The winner of the draw...(update!)

...for the Orange Star deluxe sample is Furriner* Tarleisio. Congrats and please email me using the contact on the right (or the About page) with your shipping info so I can have this out to you soon.
Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

*Furriner kindly alerted me to the fact that he had already won on a similar giveaway, so he gave up his place to someone else. I have re-picked a random winner. Please see above!

Scents that Sing Spring: Top 10 fragrances

There are scented beauties that make you feel ecstatically giddy, projecting happiness from the top of the lungs and filling our hearts with joy. Do they have to be silly too? Not necessarily, even though a little naïveté can be a good thing sometimes; especially when the gripe of the real world becomes too much. Ayala of Smelly Blog organised this latest blog-o-rama in which a fine team of bloggers (listed at the bottom) focuses on scents that put a spring in our step!

In my mind, autumn can be the season for melancholia and serious contemplation, winter needs some comfort injection and richer velours textures while in the summer a cool shot of something lifting the suffocating canopy of the heat is welcome respite, no matter what that is. But a true spring scent should have some unconscious ingenuousness, merely appearing simple and pretty at first sniff, but hiding beneath it a layer of texture that is not immediately attainable.
So my personal Top Spring Scents for this spring (fragrances I am wearing with much gusto and utter glee) are:

Amaranthine Penhaligon's (perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour)
Its name denotes the eternally beautiful and unfading. The perfume, just like the name, evokes a deep purple red, a "corrupted" floral oriental with plenty of "dirty" aspects (see below for another one) combining spiced (clovey) ylang-ylang and jasmine on a milky sandalwood and musky base. Fetish-phobics should better shy away, but those worth their salt in immersing themselves head-long into intimate scents (ooops!) will rejoice that the meadows and the flowers do not only smell of the sterile florist's or Alpine tops. As shocking ~coming from such an upper-stiff-lip British brand~ as discovering that our favourite nanny, Julie Andrews, has a va jay jay ~and a wee hole~ after all!

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Flora Nerolia (perfumer Mathilde Laurent)
There is nothing more April-like than the smell of bitter orange trees in blossom, their waxy white petals infiltrating the glossy green of the leaves and some fruit still hanging from the branches, like a reminder of what has been already accomplished. Guerlain captured the ethereal vapors of steam of these delicate, ravishing blossoms and married them to a pre-emptying summery jasmine and the faint whiff of cool frankincense burning inside a Greek Orthodox church preparing for the country's most devout celebration: Easter. Flora Nerolia is like a snapshot of late Lent in Greece and for that reason is absolutely precious to me.

Paco Rabanne Calandre (perfumer Michel Hy)
I recently rediscovered this perfume of the 1970s to much delight. Calandre has a wonderful olfactory profile, as I had written in my full review: "citrusy, slightly sour top note which segues into both oily green hyacinth and a fresh (laundered, thanks to lily-of-the-valley) white rose, elements which peter out slowly into an undefinable vaguely herbal base with honey and light musk touches that is its own thing more than anything that morphs into the wearer" A quiet triumph and a most friendly, easy-going fragrance. (full review here)

L'artisan Parfumeur Jacinthe des Bois (perfumer Anne Flipo)
Jacinthe des Bois was introduced in 2000 as part of L'Artisan's Je T'ai Cueilli Une Fleur trio, which also included Verte Violette and Oeillet Sauvage, all soliflores composed by Anne Flipo (and I love them all). Sadly discontinued, Jacinthe des Bois takes the intoxicating aroma of forest hyacinths, raw and green, like a painting rendered via outrenoir. Like no northern spring has completely lost its thaw, it hides a small facet of lugubriousness that is the necessary part into more fully grasping the real joy of living.

YSL Paris (perfumer Sophia Grojsman for Yves Saint Laurent)
There's something utterly charming about the retro makeup feel of the combination of rose and violets and in Paris this feel is brought to an apotheosis. Paris has the gift ~and curse, if you overdo it~ to be perceptible at a distance, creating a halo that will make waiters swerve on their heels, small children drop their toys to hug you and men exclaiming you smell "clean and feminine". Simply put, a spring fragrance to lose your heart to. (full review here)

