Niche is DEAD!?

The term niche is officially dead in 2009 and will be remembered only as an historic word to define the rebirth of the perfumery from mid 90's to mid 2000's.
It is not my reflection based on what's on the market but a very simple conclusion after the 2009 FIFI awards. If you look in the list of the winners you will notice:
Fragrance of the Year Women’s Nouveau Niche: Chloé Eau de Parfum
Fragrance of the Year Men’s Nouveau Niche: Burberry the Beat for Men

It is clear to me that I cannot use anymore this word to speak about a specific "niche" of the market and I'll have to come with something new to avoid confusion. You cannot put Burberry and Artisan parfumeur in the same context and this is not because of an aesthetic quality!
Of course, niche can have many senses in english but it the context and the audience that will determine the meaning in a certain period. Because this is the word used now by the Fragrance Foundation for something that is really mainstream in Europe, maybe we should find other words. Also, I do not understand from FIFI Awards 2009 what exactly is a celebrity fragrance. I was surprised to see "I am King" as a Luxe perfume. It is clear that selling fragrances is very different on 2 sides of the Ocean.
On graindemusc you can read a different approach (not semantic) to the "niche universe" and its challenge.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Madeleine Vionnet

Next month the fashion museum in Paris will organize a big retrospective exhibition on Madeleine Vionnet - the famous designer known for inventive approach to fashion (the biais cut). It would be interesting to know if some of her very rare fragrances will be recreated. In the photo - the presentation salon of her fashion house on 50, av Montaigne (now it's Ralph Lauren).

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New fragrance in 2009: Byredo Blanche

A new release from Ben Gorham, a perfume inspired by the color white.
“The idea for Blanche is, as the name suggests, built around my perception ofthe color white. For the first time I actually made a fragrance for and with a specific person in mind. I wanted to capture her innocent anduntainted side, with a fragrance almost transparent in nature. Blanche also represents an appreciation for her classic beauty. The fragrance is pure and simple in structure but extreme in character.”
Top: White Rose, Pink Pepper, Fresh Aldehyde
Mid: Violet, Neroli, Peony
Base: Blonde Woods, Sandalwood, Musk

This idea follows at least 2 major perfumes launched in the recent past. Narciso Rodriguez Essence and its "white" clean and aldehydic scent and the exclusive White from Kenzo, sold in the porcelain bottle with its pear-cotton-musky accord. The white theme comes also with the "search of purity" trend that gave us this year several watery creations (with flowers and cologne notes) but also Tome 1 "La pureté" from Zadig & Voltaire (with a sensual sandalwood cashmere cotton note, special but not very watery). You can also read the thoughts and the comments about "The Clean American Dream" and Musk Oils (and 2).

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Chiris fragrance collection

This is a photo from Chiris, the famous producer of raw materials for fragrances. It's from the 30's and present a part of their collection of contemporary perfumes. The original photo is not big but I think that some creations can be guessed. You can see Poiret, Lanvin, Coty, Orsay, Patou, Schiaparelli, Guerlain, Gabilla, Grenoville. A good picture to see what were considered important creations in that time.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

La vie est en Dior

Dior fragrances are devoted to 2 major themes this year - cologne and fresh flowers. "It's only about freshness", I was told yesterday by a Dior SA. Before that, Dior had a product in the 50's called Eau de Cologne aux fleurs fraîches, the packaging had a basket weave pattern.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

NOT a Nazi perfume !

I was surprised when I rediscovered this small ad for a fragrance producer in Grasse area. It's from early 1923, had no political message and I understand the designer that created the logo from L, F (Louis Funel). Today this image would be perceived from a different angle.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New fragrance in 2009: Escale à Pondichéry (Dior)

Dior continues the mass market fragrance introductions that made the brand so popular since the 90's. Do you remember their travel perfumes sold in aeroports for about 30 EUR and their denim-toile bags? This time Dior did not travel to India but 2 meters on its left in Sephora and landed on the letter B because P (from Pondichéry) might look and sound as B for strangers. In fact, Dior travelled inside the Bvlgari portfolio and (re)discovered the fabulous Eau parfumée au thé vert, the masterpiece of the early 90's. If you like this genre (fresh green tea plus cardamom) you can try another similar collection launched years before in France - Plaisirs Nature from Yves Rocher. But unlike those 2 examples that became Dior, Escale à Pondichéry is too sour-acid. Another good perfume, but more floral (and less cologne) with a touch a sweet vanilla on the drydown is Chèvrefeuille (Annick Goutal), an interpretation and not a picture of the honeysuckle.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Flora Nymphea

Water lilies are in bloom now in Paris and very soon they will be followed by Magnolia grandiflora. A time to explore the scent of rain, air, delicate flowers in bloom and the smell of floral waters. White, blue or pink lotus, they all come with different fragrances and since several years the is also a natural absolute on the market. Fragrances are very watery this spring at Dior - J'adore Cologne Florale but also at Hermès. Cologne spirit is again in the air. Houses launched something that could be called "Cologne du parfumeur" - a personal interpretation of freshness and maybe a return to XIXth century.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

French tradition ?

