The winner of the draw...

...for the Etat Libre sample is Cleo. Congratulations! Please email me using the contact in Profile or About page, so I can have this in the mail for you soon.
Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

Dior J'Adore: New Ad Campaign & Teaser

Le Château de Versailles is the new mise en scène for the upcoming advertising campaign for Christian Dior's fragrance best-seller J'Adore. Starring Charlize Theron again, acclaimed director Jean-Jacques Annaud (L’Ours, L’Amant, Seven Years in Tibet…) shoots a new clip featuring our glamorous heroine (in dark sunglasses and a jacket with nothing underneath), which will be broadcasted in its entirety on September 4th. In the meantime, here is the teaser for your delectation.

Etat Libre d'Orange Archives 69: fragrance review & draw

The releases by pop-art fragrance phenomenon État Libre d'Orange ever since Like This (fronted by Tilda Swinton) have been lacking, belying the enthusiasm on discovering credible and artful compositions behind rather gimmicky names. Simply put, they are not at all challenging or unique as I've come to expect from the ground-breaking house. Archives 69, named after the address of the brand in Paris (69 rue des Archives) but at the same time deliciously hinting at the racy sexual position through the iconography on the site, doesn't deviate from this disappointing path. It's not that it is not pleasant or wearable (because it certainly is), it is that it is rather contrived given the history: sampling their scents is like blind-foldingly tasting Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

The ad copy, promising "the illusion of sex", certainly makes for a frenzied anticipation among the perfume buying audience: "[...]when she finds you, you will know the end of innocence. With the song of a siren, she lures you with an indecent charm, an almost malevolent delicacy. She sings to the animal in you. She awakens the sleeping lion, she tames the savage beast. She leads you to wondrous and frightening delights, and you may be surprised by the strength of her seduction. She is masculine/feminine, succubus and incubus, and she can be dangerous, but only to those who willingly resist the confines of safety. You will shudder at the urgency of her will, and tremble at your hungry response". Eh, riiiight.

Upon spraying Archives 69 from État Libre d'Orange there is a smidge of that nauseating, sterile note (supposedly a nitrile) that makes Sécrétions Magnifiques so vile for so many. Allied to a musky note, midway between clean and dirty, it soon dissipates (blink and you'll miss it), paving the way for a much smoother, crowd-pleasing warm, spicy woody cluster of notes with overripe fruity nuances, reminiscent of the accord in Like This; plus warm, fuzzy fur. But not that kind of fur! It's more of a piney incense trail on a furry animal that cozed up by the fire, with spicy accents and the hint of dirt in good patchouli. There is a sweetness to its animalic fuzziness, a little bit salty sweet from one angle, more creamy sweet from another. But it never deviates from its mould of oriental spicy.

The composition overall is much too tame to conjure images of depravity and Baudelairian debauchery, but that does not mean that lovers (men or women) of snuggly, warm, skin scents won't like it. On the contrary.
To capture the full effect it's best to spray, since dabbing is akin to putting on sourdine on it; in that regard I agree with what Gaia of the Non Blonde points out. Still, in anycase and any way of wearing it, it's a low-hum fragrance that needs the proximity of intimacy to be best detected, much like other woody muskies such as Gaiac 10 by Le Labo or Escentric 01 (Escentric Molecules).

Notes for Etat Libre d'Orange Archives 69:
Mandarin, pink pepper CO2, pimento leaf, orchid Jungle Essence®and prune Jungle Essence®, incense, camphor, benjoin, patchouli, musk.

A sample out of my personal stash is available for a lucky reader. Please respond to this question to be eligible: Do you equate spicy, woody, snuggly scents with the autumn & holiday season or are you panseasonal? (And do you have a favourite among them?)

Archives 69 by État Libre d'Orange is available in 50ml and 100ml Eau de Parfum. The 100ml bottle is a limited edition in a collectible box. Archives 69 can be purchased from Escentual.com in UK and Henri Bendels and Luckyscent in the USA.

