Monocle and Comme des Garçons Scent Two: Laurel - review

Daring and spectacular, the new perfume from Monocle takes us to the land of spices and unusual scents - the smell of soap but not the one I dislike in fine fragrances. This time, it is not the regular white bar but a very traditional one. The perfume was inspired by a trip to the Bekaa Valley and "it will remind regular visitors to Lebanon of the country's hand-made laurel soaps and fragrant gardens in Byblos."
Monocle Scent Two Laurel reminds me also the very special character of French Lover (Pierre Bourdon) where freshness, sensual woods and aromatic notes are blended in a very special way. Under the strong spicy and aromatic notes of laurel and pepper the new Monocle fragrance hides a very warm, woody and ambery background. Here you might recognize classic woody notes like cedar molecules, patchouli, a light incense note, dry amber (maybe trimofix). The top note is dominated by aromatic herbs and a great amount of pepper and other spices (bay, clove, nutmeg ?). A very small rose almost fruity-plum (damascone type) is blooming behind the laurel - cypress forest.
Monocle Scent Two Laurel is a perfect fragrance if you are tired of conventional fougere mainstream perfumes or even by the sweet Orientals. It is daring (almost savory) and special by the unusual dosage of laurel and peppery notes. This time the overdose is welcome because it brings a very original note and long-lasting freshness. Is Ambroxan the new ideal of freshness?

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New Osmoz collection and special prices for Christmas

Osmoz is launching 2 new olfactory kits in the collection "Les Coulisses du Parfum" and has also a special price for a very fragrant Christmas: Complimentary shipping and 5% off on your order until december the 17th.


Volume IV, Vibrations of spices
12 emblematic spices essences to smell.
Spices are an invitation to both an olfactory voyage and to time travel. Humanity’s first currency, they inspired lust and greed in the age of the great sea-going expeditions. Like nuggets of olfactory gold, they have always been prized in perfumery, from ancient times to the present. Warm or cool, hot or sweet, spices can have starring roles in olfactory compositions, but are more often used sparingly, for a touch of texture or personality in fragrant creations. Combining subtle elegance, fresh vibrations and enveloping warmth, spices generate a broad palette of sensations that won’t leave anyone indifferent.
Essences in the kit: Clove, nutmeg, saffron, coriander, black pepper, Sichuan pepper, pink pepper, ginger, cardamom, everlasting, cinnamon, cumin.
Foreword by Annie Buzantian



Volume V - Delicious gourmand notes
12 emblematic gourmand notes essences to smell
Rediscover the olfactory pleasures of childhood, let your nose quiver with delight, satisfy your instincts… Praline and artificial vanilla will recall the scent of baked goods and fun fairs. A rum note is reminiscent of pleasure and enjoyment. Gourmand notes take turns being fatale and all-enveloping, reassuring and teasing, intriguing and ravishing. How can these 12 notes inspire so many different feelings all by themselves?
Try them and see for yourself! 12 essential gourmand notes from modern perfumery, at the base of a major olfactory category that has given birth to classic, sultry, bold and reassuring scents.
Essences in the kit : Plum note, peach note, pralin note, artificial vanilla note, vanilla note, coffee note, tonka bean note, pineapple note, raspberry note, cassis note, green apple note, rum note.
Foreword by Honorine Blanc

Complimentary shipping and 5% off on your order until december the 17th.
See also the complete collection of olfactory kits - Les Coulisses du Parfum on Osmoz.

