FRAGRANCE COLLECTION 07/08

Iris, a many-splendored star

Iris is incontestably THE flower this fall. It’s making a splash in women’s scents, after having first made a stunning entrance in a masculine register. After the gourmand Iris Ganache from Guerlain this summer, here are 4 creations for Fall 2007, including the third fragrance in L’Artisan Parfumeur’s vintage collection.

Leather and Fur

There’s something animalesque in the air for fall 2007. Lutens has designed a voluptuous scent christened Louve (“She-Wolf”); Frederic Malle has come up with a men’s scent with an animal-vegetable feel, and Parfum d’Empire proposes a ‘Bengali tiger hunt’ fragrance. A companion trend is leather scents. Supple, barely tanned leathers, like Kelly Calèche, or more voluptuous ones, like Cuir by Lancôme.

Gourmand grows up

Recently, there have been several launches featuring more measured gourmand notes, paired with chypre, floral or woodsy accords. And men haven’t been forgotten! Take Elegance by Lacoste, for instance, which is aimed at a more mature man, and which pairs raspberry and chocolate notes to a light-as-air fern structure. The same idea shows up in Liberté by Cacharel, described as an orange chypre, and Amarige Mariage, which pairs a bouquet of white flowers with sweet notes of vanilla and cinnamon. Gourmand can even go savory, like in Hugo XX, with its basmati rice note.

When roses are black

Rose is back in the spotlight for several designers, including Roger & Gallet (whose ‘ROSE Eau douce parfumée’ is composed around a Nepalese rose), and Paul Smith, with his ROSE eau de parfum. But this year’s trendiest rose accord is more unusual, thanks to its black hue. Black-rose accords can be found in Black XS for her and Noir de Noir by Tom Ford. And a black rose can be seen at Dior, in the visual for their new perfume Midnight Poison.

A slew of the new - Trendspotting - Essential essences