Speaking about French tradition in French press became is something like speaking about the Holly Pope in catholic church. The discourse is both political and religious and only the communist propaganda was stronger in sending the message. But after years, things might have a very different connotation and it is hard to make the difference between true faith, paid articles or a total lack of market knowledge. Or simply "la gourmadise des mots" :)
Looking back into my collection of magazines, I rediscovered a French l'Officiel from 2006 with Tom Ford on the cover. Inside there is an article about French perfumery, the sense of quality, beautiful raw materials and all the beautiful things you want to hear from a luxury brand. It was not about niche fragrances but about known (and old) French brands that were presented about the opposite of the American perfumery (that's very cliché in Paris).
But now comes the funny and sad part of the story where we see how deep we are in myths and not in the real world.
One of the fragrance featured, with a beautiful one page photo, is Femme de Rochas. In 2006 this fragrance was the perfect example of what French tradition is - a ghost. The perfume was reformulated (very bad and poor), it was sold in a cheap packaging with a very bad design detail of the pump (spray) when it joins the glass. Worse, the fragrance extract, as it was once in the small bottle with a chantilly lace detail, was no more on the market and the same is true for the entire line of the perfume (cream, soap, lotion, etc).
Other examples in the article are Arpège (a ghost of the original in terms if quality and natural products) and the new relaunched perfumes of Lancôme (Magie, Sikkim, Sagamore, Climat) that over the years turned out to be only an intention of quality and authenticity.
The tragic end of this 2006 article is that now the idea of quality is for many French brands just a projected dream that is transmitted to the consumer via many channels and not something real on the level of fragrance or bottle. Examples can be found very easy in the portfolio of Lancôme, Dior, Givenchy, Rochas, etc. The French label is also to be questioned and it is no news that Paris cannot guarantee the prestige. It's the well paid star, not French but international, that seems to be more important than the juice. On the other hand the use of the world tradition is also controversial because the reformulations are everything but not the "intact preservation" of the past. While the interior decoration of the Hermès store make you think of a glorious tradition, their classic perfumes are not the same story.
In terms of branding this will pose a huge problem to many French brands in the future. The mantra that was the core of their branding over the last decade when they conquered new markets was something like - tradition&history & high quality materials & savoir faire. Or it became very clear in many cases that the projected image is far away from what the brand is able to offer. Several brands are kept in the past, its ghosts and myths, but are not able to compete with it. One example is Caron and if you compare the artistic production pre 1960's (bottles, packaging, ads, fragrances, etc) with 2009 there is a big gap.
Once it was possible to speak about a french perfumery, an american or even an italian one. Now, it seems obsolete to qualify a fragrance done in Paris by a french perfumer and french team within a french group as an american creation just because the name of the brand and style of the picture evoke american images and name. Because everything is global the distinction made in the past fragrances american-french do not work anymore.
But this type of critique is very french - what was once described as the opposite of french ideals in terms of creation are now secretly admired (it started with Opium). The so called "american trend" of the 90's in terms of fragrances became the heart of the french brands.
If a certain type of critique works in other fields of consumer products, it is false in contemporary fragrances.
The same can be said about several italian brands. If they are not already own by french groups (and the creation is done in Paris), they are inspired by main stream perfumes. I was very surprise to "rediscover" several italian niche perfumes that were very french - Hypnotic Poison, Chanel No5 sweet, Opium, Must, Gardenia Chanel and several other creations remixed by "french noses" (I recognize the french school) and with a new dilution. Of course there are always exceptions but I think we are in a period when what is outside the bottle (the image, the story, etc) is not reflected at all by what is inside.
The fact that raw materials are more available and easy to find today, it was expected, as was the case in art last century, to see something like - the local fingerprint or, to a greater level - a national style. It is not the case. We are closer than ever to the effect of the global culture when things are created almost by the same brain, no matter the place on the globe. The Flankerland.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New Kilian fragrance in 2009 - Back to Black

Kilian goes vintage, at least he hopes so. For the new fragrance to be launched in september, called Back to Black "an olfactive aphrodisiac using the narcotic lure of tobacco" the press release speaks about a "a more audacious family composed with influences from the past". Was it Tabac Blond that inspired him? Or other less known perfume from the same type created in the 20's?
Reading the description, a short pyramid can be extracted.
Top: bergamot, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, raspberry (!), blue Chamomile.
Heart & base: honey(!), olibanum, cedar Atlas, vetyver, some oakmoss (!) and patchouli plus ciste labdanum, vanilla Bourbon, bitter almond (read 2 molecules because almond if natural is not a drydown note).
I'm very curious about this interpretation of the tobacco-honey note and its original influence. It seems that there is no light or floral note and all ingredients seem very tough. Already with Pure Oud (that I reviewed shortly this month, available in Paris) we are in a very dark, deep and strange context.
Photo: Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel - Bacchante Enivrée

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

More on Green Aria, the Scent Opera

A new article in the New York Art about the recent project of Christophe Laudamiel:
"In the arts, smell is the unloved sense. Whether your point of reference is Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk or John Waters’s scratch-and-sniff Odorama, your nose will be ignored or disappointed: Even those artists who say they want to embrace all the senses come up short with scent. So Green Aria, a ScentOpera, which makes its debut on May 31 and June 1 at the Guggenheim, has an especially audacious air to it. This is an experimental performance piece in which fragrance takes center stage. "
Another article is in New York Press:
"The scents themselves are “the cast of characters” that interact as dramatis personae, unfurling themselves to creep around nasal membranes in the sensual illustration of Matthew’s story. Smell takes the place of the voice in this “opera,” and “Green Aria” is its diva. For opera aficionados, the “opera” label may seem inappropriate, but Matthew characterizes each scent as a “voice.” In fragrance parlance, the story of a scent is told through a “top note, middle note and base note,” which amounts to “a kind of chord.” In this way, we see how Matthew and Laudamiel mean to treat scent as music."

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Givaudan cassettes

In the 80's Givaudan has created a tool to present and explain fragrances. The cassettes present through colour, scent and graphic design, the standard fragrance in each Givaudan analogy, the current market leader and Givaudan's creative offerings. Based on their classification (5 feminine analogies and 4 masculine) this was a communication tool on a new sensory level.
A more modern aproach, but this time created for a larger audience is the recent fragrance kits proposed by Osmoz.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Dioressence

Before the oriental era of Opium (YSL, 1977) that inspired many launches and the time of Dioressence (1979) and its very rich ambery note, there was a bath line at Dior. Inspired maybe by the rich scents created by Estée Lauder and the hippie indian theme of the late 60's Dior launched in 1969-1970 this collection. In a recent book about Dior and Marc Bohan era the line is said to be from 1973 but this is incorrect. Dioressence was already on the market in 1970 and here you have a photo of the range as it was advertised. When the perfume extract was advertised internationally in 1979 in some magazines it was presented as a relaunch. The creation of Guy Robert has a very deep ambery spicy note with patchouli and cinnamon, carnation and aldehydes on top that make a link with Miss Dior. It is interesting to compare it with a very distant cousin - Prada, they share several accords worked in different styles.

