My favourite fragrance is discontinued...now what?

Having your favourite beauty product discontinued is akin to been betrayed by a trusted friend. The pain is acute, even if the matter is not so serious. When it comes to fragrance, and even more a signature fragrance, then the issue becomes a bit more alarming. There is a feeling of not being able to find a substitute, of disillusionment, of never being able to be identified by the smell people have been associating with you for so long. What to do? Luckily there are some tips which might help, same as with other beauty products.

The first place to go to track down a much-missed favourite is the manufacturer:
Call the brand’s customer-service department to ask about potential leftover inventory, upgraded formulas/names or comparable substitutes.
For Estée Lauder brands: You can find products discontinued in the last 24 months through the company’s Gone but Not Forgotten program; you can buy up to six pieces, depending on availability. Call 800-216-7173 to start your search. Other companies who sell discontinued items on their site—Lancome-usa.com, and Moltonbrown.com. Some brands such as Clinique.com, 0r Lancome-usa.com feature online alerts, so customers have fair warning when discontinued goods are disappearing. Don't say it came out of the blue!

If the manufacturer is unable to track down an old fave, here is a site worth checking out:
Vermontcountrystore.com: Its niche is hard-to-find items, and customer service will track down products for which they get a lot of requests, even if the site doesn’t carry them. When an item is no longer manufactured and demand is sufficient, the site buys an original formula and reproduces. Also NellButler.com has several older items which might have disappeared from other online stores. You might have to ask an email about price and availability, but it's worth it to track down something elusive.
If you still have no luck, you should try: Ebay.com, Amazon.com and Overstock.com: These sites can list discontinued products because they work with private individuals who might have the items you're asking for. Since the goods offered come from third parties, however there’s always the risk that a product is old or wasn’t stored or shipped properly, so read the fine print carefully regarding any return policy before ordering and ask questions to the seller. An honest and reliable seller is never afraid or reluctant to answer your queries, on the contrary they welcome them as it means you're seriously thinking of buying their merchandise.
Makeupalley.com: You can find in-depth information on tons of products, including discontinued ones, at this social community of beauty-product consumers. You can post a product request on the Swap Board; if another member owns the item, you can negotiate a trade. Check out Scents Splits too: this site works with members of MakeupAlley -and a couple other perfume boards- who are either "splitting" their bottles (this means they share the juice with other interested parties, decanting by hand into vials and negotiating prices and shipping to you) or selling bottles, full or partial. If you see something tagged as vintage it means it's either discontinued or the formula has changed irrevocably ~usually, although not always~ for the worse. Again you can ask questions and negotiate a deal for what you want. Last but not least, there is The Fragrance Foundation: For detailed information on just about any fragrance that’s ever existed, go to fragrancefoundation.org and click on Fragrance Directory.

More tips on May 2009 issue of ShopSmart.

The Mystery of Egyptian Elixirs & The Story of Sacred Kyphi Perfume

Stakte, Susinum, Cyprinum, the Mendesian, Kyphi...Ancient Egyptians used various unguents, essences and aromatic fumigations as a means of well-being and communication with the divine or the dead. Such was the identification of Egypt with perfume production, despite other ancient civilizations dabbling in perfume making, that during Julius Caesar's Roman triumphs, alabastra (essence vials, the term being alabastron/αλάβαστρον in Greek due to the material used, alabaster) were tossed to the crowd to demonstrate his mastery over Egypt!
Although aromatic substances were abundant in Egypt, accesible even to humble labourers, manufactured pefume was a rare commodity reserved for sacred rites, the rich or for export. Images of lotuses being worn and sniffed pose an embarrasment of riches in ancient Egyptian iconography and yet this indigenous and common at the time blossom does not feature in perfume formulae. On the contrary, imports like myrrh, frankincense, cinnamon and cassia were favoured, suggesting that either the extraction methodology was lacking or that tastes ran to the exotic (much like now!) opting for the essences of Arabia Felix (happy Arabia).

The perfumes for personal use had more or less a standard way of composition, resulting in an expected response from the consumer, much like today's customer knows what to expect from a specific commercial perfume: Susinum was based upon the aroma of lilies with myrrh and cinnamon in balanos oil. The Mendesian featured myrrh, cassia and assorted gums and resins steeped in oil and was named from the ancient city of Mendes (production soon went outside the borders of the city). Cyprinum was not named after Cyprus, the Greek island in the east Mediterranean, but based upon the scent of henna (Lawsonia inermis) along with cardamom, cinnamon, myrrh and southernwood. But who were the innovators who first thought about them? Egyptian perfumers from Canopus or olfactory artists from Ashkelon, Cyprus or Sidon? Pliny and Dioscorides regarded the Egyptian product to be superior over all others at any rate. Mendesian is named after the ancient city of Mendes, although eventually that perfume would be created elsewhere, even outside Egyptian borders. The Mendesian featured myrrh, cassia and assorted gums and resins steeped in oil. Stakte contained an even stronger aroma of myrrh ~the formula demanded bruised myrrh itself, or the resin added to balanos oil.


Sacred perfumes were forbidden to use by common folks. The infamous Kyphi (depicted above, recreated by Sandrine Videault) which is documented from Greek authors of antiquity ~indeed the word kyphi is Greek in itself~ such as Dioscorides, Plutarch (in Isis and Osiris) and Galen with slight variations is perhaps the best known. Unfortunately for us the Egyptian priest Manetho's treatise Preparation of Kyphi is lost. Recreations have been attempted by various perfumers, including Sandrine Videault (interviewed on these pages). But kyphi is not the only sacred one.


