Roxana Illuminated Perfume: To Bee or not to Bee?

The resounding answer to above question is to Bee, all the more so since bees are a reminder of the endless circle of existence and renewal in nature. Because To Bee is that unusual thing in our days: a holistic fragrance inspired by the perfumer's own apiology experiences. When was the last time you heard that? Vaguely referenced in Moss Breches by Tom Ford, but I doubt very much mr.Ford has ever ventured really close to a bee hive, let alone tended his own pet bees. Yet this is exactly what Roxana has been doing, chronicling her efforts on her journal.

To Bee is emblematic of the warm, musky scent of the hive. Indeed, few animalic scents are naturally available these days, due to ethical concerns on the treatment of animals (see Musk deer) and increasing concerns on the sustainability of those which come from cruelty-free sources (ambergris is truly scarce).
Lusty basenotes have been crafted into a series of accords with spice and clover. The result is a delicious inviting aroma at once sweetly impassioned and steadfast.



Smelling To Bee I find myself lulled into a childhood reverie of sipping honey-laced smoky tea in the evenings, on the cusp of summer entering into autumn, when the gardens were getting duskier and duskier by the day and the approaching chill of the night made its appearence like an owl fluffing its feathers upon awakening. The dark colour of the liquid in To Bee somehow cements this impression; boozy, nuanced sweetness creeps underneath the smoky muskiness (coming from mimosa absolute, an intimate and at the same time staggeringly beautiful aroma) creating a mysterious, resinous trail which is not entirely about honey, but so much more. Those who are averse to plainly sweet, foody fragrances will find a nuanced scent to transition them into the harvest delights of autumn.

The synergy for the perfume is made with: essential oils, c02 extracts and absolutes (Resins, Wood, Spice, Mimosa, Sweet Clover Absolute and Beeswax Absolute) with many of the perfumer's own unique accords in a base of tinctured and infused honey comb from local bee rescues in Los Angeles.The best surprise is probably that unlike many other natural perfumes, this one, thanks to the resinous basenotes and the beeswax, lasts quite well.

To Bee is available both as a liquid and solid perfume. Find samples, perfume lockets, compacts and flacons at Roxana's E-shop


imagery ©RoxanaVilla, used by permission
In the interests of disclosure, a sample was sent directly from the perfumer.

How to Wear Fragrance: On Perfume Etiquette

It might not come from a French-authored source, but in Karen Homer's adorable little book Things a Woman Should Know about Style, a whole chapter is devoted to fragrance use. The cover, sporting the famous opening shot of the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's (based on Truman Capote's story) with an Audrey Hepburn in shades & pearls, hair on a high bun, is predisposing for classical, glamour tips for wearing your clothes with confindence and panache.

Leafing through the book's pages, I come upon such seemingly wise, but ultimately ill-gotten advice as "A bottle of perfume once opened will not last more than 6 months. At least not to a nose that knows".  And I find myself smirking a bit on behalf of all the perfume community's hunt for vintage treasures. But still, there are other nuggets of wisdom, which are charming and harmless, as well as the sound practical tips on opting for classics when in doubt ("Chanel No.5 or anything created by Guerlain before 1930 are your safest bets") or buying the fragrance you like at outlets at a discount.

A few of those hints of perfume etiquette sound like wise precautions in the battlefield of love & romance; even if a little less self-assured or defying as the standard perfumista is accustomed to: The author advises to stop wearing a fragrance if one's significant other doesn't like it. And cautions an even faster elimination of fragrance if it happens to be the same as your significant other's ex. Particularly if said partner is responding positively to its scent! Furthermore a partner's conscious move to gift a current love interest with an ex's fragrance is to be viewed with grave suspicion. For reasons of fairness, one's partner should be met with the same courtesy when choosing a gift for them.

If you're really romantic and happen to be travelling away from your loved one, it's a very poetic gesture to scent a card with your beloved's fragrance and tuck it away in your luggage. Opening up your suitcase upon arrival, a wave of nostalia will tangle its poigant fingers around your heart...

Moving into the realm of choosing fragrance for public wearing, Homer advises caution in the face of unisex fragrances (or masculine scents for women): "When you dress up for an evening, you want to smell feminine and not the same as the maitre d'. That said, for daywear, the classic unisex cologne Aqua di Parma has a fresh, lemony charm perfect for lunching in Tuscan gardens." And where would one be most likely to find a decent substitute for Aqua di Parma cologne, should one want to bypass the sameness factor? The author confirms my own experience that small off the beaten-track toiletries stores in France (and along some of the Mediterranean countries) can provide their local take of toilet water which is often exceptionally good and looks positively "exotic" to most people not native. Homer quips that the trick of "exclusivity" with local toilet waters however is not possible with quite the same subtleness in Spain or Italy, given the predeliction of male patrons for stronger, expansive fragrances:  Therefore, use extreme caution, "unless you want to smell like a teenafer boy's bathroom the night he thinks he's going to lose his virginity".

But perhaps the most controversial and ripe for discussion snippet is the tip on choosing toilet waters: "Rosewater smells of the faded grandeur of old actresses; lavender smells of your granny". Perhaps it's all a game of perfume associations...Or perhaps the greatest tip of them all is to just have confidence in yourself and good manners when applying perfume: less can be so much more.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: How French Women Wear Perfume

The winners of the draw....