The Marc Bohan book is from the exhibition that takes place now at Dior Museum in Granville - « Dior, les années Bohan. Trois décennies de styles et de stars (1961-1989) » (until september 2009). A must see exhibition. It's for the first time after Dior "rebirth" under John Galliano that the house speaks about this period of their history. They had a strange attitude and Bohan period was left after 1996 in a dark and silent corner.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

A bottle for Givenchy

This is an obscure fragrance from 1977 called Chalène. It was floral, green and powdery, trendy notes in those times. But the bottle reminds me very much of the "harvest" collection of Givenchy - limited editions using special and different floral essences from their feminine perfumes. It was a standard bottle and possible several other mass market brands used it before Givenchy turned into a "luxury" product. The stopper is different because there is a vapo inside but the "regular" bottle style can also be found in their make up range (a powder).

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

The Master

In front of his organ, the master and his students. Jean Carles in the 60's in the labs of Roure.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Must try ... "devices"

This week I found two "devices" that are perfect in terms of testing a fragrance. At least for my nose, they offer something new, efficient with higlights on other facets than the traditional rectangular blotter.
The first great example comes from Guerlain. In their Champs Elysées boutique for the launch of the new trio (Paris New York, Paris Tokyo, Paris Moscou) there are 3 black boxes with a small button. When you press it, the fragrance will be released out of a whole (it looks like a video projector) and will give you the feeling of beeing in a wind tunnel. You actually smell the air that surrounds the perfume and the sensation is great. Of course, there are the testing cylinders of Frédéric Malle, but they do not work well. For me, they do not work at all, unless you are in a very clean environment and have a lot of time. Only the small testing machine in Victor Hugo store actually works for me. Guerlain has combined those ideas in a very simple and efficient tool. You can test the fragrances no matter how many you tested before (and Guerlain perfumes are really strong all together). The sensation is very nice and you can have the "whole picture" of those 3 fragrances within seconds. They smell better than on blotters. There are also several powder like jars, but here the drydown notes are emphasized. Paris Moscou smells more gourmand than it actually is. I hope that one day Guerlain will use this tool to provide a new experience to their collection. It is not the first time I see such a device. I saw one at Firmenich, but it looks very high tech and complicated.
The second example comes from Chanel. For the promotion of their Eau Première, they created a "fan" within a folded paper. It is a paper cut in very fine pieces, and the first is glued on the left while the last is glued the right side. Opened, it looks like the stairs they used in the promotion. But now comes the special part. If you spray a fragrance on those small blotter disposed like a rainbow making 180° in space, you have something like a 3D perception of the scent. It works very different compared to the regular blotter and you have the feeling to be inside the smell! I tested the No5 extrait and like this you can appreciate in a new way at least 3 notes - the special ylang, the rose oil and the orris overdose.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Genealogies

Yesterday I had a look at the very first Haarman & Reimer genealogies, from the 70's. I couldn't stop making at least 3 observations:
- only original perfumes have a great longevity. In fact from all the perfumes that were available on the market in the 70's and 80's, only those written in capital letters by H&R are on the market today (reformulated or not). Almost all fragrances that were inspired by other creations (read marketing research!!!), good or interesting, were buried long time ago leaving no trace (not in the Osmothèque, not on eBay).
- fragrance families are not a well defined academic notion, they evolve with the decades. Perfumes like Mitsouko (Guerlain), Y (YSL), l'Heure Bleue, Aromatics Elixir (Clinique) were placed in different "fragrant zones" than today. Because of other fragrances on the market different facets of the perfume were more important (or thought original). It took a long way to Miss Dior to become the green chypre we name it today.
- the masculine fougères were a little family before Paco Rabanne and Azzaro and it was the "marketing of the fragrant & modern male" that gave such a great family. It is also interesting to see the other family that was in competition with fougères until mid 80's - the masculine chypre. It was the 90's that changed everything. Masculine chypre could not go lighter and airy while aromatic fougère did and that lead to the final victory (until now) of the masculine fougères.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Diorling ?

The reformulation era will be remembered as the biggest commercial fraud in the european history of cosmetics. But sometime this "artistic genocide" that took place on an industrial scale had some strange elements.
Diorling was again reformulated, at least it is not the same Diorling sold 6 months ago in Paris! Under the name "Les Parfums de Monsieur Dior" you can find at Dior 3 classic perfumes (Eau Fraîche, Diorling, Diorissimo) and they are ment to evoke the glorious past. Diorling comes now as a very pale liquid and it smells like an eau de cologne version of the famous chypre leather perfume - 10 times diluted. It is a nice, soft and velvety interpretation but with a very poor tenacity on skin and blotter, I do not dislike it as a fragrance but it's a different story. It's not Diorling!
Diorling has never been a top seller at Dior. For many years it was not available or hard to get in their Montaigne boutique because it was not exposed. I do not understand why was it necessary to bring back a ghost and sell a perfume that has little to do with the power and character of the original. And to make things worse, it is put under the name "Les Parfums de Monsieur Dior". Christian Dior died several years before the official launch of Diorling. None of those perfumes were the fragrances that Monsieur Dior knew - they are reformulated fragrances sold as original perfumes and this is a fraud for the consumer. You are shown something that is false.
In the name of science and "law", quality and honesty have been sacrified in the past years. But this era will end soon. In 5-6 years the number of discontinued fragrances will increase and there will be not so much to reformulate. Those who had the power to change things have already betrayed their loyal customers.
But there are also happy news at Dior - J'adore Cologne Florale (not a cologne but a new perfume, deep and very radiant with a green watery touch) and Miss Dior Chérie Blooming Bouquet that was previously on the asian market (a rich garden floral with very delicate fruity shades).

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Scent Opera

You can read a recent article about Christophe Laudamiel and the opera "Green Aria" at the boundaries of scent art - Guggenheim Museum May 31 - in WallStreetJournal.

"The scent opera may be Mr. Laudamiel's most ambitious undertaking. In a darkened theater, audiences will be bombarded with smells, blasted in six-second sequences by a scent "microphone" attached to each seat. The scents tell the story of an epic struggle between nature and industry. Nearly five years in the making, the opera was conceived by Stewart Matthew, a corporate financier turned entrepreneur who co-founded Aeosphere, a "fragrance media" company, with Mr. Laudamiel in 2008."