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

ESXENCE – The Scent of Excellence and the Artistic Perfumery

Press release from ESXENCE:

"The second edition of ESXENCE – The Scent of Excellence, the event dedicated to artistic perfumery, will take place in Milan from the 25th till the 28th of march 2010 at the Museo della Permanente in Via Turati, one of the cultural Italian landmarks, in this way renewing it’s value a san artistic event, and giving visibility to excellences that meet a certain level of constant quality.
Artistic Perfumery is a creative activity that at the same time is history, communication, willingness to express feelings, memories, moments, situations, in an intangible creation that spreads “per fumum” (through smoke) that in the perceiver triggers an intense emotional and vital reaction. His masterpieces are works of art through fashions and trends, marking milestones in the styles and artistic references of all ages, always strives for excellence in quality, nuance, in the detail and in the harmonies.
In Italy Artistic Perfumery has reached an important position in terms of turnover, dedicated distributors, and passionate retailers. It has attracted many international players, due to a model based on a high level of quality and commercial, distributive choices.
Esxence - The Scent of Excellence candidate’s itself for the second consecutive year as the international appointment for any brand that operates, with passion and conviction, to the magnificent art of the olfactory language, that is constantly rising as an added value in the style choices that each person takes, in order to distinguish themselves choosing superb creations born not to be enjoyed by everybody, but to be admired for their intrinsic beauty for who can appreciate them.
Esxence promotes an event formulated coherently with the objectives that this sector has in order to develop internationally with a qualitative level outlined by criteria that represents the belonging of a brand to the sector of Artistic Perfumery, and with constant attention to creativity.
Esxence is conceived as an international crossroads of views, experiences, suggestions, provocations and knowledge: it hosts parent companies, Italian and international distributors in support of the brands, accepting the press, buyers, Italian and foreign retailers.
The Interior exhibition spaces have been designed to exploit the peculiarities of each individual brand and identity with a rational layout, elegant and uniform, to enhance the preciousness of each "product-actor”.
Esxence - The Scent of Excellence s a scene of creative excellence from around the world without conflict in proposals, designed for those interested to listen with their nose, to understand and appreciate the stories, anecdotes and bold innovations.
Esxence - The Scent of Excellence welcomes those who, with skill and dedication, are part of the wonderful community that promotes the values, beauty and traditions of the Designer Perfumery.
Esxence the second edition will propose a series of events, educational and informational activities that will alternate in the four-day event, accompanied by meetings and debates in which the industry will analyze the evolution of this niche market. Many will also be the opportunities for brands that wish to increase their exposure, describe their profiles, and their newest products.
During open days (only by invitation) to the public, a series of experiential moments will be proposed in order to discover the fascinating world of perfumery."

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Lily Beach - Jacques Zolty - new perfume review

The new feminine creation of Jacques Zolty comes as the alter-ego of the very contrasted aromatic-fougere masculine fragrance launched several years ago. Lily Beach is very delicate, sensual and musky, soft like a precious cashmere wrapping the skin of a woman.
It starts as a very green gardenia and exotic lily blended with strong spicy notes of cardamom and ginger (plus ivy leaf). Lily Beach is a flower in bloom, transported by the air and sea, that will reveal very soon the soft odor of a feminine skin. Light woody and almost transparent, soft musky but also ambery and warm. The animalic side of the lily flowers is very delicate, almost imperceptible and reminds me the light animalic note hidden under the opulence of Lys Méditeranné and Carnal Flower. Soft and almost masculine, the drydown of the perfume suggests the cashmere with a light suggestion of the woody accord of Eau de Bvlgari / CK One but wrapped in salicylates and cotton musks. It suggests the water and the sand without being marine. The fruit of the Lily Beach seems to be a very small pear that blends very well with the creamy musks.
Lily Beach (Jacques Zolty) is not the strong and opulent lily flower but the image of white petals taken by the wind. A veil of flowers covering with tender and love a naked body on the dune.

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Ninfeo mio (Annick Goutal) - new perfume review

After the mythical garden of Hesperides, that gave us Eau d'Hadrien, and the "Asian garden after the rain" transposed in Un Matin d'orage, Annick Goutal takes us to another garden, more secret and even more beautiful. If in the previous cases the "garden" was a metaphor located somewhere in the Eden of beautiful scents inspired by nature, this time it is an ancient garden located near Rome. The Ninfa Gardens from Italy with their amazing landscape à l'anglaise and medieval castle.

