Scented Best of the Best for 2009

The end of the year (and of the decade no less!) usually instills a sense of recapitulation in all of us and why should perfume bloggers be any different? So, in a joint project of numerous bloggers (linked at the bottom), please read what we thought was la crème de la crème of l'art de la parfumerie (the art of perfumery) but also more importantly l'art de vivre (the art of living)!
[Click the highlighted links below for full reviews and articles].

*Best Perfumery Trends in 2009:
The ambergris note treated like skin-chiffon (Prada L'Eau Ambrée)
Greenery via Impressionistic watercolours (A Scent by Issey Miyake, Lauder Jasmine White Moss, Ormonde Jayne Tiare, and Cristalle Eau Verte for Chanel ~although the latter not exactly to my taste)
Ambrette seeds as the new "dry" martini cologne touch (Eau de Gentiane Blanche for Hermès)
Scent performances & exhibitions: Christoph Laudamiel created the fist scent opera. A brave new world indeed!
And may I say "enough with the mythos of oud"? Read the truth about this 2009-defining material (oud/oudh/agarwood) on our article.

*Best in Niche:
A very good year! Lots of worthy contestants for all tastes:
Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles : For sunny pine lovers.
Ormonde Jayne Tiare: The perfect crisp green floral chypre!
Andy Tauer Une Rose Chyprée: A decadent rich rose with mossy accents.
Ineke Field Notes from Paris : The gourmand touch in tobacco and orange blossom.
Amouage Epic Woman: Probably the best oudh and rose combo on the market right now.
Hermessences Vanille Galante: If you even remotely consider vanilla, well, "vanilla" (ie. non adventurous, safe, juvenile), give this a try!
Anya's Garden Starflower: A gourmand with guts! Unusual combination, great lasting power for an all-naturals.

*Best Mainstream:
A category which wasn't really stellar this year. Still a few examples I tried fulfilled my criteria, alongside a couple mentioned on the New Perfumery Trends abovie (the Prada, the Miyake, the Lauder...). To try out:
Hermès Eau de Gentiane Blanche
Narciso Rodriguez Essence

*Best Vintage Finds this year & History Write-Ups I enjoyed writing:
Chanel the elusive No.46
Medieval and Rennaisance Perfume Use and Perfumery
Nina Ricci Coeur Joie
Lancôme Kypre
Guerlain Loin de Tout: Guerlain re-copyrighted the defunct name right after our review. Here's hoping!
Germaine Cellier: La Fuite des Heures alongside Elysee 63.84 (review following!) were the crowning of my exploration in this perfumer's opus.

*Best Packaging/Advertising:
Natori by Josie Natori: Simply gorgeous bottle!
Chanel No.5 commercial with Audrey Tautou: The images in No.5's history are blinking and we get an eyefull of romanticism through Jeunet's glance.
La Prairie Life Threads: If only the (middle of the road) scents reflected the sheer beauty of the bottles!

*Best in Home-Scenting:
The new Frederic Malle home-scent line with as much attention given to the composition as in fine fragrances (creators Dominique Ropion, Carlos Benaïm and Sophia Grosjman were enlisted) and innovative media (fleurs mecaniques and scent-emitting incense pads) are the way forward.

*Notable Perfumers for their Excellence in 2009:
~Isabelle Doyenne: Her A.Goutal work ~and the difficult reformulations ahead~, her Les Nez contributions, her wonderful mien; she's a force to be reckoned with! Interview here.
~Sandrine Videault: Her foray into Les Nez with the anthropological and also anthropophagous White Floral Scentoon from the Blue Lagoon (Manoumalia, of course) was launched on the cusp of 2009, but it's included because of its sheer brilliance. Interview here.
~Andy Tauer: Is there a more generous perfumer or one who is more in tune with internet marketing? Not just generous, a genius too!
~Mathilde Laurent's long-awaited resurfacing at Cartier: We thought she had vanished. The lady is back!
~Jean Claude Ellena: In my personal pantheon he is the master of delicate artistry and philosophical exploration. His original work at Hermes this year proves he will go down in history alongside the greats.

*Best Brand Revival:
Grossmith: Three scents that smell natural, rich and positively caught in a time-wrap! Fit for historians comme moi and vintage-lovers alike. Looking forward to what else they will come up with in the future.

