Perfumer Portrait: Yves Dombrowsky

Just six major multinational corporations, nick-named The Big Boys in Chandler Burr's in depth analysis of the fragrance industry The Emperor of Scent, are responsible for almost everything that we smell in our day-to-day lives, from deodorants and functional products (down to toilet cleaner) to luxury perfumes.New Zealand isn't among the countries you first think of when perfume or indeed scent business is mentioned. And yet there is thriving perfume industry in New Zealand, powered by the growing local natural cosmetic companies. Participating to this growth is "olfactory artiste" and designer of scents Yves Dombrowsky.

The French-born, Auckland-based perfumer is one of very few professional perfumers working in the country with such scent creations under his belt such as America's Cup fragrance, the scents for creams and cleansers by Antipodes, Trilogy and Health Basics, and the smells of washing powder and soaps by Ecostore. Another one of his creations is ambient scent for Nike and Supre, as in-house perfumer for Ecomist, meant to ignite the desire to "shop till you drop"; if you believe in the adage that smell is the most primitive sense and the one which acts directly to emotion, that is.

"I used to work in the field of environmental microbiology and as part of this role I was exposed to the potential of essential oils and this is when I familiarised myself with their smells. It wasn’t until I went to France as part of a project I was working on that I had my first introduction to a perfumer [a veteran at Chanel]. Impressed by my olfactory abilities, he invited me to stay longer to perfect my basic knowledge and return to New Zealand as an agent for their company. After a few years, I set out on my own and invented my own way to design and market perfume - it is now my passion." [source]

Dombrowsky has created perfumes for Rodd & Gunn, Jonah Lomu, Stitch Ministry and Native for Men; and is also working with Trelise Cooper to create a new perfume for her range (The perfume contains both bergamot (familiar to most through Earl Grey tea) and orris root (a flavour in Bombay Sapphire gin), both inspired by two of Cooper's favourite drinks. 

Dombrowsky's perfume "bar" (a variation on the perfumer's organ) houses 179 perfume "bases", each nuanced with notes that evaporate at different times, each base illustrated with photos and explanations about the notes, so as to guide clients into a personal discovery through scent. "Every perfume is numbered, and has a matching system to go with it," he explains."With this we have thousands of different formulas for creating a scent."

[Source of quotes]

Versace Yellow Diamond: new fragrance

Italian designer brand Versace is launching a new fragrance in their feminine line, after Bright Crystal (a fruity floral with grapefruit top notes) and Crystal Noir (with its ambery gardenia), named Yellow Diamond and reprising the now infamous top-heavy faceted crystal cap. The new fragrance is an airy floral.
Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw was shot by Mario Testino in Paris for the advertising campaign.

Note for Versace Yellow Diamond:
Top notes: lemon, bergamot, neroli, pear sorbet
Heart: orange blossom, mimosa, freesia, water lily
Base: amber, musk, guaiac wood

On Lubin's Black Jade: a Perfume Fit for Marie-Antoinette

Parfums Lubin has been a rekindled fragrance brand, after the old house was brought into new ownership some years ago, when the niche market first boomed around the mid 2000s. Engaging Olivia Giacobetti was the first step, issuing and re-issuing fragrances was the second, crucial one; from the legendary Gin Fizz and Idole to the modern Vetiver, as well as the recent crop of releases Bluff, Figaro, Itasca, Inedite. The latest Lubin fragrance release, named Black Jade, is based on Marie Antoinette's signature scent, created by royal nose Jean-Louis Fargeon and inspired by the doomed queen's beloved Trianon gardens in Versailles.  

Black Jade thus contains rose, jasmine, and bergamot, Marie-Antoinette's signature notes. The name for the new fragrance, Black Jade, was inspired by the lore that the queen carried the fragrance with her in a black jade bottle at all times, even when she was imprisoned in the Temple Tower of Paris. It was only before her beheading that she confided it to the Marquise de Tourzel, whose descendants are reportedly still in possession of the original flacon.

Lubin is no stranger to French history: Pierre François Lubin founded the company in 1798 when he began supplying scented ribbons, rice powderballs and masks to "Les Merveilleuses," socially exulted women who frequented Thermidorian drawing rooms of Napoleonic France; and the "Incroyables," members of the subculture that mixed fashion and propaganda which emerged following the terror that was the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789.

The 2011 edition of Lubin Black Jade has been launched by fragrance company Aedes de Venustas, the well-known niche perfumery which holds a special place in the heart of New York perfumistas. In addition to the original focus on rose, jasmine and bergamot, perfumer Thomas Fontaine infused Lubin's Black Jade 2011 version with galbanum, cardamom, incense, cinnamon, Indian sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, tonka bean, and amber notes. It belongs to the chypre floral family of fragrances.

This is not the first attempt to recreate Marie Antoinette's scent however: Le Château de Versailles had hired Francis Kurkdjian to create the orange blossom-based M.A. Sillage de la Reine and L'Artisan Parfumeur was inspired for the jasmine-rich  La Haie Fleurie du Hameau, composed by renowned perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena , by the French queen's fated passion for beauty and flowers.

Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum: new fragrance, shiny new ad campaign

Bottega Venetta, a luxe brand with minimal exposure to the world of beauty addicts, has braved the elements and launched its first fragrance: Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum. The concept? The usual: bringing in a new customer to the brand.

“Fragrances are generally brought to market to introduce the brand to a younger less affluent brand with the hope that someday they’ll be a brand enthusiast for other more profitable Bottega products,” Mr. Ramey said. [source]
Bottega Veneta’s namesake fragrance, created in a partnership with Coty, will be available globally in November. The fragrance was envisioned by Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier, who "wanted to capture the sun and warmth of a Venetian countryside house and its library full of leather books", according to the brand. (Sounds good!)

The advertising campaign focuses on a video commercial, featuring model Nine D’Urso (daughter of Inès de la Fressange and Italian businessman & art dealer Luigi d’Urso) on the beach. The bottle contains the brand’s signature weave pattern with a smooth outside and intrecciato bottom.
“Video is a great way to create a compelling emotion for a new product,” said Chris Ramey, founder of Affluent Insights, Miami, who stresses it's not advisable to go on for too long.



Prices for the Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum range from $65 for 1 oz./30ml to $475 for the 60 oz. (!) bottle. Ancillary products are available as well: shower gel for $40, body lotion for $50, body cream for $95.
The Bottega Veneto fragrance will be sold exclusively in Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus starting in September. It will then be available at all specialty stores beginning in November 2011.

Tom Ford Violet Blonde, Jasmin Rouge and Santal Blush: new fragrances & initial previews

New Tom Fords fragrances are going to launch officially very soon: Jasmin Rouge, Violet Blonde, and Santal Blush. After a successful course and some discontinuations (such as the compelling Velvet Gardenia), Tom Ford continues to expand his line, this time in a curious mix of Anglo and Franco languages in their names; perhaps in the case of Violet Blonde the implied wordplay is it might look like "violent blonde" to the casual onlooker, thus instigating a second, closer look. Given the steamy ads for Neroli Portofino, a best-seller in the line with matching body products, the anticipation for the new images is palpable. But let's see how the new fragrances smell and take a look at their respective bottles.

Violet Blonde is a complex scent with a nuanced character, woody and vanilla/benzoin laced, without too much sweet violet notes, but rather the powdery, soft scent of iris. The bottle designof Violet Blonde is the same as Tom Ford White Patchouli in the transparent glass used for Tom Ford for Men bottles. The square Tom Ford gold name-plate is given a twist into a rectangular gold name-plate that stretches across the bottom front of the bottle (as seen in the photo of the ad below) and in each corner of the plate a small gold bolt is added.  
Violet Blonde is available in 30ml and 50ml of Eau de Parfum and is part of the regular Tom Fod line (alongside Black Orchid and White Patchouli), available at major department stores.

Notes for Tom Ford Violet Blonde:
Top: Violet Leaf Absolute, Italian Mandarin, Baie Rose
Middle: Tuscan Orris Absolute, Tuscan Orris Butter, Jasmin Sambac, Sampaquita
Bottom: Benzoin, Cedarwood, Vetiver Absolute, Musk, Soft Suede

Santal Blush and Jasmin Rouge on the other hand belong to the Private Blend line by Tom Ford with the hefty price-tags.
Tom Ford Santal Blush is a gorgeous, clean, dry sandalwood with an immediate message of sensuousness and no boozy aftertaste, beautiful and wearable, composed by talented perfumer Yann Vasnier. The bet wasn't an easy one: Composing a sandalwood fragrance evocative of the Indian splendors of the Mysore variety known from the past without actually using the raw material due to its regional restrictions on use. The result more than compensates, entering into sandalwood fragrances top list, always popular with perfume lovers. If you like Tam Dao, this is a refined take on that scented memory.
"Masala spices from India, Cinnamon Bark Oil Sri Lanka ORPUR, Cumin Seed Oil, Fenugrec Absolute and Carrot Seed Oil, are enriched by a floral blend of Jasmine Absolute, Rose Absolute and Ylang Madagascar. An infusion of richly textured Sandalwood captives, Australian Sandalwood, Benzoin, Agarbois and Skin Musks, transport the scent of Santal Blush to another level". It's highly recommended and I predict it will be supremely popular among the cognoscenti!

Tom Ford Jasmin Rouge is perhaps the weakest link, since it has a sweet character that can turn a bit plastic on some skins. Of all the jasmines I have recently tried it's the one that impressed me least because I had the highest expectations from. Still a new jasmin from a niche line always sends a kind of frisson down some spines!

Violet Blonde, Jasmin Rouge, and Santal Blush by Tom Ford are now available for testing at Saks New York and Bergdorf Goodman in NYC, though latter store mentions a September launch date for the US and a later date in October for the international market.The launch will coincide with the new make-up range and a new male grooming products launch.

images via basenotes and scents of arabia