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L’Occitane highlights cherry blossom and lavender

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:58:45 +0000

For spring, L’Occitane continues their homage to the Provence region with a fragrance centered on cherry blossoms. As well as presenting a modern lavender eau.

‘On a hilltop, a cherry tree pays tribute to a beautiful princess,’ is the story L’Occitane has to tell. Cerisier Princesse (“Princess Cherry Tree”) is a lightly powdery and musky fruity-floral gourmand scent. It reveals a cherry note combined with berries and softened with light whiffs of floral notes.

Among L’Occitane’s other new products this season, we love L’Eau de Cologne Lavande. Precisely because it isn’t what you expect from lavender.

In this instance, the fragrant flower has been shorn of all its fussy, old-fashioned facets. The outcome is a refreshing, slightly woody fragrance with a somewhat ambry trail… It’s more masculine than you’d expect, but it could well appeal to women, too.

The eau de cologne’s large size (10 oz.) is an invitation to splash it on generously, all over your body, or even to add a few drops to your bath… for a soothingly Zen and Provençal atmosphere.

What smells do you associate with Provence, in the south of France?

In 2012, L’Eau d’Issey is getting into sports!

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:47:39 +0000

Created in 1994, L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme is back this year… with a sports version!

In 2012, Issey Miyake is offering men a new experience: feel all the emotions of sports… intensely. But not just any sports! Only those that are done in contact with nature… to tame it and become one with it. The goal? To surpass yourself thanks to the elements (water, air or earth) and to feel ‘a sublime fusion.’

Described by the perfumer, Jacques Cavallier, as ‘the breath a mountain climber takes as he reaches the peak,’ L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme Sport is less sea-breezy and ambry than the original version. Sweeter at the top, it reveals somewhat dry woody notes in the drydown.

We love: the packaging, which echoes the codes of sports equipment. The metallic glass for the bottle has a ski-goggle sheen, and the cap has a “grip” inspired by the materials used for ski poles and similar items.

The unusual touch? The trim that’s blue instead of red, the color usually used for sports fragrances. The touch of blue is a reminder of the fragrance’s fresh side, the outdoor sports aspect that Issey Miyake was aiming for.

So Gentleman, here’s the encouragement you were looking for to get into sports in 2012!

Which fragrance do you think has come up with the best sports version?

Serge Lutens: I didn’t invent hot water… no, but I did create L’Eau Froide!

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:24:58 +0000

Serge Lutens couldn’t care less about following trends or vying for prizes. And he doesn’t give a damn about who likes his fragrances either. So if your reaction to his latest fragrance is somewhat cool, that’s alright, too. In fact, it’s kind of logical, because the scent is called L’Eau Froide – Cold Water.

When Lutens launched L’Eau, in 2010, he warned us, ‘When I presented L’Eau to my team, I felt like Saint Just informing the nobles they were going to lose their privileges.’ And for some bloggers, it was true: after Lutens’ warm and mysterious waves of amber and myrrh, the effect of this new eau was something of a cold shower.

True to his signature blend of humor and provocation, next March Serge Lutens will be presenting Act 2: L’Eau Froide. But what does cold water smell like?

He will only reveal a single ingredient: frankincense. Which is pretty strange for a fragrance that’s being described as ‘frosty’ and ‘glacial’. But Serge’s response is all ready: ‘People only notice the pyrogen facet in smoky incense burners… but not the coolness, except for the church’s.’

So to complete the list of ingredients, we’ll have to follow our nose. To begin with, it is cold, but in a nice way. Smells like rosemary, pepper… a slightly spicy-aldehyde-y effect, like bay leaves. A minty sensation too, plus a woody pinch of eucalyptus. Who knows, maybe it’s meant as a wink and a nod to Morocco’s “hammams”, or Turkish baths?

Whatever you do, don’t ask if it’s cologne or a fresh eau – it’s actually an eau de parfum. Eau (att’n à l’ortho de “eux/eaux” en vo) de Colognes and fresh eaus just aren’t Serge’s thing. That reminds me of a story he told me once: he had presented a new fragrance to a woman. “She said, ‘It’s cold… but it’s hot at the same time.’ The next time I let her sniff something, she’ll probably tell me it’s lukewarm!”

To break the ice with Serge, you’ll need to wait until spring 2012. Eau de parfum L’Eau Froide: 1.7 and 3.4 oz., 69 and 100 euros. Look for it in the freezer compartment of all the best perfume shops.

Nicolas Olczyk

What’s your favorite Serge Lutens scent?

