Eau de Celebrity: Waning, waning...?

In the last 10 years everyone who is recognised a bit more widely than their schoolmates, their own mother and possibly their hamster seems to have issued a fragrance bearing their name in gilt lettes on bottles produced by Parlux and Coty (mainly). The phenomenon nicknamed "celebrity fragrances" had accumulated epic proportions in the last couple of years when even reality game players had their own eponymous scent on the market (no disrespect to poor late Jane Goody), adding to a massive churn-out in the class of the hudnreds. Thankfully (to many, ourselves included) it seems that, despite Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Peter Andre all having a scent in the works, the trend is on its waning phase.

"[...] it has recently been revealed by retailers that these products don't have the longevity of classic fragrances and that customers actually don't want to smell like someone off Big Brother after all. Jason Zemmel, founder of online discount store halfpriceperfumes, said: “It’s a fickle market with celebrity scandals and poor album sales having a direct effect on sales of celebrity scents. It used to be the biggest stars that brought out a scent but we now have all manner of C-listers churning out fragrances whenever they have something to promote.”

Adding that:

“Whilst some, like the Britney Spears range sells well, we’ve found many have shunned the scents of lesser known celebs. We’re now seeing resurgence for classic scents such as Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden and Chanel, that have been around for years,” said Zemmel.

Parlux is on record for losing $4.3m last year and a reported $2.5m loss in the second quarter of this year. Whether the economic recession is having any relation to the buying patterns of consumers who would rather spend their money on something they really perceive as necessary (or as prestigious, when they do spend over budget)is not accounted for. It does seem that overexposure to specific names has created satiation and boredom and that only strong names are surviving, such as the Jennifer Lopez empire of scents or the Beckham duo.
Shall we all heave a collective sigh of "oh good!" and forget about the overexposed faces that greet us with their candid shots on the front pages of Hello magazine? Here's to hoping! Or at least that from the collective stink only the nice fumes (no matter how few) will surface victorious and sustain their life on the shelves.

Read the full article on Body Confidential.

Victoria Beckham pic courtesy of American Elle magazine.

The winner of the draw....

.....for the complete set of Essentially Me fragrance samples is Flora/Donna.
Please email me your information using the addy on my Profile and I will have these out to you in no time.
Thank you everyone for your enthusiastic participation and stay tuned for the next one!

New Exhibition and Books on Perfume: Annick le Guerer & Pierre Dinand

Annick Le Guérer, historian and no newcomer when it comes to fragrance and smell writing, is coming out with another exciting tome, titled Quand Le Parfum portait remede (When fragrances produced a cure), reprising the title of the exhibition she helped organise at St.Antoine L'Abbaye (June 14th till November 11th 2009).
The exhibition proposed a new approach to the prophylactic and therapeutic use of scent, going back to the beginnings of materia medica, when smells were considered to serve as remedies to a pleiad of ailments. Discovering the Medieval scented waters which were recreated in the 19th century, its distillation found way into the glossy pages of a book by Annick Le Guerer and (hold on to your seats, this is exciting!) olfactory illustrated by perfumes which have been rejingled by master perfumers Daniela Andrier and Dominique Ropion of Givaudan and Internation Flavors & Fragrances. Visit the official site for more info.

50 Years of Design reprises the work of acclaimed flacon designer Pierre Dinand, the man who almost single-handedly has optically enriched our appreciation of fluted crystal and innovative shapes appearing on our vanity cases and in our bathroom shelves and a living legend. His creations are too many to list in their entirety since he was producing half the bottles produced in the last 30 years, (well-known triumphs include Opium, Calandre, Eternity, Ivoire, Fendi, Madame Rochas, Obsession, L'Occitane bottles, the Mure et Musc limited edition mure flacon...) but after so many years in the industry he now dedicates most of his time to sculpture. His work can be seen at the Oita Kaori-no Mori Perfume Museum, Kiushu, Japan. The book will feature illustrations, photographs and stories about some of his most aesthetically triumphant and commercially successful work for perfumery. To be eagerly anticipated this coming winter.

Pics via lesamisdu7.com and Pierre Dinand site.

Tomorrow Starts Today by Atelier Parfum Beaute ~new fragrances & products roundup

I was just sent a wonderful and comprehensive presentation of the latest offerings of L'atélier Parfum et Beauté, a company with years of expertise in the field of beauty with the creative collaboration of Federico Restrepo and Olivier Aron (founder of Rosae Audit & Action). Coming out with new services and products soon, here is a recap for all of you:

Cash Cash is a new line of fragrances which aims to provide opposition to the pretentious luxe contestants by coming out of left-field: anti-gadget, economical and simple, it presents itself in Eau de Toilette of 3-4% concentration at 20 euros for 100ml/3.4oz. The first three offerings will be a floral, an oriental and a Fresh composition to target different tastes. The presentation is well thought out and it seems like an idea presented to combat the tendency of the consumer nowadays to supress expensive purchases when possible. The name says it all: Cash Cash is playing cache cache (hide and seek in French) with our cash and hopefully making us keep some cash in our pocket!

