Sonoma Scent Studio Nostalgie: fragrance review

Once upon a time women wore corselets & real silk chemises underneath their tailored dresses to work, painted their lips deep pink or coral and coiffed their hair à la choucroutte on a regular basis, before straight "blow outs" became the standard of westernised grooming. There was something equally mischievous and disciplined about their demeanor, reflected in their perfumes; as if beneath all the gentility and pronounced good manners there harbored untold family skeletons in the closet, secret trysts in the afternoon and a gambling streak hiding as socializing. Something is deeply attractive about that contradiction, not least because Mad Men made us believe so, thanks to stylisation to the point of art. It paid; not only people are hooked on 1960s fashion, they're hooked on 1960s-smelling perfumes as well, it seems. And here is where Sonoma Scent Studio Nostalgie comes into play.


Style & Comparison with Other Fragrances
Do you recall the opening of Van Cleef & Arpel's First? Everything denoting luxury, power, femininity, class and wealth was added into producing that powerhouse last-of-the-McAldehic clan; a fragrance as shimmery as the brightest yellow sapphires, as frothy as the sparkliest bubbly in iced flutes, as melodious as Jenny Vanou singing Dawn's Minor Key. I was instantly transported in those times, back when First's precious metal wasn't somewhat tarnished due to reformulations, upon testing Nostalgie. Laurie Erickson, the indie perfume behing\d that small outfit, Sonoma Scent Studio, operating off the Haldsburg hills in California, US,  managed to produce an old-school floral aldehydic quite apart from the mass; as she says "fragrances today are rarely composed with so many fine naturals". Nostalgie smells more expensive than it is (it recalls  Patou's classic Joy in the mid-section, with more woody accents), is full of vibrancy and came to me like a messenger of good news when the day has been nothing but gloom and no hope can be visible in the horizon.

Scent Description
The aldehydes are adding citrusy, waxy sparkle in Nostalgie but they're a bit toned down compared to classics such as Chanel No.5, with fine soapy overtones; an impression further enhanced by the discernible jasmine sambac. The peach lactone in the heart provides a retro vibe; lactonic florals have been byword for refined and graceful perfumery for many decades in the middle of the 20th century. The floral notes, ringing as wonderfully bright as little taps on a glockenspiel, are tightly woven together to present a tapestry of hundreds of tiny dots which, like in pointillism, seen from a distance blur into a delightful image.
The jasmine-rose-mimosa accord is classic (Guerlain Après L'Ondée, Caron Fleurs de Rocaille, Lauder Beautiful) and here treated as seen through a sheer green-woody veil. Erickson treats aldehydes with sleight of hand, as proven previously in her Champagne de Bois, but her every new release at Sonoma Scent Studio is more sophisticated than the last; I find more technical merit in Nostalgie.
The base of Nostalgie is all billowy softness, like most of the latest SSS fragrances, falling on a fluffy duvet, with subtle leathery nuances (probably from the mimosa absolute itself) and a musky-creamy trail which is delicious. However the aldehydic floral element is at no moment completely lost (if you're seriously aldehydic-phobic that might present a problem; if you're an "AldeHo" as Muse in Wooden Shoes calls it, you're all set). It is both long-lasting and drooling trail-worthy; it's parfum strength after all. This is a scent to get you noticed and to be asked what perfume you're wearing.

"Nouveau Vintages": A Trend to Watch
Aldehydic florals and retro "floral bouquets" (as opposed to soliflores which focus on one main flower in their composition) are knowing quite a resurgence, both in indie perfumers' catalogues (witness the stunningly gorgeous Miriam by Tauer Tableau de Parfums line, Aftelier's Secret Garden and DSH Vert pour Madame) and in niche brands, such as the divine Divine's L'Ame Soeur. It was about time; one gets a kick of fun out of something as frothingly tongue-in-cheek and sweet as Prada Candy perfume, but there are times when fragrance stops being an inside joke and should get its pretty rear down and start smelling ladylike & grown-up. In that frame, this rush of vintage-inspired fragrances is heartening. Nostalgie is part & parcel of this "nouveau vintages" clan and at the same time winks with the familiar Mad Men innuendo. Applause!

Notes for SSS Nostagie:
Aldehydes, Indian jasmine sambac absolute, Bulgarian rose absolute, mimosa absolute, peach, violet flower, violet leaf absolute, tonka bean, French beeswax absolute, natural oakmoss absolute, aged Indian patchouli, East Indian Mysore sandalwood, leather, vanilla, orris, myrrh, vetiver, and musk.

Available at the Sonoma Scent Studio fragrance e-shop.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances

In the interests of disclosure, I was sent a sample directly by the perfumer.
Photo of Greek actress Melina Mercouri at the Kapnikarea on Hermes Street, Athens, Greece in the early 1960s.

The Book of Lost Fragrances: new book & perfume offer

Our readers can get a free sample of the new Âmes Sœurs perfume, the scent of soul mates, "an exclusive, mystical fragrance", inspired by The Book of Lost Fragrances, a new novel coming in March by bestselling author M.J. Rose, which Publishers Weekly called a “deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense…” 

Joya Studio’s Frederick Bouchardy read an advanced copy of The Book of Lost Fragrances, and was inspired to interpret the magical scent in the book. Joya’s Âmes Sœurs hints of Frankincense, Myrrh, Orange Blossom and Jasmine. It’s smoky uncommon finish suggests the past and the future, and lost souls reunited.

For every one of the readers who pre-order The Book of Lost Fragrances using the instructions below, the company promoting this will send a sample of Âmes Sœurs. 

How it works? 