Another sacred perfume has been discovered by archeologists on the walls of the Ptolemaic temple of Edfu, in the valley of the Nile at Louxor. Based on styrax extract, it was reserved for assuaging the ancient deities of Egypt. The long preparation demanded at least 6 months for the ingredients to mature properly!

The formula included:

- 0,575 litre of carob sugar (Ceratonia siliqua)

- 1010 grams of dry frankincense

- 600 grams of styrax

- 25 grammes de aromatic calamus (Acorus calamus L.)*

- 10 grams of lentisque (mastic) resin

- 15 grams of violet grains

- 0,5 litre of mixed wine and water

From all the forms of ancient Egyptian methods of aromatizing (fumigation, incense burning, pomade and fragranced oils) only one seems consistent with what we consider perfume today: aromatic perfume-oils. Vegetable oils were used as a carrier oil for the essences and two were favoured above all others by the ancient perfumers: balanos and ben. The reason was their naturally neutral odour which would minimally interfere with the final fragrance and the fact that they would keep fragrance longest. Balanos oil comes from the fruit of the Balanites aegyptiaca tree although nowadays no oil is commercially produced from it. Ben oil also circulated under the names moringa, behen, baq or horseradish tree oil (Moringa pterygosperma or M. aptera.) and was used in various therapeutic purposes as well.

The flacon containing perfume was as impotant then as it is now. Alabaster, according to Pliny, was the finest material for the safe-keeping of scent due to its non porous nature. Egyptian alabaster is a very fine grained variety of re-crystallized Eocene limestone (calcite,CaCO3) whereas in modern usage alabaster is a fine-grained, massive variety of gypsum (hydrated calcium sulfate, CaSO4.2H2O).
Varied perfume flacons have been excavated in large numbers. One of the most romantic excavations has been the Ulu Barun (at the Turkish coastline), a big galley loaded with fragant materials which dates to the time of Nefertiti. Chronologizing it was possible thanks to the fortunate discovery of a gold signet ring with Nefertiti's cartouche on it, which suggests a royal commission. Along with the fragrant materials, bars of blue glass were unintentionally designated to the depths. One could dreamingly hypothesize that the amazingly similar to modern aromatherapists' vials colour of the glass could be intended for perfume bottles, however no such evidence exists.

*It's interesting to note that although calamus is also referenced in the Bible (Exodus 30,23) as entering the composition of a sacred perfume for God made by Moses, it must be some other fragrant plant, as Moses was in the middle of the desert.

If you have an interest in ancient Egypt and the perfumes adorning its lifestyle, I highly recommend Lise Manniche's Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy and Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt, Cornell University Press, 1999 which contains actual ancient perfume recipes.

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: Ten Monoliths (Kyphi), Djeji by Guerlain, Saffron's history in perfumery, Chypres' origins, Fragrance History articles.

Formula ref: "Parfums de Rêve", Editions Atlas 1997
Pic of the temple of Edfu in Louxor, Egypt coutesy of webshots.com; alabastra drawnings via biblepicturegallery.com; pic of Kyphi recreation by S.Videault copyright Jean François Gaté, used by permission

Jo Malone expands to Eastern Asia

Takashimaya, one of the most popular shopping spots in Singapore, has been chosen to host the newest Jo Malone venue. The shop-in-shop boutique, mimicking the master plan of the London Sloane Street flagship store (including a Tasting Bar) is part of a greater plan by parent company Lauder Group to expand in Southeastern Asia and the Pacific region. The contract has been signed between Lauder and the Lane Crawford Joyce Group for exclusive distribution of Jo Malone products in 7 territories: Hong Kong (already hosting Jo Malone since last July), Singapore, China, Taïwan, Macau, Malaysia and Indonesia. The company is determined to face the economic crisis difficultes and come out victorious.

Galivanting aimlessly during the weekend

All cats come out in the sun, is a popular saying. Like them, I sunned myself. And these are a few of the things I snapped.

The open air market has flowers for sale. In cellophane and metallic-looking wrap, they stand proud: lilies, roses, petunias, freesias... People come and go and stare at them. Who will take them home?



The market also has olives. Lots of them. In all sizes, shapes and quite a few shades.


The lilies have blossomed. Those are cala lilies. Almost obscene. They remind me of Diego Rivera.


Surprisingly, so has jasmine! Yet, I can never be sure whether it is jasmine that has withstood the cold or new jasmine. It seems like I see jasmine all-year round!


With wisteria (glycine) I can be sure, though! These are the hypnotically fragrant, powdery spicy "grapes" of spring. Soon the whole place will be covered with them.


All kinds of things grow in the sun. Even clean socks!


Butterflies seem unaffected though! Harvesting the nectar...



There is retro-chic with a nod to bygone times. (I'd like to have an etched glass-door like that in my own verandah).


And then there's reto-retro! A 60s brand of lingerie and swimwear. Minoan-style...or not.



Shall we go in?


Sure, but let's first grab a bite!




All photos copyright © helg/Perfumeshrine

Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta in Villa

Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta In Villa is a new packaging twist to the Aqua di Parma Italian brand of fragrances Colonia Assoluta (a citrus aromatic developed by Bertrand Duchaufour and Jean Claude Ellena in 2003). This time drenched in green instead of the luminous yellow trademark packaging of Acqua di Parma, it is meant to represent a pastoral view of green fields in Tuscany where teracotta-tiled villas reside, encompassing twelve natural ingredients including Italian citrus, blond wood and spicy accords. The aim is to appeal to both men and women, while the packaging is given a green bulb atomiser in the recent trend for old-fashioned glamour.

Colonia Assoluta in Villa will be available in 200ml/6.8 oz flacons of eau de toilette, launching on the market in April 2009.

(pic: Sfilate.it)