Annick Goutal Passion (perfumer Isabelle Doyen)
A typical old Goutal perfume oscillating between modern minimalism and multifaceted classicism, Passion starts with a heady caphoraceous blast of what can only be sensed as vibrant tropical florals snowballing a cadenza of sweet and green notes that unify; to the point where you don't know where the garden ends and the woman starts. The most startling use of ylang-ylang and a joyous romantic fragrance to boot! (full review here)

the little red train in the cobblestone streets of Plaka in Athens,Greece

Lily Bermuda Petals (unknown perfumer for Lily Bermuda)
Petals is feminine, no question about it, and although quite sweet, its tour de force isn't the sugar-tooth of bonbons, but the nectarous quality hiding in the heart of its white blossoms (orange blossom, jasmine, honeysuckle). Its appeal is like that of Natalie Wood at the time she was dating Warren Beatty: Makes you want to break out a prom-like 60s dress and sing in front of the mirror "I feel pretty, oh so pretty; I feel pretty and witty and gay!" , which is rather priceless in its way, won't you agree? (full review here)

Vero Profumo Rubj (perfumer Vero Kern for Vero Profumo)
Sounds odd, smells terrifically happy. The magic of orange blossom absolute in all its glory. Of all the scents in the Vero Profumo line, Rubj impressed me as being the brightest, the shiniest, the most shockingly beautiful in the Eau de Parfum version! Seriously, if you feel like there is a hole in your collection where the heart of a masterpiece fruity floral should beat, don't even think about it twice (full review here for the EDP and here for the parfum)

Ormonde Jayne Tiaré (perfumer Linda Pilkington for Ormonde Jayne)
Tiaré -contrary to expectations due to the name- is reminiscent of a friendlier, more glowing Cristalle by Chanel, which is always an excellent thing. In lieu of a bookish-secretary-in-a-sterile-office which limites its romance-wearing after-hours potential, somehow, someway Ormonde Jayne managed to bypass that and combine both worlds: the intellectual and the sensual, the upbeat and the romantic. A wonderful fragrance that makes you want to run about madly and do recklessly spontaneous things! (full review here)

Une Fleur de Cassie (perfumer Dominique Ropion for Éditions des Parfums Frédéric Malle)
It didn't take me a trip to fragrance capital, Grasse, to appreciate the exquisite technique displayed in highlighting every nook and crany of the mimosa/cassie essences, but it didn't do any harm either. Une Fleur de Cassie has the right amount of "dirty" gusset to hint at coarse carnality (mimosa and cassie absolutes are notoriously musky, jasmine absolute is indolic) while at the same time remaining a gorgeous floral (hints of carnation and rose absolute), smudging its odds and ends into almost an oriental (sandalwood, vanillic fond).

Please check the other participating blogs too:
Smelly Blog
Katie Puckrik Smells
The Non Blonde
I Smell Therefore I Am
Notes from the Ledge
Scent Hive
Savvy Thinker
Roxana's Illuminated Journal
Perfume in Progress
All I Am A Redhead
Ambre Gris
Olfactarama
A Rose Beyond the Thames

Picture of Julie Andrews at the mountaintops from The Sound of Music. Picture of Athens, Plaka region street with wisteria vines, via La Vie Bohemie.

Andy Tauer Orange Star: fragrance review & draw

The newest Andy Tauer fragrance, Orange Star, is based on his previous soap-making for Christmas-giving for which he produced Mandarins Ambrées, a lovely, yummy concoction of mandarin and clementine essences steeped into ambregris tincture (or so it seemed to me). Rest assured that if you liked that soap (I did), you'll love the fragrance too!

Andy had written on his blog about that soap back in November 2007: "It took me a while and quite some fiddling around to get this ambergris hint, the little woody vibrant touch that I wanted to be there, lifting the green mandarins without transforming the bathroom into Givaudan’s Okoumal* production facility. In a sense, the ambergris line shall bring out the colours, point the nose to a mandarin that is fresh, green, clean.Les Mandarines ambrées have survived an extensive bathroom test for weeks in Zurich, they pleased the eye and the nose and the skin as well."

*Okoumal is a Givaudan aroma-chemical smelling ambery and fresh with powdery and mushroom-y nuances.

Orange Star , the fragrance which transforms that concept into a proper, complex fragrance, is an intensely sunny, citrusy (but never cologne-y) composition with lots of coumarinic tonka beans for warmth and comfort, fanning out the cheery glow of the fruits. The tenacity of ambregris is skin-like, a wee bit dry under the natural sweetness of the hesperides, but what I call the coup de grace is the inclusion of a fine spicy note (halg peppery, half clove-y) which makes the whole quite piquant instead of soapy blah. There's some floral element in there (orange blossom, violet, some lily-ofthe-valley for sudsy) but it's never overshadowing the main character. The base material, Ambreine, derived from cistus labdanum, is truly beautiful (but more on to that later, I'm promising you something spectacular!) In all, recognisably Tauer, high naturals ratio, good tenacity.

Spraying vs. dabbing makes for an expansive experience, the spicy note ringing truer, the mandarin juice dribbling more succulent.

Official notes for Andy Tauer Orange Star:
Head: Fresh citrus accord with mandarines and clementines
Heart: Juicy lemongrass, clean orange flowers
Body: Rich ambergris base with tonka beans and hints of vanilla

The best bit is that the bottle and presentation box looks truly gorgeous in deep cobalt blue (as far as I can see from the pictures and from the Milan exhibition) and is a definite redemption for the previous packaging that has been criticized as "cheap-looking" in the past (Le Maroc pour Elle, I'm looking at you!) As Tauer's business has flourished, going from one success to another, so did the budget and the new design showcases we have to deal with an artifact that has the exterior presentation it deserves. Bravo!

For our readers Tauer has provided a generous deluxe sample for a lucky reader. Andy will be at the Scent Bar (Luckyscent's brick and mortar store in LA) on Saturday 17th from 1-4 p.m , but you have your chance to try it out for yourself even if you can't make it to Los Angeles! Please state your interest in the comments. Draw will be open till Sunday 18th midnight. Draw is now closed, thank you for participating!
Samples and pre-orders for bottles will begin sometime before May 1, 2010 at Luckyscent

In the interests of full disclosure, I was provided with two samples directly from Tauer Perfumes: one for myself, one for the giveaway.
Painting Swimmer, 1998, by Colette Calascione via coilhouse.net

Honore des Pres We Love NY: new fragrances

The project by mischievously ~and fictiously~ named brand Honoré des Prés with perfumer Olivia Giacobetti at the stirring wheel is continuing: After the first batch of Eccocert-guaranteed "green" fragrances composed by only natural essences (but competently smelling like proper fragrance and not an aromatherapy blend or insect repellant), which we had reviewed in detail on this article, a new trio of fragrances, collecively called We Love NY, is launching. The house is boasting its credentials as "truly organic, terribly French" but it seems they're taking a west Atlantic coast detour with their new offerings which wink at the US market. Olivia Gicobetti according to the press release is intent on an "excess of raw essence" and to "extract the intense buzz of the Big Apple".

The three new Honoré des Prés fragrances are:
*I Love les Carottes, a composition blending carrot flower grains with Caribian vanilla, sweet orange and orris butter.
*Vamp à N.Y, based on tuberose (very au courant as a note), rhum and three secret balms.
*Love Coco , focusing on the marriage of coconut milk and coriander leaf is touted as "the ideal potion to get married in NY".


The We Love NY triptych of fragrances come in 50 ml (76 euros each) of Eau de Parfum in eco-conscious plastic containers, recalling coffee take-away packaging; so New York City it hurts!
Global launch on 17th of May 2010. More details on the official site soon.

Comme des Garcons Holygrapie, Holygrace: new fragrances

Two new fragrances are launching from the uber-urban,niche sophisticate Comme des Garçons brand with retro packaging that will have you doubting whether they come from Rei Kawakubo's braindchild or from a classic Victorian vignette!
Designer and artist Jun Takahashi has collaborated with perfume brand Comme des Garçons to release two new perfumes named after his own fashion label Undercover and inspired by his enigmatic universe, in particular his fantastic plush animals, the Graces. The fragrances are called Undercover Holygrace and Undercover Holygrapie. The duo symbolizes the relationship of mother Grace and child Grapie. Or so they say...

Holygrapie reflects the smell of babies, kindness and sensuality.
Top Note: ginger purple, tangerine, rhubarb, black pepper Heart notes: iris, frankincense, ylang-ylang Base notes: Australian sandalwood, cedar wood, patchouli, benzoin, vetiver

Holygrace, a perfume of elegance, soap freshness and poison, featuring notes of bergamot, ginger and pepper.Top : Bergamot, purple ginger, pink pepper, cardamom.Heart : Jasmine, incense, broom, red pimentoBase : Vanilla, amber, vetyver, styrax.

Both fragrances retail for 78 euros for 50ml of Eau de Toilette.