Avon Unplugged for Her & for Him fronted by Jon Bon Jovi: new fragrances

Avon Products has announced that the 50-year-old rock star is the company's newest celebrity fragrance partner. He'll appear in ads for both Unplugged for Her and Unplugged for Him. Why these two partners meshed? Call it a merging interest in philanthropy.

The company said "the inspiration for both scents is the unique feeling one has listening to a favourite song". The goal is "an emotional connection". The women's version is a floral oriental perfume, and the men's is a woody floral musk fragrance. Available through Avon reps and online in October 2012 (for the women's version) and November 2012 (for the men's edition). pic via starfetch.com

Perfumery Material: Blackcurrant/Bourgeons de Cassis

Have you wondered why some people spontaneously identify a particular ingredient in perfumes as "cat piss"? The seemingly rude term is not without some logical explanation and might indeed indicate a refinement of nose rather than an abject rejection of perfume en masse. Let's explain.

Black currant bud absolute is known as bourgeons de cassis in French, coming from Ribes nigrum and differentiated from the synthetic "cassis" bases that can be cloying and which were so very popular in the 1980s and early 1990s perfumery, notably in Tiffany for Tiffany (by Jacques Polge) in 1987 and Poeme for Lancome (by Jacques Cavallier) in 1995. Compared to the artificial berry bases defined as "cassis," the natural black currant bud absolute comes off as greener and lighter with a characteristic touch of cat. Specifically the ammoniac feel of a feline's urinary tract, controversial though that may seem.

The Peculiar Smell of Thioles in Cat Piss and Blackcurrant Buds
The characteristic odor of the black currant berries and flower buds of the black currant plant is due to glandular trichomes that carry thioles, especially 4-methoxy-2-methylbutan-2-thiol, an ingredients which brings on a cat-urine note atop the fruity facet of the plant. Three hydroxy nitriles also contribute a significant element into the odor profile of black currants, attesting to the acquired taste that black currant is as a note in perfumes. But other plants share some of the particular note, though they're less used in perfumes, such as the leaves of the South African buchu, with which it pairs when the desired effect is to reinforce the feline.

Blackcurrant Buds in Perfumery
Black currant absolute comes from the bud (as per Biolandes, who produce it in France in Le Sen and Valréas regions) but also from the distilled leaves of the plant (as per perfumer Aurelien Guichard) and is extracted into a yellowish green to dark green paste that projects as a spicy-fruity-woody note retaining a fresh, yet tangy nuance, slightly phenolic.
Its most celebrated use has been in being introduced in Guerlain's classic 1969 perfume Chamade, composed by Jean Paul Guerlain. Van Cleef & Arpels, however, have done much to promote their own pioneering use of black currant buds in First, coming out in 1976, composed by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. The niche creator Annick Goutal envisioned a fragrance for the young girl in every woman in 1982 when she created a deliciously mellow blend of blackcurrant buds, mimosa and cocoa for her daughter Charlotte in Eau de Charlotte, because her daughter loved blackcurrant jam.

Due to concerns with irritation hazards to eyes, the respiratory system and skin sensitization, black currant bud absolute is used no more than at a rate of 1.0000% in the fragrance compound nowadays and only 20,0000 ppm in flavoring usage.

In fragrances, black currant bud absolute blends particularly well with roses but it also allies very well with a pleiad of perfumery ingredients: allyl amyl glycolate (a modern "pineapple"-like metallic musky note), ambrettolide (light, vegetal smelling musk), benzoin (a sweet resin), benzyl acetate (fruity floral with hints of jasmine), buch leaf oil (for reinforcing its catty profile), orange and citruses, cyclamen aldehyde, beta-damascone (rosy-fruity), beta-ionone (violet), ethyl maltol (the scent of cotton candy), heliotrope/heliotropin, galbanum (bitter green resin), oakmoss (tree lichen with bitter inky profile), jasmine absolutes and various rasperry ketones.

Fragrances that feature black currant buds/leaves notes: 

Annick Goutal Eau de Charlotte
Calvin Klein Escape 
Cacharel Loulou
Diptyque L'Ombre dans L'Eau 
Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady
Estée Lauder Beautiful 
Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Capri
Estée Lauder Jasmine White Moss
Fendi Fan di Fendi 
Floris Amaryllis
Floris Night Scented Jasmine
Gucci Rush II 
Guerlain Chamade 
Guerlain Champs Elysées 
Hermes Eau d'Orange Verte
Houbigant Quelques Fleurs Royale 
Jacomo Silences Eau de Parfum sublime (2012)
Juicy Couture Peace Love Juicy Couture
Lalique Amethyste 
Lancome Miracle Forever
Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose
Michael Kors Island Hawaii
Patricia de Nicolai Sacrebleu
Tom Ford Black Orchid 
Valentino Rock & Rose 
Van Cleef & Arpels First 
Van Cleef & Arpels Féerie
YSL Baby Doll 
YSL In Love Again
YSL Saharienne

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!