Juliette Has a Gun Calamity J: new fragrance

Romano Ricci, progeny of the well-known Nina Ricci family, is responsible for the playful and whimsical Juliette has a Gun fragrances which include Citizen Queen, Lady Vengeance, and Miss Charming. Right after introducing "Bullet", literally a bullet-shaped atomiser for his fragrances, there is a new masculine proposition this time: Calamity J. named after the notorious Calamity Jane of the West or perhaps hinting at the Juliette of the eponymous brand.

Although marketed as a masculine, the new fragrance is aimed at rebellious women, much like the Wild West heroine, and is centered around a 35% concentration of musk cocktail. Romano Ricci wanted it to recall the essence of a dandy, with an aura that couldn't be characterised neither floral, nor fruity, nor citric, opting for a woody-ambery nuance that is supported by patchouli, amber, iris and musks.

The face to front such a fragrance is Lou Doillon, the sister of Charlotte Gainsbourg (who will be fronting the new Balecianga fragrance as discussed recently) and daughter of Jane Birkin, muse of L'air de Rien perfume by Miller Harris. Her athletic, dynamic but still unconventional physique posed in the nude was considered very fitting the rebellious concept of the series. Romano liked the idea and the "it-ness" of Lou so much he is seriously considering of making her his official "face" of the entire line.
The fragrance is set to launch this November internationally and will be presented in a roll-on version in 2010. Prices for Juliette Has a Gun Calamity J. will be 75 euros for 50ml/1.7oz Eau de Parfum and 98 euros for 100ml/3.4oz.

pic via flavor-magazine.com

New perfume addresses in Paris: shopping info

In the middle of an economic recession that affects fashion as well as the fragrance sector, new stores are still opening. For Parisian shoppers and those travelling to the city to savour perfumes and other pleasures, two new worthy of note addresses:

Different Latitudes, a company founded in 2005 by David Froissard and Loïc Le Guen as an International Luxury Trader that specializes in distribution of luxe brands, image counselling and marketing, is coming to the Parisian market with a dynamic move. They're bringing some of their portfolio in Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, a shop-in-shop stand including niche brand Neotantric, Frapin, Amouage and Robert Piguet.
Piguet is amply represented by Fracas and Baghari pour femme, Bandit and Visa pour femme, Cravache pour homme and the newly re-issued Futur, a formula closely following the instructions of Rober Piguet himself in the 1960s: the US-owned Fashion Fragrances company had the rights for a decade and the re-issue was finally orchestrated by Aurélien Guichard of Givaudan. Futur by Piguet is a blend of hesperides, violet, jasmine, yalng ylang, cedar and patchouli for a fresh and floral touch.
Amouage, much loved on these pages, is enjoyed in 30 countries with fragrances created by la creme de la creme of perfumers: Guy Robert, Jean-Claude Ellena, Bertrand Duchaufour, Maurice Roucel et Lucas Sieuzac. The result in scents such as Jubilation 25, Gold, Dia, Lyric, Ubar and Epic is nothing short of majestic.

Guerlain on the other hand is opening a new stand-alone boutique in le Marais designed by Patricia Grosdemange at 10 rue des Francs-Bourgeois. The new store is paying homage to several emblematic fragrances and products of the historical house in 110 square meters full of the best craftmanship.
Guerlain has always paid attention to their stores and the history of the Guerlain house boutique addresses is interesting: The first one was opened at 42, rue de Rivoli in 1828, conceived by the fertile imagination of Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain. In 1830 a new building is chosen for Guerlain perfumes and cosmetics in 15, rue de la Paix. Jacques et Pierre Guerlain establish themselves at the helm of the house in 1914, and with the help of architect Charles Mews they build the legendary boutique at 68, avenue des Champs Elysées. The space will host the institut Guerlain in 1939 and will be panegerically renovated in 2005 with the innovative skills of interior designers Andrée Putman and Maxime d’Angeac. Places to make one dream...

Les Parfums: Paris perfumes exhibition

From 2nd to 5th of October, Paris will be hosting the fragrance exhibition Les Parfums. A trade show aiming to highlight the new directions in perfumery and re-ignite the love for perfume, all hosted in the city that put scent on a pedestral. For professionals, the initiated and the neophytes, the trade show Les Parfums is free for all and will feature special prices on milestone perfumes from the houses hosted, a consultation and selling point of the best publications dedicated to fragrance, and meeting-up with some of the creators of the most prominent niche makers in today's market:


Amouage, Claudie Pierlot, Etat Libre d'Orange, Frank Los Angeles, Ginaluca Bulega Parfums, Isabey, Kalaris Milano, Linari, Mona di Orio, Neotantric Oasis, P.Frapin et cie, Parfum d'Empire, Parfums d'Orsay, Poiray, Robert Piguet, Susanne Lang, the Hype Noses, Vero Profumo.
The official site of Salon Les Parfums can be reached on this link (in French right now, but will feature an English speaking section shortly).

