The winner of the draw...

...for the Hedera Helix green chypre by Roxana is KKinDK. Congratulations and please email me using Contact with your shipping data so I can have this out in the mail for you soon!

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one (very soon!).

Etat Libre d'Orange Malaise of the 1970s fragrance: Change of Name, Change of Pace

Etat Libre d'Orange changes the name of their Sex Pistols fragrance (a 2010 release for French Sephora) into a more encompassing name and concept ~and please note this might be one of many to follow. The official site of the niche French brand even declares: The Sex Pistols are dead, long live Malaise (hope not, in the literal sense of the word!). "We thought it was hilarious to name a juice after a band whose stars were called Rotten and Vicious so we could sell it in a cosmetics emporium. But that’s not necessarily the whole story. In fact, we have many more in stock.
Because what is perfume, when you think of it? A potion we use to reinvent our memories. The matrix of as many stories as there are ways of getting into the scent. So what if we drew the consequence of this story-generating mechanism by dressing up the same perfume with as many names, characters and plotlines as it inspires? What if we gave it avatars? So we’re taking ‘Sex Pistols’ and giving it a new name that fits these troubled times…"

But let's see how the presentation changed:

Relive the anarchy of Britain in the punk age with the Etat Libre d'Orange Malaise of the 1970s Eau de Parfum.
Inspired by a wealth of seventies pop culture references, from Star Wars to The Stranglers, Malaise of the 1970s captures the resistant and tumultuous spirit of the times. A metallic juice that resonates like the twang of a guitar string, its sharpness reminiscent of safety pins fastened to tartan. A distillation of rebellion, music and raw emotion.
This scent from Etat Libre d'Orange blends the piquancy of black pepper and electric aldehydes with the headiness of patchouli and leather. Like an act of resistance, you cannot keep it out of your body any more than you can stop breathing. Blast off the last wafts of patchouli tailing after the Summer of Love. Growl out "No More Heroes". Take off to a galaxy far, far away. and indulge in the unique malaise of the 1970s.

Notes for Malaise of the 1970s: Citrus, Black Pepper, Amber, Prune, Electric Aldehydes, Heliotrope, Patchouli, Orcanox, Leather.

One note: Trainspotting came out in 1996. (Even if McGregor became Obi-Wan later on). Just so you know. 

Watch a clip on the brand and its manifesto/aims by president Etienne de Swardt.

Scents of Time to Close Down in April

"In the perfume game we were up against some huge businesses such as Dior. It was like David versus Goliath except this time Goliath won. The stone in my slingshot wasn't big enough. We started strongly and it seemed to be going well but people don't have a lot of spare money for a luxury like us."

Thus says David Pybus, of Scents of Time, a historian gone the way of perfume recreation. The info and quotes come from an article on This is Kent.

After collaborating with Dragon's Den, Pybus has created five scents including Nenufar which was Cleopatra's perfume of choice, and Ankh which was inspired by the incense found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. He currently has 500 bottles left of Night Star, the Titanic scent which we had reported on these very pages, now reduced from £40 to £6.[NB. This is a local-only valid offer, as there can be no international orders arrangements at this point]

For more details please visit http://www.scentsoftime.co.uk

If you want to try out the Scents of Time fragrances there are samples (and bottles) circulating from UK locations on Ebay.

EVAmour: new fragrance

"My first memory of fragrance is my mom," she said. "She wore Charlie but I actually never wore perfume. I would always sneeze when I smelled it and just never found one that worked for me, which is why I wanted to develop my own." And while her debut fragrance was meant to evoke a clean, just out of the shower feeling, this one is "seductive, playful, sexy, and mature," Longoria explains, adding that when she starts making a scent (it takes about a year), she works with a perfume house and tells them what she wants the end result to be—emotionally.
"The perfumers would say, 'oh you mean a spicy musk.' But that's Chinese to me so they would send me samples, we'd go back and forth—but in both cases, I ended up going with the first try!"

Thus goes the article on Allure, chronicling the route that Eva Longoria would take to "co-create" her latest fragrance, called EVAmour. The second celebrity perfume by the "Desperate Housewives" star features notes of bergamot, apple, red currant, vanilla, amber, and musk.

Chanel Perfume Rumour: Les Exclusifs 1932

drawing of Chanel by Jean Cocteau  (1932)

Chanel have just trademarked the "name" "1932" for their perfumery branch. The year coincides with the introduction of Ivoire de Chanel, one of the unknown Chanel fragrances that came out in that eventful decade. The year also coincides with the introduction of Chanel jewelry, focusing on diamond rings and brooches that still retain their delightful art Deco character.

Is, after Chanel Jersey and Chanel Beige, Ivoire to be the next Chanel Les Exclusifs perfume? I think it should be. This could be a re-issue of the unfairly unsung vintage Ivoire, but in all probability it should be a totally modern composition that merely utilizes the retro connotation to instill a sense of patrimonie into the proceedings. Taking into account that the latest Chanel parfums have not strung by heartstrings, I remain sceptical, but would like to sample nevertheless.

Of course they might be trademarking things with an eye into stopping the competition. Coco Noir still hasn't been publicized...

EDIT TO ADD:  Sashimi87 has posted an actual photo of the bottle of Chanel Les Exclusifs 1932 on Instagram, as per my reader Wit Siamaise. It's too good not to show to you  (plus it corroborates my info) and I hope she's fine with it appearing here.

top pic via rarevintage.blogspot.com