Teo Cabanel Early Roses: fragrance review

"One day, its Royal Majesty, our Self, should get out of the throne room and with its Court, the mind and the heart, sit down and decide about its life".
~Tasos Athanasiadis, The Throne Room

There are fragrances which are complex like symphonies and then there are fragrances which take on a gorgeous essence as a point of departure into exploring subtle nuances. Early Roses by Teo Cabanel belongs in the second category, imparting a morning-dew fresh rosiness with woody-musky undertones, as delicate and tender as that first kiss on the lips on a warm May's day when happiness is so overwheling that it's ripe with the burden of a budding melancholy already.

Jean François Latty (the perfumer of YSL's classics, Jazz and YSL Pour Homme) signed the latest and fifth opus of Teo Cabanel, a small exclusive perfumery originally established in Algiers in 1893 and reborn by a young heiress, Caroline Ilacqua in 2005.

Early Roses is a floral rose étude, subtle and pastoral like walking in a garden covered by dew, with fragrant notes of roses, red berries, jasmin, bulgarian rose, sustained by amber, musk and woody notes. Although Cabanel features another rose perfume in their portfolio, Oha, the comparison couldn't be more pronounced: While Early Roses is a budding young woman eagerly anticipating the miracle of life unfolding before her, Oha is a mature chypre floral when some heartache has left its indelible mark. The prettiness without vulgarity of Early Roses comes as confimation that Teo Cabanel, producer of the amazing warm floriental of amber & ylang ylang Alahine as well as another floral named Julia, is a niche brand to watch out for.

Early Roses pretty much begins as it ends, structured in an almost linear style. The first hit is unmistakeable fresh rose, cut with a little fruity tanginess, no powder or real sweetness, very fresh like in some Rosine fragrances. A complimentary rosy note of pink pepper is there as well, making the scent feel contemporary and keeping it from any sourness probably aided by some hedione (fresh green jasmine note). The warmer underscore of woodiness (comparable to that in Stella but a little bit creamier) comes almost immediately, blossoming into lusher rosiness. The floral core is flanked by clean musky notes, producing a skin-like effect throughout which lasts well although always in the lower, subtle register. If you are searching for the embullient roses of Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, or want your Eaux de Parfum to have ooomph, you might find it too sotto voce for your tastes.
Decidely girly, I think most men who are adventurous in their fragrance choices would find some challenge in borrowing it, but the experiment wouldn't be without merit.

Available as Eau de Parfum in 50ml/1.7oz and 100ml/3.4oz.



Music by Greek composer Evanthia Reboutsika from the album The Star & A Prayer.
Painting Roses by William Whitaker.

Doutzen Kroes Loves Perfume but doesn't Pick it Herself

Doutzen Kroes obviously wants to smell sweet for her man. In a short article in The Belfast Telegraph, the Dutch model and Victoria’s Secret Angel who wed DJ Sunnery James in November last year, reveals that she often asks his opinion when it comes to choosing her clothes, hair style and make-up looks (Somehow I find this a bit hard to believe for a model, at least regarding hair cut and colour). Sunnery is particularly good at picking up scents, she reveals, so Doutzen is glad to oblige. “I asked my husband to choose a fragrance that he loves on me, as I obviously want to smell good for him,” she laughed.

Doutzen also adds she rarely leaves home without a bottle of fragrance in her bag, as she likes to spritz herself with it throughout the day (Perfume Police are you listening?), while her other perennials are her favourite mascara (L'Oréal Telescopic we're told) and lipstick, as well as her iPod.

What about you? Do you indulge a beloved one or are you 100% firm in your stance to pick only what you like yourself?

photo of Doutzen Kroes by Mario Testino via christinaiak blog

Guerlain Muguet 2011: News on a Seasonal Release

Guerlain lately re-issues a special edition of their delicate and spring-like Muguet each year as a limited edition on the 1st of May (Traditionally the day when muguet ~lily of the valley in French~ is offered as a porte-bonheur, a good luck charm in France).
For 2011, Guerlain's Muguet will be embottled in the apothecary style flacons of re-issued Vega and Sous le Vent, but there will be handpainting on the glass as well!

