Cartier news: Baiser Vole new extrait de parfum & Le Baiser du Dragon discontinued

The quite lovely Baiser Volé by Cartier is now coming in an extrait de parfum concentration for the ultimate experience of immersing your head in a fresh,green lily bouquet.

Among the prettiest (if not most exciting) releases of 2011, Baiser Volé is now more concentrated in order to cater for indulging our posh genome. The new bottle is shaped like a metal lighter, continuing the tradition of Cartier which began with Must de Cartier (1981).

You can read a review of Baiser Volé on this link and information on lily fragrances on this one.You can find a guide into perfume concentrations on this link.

On the other hand, Le Baiser du Dragon, a sumptuous and hold-no-prisoners oriental from 2003 with bitter almond/amaretto notes and jasmine-gardenia in the heart, is getting discontinued. The reason offered is a desire to focus on the more upscale Les Heures de Parfum line in the Cartier portfolio, developed by in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent.Odd decision, given that the gorgeous name (which translates as Kiss of the Dragon) is used in an orientalised motif inspired jewelry line of the historical house.

It's hard to think the recalibrated focus is the only reason, as Délices de Cartier, So Pretty and several flankers on L'Eau de Cartier still are included in the Cartier portfolio, as strongly as ever. We can hypothesize that slower sales than anticipated thanks to the changing zeitgeist have something to do with it (Le Baiser du Dragon shares the fate of similarly smelling Kenzo's Jungle L'Elephant, if so) or possibly restrictions on some or other ingredient making it impossible to recompose satisfactorily (doubtful). Or perhaps a desire to break loose with the old and establish a new identity with nose Laurent on the helm (naturally Déclaration by Jean Claude Ellena is safe, as it's the biggest Cartier seller by several miles).