Look Beautiful, Feel Beautiful: Charity for Perfume & Cosmetics

In this crazy world we live in, the chance to offer something with no strings attached is priceless. Maybe this cathartic feeling is rekindled during the holidays just because kindness is palpable in the air. (Don't worry, I have a huge rant for you to read tomorrow or the day next, though!). So when I was offered the opportunity to do just that, i.e. offer something off my stash for a good cause by Karla Sugar, I leaped at the chance. The great thing is, everyone can contribute meaningfully. Here's an opportunity to shop for a great cause: the BeautyBloggers.org annual charity auction. For the second year in a row, beauty bloggers and brands have joined forces for an online auction benefitting Doctors Without Borders, an organization that needs no introduction and which helps people in need all over the world.

Participants, which include established beauty bloggers and beauty & perfume companies, have donated a treasure trove of the best lotions, potions, perfumes, and gadgets. Donated items range from the hottest (new) items from this year’s holiday collections to hard-to-find exclusives and limited edition cult favorites. When the auction ends, winning bidders make their donations directly to Doctors Without Borders, through the site’s secure giving page. The items are posted directly by the sponsors at their own expense, be it beauty bloggers or companies, so every penny goes to charity. What can I say, I'm honoured to be part of this effort.

The auction is live now Monday, November 28th through Monday, December 12th. You can bookmark the items you're interested in, so as to filter the list and be right on target when the final time comes to bid, bid, bid!

My own submission involves a pristine, sealed in its cellophane bottle of vintage Dior Dune, fit to give as gift (only you'll want to keep it yourself!). As you know, all Dior perfumes have been reformulated (again) recently and the older the better. I have an identical bottle for my own use and the fragrance is as wonderful as ever. I described it thus: "Dune lies at that precarious border where fresh and warm merge. Never too sweet in its amber cuddle, never too sharp in its bracken feel of broom blooming — it's as soft as a whisper over the sand dunes, felt more than heard. A true classic in its original form."  If you want to remind yourself what Dune smells like in detail, please refer to my linked review.

NB. Registering on the BeautyBloggers site is required to place a bid in order to avoid spam-bots, but, other than that, it's completely free, no strings attached and your personal data (email, first and last name for shipping purposes) I'm assured by Karla Sugar herself are not to be shared in any way or form.

Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose: Free Bottle Giveaway

It's the season of thanks and I have to thank you my readers, above all, for being so very loyal and so very inspiring for me during these years which have made the Shrine the success that it is and me richer in experiences and feelings.
So, without further ado, I have a full bottle of the newest Trésor Midnight Rose by Lancôme to give away to one lucky reader as a small token of gratitude.It's new and fit to be given as a gift.
All you need to do is post a comment on this post saying what you're thankful for yourself and you're eligible to enter the draw, which will remain open till November 27th midnight. No restriction on shipping destination.
Good luck!

Le Labo Vanille 44: fragrance review

To optically pair Vanille 44 by niche brand Le Labo with Luis Buñuel's Un Chien Andalou (1928) is a natural: The fragrance is illusory and surreal, like a razor slashing the eye ball that never actually happens. It's sexy too, in that perverted way of Buñuel's young novice about to take her vows led astray by her widowed uncle. How can a childhood aroma like vanilla do this stuff? Is there nothing sacred? Read on.

Vanille 44 weaves the cool, almost sour scent of frankincense (which naturally has citrus facets, therefore mixing well with bergamot and mandarin) into the tarry-smelling carapace of smoky woods, like gaiacwood. This tar-like inky note is due to pipol, a volatile component that smells of black smoky tea. But the treatment is diaphanous, complex veils of chiffon material rather than heavy damask, as one would have typically expected from an oriental fragrance based on this commonly thought of as aphrodisiac raw material, vanilla.

