruitiest to "heaviest"/truest they are:

Quel Amour: The impertinence of peonies, the burst of wild rose and geranium rosa, combine with a sharp note of red currants, pomegranates and wine peaches, lending a sense of sweet cravings. Quel Amour smells rather innocent, with a mischievous, sweet tooth (a little whiff of lilac) deriving from a fruity heart and a wine-y, slightly sour note in the aftermath coming from the currants. Basically a berry-rose chord with a zingy, citrusy top note, Quel Amour is romantic the way texting sweet nothings is or settling a little lovers' argument through an apology on your Facebook profile: There is just something about it that appeals to the young and is completely uncomprehensible to the older generations. If searching for a fruity floral to offer to a young one you could do much, much worse elsewhere.

Rose Splendide: Fresh, green and musky, this "eau parfumée" is reminiscent of an early morning walk through gardens sparkling under the new day's dew...A composition based on the delicate, fragile Centifolia Rose, enhanced by the fresh scent of magnolias, musk and a touch of pear, for an incredibly mischevious revelation ! Rose Splendide is presented as the scent of a rose that has not been cut yet, and indeed this continuity between stem and thorn and flower is what keeps me interested. The gorgeous face creams and toners in the Goutal Spendide range have been aromatized for years with a comparable scent (Damascena rose and a bit of blackcurrant) and it was entrancing enough to keep me coming back for more, muffling the siren calls of several other high-end skincare lines. The mysterious underlying muskiness alongside the herbal/leafy touch on top (which reads as cut-grass green) is what seals the deal for me, making Rose Splendide my favourite in this trio of rose fragrances.

Rose Absolue: The quintessence of the noblest roses from the East and West : May, Turkish, Bulgarian, Damask, Egyptian and Moroccan roses. A creative folly for eternal feminity now reinterpreted in an Eau Parfumée. Like an armful of fresh roses, intense in their message, over the top romantic like bowing down on bended knee with the Seine at the background to propose, Rose Absolue is a must-try for anyone in love with roses. The light musk trail at the base notes lends it a whiff of something starting to hint at more intimacy; the love story is beginning to veer off the platonic and into the carnal but it's not quite there yet. The only drawback is the relatively lower staying power.

All three Goutal fragrances in the Rose So Chic collection are circulating as 100ml Eau parfumée spray, under a limited edition presentation of a pink/reddish organza ribbon around the neck under the "turban" cap. They retail for 85$. Annick Goutal will donate 5€ from each purchase of any of three fragrances to AVEC (Association pour La Vie Espoir contre le Cancer) between September 1 and October 31st, 2010, as a commemoration of Annick's battle with cancer.

New Dior Homme Commercial Directed by Guy Richie

The new Dior Homme commercial titled Un Rendez-Vous stars suave Jude Law engaged in ~apparently~ some role-playing sex game with a girlfriend (introducing Slovak model Michaela Kocianova who has a ridiculously predictable thick accent and sounds like Elmer Fudd!). The news is it's been directed by acclaimed British director and ex-Madonna-spouse Guy Ritchie. “You know who I am,” Law growls as Michaela Kocianova helps him slip into his pants, obviously made at the Dior ateliers. “I know who you are. You know where I’ve been. I know where you’ve been….” The dialogue is left at that (it's sounding all too repetitive or is it just me?)— and it’s never quite clear who Law is talking to. Then Law jumps into a vintage car and speeds off to the Eifel Tower. Nice touch to have the girl wearing his cologne, Dior Homme is great on women's skin too! (Have been enjoying it myself)



Greaaaaat, now what do YOU think? I'm a little stumped myself (Isn't it a little confusing? There's some back and forth between past and present all while they're talking on the phone). I like Guy Ritchie's cinematic work on the whole.
And what's that with famous cinematic directors reprising commercials for perfumes lately? (see Scorcese and Chanel Bleu)

More reading about the Ritchie-Dior film: Whiteblog.net

clip brought to my attention via popwatch