The designing team is offering La Niche aux Parfums, a premium line of fragrances in bejewelled flacons reflecting excellence in design. Four fragrances available: floral, chic hesperidic, oriental and incense.

New Jack Rose on the other hand is a homage to La Rose Jacqueminot de Coty, re-inventing the soliflore, with key words being potency, eternity, purity.

Bio d'Arômes targets another kind of consumer, the one attuned to natural and ecological products. The first line of bio-aromatherapeutic perfumes, it encompasses two referecnes in simple bottles with corked stoppers: a tonic of hesperidic-woody notes and an orange blossom relaxing infusion. The bio-chic is coming to your door. The brand ties beautifully with a naturals-based makeup line offered named Kiss My Bio, focused on recharges for every item (thus recycling packaging).

Sir Sterling is another line, intended for men, offering robust and solid packaging that looks luxe in two fragrances: Woody Spicy by Sir Sterling and Fresh by Sir Sterling. Despite the typical direction, going by the names (I haven't smelled any of them), I am hoping for something that might be as nice as the packaging looks to be.

Last but not least Ruby Love is the reworking of the love story, hiding underneath most perfumes' concept but here revealed in a beautiful ruby-colooured flacon with an opulent floral in its heart. Addictive, surprising, romantic, the concept seems destined to be a Valentine's gift.

The presentation looks very well-thought out, the designs and sketches are promising, I have not smelled anything yet, but hopefully they will have a couple of pleasant surprises amongst them. Hope to have the opportunity to report back with impressions!

Pics by Atelier Parfum et Beaute, not to be copied/reproduced for commercial purposes

Roundup of Upcoming Niche Releases: Herve Domar, Patricia de Nicolai, Parfum d'Empire

Despite several brands having a hard time coping with the diminished spending on luxury items there are new fragrances croping up like usual: some of them are debuting from brands fledging on the perfumery sector, others are new offerings from well-established niche players. Take some note of the following upcoming releases in niche.

Hervé Domar (optician jeweller from Paris) is issuing 9 new fragrances uniting precious stones ~naturally~ with flowers and scents (a concept which has been explored by Durbano and Bulgari among others) to commemorate his 20 years in business. The creations however have been developed by Drom fragrances, a producing company of prestigious output and with the help of Catherine Disdet and Pierre Dinand. Diamant Noir celebrates amber and incense, Diamant Brun is centered around the flower of patchouli, and Diamand Blanc shines with the lustre of rose. Grenat is dedicated to orange and clementines, Rubis interprets the sensual tuberose and Saphir tells tales of lillies. Tourmaline is dedicated to the same-hued plant of lavender, Tanzanite to cloves while Emerald is tittilating with coffee notes.
Eau de parfum, vaporisateur 50ml, 65€ and refill 200ml, 195€. And 2 Candles (Or Noir with amber incense and Or Rouge with tuberose): 190g, 42€Find H.Domar at Tel: +33146338899, Address:48 Rue Dauphine 75006 Visit the official site here and order through the online boutique. The products are also available at the boutiques By Terry (the famous make-up artist and creator) and there is a personalised service available so your bottles and candles look your own and no one else's (great idea for a gift!)

Patricia de Nicolai, a small Parisian brand that is well known among aficonados for the top quality of the products offered, is coming up with Patchouli pour Homme, a rendition that will fill the void in the line-up. The new masculine will feature notes of orange, rose, patchouli, cedarwood, vanilla and tonka bean. "As far as I’m concerned, it came out right: the note is powerful, yet chic and distinguished too. What’s more, it’s quite unusual, so it gets noticed... and remembered. " said P.d.Nicolai herself. The initial impressions from Basenotes members are: "Nicolai's Patchouli is quite unique in the universe of Patchouli fragrances, because it hasn't the sometimes sweaty, carnal note typical for many other patch frags. It's quite spicy with a nice leather / amber note in the base and a well-mannered, not overly loud patchouli in the background. Very good sillage and longevity. (via Gerald)
A new women's scent is in the works as well, based on Iris Musk.

Parfum d'Empire has come out with two new offerings, 3 Fleurs and Wazamba. 3 Fleurs is a towering flowering inspired by love tales of civilizations past: Galbanum, crisp mint, an abundance of rose, the gauzy whiteness of jasmine, and the wildness of tuberose reinforced by a cocktail of white musk. Wazamba on the other hand evokes the sacred dimension of an inner voyage, focused on such esoteric ingredients as Somalian incense, Kenyan myrrh, Ethiopian opoponax, Indian sandalwood, and Moroccan cypress. Available through First in Fragrance and Luckyscent.

Also don't forget the scents we have already reported on [click the links for reviews and info]: L'Artisan Al Oudh, Havana Vanille and the Mon Numéro one-offs, La Maison Francis Kurkdjian scents, Calamity J by Juliette Has a Gun, Fille en Aiguilles and Fourreau Noir by Serge Lutens, Boise Torride by Guerlain Magnolia Nobile by Aqua di Parma, Vanilla & Anise by Jo Malone.