1. Just click on the preferred website and pre-order THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES from the links below. 2. Email the receipt or a scan of it to LostFragrances@gmail.com along with your name and  your Snail mail address for fragrance delivery. Your sample of Âmes Sœurs will be shipped to you on or before March 13th.  The book will arrive separately, from the store of your choice, at the same time so you can enjoy both together.

Amazon
Barnes & NobleYour favorite Independent Bookstore
Books A Million

*Offer ends March 1st, is limited numbers of supplies available and only to readers in the US and Canada.

Technological Breakthrough of the Year : new FiFi Awards Category

The Fragrance Foundation is now accepting entries for its 2012 FiFi Award in the Technological Breakthrough of the Year category. And, for the first time this year, the winners of the Technological Breakthrough of Year Award will be announced at the World Perfumery Congress, which is being held June 12–14, 2012, at the MGM Grand Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The FiFi Award ceremony will take place during the closing session on June 14, 2012.
The category is further divided into three sub-categories for eligibility:

• Fragrance Ingredients, Creation and Testing  (innovations in production, formulation and testing; methods of ingredient extraction; new ingredients;  sustainability efforts and basic research)
• Packaging Technology and Delivery Systems (innovations in fragrance delivery systems; fragrance sampling technology; controlled release technology; design/manufacture technology and packaging sustainability efforts)
• Information Technology (tablet and smart phone apps; computer-assisted data analysis programs and interactive information technologies)

Conditions: The technology submission must be  entirely new and original and must have been introduced in 2011, be currently on the market in the U.S., or if it is not currently on the market, a notarized letter must be submitted confirming that a signed contract has been executed to launch the entry in 2012.
Downloadable entry forms for the FiFi Technological Breakthrough of the Year Category, at The Fragrance Foundation website. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. 

info weaned off Allure Media Business

Narciso Rodriguez For Her Delicate: new fragrance, limited edition

Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Toilette Delicate Limited Edition is launching for 2012.
The fragrance is somewhat changed compared to the original NR For Her and features notes of vetiver, musk, african orange flower, amber, coriander, vanille, bergamot and black fig.
Available as eau de toilette in 125ml/4.2oz bottles of light purple and a matching box.

For a breakdown of all the variants/editions of Narciso Rodriguez For Her perfume, consult this link (with pics) and this one for the NR Musk Collection perfume editions.

Diptyque Eau Rose & Rosa Mundi: new fragrance & new candle

Ushering spring-time with rose scents...Diptyque, purveyor of fine fragrances and great quality candles, is voting for roses this spring with two releases centered on the queen of flowers.With St.Valentine's Day around the corner, they're romantic gifts to be given.

Eau Rose eau de toilette de Diptyque
"Eau Rose, a totally new fragrance that pays tribute to the queen of flowers, the rose. Forever immortalized by Ronsard’s famous poem “Mignonne, allons voir si la rose...”, it was only a matter of time before diptyque decided to showcase the rose. To get off the beaten track and create something different, the Eau Rose has been conceived to stand out as a genuine infusion of roses. [...] a rose that changes as the hours go by and melts into the scent of the person wearing it." (official press)


Since the times of the legendary Semiramis, who cultivated roses in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, roses have fascinated perfumers. Tea rose with spicy notes, luscious carnal roses, milky roses, satin rose or rose pompoms.....just roses!!
Imagined like a rose infusion, Eau Rose celebrates the multiple olfactory facets of the rose, in its natural state; from morning dew (with tart  notes of bergamot and blackcurrant) to daybreak (thanks to fruity lychee) to the sensual woody nuance of musks and cedar of nighttime.
Coveted in Grasse and the Isparta region in Turkey, Rosa Centifolia and Rosa Damascena infusions sign an essentially natural fragrance, soft and powdery woody, and not aging at all, thanks to the tartness of the fruit notes which refresh it.

Top notes: bergamot, black currant and litchi
middle notes: jasmine, geranium and rose
base notes: Virginia cedar, musk and white honey.

 Eau de Toilette spray 100ml retails for 72 euros/98$US. The fragrance is also available in a roll-on (20ml for 35euros). Already available at Diptyque boutiques, on SpaceNK (in the UK) and on the Aedes website.

Rosa Mundi candle by Diptyque
A limited edition candle focused on rose, Rosa Mundi comes in 190gr glass jar for 45 euros.
A surprising scent... soothing, romantic and sparkling. And a name that sounds like an ancient rose, a descendant of the famous Damask rose...and the love story that has become legendary through the centuries.

Rosa Mundi, a variety of rose, was named after Rosa­mund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II (England’s monarch from 1154 to 1189). Rosamund Clifford (1150-1176), also known as the "The Fair Rosamund" or "Rose of the World", was his ill-fated long-time mistress; Princess Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's subsequent wife, jealous of her husband's relationship with Rosamund, is said to have had her murdered by poison (the legend says she offered her the choice of dagger or poison and Rosamund chose poison). Her family paid for a tomb at Godstow Nunnery near Oxford, instructing the nuns to place Rosa Mundi roses upon it on the anniversary of her death. This became a popular local shrine until 1191ntil St. Hugh of Avalon, Bishop of Lincoln,  visited the place and saw Rosumund's tomb right in front of the high altar. Calling Rosamund a harlot, he ordered her remains to be removed from the church. Thus her tomb was taken to the cemetery at the nuns' chapter house close by, in the end destroyed during the 'Dissolution of the Monasteries' (1536 -1540).The rose variety remains to remind us of the fair Rosamund...

The new graphic design of the packaging and the label of the candle makes it a special presentation amidst the Diptyque range.