Perfume Shrine

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The winner of the draw...

...for the Tauer sampler is Mridula. Congratulations! Please email me using the Contact with your shipping data so I can forward them to the perfumer who will have your prize in the mail for you soon.

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

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Tauer Advent Calendar Giveaway: Pick Fragrances of Your Choice

It is time for the annual Tauer ADVENT CALENDAR again and you're looking forward to 24 days (December 1-24) of give-aways and draws. Today is our turn at Perfume Shrine to make someone very happy! So without further ado, here's what you have to do.

The Tauer Draw for Perfume Shrine:
The draw is worldwide. The winner from the draw can pick a generous perfume sample pack of ANY 5 fragrances from the TAUER PERFUMES range or Tableau de Parfums! [Just pick what you'd like to test out.]

~~All you have to do is post a comment sharing a favorite memory of Christmas past, be it scented or otherwise.~~ Draw is now closed, thank you!
I will read them all and pick a random winner whom I will announce tomorrow. Tauer will then contact the winner and send them their prize in the mail.

Tauer ensures that through their privacy policy they ship to the address given and do not contact the addressee afterwards nor use the contact information for any other purpose than sending the prize, nor forward the address to anybody else.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin: new fragrance

“A flower grown under the ruins, cut off from the world, it appears before your eyes; to all of us to open our eyes. I took courage in both hands, in her flowing Rheingold hair. On the lips, I tasted blood. My girl from Berlin showed combative, more beautiful than ever – and so I broke my contempt and even my shame, hiding under the guise of my pride. Through the power of criticism, of love and hate, God and the devil, death and life, I drew a furrow in which she disappeared. And while the maelstrom beats on me, I pay homage to her beauty enraged”.
~Serge Lutens

Cryptic, no? Typical. The Girl from Berlin (this is what La Fille de Berlin translates to) recalls a Siegfried Idyll in some ways, but it is apparently the next Serge Lutens export fragrance to hit stores in March 2013. The renowned aesthete not only just launched in Berlin's Hotel Adlon his third book "Berlin à Paris", a collection of photographs from the years 1967 to 2008, but he also introduces his upcoming fragrance "La fille de Berlin"; an elegant velvety, dark red rose with peppered romantic nuances, dedicated to the real-life drama that helps self-expression flourish.

The genre of spicy rose is rather overpopulated (see Cinabre by Maria Candida Gentile for a fabulous specimen, as well as Parfum Sacre by Caron) and Serge is no stranger to spices, from smoky clove in Serge Noire, to dirty cumin in Arabie and El Attarine, to tart ginger in Five o'clock au Gingembre.
The ruby-red color of the juice inside surely speaks of drama and has caught my attention, at the very least.

La fille de Berlin by Serge Lutens is an Eau de Parfum concentration available in 50 ml for 78 € from March 2013
Serge Lutens's book: Berlin á Paris • 176 pages • 4-color • Electa Milano 2012 (Source: Serge Lutens, pic duftarchiv.de)

Cartier L'Heure Vertueuse: new fragrance

Mathilde Laurent, head perfumer at Cartier since 2006, introduces L'Heure Vertueuse (the virtuous hour), another installment in Les Heures de Parfum collection for connoisseurs issued by the acclaimed jewelry house in tall architectural bottles with latin numbers designed like a somber clock. For this one, representing three o'clock in the morning, "it is time to walk in a magical garden, to breathe the enchanting fragrances of miraculous plants. A unique moment, an aromatic caress of fresh, gentle green notes."

Mathilde further specifies that the new Heure III, L'Heure Verteuse evokes ‘toutes les herbes, aromatiques, sauvages, médicinales, même la lavande, même l’absinthe’ (every herb, aromatic, wild or medicinal, lavender as much as absinth) like a Middle Age herbarium. This green and aromatic fragrance recalls compositions of old which became a symbol of a simple and natural life, like for instance Le Jardin de Mon Curé by Guerlain -or rather her own creation for Guerlain inspired by the garden of her beloved grand-father who died at 101, Herba Fresca.

And yet, Laurent's aim is to present contemporary fragrances, as she reveals her goal: "Comprendre [son] époque, pour proposer des effluves modernes et beaux qui apportent du plaisir." (Understand one's era, so as to present modern and beautiful scents that bring pleasure). In fact L'Heure Vertueuse III draws its inspiration from Corsica and maquis.

L'Heure Vertueuse III by Cartier contains notes of absinth, rosemary, mastic (lentisque), thyme, verbena and lavender to soothe body and spirit. Available as eau de toilette, 75ml exclusively at Cartier boutiques.
Official Cartier site here.

[quotes source]

Friday, December 7, 2012

Fake vs.Real: Visual Perfume Tutorials for Safe Purchases

Anyone who has ever bought perfumes via Ebay (or on the street as opposed to from a certified store) knows how disappointing is the experience of getting a dud, a counterfeit perfume that looks like the real thing for the most part, but doesn't really deliver like the real thing. I have already devised a very popular how-to guide on purchasing fragrance safely online, but usually the visual evidence is ever so much helpful. It has since come to my attention that several guys have actually created and uploaded Youtube tutorials on how to spot the fake cologne with side-by-side comparisons between the real and the fake. They often note how the seller of the counterfeits isn't some mass-store in China or Hong Kong and how the feeback might be rather alarmingly high sometimes! (Estimates speak of 1 in 10 perfumes sold being fake!)
For reference purposes and to put these helpful guides under one roof, so to speak, I am including the links to the videos here.