Still from the film Last Tango in Paris, photo of presentation from Elements Showcase NYC exhibition

Tom Ford Current & Discontinued Fragrances: A List (Work in Progress)

The Tom Ford Private Blend has always been a "niche" sub-line within a brand, exclusives with a high price tag and an invested interest on the part of the discerning consumer who searches for the elusive & the hard to get. In the process, and in view of the updating of the line with the upcoming Santal Blush and Jasmin Rouge, we thought of compiling a list of the fragrances and the discontinuations within.


The axing happened supposedly because Tom originally thought of the line as a "chop & build project" (much like the Aqua Allegoria Guerlain line at a different price point), where fragrances would be regularly discontinued in order to make place for new ones. It sounds plausible, although, curiously enough, it's the slow sellers (irrespective of artistic merit) which get axed. But never mind.

As of this minute (will be updating this), the discontinued Tom Ford Private Blend fragrances are:

Bois Rouge
Japon Noir
Moss Breches
Purple Patchouli
Velvet Gardenia


Edit to add: As of spring 2012, Bois Marocain and Ambre Absolute are also discontinued.
So are all the Musks fragrances (i.e. Jasmine Musk, Pure Musk, Urban Musk) with the exception of White Suede.

Best Sellers in the Tom Ford Private Blend line include:
Champaca Absolute
Neroli Portofino and
Tobacco Vanille.

The Tom Ford Private Blend also currently includes, always in Eau de Parfum concentration:

Arabian Wood
Azure Lime
Black Violet
Jasmin Rouge
Italian Cypress
Lavender Palm
Noir de Noir
Oud Wood
Tuscan Leather
Santal Blush 
White Suede 

The regular Tom Ford fragrance line on the other hand (available at major department stores) includes:
Black Orchid, Black Orchid Voile de Fleur (a flanker with a different scent, not just concentration, than the original, which is getting harder to find, read on), Tom Ford for Men, Tom Ford Extreme, Grey Vetiver, White Patchouli and Violet Blonde. Out of those Voile de Fleur has been discontinued according to the official site by Tom Ford.

New releases for 2012 include Tom Ford Noir for Men. 

You're encouraged to send me news re: availability of these fragrances, so I can keep the list updated.

Twin Peaks: Gres Cabochard, Aramis for Men and Lauder Azuree

It's been noted before that Aramis bears a distinct kinship with Cabochard (Grès) through the common perfumer behind both creations, namely the legendary Bernard Chant. But two other perfumes fall neatly somewhere between those two neighbouring meridians: Azurée by Estée Lauder and Bandit by Robert Piguet. Roughly, they can be likened to a family:

Aramis being the butch Godfather patriach, well behaved on the outside, dangerously brooding on the inside. Cabochard is the maternal force turning the neck (and therefore the head as well) in any which way she likes, while Azurée is the younger long-haired son driving fast without a licence and Bandit the rebel without a cause tomboy daughter who shuns panties in lieu of leather pants. They could have been The Sopranos, had the show been more stylish-oriented and retro glamorous. Or not. It doesn't matter, we can imagine.

Actually I'm cheating: Technically, the original sketch for Cabochard from 1959 was later deprived of its intensely opulent, romantic floral heart of India-reminiscing blossoms to serve as the core of the formula for Aramis (1965). For those who didn't know it, Azurée (1969) is also by Bernard Chant; a fresher interpretation of the Aramis idea given a luminous fruity topnote of refreshing bergamot, while still remaining resolutely herbal.

Chant was mad for chypres, skanky animalic or non; his Aromatics Elixir for Clinique is a seminal study on mossy herbal patchouli with a big rose lurking inside the bush. Azurée, albeit herbally green and chyprish, is softer than Bandit and lacks the acid green bite of the quinolines that compose the latter's leather note, thus making it more approachable of the four specimens, if largely unsung.

