As we announced previously, the Fragrance Foundation is giving away bottles of the nominees of the 2010 Fifi Awards every day starting Monday 17th.
Today's fragrance giveaway is Flora by Gucci. The inspiration for the floral motif (and name of the fragance) comes from vintage collections by Gucci in which the big, romantic distinctive patterns of flowers and butterflies were strewn across silks and canvas on scaves and bags respectively. The fragrance developed by Firmenich for Procter & Gamble ~who owns parfums Gucci~ is a sophisticated floral (of course!), aimed at the younger clientele featuring citrus accords, peony, rose, osmanthus, pink pepper, and sandalwood.
All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until 5pm (the sooner the better obviously) for a chance to win one of the free bottles.
Certain terms and conditions apply. 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.
Koto by Shiseido was issued launched in the international market in 1985 which makes it a fairly recent vintage, yet in hindsight one can see how this ethereal quality of cool mossiness is reminiscent of other eras when elegance, discretion and manners were the passe-partout into society. {Indeed in Japan it was originally issued in 1967 as it transpires}. Simply put Koto is supremely well-mannered and I could never in a million years "see" it on someone chewing bubble-gum with an attitude, gesturing madly in public and talking loudly on their cell-phone regardless of passer-bys. It exudes a polished, refined aura which puts things in perspective and people who come into contact with it at ease, rather than in a defensive mode. Among chypres, Koto is one of the friendliest and most easy to accept, but not receding to the role of wallflower either!
Naming a fragrance after the national musical instrument of Japan is indicative of Shiseido's thought-process: melodic, graceful, with a refinement that eludes Western appreciation for fuller scores which span contrapuntal levels like in the form of a fugue or canon, koto and the music played on it is an entity of its own. The "chypre" basic structure on the other hand is a classically westernised transliteration of the latter musical idea, interpolating themes woven into clusters of notes: a floral heart, a powdery base, a fresh ~often green or citrusy~ start. You get whiffs of each motif as the fragrance evolves on your skin like voices taking turns into singing the same melody, out of synch yet harmonically. In many ways for a Japanese company such as Shiseido to issue chypre fragrances (Murasaki is another interesting case) is like borrowing the contrapunto of Palestrina and spinning it on its head. Koto doesn't smell as perfume-y or powdery as most Western chypres do, retaining the discretion and natural feel that Japanese audiences appreciate more.
The composition of Koto is based on a two-pole magnetic compass that points to instantly perceived charisma: On one side the starchness and dryness of a classic chypre accord smelling green but not too earthy. On the other side, a floral chord of crystalline (but not too high-pitched) and "clean" notes of lily of the valley (muguet) with a smidge of rose and gardenia. The two elements produce a dry yet expansive and fresh wave which envelops the body lightly. A hint of leathery, resinous touch at the base with indefinable woody notes is underscoring the green mossy stages. Lovers of the original Vent Vert and the more soapy Ivoire by Balmain might take note, as would those who like Y by Saint Laurent, Jacomo Silences, Chanel Cristalle and Paco Rabanne Calandre.Koto is certainly less agressively green than vintage Vent Vert or Silences (no galbanum or quinolines here) and less oakmoss-rich than the original Y, but it falls within the group's characteristics nonetheless and can be nicely shared among the two sexes.
Koto by Shiseido circulates in an Eau de Cologne Pure Mist version (which is satisfyingly sufficient if you're not demanding of your scent to stick around into the night) and is a Japan exclusive. Yet it makes some appearences on online auctions from time to time. It's definitely approachable enough in both scent and price point to grace more collections than it does at the present time.
For our readers, a good-size decant of the fragrance will be given to the lucky reader among those who state their interest in the comments. The draw will be open till Saturday 30th May midnight.
The song is "Itsuki No Komoriuta", from the CD compilation "The Koto- Japanese Healing Music" uploaded by Starfires. Painting Green Teapot and Japanese Bowl by Helene Druvert.
As we announced previously, the Fragrance Foundation is giving away bottles of the nominees of the 2010 Fifi Awards every day starting Monday 17th. Today's fragrance giveaway is Very Hollywood by Michael Kors. Mandarin, iced bergamot, wet jasmine, ylang ylang, gardenia and raspberry combine with Italian orris, amber, soft white moss for a "glamours fragrance". All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until 5pm (the sooner the better obviously) for a chance to win one of the free bottles.
Certain terms and conditions apply. 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.
As we announced previously, the Fragrance Foundation is giving away bottles of the nominees of the 2010 Fifi Awards every day starting Monday 17th.
Today's fragrance giveaway is Eau Méga by Victor & Rolf. "A new superheroine is born. Touched by Eau Mega she becomes best at what's she good at". Eau Méga by Viktor & Rolf is the newest creation of the cutting-edge designing duo for which they conceived the megamizer (a giga atomiser) for a green and fresh composition, encompassing notes of violet leaf, green basil, pear, peony, jasmine sambac, Italian citron, cedar and Casmeran (a smooth wody-musky aroma-chemical).
All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until 5pm (the sooner the better obviously) for a chance to win one of the free bottles.
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.
Some years after being sold to the Lauder Group, Jo Malone, the doyenne of prim British elegance in skincare and fragrancing, is set to launch a new line of fragrances, seemingly under the creative aegis of perfumer Christine Nagel. Jo, now 46, sold her company to Estée Lauder in 1999 in what can only be described as the “deal of a lifetime” (figure is rumoured to be £5 million) for the high-school drop-out who is self-professedly "seriously dyslexic". She stayed on in a creative capacity, but in 2003 Jo was diagnosed with breast cancer which necessitated chemotherapy and some serious focusing on her own life. Now, healthy and strong again, she's back in business! Her next venture, another foray into the fragrance market that remains tightly under wraps for now ~well, not anymore~ will start as the first one did at the dining-room table: "“I gave my clients little bottles of home-made nutmeg and ginger bath oil as a thank you” says Malone recounting her first attempts at fragrance creation for her facials clients who were clamouring for setting an appointment with her and her magic fingers.
The first installment in this new fragrance collection, which will be spanning the next two years, will be English Pear & Freesia, for which Christine Nagel describes the note that she wanted to capture, as "the fragrance of a King William pear just before it becomes over-ripe. The intention was to capture the smell of the fruit when it was sweet but still crisp, not too green and sharp but not sugary and soft". To boost the effect there are also notes of freesia, quince and a subtle hint of patchouli. Pear too timid to take center stage? More like a technical issue, really, taking in mind pear notes usually come from the flavouring side of the industry.
"It's unusual for a pear to take centre stage in a fragrance*, but the essence of English Pear & Freesia is a complex and quintessentially autumnal pear note. My challenge was in recreating the scent of a pear at that moment of perfect ripeness" says Nagel. Apparently, the September launch isn't random. It is John Keats and his immortal "To Autumn" ode that has served as an inspiration behind the new fragrance. No wonder the launch took place to Hampstead and Keats' house. [source] Alexis Wolfer already characterises English Pear & Freesia as "delicious and mixes well with many other Jo scents!"
.jpg)
Today's fragrance giveaway is Flora by Gucci. The inspiration for the floral motif (and name of the fragance) comes from vintage collections by Gucci in which the big, romantic distinctive patterns of flowers and butterflies were strewn across silks and canvas on scaves and bags respectively. The fragrance developed by Firmenich for Procter & Gamble ~who owns parfums Gucci~ is a sophisticated floral (of course!), aimed at the younger clientele featuring citrus accords, peony, rose, osmanthus, pink pepper, and sandalwood.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