The exhibition Les Parfums will take place on 2-5 October from 9am to 6:30am (on Saturday till 8:30pm) at L'Atelier Richelieu, 60 rue de Richelieu, 75002, Paris
(Metro: Bourse, Pyramides, Palais Royal)

Have fun!

Aqua di Parma Magnolia Nobile: fragrance review

After Eau d'Italie and their watercolour rendering of the magnolia flower, Magnolia Romana, a formula that takes magnolias into a gouache approximation without their true oilier features visible, Magnolia Nobile by Aqua di Parma is another fresh take on the magnolia flower; like an unmade bed in black and white it fuses the contrapunto of cool and warm into sciaphobia, questioning our own gaze into seeing things that might not be there.

Magnolia as a note is proving to be very popular lately, if we consider recent launches: a new Helena Rubinsten fragrance fronted by Demi More, Wanted, the lovely Eau de Fleur de Magnolia by Kenzo (which we reviewed here), the "cologne florale" J'Adore L'Eau by Dior and Cristalle Eau Verte by Chanel.
In the last few years there seem to be big trends on certain perfume notes which take over and almost dominate the market: the year of iris flummoxed us with allusions to the Florentine rhizomes when the (respectable and often lovely) substitues concocted in a lab were playing hide-and-seek in the bottle; the from-top-to-bottom craziness for oud left many with the impression that the pathological secretion of the Aquillaria tree was indeed the source of the complex and medicinal smell in their fragrance (at those price points, not so!); the dominance of cleaned-up, de-moleculed patchouli has been harbouring a progeny of the hundreds into almost every new release to hit the market for some time now. It seemed magnolia couldn't escape for long...
Acqua di Parma was inspired by the ephemeral flower that can be smelled ‘in the gardens of elegant villas at Lake Como’ (in northern Italy).’ After the powdery-orange trail of Iris Nobile, Magnolia Nobile is woodsier, fresher and greener. A perfume of ‘elegant femininity intended for women who don’t need to attract attention.’

The natural magnolia blossom is a big waxy embrace of ginormous petals that seem to exude both a crystalline, lemony facet and more intimate, creamy jasmine-like effusions that can take a slightly tinfoil-like odour under some weather conditions to my nose. The treatment in Magnolia Nobile is following ~just like the bottle~ the one of iris in Iris Nobile of the same line, where the hesperidic top (especially in the lighter, more upbeat Eau de Toilette as opposed to the more chypre Eau de Parfum) is tieing the composition in style with the cologne genre that Aqua di Parma so effortlessly encapsulated in their classic Cologne. In Magnolia Nobile the lemony-green facets are pronounced at first, making it a zesty refreshing mix that cannot but provide an euphoric feeling, slightly sweet due to the floral essences, but there is also a familiar plummy-apricoty nuance which brings to mind popular mainstream releases which have been haunting the aisles of malls, restaurants and cinemas for a few years now. The woody musky base is also echoing in my ears like speakers in the car left on some news-relating channel in a sub-human frequency that can be felt more than heard.
In that regard the point of the construction of a "niche" fragrance along those lines (if a LVMH-owned company can be considered that) is eluding me. Magnolia Nobile is quite pleasant and does not become grandiloquent at any point which is a plus, but I cannot deny my disappointment with the familiarity with which it greets me when I expected a novel path that would bring me some Tarkovskian dream sequence. Maybe my expectations were too high. I am holding out for the next Nobile flower in the line before adding a companion to my Aqua di Parma Iris bottle.

Notes for Magnolia Nobile by Aqua di Parma:
Top: bergamot, lemon, citron, green notes
Heart: magnolia, jasmine, rose, tuberose
Base: sandalwood, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla

Available as Eau de Parfum in 100ml/3.4oz and 150ml/5oz at Neiman Marcus and select doors internationally.

One large sample will be offered to a lucky reader. State your interest!

Photograph The Unmade Bed by Imogen Cunningham via personal.pblogs.gr. Ad pic via fashionindie.com