Lemon Cloud dessert, enhanced by lemon & bergamot fragrance, by chef Joredi Roca

Jordi Roca is the youngest of the Roca brothers, owners of Celler de Can Roca, one of the best restaurants in Spain. He is the pastry chef, and his desserts based on popular fragances like Eternity, Tresor or Carolina Herrera are famous.
Lemon Cloud is now a stand-alone fragrance available online, inspired by his depicted dessert!

Cartier news: Baiser Vole new extrait de parfum & Le Baiser du Dragon discontinued

The quite lovely Baiser Volé by Cartier is now coming in an extrait de parfum concentration for the ultimate experience of immersing your head in a fresh,green lily bouquet.

Among the prettiest (if not most exciting) releases of 2011, Baiser Volé is now more concentrated in order to cater for indulging our posh genome. The new bottle is shaped like a metal lighter, continuing the tradition of Cartier which began with Must de Cartier (1981).

You can read a review of Baiser Volé on this link and information on lily fragrances on this one.You can find a guide into perfume concentrations on this link.

On the other hand, Le Baiser du Dragon, a sumptuous and hold-no-prisoners oriental from 2003 with bitter almond/amaretto notes and jasmine-gardenia in the heart, is getting discontinued. The reason offered is a desire to focus on the more upscale Les Heures de Parfum line in the Cartier portfolio, developed by in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent.Odd decision, given that the gorgeous name (which translates as Kiss of the Dragon) is used in an orientalised motif inspired jewelry line of the historical house.

It's hard to think the recalibrated focus is the only reason, as Délices de Cartier, So Pretty and several flankers on L'Eau de Cartier still are included in the Cartier portfolio, as strongly as ever. We can hypothesize that slower sales than anticipated thanks to the changing zeitgeist have something to do with it (Le Baiser du Dragon shares the fate of similarly smelling Kenzo's Jungle L'Elephant, if so) or possibly restrictions on some or other ingredient making it impossible to recompose satisfactorily (doubtful). Or perhaps a desire to break loose with the old and establish a new identity with nose Laurent on the helm (naturally Déclaration by Jean Claude Ellena is safe, as it's the biggest Cartier seller by several miles).

Vintage Perfume Bottle Sale

The Perfume Bottle Sale

17th December 2011

Auction Atrium

97C and 101B Kensington Church Street, London W8, UK

London online auctioneers Auction Atrium will be selling a single owner part collection of vintage perfume bottles and related ephemera in their specialist online auction which commences at 3pm on Saturday 17th December 2011

The collection comprises a diverse and stylish selection of vintage scent bottles by the major perfume houses from the 1920’s to the 1980’s including Worth, Schiaparelli, Coty, Guerlain and Chanel, many with original contents and packaging and by the major glass manufactures of the day including Lalique and Baccarat, together with related magazine advertisements and ephemera.

With estimates starting from £30 up to £700, the bidding closes from 3pm on Saturday afternoon. The lots can be viewed on online by going to www.auctionatrium.com and clicking on ‘The Perfume Bottle Sale’.

Viewing takes place at our Kensington showrooms situated at 97C Kensington Church Street, London W8, Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 11pm till 3pm (after 3pm by arrangement)

If you have any enquiries or questions you can contact on 0207 792 9020

info via press release

Diane by Diane von Furstenberg: fragrance review

The masstige in mainstream fragrances by famous designers these days is such that expectations have hit an all-time rock bottom: Rarely does a perfume enthusiast come upon a fragrance that defies both the lowered budget and the detrimental focus group admonishments for the lowest common denominator invariably resulting in dull, lackluster compositions with as much excitement as watching paint dry  (See Chanel's No.19 Eau Poudré; or even worse Chance Eau Tendre, which might be shampoo for all you know. Also Yves Saint Laurent's technically-challenged Belle d'Opium).

My friend Gaia, the Non Blonde summed it up well: "the perfume, Diane, is a mass-market/designer perfume. It's created to appeal to first and foremost to the non fragonerd crowd, to sell by the bucket and end up heavily discounted on every online retailer website. Rarely the stuff dreams are made of."
Nevertheless, on some occasions perfumers working in the mainstream do manage to create something quite good (see Elie Saab Le Parfum, Baiser Volé by Cartier, Prada Candy perfume or Love,Chloé) or even go above and beyond the call of duty (see the stupendously wonderful Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum, though to be fair this one had probably as much attention to detail given to as an art restoration on a Vermeer); to mention only 2011 releases.

Diane by Diane von Furstenberg is rather in the former category; it lacks that above and beyond element to make it into the great ones, but this shouldn't deter you from sampling or receiving as a Christmas gift with relative pleasure. It's easy to expect something as intensely feminine in a devil-may-care attitude that maps its own trajectory as its famous designer stood for: the von Furstenberg wrap dresses especially are the epitome of "smart woman on the go who hasn't forgotten her pudenda at home".  This is not quite it, but it's not totally traitorous either.