*Best Hype:
La Maison Francis Kurkdjian: He's quite talented, all right, but did anyone else get the feeling journalists were lusting over his fine figure too in devoting so much coverage to his new venture (breakthrough though it might be)? Impressive powers of suggestion at the very least.
Runner-up? Discussions on "the art of perfumery" are emerging as The New Black. Time to place the issue on a new level, folks! We're not through yet, but here's a bit to get you started.

*Best scent-related Realisation:
Celebrity scents are not going away. I have finally given up on expecting them to and just let them slide off my back with the occassional sniffing when caught with nothing better to do.

*Best Admission from within the industry:
Serge Lutens solving once and for all the (fake) dilemma of vintage-is-always-better: Admitting ALL scents (you heard this right!) are routinely ~and have always been~ reformulated every couple of years to conform to the regulations imposed by IFRA and legislation. Now you know!

*And an honorary Worst Piece of News:
The discontinuation of Guerlain's Attrape Coeur which we brought to you through these pages. It merits its place in the Best of 2009 though, because the mere asking for confirmation made artistic director Sylvaine Delacourte request an immediate board meeting at Guerlain! We feel vindicated: the perfume community (us) is being heard!

*Best Perfume Term Coined this year:
"Bootichouli" by indie perfumer Armando Martinez for the (dream-like; nay, Utopian) upcoming emergence of animalic chypres featuring civet and patchouli instead of the current "sanitized" ones. (Read all about it here). Could Sarah Jessica Parker with her upcoming "body odour" scent be on the cusp of something? See Best Realisation above.

*Best Inexpensive Finds (beauty & scent-related):
Diptyque Opopanax room spray: It's super economical (ml per ml), lasts well, can be sprayed on air, skin or fabric, has the best aspects of vintage Shalimar. What's not to like? Just grab it!
Nivea Teint Delight gel foundation: I believe this hasn't hit the US (yet). It's simply a pleasure to use for normal skins with no major concerns, very sheer like tinted moisturiser and feels like nothing on as it's water-based. Plus available in 6 shades. Not that my Chanel Vitalumiere is feeling jealous yet, but it's got its place in my stash, probably for summer. And it has a "fresh" smell too (might be a con for some, though).
Crazy Libellule & the Poppies Musk & Patchouli stick solid perfume. A simple "sent bon" (smells good) which is subtle, sensuous and nuzzingly warm. Does anyone know of a liquid alcohol-based equivalent? I'm smitten!

*Best Light Reading:
What French Women Know by Debra Ollivier. The eternal divide between American and French ideals, seen through the (witty & perceptive) gaze of a US-expatriate married to a Frenchman. Guilty pleasure.

*Best Gift I Got:
A Kindle. I rest my case...

What were YOUR favourite finds this year?

More participating blogs on these links, please don't forget to visit:
Mossy Loomings,1000fragrances, Smelly Blog, Bittergrace Notes, Shoes-cake-perfume,
Eiderdown Press Journal, Scent Hive, Olfactarama, Roxana's Illuminated Journal,
A Rose Beyond the Thames, The Non Blonde, Notes from the Ledge, I smell therefore I am,
Under the Cupola, All I am a Redhead, Perfume In Progress, Savvy Thinker

Pics via marieclaire, meblogging.com, profumiaromi.blogspot.com, laurenmechling.com

Celebrities Stinking up a Storm No End?

The celebrity scent phenomenon seems to be the defining moment of pop culture of the 00s alongside the free (pirate) download of clips of intimate and not-so-intimate moments of the stars. Just when we thought the trend was ebbing, here is proof that everyone, simply everyone who has their name known by more people than their spouses, their mother and their pets (no offence to them), is having their own 15 minutes of consumer-sneeze-inducing, thanks to Coty, Parlux and other plutocratic powers that be (enter sarcasm). And who could beat the morbid idea of aping dead celebrities via their (ficticious) scent? You see my point...

