Gravity Cannot Be Blamed ~In Love Again by Saint Laurent: fragrance review

"Gravity cannot be blamed for people falling in love" is one of Albert Einstein's wittier quotes. Although falling in love never held any sinister accusations against forces of nature in my mind, in a way I find myself equally irrationaly questioning my own reasons for choosing certain smells sometimes; such as a fruity fragrance I reach for in the summer months. What possesed me into buying one and actually enjoying it in the heat, me a self professed fruit-shunner?

In Love Again launched in 1998 as a Limited Edition, composed by Jean Claude Ellena. Yves Saint Laurent intended it as his last fragrance before retiring to celebrate his 40 years in the fashion business and thus it was a limited edition, accompanied by a seasonal makeup range, which was planned to be sold only in 1998. The bottle seen from above, as in a floor plan, was shaped into an irregular heart. The fragrance indeed disappeared after that, despite a devoted following gravitating towards its fresh, yet mischievous scent. Perhaps in an attempt to follow this successful turn, parfums Yves Saint Laurent issued Baby Doll in 1999 composed by Cecile Matton, initially as a Paris fragrance flanker, yet bearing a passing resemblance to In Love Again scent-wise, with its grapefruit opening and sweetly fruity denouement.

Yet fans were not entirely satisfied: Baby Doll just wasn't the same, being much girlier, sweeter and lacking the quintessential sophistication of the Yves Saint Laurent brand. Of course in many ways In Love Again was arguably also a departure from the dry chypre Y, the hedonism of Opium or the metallic aldehydic frost of Rive Gauche and the corresponding image of Yves as the ne plus ultra of French chic. You could picture those latest scents on bazooka-gum-chewing youngsters, carrying Manga-embossed bags.
Bottles of In Love Again went for as high as $500 on online auctions, till the company decided to bring it back. And so they did: They re-launched in a bottle with a hammered gold cap, instead of the harlequin one, and another box in green and blue in 2004, but the fragrance remained the same.

The initial burst of grapefruit rind, like you have just squeezed some with your bare hands dribbling juice all over, is a shot of energy ~a welcome good-morning kiss to kick off the day! In a way I can see how Jean Claude Ellena performed an anadiplosis in his Rose Ikebana for the Hermèssences, the exclusive line for the Hermès boutique as in-house perfumer in 2004: it was too good to pass up. In Rose Ikebana the idea is further explored with a garland of delicate, pulsating rose and tannin tea notes which combine to give a more ethereal and less sweet version like a satin hair ribbon drenched in morning dew. He deducted even more of the sweet elements of this accord in Un jardin sur le Nil, again for Hermès, in which he worked on a green mango note that ends up smelling like a refreshingly bitter grapefruit fresh from the fridge rested atop a smoky wooden counter top.

Somehow the success of In Love Again is that it manages to bypass the Scylla of hyper sweet, with a tart, zesty grapefruit accord that coaxes the sulfurous nature of the fruit into submission, making it easier to wear than the more difficult Pamplelune by Guerlain which often produces a strong ammoniac, catty effect on certain skins. A touch of green leaves, organic and warmed in the sun also contributes to its modern character, as well as what I perceive as tart berries.
But it also has a soft ambiance about it, without resorting to the Charybdis of ease that is the powder smell of certain white musks, nor stooping to cheap air-freshener style. Although a modern fragrance wih hints of the fruit-bowl, In Love Again has something about it which makes me enjoy it in the warmer months.

The comparison to Baby Doll is understandable up to a degree, due to the homoioteleuton freshness and grapefruit tang present in both. There is an element of optimistic dynamism about both, as well as youthfulness, but Baby Doll lacks the musky-woody element that keeps In Love Again from becoming too juvenile and therefore soon tires me with its overladen message of overt sweetness.

Contrary to many people I find In Love Again has good staying power, especially for a fragrance centered on a citrus note: those being almost synonymous to fleeting. The hesperidic burst of course dissipates after a couple of hours (a feat, even so!), but the drydown is detectable after half the day has passed with an inviting human warmth about it. The downside is of course that due to musk anosmia, some people are bound not to be able to detect the remnants at all. But for that only a skin patch test would bear the deciding verdict.

Notes:
Top: grapes, grapefruit, brimbelle/bilberry
Heart: tulip tree flower, grapefruit, water lily.
Base: blackberry, sandalwood, musk.

The collectible bottle is to be found on Ebay. The current version can be found easily online and in department stores. There are two limited editions, which came out in 2005 and 2006 respectively, with offbeat designs on the bottles and no serious pretensions: In Love Again Fleur de la Passion (with an addition of passion fruit, raspberry and peony; subtle and rather less musky) and In Love Again Jasmin Etoile (with a weak, pale jasmine, which doesn't make it very distinctive, plus tangerine and a touch of spicy star anise).