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Xeryus - Givenchy

When it was launched to follow Ysatis, Xeryus had a previous version for a very limited period of time. In UK the Givenchy perfume was presented to the press as Keryus.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

YSL extrait

For a very short period, in the 70's Yves Saint Laurent had an extrait version of their masculine perfume. It seems that this was indeed the very first masculine extrait in the modern perfumery. The bottle suggests me a lipstick and is in the same spirit with the more recent feminine fragrance, Elle. Now, YSL became very conventional and not daring as the brand used to be in the past.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Guerlain - the capital trio

This spring Guerlain goes back 100 years and brings us a special vision of the world that seemed forgotten in our almost virtual society connected through scentless networks. Monet and his Giverny garden seems the real inspiration behind the vision of this new trio. Every city has a special fingerprint, if not real, at least in the realm of poetry and emotion. Tokyo - New York - Moscou are very different in style with all previous Guerlain perfumes. Light, clear and almost evanescent they seem to capture the scent of emotions, the breeze in a garden or those special and vague sensorial memories. I was tempted to say ... voilà Guerlainessence.
Paris - Tokyo captures the breeze under the blooming acacia, wisteria, cherry blossom and other ethearal and delicated scented flowers while their falling petals float over a green tea cup with a lemon slice or candied ginger. For some it might suggest in the beginning the Cherry Blossom perfume and a fresh vanilla-ylang note from another perfume. But very soon what I perceive is a blooming acacia followed by an ethereal jasmine served as a ceremonial the. It evolves in a very delicate style to a floral vanilla and that special feeling you have while smelling the flowers of a tree (cherry, apple, pear tree).
Paris - Moscou is for me the green side of the mimosa served with caramelized flower syrup. It is a sensational light fragrance with a gourmand note close to one of the previous trio. It suggests a metaphoric work around the odor of anisaldehyde - sweet, green, floral, edible or the curious mix of acacia and mimosa over a sweet honey balsam.
Paris - New York captures the cedar notes and botanical impressions found in central park. It smells like the bark of the trees with light spices and the drydown suggests a classic masculine perfume from Guerlain.
They come also with a guide of those cities, a map of scents and emotions that reminded me the japanese scents I described during the Prêt à Porter. This time it's not about the brand, the history, or reinventing perfumery but more about a special and intimate discovery of scents. I think that reading those map is important while testing the fragrance. I spent 20 minutes at Bon Marché because they couldn't give me one.
The idea seems to be a concept called geography of odours. I will detail in French with an 1995 text this concept of world exploration through odors.
Avec le nouveau trio parfumé inspiré des métropoles, Guerlain nous porte dans un térritoire intéréssant pour un débat culturel - la géographie des odeurs. Sous cette notion avait lieu en 1995 un colloque en France qui ouvrait la discution pour évaluer une nouvelle dimension de l'odeur et du parfum dans la civilisation. Volià comment était décrite cette nouvelle discipline par JeanRobert Pitte de l'Université de Sorbonne:
" La géographie des odeurs repose sur des fondements parfaitements objectifs, relevant de la physique, de la chimie, de la biologie. Les superstructures, quant à elles, sont d'ordre culturel et tendent donc les analyses complexes, puisque la perception varie d'un individu à l'autre, d'une société à l'atre et que, derrière les dilections, les répulsions et les indifférences, on trouve de l'éducation, de l'imaginaire et de la liberté. Aucune différénce, on le voit, avec les autres géographies des perceptions sensorielles: vue et paysages, très étudiés, gôut et saveurs, ouïe et sons, beaucoup moins, toucher et sesations de la peau, pas du tout."
Les 3 parfums Guerlain sont accompagnés de 3 cartes imaginaires où à travers de longues descriptions on est accompagné dans un périple sensoriel de ces 3 villes. A la manière d'un guide, on se promène à travers des endroits chargés d'émotions qui ont laissé une empreinte olfactive dans la mémoire. Paris - New York est un boisé botanique qui sent l'ombre, Paris - Moscou est un bouquet vert - sucré de fleurs où le mimosa / acacia laissent leur nectar comme un baume au soleil, Paris - Tokyo est un fleuri à l'odeur du vent à travers les cerisiers, pommiers et glycines narcotiques.

The city as a source of inspiration is a very old idea in perfumery and almost all great cities (including the ancient cities) gave birth to a fragrance in the XXth century (and recently to brands, american and italian).

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Molecular art

This is a post about the subtle art of molecules, the small and sometime delicate differences that tend to be forgotten, with a presentation of several old methyl ionones, each with a different personality. I apologyze I had no time to write that in english.

