A Fragrance Giveaway Each Day for 12 days!

In collaboration with The Fragrance Foundation we're pleased to announce each day a different FIFI fragrance nominee will be given away to our readers (until it's out of stock)!
We start on Monday, the 17th at 5pm. Every day for the following 12 days we will run a short announcement on Perfume Shrine early on, so you know the special fragrance of the day and can be alerted so you're ready by 5pm.
All you have to do is then connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment. Any comment will do, so don't miss your chance to win a bottle of the perfume you want!
The FIFI Awards will be held June 10, 2010 in New York City. The FIFI’s are the Oscars of the Fragrance world and attended by a who’s who of the industry. Celebrities expected: Mary J. Blige, Saffron Burrows, 50 Cent, Randy Jackson, Kim Kardashian, Molly Sims, Sofia Vergara, Michael Kors, Usher and many more.

Terms & Conditions:
Winners will be announced via Facebook. You may enter only once per Give-away. Winners will be selected in a random drawing. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age and over. Alternatively, those not wishing to join Facebook can submit their name for consideration by sending their name, address, and age to: Facebook Give-Away c/o The Fragrance Foundation, 545 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900 New York, NY 10017. No purchase is necessary. Odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received. Any applicable taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. Void where prohibited. The Fragrance Foundation reserves the right to cancel, suspend, modify, or terminate the give-away in the event of any technical malfunction, including any unauthorized tampering or anything beyond the control of The Fragrance Foundation.

Disclosure: We are not affiliated with either the Fragrance Foundation or the companies which provide the fragrances for the giveaway. This is a public service announcement.

The History of the House of Lanvin Parfums

Few fashion houses have such an illustrious career in fragrance production that at least a handful of their old creations are considered classics beyond parallel: one could cite Chanel or Dior. Lanvin is one of them and although its endurance and shimmer has waned through the decades, a result of the brand passing through many hands who were not always respectful of the heritage, their fragrances are renowned for their elegance that transcends the decades. From the definitive Arpège (1927) with its aldehydic incandescence to the delectable Mon Péché (My Sin) from 1925, they entangle their fans in an embrace of true luxury. Acclaimed perfumer Edmond Roudnistka had pronounced quinoline-rich yet smooth Scandal (1933) as his preferred leather scent among all others by saying it's "a beautiful flower snapped inside a new leather handbag". [in an interview by Susan Irvine]

The tantalising names read like a sexy adventure as well: Prétexte (pretext), Rumeur (rumour), Crescendo, L'Ame Perdue (Lost Soul)... Some of the lost gems are poetically baptized, consonants and vowels rolling off the tongue: Pétales Froissées, J'en rafolle, Niv Nal, Lajéa...

The story of the house of Lanvin starts with the founder of the fashion house, milliner Jeanne Lanvin, born on the 1st of January of 1867 in Paris, eldest of 11 children born to the poor family of Bernard-Constant Lanvin and Sophie-Blanche. Luckily for them, Jeanne's grandfather, Jacques-Firmin Lanvin, is friends with Victor Hugo who helps them along every way he can.
At the age of 13, Jeanne, nicknamed «la petite omnibus» because of her habit to chase the bus, enters the workforce as a seamstress and milliner. As the years pass, so augments the admiration her work produces, earning her an apprenticeship at Félix and later at Cordeau's, working in Barcelona. Upon returning to Paris, Jeanne Lanvin will become mistress of herself: She founds her own millinery fashion house at rue du Marché Saint-Honoré. Her next address upon expanding her headquarters will be 16 rue Boissy d’Anglas while the final destination, still standing to this day, will be at 22, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The genius designs of artist Albert Armand Rateau will help her materialize her Hôtel particulier and her villas, the «Lanvin Décoration» division and he will decorate her boutiques. Together they will participate in the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs in 1925 as well.

