La parfumeuse chauve: a play in 3 acts

ACT I
It is a bright morning in the kingdom of Denmark. Everyone is leafing through papers, checking out their favourite internet boards and blogs and chitchattering merrily on scented subjects.
The characters:
1.the bearer of fragrance news (an integral part)
2.the innocent perfumephiles
3.the lone voices of dissent
4.the “expert” –wearing a hyacinth crown foiled in antique gold
5.the bewildered: silent parts
6.the commentator: whispers in italics

-"Look, here is the new X and Y perfumes, just about to be launched !"
-"Oh, wow, I didn't hear about it! Thanks!!"
-"Wow, that sounds delish!"
-"You know I read about it on Z blog and it sounds like it's le dernier cri on steroids! It's bound to be wonderful, they really know what they're talking about!"
-“Oh yes, it must be wonderful!”
-"Oh, oh, not another lemming! Must get this right away"
{enthusiasm is palpable now}
-“Where is this available? I must order some!”
-“do you think if I go to T shop they will handle out samples? It’s so niche…I would probably brave it and order that 50$ sample on-line” {50$ for a sample???}

Intemission while the whole board goes to order samples/ get decants/buys unsniffed....

ACT II
-"Oh, it's fabulous! Trust me, it's exceptional, I never expected it to be so me! You must try it"
-"I am swoooooning......it's so dark....so sexy......so deep......" {deep as the abyss}
-“What have I been telling you? Isn’t it the most intriguing thing ever since that other niche thing we heard about about 10 nanoseconds before?”
-"You know……I am alittle shy in bringing this up, but I have just tried it and found some difficulty in "getting it" but I will keep trying. It's worth it, I'm sure"
-Collective encouragement of good natured people: "Yes, keep on trying!!" {About the rest of your physical life, for instance...}
-"Now, I have tried and tried and can't get it to make it work. It must be my chemistry! Darn chemistry!! (the character is virtually sobbing)"
-“Ah..chemistry can be a bitch. It’s so unpredictable” {astronomy on the other hand is not}
-"It's really not that great, come to think about it.....It reminds me of a couple of things I have tested or even owned"
-“Hmmmmm…I wasn’t that impressed either. Too much cunning advertising maybe?”

ACT III
Big “expert” interjecting:
-"Of course it takes some expertise and finer "gout" to appreciate such things. I really liked it and I stand behind my conviction!"
{while selling the bottle as fast as possible }
-"Well, Z, I'm sure you're right, I just have to accept that my chemistry isn't as refined as yours. Must be those genes"
{or possibly that mercenary spirit instilled during hard, rationed days}
-“Yes, alas, we can’t all be satisfied with those difficult things for the select few. I wonder if I can swap it or sell it…while it’s still hot…hmmmm…”


CURTAIN
End of story: the great new release is tentatively brought up again from time to time to be met with disparaging or confusing comments by a multitude of late-bloomers who happened upon it by chance.....

The above is not a play by Ionesco. But it very well could be.

Pic comes from BPAL site.

Continuing the saga: *what* future of perfumery???

I planned on writing up something about how the future of perfumery looks very grim indeed after so much arbitrary action has been taken to limit and restrict creativity for anyone concerned.

You might remember that it started long ago with oakmoss, a natural sunstance of which there is no equivalent synthetic to substitute, rendering a whole olfactory family, that of the chypres, obsolete and wimpering at its last throes of vintage life. After the loss of those vintages, nothing more...This had prompted me to write a lament for Mitsouko the brave. Maybe I was just being my usual passionate self.
But then the issue escalated and then escalated some more.
This has taken such a toll that even Chanel is issuing things in Les Exclusives line (more of which in review form later on) that smell nothing like chypre, yet they are being touted as being the best chypre in 30 years.
I don't know...I might be cynical. But is this what we are reduced to?

So today I came across this excellent article by Tony Burfield who is co-founder of Cropwatch ( a body who does some 'opposition' work for that 40th amendement IFRA of which I have talked about) and I think it's very worth reading.
Please do so here.
It seems as though we are being conditioned to believe that things are not what we see them plainly to be. A Magritte come alive.

I would be very interested in your comments.