La parfumerie est un art subtil des molécules, une mise en scène où même "les simples" sont des univers complexes et méconnus. On appelle souvent la molécule une brique par rapport à un produit naturel qui serait un élément d'architecture. Mais ces briques sont loin de ce qu'elles ont l'air d'être.
Ce qu'on vend sous le nom d'une molécule n'est pas tout simplement 100% la molécule citée mais un mélange assez complexe et compliqué - un produit qui en plus… évolue dans le temps. Chez Givaudan la pureté des molécules vendues est en en général entre minimum 90% - 98%.
Le nérolidol, molécule à une odeur florale délicate, est en effet un mélange d'isomères. A cause de la double liaison du Carbone en position 6 il y a des isomères cis et trans et chacun existe dans une paire d'énantiomères car le carbone en 3 est asymétrique. Voilà donc que le nérolidol de synthèse est en effet un mélange de (±) cis et (±) trans nérolidol. Dans certains produits naturels certains isomères optiques vont être dominants.
Prenez l'acétate de benzyle, vendu partout et même en dehors la parfumerie, analysez-le et vous aurez une grande surprise. Tout cet univers qui porte humblement le nom d'une molécule est généré par la voie synthétique, le procédé de fabrication et finalement la purification. Il détermine à la fin une qualité olfactive et un prix.
La vanilline synthétisée à partir de l'eugénol, de l'iso eugénol, la lignine (via coniférine), du gayacol, du safrole ou même des 2 premiers par biotechnologie aura à la fin une odeur avec des nuances différentes - épicée, "naturelle", empyreumatique comme la teinture. C'est aussi le cas des molécules isolées des matières premières naturelles par rapport à la même molécule produite par synthèse. Le citral naturel que j'utilise a des facettes rosées et citronnelle.
Prenons le cas de la méthyl ionone, une des matières le plus employée dans la parfumerie. Chez Givaudan on trouve parmi d'autres qualités les produits suivants Cétone alpha, Isoraldéine 70, Isoraldeine 95 et Isoraldeine 95 cœur. Ce sont des mélanges de différents isomères de la méthyle ionone: iso alpha, n alpha, n beta, iso beta.
Isoraldéine 70 contient 60-70% iso alpha isomère et 20-30% n alpha isomère et moins de 10% de n beta isomère
Isoraldéine 95 contient plus de 85% iso alpha isomère et moins de 10% de iso beta isomère
Isoraldéine 95 Cœur contient plus de 80% de iso alpha isomère, moins de 10% n alpha isomère et moins de 10% de iso beta isomère
Cétone alpha contient 90-95% de iso alpha isomère, 2-6% de iso beta isomère et moins de 4% de n alpha isomère.
Dans ce qui reste on trouve on trouve bien d'autres produits dont beaucoup d'isomères de la méthyle ionone.
D'ailleurs, la famille des ionones, méthyle ionones et des irones est extrêmement riche en différents isomères.
L'odeur d'une méthyle ionone est en effet l'odeur d'un parfum avec toutes ses nuances et ses subtilités. C'est la raison pour laquelle dans un ancien catalogue de Laire, rédigé par Edmond Roudnitska, on trouve les description suivante:
Iraldéine 100% - note boisée et irisée
Iraldéine D 14 - note à effet cuir et boisé très particulière
Iraldéine D 23 - le type de la méthylionone cuir, sa note fruitée et animale est d'une rare intensité
Iraldéine extra 100%
Iraline - une remarquable note fruitée et boisée
Irénis - note poudrée
Iriséine
Parfois l'analyse des "impuretés" fait ressortir des molécules d'une très grande force qui ont un impact considérable sur l'odeur finale et qui ont servi de point de départ pour d'autres molécules. Le hydroxicitronellal, l'hedione ou l'iso e super sont des cas connus quand l'étude des "impuretés" a généré d'autres matières.
Il faut aussi préciser que le parfum n'est pas un milieu inerte. On pourrait comparer le flacon en verre à un flacon de laboratoire où ont lieu des réactions à pression atmosphérique et température ambiante. A part les réactions associées au vieillissement du parfum il y a les interactions entre les matières premières: formation d'acétals et hémi acétals, bases Schiff, et même les équilibres acide-base (notamment pour certains esters). Certaines molécules, en fonction du milieu, ont tendance à isomérisation et peuvent se transformer partiellement dans des molécules odorantes avec d'autres nuances, d'autres facettes.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Poésie

In the early 80's the was a german fragrance named Poésie from the 4711 house. Both bottles reminds me very much of another famous french creation.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Bulgarian fragrances - rose

Bulgarian rose oil is one of the most expensive products and in fine fragrances its contribution to the formula price was bigger than the orris concrete (you do not put so much orris, unless you do an orris fragrance :). This image is an export bulgarian eau de toilette, produced in the 80's and based on the rose oil.

The real bulgarian rose oil was used in great amounts in classic fragrance extracts like No5 Chanel or Arpège but also in modern creations from Annick Goutal and Artisan Parfumeur. During the years there were many attempts to produce a synthetic version of the oil, one famous range of products, fruit of intensive research, was Bulgaryol from Dragoco put on the market in the 50's.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Souk el Attarine

Mohammed El Hadi Anoun was the last descendant of the line which founded the perfume bazaar in Tunis many centuries ago - Souk el Attarine. He was interviewed in 1965 when he was the most respected member of the Perfumers' Guild:
"In my youth, our souk was indeed the kingdom of the perfumers and the rendezvous of the Tunisian aristocracy. One didn't see, as unfortunately one does today, these sellers of cakes of soap, brilliantine and ready bottled perfumes from Paris."
His greatest pride was the perfume "Bouquet of the Harem". Today, nobody knows how it smelled. It became also harder to find authentic local products or creations. Many so called floral oils are synthetic western creations.
The second photo is a postcard turn of the century of this souk, from Tunisautrefois.
You can read a story about modern "egyptian perfumery" (how the Occident and its copies invaded the tradition) here - Un Monde Ailleurs.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Gardenia

There was a pre 1890 gardenia parfume at Guerlain and one in the 30's when gardenia perfumes were very popular for white satin-champagne evening dresses. Joan Crawford made gardenias her emblematic flowers and for several years we can see the actress wearing those flowers in pictures.

The photo is from an ebay auction 5 years ago.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New fragrance in 2009: thoughts & on new perfumes & reviews

Tom Ford Private Blend
Arabian Wood - a very 70's perfume somewhere between Calandre, Métal and Sikkim (Lancôme) with green metallic notes, a very rosy heart, plus a classic green gardenia-rose-jasmine-lily of the valley accord, aldehydes, metallic mosses (evernyl). The galbanum note combined with the rose-orris and the woody drydown reminds me Chanel 19, but it's not so rich. Not oud at all.
Italian Cypress - very aromatic Polo like fragrance with cypress, pine, herbs on a strong patchouli-labdanum chypre base - a very classic idea redone today.
Champaca Absolute - a hyper concentrated idea from J'adore (Dior) with a light watery melon touch, a strong magnolia note and a sweet drydown, not very refined and not like the natural absolute. It seems to have an accord from White Patchouli.

