Guerlain News: Habit Rouge L'Eau, Idylle Parfum, re-edition of L'Abeille

Habit Rouge L'Eau is Thierry Wasser's interpretation on a scent he holds near and dear: the classic Habit Rouge by his mentor Jean Paul Guerlain.

The new version is "softer, easy-to-wear and less contracted adaptation of the original. Delicately fresh, but with a less intense citrus opening, and a lighter base without any leather". Might we remind our readers that Habit Rouge apart from the vintage Eau de Cologne version and the standard Eau de Toilette, also comes in a (slightly recalibrated) Eau de Parfum and the glorious extrait de parfum edition available only at Guerlain boutiques.
[For a comprehensive guide on what perfume concentrations mean, refer to this article.]
It's also one of the few masculines in the range to have a flanker: Habit Rouge Sport.

Guerlain Idylle, the feminine fragrance by Wasser which already boasts one flanker, Idylle Duet, will soon be joined by an Idylle extrait de parfum version as well. I doubt that this is news sending a shiver down the spine of perfume lovers of a more serious aficion, but it might be nice introduction to the ritual of dabbing parfum for the beginner Guerlainophiliac.

Last but not least, for those on a bee-hunt for Abeille: the Abeille extrait by Guerlain , the precious edition of the 17.000 Euro price-tag (!)  in the Baccarat bottle is out again, this time re-orchestrated by Wasser.

pic of bottle via Pluises blog, news & quote via mr.guerlain,

Chewing the Cud on Givenchy's upcoming fragrance Dahlia Noir

Givenchy' upcoming feminine fragrance, Dahlia Noir (i.e. black dahlia), is the first house scent overseen by couture creator Riccardo Tisci in collaboration with perfumer François Demachy, but it already presents something of a challenge for reasons we elaborate on below. Fabien Baron is the creator of the bottle and the ad campaign, featuring Maria Carla Boscono, which is set to hit glossies and screens later this year, in an image of almost fetishy gothic-inspired clothing of black lace and chiffon.

The fragrance notes for Givenchy Dahlia Noir comprise such vague terms as "rose vapour, peach milk, iris powder and precious/sacred woods" and since dahlia has no smell, we are left guessing with only Tisci's feedback on what to expect. The childhood memories & associations of Tisci, on which he drew inspiration from for Dahlia Noir, include the iris-scented scent of his sisters' cosmetics (including lipstick and a shared bottle of Rive Gauche) as well as a classic scent from Italian brand Santa Maria Novella.
According to him, the concept was an abstract, geometrical floral, which leads me to believe we're dealing with a floral that will not be obviously floral (in the mould of many modern floral fragrances aimed at young people who sneer at being presented with "traditionally feminine" pretty flowers in their scents) . Tisci goes on to elaborate that the concept alluded to by the name has to do with romanticism, sex and darkness: a well-played theme by now in many a "noir" fragrance, but also supposedly standing for what Givenchy stands for as well. I think Hubert might have other ideas in his mind than "sex and darkness" back in the day when he was dressing Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy, but even though he is very much alive, his own patrician image has subtly, discreetly exited the picture on what concerns his brand.


It remains to be seen whether the darkness of Eau Demoiselle (a previous release by Givenchy played on the allure of a black mantle-dress) will now transpire into more than the innocuous woody floral musk the former fragrance equated into.

The new Givenchy fragrance reportedly "has nothing to do" with the James Ellroy novel Black Dhalia, which takes upon itself to explore and partly fictionalise the facts of an infamous real murder case, or with previous Givenchy releases; but the association with the unsolved murder case of brutally  butchered Elizabeth Sort (nicknamed "The Black Dahlia" in the call-girl circuit of late 1940s LA she was part of, due to her predeliction for wearing black) is too close to home to escape criticism of milking an infamous catch-phrase for money. LVMH, to which Givenchy belongs, is no mom & pop establishment that would fail to research a trademark adequately, at any rate, and the French posters for Brian De Palma's film a few years ago have it emblazoned all over the Internet. Let's not forget, MAC Cosmetics, another big player, who issued a comparably similarly named makeup collection. What's up with that?

Givenchy Dahlia Noir is released on 22 August in France for 57 euros for 30ml of Eau de Parfum.

Valentina de Valentino: Fragrance Review & Bottle Giveaway

Valentina de Valentino is not a hard name to come up with when you're the famous Italian designer who's dressed everyone from Jackie O to Courtney Love; the feminine counterpart is a sexy name, meant for It Girls who like to pique people's fancy. But first things first: The new perfume by Valentino won't launch internationally until September 23rd 2011, but I have a full bottle to give away in the meantime to a lucky reader! [draw is now closed, thank you!]. It came through a promotion (an amazing-looking one that included a giga book with pics which inspired me to take the photographs of Valentina you see myself) and has been only sprayed a few times to test it. Please state your interest in the comments for a chance to win the fragrance. Now on to the dissecting stuff...