ETA: You can see the new Muguet 2011 below (pic kindly provided by my reader Rappleya)
ETA2: Upon further research, Guerlain has confirmed that they have updated the design of Muguet 2011 with the one depicted second from top, favouring a sewn label versus handpainting. I admit I'm not particularly enthusiastic on it after seeing the previous design....

3/26/11 update: My faithful and wonderfully generous reader Judy informs us of the latest after seeing the Muguet 2011 with her very own eyes and I quote:
"The new release of Muguet is around 5 ounces, twice the size of the past releases [ed.note: this was amended by other witnesses, bringing the volume down]. Also it is in apothecary-style container, first shown on your site as the new-release bottle , but w/minor changes. The bottle still has the pretty muguet design on the outside. Also, the price is scary, sky-high, around $500, although Bergdorfs is having a "Beauty Week" beginning April 6th, and at that price, if the customer does a pre-sale, the sales person will hold the Muguet til May 1st for the $100 discount."

The design that was meant to be

the udated design for Muguet 2011...

Previously Muguet circulated in the standard quadrilobe with (2009) or without the superimposed atomiser "pouf" (2007) and the flacon fleuri design brough back from 1900 for the Eau de Toilette version for 1999, while the accompanying Eau de Toilette tester of the same year was embottled in the classsic Habit de Fete gold-cutouts style flacon with Millesime 1999 embossed on it. You can find pictures of those attached below.

The concentration for 2011's Muguet is Eau de Parfum and the volume is 125ml for 400 euros.

Previous incarnations of Guerlain Muguet include the following:

Guerlain Muguet flacon (Verrerie Royale de Romesnil) with atomiser for 2009

Guerlain Muguet quadrilobe flacon (Verrerie Royale de Romesnil) for 2007

Guerlain Muguet in flacon fleuri (originally 1900 design) for Eau de Toilette in 1999

"Habit de Fete" design for Guerlain Muguet, 50ml Eau de Toilette tester bottle, 1999

thanks to Wim Janssens and Mr.Guerlain (Ulrik) and especially my readers Rappleya and Judy who helped disentangle this mess!

Heidi Klum Shine: a new celebrity fragrance

The saturated market of celebrity scents (fragrances issued by celebrities in collaboration with some big perfume -producing company under their own name) is getting one more contender: Heidi Klum's fragrance, Shine.

The supermodel will release Shine alongside Coty Beauty. The new perfume is expected "to make people smell and feel delicious" although dissonant voices feel the move is a sellout for the classy “Project Runway” star. So why the choice? On Coty's part it seems obvious enough: Steve Mormoris of Coty Beauty said, “Heidi has a unique position in the market. She is not just a supermodel or a celebrity - she is also a businesswoman. She is very multifaceted - we plan to create a fragrance which celebrates all of those facets.”
The former Victoria’s Secret Angel on the other hand said, "I am thrilled to be partnering with Coty on my new fragrance. Working for a long time on developing a signature scent and watching it finally come to life is so exciting. I never thought my nose would recover from sniffing so many scent combinations, but it is all worth it." [source]

Now, how will it smell? I think "delicious" hints at a fruity floral with sweetness or a vanillic floriental without animalic notes. I could be wrong, but...

Edit to add: Updated news on the Shine fragrance by Heidi Klum: "an oriental scent made of pink peppercorn, pear and mandarin top notes; a mimosa absolute, sunflower, and lily of the valley heart; and musk Cosmone [ed.n. a novel aromachemical], vanilla and Venezuelan tonka bean drydown."
 Sweet, fruity, clean musk drydown. All check!

One commenter on People writes "I’m sure Heidi, like most celebrities, have them means to buy a lot of fragrances I can’t afford. I would expect her perfume would smell great and hopefully incorporate a lot of the characteristics from those more expensive lines so I can smell great too."
Sadly, in my personal experience in fragrant sniffing, celebrities doing brand extension through perfume launches don't necessarily expand their own taste into fragrance (JLo and Sarah Jessica Parker being exceptions), instead leaving the marketing team of Coty, Parlux, etc. decide what the intended audience would buy best...

Launch of Heidi Klum Shine is scheduled for autumn 2011 in North America and Latin America.