Kenzo (the non identified) Ron Arad perfume - a very refined woody incense note, dark but light with delicate flowers, powdery musks and several resins. It is not a pyramid perfume but captures the deep and hard to described woods and resins that are burnt, maybe by on an OVNI (the UFO perfume) but without the classic smoke effect. It is very smooth like their Eau Indigo, rather a skin perfume with a special note that reminds me the gurjum balsam.
Armani Privé Cèdre Olympe - a new and special interpretation of the cedar note that suggest me both the bark (the Chêne idea from Lutens) of the tree and the greek religious ceremonies. It has a woody and incense note very delicate as if the perfume was a cloud, above evaporation laws. A perfume that gives you the impression that you need to be on the Olympe mountains to be able to capture its rarefied vapors.
Kenzo Amour Eau Florale - a very disturbing neroli and ocymene metallic version that goes so badly with the bitter grapefruit - black currant notes. Floral, but not pleasant compared to their recent Eaux Florales (from a strategic point, it's a stupid introduction. This bottle but also the pale blue packaging for the summer Kenzo Flower version has a very poor look, almost like their counterfeited versions.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

New fragrance in 2009: Pure Oud by Kilian

The special, very exclusive (only 12 bottles worldwide in 5 stores) fragrance created by Kilian and maybe the start of his Arabian Nights line can now be smelled in Paris. It is indeed a special, very dark, somber and strange woody note surrounded by resins and some animalic notes. It opens with a strong saffron note and another name could be "saffron leather". The very deep, musty and animalic leathery notes surround the spicy glittery saffron like a precious glove. Among the classic woody notes used in oud like perfumes (see the M7 accord) 2 materials are present here with a strong personality - cypriol and guaiacwood. The perfume is not as animalic as Le Labo's Oud, and not very contrasted yet a civet note is present between those precious woods. It's rather a dark ink (castoreum-vetiver like the Lalique perfume) with a special evolution in time until the very deep and long lasting notes of immortelle and flouve odorante. Those rare absolutes bring tobacco and dusty notes to the ambery drydown. It is indeed a very strange and precious oud note, nothing like Montale, very dry and smoky, with a very beautiful leather effect, not sweet and intoxicating.
Because I have no official information I guess that the 4 arabian ingredients used in the perfume are agarwood (orpur), myrrhe, saffron and amber.
In june, Kilian will be available in Dubaï and Abu Dhabi and I'm really curious if there will be only 12 bottles of this Pure Oud, or it's just a buzz.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Orange (r)Evolution

Today I was waiting for somebody at Printemps and I made a mistake... or an accident that I do regret now. I smelled at the counter of Hermès, Bel Ami and Equipage EDT. There is something very wrong with both new versions. Not only they are diluted versions of the originals but they lost the character, the strength and everything that made them great fragrances.
I am not pleased at all by this game played by Hermès (now opening new stores worldwide) and they do not have the right to convert the tastes of their former customers to the tastes of Jean Claude Ellena. I'd rather see all classic Hermès at the Osmothèque than reframed as a minimalist aquarelle version.
Mitsouko reformulation is a mastepiece compared to the modern heritage of Hermès... and that's really bad news. You cannot take a classic and rich creation of Guy Robert written for an orchestra and transpose it to chamber music. It sounds fake and amateur.
I wonder how far will they go with the lies sold to the consumer and embelished in magnificent words.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Champaca dreams

This a flower that hypnotized me for years. Here you have the best description of the scent of the floral concrete, by Roman Kaiser (Givaudan) in 1990:
"The basic fragrance complex of champaca concrete is certainly generated by the olfactive interaction of the ionones with indole and methyl anthranilate, which gains in its sparklingness and vibration by the effects of the jasminoids..."
The composition of the flower extract is a piece of art in terms of harmony of almost all major floral molecules present in surprising amounts - rose, violet, orange flower, jasmine - while the minor/trace constituents are even more surprising.
The best modern champaca perfume comes from Comme des Garçons while its metaphoric interpretation was best rendered by Calice Becker.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Geranium scents

After the discovery of Geranium pour Monsieur I thought that this is a good moment to present the odors of several scented Pelargoniums, now in every flowershop in Paris.

Pelargonium graveolens - rosy minty spicy (with beta caryoohyllene)
Pelargonium graveolens x tomentosum "Rober's lemon rose" - rosy-minty-citrus lemon
Pelargonium tomentosum - minty fresh (with pinenes)
Pelargonium radens - minty spicy
Pelargonium capitatum "Attar of Roses" - rosy minty
Pelargonium graveolens "Camphor Rose" - pungent minty rosy (pinenes and geranyl isobutyrate)
Pelargonium "Mabel grey" - very citrus rosy (citral)
Pelargonium "Frensham" - very citrus rosy (even more citral)
Pelargonium "Citronella" - very citrus rosy fruity (citronellyl formate)

Pelargonium tomentosum is the mintiest.
Pelargonium radens is the spiciest.
Pelargonium Frensham is the most lemony.
Bourbon geranium is the richest in citronellol while Pelargonium capitatum is the richest in geraniol.
Some of them present a fresh pungent pear-quince note.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Fragrance toy kit

"Deep inside us all, and particularly in childhood, is the love of making things ourselves. Catering to this trait in the youngster the writer recently introduced a perfume chemistry set, designed to teach children how to make perfumes of various type in much the same way the familiar chemistry sets show boys how to make different articles in daily use…. Certainly a great many little girls will learn early in life to love perfume by making their own. Perhaps, out of all this juvenile experience America will produce some day a perfumery genius of its own."

This is not the text of a recently launched perfumery set in the toy field but a … 1935 text. How strange it may seem, but "do it yourself perfumes", "fragrance ateliers", "discovery sets", "training kits" … are not the invention of our times. Many, if not almost all things that seem new in the business (including the Frédéric Malle cylinder) were around pre 50's, some of them on the market, other as a project.

The set contained 14 aroma chemicals
- Jasmonal A, benzyl acetate, citronellol, geraniol, hydroxicitronellal, terpineol, isobornylacetate, eugenol, phenylethyl alcohol, alfa and beta ionone, coumarine, vanillin, heliotropine, musk ketone.
- alcohol, dye stuffs, individual droppers, a measuring spoon, mixing glass, stirring rods, storage bottles, a book of blotters, fancy gift bottles
- a book of instruction for making floral perfumes and a history of perfumery

It is also interesting to notice what actually contained this educational kit - chemicals! In the 30's the chemistry had not a bad reputation, at least not for the consumers and I remember fashion articles praising the "chemical woman - la femme chimique". Today, to propose a toy kit with chemicals seems unthinkable, not because we learnt something new about those chemicals but because our consumer philosophy went through a radical change.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Perfume Shortage