Eva Longoria Parker of Desperate Housewives' fame is the latest with her Eva by Eva Longoria. According to Women's Wear Daily, the Latina beauty Eva has “always been somewhat allergic to all perfumes” and therefore the actress and L’Oreal spokesmodel is creating her own scent. How original...And please note the "somewhat allergic" line which really elevates vagueness (and inaccuracy) to a whole new dimension! Interestingly, my own sources wanted her to be a white-flowers girl, opting for Kai and Fleurs d'Oranger, a choice that could have suited her wedding admirably too, as hypothesized on these pages in the past.
“I really wanted to create something that every woman could wear,”Eva said. “So I decided to create my own fragrance that is light, fresh and unique.” "The perfume features citrus, violet, freesia and sandalwood notes and is housed in a curvy bottle meant to mimic the contours of a woman’s bottle". [source] Additional notes according to the Frisky include begamot tea and jasmine. Fresh allright, as to unique, well...
The bottle was designed by Wilhelm Liden de Paul Meyers & Friends and was produced by Bormioli Luigi. Eva by Eva Longoria is set to launch in the United States next spring and has been developed by the Falic Fashion Group, while the fragrance was composed by Takasago. I find the wordplay at the very least intriguing and hope the humour is not lost on the advertisers. On second thought, at the 45$ to 58$ price range it seems fit to cater to the audience that helped make Desperate Housewives, a series that had spawned its very own collective celebrity scent named Forbidden Fruit created by Coty, a household name. Not exactly a cutting-edge audience appreciative of sarcasm, perhaps? At any rate, Eva is probably exploiting all possibilities of her famous face and who can blame her? Certainly not us.

But Women's Wear Daily also has news on another celebrity scent: Race-car driver Danica Patrick will launch a new fragrance in March called Danica Patrick for Her. The scent will retail for $29.50 to $54.50 and will be promoted at NASCAR and the Indy Racing League. No word yet on what it will smell like according to the nymag.com, although the commentator is confident it will be better than the upcoming scent of Sarah Jessica Parker based on popularizing body odour, on which we had reported recently.

Last but not least, Beyoncé,Knowles, the very definition of a "bootychouli"-contestant fragrance spokesperson, is launching Beyoncé Heat. The R&B superstar, who has fronted promotional campaigns for fragrances by Tommy Hilfiger and Armani in the past, landed a multi-million dollar deal with fragrance house Coty in September and now she's ready to launch her debut scent". The fragrance was developed at Givaudan by perfumers Claude Dir and Olivier Gillotin. Top notes of Heat include red vanilla-orchid, magnolia, neroli and peach. Heart notes contain honeysuckle, almond and musky cream, while the base smooths out with sequoia wood, tonka and amber. Something tells me it will be more alongside the "fresh yet sensual" concept than the fiery, spicy one, but anyway; it doesn't sound bad at all.
Coty announced the collaboration with much fanfare: "The new collaboration between Coty and Beyonce will capitalize on her unique mega-watt aura and talent to create her very own first signature fragrance" Furthermore the diva herself says: "I'm so happy with it. I've been working on it for a while now. Everything, from the bottle design to the name and the ideas for the commercials, that's me. When I commit to something, I do it 100 per cent, and I've never had (creative control over a fragrance) until this project. I was on tour for a year, and I have meet-and-greets with fans. I've never in my life gotten so many compliments. Coty has their own testing, but that was my testing! The fans loved it. They were like, 'I love that, I'm getting that, why isn't it out right now? I need it!'" The name and colour palette was chosen for a reason: "A lot of my performances have had fire involved, so we thought 'Heat'. Also, red is one of my favorite colors, as is gold. So then we thought of making the bottle look like its on fire." Beyoncé Heat is set to launch in the United States in February, 2010. [source]
The commercial is exploiting all the bootiliciousness of the star while the "Catch the fever" catchphrase nicely recalls the immortal Fever tune by Peggy Lee. Cool :-)



Related reading on Perfume Shrine: The history of the celebrity scent, Scents of dead celebrities

The winner for the draw...

....of the Andy Tauer full bottle Advent Giveaway in a wonderful Thuja wooden box is none other than Fabrice. Congrats!! Please email me using the contact in the Profile page with your shipping address, so I can forward it to Andy to have your prize in the mail for you!

Thank you for your enthusiastic participation everyone and till the next one. And stay tuned for a scent-related post shortly!

Merry Christmas to You!

I am on a short trip but will be returning soon. I am leaving you with Gaudete , an early Latin Christmas madrigal, here performed by the Oxford Camerata.

Andy Tauer Advent Giveaway: Enter to Win a Full Bottle

Niche perfumer Andy Tauer of Swiss brand Tauer Perfumes has been hosting an Advent Giveaway since December 1st, all the way through December 24. It is my utter pleasure today to announce a giveaway for a brand new bottle of your own in any of the scents in the Tauer line as well as a sample of the experimental Eau d'Epices, "fresh from the lab"!
To participate, check today's date on the Advent calendar and Andy's little quiz and leave a comment here on Perfume Shrine to enter the drawing I am hosting, thanks to the generosity of Andy Tauer.
Winner will be announced next week and deadline is December 25th 7AM. Best of luck!!