I have been a little under the weather but there will be an article focusing on lily of the valley and its differences with lily as well as the materials and fragrances that are highlighting them, coming up soon!

Curious things happening at Chanel USA

You had been all lamenting that Gloss.com stopped carrying Chanel perfumes in the previously Rue Cambon incarnation (Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie, No.22 and Gardénia), when they were "promoted" in eau de toilette form in Les Exclusifs range about two years ago.

Well, as a public service, I am in the position to tell you that they are RIGHT NOW available on Chanel USA official site! (200ml Eau de toilette for 200$) Click the Chanel link to see with your own eyes and perhaps order if you had been wanting to. The link mentions them as Rue Cambon (the previous name) although the page announces them as Les Exclusifs (so it is a reworking of the previous pages by their internet designer).
Curiously there is an abscence of No.19, not exactly the most popular fragrance stateside...

So: What is happening? I could concoct a series of theories, but I will let you offer your own first, be my guest!

Personally, I fully expect Beige to join the line-up soon... ;-)

EDIT TO ADD (May1st): An anonymous commentator of this blog, who happens to be someone from Chanel apparently by the tone of it, informs me that the lack of No.19 is simply a goof of the webmaster of the site and the No.19 Eau de Toilette and Body Lotion are still available with no plans to pull them off the USA market.
However, a different reader of mine coincidentally mailed me with questions on an auction for a No.19 embottled in a big 200ml flacon identical to Les Exclusifs! Due to having recently cross-compared a similar batch of Chanel Eau de Cologne which proved to be heavily "cut" with alcohol, I am wary of con-men having devised a way to fake/tamper with Les Exclusifs bottles. Therefore, stay tuned on more regarding this issue on No.19!


Thanks to Fumebag for the alert. Pic of Chanel vials via afternoonrain/flickr

Peche Cardinal by parfums MDCI: fragrance review

"The recipe for Pêche Melba, created by Auguste Escoffier for Dame Nellie Melba, is set down in his encyclopaedic Le Guide Culinaire (1903) with bald simplicity: “Poach the skinned peaches in vanilla-flavoured syrup. When very cold, arrange them in a timbale on a bed of vanilla ice-cream and coat with raspberry purée”. Melba apparently adored the chef’s Pêche Cardinal au coulis de framboise, of poached peaches in a “cardinal’s coat” of crushed raspberries". [1] If you substitute Péché (sin) for Pêche (peach), they could be talking about the latest fragrance by Parfums MDCI, Péché Cardinal, hold the sweeter aspects of the famous pod and substitute with lightly phenolic. I might be forgiven the gustatory association, given my intense appreciation for all things culinary.

Péché Cardinal is a naughty, juicy, succulent yet also classy and enticing peach fragrance of the latest crop of fruity compositions. The playful name alludes to both the gigantic peach at its core, as well as Cardinal Sin, what it translates to from the French. The fragrance was developed by perfumer Amandine Marie from the acclaimed Robertet firm, drawing from their rich palette of self-sourced materials.
The Parfums MDCI Paris brand was founded by Claude Marchal, inspired by the "Galerie d'Apollon" in the Louvre Museum, the Musei dei Uffizzi in Florence, the fabulous Schatzkammer in Vienna (the Treasure Room) and the Greek and Roman antiques in the collections of Cardinal Mazzarin, the Medicis, and the Sun King Louis XIV. He wanted to create a line that would make no cut-backs but would give carte blanche to the talented perfumers who were free to explore any direction and to use any precious material they saw fit regardless of the price.

The juiciest, most buttery peach note (is it Decanoic acid 5-hydroxy- lactone?) is immediately bursting on the skin upon application of Péché Cardinal, lasting for several minutes, and with a warm feeling that reminds one of hot spring days and tropical cocktails drunk with an hibiscus tucked beneath the ear. The surprise comes however in the underlying darkness which emerges slowly in the form of va-va-voom tuberose, a little smoky, dusky cedar and the feel of human skin that exalts them. The plummy/fruity/rosy damascones add a plush, silky feeling not unheard of since Nombre Noir and Feminité du Bois became a household name. Davana oil, a CO2 extraction, comes from artemisia pallens, a South India plant cultivated in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and was previously featured in Parfumerie Generale scents (such as the salubrious Cozé, more of which later on). Its rich, fruity candy note with an earthy facet runs through its fibre. The composition of Péché Cardinal is like the most vivid brocard which shines from certain angles and subsides from others. And the lasting power is very good indeed!