For Diane the fragrance perfumer Aurelien Guichard created an old-school feminine violet composition that goes for a very long-lasting clean and woody ambience, reminiscent of retro bath products; not quite as spectacular as Furstenberg's fashions, you might say. But brownie points for not going for the easy route of too sweet, too fruity (thankfully Diane doesn't like fruity fragrances), too air-headed, too fleeting... Diane is a real fragrance, ladylike, to be best appreciated probably by the high-street consumer who has not totally lost the concept of what perfume is: a manufactured, non photorealistic impression of something in the artist's mind (that something usually is your dessert spilled on your favourite dress these days, so hallelujah for this small favour in Diane).

Additionally, violet scents are becoming trendy again, after their first resurgence when niche perfumery first erupted into the scene a decade ago. It probably signals a mini comeback of class and restraint, after the atrocities of bosom-spilling & visible thongs over one's jeans fashions. Witness Tom Ford's Violet Blonde (chosen to be distributed in the mainstream line rather than the Tom Ford Privé one), or Love, Chloé, both this very season's releases. Hardly tramp stuff.
In Diane Eau de Parfum especially the treatment of ionones (these are the molecules that give that violet, retro scent) via a clean incense note of great dryness deducts the usually candied take that the note takes and thus, instead of intense "powdery", the formula is twisted on its axis to go for a "soapy scent".  The woodiness, provided by that fractionalized patchouli that makes the rounds in hundreds of modern releases, is well tempered, pleasant, even with a hint to chypré coolness. I also detect clean musks radiating from the blotter and sticking on the skin with their tenacious tentacles.
Likable and very wearable, just not remarkable enough. Decent, non air-headed bottle.

Notes for Diane by Diane von Furstenberg: frangipani, violet, patchouli, myrrh, and musk.

Diane by Diane von Furstenberg ($85 for 50ml/1.7 oz of eau de parfum, there is also an eau de toilette version which is lighter & "simpler" in texture) is available at Sephora (online too)

Pic: Princess Diane von Furstenberg and writter Alain Elkann photographed by Helmut Newton

Top 10 Most-read Fragrance & Flavor Stories of 2011

P&F magazine (Perfumer & Flavorist magazine) has a neat list of the top 10 most-read stories on the subject, ranked by unique page views, providing a picture of what the industry read and took an interest to this year. Follow the links to read the articles on P&F.

1. Kerry In Talks to Acquire Cargill Flavor Systems 
2. Firmenich Inaugurates New Grasse Naturals Facility
3. Flavorists Featured on 60 Minutes
4. Takasago Purchases Brazilian F&F Facility
5. Cavallier to Become In-house Louis Vuitton Perfumer
6. Frutarom Acquires Aromco
7. Wild Acquires Assets from A.M. Todd
8. IFF Teams with Evolva
9. IFF to Expand Flavor Encapsulation Program in UK
10. Symrise Expands in Singapore

Best-selling Fragrances for Men for 2011 (USA)

These top grossing perfume lists are always interesting to note down and ponder on their siginifance in terms of cultural approach and evolving tastes. It's in fact what many of our readers use as a gauge on what to consider as a "safe" gift or a compass in the vast world of trend-setting. So which masculine scents made it this year?

"The five best-selling men's fragrances between January and October of this year [2011] were: Giorgio Armani's Acqua di Gio Pour Homme (in the No.1 spot), Chanel's Bleu de Chanel, Gucci Guilty Pour Homme, Armani Code and Dolce&Gabbana's Light Blue Pour Homme, according to NPD [an American market research company].
What do all of these fragrances have in common - besides abundant references to the colour blue and things aquatic? They all have scent profiles grounded in a combination of wood (including but not limited to forests full of cedar, sandalwood, juniper, oak moss and musk wood) and spice (practically an entire rack of Sichuan pepper, ginger, bergamot, coriander and pink peppercorns)."

Read the entire article on this link on smh.com.au reptinted from the LA Times

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Top 10 Best-selling Masculine Fragrances in France  , Past ascribed gender: Best masculine fragrances for women, best feminine fragrances for men

Parfums MDCI Ambre TopKapi: fragrance review

More of a straight fresh masculine than a languid unisex, more of an hesperidic-rich mock-amber than the stupendous orientalia of the brick & mortar of the real TopKapi palace, Ambre TopKapi, the first masculine fragrance by niche perfumery Parfums MDCI is a puzzling case of onomatopoeia.The fragrance "sounds" like an expletive in a foreign language.

