Marc Jacobs is debuting a new perfume, called Dot in a "cute" ladybug bottle, in July 2012 for the US and in August internationally. Dot is the third major women's scent from Jacobs, who's also issued Daisy, launched in 2007, and Lola, in 2009.
Dot's dot-bedecked bottle is supposed to evoke a "ladybug with butterflies alighting on it". Marc Jacobs Dot fragrance has top notes of red berries, dragon fruit and honeysuckle; a heart of jasmine, coconut water and orange blossom and a drydown of vanilla, driftwood and musk. Sounds totally innocuous. 19-year-old Codie Young fronts the advertisements.
I personally find the bottle juvenile, in a really bad way. Then again I found Lola kitch as well.
Legend wants it that the goddess Flora created violets out of the body of a butterfly, but flowers have the power to lure humans in ways that insects can't fathom. Did you know that Tristan carved a message to Yseult on a branch covered in honeysuckle, the flower standing for devotion, thus signaling the infinity of their bond? Kama, the Indian goddess of love, strikes her victims with a jasmine-laced arrow. Greek and Latin god Eros/Cupid spilled a cup of red wine on the white rose, turning it from a symbol of purity to code for romance. Tuberose ignites innermost desires as its seductive, highly heady warmth garlands newlywed's beds in a promise of sensual profusion. And gardenia was introduced as the height of courtesy and elegance when Beau Brummel first put one as his boutonniere on the jacket lapel back in the 19th century. The custom of offering lily of the valley on May 1st dates even further back: it was Charles IX who first offered these tiny bell-shaped flowers to his mother, Catherine de Medicis, as a good luck charm.
Renunculas & Apples by Jeffrey Smith
This spring I brought out the following fragrances to mark the transition from the bonfires, the rich ambers and the patchoulis of wintertime to the hopeful freshness and floral garlands of springtime.
Patricia de Nicolai Le Temps d'une Fete
Barnyard narcissus frolics sweetly with hyacinth, daffodil and galbanum. Like a roll in the hay on a warm May day.
Editions des Parfums Frederic Malle Une Fleur de Cassie
Oozing with animalic come-hither while at the same time retaining a fuzzy, soft caressing innocence. A masterpiece.
Maria Candida Gentile Hanbury
A staggering vista of a Mediterranean garden; sweetly citrusy on top, lushly floral and nectarous in the heart thanks to calycanthus and mimosa, wonderfully understated and elegant in its base.
Guerlain Aqua Alegoria Jasminora
A. Japanese garden, misty at the edge of dawn. A trellis of white blossoms, tiny in the emerging light.
Clarins Elysium
Clean and fresh, without being soapy, screechy or loud; delicate, elegant, sadly discontinued.
Tauer Perfumes Zeta
Almost flavored by linden blossom, reminiscing me of edible linden or rose honey I used to buy when gallivanting on the slopes of Zakinthos island in the Ionian Sea, rather than merely the delightful blossoms on the tree.
YSL Paris
A mirage of rose and violet that takes us into a Parisian springtime stroll under the Seine bridges.
Yves Rocher Pur Desir de Lilas
Yves Rocher captures the sweet pollen like facet of lilac in the heart, while retaining the bright aspects of a vivid floral on top.
Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss
Graceful, fresh and powdery with orris, jasmine and orange blossom, without pretence, classy....
a "nouveau chypre" that is proud of the moniker.
Chanel Les Exclusifs Bel Respiro
Brings on a pastoral theme to its stemmy, herbal aroma of galbanum with touches of spring florals. To don with a sundress and slingbacks.
After some communication with Chandler Burr, the curator of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, we have an official opening date for "The Art of Scent 1889-2011": Nov 13, 2012.
