Courtesy picture © Boucheron Quatre by Boucheron is named after the iconic collection created by the jewelry house in 2004, in particular the model Bague Quatre White Edition (2011) with the white ceramic band, which has been turned into...
Perfume Review & Musings Archives
Hermès Le Jardin de Monsieur Li (2015): Le Jardin de Monsieur Ellena - or Olfactory Subversion at its Best {Perfume Review & Musings}
Perfume Review of Hermès Le Jardin de Monsieur Li How It Smells Like The opening of the latest Hermès fragrance to launch is powdery, green - much more powdery than one would expect from a Jean-Claude Ellena opus. In...
Thierry Mugler Avant-Première Les Exceptions Cuir Impertinent (2015) {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Fragrance} {Fashion Notes}
Perfume Review of Thierry Mugler Cuir Impertinent Cuir Impertinent is the latest one of Les Exceptions, just launched by Thierry Mugler. In France, the fragrance benefits from a different, inaugural launch packaging and marketing ; it was introduced as...
Hermès Jour d'Hermès Gardénia (2015) {Perfume Review & Musings}
Jean-Claude Ellena © Richard Dumas for Hermès Jour d'Hermès Gardénia comes three years after the initial launch and a year after a denser re-interpretation, Jour d'Hermès Absolu (2014). What in-house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena has done on the surface for...
Hermès Jour d'Hermès (2012) {Perfume Review & Musings} {Perfume Images}
The flacon was designed by Pierre Hardy © Hermès Jour d'Hermès eau de parfum opens on a delicious mist of flowers punctuated by cedarwood soon seguing into a lusher yet light gardenia heart. The freshness initially is striking and...
Parfum d'Empire Musc Tonkin (2012-2014) {Perfume Review & Musings}
A blurry image of Musc Tonkin to illustrate the fact that this is "the ghost" of the now forbidden material © Parfum d'Empire A Romantic, Historicized Project Musc Tonkin by Parfum d'Empire was initially released in 2012 as a...
Kiehl's Original Musk Oil (1920s/1963): How Emancipated Is It? From the Roaring Twenties to the Psychedelic 60s {Perfume Review & Musings}
Our perception of what is perceived as "dirty" or "clean" in fragrances, especially where musk perfumes are concerned, appears to be as pre-coded personally as in the case of the global dress meme of 2014 where roughly 50% of...
Diesel Loverdose Red Kiss (2015): The Oldest Selling Pitch in the World {Perfume Review & Musings}
"Dagger of Love" featuring Diesel Loverdose Red Kiss © 2015 Chant Wagner A Review of Diesel Loverdose Red Kiss by Chant Wagner Loverdose Red Kiss by Diesel is the latest intallment in the Loverdose series of launches since 2011....
Bulgari Aqua Divina: State-of-the-Art Aquatic (2015) {Perfume Review & Musings}
Fragrance Review of Bulgari Aqua Divina by Chantal-Hélène Wagner There is something thrilling about wearing a new perfume - and by that we mean one which is newly out of the starting blocks. And it is doubly thrilling when...
Tocca Isabel (2015) {Perfume Review & Musings}
The latest fragrance from Tocca is named Isabel. This is the 12th "girl" perfume in the stables of the brand. Sometimes inspired by a historical feminine figure such as Cleopatra or Brigitte (Bardot), this time Isabel is a floating...
Rochas Secret de Rochas (2014): A Tribute to Parisians' Elusive Allure thanks to Chypre as an Overlooked Gourmand {Perfume Review & Musings}
Secret de Rochas was launched at the end of 2013 and more widely distributed from 2014. It is now in 2015 available in Germany. Composed by in-house perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez, it is a tribute to the fashion of Marcel...
L'Artisan Parfumeur Rose Privée (2015): Modern Rose Soliflore {Perfume Review & Musings}
Courtesy picture Perfume Review by Chantal-Hélène Wagner Rose Privée by L'Artisan Parfumeur, which will officially launch in April 2015, is presented as an homage paid to the costliest of roses, Rosa Centifolia also known as "May Rose" and "Cabbage...
Karl Lagerfeld Paradise Bay for Her & Him (2015) {Perfume Shorts (Reviews)}
Courtesy picture Fragrance Reviews Paradise Bay for Her and Him are the two new ephemeral editions of Karl Lagerfeld Femme and Homme issued last year. Named unwittingly after a bay in Antarctica, the joke is on us as the...
Déclaration L'Eau (2014): Boyfriend Cologne {Perfume Review & Musings}
I had to stick a thumb up after a couple of seconds into the development of last year's Déclaration L'Eau, in the abstract direction of perfumer Mathilde Laurent - kudos to reappropriating one of her most famed fragrance accords,...
Karl Lagerfeld Femme (2014): Cold Magnolias {Perfume Review & Musings}
© Courtesy picture Unexpectedly, Karl Lagerfeld Femme opens on what the French would call a "lessivielle" note meaning strongly suggestive of detergent cleanliness and powder. This seems a bit of an overstatement, even if the note is popular. Does...