Le Labo's Vanille 44 is an atypical vanilla hidden beneath layers of other essences, veils of Salome, with a pronounced woody-musky trail (muscenone is a musk molecule) that would never have small children or those "too nice" co-workers with scrunchies on their hair atop bulky mohair sweaters to exclaim "you smell nice!". It's not that Vanille 44 doesn't smell nice, it's that it's not the instantly familiar sweet, cozy, foody vanilla these target groups are accustomed to. On the other hand, I don't know whether that super sophisticated group, who upturn their noses upon hearing your mother still likes Calvin Klein Eternity (which you faithfully buy for her every Christmas), would love it either. It's good stuff, created by one of the very best, perfumer Alberto Morillas (who has given us mega-hits from Kenzo Flower to Aqua di Gio for men for Armani) but is it that uncommon to warrant the huge price (500$ for 100ml)? I believe Lutens, Montale and Guerlain have already set foot in the smoky, woody or boozy vanilla territory respectively and not come back with losses. Vanille 44 is a good, mysterious fragrance, an oddball vanilla fragrance for adults of both sexes, but you need to forget about the name as it's as close to vanilla pods as Falco would be to the real Amadeus.

Le Labo presents it thus: "We all know that Paris is the city of love (and hence sex). But Paris is also the city of Vanille 44! We also know by now that our Rose 31 does not smell of only rose, that our Iris 39 does not smell of just iris, and that the number is as important (if not more) than the name of ingredient to the left of it (I am not a number !). Well our Vanille 44 does not smell of just Vanilla. At least it doesn’t smell of vanilla straight away. We could say that this theme is a subtle ambery incensy woody sexy note that once acquainted with your premium pashmina sweater will release the finest of the vanilla bourbons that you’ve experienced. It’s vanilla disguised."

You can say that again. 

Notes for Vanille 44 by Le Labo:
Natural bergamot, incense, mandarin, gaiac, vanille bourbon, muscenone, pipol, hedione

Le Labo Vanille 44 is a Paris city-exclusive (available at Colette), retailing at $290 for 50ml, but only for the month of November it is globally available at Luckyscent and on the official Le Labo site.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine:  Le Labo reviews & news ,Vanilla fragrances reviews

In the interests of disclosure, the review is based on a sample vial sent to me by the company.

Guerlain Abeille Paradis Interdit: new fragrance

Paradis Interdit by Mr.Guerlain/Facebook/www.monsieurguerlain.com

"Guerlain's perversely limited Paradis Interdit, Thierry Wasser's second Abeille perfume, is maybe not a new masterpiece gone unnoticed, but it's a gorgeous, classical white floral, made with that freshness and lightness Wasser has become known for. It begins with mandarin, at once softly juicy and effervescent, think the mandarin of Oriental Brûlant, or vintage Chant d'Arômes. A dash of pink pepper adds tickle. Then the flowers, of which jasmine is the most prominent, slightly stern and green but also creamy, the latter supported by ylang-ylang and gardenia. The Guerlain base sweetness is made up of labdanum, sandalwood, tonka bean, musk and what is described as a honey note. It's far from a symphonic, opulent floral perfume, but simply a beautiful scent of a summer garden. One would love the Abeille perfumes to be sold separately in simpler glass bottles. But I guess it would damage the joy of owning the Baccarat sculpture..."

"There's oud - and then there's oud": Perfumer Alberto Morillas Talks on Successful Perfume-Making

"Nothing is ever completely perfect and perfect is boring. Sometimes the big success is when a scent is imperfect. Some might say Angel [by Thierry Mugler] is too girlie. Others could say Chanel No 5 is outdated - but actually there's something about their disproportion that makes them memorable. It's all about the aesthetic and occasionally when the balance is off, it's good."

Spanish-born star perfumer Alberto Morillas talks about what makes winning scents, the intricasy and quality controls of natural raw materials for perfumery, his latest big fragrance launch for Valentino's new Valentina fragrance (review featured in the link), how specific ingredients create specific effects and how tastes haven't really changed that much over the years.

And why didn't he include rose in Valentina de Valentino, since it's a trademark motif of the fashion house? "Honestly, it's not easy to make roses 'young'," he shrugs. "It's a scent often associated with older ladies and jasmine is far younger. And although you do have roses in Italy, it's not really the essence of the country."

You can read the whole interview on this link at The National.