Dior's La Collection Privée (formerly La Collection Couturier Parfumeur) is supplemented for 2014 with a new addition called Cuir Cannage. The "leather fragrance" in question is inspired by the scent of the insides of a leather handbag and reflects that beautiful combination of flowers and leather "notes" which is the mettle of many gorgeous classics in perfumery.
The name is inspired by the beautiful "woven" treatment of the Dior "cannage" handbags, which reprise a popular technique of weaving calamus and daemonorops for furniture use and basketry (producing a beautiful effect that reminds of lacework). By reference the name then predisposes for a dry, rasping fragrance.
The new Dior exclusive perfume, Dior Cuir Cannage, will be available in the usual 125ml and 250ml sizes of La Collection Privée as well as the giga 450ml size at the specialized Dior boutiques catering to the exclusive collection buyers. Available in June 2014.
One could be excused for getting all dreamy eyed and nostalgic à la Nuovo Cinema Paradiso upon watching the latest commercial by Dolce & Gabbana for their feminine fragrance launch, Dolce eau de parfum. They could be excused for erupting in twirly pirouettes filled with longing at the sight of the super pretty bottle, its flower cap, its grosgrain bow, its retro typeface. But what one can't possibly excuse is getting worked up over the fragrance of Dolce by Dolce & Gabbana itself, because, frankly, it's so programmatically "not"-so-many-things that it gets very hard to describe it.
It's not really floral, despite the ad copy and the images of orange groves in full bloom. Not indolic-smelling, which comes hand in hand with white flower fragrances. Not woody either. Nor citrusy. Not particularly feminine if your notion of femininity is not terribly challenged by a particular philosophic system of which I am not accountable for. Not anything special in the fresh fragrance slot. Not distinctive, not unique by any stretch of the imagination. Not offensive either, but that's damning it with faint praise.
"Neroli leaves" (come again?), papaya flower, white amaryllis, narcissus, white water lily, sandalwood. Where are all these things?
A clean, lightly aqueous neroli scent with a faint musky underpinning that won't get you noticed even if your life depended on it, Dolce eau de parfum projects "meh-shampoo" in a me-too-pool of similar scents for women afraid to use fragrance with any conviction. It could just be the perfect culmination of a product that looks like a perfume but doesn't perform like one for our crazy times. Even if destined to the very young or the very inexperienced, there is nothing in Dolce eau de parfum of the flush of daring and defiance that a truant teenager might indulge into, swiftly exchanging her smart pants and sweater for a cut off blouse and heels in secret at the ante-room of her house to go out with the hip crowd of her school. It's also so faint for an eau de parfum to make one seriously doubt their nose. If this gets released in eau de toilette there will be someone doing a cartoonish, evil laugh all the way to the bank, because they might as well be selling plain water for all the dilution.
So why am I even bothering to review it, you ask?
Simple. It's the first original release by the Italian brand that is not a flanker or re-issue in what feels like eons. I'm susceptible. I love Italian style.
Additionally, I can be excused for feeling a pang of what Swedes call 'smultronställe' , literally a wild strawberry patch, but figuratively a sentimentally laden spot returned to for solace, an escape from sadness. Sicily is Dolce & Gabbana's spot. My own smultronställe has been orange groves in full bloom from my childhood like the ones shown in the romantic commercial for Dolce eau de parfum. I might be excused for seeking them into a bottle of fragrance advertised with exactly those images in neorealist style and nostalgic color saturation…
A really wasted chance, if you ask me. Bring back Sicily.
It is my great honor to have Tijon Fragrance Lab and Boutique as a partner on this adventure for the past few months. Jovan van Drielle, the gracious owner, appreciates our readers so much that she wanted to feature a HUGE giveaway for the Perfume Shrine audience in which one USA winner will get to win a prize worth 1,000$ (yes, you heard that right). We also appreciate moms a LOT so we combined forces to make this a very special celebration for Mother's Day celebrated on May 11th in the USA and many countries around the world.
So you ask: what do you have to do to enter?
She also kindly provided the directions and specifications you have to follow. Find the Tijon Facebook page by clicking on the top banner on the Perfume Shrine Home Page or on this link.
"'Niche' in the luxury marketing category has grown because consumers are looking for a more "experiential" approach to perfumery and luxury. There has been such a proliferation of "commoditization" in the luxury area, due, in part, to the overwhelming number of celebrity fragrance launches. If consumers are going to spend a lot of money on a "luxury" item, they don't want what everyone else wants. Also, "bespoke" items are more affordable than ever before. No one has to wait for six months to a year for a bespoke item, because technology and high end items are more available than before! So individuals who have a genuine passion for art and luxury, can have it and they are willing to pay for it. As a result "niche" is the new direction!
Back in the 1980s it was all about designer perfumes because they represented care, quality, status. The old perfumes had a slow build, they were marketed extremely carefully, generating awareness in a brand and therefore saw a return of their investment in the macroeconomic sense. However it all changed with the introduction of celebrity scents and the numerous flankers which flooded the market. Fragrance thus lost a lot of its mysterious cachet. […]
America is all about the new and although there are some brands which have adopted a new name and added a new coat of paint to appeal to a new demographic, a desire for authenticity is always there in the market. The pie isn't getting any bigger, there are just more slices in the pie now!
When I started 5 ½ years ago, the idea of "bespoke perfumery" was considered most unusual and strange. But we have seen a huge growth and more people are seeking this out and we are filling the void."
Thus Sue Phillips explains the shift of the perfume world into "niche" and the rising trend for customized fragrances in a very thorough interview she granted me going over the subjects of the changes in the industry, the new ingredients restrictions, what a customized fragrance experience entails and how functional perfumery differs or influences our expectations out of scent. You can read the rest of the interview following this link to Fragrantica.
No house in the realm of fine fragrance is more revered with the appreciation of history than the house of Guerlain, the one "sans prenom" (since there's also Marcel Guerlain, a different outfit). The re-issue of the heritage perfumes, collected as "collection patrimoine" at the flagship store in Paris at Champs Elysees was a move into museum worthy greatness. We have described & reviewed the re-issued historical Guerlain perfumes on these pages before thanks to the help of the house's artistic director, Sylvaine Delacourte, and it is my great joy to inform you that the prestige collection which includes Vega and Sous le Vent will be itself augmented by the erstwhile addition of another long discontinued gem…
This time the perfume in question also happens to be encased in a precious, collectible vessel as well. Coque d'Or from 1937 (in the blue bottle in the shape of a bow, like Dawamesk, but with gold overlay which always reminded me personally of scarab jewels from Egypt, designed by George Chevalier and raymond Guerlain) is a legend. Composed by Jacques Guerlain of the mature period, it encompasses what is quintessential Guerlain in spirit: the warm amber chord with labdanum and vanilla plus the inky note of oakmoss, overlaid with powdery floral notes that are precious to the makers.
The re-enacted formula undertaken with the care of head perfumer Thierry Wasser is a bet that challenges the contemporary style of the industry (though it will have to conform to contemporary regulations I hear). Its discovery will take place next autumn, before the holidays. Coque d'or will be a wonderful pilgrimage to the shrine that is Champs Elysees and a covetable item for those who can afford it. May we wish for time to fly!
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