Nevertheless, much as I like the peachiness and vibrancy of its mien I cannot really envision myself wearing Péché Cardinal a lot, my usual tastes running into shadier, less vivid peaches overladden with oakmoss galore to make them wistful instead of outright sexy. But those who have been dreaming of an enormous fruity embrace that is devoid of any soupçon of tackiness thanks to its drydown troublant (in a good way!), have just found their peachy floral to end their quest. You can imagine characters such as the following wearing it with panache!



Regarding the much discussed about packaging, personally ~and perhaps exactly due to my background~ I find the Roman bust caps of Limoges/bisque on the bottles somewhat disproportionate (top-heavy) and maybe a bit kitschy in their classical antiquity nuance, reminding me of descendants of glorious civilisations feeling compelled to include gypsum busts of ancient Gods on the front lawn next to the pool. But apart from that very minor gripe, I can't complain as the line is created with exceptional artistry and elegance. Taking in mind the bust-topped bottles retail at 610$ at Luckyscent for 60ml of Eau de Parfum, I find that the modest refills at 235$ for the same quantity are a much more logical alternative.

Apart from samples at Luckyscent (for a comparatively meek 4$), as well as larger ones at Aus liebe zum duft (but for 12 euros each), there is an option of a sampler set at the official MCDI site.
The MCDI line also includes two masculines: Invasion Barbare and Ambre Topkapi as well as three feminines: Rose de Siwa, Promesse de l'Aube and Enlévement au Sérail, composed by perfumers Stéphanie Bakouche, Pierre Bourdon and Francis Kurkdjian. The newest entries for 2009 along with Péché Cardinal, are Un Coeur en Mai, Vêpres Siciliennes, and Le Rivage des Syrtes by perfumers Jeanne-Marie Faugier (Technicoflor) and Patricia de Nicolaï (of parfums de Nicolaï)

More info: Parfums MDCI, Tel.: 01 41 440193.

Notes for MDCI Peche Cardinal:
Davana, peach, coconut, blackcurrant, tuberose, prune, lily, cedar, sandalwood, musc

[1]Jill Dupleix in Timesonline.co.uk,Clip uploaded by sparrowis3 on Youtube, pic of flacon via punmiris.com, of Amandine Marie via MCDI

Discounts at Ayala Moriel: only for April 30th!

Grand Online Shopping Event April 30th Only at Ayala Moriel all natural perfumes.

For 24 hours only on April 30th, all roll-on bottles will be offered for 50% off ($32.50 instead of $65 for the 5ml Purse Roll-On, and $65 instead of $130 for the 10ml Roll-On Bottles). Candles and teas will be 20% off. Don’t miss this opportunity to find the perfect gift for the women in your life, not to mention stock up on your favourite scents.

Via press release

Idylle by Guerlain: the new feminine by Thierry Wasser

In June we will be all sniffing and smelling the newest Guerlain to hit counters, the one on which Thierry Wasser the in-house perfumer has been working on for so long, apparently. [adding: the international release has been pushed to September] A witty commentator on this venue, March, when describing Wasser as lost-in-action was wondering if "he fell off the stairs" or something, it was so long since his name had been tied to a Guerlain project! (Last time, for those who forgot, was a year ago when he was credited with Guerlain Homme, shortly after the announcement on his head-perfumer position of the venerable house). We have highlighted the miss while commenting on the upcoming city releases, Paris-Moscow, Paris-New York and Paris-Tokyo as well as while critizing the recent exclusive release La Petite Robe Noire, the newest flanker of Mitsouko , Mitsouko Fleur de Lotus, or the limited editions of Fleurs de Shalimar. As I was safely predicting, the new fragrance could not be called Gold, as rumoured on online discussions, because this is the registered name of the very good lily fragrance by Donna Karan.

The new Guerlain feminine fragrance for mainstream distribution is therefore called Idylle , a name hoping to bring on an idyllic smile of daydreaming on our faces. It will feature floral notes with rose as the star ingredient: "Thierry Wasser created this fragrance using the Bulgarian rose as a star ingredient, in Guerlain’s Perfumer tradition he selected personally the very best roses ensuring the exceptional quality of the fragrance". The bottle design is created by Ora Ito, while the advertising face will be Nora Arzeneder, the young singer/actress of Faubourg 36. The advertising campaign will be materialized by Paolo Roversi, the mn responsible for the latest Shalimar commercial with Natalia Vodianova. Although that commercial was aesthetically successful and tasteful, I am holding out for a little less sexiness on this project. Too much sex in fragrance advertising somehow has started to look cliché.
Notes for Guerlain Idylle: lily of the valley, peony, freesia, lilac, Bulgarian rose, patchouli, white musk.

Idylle is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml of Eau de Parfum everywhere where Guerlain is sold.

Source : Stratégies via au parfum
Updated with ad pic via belezza.pourfemme.it