Amouage Interlude (man & woman): new fragrances

Creative Director Christopher Chong presents us the next chapter in the Amouage legend...Interlude Woman and Interlude Man, two aromatic stanzas steeped in the tradition of the Omani firm but with modern elements thrown in too. 


Interlude Woman is a floral chypre fragrance projecting unity and serenity. Tart and bittersweet citrus notes of bergamot & grapefruit in the top notes allied to ginger and tagete create tension while rose, frankincense, jasmine, orange blossom, helichrysum, opoponax  and sandalwood appear in the complex heart. This gives an unconventional combination of nut, coffee, kiwi, honey and agarwood. The base comprises sumptuous vanilla, benzoin, amber, sandalwood, oakmoss, leather, tonka and musk to provide the necessary warmth. The perfumer for Interlude Woman is Karine Vinchon Spehner .

Top notes: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Ginger, Tagete
Heart: Frankincense, Rose Absolute, Orange Blossom, Helichrysum, Jasmine, Opoponax, Nut, Honey, Kiwi, Coffee
Base: Vanilla, Benzoin, Amber, Sandalwood, Agarwood, Oakmoss, Leather, Tonka Beans, Musk



Interlude Man is a spicy-woody fragrance opening on zesty bergamot, oregano and pimento berry oil, with conflucting intervals of notes of amber, frankincense, opoponax, cistus labdanum and myrrh. Eternal notes of leather, agarwood smoke, patchouli and sandalwood provide the anchoring base. The perfumer for Interlude Man is Pierre Negrin. 


Top notes: Bergamot, Oregano, Pimento Berry oil
Heart: Amber, Frankincense, cistus, opoponax
Base: Leather, agarwood smoke, patchouli, sandalwood. 

Lutens & L'Artisan: Setting the Score Straight on Discontinuations

It was with some disappointment that I received the latest newsletter from a (very popular) niche online boutique stating "We managed to secure a small amount of some of our favorites which are sadly being discontinued. This is it...so if you like 'em...get 'em now." They then went on to depict three fragrances: one from Serge Lutens, two from L'Artisan Parfumeur.

You're asking which ones? Well, the Lutens is Five o'clock au Gingembre. But the rumour isn't 100% true: The fragrance still appears prominently on the official Lutens page for sale. They have moved other things from export range to exclusive range etc. ~which I had reported here a long while ago as I do with all cutting edge Lutens perfume news~ and were confirmed by official Lutens mail later on, so it makes sense that they would act on it promptly. They had in all other cases.
Bottom line: I wouldn't rush into a panic just yet. There's plenty of stock left (it's a slow seller) everywhere.

But regarding the L'Artisan fragrances the plot thickens: The distributor site mentions a 135$ price for a 100ml bottle each for Navegar and Tea for Two. Even though Tea for Two is indeed getting discontinued, as first reported on Perfume Shrine (and Navegar is not long for this world either), there is actually a sale going on on L'Artisan's official site right now, mentioning a 35GBP for 100ml for Navegar! No Tea for Two available sadly (though you could find it elsewhere, I bet), but I'd say that's a huge difference to pay with the "bait" of "we secured a small amount of discontinued fragrance"...For shame.

Feel free to vote with your wallet.

The winner of the draw...

...for the Dark Passage purse bottle is TimeaZsofia. Congratulations and please email me using the Contact address with our 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!

Why Are Celebrity Perfumes Still Popular?

Back a while ago I really thought the trend for celebrity scents (i.e.scents coat-tailing on the success of a celebrity brand name to which they're designed as an accessory) was dying. Boy, was I wrong! There are more celebrity scents coming out each season and it stands to reason people must be actually buying all this stuff for the companies to keep churning out more and more. (The latest, Nicole, comes from Nicole Richie who credits her mother's layering of a hundred scented products as its inspiration, which is scary sounding enough). But WHY are they?

"Like their wearers, these fragrances are not sophisticated, nor are they complicated. In fact they are scented with the same formulae used in shampoos and deodorant body sprays, according to perfume evaluator Erica Moore of Michael Edwards Fragrances of the World. ''They're immensely popular and very successful,'' she says. ''They're affordable. They've brought fine fragrance to a market that is not sophisticated.'' Moore says young women find their fragrance style by experimenting with these types of perfumes. But they also want a bargain.

 ''Parallel market'' fragrances are flourishing, according to beauty market analyst Jo-Anne Mason. ''It's dumped stock and coming in really cheap,'' she says. ''It's a grey market. It is legal. They're buying it out of Dubai. It could have been sitting there in a hot, unairconditioned warehouse for a year. (Cosumers) don't know; they don't think about it - they just look at the price.''

 Quotes from a longer article on the Sydney Morning Herald

And on to YOU to discuss in the comments:
 Do you find that you had been attracted by these scents when you were younger and have moved on? Do you find that there are exceptions to every rule and you have found a celebrity scent to claim your own? Does associating a perfume composition which sounds intriguing with a celebrity name crush your hopes for interesting juice? Or not?

 Hearing you out in the comment section!

Manifesto by YSL: new fragrance fronted by Jessica Chastain

"Yves Saint Laurent is a brand that inspires me deeply. Since its creation, the brand has conveyed strong values that I cherish, such as an unwavering commitment, absolute love and feminine audacity. This new fragrance [Manifesto] is an emblem of it all. I am [excited] to be part of this beautiful adventure," said Jessica Chastain on WWD, the actress being mostly famous for being Oscar-nominated for her part in The Help and her acclaimed turn in The Tree of Life beside Brad Pitt.

Chastain follows British actress Emily Blunt into fronting an YSL perfume as its face, after the latter's turn as an Opium acolyte. Stephan Bezy, international general manager of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté at L'Oréal, stated that it was Chastain's "subtle strength", "solar charm" and "free mind" that drew her to the attention of YSL. "Jessica embodies the quintessence of Saint Laurent's femininity, a woman of her day and age, independent, determined, never where you expect her to be," he continued. The brand has recently changed its official name from Yves Saint Laurent to Saint Laurent Paris, effectively ruining one of the most perfect logos in fashion history. But I digress.

 Manifesto by Saint Laurent is a new fruity floral fragrance for women, set out to launch in September 2012 in France and invading the rest of Europe and the world at the end of the year and into the early 2013. The fragrance shares its name with the YSL photo periodical started by former creative director Stefano Pilati in 2008.

  Fragrance Notes for Manifesto by YSL:
Top Notes: Black Currant
Middle Notes: Jasmine, Lily of the Valley
Base Notes: Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Cedar, Sandalwood

 photo via fashionologie.com