This exhibition is different than anything you have seen as of yet. As Burr himself explains: "My Department of Olfactory Art is not a physical “department” where I have specific space. All of us curators (we are now 6 total, I think) have the use of ALL the Museum’s gallery space, which are floors 2,3,4,and 5. We can all do programs in the MAD Theater, workshops and classes in the education room on the 6th floor, and we all sponsor artists, who work in various artistic media, in the 6F Artist Studios. (All of these can be seen on www.madmuseum.org.) All of us curators work to assemble exhibitions (concept, budget, budget, budget, works of art we want to exhibit, etc.), and when all the stars line up, we look at the museum schedule and we schedule Show X into (say) the 5th floor space from (say) June 1 to September 1. Then next year your exhibition is put on the 3rd floor from Feb 1 to May 15. You get how it works? We’re all competing for the same real estate, and everyone’s exhibition comes and then goes. (Of course when it goes, that means we’re trying to get it to travel, to be shown at (for example) the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate in London, the Mori Museum in Tokyo, the Austin Museum of Art in Austin, TX, the Hammar Museum in Los Angeles, etc. etc.)"
To help the fundraising a Scent Dinner has been organised (over which Chandler presides but has no monetary control over):
The Museum of Arts and Design’s Visionaries! 2012 Scent Gala
Monday, November 12th, Mandarin Oriental, New York City
"Please save the date of Monday, November 12, 2012 and plan to join Chandler Burr, Curator of Olfactory Art, and the Museum of Arts and Design for a scent dinner in conjunction with MAD’s annual Visionaries! Gala. Each year, the Visionaries! Gala celebrates outstanding individuals in the arts and industry. In celebration of MAD’s inaugural scent exhibition, it is only fitting that many of this year’s honorees are leaders in the scent industry.
Held this year at the Mandarin Oriental, New York City, Visionaries! begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by an awards ceremony and scent dinner lead by Chandler Burr.
The Visionaries! Gala is the Museum’s most important annual fundraiser supporting MAD’s exhibitions and educational programs. A silent auction will include travel and dining packages, exceptional experiences, design items, luxury goods, and jewelry. Each year, more than 500 guests, including arts patrons, artists, designers and noted corporate and civic leaders, attend the event. Ticket prices for the gala range from $1,250–$2,500; tables are priced from $10,000–$25,000"
For more information, please call 212.299.7729 or email Stephanie.Lang@madmuseum.org
To extrapolate that Madonna's Truth or Dare celebrity fragrance is a Fracas-inspired vehicle is a given unless you had been living under a rock for the past 20 years. Not only had the reference been clearly made when the classic Fracas by Robert Piguet was re-issued under new directorship sometimes in the mid-1990s (along with the equally classic and controversial Bandit perfume) ~and Madonna was letting the world know she wore Fracas because it reminded her of her mother~ the famous quinquagenarian has been known to love tuberose and gardenia anyway. True to form, though not daringly enough, her fragrance Truth or Dare, late on the bandwagon of celebrity fumes, is indeed a sharp, loud tuberose with added side notes of waxy gardenia, coconut for a tropical feel to the white flowers and amber-musks in the base. It's the right thing to wear if you're decked in a conservative tailleur and fishnet veil with black eyeliner and red lipstick and horny after a handsome toreador just like Madonna herself was in "Take a Bow". (The image says it all, really; lady and tramp in equal measure).
Because Truth or Dare is a true celebrity perfume (the face behind it infinitely more important than the juice), but at the same time coming from a celebrity who is well known for her genuine interest in fragrances and her vast collection, I decided to evaluate the fragrance in a "game" of plus and cons. After all, Madonna has played the Madonna-Whore duality herself for decades.
The minus points
By now tuberose and gardenia have been tackled beyond the iconic Fracas in a pleiad of guises by niche perfume companies, sometimes to incredible results: The natural green and tropical vibrancy of Carnal Flower by Frédéric Malle is hard to beat. The silkiness of the initially mentholated Tubéreuse Criminelle by Serge Lutens is unsurpassable. The refinement of Beyond Love by Kilian, very close to Fracas, but a bit more natural feeling, is a wonder of artistry and nature: Calica Becker used the fresh flowers as a reference to narrow the gap between the oil and the real blossom and the injection of coconut gives a sensuous mantle of real human skin. For real gardenia we have Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia which smells as real as the living thing, green buds, browning petals and all.
