Angel Men Pure Malt: it's back!

Angel Men/A*Men Pure Malt, originally a limited edition which created something of a cult following, has been brought back on popular demand . The masculine cologne is to be found on the official site thierrymugler.com for $70 for a 3.4 oz bottle. For now that seems the only means of purchasing, set to expire with the advent of 2011.
Good news for fans at any rate!

ETA: The next limited edition for men by Mugler will be A*Men Pure Havane according to Basenotes.

Andy Tauer launches his scents in London

Andy Tauer Presents New Fragrances in London: Everyone's favourite niche perfumer, Swiss Andy Tauer will be in London to present his new fragrances, Une Rose Vermeille and Eau d'Epices. (look for reviews here).
This special event will take place from 2-4 PM on Saturday, 9 October
If you would like to attend, please email info@scent-and-sensibility.co.uk with 'Tauer Launch' in the header and there will be a reply with details in your inbox soon.

L'Art de Rene Lalique: new perfume book

The anniversary of 15o years since the birth of René Lalique, one of the most prestigious jewellers and crystal-makers of the 20th century, is marked by a new publication, penned by an expert historian on the perfume industry, Christie Mayer Lefkowith.

The new book is the end result of several years of research and includes numerous, beautiful illustrations of perfume flacons that will interest both the bottle collector and the perfume enthusiast. The most interesting element of course is the analysis of the artistic inspiration behind the creations, often combining glass-making with jewel design.
The book is issued on October 1st.

"L’art de René Lalique, flacons et boîtes à poudre", Christie Mayer Lefkowith, editions Lalique, 98€.

pic via elle.fr

F.Malle to personally appear at Barneys to introduce Home Collection

"Freddie is like a fabulous character out of Proust. The mysterious cult of Frederic Malle draws followers from the grooviest and most sophisticated nooks and crannies of art, movies and fashion. With the introduction of the home collection Fréderic is taking his subtle, intoxicating magic to a wider audience," said Simon Doonan, Barneys New York's creative director.

Malle home collection of fragrances (candles, fleur mécanique and the new metal diffuser, you can read about them here and here) are introduced at Barneys stores across the US. Building on its legacy of launching exclusive products, Barneys will be the only specialty retailer to carry the collection in the U.S (in select stores and online at barneys.com). Malle himself will make personal appearences to private viewings for his most devoted customers.

Meet Frederic Malle at the following "Barneys New York" flagship stores:
Las Vegas - Wednesday, September 29, 4:30-6:30 PM
Scottsdale - Friday, October 1, 6-8 PM
Beverly Hills - Saturday, October 2, 4-6 PM
Chicago - Wednesday, October 6, 5-7 PM
New York – Friday, October 8, 5-7 PM

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Frederic Malle news & reviews, Myth Debunking: Scented candles cause cancer? The truth.

Dior Diorama new re-issue 2010: Fragrance Review & Musings on Reformulation

When one of the revered classics gets re-issued, it is cause for celebration. Or disenchantment. It really is a delicate balance. Diorama is no stranger to various versions circulating through the years since its original creation by Edmond Roudnitska in 1949. (You can read our own review on this page) Alternatively dirtier/raunchier (perfume aficionado speak is "skanky") or like a bowl of sunny late summer fruit left on the table to ripen a tad longer than usual (thanks to the famous Prunol base which Roudnitska was so fond of), Diorama has had its phases. The latest one involves a re-issue, just this minute going downtown in specific stores wordlwide (contrary to its Parisian Avenue Montaigne exclusivity as of last year) and a different attribution: to François Demachy, creative art director and head perfumer at parfums Dior, rather to Edmond Roudnitska. What does this mean? Many things.

• First of all, the industry secret on it being reworked was revealed to me quite a while ago alongside the difference attribution, when approached by a journalist who wanted my input for his research on something concerning the brand and the perfumer. I hope to be able to reveal the length of our coming and goings in the future. But I digress. The matter is the attribution to Demachy signals a change in the formula. Surely, the formula had been tweaked a couple of times already, like mentioned above. But the name of the illustrious creator was guarded as a porte-chance (a good luck charm). Divesting it of its legendary lineage creates an enigma as to whether Demachy has gained full creative control at Dior under the LVMH shortage of budgets for creations or whether his talents are sort of "sold short" as I believed, especially given his tutoring under Edmond himself. (After all François Demachy did beautiful work when the formula restrains were either lifted momentarily for J'Afore L'Absolu or concaved into the inherent idea of simplicity in the style proposed, as in Escale à Portofino). Is an attribution of the reworking of an acclaimed fragrance the final test and the signal from LVMH that there is perfumer lineage there? Is it merely a marketing trick? Or a desire to highlight the role of their head perfumer?

• Another aspect is that the former unattainability of Diorama (being a Paris flagship Dior store exclusive) for most of the perfume lovers the world over is now into crumbles, even if the places of sale are not low-brow at all. Still, the opening to the Anglo-Saxon market signals something important in the luxury business outlook. Namely that creating a hard-to-get exclusive creates a frenzy (uncle Serge played this game first and best) but you have to make sure that that frenzy finds a way to invade the biggest consumer market of them all and the one more attuned to the Internet: the USA and North America in general. Ergo Saks is now carrying Diorama as an exclusive, catering for the increased awareness of classics and more obscure fragrances by an audience which was brought up on the Internet or delurked enough to take notice. It was with surprise I had found out last year that even regular fare which we consider normal perfume counter-material (Diorella, Miss Dior etc.) is hiding beneath specific counters in the US and you have to explicitly ask for them to try them out. Maybe LVMH has finally realised they're sitting on a (very) dumped down brand (lately) and decided to make amends? Let's hope so!

• Which leaves us with the actual fragrance of the re-issued Diorama. How does it smell like? To cut a long story short, it is still recognisably Diorama, meaning a ripe juice with plummy goodness embracing an unidentified white flower at the heart, somewhere between sweet jasmine and the caramelised scent of immortelle.
  Comparing with the till recently circulating re-issue on Avenue Montaigne one would detect some cleaning up which veered it further into Le Parfum de Thèrese direction with a bastardised peach overripeness rather than melon; and at the same time further away from Femme (both Roudnitska creations, the latter preceding Diorama, the former following it). It was still a nice perfume, but not on a par with the older vintages and I personally voted with my wallet for the contemporary bottles of Diorling.
  The Diorama re-issue of 2010, much like the 50s vintage versions, is closer to Femme with its patisserie density and its bosom-heavy cumin tonalities and sports a particularly vivid Damascena rose on its lapel alongside the peaches and plums. Still, the inky, muddy depth of oakmoss is flamboyant in its...absence. The new re-issue of Diorama feels more like a fruity woody with a thin voice than a traditional chypre with timber tibre, much as it tries...

The re-issued Diorama is currently a Saks exclusive in the US, and available at Harrods and Fortnum's in London. Dior is re-issuing their classics under an umbrella collection called Les Créations de Monsieur Dior (no matter that Dior died in 1957 before many were conceived). You can read all about those here.