Orlando Bloom on being the face of Boss Orange Man & What Scents he Likes on Women

'I wasn't really a 'fragrance guy' before, but Boss Orange is so easy to wear. It adds another dimension to my personality', Orlando says. 'I wouldn't have done it if it didn't fit my personality; it's so easy going, you can go mountain biking in it if you want!'
Thus describes Orlando Bloom ~the popular actor famous for his role of Legolas in Lord of the Rings, the lead in Pirates of the Caribbean and not only~ the scent of Boss Orange (for) Man, to which he will be the face from now on.



Boss Orange for men, the March 17th edition which was signed by Orlando Bloom as seen below is a Selfridges exclusive for now in the UK, while the scent circulates more widely of course, featuring "energizing top notes of crisp apple blended with the casual masculinity of Bubinga wood that creates a relaxed confidence with a genuine warmth". The full list of notes features apple, coriander, frankincense, Szechuan pepper, vanilla bean, Bubingawood. (45 GBP for 100ml)



Even though Orlando Bloom wasn't big on the fragrance experience, he did profess a keen nose for other smells: "The [London] underground has a really 'specific' smell which I remember from travelling to school and college. I also love the smell of fresh cut grass in summer, it reminds me of Kent (where Orlando grew up) and cricket".
He also admits a liking for that hallmark of cinematic olfactory exploration, the screen adaptation of the 1980s novel Das Parfum, screened as Perfume, the Story of a murderer. 'I really like the film Perfume, it's really hard but they definitely captured the spirit. It would be great if, like 3D cinemas, they could add smell to films'. Way to go Orlando!

And what does the pretty Orlando prefer on a woman scent-wise? "I always like the smell of a woman, the neck, behind the ear; she can be wearing a fragrance or not. I don't like fragrances that wear a woman though". Ladies, you've been warned.

Source of quotes: Elle magazine interview Orlando Bloom picture via thecinemasource.com

Victor & Rolf Flowerbomb La Vie en Rose: new fragrance

Victor & Rolf are busy launching a new limited edition for spring and summer of their best-selling Flowerbomb, called La Vie en Rose, encased in ~you guessed it~ rose-tinted glass. They call it a "sparkling Eau de Toilette". Available in 50ml/1.7oz from April 2011 at Saks and Sephora retailing from $80.
The press release describes the scent of Flowerbomb La Vie en Rose thus: "A cheerful whirlwind of tangy notes awakens the delectable aromas of the olfactory Millefleurs that is Flowerbomb. Opening on a green flash of citrus fruits with invigorating bergamot and tangerine accords, the fragrances blossoms into the dustry eager and sophisticated heart of a rose and lily of the valley bouquet, enhancing the captivating sensuality of pink peppercorns. It ends with amber and woody notes of cashmere and patchouli, which highlight the incomparable glamour of a resolutely feminine fragrance."

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil: fragrance review & comparison

Estée Lauder never ceases to capitalize on tried & tested concepts and Bronze Goddess (the revamp of Tom Ford's formula for Azurée Soleil) was among the very best: a truly beachy scent that imitated skin baked under the sun. Bronze Goddess Soleil for summer 2011 however despite the similar name is a quite different fragrance and although the concept is a good one (refreshing splashing on and sunny cheeriness), I admit I was spoilt by the past into expecting something more than a simple lemon and light musks cologne.

The line is confusing enough since the company is re-issuing last year's Bronze Goddess for the summer at the same time that they're launching the new Bronze Goddess Soleil. [To see a comparison between the original Azurée Soleil and Bronze Goddess formulae read this article]. Last year's Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche formula has a bright citrus quickly mollified by tropical tiare and milky coconut. It's the definition of a "skin scent", a vision of biscuit-hued flesh sprawled under tropical skies sunning itself at some beach where the sand is as fine as spun sugar and there's not a care in the world. It quickly became a cult favourite and deservedly so.

On the other hand, Bronze Goddess Soleil is more of a simplistic light and tart hesperidic scent, a boost of lemon freshness upfront (rather unlike the sweet cupcake note of Shalimar Light) prolonged via the easy solution of clean white musk and dewy notes. The bitterish accents of lavender and petit-grain are indeed a very distinct throwback to the classic Eau de Cologne "recipe", from 4711 to Jean Marie Farrina's.
Even though the idea is not bad, Lauder already had a cute citrus cologne with clean musks and blond woods in their line-up, Pure White Linen Light Breeze (a flanker to a flanker, imagine that!) which served as that "can't bother to think about fragrance" pick-me-up for days when the monsoon-like canopy of humidity seems inescapable. To provide another lemony lean cologne is a bit of a redundancy and the main reason I'm rather underwhelmed from this year's Bronze Goddess Soleil. Contrary to the established Bronze Goddess, it lacks both warmth and sexiness. It also lacks the classic coconut & vanilla sun tan lotion note (i.e.Coppertone in this case), which might make it preferable for those who have an aversion to that note in their summery splashes.
Still, not badly made, but my own buck is put elsewhere this summer...


Notes for Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil:
Top: Sicilian lemon, Calabrian bergamot, sweet tangerine, lavender and petit grain.
Heart: Mediterranean pittosporum, Tunisian neroli, Indian Sambac jasmine, Moroccan orange blossom, grapefruit blossom and pink lily nectar.
Base: blonde woods, iris, ambrette seed and crystalline musk.

The bottle of Bronze Goddess Soleil features a greener degradé on the base and the cap exhibits matte gold rings, to differentiate it from the other versions (well, apart from that soleil in the name of course). The concentration is marked as Eau Fraiche (it lasted about three hours on my skin, after eight hours I was vaguely sniffing a light muskiness) in 100ml/2.4oz. Available at Lauder counters while stocks last.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses: fragrance review

In Oscar Wilde's tale "The Nightingale and the Rose", drawing upon an ancient Sufi tradition, roses are dark red like blood, bearing the price of sacrifice for the sake of beauty and love. In L'Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses we witness the dark, earthier aspects of a nightime rose garden which blossoms, dense with foliage, only when true love manifests itself and a nightingale sings ever so sweetly as its pierces its heart upon the thorns.