The imaginary landscape "Ninfeo mio" is a contemplative emerald perfume of a romantic beauty. The fascination with ancient places surrounded by an opulent vegetation gave us a genre in fine arts. This time the power of the secret place was sealed in a perfume drop by Camille Goutal and Isabelle Doyen.
In the new aesthetic of freshness from Annick Goutal, following the first citrusy green Eau d'Hadrien and the more recent Un Matin d'Orage, Mandragore and Mandragore pourpre, the new creation brings the missing element. It is the forbidden fruit hidden under green leaves and opulent flowers in that imaginary paradise protected by the 3 mythical scents that form the word AME.
Very citrusy lemon, the perfume breathes between the green acidity of cedrat/lemon and the milkyness of lactones rounded by soft musks and woods and maybe a hint of delicate coumarine with its almond-hay-sweet note. The lavender note, very unusual for a perfume but with a great predecessor - Moment Supreme, is used here to impart the herbal effect of the vegetation hidden under the great trees of the garden (cypress I think).
The fig note is rather unusual, it is green lactonic leafy but it is not the pungent fig we are used to (and I think Labienoxime was used for that) and the combination of green/herbal/vegetal/fruity/lactonic elements suggests also another special material - mango leaf oil though it was not used in the perfume. Inside this special garden the nymphs are wearing delicate garlands of flowers - light jasmine, honeysuckle and soft rose/geranium with a small drop of green galbanum to suggest the green watery note (almost lotus).
Another concept used in the perfume is the "lemon wood" (bois de citronnier). It is the soft scent of a burning bark from the lemon tree Isabelle Doyen experienced many years ago that became the dark soul of Ninfeo mio.
From the very green and lemony top, the fragrance becomes warm, powdery and intimate underlined by a very special note - lentisque absolute.
Ninfeo mio is the surprise of an amazing emerald garden that gave me the same emotion as Un Matin d'Orage (but the formulas are not similar). Open the bottle and the leaves will invade your room with the mystery of life - the delicious fruit of temptation floating on the river of memories.

Photos of the Ninfa gardens

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

E-bay - the end of fragrance auctions?

Shocking news came Monday from Paris:
"A French court yesterday fined Ebay €1.7m ($2.55m) for failing to stop the sales of LVMH perfume and beauty products on its French website. Allowing users to sell genuine LVMH products on Ebay violates a 2008 court order that barred the activity. " (From Financial Times)
On AFP you can read some statements in french.
Pierre Godé, administrateur du groupe LVMH - "Nous sommes évidemment satisfaits de cette décision qui consacre à nouveau le principe de la distribution sélective [...] Ce principe permet aux fabricants de choisir leur réseau de distribution."
Alexander von Schirmeister - directeur général d'eBay France - "cette décision pénalise les consommateurs en les empêchant de vendre ou d'acheter en ligne des biens authentiques".

Reuters in 2008: "EBay accused LVMH of having a hidden agenda. Today's decisions are not about fighting counterfeiting. It's about LVMH's desire to protect commercial practices that exclude all competition".
Reuters in 2009: " EBay Inc said on Monday that the Commercial Court of Paris' fine was too high and that the injunction blocking French eBay users from buying or selling LVMH cosmetics, including Christian Dior, Guerlain, Givenchy and Kenzo perfumes, hurts consumers. "The injunction is an abuse of 'selective distribution,'" Alex von Schirmeister, general manager of eBay in France, said in a statement. "It effectively enforces restrictive distribution contracts, which is anti-competitive."