Aside from the professional, Jeanne's personal life will blossom too: She meets her future husband, le Conte Emilio di Pietro, at the Longchamp horse races and will have her daughter Marguerite in 1897. The little girl has been immortalised through the design of the iconic black boule bottle of Arpège. Her nickname is Ririte, but she will be referred to as Marie-Blanche ever since 1920, and she will be the inspiration for the many fabulous designs her mother devises which will be envied all over Paris and will create the fervent desire to emulate for the daughters of many well-to-do ladies of the higher society. The step from daughters to mothers is a small one and Jeanne will become a legendary couturier in no time!
Marie-Blanche will also be the inspiration for her mother's most enduring perfume, Arpège, conceived for the 30th birthday of Jeanne's beloved daughter and inspired by Marie-Blanche's musical-referencing comment upon smelling the first mod of the composition: "it smells like an arpeggio would". The formula was composed by perfumers Paul Vacher and André Fraysse, while the design of the mother dressing the daughter by Paul Iribe has become a modern icon. It's an irony that the passionate love the mother had for her daughter Marguerite will end up in drawing them apart...

Parfums Lanvin will begin their long-standing career in 1925 at 4, Champs Elysées with simultaneous openings at Cannes and Touquet. The perfume laboratory will be in Nanterre. Even though the background of the first few perfumes is shrouded in mystery and the allegedly Russian-born (and nebulous) Madame Zed ~or more truthfully Marie Zède*~ the fact is that it was the then young perfumer André Fraysse who created the triumphs of the Lanvin fragrance line from 1925 onwards. Such was his input that the legendary perfumer Edmond Roudnitska had once said that he considered Fraysse to be the best perfumer of them all.

The final recognition for Jeanne Lanvin came in 1926, when she became a Chevalier de la légion d'Honneur, and when in 1938, she received the rosette of Officier de la Légion d'Honneur by the hand of Sacha Guitry. She died 8 years later at the age of 79. The direction of the couture house was renegated to Marguerite/Marie-Blanche till her own death in 1958. Successors to the designer seat will include Antonio del Castillo, Dominique Morlotti, Jules Francois Crahay, Marry II Lanvin , Claude Montana, Patrick Lavoix and Christina Ortiz.
After a long hibernation and the passing into too many hands, the L'Oreal Group and the Vuitton family bought out the Lanvin house, organising the first re-orchestration of the classic Arpège fragrance; to outcries from the loyal fans which demanded and effectuated a needed twist in the latter part of the 1990s, albeit never to the grander glory of yore. Since 2007, parfums Lanvin are owned by Inter Parfums, while the fashion division is led by designer Alber Elbaz.
The official site of Lanvin can be accessed here.

The perfumes of Lanvin in chronological order are:

1923 Irisé (discontinued in 1926)
1923 Kara Dujenoun (inspired by a trip to Egypt and discontinued in 1926)
1923 Lajéa
1923 Le Chypre
1923 La Dogaresse
1924 Comme-Ci, Comme-Ca
1924 Niv Nal (discontinued in 1926)
1925 J'En Raffole
1925 Géranium D'Espagne (discontinued in 1962)
1925 Cross Country
1925 Mon Péché (My Sin) (discontinued in 1988)
1925 Le Sillon (discontinued in 1926)
1925 Friction Jeanne Lanvin
1925 Après Sport (discontinued in 1926)
1925 Où Fleurit L'Oranger (discontinued in 1940)
1927 Arpège
1928 L'Ame Perdue (Lost Soul)
1928 Pétales Froissées
1933 Scandal
1933 Eau de Lanvin
1934 Rumeur
1934 Eau de Cologne Lanvin
1937 Prétexte
1949 Prodige
1951 Spanish Geranium
1964 Monsieur Lanvin
1964 Figaro Lanvin
1964 Lavande Lanvin
1965 Crescendo
1966 Vétyver de Lanvin
1971 Via Lanvin
1979 Lanvin for Men
1979 Cardamome (Moyen Orient)
1979 Rumeur (relaunch)
1983 Clair de Jour
1987 Eau de Parfum d'Arpège
2000 Oxygene
2001 Oxygene pour Homme
2003 Lanvin Vetyver
2003 Éclat d'Arpège
2005 Arpege pour Homme
2006 Rumeur (new edition)
2007 Éclat d'Arpège Summer
2008 Rumeur 2 Rose
2008 Jeanne Lanvin
2009 Lanvin L'Homme Sport

We will review (and link) several of these fragrances soon!

*according to an official hand-written document in which Marie Zède from 13, rue Castiglione, Paris, orders raw materials from a supplier. [source & possession of document 1000fragrances]
Vintage Lanvin ads via cache1.asset-cachet.net, publicites-anciennes.com and ebay

FIFI Awards Voting Open to Consumers

The FiFi awards voting website is taking submissions by perfume lovers who can vote for their favourite fragrances on the assorted categories. Voting has already started and ends on May 19th. You can vote by clicking this link.
There is also a Facebook page where the audience can receive different updates and events.

Diptyque Vetyverio: new fragrance

Diptyque, famous for their Eaux de Cologne and candles, launches a new unisex Eau de Toilette: Vétyvério. According to the press release "Diptyque has had a fun time blurring the lines by blending perfumery's archetypal raw materials, namely masculine vetiver and feminine flower bouquets. This fragrance is subtle, sensitive, and captures the power of unquestionable elegance".
The core of the new fragrance is (naturally) vetiver from Indonesia and the Caribbean. Additional notes include: organic ylang ylang from Madagascar, Turkish rose, and peppery geranium from Egypt. Hints of Italian mandarin orange, Florida grapefruit, Sicilian lemon, and bergamot keep it fresh and fruity, rather than citric. A few spices (carrot seeds, nutmeg and clove) combined with the dryness of cedar adds structure to the final product.
Price: $88 for 50ml and $120 for 100ml.

Available at all major retailers, diptyque’s boutiques in New York and San Francisco and at http://www.diptyqueparis.com/ (the new official online boutique)

Etro Gomma: fragrance review

Why is it that leather fragrances often produce the effect Frau Blücher's name does to horses in Young Frankenstein? Many otherwise accomodating perfume enthusiasts report some leather fragrances smelling pungent, sour or just outright harsh, admitting defeat and throwing the towel. But Etro, bless their joyful Italian hearts, have come up with the right answer for those cuirophobics: a friendly modern leather to eclipse fears and ignite desires instead.

Unlike "Blucher" which (does not) mean glue in German, "Gomma" means rubber and one would expect the "hot tires accord" and elastic that is purported to be at the heart of Bulgari Black (I say "purported" because the rubberiness of Black is actually quite vanillic and smooth to me, rather than acrid as one would imagine). There is a dose of it at the top in Gomma, but nothing to frighten the horses, if you will allow the pun.
Technically a "woody chypre", but more acurately an ambery leather, Gomma is among Etro's most successful creations, if only because it's distinctive (in the Knize Ten mould) and at the same time user-friendly. Composed by legendary perfumer Edouard Fléchier, it would be, wouldn't it? Not only does it layer well under simple soliflores, if you're after that sort of thing (try it with an iris or a carnation, or even better a lush jasmine to compliment its own floralcy), but it lends itself to easy wearing throughout the day and lasts rather well on my skin and on clothes, despite it being only an Eau de Cologne concentration. I can only imagine just how satisfying an Eau de Parfum version would be.

The secret of Gomma's success? A sheer pungent leather base that is more like birch tar (Cuir de Russie, Tabac Blond) than pike-harsh green quinolines (Bandit) and most reminiscent of Knize Ten (quite close in fact, although the Knize is brassier, fruitier, with lots of castoreum). But the theme is rendered via a diaphanous treatment with a slightly herbal-soapy tonality and a pleasurable sweet accent of indefineable white flowers. It's therefore the perfect leather fragrance for summer wearing or for the office without betraying the insouciant character that a cuir fragrance brings to its wearer: You won't stand out like a sore thumb, but you will leave others wondering what is that indvidual (and delicious) smell.
Staying power is average on the whole especially taking in mind the concentration, while warm weather seems to extend the sillage/trail left behind. And as to who can wear it? "I don't know if it's a masculine, a feminine or a unisex scent." the Non Blonde proclaims. I concur. Even inanimate things take on a new 5th dimension in it!

Notes for Etro Gomma:
citrus, artemisia, spices, leather, jasmine, amber.

Etro has revamped their packaging recently, making all caps silver instead of gold and rendering the boxes a graphic black and white instead of the old paisley (which I prefered). You can see both versions in the pics.
A 3.4 oz/100ml bottle retails for $165, on Amazon it's 143$ but sometimes it can be found discounted.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Leather series (everything about leather in perfumery & leather scents reviews)

Photo of old-style Etro Gomma bottle by Elena Vosnaki (click the pic to enlarge). Newer packaging via punmiris.com