Hiram Green Moon Bloom: fragrance review

Hiram Green is no newcomer to perfume, though his site would suggest otherwise, touting Moon Bloom as their "debut fragrance". Simply, this is a new outfit for someone involved in the field for long through Scent Systems, who has relocated and conducts a new brand stationed at The Netherlands using all natural ingredients. Now under his own name, he embarked on a new adventure which, by the sniffs of Moon Bloom, smells promising.

via landscapeandgarden.wordpress.com

Moon Bloom is a lush and elegant tuberose themed eau de parfum. Tuberose is a tropical night blooming flower. Often referred to as ‘the mistress of the night’, tuberose is an admired theme in perfumery because of its soft and creamy but also powerful and narcotic aroma. It's enough to know that in Victorian times maidens were prohibited from smelling the rather waxy, small white flowers lest they experience a spontaneous orgasm; such was the reputation of this heady flower! The name does bring to mind the Victorian Moon Gardens, gardens in which night-blossoming white flowers were planted so that the sun-wary ladies could protect their alabaster complexions from the ravages of the sun in the absence of SPF 50+. (Of course the term "ravages of the sun" is all relative, speaking of the latitudes and longitudes that constituted the Victorian territories, but you get my meaning. Besides is it me, or does the silvery sheen of the moon seem very conductive to secret affairs leading to orgasmic heights despite the precautions placed by the wiser elders?).

Moon Bloom includes generous amounts of tuberose absolute, jasmine absolute and ylang ylang, but it doesn't clobber you over the head with them all the same, like many hysterical florals do. There are also notes of creamy coconut, leafy greens and hints of tropical spices and resins (plus a hint of vanilla?) which smother the floral notes and produce something that is soft and strangely fresh, like the air of a greenhouse.

The natural perfumery genre isn't devoid of wearable and beautiful specimens; it just takes a superior critical judgment, a steady hand and the aesthetics to forget photo realism and instead try for something that is imaginative and beautiful in its own right. I'm willing to make an exception on that last requirement, because Moon Bloom smells at once life-like and at the same time like it was made with stylish panache and not just slavishly copying Mother Nature. The coconut-lacing of real tuberose and its subtle green-rubbery facets are captured in a polished melange which is both pretty and revealing of the course of the blossom through the fabric of time: from greener to lusher to ripe. Tube-phobes (and I know there are many of you out there, don't hide!) should drop their coyness and indulge. Moon Bloom is a purring kitten, if there ever was one.

Both the 50ml bottle (with classic pump atomiser) and the 5ml travel atomiser are refillable. 5ml retails for 25 euros and 50 mail will run you out of 135 euros on the Hiram Green site (Please note that non EU buyers are exempt from sales tax, so calculate 20% less or so.

Disclosure: I was a sample by the perfumer. 

The Scent of the Ballet: Iris Prima by Penhaligon's (video)

The upcoming Penhaligon's fragrance, to be launched next month, is called Iris Prima and is touted to be "a work of olfactory choreography", with Iris Absolute in the role of the prima ballerina. In a unique partnership with English National Ballet, Penhaligon’s has set about capturing the very essence of the ballet, turning to master perfumer Alberto Morillas as choreographer. Iris Prima will launch on the 9th of September 2013. Enjoy the first of two films dedicated to the launch.

Asymetrique by Hermes: The Perfume Bottle That Was Not

Asymétrique by Hermes.
Material: Glass bottle and cap. Aluminum spray nozzle.
Finishes: Clear Glass with black etched logo. Polished Aluminum spray nozzle.
Special Features: Asymmetrical fluid cavity.

copyright Phillip Harris, used with permission on PerfumeShrine

This genuine marvel of design and technical ingenuity wasn't opted for use for commercial perfume bottles by Hermes, but the Harris Design team (headed by Phillip Harris) stationed in California, US (www.designbyharris.com), who designed it, deemed it too beautiful to let languish hidden. And I agree 100%!

Wouldn't you just love to hold this in your hand or see it atop your vanity table? Absolute class.

copyright Phillip Harris, used with permission on PerfumeShrine

Aqua di Parma La Nobilita del Fare (The Nobility of Making)

In my -and many others'- mind, Italy has always stood as the archetypal bed for the blossoming of the arts: the country not only is a living and breathing museum, but also the fertile soil on which artisans and artists from the fields of painting, pottery, glassmaking, leather goods, music and perfumery, to this day produce objects and artifacts of high quality and that easy elegance which comes naturally to the South. Among them Acqua di Parma, revived thanks to the high profile business model opted for which helped consolidate it as a cult brand for perfume lovers everywhere.