Perfumers Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas, masters in the game of producing scentful crowd-pleasers, joined forces in the new Valentino fragrance which is presented as a floriental, but is really a tart, quite fun "fruitchouli" (perfume community slang for the fruits & patchouli genre of fragrances). In Valentina the tanginess of the top notes (citrus and strawberries) cuts through the sweeter elements in the composition, before the soft, clean woody backdrop takes reign for the duration of the scent on the skin. It's essentially linear, projecting with a direct flirtatious message, in the mould of Flowerbomb, Coco Mademoiselle, Parisienne, Miss Dior Cherie or La Petite Robe Noire (it references the berries notes of the two latter, possibly through Frambinone). Valentino is known for his couture, but this is no "couture scent", it's rather mainstream, though well composed. It also includes 7% of the realtively new molecule Paradisone (also used in 2006 Perles de Lalique, Kapsule Woody by Lagerfeld from 2008 and Cheap & Chic I Love Love by Moschino from 2005).

Valentina flirts like an Italian at an opera opening night, kicking the heels underneath and pinching their cute boyfriend's bottom naughtily but -bottom line!- harmlessly. Valentina de Valentino is bright, with sunnier, citrusier elements, a small subfacet of spice (anise and clove-cinnamon?). You feel the floral bouquet (orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose) in the Valentino fragrance most when comparing wrist-to-wrist with another perfume in the genre: Compared to Coco Mademoiselle, for instance, the patchouli in the Chanel is positively camphoraceous side-to-side and the whole seems less floral. Even so, lovers of the latter would probably like the former, sweet tooth and its hint of castoreum & earth in the "white truffle" accord. This latter element is a hint that they might have been inspired by the seminal Une Rose in the F.Malle line, but of course the Valentino perfume is tamer; there's only a wink of "earthiness".

 
Valentino focuses on how the creative team has envisioned the new fragrance for the modern audacious woman. I suspect they sat down and saw the void of a fragrance for youngish women on the prowl in their portfolio; and who can blame them?

The photographic campaign by David Sims sees Freja Beha Erichsen shot in a deserted Rome at night-time, after escaping a boring soiree (it's a cute commercial!). 
The packaging revisits the ideas of Valentino couture, especially the pastel colours of the past three collections; femininity, audacity and sobriety. All these translate into a bottle that is delicate and surpemely pretty to look at on your vanity with its gorgeous flowers embossed on it, like a small corsage.

Notes for Valentina de Valentino: 
Calabrian bergamot, white truffles from Alba, jasmine, orange blossom from Amalfi, tuberose, strawberry, wood notes, cedar, and  amber.

 

All photographs (except for official ad) © by Elena Vosnaki. Click to enlarge.

The Scent of Nivea Cream: Nostalgic Remembrances in a Blue Tin

Who can forget the classic blue tin of Nivea Cream? Half the fun of using the unctuous, thick-pasted cream on wherever there was a graze or scratch or burn (or just for cosmetic purposes), was the smell. A scent so full of good-humoured herbal sweet comfort, nothing really sinister could come your way. Or so we thought, as kids. Stumbling upon what really made up that memorable aroma, many people's long and arduous quest, is precious and we're happy it to share it on Perfume Shrine:

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Even blindfolded, there’s no mistaking it: the fragrance of NIVEA. Its discreet perfume oil is considered one of the classic fragrances for skin cream. Because very few synthetic aroma chemicals were available in the early 20th century, the NIVEA fragrance consists largely of essential oils. Contributors to its flowery bouquet include lily of the valley, rose, violet, lilac and lavender, with orange and lemon fruit essences rounding out the fragrance. And incidentally: the secret original formula for the perfume oil used in NIVEA cream has changed very little after all these years."

Might we hereby note that neither violet, nor lilac, nor lily of the valley yield an adequate enough essential oil for anything even remotely resembling mass production, but we realise that an official admission on using even some aromachemicals is far-fetched. You'll have to content with having the scent notes delineated for you for the classic Nivea cream in the blue tin though: It's the stuff unforgettable scent memories are built on...

Photo collage of vintage Nivea cream ads via oranges & apples
Quote from Always Inspiring via M.K.Krydd (thanks!)

The winner of the draw...

...for the newest Lutens decant is Katrina K. Congratulations and please email me with your shipping data using the contact in Profile or About page so I can send your prize out to you soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one! (I have plenty of exciting giveaways planned shortly!)