Perfumer Pierre Bourdon is at least as famous as Ernest Beaux for super-dosaging an ingredient with a very distinctive odour profile in a best-selling fragrance: For Beaux it was the chain of aliphatic aldehydes in Chanel No.5, for Bourdon it was dihydromyrcenol in Cool Water. It seems like Bourdon has made a habit of this: Ambre TopKapi, although classified as a woody-spicy, is suffused with the cool citrusy aluminum blade that is dihydromyrcenol; boosting the freshness of the citrus notes (which veer more into pineapple fruitiness than the classic Eau de Cologne bergamot ambience of old) and incising the spiciness of its heart (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, basil, lavender and thyme, all essences with a bracing, stimulating quality). The fresh feel is one that resembles part shampoo remnants, part chlorine-mopped counters, part woody cologne for men and it's this atmosphere that characterises the duration of the fragrance on skin; oscillating between dusty cool and sweetish, never really giving a straight-shooting answer.

Not much warmth or languor is to be met in the drydown and it's interesting to see that the fragrance doesn't really last as I expected, despite the presence of heavyweights listed in the official notes (musk, vanilla, sandalwood, oakmoss). The problem with Ambre TopKapi coming out in 2003 out of a niche line is that in a market full with clones of Cool Water it ends up smelling generic, even though it's masterfully blended and retains the same coherent character from start to finish.

Notes for MCDI Ambre Topkapi:
Bergamot, grapefruit, pineapple, melon, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, basil, thyme, lavender, oak moss, vetiver, sandalwood, rosewood, leather, Darjeeling tea, amber, musk, vanilla, jasmine and violet.

Ambre TopKapi retails for 250$ for 60ml and the price can rise to 610$ for the bust edition (same fragrance, same size, with a Roman bust on the cap made of Limoges porcelain)

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: Parfums MDCI Peche Cardinal, Masculine fragrance reviews

The winner of the draw...

...for the Tauer bottle of your choice is Mireille. Congratulations! Please email me (using the Contact email on top of page) with your shipping data mentioning in the title "PerfumeShrine Tauer draw" and the scent of your choice, so your prize can be in the mail soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation, rest assured your comment wasn't wasted as I plan to include a shout-out to all of you later on (surprise!), and till the next one!

Smelling Babies and Teenagers

'I inhaled deeply. “Ummm, baby!” I exclaimed
“What did you expect her to smell like? Dog?” asked my teenage son.
I gave him a stink eye.
“Babies smell good. You used to smell good when you were a baby,” I retorted.
“I still smell good,” he argued.
“No, now you smell like boy. Teenage boy. It’s a combination of dirty socks and too much body spray. That smell is only appealing to teenage girls and video game manufacturers.”

At last. A wittily written article on experiencing scent, drawing on the singularly pleasurable sniffing experience of smelling that sweet, clean, cozy baby smell...and contrasting it with how teenagers grow up to smell.
You can read the whole (hilarious and so true) thing on this link. 

Christmas Giveaway: Win a Free Perfume Bottle of your Choice fromTauer Perfumes!

We have a glorious giveaway today on Perfume Shrine, courtesy of niche perfumer Andy Tauer and his Advent calendar project he conducts every year.

The prize for the winner: A full, new perfume bottle at the choice of the winner! The winner can select from ANY fragrance (read reviews of White, Verdant, Auburn, of Zeta, of Une Rose Vermeille & Eau d'Epices, of Carillon pour un Ange,  Une Rose Chypree, Orange Star, Incense Rose, L'Air du desert marocain, Incense Extreme, Reverie au Jardin, Vetiver Dance) that Tauer sells on tauerperfumes.com OR a bottle of Miriam, the Tableau de Parfums scent, OR the Cologne du Maghreb.
What to do: All you need to do is comment on this post, telling us: What was your best scented discovery of 2011? What was your worst perfume experience of 2011?
Conditions: Draw is open till to everyone from all over the world till Wednesday 14th, 8am. . Draw is now closed, thanks for entering! The prize is shipped directly to the winner by Tauer perfumes.
I will announce the winner sometime tomorrow, stay tuned and check these pages again.

 Best of luck to everyone!!

Robert Pattinson's of Twilight Saga Favourite Fragrance

In this endless roller-coaster of what celebrities do and what they like, when said celebrities are not issuing a fragrance themselves, we're busy asking what perfume celebrities are wearing. In the case of Robert Pattinson, notably Edward in the Twilight films series, the question isn't exactly a simple one.

Reportedly the rising Brit star has a thing for the artistically crafted Serge Lutens line of fragrances with the conceptual rationale behind it. He rotates between them, taking care to completely empty one bottle of cologne before buing the next one. I guess he's a serial monogamist so to speak, in what regards perfume choice at least.

Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian on Video: A Nose for Scents

Thanks to sillage/pol for bringing this to my attention