Pic of original ad (with collectible packaging from 1998) via parfumdepub. Pic of current bottle via MUA.

Intoxicated ~Yvresse (Champagne) by Saint Laurent: fragrance review

Is there anything more French than Champagne? The delicate fizz of this refreshing wine is irresistible. Its little bubbles burst on the palate as they incessantly move upwards in the fluted crystal glasses in long, long ribbons with all the gusto of exotic dancers, making me dream.
Champagne, produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of wine to effect carbonation, is also protected under "appellation": An appellation is a geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. In the case of champagne, the wine enjoyed an appellation control by virtue of legal protection as part of the Treaty of Madrid (1891). It was stated there that only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region and adhering to the standards defined for an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée could be called "champagne." This right was even reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles after WWI.
And here is where Yves Saint Laurent and his fragrance steps in...

Yvresse, the feminine fruity chypre by Yves Saint Laurent, was composed by Sophia Grojsman (previously responsible for the mega-hit Paris) and originally launched in 1993 as Champagne. Even the bottle recalled the cork-stoppered bottles of the French elixir with its twisted gold metal detailing. But upon its issue, the French winegrowers protested, even resorting to smashing bottles of champagne in front of the journalists who had arrived in Paris for the launch party. Pierre Bergé, president of the brand, had had to scuffle with the vinoculturists and the battle for the name was afoot. After a lawsuit resulting in a legal battle which Parfums Yves Saint Laurent lost, they rechristened the fragrance Yvresse : a clever and elegant word play on “ivresse” -which means "intoxication/drunkenness" in French- with Saint Laurent’s initial “Y”).
It was at that crucial no man's land point in time that advertisements circulated on which it was noted: Sous ce nom je serai bientôt un objet rare. (I will soon be a rare object under this name). The red-sequins dressed woman was holding her hands in the air in a shape of Y, recalling the advertisements of Saint Laurent's other chypre, the magnificent and dry Y.
It was at that point that I had secured my bottle. I know it has become a collectible.
Later on, the emphasis of the slogan shifted and two elements mingled: the pettillant (sparkling) aspect of champagne: "un hommage aux femmes qui petillent"(a hommage to women who sparkle); and the forbidden touch that was traced back to Opium: "Les femmes adorent les interdits" (women love the forbidden), with perhaps a wink to L'interdit by Givenchy.


Yvresse is an excess of an effervescing fruity chypre, nostalgic for an era of full-bodied both wines and women with complex personalities and secrets behind the festive facade. It's full of overripe notes, like a bruised apricot, that recall to mind more an eau de vie with sweet violets on top or a "bellini" of mashed peach purée and sparkly Prosecco than actual champagne, although it does retain the sparkling quality of the delicate bubbles. The latter makes for an impressive swoosh upon first spraying without the tingling of the nostrils that makes the experience of sipping champagne so naughtily indulgent. Wait for it to develop fully though and it has a tipsy effect that is comparable. Yvresse has a buttery quality about it, with an oak tone like the used barrels of fermented spirits. In a way its petulant character traces its antecedents in the hideously beautiful Que Sais-Je? by Jean Patou (composed by Henri Alméras in 1925), a more robust example of a honeyed fruity chypre.
The violet, mint and spicy aniseed notes of Yvresse, piquant along with the earthier chypre accord, combine to give a character of both brightness and sophistication, celebrating in a decadent way. Yvresse is meant to be worn by bubbling, spirited women (or daring men) who can hold their own and laugh their way during a dull soirée, not needing others to make it a celebratory occasion.

Notes:
Top: nectarine, mint, aniseed, cumin, violet
Heart: "blue rose", rose, lychee, carnation, cinnamon, jasmine
Base: vetiver, oakmoss, patchouli

There is also an Yvresse Eau de Toilette Légère (light version) which replaces nectarine fruit with nectarine flower, aniseed with blackcurrant leaves, rose with mimosa and lychee with white lilac. It's less sweet and less "ripe".

For those who find Yvresse likable but perhaps too much and more mature than they would like, Deci Delà by Nina Ricci, a now discontinued but easily found online perfume, is quite close in spirit and smell. It adds a taste of hazelnut and vanilla and eases on the boozy, but with a more playful air that would satisfy a younger audience.

Pic of drunk (?) lady by owenbooth on Flickr.
Ad pic courtesy of parfumdepub.