Comparing the two classic fragrances from Grès and Aramis, Cabochard and Aramis for Men respectively, I find myself contemplating how reformulation has changed perceptions: Cabochard has lost something of its intensely feminine mystery of floral chypre throughout the years (the ylang ylang and civet have been watered down), gaining a toughened, ballsy exterior which brings it even closer to the virile Aramis; the latter hasn't suffered major loses so far, although a reformulation in the mid-2000s altered a bit of its veneer.  
Aramis appears somewhat sweeter and mossier, underneath the male snagging quality with its pungent bitter leathery and artemisia green notes on top laced with cumin and a hint of ripeness emerging very soon ("body odour zone", "wild!", "unbelievable"). It has a more powdery-earthy vibe overall, with a sweet pleasing note in the drydown which lasts amazingly well. Cabochard is more screechy and strident nowadays with its synthetic castoreum and floral reconstitutions, yet still rather formidable compared to so many blah scents around. Both are abstract landscapes where everything is sophisticated, yet wild too; a cultural map of the sexual revolution unfolded through the span of a couple of decades.

Certainly not interchangeable, but similar enough to appeal to lovers of rough, fangly greens with mossy, leathery drydowns, this quartet of fragrances ~Aramis, Azurée, Bandit, Cabochard~ has a place in any perfume collector's arsenal. All fragrances are highly recommended as "shared" between both sexes irrespective of their advertising campaigns.

Notes for Aramis for Men:
Top: Artemisia, aldehydes, bergamot, gardenia, green note, cumin
Heart: Jasmine, patchouli, orris, vetiver, sandalwood
Base: Leather, oakmoss, castoreum, amber, musk

Notes for E.Lauder Azurée:
Top notes: Aldehydes, bergamot, artemesia, gardenia
Heart notes: Jasmine, geranium, cyclamen, orris, ylang-ylang
Base notes: Leather, patchouli, oakmoss, musk, amber

Notes for Piguet Bandit:
Top: galbanum, artemisia, neroli, orange
Heart: ylang ylang, jasmine, rose, tuberose, carnation
Base: leather, vetiver, oakmoss, musk, patchouli.

Notes for Gres Cabochard:
Top: aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, spice
Heart: jasmine, rosa damscena, geranium, ylang-ylang, iris
Base: patchouli, leather, vetiver, castoreum, oakmoss, tobacco, musk, labdanum, sandalwood.

Top photo Vogue US cover March 1969. Vintage ad from the 1980s for Aramis for Men.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Batucada: new fragrance

L'Artisan Parfumeur turns to perfumers Karine Vinchon and Elizabeth Maier (after a long stint with Bertrand Duchaufour) for their newest fragrance Batucada, due out in October 2011. The upcoming release connects two perfumers, but also two diametrically different places of the world; Grasse in France and São Paulo in Brazil, according to their official ad copy.

Although Grasse is apparently touted as the origin of the finery of the composition's formula, it's Brazil which serves as the conceptual spatial reference; batucada is a subgenre of samba originating from Rio de Janeiro. It involves a percussionist ensemble (bateria) that is heavily influenced by the repetitive and fast style of African percussionists.

Batucada by L'Artisan Parfumeur is a unisex fragrance that involves several Brazilian-influenced notes, at least what is populary considered classic Brazilian references for foreigners: The top expecetdly mixes a Brazilian Caipirinha cocktail accord (lime, cachaça and mint leaves), while the heart evolves around floral notes of tiare and ylang ylang. The drydown consists of base notes of coconut water and marine notes with nuances of sea salt.
I do hope that they manage to surpass the lovely Bahiana (Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier) which went that route before. Otherwise, what's the point?

Batucada will be released as an Eau de Toilette in 3.4oz/100ml and 1.7z/50 ml this coming October at select doors who stock L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances.

Marc Jacobs creative head for Dior?

According to Reuters (reprising quotes from WWD)  U.S. designer Marc Jacobs is "in talks with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton to replace John Galliano as the creative director of its Christian Dior fashion house. Jacobs, who is currently the top designer at Louis Vuitton -- also part of LVMH -- in turn could be replaced there by Phoebe Philo, the creative head at Celine, another component of the French luxury conglomerate's stable".