 Acqua di Parma La Nobilita del Fare book cover © Giovanni Gastel

Now Acqua di Parma are launching not a new fragrance but a fragrance-related book for collectors: "La nobiltà del Fare” (The Nobility of Making) [editions Electra]. This prestigious volume features images from the great Italian photographer Giovanni Gastel, who tells a series of exceptional stories demonstrating the noble skills which Italy has mastered since the Renaissance. The book, with texts by Andrea Kerbaker and an introduction by Enrico Colle, will launch in New York on September 17th on the occasion of the American premiere of the “Roberto Bolle and Friends Gala”, produced by Artedanzsrl and sponsored exclusively by Acqua di Parma.

The book contains twenty-three stories selected from the most significant examples of Italian creativity, recounted through photographs specially taken by Giovanni Gastel, which express the essence and flavor of creativity, in the lightness of dance as well as the materiality of stone; images that explore intense faces, that reveal the secrets of ancient techniques, and tell of astounding artifacts. Artistic institutions of great international renown, academies and music conservatories, consortia and foundations, but also small workshops where master craftsmen create unique products that the world desires, fashioned in keeping with ancient methods of work: an exceptional variety of magnificent creative skills, whose common denominator is the noble tradition, the outstanding vocation, the age-old craftsmanship and passion for keeping alive the cultural and artistic traditions of the country.

Roberto Bolle photo © Giovanni Gastel

“A tradition of craftsmanship,” writes Enrico Colle in his introduction to the volume, “with a very high level of quality of execution coupled with an inspired use of widely available raw materials transformed by art. ... Italian craft production in all fields ... has been distinguished by ... the ability to create magnificent works in which the materials, subdued by art, are capable of arousing the admiration of both critics and patrons of the arts.”
Together with the photographs, the texts by Andrea Kerbaker lend a voice to the protagonists, who include Pinin Brambilla Barcilon, Renzo Piano, Marco Magnifico, Mimmo Paladino, Uto Ughi, as well as Maurizio Baglini, Daniele Gatti, Stefano Conia, the Marinelli brothers, Luca Litrico and many others.

Editions Electra, 332 pages with 280 illustrations, hardcover lined with jacquard silk & linen fabric by Rubelli. Available in Italian and English, retailing at 200 euros.

Elements Showcase 2013 Fragrance Highlights & Photos

August 19-20, 2013 saw the Elements Showcase holding their 6th edition at Skylight West 500 West 36th Street New York, NY with emerging and upcoming beauty and accessory brands. Two full floors were dedicated to the brands at the disposal of retail buyers' and members' of the press scrutiny. The white, crisp rooms were filled with high energy from product demonstrations, manicures, fragrances and innovation.

Fragrance brands ruled the event with offerings from Ego Facto, Olfactive Studio, Amouage (with their new Fate perfumes), Lalique, Histoires de Parfums, House of Sillage (with their limited edition bottles, the holiday scent one in a snow globe!) and Bond No. 9.
Leilani Bishop Fragrance presented 3 hand bag size roll on fragrances in sleek glass pen size containers holding perfume and fragrance oils in single note floral scents.

Launching later this year in the US is Dita Von Teese and Bat Man. Peter Schamberger from Luxess Group presented the fragrances and described how Dita has collected fragrance bottles for years and knows what she wants in fragrances.

Pozzo Di Borgo introduced 8 Mars 1764 that evokes the subtle aromas of a drop of cocgnac poured into a burning coffee, set on woody backdrop and 23 Janvier 1984 an intimate perfume that leaves a sensual and powdered trace on the skin yet is fresh and sophisticated. The scents are encased in a tall silhouetted flacon.

Memoire Liquide presented an assortment of the 150 specific scents that can be mixed to produce a tailor-made scent. The Bespoke line was originally launched in 1985 but was revived in 2007 for all those aficionados who were searching for something truly unique.

Perhaps the most innovative news of them all (replying to the eternal question How to Make My Fragrance Last Longer) was the introduction to the US market of Canvas & Concrete fragrance primer. How does it work? Spray a layer of Canvas (for women) or Concrete (for men) on your skin prior to your fragrance. The fragrance sits on top of the primer making it keep truer to the scent and last for longer. Cool!

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