The Posh Peasant News and Offers

The Posh Peasant , a newcomer in the decanting and online niche selling services, has new things for summer and special sets for your sampling pleasure.

Creative Universe by Beth Terry is a warm weather staple. The Collection consists of five effarvescent fragrances:
Mare: A natural ocean experience with notes of sea salt, sand, ocean breezes, avocado and ginger lily.
Vita: A zesty fruit tea scent with notes of rare teas, plum, blackcurrant, lily of the valley, and citrus.
Te: The ultimate tea scent with a splash of milk and citrus kick, notes of tea, celery, grapefruit, ylang ylang.
Element of Surprise: A clean, fresh scent with notes of white tea, Italian lemon and lime, and jasmine.
Element of Desire: A flirty scent with notes of rain drenched greens, citrus, dimbula tea, apricot, peony blossom, water jasmine, pink muguet, white sandalwood, golden amber.
Creative Universe is on the brink of launching a brand new perfume called Element of Attraction, soon available, so stay tuned.

Don't dismiss Filles des Iles with their four scents: Floral Exotique, Floral Pettilant, Floral Sensuel and Floral Solaire. They recently added the latter to their line-up. Floral Solaire, created by famed perfumer Celine Ellena, is surprisingly charming; it's an intoxicating dichotomy of cool ocean breezes enveloped in a warm blanket of amber.
Available at The Posh Peasant for $48 per bottle.

Other niche lines available while you're there: Aroma M, Keiko Mecheri, Teo Cabanel, Sage Machado, becker.eshaya, Soivohle', Monyette Paris and Lily Lambert.

Aslo an early summer offer, good through 20th June. With 50$ purchase, you receive three decants for free: Estee Lauder newest fragrance Sensuous ("a sleek, sensuous river of wood..."), Bronze Goddess ("warm sand and sun-kissed skin...") and Filles des Iles Floral Solaire.

And lastly, a couple of Sampler Sets of her current rotation at reasonable prices: Best for Summer, Luminous Scents and Smoldering Scents. Click the links to find out more!

Pic via The Posh Peasant

Opium Dreams ~Opium by Saint Laurent: fragrance review

Was this my life, or did I dream it? That seemingly rhetorical question might drive one crazy given sufficient circumstances. After all, isn't all life, "is all we see and seem but a dream within a dream?" like Poe used to say. Or as the ancient Greeks poetically put it: "οναρ σκιας ανθρωπος" (man is but a shadow's dream).
My thoughts revert to these aphorisms, as I converge Opium by Yves Saint Laurent and Sergio Leone's swansong masterpiece, Once upon a time in America in my mind. My proclivities to the fragrance being a given and my fondness for that final enigmatic scene in which De Niro is beatifically smiling through the somnolent haze of opium vapors, it was natural to be so; if only because, like the drug, Opium is to be worn lying down. Pilgrimage was sorely lacking till now and the Gods have been accusing me of hubris for too long.

History of YSL Opium Perfume
Yves Saint Laurent was at the zenith of his career when he envisioned a decadent, baroque perfume evoking the exotic Orient: "It will be the greatest perfume of them all and we will call it Opium", he said, perhaps with a sideways wink to his own path to hallucinogenics' addiction. The year when the concept was conceived was 1972. It would take another 5 years for it to come to fruition.



The scent was composed by Jean Louis Sieuzac (Sonia Rykiel, Dune, the re-issue of Madame Rochas) in 1977 and art-directed by Chantal Roos, while the vermilion flacon was designed by Pierre Dinand.
Originally the name that Squibb, the American parent company of parfums Saint Laurent, wanted to christen the fragrance was Black Orchid, the same that Tom Ford later grabbed almost 30 years later for his own foray into perfume for what he hoped to be an equally controversial landmark.

Opium was in many ways a landmark: Its fragrance although tracing its lineage to great orientals of the past such as Shalimar, Habanita, Youth Dew and even Tabu (with its carnation-civet accord of "parfum de puta"), was perhaps the first to enter into the floriental category, with its very much detectable carnation, orange blossom and ylang-ylang among the plush of effulgent spice and starched resins, of which oppoponax stars. But also due to the fact that it broke with the previous trends of independent chypres and soft aldehydics, bringing back the orientals which had been forgotten since their last stint during the 20s and 30s and thus inaugurating the fashions for them again, resulting in everyone producing one from Coco, Poison, Ysatis, Boucheron Femme , all the way to Loulou.