Madonna's effort therefore seems too little, too late. If Truth or Dare had been issued 15 or even 10 years ago (why wasn't it? that is the question) we would have been more responsive to its white flowers message. By now, it's almost a cliché. (And inspires its own caricature, please open with caution) Even Kim Kardashian has issued her very own version in her first fragrance; with an added dose of sugarcane, of course...And if rock-babe Courtney Love issues a celebrity perfume in the future, I'm sure she will get endless propositions on the same model of tuberose-gardenia given her self-proclaimed love of Fracas as well. (Whether she will capitulate though, that's another matter)
The plus points
Presenting a waxy tuberose-gardenia combo ~and a loud, unashamed one at that~ to the audience of teeny-bopper consumers who are used to sugar-laced sanitised white florals or fruity swirls with a ton of ethylmaltol & patchouli in there is commendable. Obviously not only teenagers have a right to a celebrity perfume and fans of Madge have reason to celebrate, I guess. It's not going to garner you "youthful" comments though, be prepared (Not a bad thing in itself) and if you live in a subdued environment that only tolerates "clean" non-perfumey perfumes and winces at anything else, you will have to wear this at home alone with the windows taped.
As to the perfume composition, the duality of the name Truth or Dare is cleverly built into the formula overseen by Coty. There is on the one hand the tropical, sweet, nail polish acrid, very indolic (with jasmine and jasmolactones), loud white floral tentacle with a hint of lily; lethal and femme fatale. On the other hand there is the more subdued belly of resinous ingredients, benzoin, emitting a hint of vanilla, amber and the blank canvas of synthetic musks, giving an almost monastic feel due to their subdued effect and low projection. This schizoid personality of Madonna's Truth or Dare seems totally intentional and for that reason I can't but admire the smarts (and dare I say, the guts).
Bottom Line: Madonna wouldn't be shamed to death to be caught wearing her celebrity perfume, which is more than I can say for many other celebrity scents out there. If you are a lover of Fracas, tuberose-gardenia compositions and loud, a tad vulgar-but-out-for-a-good-time perfumes, it's worth a try.
Note: The ad campaign has been deemed too racy for prime-time. Was this really unexpected? Nope...
The sensationalist title is perhaps a bit outre. I can't know for sure what exactly passed between the three ladies at the Perfumed Court, the online decanters who have made a reputation as a credible perfume venue ~if expensive~ for perfume addicts everywhere. But something's changed for sure. In short,the outfit as we knew it is no more.
Instead my information tells me that Patty and Lisa have departed in order to open a NEW decanting business site, while Diane is left to run the previous site as per her sole mention on the "About" page as of this minute ["For over four years Diane offered a huge selection of scents on eBay under her seller name Dragonfly00. Diane distinguished herself by her ability to acquire vintage and rare fragrances. She is also quite an expert on ouds. Diane is located near Atlanta, Georgia."]
The split is official as evidenced by the following email which has reached the inbox of several subscribers to their list:
"Lisa Lawler and Patty White are opening a new perfume sample and decant website - surrendertochance.com - this week! It is under construction as we finish up all the details to make this a wonderful resource for you.
Like us on Facebook to get the latest news on the grand opening.
We have loved bringing perfume to you for all these years at The Perfumed Court and hope very much that we will have the joy of seeing you at our new home."
There was a previous "split" with Fishbone, another collector who used to sell on Ebay, a few years ago. The reasons for that, I'm sure, were of a different nature.
I wish them (all of them) all the best in their new endeavours and I join my prayer with those of hundreds out there that the change of scenery might mean a change in price policies too!
The loss of one member does potentially signal a problem though: As the three among them possessed a vast collection of different bottles each, the convenience of TPC meant covering all bases for almost everything in one place. It will be harder to corner that now.
Just one thing, I can't resist: "Surrender to chance"? Is purchasing decants & vintage samples a game of chance now or a risk like online gambling? I know they didn't ask me, it's none of my business and the name is a registered domain by now, but...
What do you think? What does this piece of news signal for you?
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