Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Looking good...






















1Now Smell This
2The Scented Salamander
3Blogdorf Goodman
4Scent Hive
5Perfume Posse
6Perfume Shrine
7Katie Puckrik Smells
8First Nerve
9Nathan Branch
10Perfume in Progress
11Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume Blog
12Glass Petal Smoke
13indieperfumes
14Signature Scent
15OlfactaRama
16Notes From the Ledge
17SmellyBlog
18the beauty alchemist
19J'aime le parfum - I love perfume!
20the aromaconnection blog

Ranking made by Wikio

The IFRA 45th Amendment: Not What You Expected

The sensationalist titles and the panic woes across the Net about perfume reformulation due to perfumery restrictions issued by regulatory body IFRA (International Fragrance Association) bring on more traffic, furore and fame to the authors than positive results for the industry and the consumer, but that's an old story. True to form and confirming our previous balanced and rational treatment of the subject, the latest amendement of IFRA regulations comes with only 7 changes which will not impact the industry as significantly as claimed.

Critically, the rumours on new policies regulating methyleugenol and fyrocoumarins are not verified by the official source.
“This year’s Amendment will hardly affect the palettes of perfumers,” said Jean-Pierre Houri, IFRA director general. “Previous years have seen quite heavy Amendments due to the change over to our new Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA)* approach. However, this is nearly complete and is reflected in this year’s very light Amendment,” explained Houri as featured on Perfumer & Flavorist.

In regards to whether all companies are bound by the policies of IFRA, let us state that the regulatory restrictions are mandatory for the companies who are members of IFRA (IFRA began as a self-regulatory body and the vast majority of perfume companies are adherening therefore to its rules)

*Quantative Risk Assesment is a process through which fragrance materials suspect for skin contact sensitisation are rationed and was introduced in 2005.

You can read the whole text of the IFRA 45th Amendment announcement follow this link.
Please refer to this link for ingredients restricted and that link for ingredients prohibited.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Restrictions part 1, Restrictions part 2

The winner of the draw...

...for the Shiseido fragrance decant is Diana. Congratulations and please email me with a shipping address so I can have this in the mail for you soon!

Thanks for the enthusiastic participation everyone and till the next one...

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Fifi 2010 nominee Giveaway 12

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 (and the last one) is Anthology by Dolce & Gabbana: And yes, we're talking about the whole collection of fragrances in the Anthology line, aka 5 full bottles!

All you have to do is connect to the FIFI Facebook page and leave a comment until Friday 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.

45,600 Euros for a Guerlain Bottle! Say What?

If the price is shocking to boot, let me clarify this is a historical collectible Guerlain flacon engraved and dating from as far back as 1870 which was sold at an auction in Toledano at Arachon (Gironde) this past Saturday 29th May and bought by a serious French collector.
The auction included many worthwhile specimens, among them various designs by René Lalique and one by Gabrielle Chanel, signed Ivoire, which began its course at 200 euros only to hit the ceiling at 1300 euros! At least 81% of the bottles auctioned were sold to buyers from around the world, mostly French, but also Australian, Russian, Canadian, Indian and Chinese.



According to Bernand Gangler, professional appraiser of perfume bottles, who proclaimed the auction "one of the most beautiful in the world", this particular Guerlain perfume bottle sale is a world record that will take a long time to be surpassed. The initial appraisal was estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 euros, but it skyrocketed in the end. The "Rue de la Paix" engraved bottle (featuring the original address of Guerlain, 15 rue de la Paix) was part of a massive auction of 250 lots produced between 1870 and 1900. Nota bene this was not the Rue de la Paix perfume, issued in 1908 but merely a bottle of unidentified as yet perfume signed with the old address.
Another world record was set by "Fontaines Parfumées" signé Depinoix et Julien Viard which settled at 32,400 euros while originally estimated around 10,000 euros.
It's clear that valuable perfume bottles collecting has legs! Be extra attentive to whom you're leaving your perfume collection in your will.

photo via bibliodyssey blog

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