....for the newest Lutens samples are Beth G. and Marialena. Congratulations and please e-mail me with your shipping data, using the contact on Profile or About page, so I can have your prizes in the mail soon.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

What Constitutes Luxury & How is it Marketed Right Now?

L' Association des Professionnels du Luxe is today debating the question of luxe and premium as pertaining to terms used to communicate products to consumers at the Westin hotel (with the participation of Michel Teychène, marketing director at Air France and a trio off Added Value comprising Cécile Gorgeon-Pompéi, director, Leslie Pascaud, marketing director et Mark Whiting, director.) This gives us an excellent opportunity to question the theme for our own purposes regarding luxury brands and lessons learned from them.

News surrounding the luxury segment devising new techniques to capture the attention of consumers amidst an economy that is still not recuperating from the recession (and in fact might be in for another bout) have been landing on news sites thickly recently. Witness the mega-news that Gucci devotes an entire blog-site to the China market: Gucci China. The question of whether China is an applicable market for luxury brands or not is rather an over-discussed point. Obviously it is, otherwise so many brands with huge marketing offices standing behind them wouldn't try to infiltrate it so passionately. To point, the Hermes offspring specifically for it, as announced on these pages over a year ago, has been doing amazingly well according to reports. What makes Gucci stand out in this piece of news is that they dedicate a blog site, rather than just a part of their site, thus personalizing the platform for users and importing content that can be peripheral. The marked similarities with the Sartorialist in the layout of street fashion photography is also intriguing to watch. Could it mean, to make this a broader discussion, that one successful amateur might pose as an exemplar to the professionals? To bring this to perfumes, could it mean that specific elements of presentation offered by amateur/indie authors (be it producers of aromatic compositions or troubadours of perfume prose) can slowly become the expected way in which certain aspects of the trade will be communicated from now on?

The Missoni Target collection which sold out within the first day is another example of a new spin to the techniques of making luxe products stand out. “The combination of the excellent marketing strategy, a large number of resellers looking to profit off of the limited availability of the line and Target vastly underestimating the popularity of the collaboration are what led to such a successful, sold-out first day of the Missoni for Target launch,” said Emily Connor, conversation manager at Media Logic, Albany, NY. It's also a lesson in how social media could be of tremendous help when mobile Web problems and in-store fights erupted due to over-demand (Web crash happened on Sept.13th 9am.Eastern time).

On what constitutes the targeted market segments, two interesting facts emerge: Male consumers with an aspirational streak consume more luxe goods and the affluent family is becoming a new target within brands.

Aspiration male consumers increase their spending "dramatically", according to American Express. “As consumers grow more confident coming out of the recession, many are returning to their luxury fashion shopping behaviors from years past,” said Ed Jay, senior vice president at American Express Business Insights, New York. "[...]online and discount and flash-sale spending has provided another platform for buying favorite brands, all contributing to increases in luxury retail spend across the board". (According to numbers, that's a staggering 126% increase on premium luxe brands for non-enthusiast males in the USA). Maybe some of the Missoni-Target audience consisted of those? Compare and contrast with male fashion enthusiasts, who spent 11% less on premium luxury overall, while affluent female consumers did not change their spending habits.
Cuing in this data with the rise in masculine fragrances released by mainstream luxury and niche perfumery brands makes sense: indeed the tsunami of releases presents fragrance addressed to men like never before seen in the history of mankind. There's definitely something here. Could it also mean that the (traditional) role of women buying perfume has finally shifted?

But it's the affluent family which might be the emerging target of the luxury world: According to the Ipsos Mandelsohn 2011 Annual Affluent Survey families buy products in mass (that pertains to the digital and electronic goods especially, but a concept store that caters to each and every member of the family can also see this materialized in higher sales). The reason behind it is suggested to be one of being in control and effecting changes in an are that the consumers feel they can make a difference. Children and teenagers are increasingly monitoring purchases for families. A fact that is well known by the perfume industry as well, which has been catapulting us with releases that address the under-teens (see Justin Bieber celebrity fragrance) or slightly above.

“Additionally, it’s undeniable that the line is successful in the fact that it was truly able to keep the traditional Missoni elements, yet design a much less-expensive group of products, ranging from clothing to luggage to kitchenware to electronic accessories, that was accepted by this key demographic,” she said.

Quotes & data provided by Rachel Lamb and Kayla Hutzler. Photo via thelocal.de

Bertrand Duchaufour Unveils Mon Numero 6 by L'Artisan Parfumeur & press for Batucada

"An unusual, lucid harmony between green, fruity, watery, floral and woody notes". This is what L'Artisan Parfumeur says of their latest, Mon Numéro 6, city-exclusive scent, inspired by their travels:

Evoking sensations of rebirth in which the first drops of rain give life back to the earth. A dreamy, leafy mood, imagine yourself barefoot on the ground in the midst of a monsoon. The official notes are lychee, magnolia flower and sandalwood.
Its perfumer, Bertrand Duchaufour, has a bit to say:



And a bit more on Batucada, which we had announced a little while ago, a collaboration between two perfumers, Karine Vinchon in Grasse and Elisabeth Maier in São Paulo.