But this time it seems to be less about the counterfeited products and more about selective distribution (at least in France). In other words if you receive a bottle of a Dior perfume and want to sell it online because you need money or you don't need it, it seems to me that this will not be possible in the near future because LVMH doesn't want you to do so.
The effects are already devastating. Unless you change some settings in your computer, from France the access to several ebay auctions is forbidden (I mean even to see them, not just to participate). A lot of auctions for collectors (vintage and historical perfumes to be very clear) from USA and other european countries are forbidden for french residents (for those who have less experience with computers).
To be clear again - if you live in France, do not speak english and are 100% novice to computer, your cannot access some ebay fragrance auctions. What is for me the value of LVMH Foundation for creation and art if I cannot buy a Piver / Gallet or even a Coty old catalogue because their actions have such a dramatic consequence for ebay?
This summer I experienced some problems with my computer and I had to use a different one in the lab where I had no administrator rights. Thanks to LVMH actions (remember what they did to classic perfumes reformulating without merci violating the fundamental right of the consumer to know what he buys) I could not apply/see some important ebay auctions where I often have a look to find important historical pieces. From that moment given the fact that the ebay "measures" were caused by LVMH actions it became very clear what LVMH stands for. At least not something with the respect for tradition, heritage and recognition of the art of fragrances. In terms of fragrance they go against the brand values they promote so hard.
For me, LVMH (plus l'Oréal) by their actions are violating my right to access the history of perfumery (in other words, my work).
This is not selective distribution but something worse.

And now, a question to Dior - What is the relation between the Dior perfumes produced in the Astrid factory in the former Czech Republic 20 years ago (Dior licence) and the birth of counterfeited products in Eastern Europe?
Another question to l'Oréal - What about the Lancôme products produced since the 80's in several former URSS factories?
Another question to both LVMH and l'Oréal - The perfumes / cosmetics sold in airports outside EU and USA are really made where the packaging mentions?

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

OSMOZ: Free shipping and special gift

osMoz is offering free shippping on your order of “Les Coulisses du Parfum” olfactory-training kits. Plus, the first 10 people to order from shop.osmoz.com will receive a free gift (worth 32 EUR)!

Today: Free shipping on Shop.osmoz.com

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Antichambre in Bruxelles - bespoke fragrances

A new fragrance concept store will open this december in Bruxelles - Place Georges Brugmann 13 and the soul of this new idea is Anne Pascale Mathy-Devalck. Here, in the Antichambre the perfumes are created under the nose of the client from a selection of cca 30 bases and after a conversation to explore the tastes and the preferences. The prices are from 165 to 195 EUR (50 / 100 ml). It seems that there will be also "non allergenic" or "anti alergenic" EDP (I did not understand exactly the concept).

More info on the website of Antichambre (I like very much the name).

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Tom Ford White Musk Collection (1): White Suede & Musk Pure - review

It is hard to call perfumes what I found in the last Tom Ford collection. With one exception, they are rather ideas in a bottle, interesting but unfinished concepts. The notion of cleanliness and lightness comes like a breath of fresh air in the very dark and contrasted Tom Ford universe (remember, he started with the heavy intoxicating Black Orchid). Let it be … white like the very first campaigns Tom did for Gucci! His perfumes comes always as an olfactory shock, something is always exaggerated, overdosed and in several cases over concentrated. But this aesthetic choice turns rather bad in the White Musk collection. Indeed, there is a sensation of full light that almost hurts in White Suede and Pure Musk but this smells chemical and unfinished like a base. For 3 of them, my first reaction was "OMG they smell so synthetic!" and remember I do love molecules. Also, they remember me the application formulas used by the companies to promote/explain the benefits of a new ingredient on the market. In other words, Tom Ford White Musk Collection is not Luxury in White but the white page before any creation was thought!
The feeling that they are perfumes done in a hurry can be experienced if you analyze the evolution of the scent during 72 hours as I did. Here you'll notice that Jasmine Musk is unbalanced at all and it is rather an addition and not a composition. Also, the 72 hours test (time is a luxury today brands could not afford) shows the power of several classic molecules used in the fabric softeners and detergents for their great substantivity. The White Musk Collection is the Tom Ford answer to the trend of "perfumery laudromat". Laundromat but luxury and still better than any P&G / L'Oréal fragrance version. (yes, the trend of detergent/shampoo perfumery is now in the luxury/niche area not just mainstream).
What is very interesting in the line is the fact that the perfumes are not Musk notes but interpretations of what muskiness is or what people usually believe musk is. You'll notice less musk, musk molecules or musk reconstitutions and more concepts around other molecules. They are not marketing concepts but what many people/customers say today "it smells so musky!" and in many cases this has nothing to do with the words used by a perfumer. Because people are not taught how to smell, soft jasmine-light sandalwood-transparent woods-modern amber and musk are put in the same category or given the same attribute - musky.

