Monday, June 1, 2009

Patricia de Nicolai sur mesure and Jean Claude Ellena new book: news

The much anticipated book by master perfumer Jean Claude Ellena "Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent" (comprising 168 pages in English)
will be officially released on 4 June 2009. You can pre-order yours for just £10.49 (25% off the RRP) on Amazon UK by following this link.
(ISBN-10: 1559709111
ISBN-13: 978-1559709118)
*And please disregard the glitch that has messed with the book's description and editorial credits on the site.

Patricia de Nicolai on the other hand had a brilliant idea: offer a custom perfume that would be composed with her direction by the individual him/herself! The service is called Ateliers Haute Parfumerie and is aimed at people who will be in Paris, also profiting by a nice shot of Nespresso (can't recommend it highly enough!) and Ladurée macaroons at Les jardins du Palais-Royal (yup, right where Lutens's seraglio is around the corner!). Individuals will be able to dabble with rare and precious ingredients and create 250ml of their own custom-made fragrance to which they will have access at any time, as the formula is kept and production can be undertaken within 15 days should they want to. The course is addressed to both novices and people who have followed a previous atelier, so there is something for everyone, and the groups will contain between 2 and 50 people according to the specifications discussed.
Info: Nicolaï Créateur de Parfums - 28, rue de Richelieu 75001 Paris - Tél.: +33 01 44 55 02 02 / Fax: +33 01 44 55 08 69

11 comments:

  1. ooh! that Ateliers Haute Parfumerie sounds really cool! I will definitely try it out when I am in Paris in 2010/2011

    i also can't wait for Jean-Claude Ellena's book to hit Aussie bookstores!! sometimes postage costs make it cheaper to buy instore. thanks for the updates! :)

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  2. Hi E,

    the course does sound great- do you know how much it's going to be?

    I am literally salivating about the Ellena book- roll on Thursday!! and please post office don't hold this captive like you did with Perfumes the guide (oh the challenges of a small letter box and a hard back book)

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  3. Ah, E! The de Nicolai offering sounds so tempting...I'll be in France soon...and this is a house that so often works well for me...I am eager to find the cost and details-thanks!

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  4. Clearly, Amazon has rushed this online: it's full of hilariously inappropriate fake text!
    The book is actually the translation of JCE's Le Parfum in the Que Sais-je? collection and it's very worthwhile reading.

    As for the Parfums de Nicolaï ateliers, Patricia de Nicolaï is NOT to be the master perfumer present.
    The workshops will be around a specific theme, not a free-form exercise. PdN bases are already supplied. The first were Eau de Cologne and rose.
    They cost 180 euros. Private sessions for groups are also available on reservation. I've advised the PdN people to get in touch with Sniffapalooza, it's right up their alley!

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  5. A,

    I hope they still do them at that time frame!

    I think you will find JCE's book very interesting, he goes into great detail.

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  6. K,

    that will depend on the members applying, although I haven't heard of them being upwards of 200 euros, at least last time I checked.
    Hope you get your book soon!

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  7. L,

    thanks for stopping by, hope you're well. I believe you can see how many applicants are eligible and more details by phoning or emailing them through the website.

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  8. D,

    thanks! I am sure Amazon didn't want to have that glitch in place, although seeing as I was notified during the weekend and the mistakes still being there now they might not have occupied themselves too much with it.

    As to its being a translation, that's what we had already discussed at Basenotes and NST, some time ago when the news first broke: it was a demand on the part of the public and Jean Claude decided to embark on it. (very good for the English speaking world, I guess)

    I would think that the price would depend on actual participants, although good to know they're taking this into a scheduled route. (always helpful to novices and people who are not perfumers)As to who the head perfumer will be, that detail is not mentioned explicitly on the site so I trust Patricia will have sanctioned the choice of course. Which is good!

    Missed your commentary. :-)

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  9. H., nice to be back (blame the French public holidays...)

    I've been speaking with the young man responsible for promoting the course and the 180 euro price comes from him: it includes the 250 ml of fragrance. This is for the scheduled workshops. Prices for groups are available on demand.

    I forgot to ask about who was supervising the workshops when I went to the PdN Left Bank boutique on Saturday (blush) but of course, they are very qualified perfumers.

    BTW, for anyone who's travelling to Paris: I warmly recommend going to the rue de Grenelle shop from Wed. to Saturday: the manager is "one of us".

    And for the Parfums de Nicolaï fans who haven't read my latest post: Odalisque will certainly be de-oakmossed as soon as the current batch is finished. Stock up!

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  10. Hope to see you more then!

    I think it's more profitable for them if there's a fixed price, but groups pricing is of course more conductive to people actually participating (and isn't it more fun?)

    Will pop over, but the mere thought of having to be stingy with favourites makes me sad :-(

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  11. Thank you.
    It´s a good idea to start reading "Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent" book. I just bought it at Amazon.

    Kind regards.

    ReplyDelete

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