Even though men are not known for typically wearing roses in the Western world, in Arabian countries they embrace those dark, almost gothic roses flanked by pungent woody notes like oud and patchouli. For those men and women with an adventurous heart, L'Artisan Parfumeur created almost two decades ago one of the most characteristic combination of those two polarising essences: the brutal yet tender collision of rose and patchouli.

Voleur de Roses (Roses' Thief) is like the granpa of niche patchoulis on the market, as it came out as early as 1993, composed by perfumer Michel Almairac (well known for his work on Chopard Casmir, Gucci Rush, several Bond no.9 scents such as Fire Island and The Scent of Peace, the new Chloe and the re-orchestration of Zen into a springly fruity floral). Subsequently all brands jumped onto the bandwagon of patchouli revival (it had been a dormant note since its heyday in the 1960s) and now it has not only swept the market as a protagonist in the new "pink chypres" (faux woody florals that substitute the base of moss with patchouli and vetiver) but also the much maligned -but deservedly most of the time- "fruitchoulis". Imagine a current bestseller, Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle, without the accord of the soiled petals gathered off the ground which made it so contemporary and attractive to young women: it would have been impossible without a forebearer providing the skeleton of the idea, such as Voleur de Roses. Patchouli and rose is nothing new, as the dark, deep and sweet earthiness of the former seems to make the essence of the latter smell like petals unfurling into infinity. All perfumers know that. But in the L'Artisan scent this notion was put front and center, united in an accord which projects with both strength and sensuality. The rose is not sour and it feels natural, not like a photorealistic rose on the stem, but rather true to the rich liqueur-like essence; boozy and contrasting warmth with coolness.

Although built upon two distinct and contrasting elements, the structure of Voleur de Roses is a powerful synergy of these antithetical forces, uniting into a stentorian voice which denies rose of all its archetypal attributes: romanticism, femininity, delicate elegance, softness. Instead this fragrance is like the torrent that ripped rose bushes off their petals and leaves (hence Voleur!) and left the premises like a patchouli-wheeled tractor ran through them repeatedly. If you do not like patchouli as a note (and if you're a reader who didn't live under a rock for the past 15 years you'd recognise it from overexposure in many contemporary fragrances) you're advised to back slowly away and never look back or you'll turn to salt like Lot's wife. This is a direct, over patchouli scent which gains in that odd camphoraceousness that patchouli soli-scents exhibit as time passes ~Borneo 1834 or Prada Intense are good examples of that sort of thing. It figures that L'Artisan featured a stand-alone Patchouli (later substituted by Patchouli Patch) on their catalogue previously: it's the stuff that niche fragraces capitalised on; focus on the raw materials themselves, far away references, emphasizing different facets of the essences.
Voleur de Roses is a fusion of two essential elements that comprise over 3/4 of total number of fragrances in both feminine and masculine perfumery, from floral chypres and masculine woodies via floral woodies and from Chanel through Guerlain. But the formula in this L'Artisan is also a careful framing (rather than ornamentation) of that skeleton with fruity accents (hints of strawberry, a whiff of plum) and a slightly musky-salty note. The composition is linear and a love-it-or-hate-it opus, one clear message in a perfectly coherent chord reverbarated into eternity into a hollow stone-built church. I personally like it very much indeed...but then I am a devotee of the sweet earthiness of aged patchouli that is reminiscent of burying one's hands in wet black soil...



Those who find they'd like the idea of rose and earthy notes/patchouli combined should also try Agent Provocateur's original scent in the pink "egg", Une Rose by F.Malle, Parfums de Rosine Une Folie de Rose (a lighter and easier interpretation) as well as Rose d'Homme by the same company (a decidedly masculine take on the idea), and also the more chypre-leaning Rose de Nuit by Serge Lutens.

Notes for L'Artisan Voleur de Roses:
bergamot, rose, plum, patchouli

Perfectly unisex, although originally marketed as masculine (at least going by what the older bottles read on the top of the cardboard box), Voleur de Roses is available online at L'Artisan and at boutiques specializing in L'Artisan scents.

illustration by Charles Robinson for the Oscar Wilde fairy tale

Jammie Nicholas Surplus: Feces Scent to Drive Men WILD!

Just when you thought you'd seen it all in fragoland, a new ~euphemistically called?~ fragrance arrives that promises you what you had been dreaming of all your life I'm sure: smelling of feces and dirt! "Gee, your hair smells like shit!" Is there a line more delightfully received by a female from a male admirer? Careful what you say or you'll risk having your perfumista card revoked...

London-based artist and self-proclaimed perfumer Jammie Nicholas, who proclaims "The Sun is But One Anus" and "Curiosity Castrated the Cat", named this controversial fragrance Surplus, "made from the excesses of the body" perfectly suited to the concept which should have every dog out there sniffing wildy: "I didn’t want to be like all the other schmucks and translate something from English into French just to sound glamourous", says Jammie. "Surplus carries the same meaning in both languages, which negates the romantic connotations of the French language."

A loaded meaning indeed. Well, no one knows about the joys of dirt like the French who doused themselves in vats of perfume in centuries past to cover up the stink of bodies unwashed since their own christening, using pleasant smells to cover up non pleasant ones. So now, the tables have been reversed and unpleasant smells will (?) be put on some of the "edge" back on our super-clean bodies.

I can hear the perfumista cries in my head right now:

~"Have you heard about that new extra-limited exclusive scent called Surplus? It's supposed to have a dirty smell"

~"Dirty as in indolic, you mean?"

~"Hmmm, don't know about that but it's supposed to be fecal, rather beyond indolic. Hard core stuff."

~"Oh my, fecal! Gimme some! I want to embrace my and the artist's innnermost effluvium so badly! It reconnects me with my core center"

~"Fecal does that to you, doesn't it. I bet it will drive all the guys WILD! I hear it's extra limited distribution, only 85 copies in existence and then no more!"

~"Oh dear...LEMMING!!! Who sells it?"

