Essential Essences

Precious woods, revisited, and white soliflore scents are setting the rhythm for fall-winter 2011-2012. Though let’s not forget the of gourmand scents’ stunnning comeback.

Sinfully Sweet

After the dry, “unsweetened” vanilla trend we’d been seeing lately, perfumes are asserting their gourmand character once again. Fans of caramel will want to try Prada Candy. While the note can seem surprising coming from a house like Prada, a touch of powdery musks grants the fragrance a chic couture temperament. Lancôme’s Trésor Midnight Rose is another seriously gourmand scent, sweetened with an overdose of berries and vanilla. Similar concept for Guess Seductive I’m Yours, although with a woodsier trail.

In fact, woodsy-gourmands are back in the spotlight. For men, Kokorico reveals a dry, woody scent warmed up with chocolaty notes. Diesel’s Loverdose also blends sweet and woody notes, in a fragrance with licorice accents. Licorice and woods are also on the menu for Azzaro’s Decibel, a men’s scent being described as an “electric oriental.” Thierry Mugler’s Angel, the classic woodsy-gourmand scent, is making a comeback in 2011 with a new eau de toilette version in a comet-tail bottle. And in the USA only, Mariah Carey unveils 3 new gourmand scents inspired by lollipops.

White Soliflores

Acqua di Parma pays tribute to jasmine this year, with Gelsomino Nobile (‘noble jasmine’). Some other new scents focusing on jasmine include: Bulgari’s Mon Jasmin Noir, Guerlain’s Jasminora and Tom Ford’s Jasmin Rouge.
But other white flowers can inspire soliflores too … like orange blossom, which crops up in Lancôme’s refreshing O de l’Orangerie and in Elie Saab’s sunnier Le Parfum. Lily is also being featured as a soliflore: in Cartier’s Baiser Volé, for instance. White Gardenia Petals, from niche brand Illuminum, is composed around a delicate gardenia. The perfume got some serious hype when Kate Middleton chose to wear it on the day of her wedding to Prince William.

Precious Woods

Classic essences like sandalwood and cedar, which perfumers’ often describe as ‘precious woods,’ are also making a comeback this year. Sandalwood gets pride of place in Tom Ford’s Santal Blush, with spicy facets. New York-based brand Le Labo’s Santal 33 focuses on sandalwood as well, although it ignores the wood’s typically milky notes in favor of more unusual violet and leathery nuances. Earlier this year, rare fragrance house Parfumerie Générale dreamt up Praliné de Santal, a sandalwood composition trimmed with hazelnut.

Swiss jeweler Chopard puts the spotlight on cedar, wrapping it in balsamic and leathery notes for Noble Cedar. With more of a cologne feel, Byredo’s unisex scent Mister Marvelous evolves towards a cedar-inflected woody trail. Diesel’s Loverdose, Lancôme’s Trésor in Love, Armani’s Acqua di Gioia Essenza… cedar is hot in women’s scents, too. And finally, cedar also crops up in couturier Elie Saab’s first fragrance, as a wink and a nod to the tree that is the emblem of his native land, Lebanon.