Artwork by Rene Magritte "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (=this is not a pipe) courtesy of allposters.com

Guerlain news for fans

With a house as venerable and as under the fire (recently) as Guerlain one can only hope for the best. So the piece of news I am posting today is intended to inspire rather than dampen hopes and to instill anticipation rather than cause an anticlimax.

First of all the new addition in the "L’Art et la matière" line will be Iris Ganache, distributed at exclusive spots and Guerlain boutiques starting at mid-June. The name alludes to an iris laced scent that might hide a sweet gourmand note reminiscent of the homonymous chocolate french delicacy. Sounds very promising indeed. We'll just have to wait and see when it is finally available.

As to the re-issues of illustrious past glories of the house there has been some talk about Ode, but nothing conclusive as yet. I will keep you posted.

There are also two new body oils conceived by Sylvaine Delacourte, who is director of perfume creation. Garden Sensuel and Oud Sensuel are two perfumed oils inspired by the Middle East, destined for men and women respectively. They aim to capture a happy medium between a carnal oriental sensualism married to the parisian classicism of Guerlain.

The 2005 creation of Jean Paul Guerlain Plus que Jamais is finlly entering the Parisiennes line as a "grand classique" (a term with which some disagree on this particular fragrance) encased in the famous napoleonic bee bottles, available at Guerlain boutiques. I guess this makes its former Baccarat bottle a valuable collectible, so keep this in mind if you do possess one such bottle.

Also, on May 1st a Lily of the valley (Muguet) based parfum will be issued as a commemoration of the lovely french tradition to offer this flower on that day.

In addition the "Home collection" will include an Eau de Lit (bed and linen water) fragranced with orange and four home fragrances: Bois des Indes (=indian woods), Hiver en Russie (=Winter in Russia), Contes Tahitiens (=tahitian tales), Boudoir Vénitiens (=venetian boudoir)
They sure sounds interesting and what could be more luxurious and decadent than using a Guerlain home fragrance instead of all those middle of the road things that can look so tacky?

Last but not least, the "Aqua Allegoria" line, after a rather mediocre course in the last couple of years (despite some lovely offering in the first throes after its launch) is introducing Mandarine-Basilic and Angélique-Lilas, the one greener and fruitier and the other more romantic and floral.
Available at major department stores late in spring.

"The proof is in the sniffing!" like we always say at Perfume Shrine.

Assorted info thanks to cyberpress and Mario Girard.

The new Rumeur by Lanvin: Fragrance review & history

When the old becomes new again we may be witnessing Gaudí's "Sagrada Familia" or "Le Tombeau de Couperin" by Ravel.
What I mean: it’s not necessarily a bad thing! Enter the re-orchastration of Rumeur by the house of Lanvin which is both rather pretty and completely different than the somptuous vintage formula.

Jeanne Lanvin was originally a milliner that came to design clothes for her daughter and her friends’ daughters, establishing a salon that finally catered for adults just before World War I. Soon the salon became an entity of its own, continuing the tradition till today under the creative baguette of young designer Albert Elbaz.
It is however the perfume spectrum of Lanvin that has not survived that well over the years and that is assuredly a pity.

Jeanne Lanvin had a mysterious personage named Madame Zed (doesn’t she sound like a Graham Greene novel set in post-war Vienna?), an elderly Russian, creating perfumes for her, the last of which was the legendary My Sin, a very successful triumph. After that it was André Fraysse who was hired as house perfumer in 1924, segueing on to create what was termed by another great nose (Edmond Roudnitska) “the most spectacular tetralogy in perfumery”: Arpège in 1927, Scandale in 1931, Rumeur in 1932 and Prétexte in 1937. Sadly, only Arpège with its sonorous musical name still circulates on perfume counters today (after some adventures in formulaic changes, but happily restored to its original glory finally), as the world is fickle and tastes change, it seems. It might have to do with the fact that the perfume department of the house was sold to L’oréal conglomerate, too. (But you’d call me leftist if I insisted and I wouldn’t want you to do that). In any case, Arpège saw a flanker on its tail in recent years, éclat de Arpège, a pleasant, lilac -coloured, fruity floral that coincided with the latest olfactory trends, but bore no relation to the rich tradition of the house.

