What the Heck is Lorenox? {Ask Marie-Helene}
Flora asked the other day in a comment (sorry again for the comments issues btw, we' re going to fix that!) about an ingredient called Lorenox listed in the perfume notes description for the new Josephine Baker perfume by Sephora (France exclusive at this point.) Since the comment is old and the answer will be useful as I couldn't find it on the world wide web even by doing deep search, or in my books -- cool, a scoop! - I've decided to move it up here. Flora wrote "Sounds interesting - but what the heck is lorenox? I Googled it and this review came up! :-)" Keep reading for the answer....
So this turned into an Ask Etat Libre d'Orange post because I didn't know myself and turned to the relevant parties. ELO are the perfume house who created the new Josephine fragrance for Sephora.
As it turns out, LORENOX© is a recent captive aromatic molecule which was designed by the Research and Development Department of MANE in 2009. "Captive" means that it belongs exclusively to the company that created it and while you could smell it in fragrances that they develop, you cannot access it outside of the finished, elaborated form. Only MANE perfumers are allowed to use it.
OK, but how does that smell like? ELO says that LORENOX does not smell of just one thing but that it presents at once woodsy, ambery and leathery facets.
Pic: dreamfactoryblog.files.wordpress.com
hell, it sounds interesting..wood, amber, and leather, huh? I bet we'll be seeing a lot of this, since it sounds like a real workhorse, notewise.
Ha, ha "a real workhorse, notewise", that's a good one. I think it's not unusual to see fragrant molecules being described as having a few main facets. In fact, it's quite common. But your point does raise the question of knowing why some materials become more popular than others. Because perfumers think it's great? Because it's found to be a recipe for commercial success? I wonder what happens when a perfumer does not like a material but has to work with it because it's deemed to be "addictive" or "of-the-moment."
Answer - you get a disheartened perfumer who thinks to him/her self ``The THINGS I must do to pay for rent, new dutch oven, and that Prada cardigan on sale!! Humph!!!``
he, he, is it time to chip away at the romantic image of the perfumer? You know, I've noticed that too: most perfumers do not dress like down-and-out artist types or people who don't care about their professional appearance. They dress more like respectable bankers or even golden boys.
I recently acquired an antique bottle of scent produced by Felton Chemical Company in Los Angeles according to the original dark blue and orange label. A word, NIVEAL C is typewritten on it along with -1 lb.Net-There remains some essential oil in the bottle that still has a strong, delightfully complex rose fragrance. I wonder if you could point me in the right direction to identify the recipe/constituents?
Philippa,
What I see is that their main office and factories are located in Brooklyn: Felton Chemical Co., 509 Johnson Ave., Brooklyn, NY. Perhaps try to find a tel number?