Its launch party, at a junk in Manhattan's East River, with orientalised canopies and matching decor, marked the first time such opulence was applied to a fragrance's issue and ignited a series of mega-launches that were to become de rigeur. Its campaign, provocatively proclaiming "for those addicted to Yves Saint Laurent", earned it serious controversy in certain countries: A peanut-growing premier in Queensland, Australia had the perfume banned in his state. The US Federal Justice Department tried to outlaw it. In other countries due to drug import laws it had to be imported under a pseudonym, like contraband, and relabelled within the country.Its subsequent status of a bestseller proved that all the obstacles were within its stride and that man (and woman) is really a creature desiring what seems unattainable.

Bottle Design: the Oriental Inro
The bottle has a no less interesting tale surrounding it. According to Dinand's autobiography, he was working on a stylized inro, the small wooden box samurais carry on their belts, full of little drawers where herbs, spices and opium for alleviating the pain from their wounds are kept. The little drawers are held together by strings (hence the resulting tassel on the Opium bottle) and the top is crowned with a sculpted ball, called netsuke, replicated in the cap. "That's it!" said Saint Laurent, as soon as he saw it and fixed his mind on calling it Opium, the rest being history.
The advertising had always been titillating, starting with sprawled Jerry Hall, progressing to an unknown red-head (pictured above), through to Kate Moss and Sophie Dahl infamously in the nude (therefore banned but you can see it by clicking the link). Currently Malgosia Bela fronts the ad prints.

Lauder had been secretly working on their own spicy oriental, mysteriously also in a vermilion bottle, named after a mercury mineral found in China and smelling close to Opium,Cinnabar, which launched only weeks later. Yet they never had such commercial success with it, a fact that is treated with silence when you point it out to them. Whether there had been some form of trade espionage has never been proven and is only a figment of speculation.

Scent Description
Baptising yourself in Opium amounts to owning a droplet of the Styx, imparting invulnerability, shunning your combination sinners -- your lecherous liars and your miserly drunkards -- who dishonor the vices and bring them into bad repute. It speaks the tongue of angels through the wiles of devils, fanning its brocade-like resins over your humble existence, marring the opulent flowers and the bright citruses (bergamot, lemon and the orange-tinged essence of coriander) by a contaminated hand of animalistic sin. I can't distinguish any of its constituent parts separately, as they merge into a tremendously forceful message of abandon and escapism from the vagaries of life. Was it my life or did I dream it?
The iron-pressed linen note of the aldehydes in the beginning gives off -coupled with the spicy bite of the carnation accord- a rather "clean" veneer, which allows Opium the distinction of being among the easiest orientals to carry without feeling all soiled underneath your dress. The plumminess is closly interwoven with the balsams in the drydown phase, when the fragrance has dried on the skin and only its whispered message remains; quite woods, trickly resins like benzoin, labdanum and opoponax with an animalic darkness to them from the small footnote of pungent, bitter castoreum in the far end.

Opium never fails to bring forth compliments every single time I wear it and it is the robe de guerre on every occasion where ample backbone is required or a new acquaintance is going to take place. People never identify it as such and always ask what is that magnificent fragrance emanating. Sometimes it's perversely fun to see faces fall when I reveal the true identity, other times it only makes me think long and hard about over saturation of a particular scent in the collective unconscious and the detriment that brings to a whole generation who formed bad associations through it being ubiquitous.

Opium Summer Editions and Comparison of Concentrations
My preferred form is the Eau de toilette, which highlights the spicy bite and the moribund balsams perfectly, although the extrait de parfum is another excellent choice. The Secret de Parfum which had circulated at some point during the early 90s in a cut-out bottle from hard plastic in a hue darker than the original flacon was a concentration that turned me off Eau de Parfum (to which it amounted) . Luckily that error in judgment on the part of YSL Parfums has been amended and the current version of Eau de Parfum is merely denser and more opaque, although still true to the scent. The body products in the range are some of the best I have tried in terms of both fidelity to the scent (they have a slightly pronounced orange note which is very agreeable) and texture which melts under your caress. Men have also been catered for through a men's version that is woodier and more aromatic but also rather spicy, Opium pour homme. As a faithful Opium wearer for years I can attest to it being relatively the same despite possible reformulation. If eugenol however becomes seriously restricted -as has been discussed- then it would risk severe disfigurement. {edit to add, June 2010: Alas, it has...}