The conversations between all involved parties are increasingly crucial and will yield results in a short while.

What news could this spell though for the fragrance department of Christian Dior, already on a downwind spiral since at least their LVMH acquisition and only briefly given a surge through La Collection Couturier Parfumeur overseen by Francois Demachy?

Marc Jacobs seems to have the fingers firmly on the pulse on what concerns his own perfume portfolio, opting for maximum commerciability (is that a word?), which invariably produces inoffensive, rather bland scents...

Burberry Body: Free Samples on Facebook

Burberry are presenting their brand new Eau de Parfum Burberry Body especially for their Facebook fans before it’s even available in store, using a bespoke application that allows ordering your own sample of the new fragrance and gives you the latest updates on the products.

Hop on over to Facebook.com/Burberry for a chance of your own free sample of the upcoming release.

The winner of the draw...

...for the Aqua di Parma bottle giveaway is Cathy E. Congratulations! Please email me using the contact in About page or Profile with your shipping data, so I can get your prize out to you soon!
Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

Perfume Stories: A Worth Quintet

By popular request, a new feature is launching on Perfume Shrine today: Perfume Stories; tales of fragrant history and exaltation of the senses interweaving snippets of inspiration into popular & less known fragrances' lore, which charm and seduce with their own mystery. For this first instalment, we immerse ourselves in the trail left by the Parisian house of Worth.

The house of Worth is invested in its own illustrious patina: Founded by an Englishman born in Lincolnshire, Charles Frederick Worth, it almost signlehandedly established couture upon opening quarters in Paris in 1858 in collaboration with Otto Bobergh, due to the lucky occasion of impressing Princess de Metternich, the wife of the newly appointed Austrain ambassador in Paris. She in turn impressed ~with her Worth-sewn dress costling only 300 francs!~ Empress Eugénie, the coquette and dazzling wife of Napoleon III at one of the three balls the royal couple gave at the Tuilleries Palace during the winter season of 1859. Thus is the story recounted:

"Eugénie had taken a liking to the young and vivacious Princess Metternich, and on that night when the empress noticed her dress (so the princess recounts in her memoirs) the following conversation took place: "May I ask you, Madam," she enquired, "who made you that dress, so marvellously elegant and simple?"

"An Englishman, Madam, a star who has arisen in the firmament of fashion," the Princess replied.
"And what is his name?"
"Worth."
"Well," concluded the Empress, "please ask him to come and see me at ten o'clock tomorrow morning."
“He was made, and I was lost," wrote Princess Metternich jokingly, "for from that moment there were no more dresses at 300 francs each."

 [ref: Metternich, Princess de, Souvenirs de la Princesse Pauline de Metternich (1859-1871), Paris: Plon, 1922, p. 136]

As is the custom, high society copied the monarchs, when they saw that the couturier was open for business and the birth of modern fashion was afoot. In fact, the house is so much considered a rite of passage for young debutantes and older customers of the haute monde alike, that it is mentioned as a necessary stop-over amidst the protagonists' honeymoon trip to Europe in Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence. Worth eventually branched into London, Biarritz and Cannes, popular resorts for the rich.

But despite perfumery making giant leaps with Guerlain and Houbigant in the throes of the 19th century, it was not until the founder of the Worth company died in 1885 and his grandsons (Jean Charles and Jacques Worth) took over, suceeding his sons, that they hired a high-calibre perfumer named Maurice Blanchet who worked on what would be a bewitching tale of fragrant romance.
Worth, under Jean Charles and Maurice Blanchet, released the five perfumes in a chronological sequence to tell a passionate story: Dans la Nuit (1925), Vers le Jour (1925), Sans Adieu (1929), Je Reviens (1932), Vers Toi (1934): "In the night...towards dawn...without saying goodbye...I return...towards you."