White suede is like a beautiful very white soap with a strong orris-sandalwood-lily of the valley note (not the accords but the abstract molecules) wrapped in pure cotton musks. It seats somewhere between the classic Dove formula (more luxurious) and the recent Cruel Gardenia. Though it is not a gardenia, this "white suede" is a very white creamy petal (and not leather at all) and maybe a more commercial (simplified) version of Cruel Gardenia with just a smoky woody note (but light and into transparency maybe the maté tea). It belongs also to the very white milky skin concept explored in Mythique DelRae (that is by far more interesting). Forget any leather or even the suede - I did not find them. Mix Bacdanol, Lilial-Lyral, Methyl ionone, Cosmone-Musc T, an amber or any similar variation and you have the new Tom Ford (for the chemical effect add a good dose of another bad synthetic perfume from Byredo). None of the official notes are obvious in their natural version (I would say they are rather homeopathic).

Official main ingredients for White Suede (Tom Ford): bulgarian rose, saffron, thyme, maté, olibanum, lily of the valley, white leather, suede, amber, sandalwood, musk.

Musk Pure is the purified version of musk. Take off all the dirt until you get only the muskiness. But it is also an abstract Chanel No 5 so minimal that Coco would have been in love with it. It doesn't remind anything natural and it has no relation to nature. A pure concept (100% minimal) not far in terms of scent shape to Aldehyde 44 (Le Labo) and one from Keiko Mecheri. An aesthetic fractioned distillation of La Myrrhe (Serge Lutens) were everything natural, dirty, rich, rounded was left out, after a good wash with Donna Karan Cashmere Mist. But the coumarine-benzoin sweet notes contrasted with a good dose of clean woods and much cleaner lily of the valley (plus a whiff of methyl ionone gamma) are also a part of the common accord of masculine colognes born after le Mâle. Put some aromatic herbs on top and some light spices and you'll have a generic and good mainstream perfume with a honest price. Musk pure is like a sub formula of any modern creation and there are some very good examples at Givenchy (the vanillin-coumarine Pi and the lighter Pi Neo and even Body Kouros YSL). In the official notes again there is a very small proportion of real naturals and the abstract No 5 idea is very obvious. I loved only the burnt wood vanillic effect with baby powder notes but again, this perfume is too thin.

Official main ingredients for Musk Pure (Tom Ford): ylang ylang, white pepper, bergamot, jasmine sambac, lily of the valley, orris absolute, tonka, benzoin, beeswax, musk.

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

MonSillage a new exclusive fragrance house

Great news for his fall. Canada has a new perfumer and an exclusive line. Isabelle Michaud, perfumer from Quebec and former ISIPCA student (we were classmates) is launching next week her new line available at Boutique EspritNouveau (the website very soon). A very special personal story and a very unusual background in the fragrance universe.
You can read a short interview done by Marian Bendeth on Basenotes last summer.

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Important fragrance auction in Paris

A very important bottle auction will take place next week in Paris for those who love the history of fragrances and the beautiful artistic bottles.

FLACONS ET OBJETS DE PARFUMERIE DU XXeme SIECLE

Prestige de la parfumerie du XXe siècle

EXPERT Jean-Marie MARTIN-HATTEMBERG

EXPOSITIONS PUBLIQUES :Samedi 28 novembre de 11 h à 18 h - Dimanche 29 novembre de 11 à 12 h

You can find additional information on this auction on the official webpage of Lombrail Tecquam.

Some amazing bottles (full and sealed with precious vintage perfume) are for the first time on sale in an excellent condition.