We tried it for you: Santal Massoïa by Hermès and an extra-terrestrial fragrance from Comme des Garçons

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:30:16 +0000

Two houses with two totally different styles are both bringing out new scents that will thrill all those who love rare fragrances!

Japanese ready-to-wear brand Comme des Garçons presents an extra-terrestrial scent. The offbeat bottle is somewhat squashed looking, with bubbles in the glass, like a glassblower’s reject, yet Comme des Garçons chose to grant it the right to exist. The idea behind the fragrance was to create the odor of a “packing-tape flower.” The opening is very synthetic, with lots of aldehydes, then comes a bitter-almond facet, born of pairing lilac and May-rose notes, according to Antoine Maisondieu, who co-designed the fragrance with his accomplice, Antoine Lie. A fragrance that shows real creativity, and that should appeal to anyone who’s looking for a well-worked lilac soliflore.

As for Hermès, they have unveiled a new Hermessence: Santal Massoïa. Here the bottle is spare and uncluttered, in the collection’s sleek image. The beige, suede-look leather-clad cap grants a distinctive touch. The fragrance is a sandalwood scent with a fig-wood side to it. Sleek and uncluttered, more airy than creamy. In fact, the fragrance’s creator, Jean-Claude Ellena reveals: ‘I want to smell what’s behind the air.’ Which may explain Santal Massoïa’s fresh, gentle aspect.

On the one hand something totally unusual, on the other, an elegantly classic scent… Which of these two new creations will appeal to you?

Nicolas Olczyk

Santal Massoïa or Comme des Garçons’ extra-terrestiral scent: which of these two new fragrances do you want to try?

We tried it for you: Prada’s exclusive new essence, Cuir Styrax

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:09:14 +0000

You probably already know their ‘Infusion’ range, and you may have seen the ad for their latest big launch, Prada Candy… but did you know that Prada has an exclusive fragrance line, too? Miuccia Prada dreamt up this collection, available only in Prada boutiques, for lovers of rare scents. The latest addition to the collection came out this fall. Its name? Cuir Styrax (“Styrax Leather”).
For this eleventh exclusive scent, the Italian house collaborated with perfumer Daniela Andrier… and perfumistas are sure to recognize her unique style. This leathery fragrance whispers rather than shouts. No whiffs of anything burnt or tarry, as is often the case with the Russian leather accord. This is more like white leather than dark. Of course, white leather is just an image, but it’s surely one that Prada was thinking of. Because in the luxury edition, Cuir Styrax comes nestled in a box of white Saffiano leather.
On a test strip, the fragrance is sweet and a bit cottony, too. A pleasantly floriental experience in which musks, neroli and balms come together gently. But the scent really reveals itself on skin. Styrax, with its resinous, balsamic and leathery notes, shows up, and the word leather takes on its full meaning.
But a delicate leather, with a cocooning effect. For him or her, it comes in an understatedly elegant 1-oz. bottle (130 euros), or for those for whom price is no object, in the leather-clad luxury edition (230 euros). Not cheap by any means, but you could always ask Santa Claus for it. Who knows what he’ll bring down your chimney this winter?
Nicolas Olczyk

What about you, what’s your favorite Prada fragrance?

Valentino’s back with… Valentina

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:07:03 +0000

Re-launch Valentino with a perfume christened Valentina? The idea is perfect in its simplicity, isn’t it? For their first perfume with Valentino, the Puig group (Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne, Prada) has gone all out for an impressive launch. Rome, the source of inspiration for Valentino’s fashions, inspired the fragrance, too. Since the couturier who founded the house left, stylists Maria Grazi Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli have brought a new, somewhat unpredictable spirit to Valentino fashion. And it shows in Valentina’s stunning bottle. Adorned with 3 skin-toned flowers placed on the bottle like a brooch. But what about the fragrance itself? Olivier Cresp and Alberto Morillas have composed an Italian style floriental bouquet. Amalfi orange blossom and Calabrian bergamot are warmed up with amber, tuberose, cedar and an unusual accord based on… Alba white truffle. And as for Valentina, the heroine with a rebellious side who the perfume has been named after, she is incarnated by Freja Beha Erichsen. Her name might not ring a bell, but her face will, she’s the current it girl of top models. Valentina, a new name in perfumery that you’re sure to be hearing more about soon. Look for it from late September.

What do you think about the idea of a perfume with a note of truffle?

Idylle Eau de Toilette: silky rose

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:26:55 +0000

A year after the launch of the eau de parfum Idylle, Guerlain unveils an eau de toilette version of the fragrance. Gentler than the original, Idylle eau de toilette is also more floral. The initial musky-chypry facet is less present, with the scent focusing more on rose. Present right from the top, the rose has the somewhat natural, qualitative effect that you’ll find in rose essence, but the lemongrass facet is less intense, which means that even those who aren’t particularly fans of rose will still probably be able to appreciate this new eau de toilette. Aside from Bulgarian rose, Guerlain also mentions a freesia / lily-of-the-valley effect. The freesia, with its spicy, slightly fruity tonalities is in fact perceivable, but there are a few unidentified green and white-floral accents, too. The bottle is almost identical to the eau de parfum’s, with a slightly lighter golden lacquer on the side. Where Insolence is a violet scent evolving towards an oriental base that is fairly typical of a Guerlain perfume, Idylle is closer to what you think of as a floral bouquet (albeit a slightly chypry one in the eau de parfum version). Idylle eau de toilette offers a pretty successfully rendered silky-rose floral, which would tend to prove that Guerlain is indeed able to express themselves well in another register, i.e. other than orientals. Image: ad for Idylle Eau de Toilette, with Nora Arnezeder photographed by Paolo Roversi.

Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle: the imaginary charm of orchid

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:42:18 +0000

Late August, Dior will be opening a new olfactory chapter in the Poison saga: Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle. The perfume, incarnated by Italian actress Monica Bellucci, is a spin-off from the most vanilla-inflected of the ‘Poison’ perfumes, Hypnotic Poison, launched in 1998. The house has managed to devise this new ‘eau sensuelle’ “without betraying the original fragrance’. It’s true that the warm, spicy-vanilla notes are still there. And the two fragrances’ trails are fairly similar. But the top notes and the heart are now more luminous. Not necessarily fresher: the perfume is still heady and lush, which temptresses are bound to appreciate. Dior has worked an imaginary floriental note of orchid. The effect is slightly exotic and solar, sustained by the spicy-floral trail of ylang-ylang and green notes with a ‘stem and leaf effect to stimulate’ the fragrance. Hypnotic Poison’s bottle has been revisited with a light touch, in a more translucent, but still deep, red; the cap, however, is now dark purple. All in all, this new scent is sunnier and more floral, but it preserves the lush, dark, vanilla facets that made the original so successful. Photo of Monica Bellucci by Tyen.

Dior reworks Eau Sauvage Extrême

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:24:37 +0000

After Eau Sauvage’s new ad campaign with a photo of French actor Alain Delon from 1966 (the year the fragrance was created), this year, Dior has reworked the intense version of the scent. Eau Sauvage Extrême’s composition has been reinterpreted by perfumer François Demachy. He came up with a sparkling, citrusy opening that soon goes quite aromatic (basil, lavender, mint). Eau Sauvage Extrême is indeed more intense Eau Sauvage, but it’s also darker: more peppery and woody, and at the same time, less soapy clean. The perfumer wanted to preserve the sweet floral note of jasmine (hedione) but he accentuated the wood notes most of all. Dior’s communication acknowledges essences of patchouli, vetiver and Virginia cedar. It is true that the dry-down is quite cedary. But it’s a powerful, dry, almost smoky cedar, thanks, most likely, to a few subtly dosed modern wood notes. The opaque-yet-shiny black glass bottle evokes obsidian, a volcanic stone. The “sauvage” (wild, untamed) effect is very much there.

ODIN New York, a promising new line of fragrances

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:49:20 +0000

The New York-based concept store Odin is getting into fragrance. Their first 3 creations ¬– Nomad, Owari and Century – launched a few months ago, and now Odin has just unveiled a fourth, Petrana. In Europe, the four scents will be launched all at once. The house is aiming essentially at niche fans, and the results are pretty exciting. Nomad (01) is a spicy-woody oriental with a sweet, contemporary trail. Owari (02) is a spicy-fruity, lightly green citrus scent, composed around Japanese owari satsuma (a type of mandarin orange). Century (03) is a woody creation with dry, ambry tonalities and an almost mineral impression. Petrana (04) is a woodsy-floral in which violet twines with pale woods and musks, vetiver and a green-fruity note of cassis. All four creations are presented as unisex, but only Owari really is perfectly so. Nomad and Century will appeal mostly to men and to women who enjoy woodsy notes. Although Petrana is more feminine in olfactory terms, it could still appeal to men who enjoy floral notes. Odin’s designers are considering bringing out more new fragrances in the future, but admit they don’t want to rush. Eau de toilettes 3.4 oz.: 105 euros / 110 dollars.