What will be the effects of the economic crisis on the perfume industry?
I found by accident this short article from 1944 where Javier Serra from Dana (the man behind Tabu and other jewels) expressed his concerns about a possible fragrance shortage after the WWII ends. But it was also a clever step to boost sales based on the possible fear that fragrances could become rarer. What the industry needed before the end of the war was capital and a new attitude of the consumer. Looking back at the launches in 1945 and 1946 it is surprising to see major launches in an important number which contrasts with the hard times after the war.
20 years ago there was another crisis and this was reported also in the reports published about the sales and launches of perfumes.
Launches in France (as published in PCA):
1987 - 37
1988 - 33
1989 - 71
1990 - 84
1991 - 62
The effects of our crisis will be seen very soon:
- number of launches
- number of flankers
- number of new brands
- number of discontinued perfumes and maybe brands

There is already a side effect on the price of several perfumes. They are more expensive. But this is not because of the economic context but because of a clever strategy. When the predicted growth is not appealing you might adjust for a moment the price. It is also the occasion to gain the "lost" prestige with higher prices when the word luxury is used almost everywhere. Some brands from l'Oréal started to propose " entry level" fragrances / cosmetics with a lower price. Because fragrances are all sold more or less in the same place, it is the occasion for other to adopt higher prices and become more luxury, as they used to be before 1990.

Of course there will be an ethic issue here - reformulated perfumes and more expensive?

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Ridiculously brave!

I couldn't stop laughing when I saw and touched the bottle of the latest masculine perfume from Diesel - Only the brave. It is very small!!!! (even delicate) In contrast with the image, the ad, the name, everything supposed to be masculine and macho. It looks ridiculous on the shelves near all other masculine perfumes. In fact, it seems to be smaller than the bottles for child perfumes. It looks as if the inspiration was "the little hand" from Scary Movie 2.
It is a good example to explain what kitsch used to be in 19th and 20th century and why scale is so important in both art and architecture.
The fragrance has no interests - a copy of another masculine.
If you like the genre, try 1 Million (Paco Rabanne), far better on all aspects!.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Géranium pour Monsieur (Frédéric Malle) - New fragrance in 2009

With the new creation for Frédéric Malle, Dominique Ropion did the imposible giving a new interpretation and direction into the rather boring and formulaic masculine universe: the XXI century fougère, the new life for minty notes and a new concept of freshness.
Géranium pour Monsieur shows another aesthetic approach, previously explained in an interview given years ago by the IFF perfumer to Annick LeGuerer. Dominique Ropion works like a sculptor creating very concise and novel forms manipulating both the great volumes and the details. The perfumer looks with a magnifying glass inside natural raw materials (or scents) and then he exagerates a classic shape to a new, unknown dimension. Pure Fragrance Engineering! In Carnal Flower it was the eucalypt note (cineol is also present in the flower). For Géranium pour Monsieur is the mint. In fact, the green rosy geranium essential oil contains quite an important amount of several molecules with minty facets like menthone and isomenthone up to 7% (they are also present in roses) but also other curious molecules present at less than 0,008% but with a strong impact. If mint and geranium are the idea, the art of the fragrance lies in the specific quality of those materials, so well blended that they go beyond the simple mixture of several essential oils or molecules. It acts like a booster, like fireworks, or ... like a SF perfume with the speed of light.
Geranium as a masculine rawmaterial is not new at all. In fact, it has already been here since the XIXth century and since the very first Fougère Royale used to be a crucial element in all fougères. But allways hidden between other strong souls, between lavender and coumarin, between the aromatic notes and the woody-mossy drydown. With Géranium Pour Monsieur, Dominique Ropion reinvents fougère and casts the lights on its soul - the green pungent rose note, once à la boutonnière de monsieur. Because it was present everywhere (there were many geranium based colognes in England XIXth century) the geranium note has something familiar, recalling the barber's shop, a difficult task for the perfumer to avoid the déjà vu effect. But now, Le Mâle (Jean Paul Gaultier), another interpretation of the barber's shop scents, seems so XXth century compared to this HF creation.
The minty note is a very hard to use ingredient in fine fragrances because it can offer quite easily the "tooth paste" effect, unless it is used in cooling aftershaves. The other brave and very special perfume with an important minty note is Herba Fresca Acqua Allegoria (Guerlain). With Geranium pour Monsieur we might see a new life for this note that since 1 year seems to be used more and more (but not overdosed).
The drydown of Géranium pour Monsieur evokes the musky freshness of classic masculines colognes (even Brut) but again, the interpretation is modern, more in the spirit of Mugler Cologne and even the classic XIXth century accord clove-geranium-benjoin-musks is re-balanced in a totally new shape.
For this "futuristic" accord the only possible bottle that I imagine is the new Narciso Rodriguez - frozen mercury for a new generation of masculine notes.
Geranium as a major note has been used previously in Géranium d'Espagne (Lanvin), in a very rare Germaine Cellier creation (a geranium water) and more recently by Miller Harris in a geranium fragrance.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Elder flowers - Fleurs de Sureau

One of the most appreciated drinks when I was very little was prepared from fresh elderflowers (Sambucus nigra) mixed with water, sugar and lemon slices, macerated in a fresh place for several days and then served very cold, with ice cubes. For many years the smell of elderflowers intrigued me, and even more the rich and delicious "extract" that preserves and intensifies the scent of the flowers.
The natural fragrance is very floral, fruity, rosy, with shades of honey and sweet herbs / hay and something that suggests linden blossoms. In fact, it is a very rosy scent that reminds me some aspects of the litchi, the fruity heart of the rose jelly and less the flower. Cis Rose oxide and damascenone beta are present in important amounts but also nerol oxide, linalool and lower fatty aldehydes that bring a green-fruity note (like C9). The flowers show also a very delicate orris aspect with some tobacco, amine-like note (like in hawthorn), licorice and hay. It seems that some molecules known as dihydroedulan (found in traces in passion fruit and tobacco) might be responsible for the characteristic note, when combined to damascenone, but there is also another special molecule - hotrienol (floral fresh fruity with a melon aspect).
The elderflower note (but also the elderberry flavor) is not very much explored by the perfumer, to my knowledge and I do not know a perfume built around this note. There was a floral water in the XIXth century at Guerlain (Eau de Sureau), but it seems to be more a cosmetic product. The elderflower accord is also mentioned in Crystal Aura (Avon) and Un Parfum d'Ailleurs et Fleurs (The Different company).
Besides the scent of the flowers, there is now on the market an absolute from Robertet that I discovered quite late. It presents a delicious sweet, hay-herbaceous-coumarine, tobacco and confiture note with some new gourmand notes and dark honey wrapped in smoke and herbs. Both the flower and the absolute have some notes that reminds me the dark grapes, their juice and some very sweet wines.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Roses