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New fragrances from Cartier

Last week I discovered 2 new masculine creations from Cartier, both are flankers but exquisite.
Declaration by Cartier Cologne - is an excellent interpretation of the original with a delicious lemony top note (and not very much cologne).
Roadster Sport - a refined aromatic woody version with a mandarine top and a dry guaiac note.
Should we hope for a new feminine perfume (global launch) in 2010? My nose says we'll have a very pleasant surprise.

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Fragrance, formulas and a new book

Via google, I found the description of this new book (I've not read it yet):

"This is an unprecedented book with secret perfume formulas revealed from the private vault of Master Perfumer, Dr. Bobbie Kelley. This is a trail-blazing book in that, for the fi rst time in the history of the perfume trade that a perfume company has allowed such private information or intellectual property to be released publicly. Perfumer, Bobbie Kelley shares her provocative passion for perfume and the creation of fragrant scents in this informative technical and thought-provoking book. Being The Rogue Perfumer that she is; her book serves as an inspiration to perfume lovers and perfumers all over the world. This long awaited book provides the clandestine knowledge of not only secret formulas to make different families of perfumes, but also reveals the thoughts, ideas and genuine feelings of a perfumer as she creates"

The Rogue Perfumer by Dr. Bobbie Kelley (146 pages) is said to contain 99 formulas and it is rather expensive (cca 200 USD on this website)
To my knowledge no authentic fragrance formula of a modern or classic fragrances has been published yet, only some GC's / reconstitutions or interpretations (allways far from the "real stuff").

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Fragrance is not that Subjective

I'm one of those who strongly believe that Fragrance is not subjective & not personal (plus the beauty is NOT in the nose of the beholder) and that we should always make a distinction between we/our tastes & personal disposition and what we smell. The nose is never wrong, only the words/associations might not be precise. Of course, the perfumer like any artist should forget about any known or learnt rule to "reinvent" the scent and our evanescent universe.
Perfumers learn to smell, recognize and "see" beyond the obvious facets of a material but, beyond any artistic interpretation of a material (or if you put cyclogalbanate in the green or fruity family) the truth "belongs" to it.
Now, it seems that there is some science in that and it's less about "artistic" speculations.

"There are many fragrance lovers—this author included—who focus on the essential truth of perfume, caring little that it “smells different” on everyone. Such fragrance lovers are annoyed by the cult of subjectivity suggesting that a scent may actually smell different to Jim than it does to Jane. For such people, a recent paper by Manuel Zarzo and David Stanton reveals good news: Everything is not relative. Perhaps a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. [...] There is a consistent basis for perfume perception and description despite variations in the way individuals experience scent."
You can read the article (under subscription) in Perfumer & Flavorist

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Sirocco (Lucien Lelong)

Sirocco is one of the most refined and underestimated perfumes launched by Lucien Lelong in the 30's. With this creation, Jean Carles takes us into an intellectual exercise around the oriental theme demonstrating his composition technique. In those years the opopanax bases were sold under different names by almost all RM houses. After Emeraude and Shalimar, Jean Carles creates the last perfume of this style (using similar materials) like a conclusion to an era. The next oriental creations will take advantage of the new molecules and will transform the accord. In Sirocco the theme is reduced to the most important notes like in a brilliant coda, leaving outside the facets. The perfume acts like a purified version of the previous masterpieces - an academic version of the oriental opopanax family. From Emeraude the perfumer takes the aromatic top note and transforms it into a beautiful and strong lavender theme. Lavender, vanilla and amber will give also for several moments the effect of Pour Un Homme (Caron). Being launched almost in the same period, the 2 perfumes are united by a symbolic link. From Shalimar, Jean Carles takes the essence of the oriental ambery note without the strong citrusy bergamot top but also without the burnt birch effect on the drydown (and less castoreum). In Sirocco the vanilla (followed by coumarine) is dominating the patchouli drydown, soft and sensual. In modern terms, Sirocco would be the gourmand variation of that oriental theme.
With this perfume Jean Carles gives almost a literal interpretation of what Sirocco is: a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara, dusty dry and stormy. He combines the mediterranean bouquet based on lavender with the oriental note represented by the sweet opopanax accord (the scent of the precious resins). The perfume is both sweet and dry but not so deep and sensual like Shalimar. We can literally see this perfume as the Shalimar breeze from an oriental tent passing over a field of lavender and other Mediterranean aromatics. It was also something unusual in the era - a name that is a perfect metaphor of the scent, poetic but easy to understand.
The evolution of this perfume is very curious because what you feel is not that the top evaporates unveiling the heart but a general "compression" of the notes as if everything becomes more concentrate around the oriental and ambery sweet note. The floral heart is very small (rose, magnolia, jasmine) and acts like a modifier of the oriental sweetness with benzoin, patchouli, vanilla, soft incense and amber.
The perfume has an incredible power and even the cologne version has an amazing strength and tenacity. That was Jean Carles, building his perfumes on numbers, always surprising with his technique and his forgotten creations, 80% unknown to the public (and even to perfumers).