Twin Peaks: Hermes Poivre Samarcande & Marc Jacobs Bang reviews

In the secrecy-laced world of perfumery it's not unusual to have the same idea colonise several brands. Sometimes it happens through the same "nose" (perfumer), such as Anne Flipo for Rykiel Woman and Barbara Bui Le Parfum or Maurice Roucel working for Musc Ravageur as well as L de Lempicka). Other times, because it's the direction dictated by a new material such as the ubiquitousness of oud (Rose Oud by Kilian, Oud Leather by Dior) or Ambroxan lately (Another 13 and Baie Rose 26, Not a Perfume by Juliette Has a Gun). Or it's a new technique; take the novel method of maceration of iris root for only a few weeks instead of three years resulting in a pleiad of niche iris scents 3-4 years ago. Added to that is also the reason of marketing: A new sector opened by a pioneer is exploited by other brands later on, even by home fragrances and functional products (this is called "trickle down" in industry speak). The point of Twin Peaks series on Perfume Shrine is exactly that: to pinpoint fragrances that are smell-alikes and delineate the reasons and hows of their resemblances.
Which brings us nicely to Poivre Samarcande by the exclusive boutique line of Hermès and Bang by Marc Jacobs which circulates in the department store circuit. Smell the two though and you can see there are less of six degrees of seperation between them.

Poivre Samarcande came at a time when Jean Claude Ellena was busy populating the -at the time- novel concept of boutique exclusive fragrances, the Hermessences (The original quartet which was sold in 2005 included also Rose Ikebana, Ambre Narguilé and Vétiver Tonka). It must have felt especially validating to have everyone follow, from Chanel down to Cartier and Dior La Collection and produce "exclusive" collections in a niche manner of presentation and concept (focus on raw materials, identical bottles, limited distribution, star perfumer working for them). Poivre Samarkande was in many ways a pioneer because it was incorporated into Jean Claude's experimentation with Iso E Super started with Déclaration, which he overdosed in the Hermès scent in order to boost the effect of an airy pepper accord, which although spicy is transliterated like a wood thanks to the boost of cedar, oak and patchouli notes. In actuality it's the Iso E Super which underpins the spices, making them shine and feel cool and silky, projecting in a linear manner. The unisex effect alongside its peculiar feel good, feel non-perfumey character has made it a soaring success. It was only natural the great idea would be perpetuated. Enter Marc Jacobs.


Bang is Marc Jacob's latest foray into perfume, coming out in July 2010. His line of scents is well thought out, but without presenting much of an excitement to the hearts of dedicated niche perfumery consumers. The scents simply read as a tad too "safe" to present the much coveted challenge we seek. However, their execution is usually very good, from the bright and happy Daisy to the snuggly but light powder of Amber Splash. Bang is no different: It takes its central leitmotif from someplace else, but the result isn't a total bore, probably because the original idea was an intelligent one to begin with and someone was wise enough not to muck with it too much. Bang was created for a “contemporary guy, who, even if he isn’t young, has a younger spirit.” Jacobs created the name first and development of the composition in cooperation with Coty followed. “I wanted to do something that I would love” said Jacobs. “I particularly like spice notes, especially pepper, so that became a starting place.”
Bang was art-directed by the revered veteran Ann Gottlieb who requested such notes as black, white and pink pepper, alongside masculine woody notes (Iso E Super and ambrox for you), while the base includes elemi resin (in itself having a peppery aroma), benzoin (a sweeter resin), vetiver, "white moss" (a patented IFF accord that was introduced in Jasmine White Moss in Estée Lauder's Private Collection line) and patchouli. The scent has a vibe of a metrosexual preening in front of a black-tiled bathroom mirror, so I would most enjoy smelling it on someone unexpected. Preferably a woman.

The two scents smell quite alike, Bang being a bit sweeter and with more pronounced vetiver and watered down in the lasting power stakes (to the point of annoying), but it's the optical differences which stuck in one's mind: On the one hand a refined and sparse representation of a leather-clad bottle, on the other a slicked-up Marc posing with the (impressively designed) bottle between his bare legs. Take your pick according to your aesthetics and wallet.