Apart from creating thus a mystical, subtle love confession simply via the names, Worth collaborated with René Lalique into creating memorable bottles for the fragrances: Dans la Nuit was encased in a blue boule bearing the stars of the nightime sky. Vers le Jour was on the contrary in bright, yellowing red glass like the dawn. Sans Adieu was in green, with a cone-head cap with cut-outs which makes an impression even today. 

But what is even more romantic is how Je Reviens in particular became a pop symbol of a landmark in history: At the end of WWII, when American GIs were going back home, after being welcomed into the arms and hearts of European women (women who had known for a brief second -it seemed- a solace from the deprivations of war), this was the perfume they gifted them with; imparting that final goodbye with the promise (and the crushed reality) of an au revoir: "I will return".

The perfumes were relaunched in 1985, and apparently again in 2000 as a "Love Poem" edition of five 0.33oz/10ml sprayers (depicted) crediting the historical perfumer but given a necessary reformulation to comply with modern standards of ingredients control. For instance, Dans la Nuit started its history as a wistful romantic woody oriental, bearing common "signature" traits with the best-known Worth, Je Reviens, and L'Heure Bleue, but recent changes have cheapened the formula by amping the synthetic sandalwood and jasmine constituents giving it a whiff of plastic. Vers le Jour was totally transformed into a modern hissy fruity floral, while Sans Adieu bears the totally anachronistic for a 1920s creation overdosage of Calone (watery melon note) we tend to associate with 1990s scents. Je Reviens was copiously produced, so earlier bottles can still be found rather easily, but apart from the collectable minis, there are two other versions circulating of Je Reviens: The 3.4 oz/100ml Eau de Toilette (bottle with big black cap), which is screechy and weak, and the 1.7oz/50ml Eau de Parfum in the dark blue crennalated bottle which retains parts of the floral aldehydic character of the original.


Still, the new "Love Poem" presentation is worth collecting for the charming story behind it, inspiring us to stack the bottles into confessing that untold passion again and again...
There is currently a 5-pack on sale on Ebay. (NB. Not affiliated).


Photo of bottles in boxes taken & copyrighted by RosieJane/MUA, used with permission. Vintage ad via adclassix.com, periodpaper.com & vintageadbrowser.com

Frequent Questions: How to Extend the Life of your Scented Candles

Sometimes scented candles can bite hard on a budget: It's not the initial outlay, it's that they get burned too much or lose their throw over time. So when you're buying a luxurious scented candle from the likes of Diptyque, Cire Trudon or Slatkin or put your favourite luxe brand here), what can you do to make that candle last and perform as indulgently as it should?

Here's advice from the expert, NEST Fragrances founder Laura Slatkin (via boston.com):
"Luxury scented candles are much more complex than non-luxury scented candles, so they must be taken care of in order to fully enjoy them. When lighting one for the first time, always make sure to burn it for at least three-to-four hours to achieve a fully melted pool of wax that reaches the perimeter of the glass. Wax has a memory and if this is not done, the candle will tunnel upon subsequent lightings.
Also, when burning a candle, black soot accumulates on the tip of the wick. It’s very important to remove that soot and trim the wick to one-quarter of an inch before you light it again, because it can cause the candle to smoke, or it can fall into the wax, which will adversely affect the fine fragrance oils used in luxury candles."

Move Over Clive Christian, Golden Delicious gets Blinged!

Clive Christian and his diamond encrusted bottles of haute scents might want to do a rethinking regarding their "costliest perfume in the world" ad routine: DKNY Golden Delicious by US-basedd clothes brand Donna Karan gets totally blinged, with a bottle that is so full of diamonds that it fetches the hefty price of a cool 1 million dollars!

The juice remains the same, but the bottle of DKNY Golden Delicious gets the luxe treatment with tiny skyscrapers ~recalling the urban landscape of New York, the city which served as an inspiration for the DKNY brand in the first place~ encrusted with small diamonds. This luxurious edition will only be available at the Facebook page DKNY Fragrance and the profits will go to Action Against Hunger.