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Contessa Azzurra - vintage italian perfume from Giviemme

In the delicate and decadent Belle Epoque era there was a special perfume surrounded in mistery and uncompromising beauty. Contessa Azzurra was one of the very first perfumes of the house created by Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone and also one the the great successes until the 50's. This Giviemme perfume was trademarked in 1926 but it was created many years before. The bottle of the perfume and its box are a post WWI creation from the Art Deco period and it is interesting to notice that it is almost the same as the perfume "Chez Poiret". Was there any connection between the 2 creators (Visconti and Poiret)?
Contessa Azzurra from Giviemme was a leather fragrance, Cuir de Russie type, very sweet and soft with a tonka note. The drydown is created around a special methyl ionone - vetiver accord with a very sweet balsamic incense undertone. The floral bouquet is powdery and strong like the Quelque Fleurs type (salycilates-ylang-aldehydes).
In 1960 there was also a movie with Zsa Zsa Gabor called Contessa Azzurra, set in the Belle Epoque. The production of Contessa Azzurra was stopped many decades ago leaving few traces in our world. I found this name under an american brand called Joseph Palazzolo, a company that I know nothing about. The beautiful perfume became just a trademark losing an "r" from its original italian name and I believe that now there is nothing italian about it (just a story to sell). When you lose the italian name why would you keep the formula? Images: first cca 1922 from ragoarts, the other 30's from ebay.it

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Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Baudelaire - Byredo - new fragrance review

When Byredo appeared on the market it seemed a new and very cool brand with a design feeling. It became clearer in the next month what was hidden in the bottles, the white version of Frédéric Malle style.
After the detergent with pear called Blanche, the new fragrance couldn't be black neither back to black. The name of the French poet that gave us several poems with scented words and a beautiful interpretation written by Yann Vasnier, came as a shock to me. It is not the pretension to stick such a famous name on a bottle, but something worse. Baudelaire is a copy paste concept from Kilian with the same mainstream innocence found in Bond No9 (did you smell their Coco Mademoiselle with cocoa, the J'adore light and green, the Escape for Men and the subtle Angel?). I am totally disappointed by this trend in the niche area - being inspired by the ideas / successes of your neighbor with the same greed as the big commercial brands.

Baudelaire by Byredo is a generic aromatic-woody-leather soft spicy scent with tobacco accents. It is a soft version of famous masculine scents from the 80's (Antaeus, Davidoff, Equipage, Polo) where all the heavy notes were reduced. It evokes the breeze surrounding a heavy smoker with tobacco, musty notes, ash tray - hay effect, sharp spices (like nutmeg, bay or laurel) with a soft jasmine. You can see it as the masculine version of Jasmin & Cigarette (ELO) where the proportion was changed. Pleasant, harmonious but not very original for its name, it is a type of formula that was very common in aftershaves and body sprays 2 decades ago (there were one Axe, one Denim and maybe one 8x8 deodorants built on this accord with subtle fougère). The absinthe tobacco note via the patchouli shortcut was quite popular. Maybe it's easy to produce and people love the same idea sold more expensive when they forget the classics.

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Fragrance is the 8th ART: