The Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900Klubwasser by WienerBlut is said to be an evocation of turn-of-the-century Vienna (see also Q & A with founder Alexander Lauber) but it could be just as well an evocation of a long-forgotten yet...
Perfume Review & Musings Archives
Serge Lutens Fille En Aiguilles (2009): Medicine Mandala with a Sense of Humor - or Enlightenment Not Guaranteed {Perfume Review}
Opening a flacon of a new perfume by French artist and aesthete Serge Lutens always holds the promise of standing as another worthy episode in the olfactory adventure that he has been able to create since his debut scent...
Armani Idole d'Armani (2009) {Perfume Review}
Mata Hari dancing in the library of the Musée Guimet, 1905 © Guimet archives -- I picked this picture because Idole d'Armani has this girly, playful layer added to the more mysterious, more mature feminine layer of oakmoss: the idol...
Guerlain Aqua Allegoria 2009 Tiare-Mimosa with Notes on Cherry Blossom: My Perfume Rendez-Vous {Fragrance Reviews}
When I start feeling in the mood for good thriller novels, I know it is summer at last in my head, and that I am now able to enjoy the most carefree days of the year. It might have happened...
Fourreau Noir de Serge Lutens: La Version Française - 1ère partie {Critique de Parfum}
This is the French version, part 1, of my review of Fourreau Noir by Serge Lutens first published in English.Le premier aspect qui frappe le regard en contemplant l'objet le parfum Fourreau Noir de Serge Lutens qui va sortir en...
Serge Lutens Fourreau Noir (2009): Biography, Memories & Longing {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} Updated
The first remarkable aspect of the upcoming perfume Fourreau Noir by Serge Lutens that meets the eye is the interplay of brown, gray and purple shades that fade into each other in the light and make up the color of...
Essential Faith Oils (2005) {Perfume Review & Musings}
To me, perfume oil is as American as apple pie. A certain kind of fragrance oil that is at least. Not the kind sold in the souks or boutiques of the Middle East redolent of roses, jasmine and oud....
Penhaligon's Anthology Part 1: Eau de Verveine (1949), Extract of Limes (1963), Gardenia (1976), Night Scented Stock (1976): Archival Papers Dipped in Contemporary Solutions or Duchaufour Unleashed {Perfume Reviews} {New Fragrances}
Penhaligon's Anthology is a new collection of fragrances launched this month by an old British house established in the late 1860s by newly arrived barber William Henry Penhaligon (no one seems to know the exact year of foundation). As...
Chopard Cascade (2009): Drunk Insects & Beautiful Widows {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance}
The European advertising for the fragrance featuring model Michaela HlavackovaPerfumers: Béatrice Piquet and Juliette Karagueuzoglou of IFFPerfume notes: top: pink pepper, grapefruit flower, mandarin; heart: Belle de Nuit, Evening Maiden Orchid, Heliotrope; base: Living Precious Woods, musk, amber.Cascade is the...
Juliette Has A Gun Midnight Oud (2009): Adapted Opulence or an Oud for Urban Chypre Tastes {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance}
Perfumer: Romano RicciPerfume notes: saffron, Bulgarian rose, patchouli, musk, amber, sandalwood, oud Midnight Oud is the latest opus by perfume house Juliette Has A Gun which defines one of the aspects of its general enterprise as "Luxury, in its...
Narciso Rodriguez Essence (2009): Dual White-Black Musk {Perfume Review} {New Perfume}
Perfumer: Alberto Morillas of FirmenichPerfume Notes: powdery musk, iris powder, rose petals, modern musks, benzoin balm Essence is the latest perfume by designer Narciso Rodriguez who worked with perfumer Alberto Morillas to perfect the idea of a variation on...
Queen Latifah Queen (2009): {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance} {Celebrity Scent}
Perfumer: Steven DeMercado of Fragrance ResourcesPerfume Notes: Top: golden Tequila accord, Italian bergamot, Mediterranean mandarin; mid notes: Baie rose, jasmine noir, cognac, Moroccan coriander; base notes: Indonesian patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla absolute, tonka absolute, Egyptian incense, sexy musk. Queen by Queen...
Benefit Cosmetics Crescent Row Laugh With Me LeeLee, There's Something About Sofia & My Place Or Yours Gina (2009) {Perfume Reviews} {New Fragrances}
This is an advance review of Crescent Row, the new triptyque of perfumes by Benefit Cosmetics to launch next month. In the past, the brand issued a debut fragrance titled Maybe Baby followed by B Spot in 2008. The new...
The Body Shop White Musk White Hot Summer/Ete Tropical (2009): Undefinable Sweetness {Perfume Review} {New Fragrance}
White Musk White Hot Summer / Eté Tropical (Tropical Summer in French) is the latest entry in The Body Shop library of white musks inaugurated in 1981 with White Musk. In the recent past the franchise has been reactivated with...
Rochas Eau Sensuelle (2009): Simplified Rochas Signature {Perfume Review}
Eau Sensuelle is the latest flanker to Eau de Rochas and is the first perfume created by perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez for the house while he continues to be the nose for Patou. Both brands are owned by Procter and Gamble....