Love is in the Air: Valentine's Day countdown Part 1

Rejoice for love is to be celebrated every day, not just on February 14th. However since the blogging world operates by the regularity of Hallmark (and counting on its steady sales no doubt), a countdown to Valentine's Day didn't seem too bad of an idea; there are certainly worse things to countdown to.
For this project there will be tips and nuggets of love lore throughout the first half of February on these pages, starting with today, and there will be a super-dedicated post (a joint project no less) next Friday (so stay tuned).

So, for today, a small announcement:

Jovan van Drielle, owner of Tijon La Jolla perfumerie and kindly sponsoring our site (though this particular post is unaffiliated), is hosting a Week of Love, from February 9th to February the 16th in which couples are encouraged to drop by and play with aphrodisiac essences to make their own 'magik' elixir! More info by clicking on the link.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and love away!

The winner of the draw…

…for the preview decant of Tralala is MariaKoph9. Congratulations and please email me with your shipping data using Contact so I can arrange this getting to you in the mail.

Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one! :)

Penhaligon's Tralala: Win an Exclusive Preview Decant of the Latest Fragrance Launch

Tralala by Penhaligon's, which we announced on these pages (where we posted the fragrance notes) a few days ago, was presented in London  the other day and yours truly managed to get her little paws on some preview juice. [Yeah!] So yes, you know what that means, one lucky winner gets free perfume that hasn't even hit the stores yet (and will actually hit them in May, so wow!)! To enter the draw, leave a comment on this post; draw is open internationally till Sunday midnight and winner will be announced on Monday.

gap by ssilence on deviantart.com (via Pinterest)

So…Tralala by Penhaligon's and eccentric fashion duo Meadham Kirchhoff, aka the latest fragrant opus by the British niche brand. It presented two major stumbling blocks for me, when I first heart about it. Luckily I was able to sample it in real time and see whether my qualms were founded in reality or they were a figment of my imagination. I wrote a full review on the scent for Fragrantica which you can find on this link. [You're welcome to comment either  here or there on it.]

Tralala will launch exclusively at Harvey Nichols on April 21 and at Penhaligon's boutiques and at www.penhaligons.com on May 5, priced at £150.

Parfumerie Generale Isparta 26: new fragrance

“Rose is sent to earth by the gardeners of paradise for empowering the mind and the eye of the spirit.”
~Rumi

Such must have been the thoughts of perfumer Pierre Guillaume who chose the summery rose of Isparta, in the Anatolian plateau, in Turkey, to infuse his latest fragrance offering, offered in the midst of this harsh winter. Poised between chypre and oriental, the new opus is tagged Isparta 26 and incorporates mysterious resins and an animalic base over the sweet lightly spicy floralcy of the prized Isparta rose.

Fragrance notes for Parfumerie Generale Isparta 26 : Red Berries , Rose of Summer Isparta , Balsam of Peru , Calamus , Patchouli, Frankincense, Benzoin, Agar wood , Ambroxan , Moss

Aqua Allegoria Limon Verde: When Guerlain Looked Towards Brazil (new fragrance)

The fact that Brazil is an emerging market for perfume companies is no big news to readers of this blog.  We have noted the phenomenon for some time, with niche perfumeries taking an interest in the country of Pele, favelas and endless beaches (see Batucada by L'Artisan Parfumeur for instance) as well as more mainstream luxury houses, such as Dior with their Escale sub-line. Now another European house of pedigree, the French Guerlain, joins them with a new fragrance in their light-hearted declination, the Guerlain Aqua Allegoria line.

Limon Verde ( limón verde refers to lime and literally translates as "green lemon") is inspired by the refreshing note prominent in the national "drink" of Brazil, the Caipirinha, which routinely includes lime alongside sugar cane liquor and sugar. House perfumer Thierry Wasser married this Caipirinha accord with lime to a tropical green accord, fig and tonka bean for some tenacity in the new Guerlain eau de toilette.

Brazilians are not very far removed from the Mediterranean concept of a refreshing splash as a much needed pick-me-up in the hot throe of a summer spent under an unrelenting sun, where fragrance isn't seen a weapon of seduction as it is seen as a necessary sensual pleasure out of life that pertains to all sexes and all ages. In that spirit Guerlain can't do wrong.

It remains to be seen whether the local market will view it as homage to their "emblematic" lime cocktail note or they will use it as an effortless casual splash to be enjoyed all summer long. If you want to get a taste of what "clicks" for that particular market (which please note places a very high tax on all "western" luxury products and has very little "niche" infiltration so far, you can see the Best Seller perfumes list for Brazil for 2011-2012. )
Usually perfumes "inspired" by specific cultures necessarily bypass some elements to appeal to a wider audience, which is got to be true in the case of Limon Verde as well, seeing as it will come to North American and European markets.

Limon Verde by Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria line is launching internationally in spring 2014.