In later years, many lighter summer versions launched, as limited editions, aiming at making Opium fit for summer-wear and largely succeeding: Summer Fragrance (2002), Eau d'Eté (2004), Fleur de Shanghai (2005), Fleur Impériale (2006), Orchidée de Chine (2007), Poésie de Chine (2008). My personal favourite is Fleur de Shangai among them, replicated closely in the latest version.
This trend might have started by the non-limited, non-alcoholic Opium Fraicheur d'Orient, which got issued for summer in the mid-90s and which introduced a note from Angel and an intense citrus into the composition, to no particular pleasure derived. A limited edition bottle is Opium Orient Extreme from 2007, which only changes the exterior, not the scent.
Various collector's bottles and versions will continue to get made. As long as it captures the imagination of perfume worshippers at its altar.
Notes:
Top: aldehydes,plum,pepper, tangerine, coriander,bergamot, lemon
Heart: clove, jasmine, cinnamon, rose, peach, orris, myrrh, ylang ylang
Base: benzoin, patchouli, oppoponax, cedar, sandalwood, labdanum, castoreum, musk, vanilla



If you want to watch a small tribute to the opium-escaping hero of Leone, click this link for highlights.

Clips through videosift.com and wellgard on Youtube. Pics via parfumdepub

Paris, Je t'Aime ~Paris by Saint Laurent: fragrance review

In a funny little tale recounted to perfume journalist Susan Irvine, the notorious Russian perfumer Sophia Grojsman was followed by a drunk one night, forcing her to walk quicker in the night streets, upon which he called out: "Hey lady, I am not following you; I am just trying to smell your perfume!" Grojsman was working on Paris, the big, ebullient rose fragrance by Yves Saint Laurent, at the time, and this was the moment she realised "she had it". Indeed Paris has the gift -and curse, if you overdo it, as so many did in the late 80s- to be perceptible at a distance, creating a wake that will make waiters swerve on their heels, small children drop their toys to hug you and men exclaiming you smell "clean and feminine".

Yves Saint Laurent, an incurable romantic, created Paris in 1983 choosing rose and pink as the themes around which the fragrance would be built and dedicated it to his beloved city of inspiration and eternal love. A strange, arguably atavistic choice for someone who had caused an uproar a mere 6 years back with his contraband alluding fragrance of artificial paradises, Opium.
The fragrance is a romantic symphony, a sonorous orchestration of reportedly 232 notes blended with the artistry of someone who knows what they are doing. Like a lavish bouquet, Paris’ deepening chords of rose petal notes make the fragrance all the richer in its expression of lush warmth and womanly tenderness.

The fragrance formula actually follows quite closely the 1947 french classic L'Air du Temps (Nina Ricci) but the violet-rose fruity accord of Paris is based on ionones and damascones, aroma materials first discovered in 1893 (ionones) and isolated in 1967 (damascones); they were first used in abundance in another rose fragrance, the fiery Nahéma by Guerlain. Damascones featured heavily in the legendary Nombre Noir and contributed along with ionones to many of the formidable "roaring rose" fragrances of the 1980s. Violets naturally smell of ionones, with equal parts woody and fruity undertones, which makes them such an interesting material for the perfumer.
In Paris the rose is never just rosy: it takes all complex shades and nuances of a living room in which they decorate a flamboyant vase. Honeyed overtones of sweet, ripe fruits as well as liquor whiffs, as of dregs left in small taillé glasses after a hearty dinner, are clearly perceptible in different stages of the development. The whole embraces you in a vice-grip which asserts itself as only very affectionate feminine relatives can be: there is no escape, but you truly know they mean well.



Paris took a more daring turn visually during Tom Ford's tenure which resulted in this racy image for the European glossies. The advertisements, in tune with current designer Stefano Pilati's fashions, have -since Ford's departure from the house- reverted to tamer connotations.

Paris eau de toilette , which is more powdery and "cleaner", has a deep pink cap, while the sweeter eau de parfum has a golden cap and is fruitier. The pure parfum, intensely rosy and potent, is crowned with a prismatic cap in the shape of a reverted cone-exposing brilliant, symbolising Paris, the City of Light; designed by Pierre Dinard according to Basenotes or Alain de Morgues according to Susan Irvine.

Limited editions of versions of the original Paris for the warmer season include: Paris Eau de Printemps (2002), Paris Premieres Roses (2003), Paris Roses des Bois (2004), Paris Roses Enchantees (2005), Paris Roses des Vergers (2006), and Paris Jardins Romantiques (2007), some of which are grouped in a collectible set of minis. Typically they are lighter, girlier and less dense, highlighting a woodier, greener or muskier accord instead.

Notes:
Top: hawthorn, bergamot, juniper berries, carnation, honey, mimosa, orris
Heart: French, Moroccan and English roses, red fruits, pear liquor, violet
Base: heliotrope, musk, amber, cedar, sandalwood

Clip of Paris commercial uploaded by tylw on Youtube. Pic of ad from parfumdepub.