The rose is the ultimate symbol of life, its diversity and constant evolution. I'd rather draw a rose than answer to the question what is rose. There are so many type or rose scents (all containing more or less the same molecules) that the rose concept is rather vague. And then, I hardly know a perfume without a rose note or a rose accord inside. Last week I followed the scent of 2 roses from their birth to their death, on my table. My town had in the past one of the richest rose collection in Europe. The first rose was created here in 1888 and very soon the collection won an amazing reputation among the royal houses of Balkans.
The first rose I studied was the Bulgarian rose, blooming in about the same climate. The fragrance evolved from the rose oil type to the rose absolute type when the flower started to fade. Very rich in citronellol, powdery and aldehydic (but spicy) the petals developed during the days the phenyl ethyl note with the distinct honey and wax shades as found in the absolute. The scent of the young flower is close in all details to what was sold to tourists as Bulgarian rose oil - a composition reproducing the scent of the plant and not the scent of the oil.
The second was a climbing, dark and velvety rose. The first notes showed a distinctive fresh pear note (like geranyl acetate) surrounded by a strong dose of geraniol (more than the other rose alcohols), damascone alpha and accents of damascenone. On the background some shades of apricot and even a suggestion of osmanthus was noticeable. After several days, the profile changed, the pear went into a green apple with notes of stems an grasses, the citronellol became more important while the phenyl ethyl alcohol and the hyacinth-faded petals dominated with something very sharp, aldehydic. Facets recalling geranium and rose oxide became important while the fresh, delicate and fruity note became deep and opulent.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Seringat in bloom

After acacias, it's time for scentsational white flowers. The mock orange flowers (Philadelphus coronarius) have a very powerful "white floral" fragrance that is stronger and narcotic during the evening. It shows common aspects with other flowers like jasmine (but not so animalic and spicy fruity), honeysuckle (but less lemony or sweet honey) and some types of magnolia. Compared to acacia flowers, it is less orange flower sweet and more indole, like while the GC shows the presence of the same important molecule called antranilic aldehyde (from this other important derivates are created inside the flower) - more than 10%. The flower shows an important indol note combined with characteristic terpenoid and benzenoid molecules. It is curious also its relation with the chestnut flowers. The flower is not very fruity, but there is a fruity shade like in apricot-pear-quince and there is a jasmine base on the market with that particular note. The jasmine note is more like a flowery bouquet, very blooming, like in Jasmophore. Here you have some notes to suggest the composition of a mock orange - seringat note:
- white jasmine, almost plastic like and fatty - cis 3 hexenyl benzoate, jasmonal A and H (and also benzyl propionate, Jasmal)
- indol - very much
- linalool oxide, ocymene, linalyl acetate
- a delicate orange flower note (methyl anthranilate)
- very small doses of acetophenone like molecules
- several jasmine lactones (but not the fruity ones plus several jasmone like molecules)
- a lemony magnolia / honey suckle note, verbenone like
- a very light green rose note, maybe geraniol
- a very delicate spicy peppery-nutmeg note
You can recreate the illusion of the flower working on a magnolia accord with some indol, white flower notes plus spicy accents like green pepper / nutmeg / laurel. Or from a light jasmine with green, anthranilates and magnolia notes.
Mock orange - seringat notes are used mainly floral bouquets. But here it is hard to see if this type of note was intentional or if it is the consequence, the illusion of other major floral notes that share many aspects with seringat. Here you have several perfumes where this note is very present: Eau de Camille (Annick Goutal), Un Certain Eté à Livadia (Baccarat), Dior - Dior, Baby Guerlain (there was also in the XIXth century a perfume called Syringa du Japon). Seringat effects can be detected also in Anais Anais and Charlie.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Guess the perfume

Dalloyau has recently presented a new delicious creation called "Pétale de Cerise" - almond, cranberry, raspberry, chantilly cream and black cherry.

Do you see the perfume? :)

photo from Joyce

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Fontaine de parfum

It seems that there will be more perfume fountains in the future. We already have the Caron, Mugler, the recent Guerlain and several other examples in Paris. It's also a good idea to recycle bottles and be ... green.

This is a perfume fountain from the 18th century, chinese and french, at the Louvre museum (from the collection of Marie Antoinette) - porcelaine, bronze, dorure, height 29 cm.

I hope that we'll see beautiful modern examples of this kind.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

EGO

I was reading today about egosurfing & egogoogling when I remembered a perfume from Pacoma called EGO, launched in 1978 (similar spicy aspects with Opium).

The ad copy said:

"Quand la femme est sujet et qu'elle n'est plus objet, quand s'exalte son moi profond, son charme singulier, quand les mots ne suffisent plus à dire ce qu'elle a d'unique au monde, alors un parfum sait la reconnaître et l'exprimer en secret."Ego de Pacoma, un parfum égoïstement vôtre!

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Petunia or rose?

I couldn't resist to post this fashion photo. But the flowers in the background...? night scented petunias or dark roses?

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

It's all about FAKE

A collection of fake perfumes from East Europe. Inside, there is a Givenchy that is already discontinued.

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART:

Dreams of Space

Maybe this century we'll see more than the Earth. I mean going in the space and living there. When it will happen this will be an aesthetic revolution for perfumery - fragrances will smell different and will work different with the changes of the gravity. How will perfumers conceive and master the evolution of molecules is still a mistery.
Already we can experience on earth the subtle differences of the same perfume around the world during travels from hot humid to hot dry or to very cold, etc. (do I see here a new type of flankers as it started already in cosmetics?).
The antigravity fragrance, to scent Einstein's formula :)

Did you like my article? Sign up for updates about new fragrances and vintage reviews of artistic perfumes

Fragrance is the 8th ART: