Francis Kurkdjian for British Elle: Win a Rare Autographed Bottle of Elle 25

How would you feel if your favourite fashion magazine engaged one of the most acclaimed young perfumers to fix a special fragrance for you? And on top of that made it in extremely limited quantities as to be able to call this "your very own"? Good idea? British Elle had just that thought when they asked Francis Kurkdjian, the perfumer behind such blockbusters such as Le Male and Narciso for Herto create a bespoke pefume, called, Elle 25 for the 25th anniversary of British Elle magazine.

This special edition is available in just 25 bottles, each of them signed by perfumer. Francis explains his vision: "She is a woman of many emotions who is liberated, humorous, tender and elegant". The Elle 25 fragrance notes include: floral bouquet accord, cedarwood essential oil, musk and a chypre base, according to British Elle.

The only way to own the perfume is to take part in the contest organized by Elle UK: "Write your own brief for bringing ELLE to life as a scent in under 70 words and email it to elle25@hf-uk.com by 1st October. The best 25 entries will win a bottle of ELLE25 signed by Francis".

Bearing in mind that such efforts have in the past produced a beautiful tuberose, all lush and expansive, for the similarly limited commemorative edition Guerlain Marie Claire, we're optimistic that this isn't just marketing drivel.

Buzz by The Sun: Tabloid Perfume

Did you think that the celebrity perfume business was a tired concept? After thousands of A-, B- and Z-listers having their very own celebo-fragrance out, now it's the time to see something unusual: A famous tabloid, UK's The Sun collaborated with no less than Roja Dove (of Guerlain and Harrods Haute Parfumerie fame) to bring out their new fragrance, aptly called...Buzz!

Taking inspiration from The Sun, Dove has created Buzz, a perfume that embodies the glamour of a movie premiere and the excitement of a red carpet line up. To create the scent, Dove has created a heady blend of the effortless style of Sarah-Jessica Parker, the charisma of Sophia Loren, the intoxicating sass of Beyonce Knowles and the girl-next-door charm of Cheryl Cole. Speaking of his exciting project with The Sun, Roja Dove said:

“Collaborating with The Sun is an unusual step for me. In my work I create bespoke one-off fragrances for individual clients so I was surprised when I was asked to create a scent for a newspaper. “However, I’ve always loved the idea that everybody should be able to share the world of exquisite fragrance. Working with the biggest newspaper in the English speaking world is a fantastic opportunity for me to bring my world and my work to a wider audience and share the magic of fragrance".

Entertainment comes in many guises but the one thing it should do is feel good and leave us buzzing with happy memories. Buzz Eau de Parfum opens with a blend of bright, breezy citrus notes where Bergamot reigns supreme, before leading directly to a sensual heart of Jasmine and Ylang Ylang which capture the glamour of the Oscars, BAFTAs, opening nights and debuts, before revealing a soft layering base of Vanilla and Sandalwood, that enhance all sensations of pleasure, evocative of a red-carpet moment.

Buzz eau de parfum will be sold at £59 per 50ml from September onwards at the Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie on the fifth floor of Harrods. More details can be found at the-sun.co.uk/buzz

What do you think? Is this an original concept or what? Do you have expectations from the juice?

The 20 Best Ever Perfumes List

The Daily Mail has devoted an article by Elsa McAlonan to a selection of the 20 best ever perfumes for women. The selection includes:

Anais Anais by Cacharel
Angel by Thierry Mugler
Beautiful by Lauder
Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden
CK One by Calvin Klein
Classique by Jean Paul Gaultier
Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel
DKNY by Donna Karan
Eau Dynamisante by Clarins
J'Adore by Christian Dior
Je Reviens by Worth
Joy by Jean Patou
L'air du Temps by Nina Ricci
Lime, Basil and Mandarin by Jo Malone
No.5 by Chanel
Opium by Yves Saint Laurent
Poison by Christian Dior
Rive Gauche by Yves Saint Laurent
Shalimar by Guerlain
Youth Dew by Lauder

Certainly there is an emphasis on tried-and-true classics, but also the effect of best-selling status entering the equation (CKOne, Beuatiful, Coco Mademoiselle etc). Each and every one on this list is a perfume that has sold millions of bottles over the years.

What say you? Which would have been your picks for a top-20 best ever list?

Jacques Polge, Egoiste, Blue, Sex and Clean: an Interview

"Egoïste is about seduction. I have a funny anecdote about sex and smells. An American woman once asked me if French people took showers before or after sex. I answered, “After, of course.”

"Bleu is the opposite of Egoïste. Egoïste was inspired by a woman's fragrance* [Bois des Îles], whereas there is nothing feminine about Bleu. I wanted to do something very direct. You know, men's fragrances are still very linked with shaving. When I find myself in planes, at some point I always see those business men coming from the bathroom smelling of aftershave. So Bleu is spicy, woody, and dry. There is no fantasy."

"I started my career in the United States. Perfumes were then made of both good-smelling and bad-smelling ingredients. But the bad-smelling ingredients, when used in a certain way, brought something sensual and interesting to the final scent. The first time I arrived at work, they told me, “You want to work here? Then smell this.” They made me smell chives. With American puritanism, all these kinds of fragrances disappeared".

*Hence its original name, Bois Noir. Only offered in Chanel boutiques at the time, Bois Noir was in production for only a few months in 1987 before it was withdrawn from the market, later to be replaced with the more widely available Egoïste.

Thus reminiscences Jacques Polge, the master perfumer at Chanel since the 1980s and responsible for the marvel that is Egoïste. Read the entire interview following this link.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine:
Bleu de Chanel (new fragrance for men),
Pushing Boundaries in Perfume advertising,
Why the French grow up to love smells while Americans don't,
Top 10 Masculine Fragrances.

Link brought to my attention via nowsmellthis/twitter. Pic of Bois Noir bottle via basenotes, still from Egoiste ad from my archive

My Wife Smells Since Changing Perfumes!

"My eye tastes bad art the way a restaurant critic tastes boiled duck confit in an orange chipotle sauce, with revulsion and pure anger. My nose is even more refined, as it can smell burgeoning mould on a Njursholm moose milk cheese from over 30 feet away. So, when the second Mrs. Mullpenny, Margarette, started using a perfume that I deemed to be like apricots farting, I swung into action immediately.
As it was soon to be Navidad, I spent a considerable amount of money and bought everyone on staff at Mullpenny Manor bottles of that wretched parfum. When they began wearing it around the house while doing their duties, Margarette immediately deemed her scent to be pedestrian and switched to a more overpowering bouquet, so as to drown out the smell of our help."

In a hilarious article in the format of a 'Dear Abby' column, Steve Murray on the National Post {click the link} replies to a husband's query on how to solve the problem of his wife's body odour suddenly surfacing through her change of perfumes (a matter of body chemistry if you please, from the male perspective).

Definitely worth a read..and many (unfeminist) belly laughs!!

Photo via askaden