And then, just like that, last year saw the re-emergence of the old glory of Rumeur. Or was it but a specter of its old self?
Certainly the new version bears no olfactory relation to the old one’s dark chypre trail of fruity nuances on a dark mossy bed of plush. Those were times when such things were appreciated. By today’s standards and due to the eclipse of oakmoss from perfume formulae the vintage Rumeur is intoxicating and very perfumey; although by no means unwearable or outdated. Still, the house needed a new perfume to boost its re-vamped image and the difficulty of obtaining rights for use of a new name, not to mention the brainstorming needed for the inspiration of a successful one, were stumbling blocks that eased the acceptance of an older name being stuck on a new product. This dampens our hopes of them ever re-issuing their older treasure, like for instance Guerlain did with their Sous le Vent, but rather continue on that path that Piguet led with Baghari. However, much like Baghari, the result in Rumeur’s case is not disappointing.

Conceived by Francis Kurkdjian , the talented perfumer who is responsible for among others Narciso for Her, Rose Barbare for the Guerlain art et matiere line, and Eau Noire for Dior, it has his familiar style of silky elegance that can never become cloying or childish. Retaining the mere sketch of a chypre composition as most new “pink chypres” do (the term was brilliantly coined by Ayala Moriel to denote the new chypres that lack an oakmoss base) it has the abstract powdery floral feel I have come to expect of this exciting new category of perfumes that come to the rescue after the avalanche of too many fruity florals and teeny bobber vanillic candysticks. It’s a welcome change and a subtly sensual trend I am quite willing to follow.

The new Rumeur begins on a subtle and fresh plane of aldehydes that support the exquisite florancy of pretty seringa, the family of which lilac is an offspring, and of quiet soft-petaled magnolia, like transparent veils of a white material on a soft feminine body illuminated by the afternoon sun. If you have been enamoured with the discreet sexiness of Narciso for Her especially in its superior eau de toilette version like I have, then you are sure to appreciate the loveliness such an effect produces in the new Rumeur. Although patchouli is listed in both scents you would be hard pressed to discern it as the whole effect is of a very sensual but abstract aroma that is hard to pinpoint.
There is subtle muskiness and sweetness that whispers come hither in a way that does not entirely do away with romantic sensibilities of yore. It culminates in a panorama of woody notes enriched with the depth of ambroxan lending projection and decent lasting power on skin and clothes.
On the whole, picture it as a silky rosy robe de chambre ready to shed its modesty with one fell sweep of the cute ribbon that anchors it to a supple waist and you’re there.

The bottle is quite pleasant to look at, a bit like the shape of Promesse by Cacharel, with a matte golden ring on the cap, from which I don’t advise you to hold it like the perversely smokey eyed and modernly coiffed model does in the printed advertisements. In my opinion there is a discrepancy between advertising image and actual scent in this one as the no doubt innovative clothes of the model do not reflect the prettiness and romanticism of the perfumed result. However in an aggressive society which reflects in the sexual arena as well, it is the visual rather than the olfactual that is predatory and mean. Happily the new Rumeur is neither.


Official notes for the reissued Rumeur by Lanvin: magnolia, white roses, jasmine sambac, seringa, orange blossom, lily of the valley, patchouli, musks, ambroxan.

Available from major department stores.

Top pic courtesy of cofe.ru, "My sin" ad from okadi, new ad for Rumeur from escentual.

Best of the next? What lies ahead

Today after last evening's festivities I did not have lots of time or energy to write a long review or an elaborate article. I did come by a new reportage on Osmoz though and thought you might find it interesting too, so I am in turn reporting it. After reading interviews of new fragrance designers and noses as varied as Marie Salamagne of Firmenich or Celline Ellena, daughter of Jean Claude, we come to the conclusion that they share one common feature: they are all young, upcoming, the future of perfumery. Reading about their way of thinking has a voyeristic thrill for me. Worth checking out here. You should click on the black and white pics that appear as a "banner" to read individual reviews.
If you want to see what the editors of Osmoz picked as best from the young perfumers' respective creations, you can jump right ahead here to see their selection of feminine and masculine new scents and take notes on what to try to smell next. Happy sniffing!

Pic comes from thriller film "Ils" courtesy of Athinorama