~"Not sure. I have heard of a niche new retailer who call themselves "The Worshipful Society of Toilette Apothecaries", they're supposed to have a very exclusive art salon, located in a seedy banlieu in Paris...or is it London, I don't recall".

~"Goodness, how can anyone take advantage of such an opportunity, though, without a ticket to Paris or London?! Clearly I must befriend the artist on Facebook and ask him to reserve at least three bottles for me and another ten for my innermost circle of friends who can appreciate this art level."

~"It takes quite a bit indeed to appreciate this sort of stuff. It's not just for the hoi polloi, you know. You have to make yourself known for having your nose firmly up your butt, so to speak. Not be repelled by what mommy told you back then when you potty trained..Not being so very anally retentive when wiping after doing your business you know...."

~ (pensively) "Assuredly...yeah...Now lemme look..." (contemplates purchase and contacting Jammie on Facebook)

What inspired Jammie Nicholas for this coprophilially embracing project, apart from any potty training misadventures that is? A book by the late Dominique Laporte called History Of Shit. (while you're at it check out this and that too). In it, the social historian analyses the theoretics of feces, down to its social implications and the role the dirty smells play in the construction of cosmetics.

Thankfully Jammie Nicholas has his head on his shoulders at least some of the time and is charging economic prices for something that is meant to be a cuiro purchase anyway: Surplus is available as a limited edition 60 ml of Eau de Toilette in 85 copies priced $40.
The site is at surplusperfume.com. Bon voyage!

pic via fragrantica

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Rosa Blanca: new fragrance

Rosa Blanca is the second Aqua Allegoria scent in the Guerlain catalogue for this spring and summer 2011, apart from Jasminora which we talked about already. Based on the scent of white rose, as its name suggests, Aqua Allegoria Rosa Blanca alongside Aqua Allegoria Jasminora (latter based on jasmine) constitute a throwback by Guerlain to more romantic, floral essences which graced the initial pleiad of Aqua Allegoria fragrances of which Lavande Velours, Ylang & Vanille, Floral Nerolia and indeed Rosa Magnifica were part of. It is doubtful whether Rosa Blanca will reprise the formula for the now discontinued Rosa Magnifica, but chances are that the jus will be modernised and following the strict regulations of the latest IFRA exigencies.
The fragrance is set to launch in April, available at major department stores.
Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Guerlain new releases and limited editions, Upcoming releases.

bottle pic via Prime Beaute

Puredistance I & Puredistance M, master perfumes: fragrance reviews

The ultra-exclusive (and ultra-expensive) Puredistance perfumes prove that not all such claims are bogus: Here are fragrances worth the trouble of going to lengths to sample them at the very least: They're rich, smooth, very luxurious-feeling indeed and even if the campaign is positioned to extol the exclusivity factor, the jus does deliver each and every time. The current collection includes Puredistance I, Puredistance M and Antonia, the latter of which I intend to come back to in the near future.

Puredistance the brand was founded by Jan Ewoud Vos in Vienna, Austria. If you have ever been to Vienna, you can't have failed to notice how it's probably the most civilized place on planet earth: a place where music flows forth endlessly from every street corner, people smile to each other in the streets in greeting (I'm talking perfect strangers here) and the elegant center of art attracts artists and free thinkers from all over the world in peaceful co-existence of different idiosyncrasies. The world famous Wiener Werkstätte (a production community of visual artists founded in 1903 by the artists Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser) is characterized by pure lines and minimal decoration and it is this which provided the inspiration for Puredistance lean lines in Swarovski crystal for their bottles.
Jan Ewoud Vos says: "Since several decades, people have conceived a very distinct image of what a perfume is about. And that image does not fit Puredistance. This will make it harder for us to be noticed. Puredistance is not made to last for a few years, like most new perfumes do, it’s made to last forever. Therein also lies strength. We don’t need to rush things. It will take time, but it will happen. For as I’m concerned: also this is predestinated. Real beauty will never go unnoticed.".

Before you start rolling your eyes like I was before actually testing them out, let me state this once again: These are quality fragrances that last especially long, come in parfum concentration that is delightfully smooth-smelling and provide that can't-knock-it feeling like a million bucks mood. Now let's get down and start salivating over the details.

Puredistance I is the first creation of the Puredistance company; a floral oriental, which was created by Annie Buzantian from Firmenich, NY, on a formula she had been working for years. Byzantian considers it her favorite perfume and her personal Masterpiece, which should be a foregone conclusion as it began as a quest for creating her own personal scent. Puredistance I feels like Chanel No.5, Guerlain's Cruel Gardénia and Narciso Musk for Her (the precious oil parfum) fused into one crystal clear and delightfully "clean", lightly soapy-lightly powdery melody on skin. It's practically purring with delight on my arms, its cool and warm facets competing for center stage all the while. That element which makes No.5 so compelling, the muskiness that exalts the idea of freshly scrubbed bodies which exude their own natural scent, is reprised here in a composition that infuses a little powderiness into the fresh almost ozone top notes that surprises and enchants. Annie Byzantian eschewed the traditional "luxe" techniques (raw materials that scream "I'm expensive", heavy character to denote richness etc) and instead provided a streamlines, seamless formula that feels timeless. You don't have to stink to high heavens to prove your mettle as a perfume aficionado: Here is proof that a subtle, elegant, "fluted" approach is just as memorable.
The composition is a sophisticated floriental with fresh opening (magnolia and an ozone-watery lily of the valley accord) and an overall floral and soft character which shimmers delicately like rose gold set with tiny diamonds on lily-like fingers. The more you leave it on skin the more it gains in soapy-powdery feel, quite delicate and feminine to the core, like exploring a woman's intimate secrets revealed only in the quiet of the night. The white musk and sandalwood are what remains poised when the sing of the birds at dawn has echoed through the night chambers and the sweet embraces are over.

Notes for Puredistance I include tangerine blossom, cassis, neroli bigarade, magnolia, rose wardia, jasmine, parmenthia, natural mimosa, amber, vetiver and white musk.
The perfume extract contains 32 % perfume oil which makes for a very long-lasting experience; you will wake up to the beautiful scent still lingering on your pillow.
The limited edition Crystal Masterpiece is available as:
A Crystal & 24 carat Gold version - 2048 pieces (2750 Euro retail)
A Crystal & high-grade Steel version - 4824 pieces (1750 Euro retail)
The separately available refill, a 17.5 ml. perfume spray (165 Euro)

Thankfully Puredistance DO sell the refills without you having to fork out so much cash for the crystal flacons, beautiful as they are, so if you're just after the juice, here's the option: just ask them for details & stockists (site info on the bottom)


Puredistance M is a wonderful leather fragrance that is perfectly unisex (M can stand for male, but it could also be thought of as upside down, aka W, aka, for women!). Conceived as giving the luxurious sensation of sitting snugly inside the new leather interior of a grey Aston Martin, preferably on Her Majesty's Secret Service, it feels exactly like that: warm, comfortable, expensive, very satisfied with itself. Puredistance M Perfume was made in London by Roja Dove, famous for his own bespoke and semi-bespoke line at Harrods where he directs the Haute Parfumerie, as well as his position at Guerlain for years. Puredistance M is made from a high concentration of perfume oil (25%) and available as a 17.5 ml. perfume spray in a metal grey giftbox or a leather case for the purse (or that glove compartment of that grey Aston Martin!) besides the more expensive crystal presentations.

To me Puredistance M feels like a clove-y leather fragrance reminiscent of retro fragrances that hard-core aficionados appreciate, such as En Avion by Caron; it's delightfully sensuous and uncompromising with a smoother underside than the Caron forebearer, all tactile satisfaction caressing the plush. In the first moments the spicy cinnamon-clove tinge embracing a discernible rose, is prominent, creating a vintage ambience with the slightly bitter nuances of leather in the mix, while the more it stays on skin the more it softens and becomes a skin scent with a faint whiff of ambery-musky sweetness that is delectable.

I know these are not Austrian images I'm going to conjure, but it's like the best things about 1960s Sean Connery and Michael Kaine in Alfie rolled into one and they produced an imaginary super-child that would smell of Puredistance M. I'm totally smitten!

Notes for Puredistance M include bergamot, Amalfi lemon, jasmine, rose, carnation, cinnamon, cloves, vetiver, patchouli, French cistus labdanum, oakmoss, musk, woods, and leather.

The Puredistance perfumes are available on the official Puredistance site, Harrods at London, Lianne Tio's boutique in Rotherdam (the one famous for her Goutal fragrances), at The Scent Bar in Los Angeles and other boutiques around the world (Find a complete list of retailers here).

Pics of Catherine Deneuve and Michael Kaine via Life magazine.
Disclosure: I was sent tiny samples of the perfumes from the manufacturer.

Fragrance Rebel Giveaway: news

Parfums de Coeur, soon www.fragrancerebel.com, is having a giveaway of fragrance for the spring break of "designer-like quality but not designer prices", as they say. Catch them on Facebook and Twitter and check out their Home page for info on entering the giveaway.

Frequent Questions: How to Date Caron Nuit de Noel bottles

Nuit de Noël by Caron is definitely among the legends that made the name of Caron. Conceived and launched in 1922 by Ernest Daltroff, the founder of the French house and a self-taught perfumer, it includes to great aplomb that famous base (a ready made mix of ingredients that produce a specific effect) Mousse de Saxe, composed by Marie Thérèse de Laire, flanked by amber, moss, vetiver, rose, sandalwood and jasmine.[If you don't know how it smellsor its story, I suggesting first reading this Nuit de Noel review. ]
Getting a vintage bottle of this precious fragrance is akin to savouring a well-aged liqueur, full of nuance and dark corners. Trying to date bottles is a bit less of a nonchalant exercise, but here's a small guide with photos to help you through.


The original extrait de parfum of Nuit de Noël came in opaque black bottle designed by Felicie Vanpouille /Francoise Bergaud with a faceted boule cap and a box shaped like a purse in green shagreen (i.e. rawhide with a rough, granular surface, made from the skin of a shark or seal). The little golden "band" around the shoulders is meant to echo the headbands of the flappers to which it was addressed originally. There is also a green tassel hanging from the cap of the box (not depicted), further reminding of a cute clutch. There was also an outer white cardboard box, to protect the green shagreen. The interior of cardboard cap reads CARON 10 rue de la Paix Paris FRANCE. The dimensions are 4.5" high with box around 4-5/8" and tassell 5".
The presentation persisted well into the 1940s and 1950s, making it hard to discern specific vintages. Obviously older specimens bear more worn "bands" and shagreen boxes, even if totally sealed (a highly unlikely proposition anyway).


The modern presentation of Nuit de Noël since several years eschews the green shagreen and encases the art deco black bottle in the white fold-down box with the polka dots that all Caron extraits come into nowadays. Previous presentations in the intermediary years -without the shagreen box- have the white cardboard box in wider-spaced polka dots with a darker circumference.


Vintage Eau de Toilette (as well as the superb and lasting Eau de Cologne) circulated in square shouldered bottles, like the one above, with a bakelite cap. The jus was blended in the USA for the American branch of Caron Corp New York N.Y. Typically they circulated in 2oz/60ml or bigger.

In the 1980s the whole Caron line gained a more rectangular presentation with black cap in plastic and the labels took on a decorative motif for the Eau de Toilette concentration. The one for Nuit de Noël bears the design depicted above.


The modern Eau de Toilette comes in a purplish-maroon box with gold polka dots, while the flacons take on the familiar and legendary studded peppercorns design with the gold cap. The label reprises the colour scheme of the outer box.
The above is an edition that appeals to the collector spirit, although it's standard merchandise. It's the 30ml of Eau de Toilette with the outer of the bottle reprising the vintage shagreen scales (although it's not shagreen this time)
Another intermediary Eau de Toilette version circulates in the white box with the gold polka dots, but the label of the peppercorn flacon imitates the motif of the previous 1980s label, as you can see comparing the two pics.

pics via perfumeporjects, 101-clocks.info & ebay

First Look new Chanel Coco Mademoiselle ad: Keira Knightley in the Beige Catsuit

“It’s the first women’s perfume I’ve ever worn. Before that I’ve always worn men’s because [...] I want something that makes me feel, y'know, like I’m standing up straight” says Keira Knightley, spokeswoman for Coco Mademoiselle fragrance for Chanel. Liar....two times over.



Anyway, despite the discrepancy, Chanel continues the campaign with Keira this time in a beige catsuit riding a beige motorcycle in Place de la Concorde, Paris, shot on September 2010 by Joe Wright (the man who directed her previously in the commercials for Coco Mademoiselle but also in Pride & Prejudice).
Vogue TV has the interview with Keira (from which the quote above originates, alongside a further glimpse of part of the commercial which will air on March 23rd), we have the teaser below.




“Nobody said exactly what it was going to be like,” Knightley explains about the new campaign. “I knew that it was something about a motorbike, and I knew that it was going to be beige, and they said, ‘Sort of catsuit,’ and I said, ‘OK.’ It was completely unexpected. It’s a Chanel superwoman, I think.”




pics via sassiamblog.com & styleite.com

Diptyque Do Son: fragrance review

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberose): the flower of spiritual ruin, the carnal blossom, the heady mistress of the night (nishigandha or rajnigandh in India, a reader informs me), a lily plant originally native to the Americas. Do Son: a coastal resort in Vietnam that inspired Yves Coueslant, one the founders of Diptyque, to name thus their fragrance. It launched in autumn 2005 in a time frame not especially receptive to such compositions, at least in the Northern hemisphere. The two combine in an unexpected composition by perfumer Fabrice Pelegrin in Do Son, the perfume and the time is now more than ripe to reap its cooling benefits. Diptyque sounds a bit like diptych, the two-paneled painting so popular in religious art. Yves Coueslant has associations with Vietnam obviously and tuberose is used for pious rituals in that country, which begs the question why on earth we haven’t incorporated it in ours as well.

Tuberose has traditionally been seen as dangerous due to its intense odour profile, its headiness, the spin it produces in one’s head when one inhales deeply. In 19th century Victorian-era young girls were discouraged from smelling it, as it signified both voluptuousness and dangerous pleasures, in an effort to keep their “purity” from naughty thoughts. Flowers are after all the sexual organs of plants...

Do Son however could pass the test of chastity, I think. With its airy and crystalline character, it manages to smell like a diaphanous gauze draped around the body of an eastern girl with hair flowing. Like a fluted ornament by a crafted Murano technician, like the breeze of warm air on one’s face while walking in a summer garden.

Compared to other tuberose scents, the most iconic of which among perfume circles is Germaine Cellier’s classic Fracas, it is nothing like them, since most rely on the carnal aspects of tuberose and marry it with other heavy numbers such as jasmine and orange blossoms, enhancing tuberose's rubbery or creamy facets. Fracas is almost brutal in its bombshell beauty, a trait that rocketed it into the hearts of the rich and famous. Gianfranco Ferré for women, Carolina Herrera, and Blonde by Versace ( a wannabe Fracas that is actually very nice in parfum, surprisingly) are all heady seduction numbers destined for discerning women of a more mature age. Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier’s Tubéreuse is also very sweet and shares that element of opaqueness with the rest. Tubéreuse Criminelle by Serge Lutens is a completely different, unique affair.

Do Son rather shares the light playful tuberose note of L’artisan’s La Chasse aux Papillons or even Carnal Flower’s (although the latter is more exotic smelling) and weaves it through in a similarly girly formula that makes it perfect for young coquettes.

Do Son by Diptyque opens on a rather green and also slightly citrusy start of light orange blossom, to then proceed to tuberose mingled with light rose and smooth iris. Rose is an official note; however my nose which is a tad biased to all things rosy, doesn’t discern it clearly. The powderiness of iris is not especially present here either, although I can smell its earthiness and the whole remains very bright, very happy, with nary a melancholy or poignant note that iris might add. The finish off with white musk (synthetic clean musks as opposed to animalic) makes it linger seductively on the skin for some time, never intruding, just reminding you of its presence whenever the body is heated up.
There is also a little element of sourness, at least on the skin if not on blotter, that could make for some disappointment for people who usually complain about such a thing. However the solution to that problem would be to spray one’s clothes. It’s such a light number anyway, that this solution would be probably best to appreciate the fragrance’s volume and sillage.

The bottles of Diptyque perfume are always a chic, understated affair. It is obvious that those three friends who founded the company (Desmond Knox-Leet, Christiane Gautrot and Yves Coueslant), had been students at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. You know upon opening the box that you’re in the presence of unquestionable bon gout. Here the sketch of a woman in a garden pavillon is delineated on the label on the austere, rectangular bottle.

Available as Eau de Toilette from Diptyque retailers.

Notes for Diptyque Do Son: tuberose,orange blossom, rose, berries, musk.

artwork by David Graux

Byblos by Byblos: fragrance review

A proud in its weirdness creation by nose Ilias Ermenides from 1990, this fragrance is now discontinued. Why bother trace it, you might ask: I like to talk about bygones; I’m really old beyond my biological years it seems, that embellishing, idealistic reminiscence being characteristic of older people, as stated very early indeed in the work of Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics”.


And yet in the world of perfume everyone does it, I’ve noticed. Nary does one read a perfume forum where people don’t say with contempt “today’s perfumes are nothing like they used to be”. That would be a logical conclusion though, wouldn’t it? How is something so elusive by nature, so fleeting, so ephemeral, so closely tied to the zeitgeist as perfume not capable of following the times? And yet, the nostalgia about perfumes we have not even smelled overwhelms us and sometimes we let ourselves believe the golden age of Saturn has bypassed us and the future is all gloom.

Byblos is named after such a Saturnian concept of bygones, the ancient city of Phoenicia which was the centre for the trade of Lebanese cedar wood to Egypt back in 3200BC. Cedar was used in perfumery even back then, although it had other practical uses as well, such as mummification. The Phoenicians were famously the inventors of the alphabet, which was later taken by the Greeks and with the addition of vowels turned into the first real alphabet in the history of the world. Pity Phoenicians only used it for commercial purposes and not literature or science. They were the Marketing majors of the ancient world it seems, not the Bachelor of Art ones.

The fragrance of Byblos by Byblos however distances itself from both the name (which is after all merely the Italian clothing company’s brand name) and the cedarwood smell. On the contrary it gives the impression of peppery/spicy fruits! The opening of peach and cassis (a synthetic berry note) is tangy with the bittersweet grapefruit and mandarin rind smell. It goes on into a dense, rich mimosa and marigold scent that floats above the raspberry, musky base. It’s as if it invites you to bite, only to find the hotness has singed your tongue. But don’t be afraid: this is no Caron Poivre; it’s rather tame for that but still interesting. The cobalt blue bottle shaped like an ancient pyxis, a ceramoplastic type of clay vessel that was used for storing unguents or jewels, is topped with a most original stopper of a golden “plate” with an open flower in light peach pink on top.
To be sampled, at least once.

Notes for Byblos by Byblos:
Top: bergamot, mandarin, black currant, grapefruit, pepper, peach
Heart: mimosa, lily-of-the-valley, lily, honeysuckle, violet and iris.
Base: red fruits, vetiver, musk, raspberry, heliotrope.

Available as Eau de Parfum online on stockists.

Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire no.2: fragrance review

Sharing the news a while ago on a second "model" of La Petite Robe Noire, a previous Guerlain fragrance that divided perfume enthusiasts, was a double-edged sword: On the one hand, one wants to like a new Guerlain, possibly because of the heritage and the luxe French factor. On the other hand, Guerlain lately have been reviving the brand in ways which have left a bitter taste in the mouth of hard-core fans, even though it garnered them new audiences and certainly a lot money in Swiss banks. La Petite Robe Noire no.2 has a problematic name to begin with, but that's not all.

Just imagine having to answer someone asking what perfume you're wearing; that affix of "2" in the end sounds fake and ridiculous to me. I realise that copyrighting names isn't easy, but if anyone could, Guerlain is the one who could recycle hundreds of names from their rich archives to spare this embarrassment. Olfactorily, La Petite Robe Noire model 2 leaves something to be desired and I can't say it has won me over, although arguably it's rather easier and less tooth-achingly fruity-sweet than the previous first installment which scared me with its insolent intrusion into my personal space when I had placed a blotter atop my book on Minoan pottery I was consulting at the time.

To its detriment La Petite Robe Noire no. 2 still features the gimauve accord (that's the marshmallow "note"), this time garlanded by orange blossom and dusted with powdery-dry notes that are oscillating between face makeup and white suede. The opening of La Petite Robe Noire model 2, clean, scrubbed and bright, is still revealing a light gourmand character with a vanillic interlay that veers into almond nuances; but it's smoother, cuter and thankfully less berry-rich than the previous effort. The cuddly quality and the dry musky suede feel are not without some charm, better expressed on a blotter or fabric than on skin (Is this also an effort to grab the consumer into the first instances of testing?).

Still, these "hip" fragrant launches, destined by their shelf placement for the connoisseur circuit of people shopping for fragrance (and Guerlain fragrance at that!) at the eponymous boutiques or the Bergdorf Goodman "corner", pose a question: Why are they becoming a central focus requiring ample time off in-house Thierry Wasser's busy schedule instead of having these powers directed at working on a smashing new mainstream release or a beautiful classy exclusive instead (like Tonka Impériale before)? Unless teenager gamines shop regularly at the above mentioned places and are cognizant of the Guerlain brand apart from their makeup line and the Terracotta range (which still drives a huge percentage of the company sales), I'm at a loss to understand the positioning of those fragrances, just like I was perplexed by the romantic thinking behind Idylle as advertised on US soil.


Apparently Sylvaine Delacourte, art director chez Guerlain, says the first La Petite Robe Noire sold well and we do know from the US launch ahead that the American audience was (oddly?) targeted mainly: The latter isn't anything new, even as far back as Chanel No.5 and Coty's bestsellers America has been the greatest luxury devouring market on the planet and justifiably a marketer's wet dream. Often they underestimate that market.
Still La Petite Robe Noire and La Petite Robe Noire 2 occupy that middle ground that is hesitant between donning a full on couture gown for special occasions or just everyday wear with hip accents for that party and end up smelling like they don't know what they're doing, raising their cocktail glass like the nouveau rich amidst family guests at a chateau in the Loire valley.

The bottle, still in the iconic inverted heart design that houses Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue, is now reprised in dark rose and the black dress on it is strappy with a lacy hem; more like a negligee, really, but in good fun.

Notes for Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire no.2:
Head notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Galbanum
Heart notes: Orange Blossom, Marshmallow, Iris
Base notes: Leather, White Musk


bottle pic via placevendome.be

Exclusive announcement: Amouage Opus V, new fragrance

We are delighted to be privy to the latest Amouage fragrance, the 5th installment in the Library Collection, details on which we secured exclusively for our readers' sake. Without further ado, the newly launched Opus V of Amouage's Library Collection explores the transformative journey of conventional media of communication and knowledge through the coalescing power of the internet; navigating a world that has changed radically and forever.

A self-professed fanatic, Amouage Creative Director Christopher Chong explains:

“Social media have liberated and empowered us to disclose and share thoughts and information instantaneously, bridging cultures and allowing knowledge to spread across all boarders. It is a powerful communications tool that today has become the norm for self expression.”

In keeping with the Collection’s spirit, Chong defied all rules and followed pure intuition to create a fragrance that provides a different interpretation of the popular by deconstructing traditional perceptions. This is how the scent is officially described: "This floral and woody neoclassical masterpiece is arresting, paying tribute to haute parfumerie while still remaining germane to modern day living. The raw and classical beauty of Orris and the seductive resonance of Agarwood strike a perfect balance that allows each to manifest symphonically in a trance-like aura while the juxtaposition of Rum and Rose in the top and heart notes expresses many nuances; fragmented yet unremitting in an ingenious composition. The fragrance is rounded off with an opulent leathery and woody base". Star perfumer Jacques Cavallier is behind this composition, in collaboration with artistic director Crishopher Chong.

The Library Collection now includes Opus I, II, III, IV and V. It was inspired by the knowledge and experience drawn from the art of living, while it unfolds a contemporary face to the House of Amouage and at the same time preserving the elegance and effortless classicism synonymous with the brand. In defining the art of living in today's digital age, Chong refers to the inspiring words of Jacques Derrida, the father of postmodernism, "If this work seems so threatening, this is because it isn't simply eccentric or strange, but competent, rigorously argued, and carrying conviction.”

Opus V retails for £195 or US$325
STOCKISTS
In the UK
WWW.AMOUAGE.COM
HARRODS
SELFRIDGES
AMOUAGE FLAGSHIP - 14 LOWNDES ST, KNIGHTSBRIDGE, LONDON
In the USA:
Bergdorf Goodman, Luckyscent, Aedes de Venustas, MiN Crosby

Annick Goutal Songes: fragrance review

There is nothing as captivating the imagination as the promise of what one doesn't have: The lure of tropical paradises amidst the harshest snowfall makes us forget that by summer we will be missing those white flakes and long for taking the cashmere and mohair down from the attic. Songes by Annick Goutal comes with the unctuous step of an intoxicating promise of sunshine and the warmth of a summery golden afternoon, right when winter paves its path onto spring, to make us dream and lose ourselves. Because Songes means exactly...dreams: the dreams of a newlywed, looking on life through the eyes of a girl becoming a woman who embarks on a new adventure in her life; perhaps the more rewarding of them all, the miracle of keeping love alive through it all.


An intense opera of white florals set in a tropical tone climate like "Les Pecheurs des Perles", Songes was inspired by an evening walk in a garden on the exotic island of Mauritius by Camille Goutal, Annick's daughter, while she was on her honeymoon. Camille lovingly collaborated with tried & trusted tenured Goutal perfumer Isabelle Doyen, on the creation of the fragrance in 2006. Interestingly, even though the inspiration is classically exotic-tropical, Camille revealed that the middle and base notes of Songes are also reflecting John William Waterhouse's painting aesthetic, especially as presented in the famous painting of Ophelia. Somehow the two are hard to reconcile and I'm not sure that this Goutal fragrance truly captures the balance, as it tilts more to the former part than the latter. Still, it's quite stunning.

Opening a bottle of Songes I'm struck by its diva-esque mien, all heady, entrance-making material, almost heaving, but also its inherent modesty and classy sensuality; as if the facade is flamboyant because it just can't help it, a bit of a Marilyn Monroe persona if you will: Glamorous but sensitive at heart. Frangipani (with a tiny peachy facet here, less than on the fresh bush) and potent ylang ylang immediately hit my nose, complicated into webs of indolic jasmine, sweet, yet with a slightly bitter element in the background which keeps it from saccharine overload. The frangipani is less fruity than in Ormonde Jayne's rendition of Frangipane Absolute, while the jasmine is the sambac variety which can have an ever higher pitch than the European and Middle Eastern grandiflora variety. There is a tuberose-like effect too, creamy and mollified instead of eucalyptus-green (a la Carnal Flower) or rubbery (a la Gardenia Passion); more like the tropical tiare gardenia than real tuberose. This stage with the small incensey-resinous hint resembles the velours of Noix de Tubereuse and shouldn't have tuberose-phobics all up in arms. The drydown of Songes consists of a woody-ambery accord (with creamier vanilla in the higher concentration) that revolves around pencil shavings and balsamic softeness/soapiness; a very delightful coda to an aria that has been bold and flamboyant as befits a Grand White Floral.


Altghough Annick Goutal fragrances often fall victims to criticism from hard-core aficionados on their scent being light and transparent, resulting in delicate sillage, Songes is one fragrance in the stable (alongside a few others such as Eau de Fier, Sables and Gardénia Passion) which does not follow that rule. In fact the Eau de Parfum version of Songes seems dense and a little opaque, creating an effect that could be considered engulfing for those who are more sensitive to their own scent trail; its vanilla creaminess however should please those who are seeking a sweeter edition of this sultry scent. In Songes Eau de Toilette concentration the proportion of space between the notes creates an aerated effect; like the perfect petit financier bite it has just the right sponginess without detracting from the satisfaction that it leaves on the palate. Both concentrations are especially lasting and sillage monsters, necessitating very steady hands and homeopathetical dosage in order to remain desirable and not cloying.
Over time, Songes can change colour in the bottle: The regular shade is golden-ambery but the inclusion of natural jasmine extracts in the formula conspires to give an orange tint to the Eau de Toilette and even a reddish hue to the Eau de Parfum!
A limited edition bottle in Baccarat crystal is available for Songes, the traditional boule topped by a romantic half moon.

Notes for Annick Goutal Songes:
frangipani, tiare, jasmine, incense, vanilla, copahu balm, pepper, ylang-ylang, vetiver, sandalwood, amber, styrax.

Painting Dreams on the Beach 1934 by Salvador Dali.

Photo of Camille Goutal & Isabelle Doyen by Antoine de Perceval 2007 via Swell City Guide

How Far Can One's Allegiance to a Brand Go? (vis a vis the Galliano Incident)

Last week's fashion news involved drunken stupor, brawl fights and a surprising revival of what we had deemed long forgotten past in the form of a "I Love Hitler" video captured on cell phone. The protagonist of all was fashion designer and formerly head designer for Dior, John Galliano who hurled anti-Semitic slurs on a Parisian outing, obviously under the influence of heavy liquor. The news traveled with the speed of lightning, Dior (LVMH actually) fired him and Galliano issued a non-apology apology.


Like reported on RealBeauty.com "Newsworthy events like these can, for better or worse, impact the way people view brands and celebrities. Many were impressed with the haste with which these songbirds and Galliano’s business partners distanced themselves from their entangled alliances". (Interesting correlation made, go read it)

Sidney Toledano, himself Jewish, opened the anticipated Dior Fall 2011 show with the following statement:

“Since its founding by Monsieur Dior, the House of Christian Dior has lived an extraordinary and wonderful story and has had the honor of embodying France’s image, and its values, all around the world. What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal to us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be. Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples. These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent.”

I hate to break this to them, but there is some sketchy past in the house of Dior...

The crux of the matter remains: Where does that thin line between artist and public figure begin and end? When Woody Allen rocked the celebrity circuit and raised outcry with his admitting of being in love with Soon Yi Previn, things were different: Not only was Soon Yi not his adopted daughter (the adoption papers were in Mia Farrow's name), what most people missed was the fact that the two didn't even live in the same house! Woody and Mia never really shared apartments, instead choosing to each having their own. Plus the motive was love.
Art redeems, or rather, the artist can be brilliant in his art, although flawed in his human being comportment: When homosexuality was considered a "flaw" how many nowadays revered artists (from the Great Masters of painting down to classical music) would be outcasts in their societies?
Racial slur and hate however is something completely different. Different because it perpetuates that which art is supposed to suppress and man-handle: the beast in us.

Even Jean Paul Guerlain, an old guard veteran, rocked waters a little while ago, when his quote on working on the Guerlain classic Samsara, apparently hinted at his not believing in blacks slavery being that harsh. (catch that discussion on this link). His quote was qualitatively different because the offensive part in the press relied on a fundamental mistranslation: the N word was never actually uttered. LVMH summarily severed all ties from Jean Paul (we're not supposed to ever hear again his name in mystical relation to the creation of another new Guerlain launch...) and he publicly apologized. The incident was considered comparatively mild and put behind for digestion.

With Galliano, things are on a distinctly different path. Not only is he much younger than grandpa Jean Paul Guerlain, thus not able to claim age-related haziness, he's also in the midst of the cultural milieu that involves all races and religions of the world, all erotic persuasions and all possible human variables: fashion! If Jean Paul Gaultier, an equally formidable designer in his own right, says that Galliano's work never exhibited racism, then why is Galliano showing such an attitude in his words? And where do words end and opus begins? Where does the "do I as I say and not as I do" get in the way and mix up things? How can anyone endorse his fashions or eponymous beauty products and fragrances now without a twitch of guilt and self-loathing?
What is especially vexing is that Galliano used those epithets alongside a tirade against "ugliness" and (allegedly) bad taste in a manner that shows that the worst enemy of equality and dignity is one who has been raised on the wrong side of opportunity and who got a break thanks to his many talents. A serious pity...

What's your take?

Dita Von Teese Loves a Bit of Vulgarity in her Celebrity Perfume!

Gorgeous and always immaculate burlesque artist Dita Von Teese is no stranger to perfume loving: For years she has been an aficionado of Houbigant's Quelques Fleurs (a start of the the 20th century floral creation that was amber-boosted in the 1980s) which she has been loving since the age of 14. She's now developing her own perfume and what's more interesting: the raven-haired, porcelain-skinned beauty tweeted about the process!

"No fruit, no vanilla, no candy," she insists. "Velvet sensuality with a dash of vulgarity! I want to evoke passion with fragrance: intense love/lust and distaste/fear rather than merely popular acceptance." Dita counts Kilian Hennesy among her friends, to whom she had confided that she was troubled about wearing the same fragrance as her boyfriend's mother (Quelques Fleurs) and who had advised that she should either ditch the man or the fragrance [WWD], so the prospects of having a top notch creative team behind her fragrance is particularly optimistic. That plus her breaking the cookie-cutter mold image of beauty of course.
Among her other fragrance loves (see many more of them scrolling this link), if this is any indication, she loves Dior Passage No.4, a fragrance in retro packaging exclusively made for La Collection Particulière, a collection created by perfumer François Demachy that celebrated Dior's 60th birthday a few seasons back. Dior Passage No.4 we remind you is a rose based fragrance blended with notes of orange, pepper, amber and musk, and it is named after Dior's muse, France (Passage No.8 and No.9 are focused on iris and tuberose respectively)

Interestingly, as Dita is writing a beauty guide book and is preparing a make-up line of her own, she confesses that she actually likes to share her beauty secrets and perhaps perfume is just another one of them? We will see when we actually try out the eponymous fragrance, set to launch sometime late in 2011 (or early 2012 at the latest).

Any one care to guess what Dita's fragrance would entail?

Edit to add: The news arrived on our desks. Dita Von Teese's fragrance is called Femme Totale, it's a woody floral musk (aka "nouveau chypre" a la Narciso Rodriguez for Her) created by perfumer Nathalie Lorson and you can see the advertisement below. Femme Totale by Dita Von Teese opens with fresh bergamot, peony and Bourbon pepper. The heart includes Bulgarian rose, Tahitian tiare flower and jasmine while the base is warm with incense, patchouli, musk, guaiac wood and sandalwood.
I have to say the bottle looks totally unlike the curvalicious figure it got named after....

Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus Soap, Discount & New Stores

Ormonde Jayne is launching what many modern day perfume enthusiasts have been lusting over: a stunning new soap scented with Osmanthus. Two bars of triple-milled soap will be presented with a handmade soap dish made from bone china in the gold Ormonde Jayne gift box. The Osmanthus Soap Boxes will be available mid-March in good time for Mother’s Day.
£52 – includes 2 x 125g soap (paraben free) and bone china soap dish



Additionally Ormonde Jayne will be soon be opening two new points of sale on Avenue Louis in Brussels & on the prestigious Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich. The staffed concessions will stock the full range of products and the Perfume Portraits complimentary service will be available in both.The new points of sale will be opening in Brussels in late June & in Zurich on May 26th.

Plus a new Osmanthus promotion is under way on Ormonde Jayne e-store and boutiques: This month’s perfume promotion is Osmanthus and thus clients will receive a complimentary Purse Spray (10mls of Eau de Parfum) with every bottle of Eau de Parfum or Pure Parfum purchased in March. Keep your eyes peeled for more such promotions of the line each consecutive month!

The winners of the draw...

...for the Puredistance Parfum Deluxe Set is Bloody Frida and for Atelier Cologne sample is Marianne. Congratulations to both and please email me using the contact on Profile or About page with a shipping address so I can have these out to you shortly.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!