June 2007: 2 posts

I already visited the Paul Poiret exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum twice. It made quite an impression on me, especially since I have had a chance to smell a number of Paul Poiret’s fragrances such as Nuit de Chine and Le Fruit Défendu. Moreover, I recently found out that there is a book on Poiret fragrances published by Christie Mayer Lefkowith, an art historian and a mastermind behind some of the most renowned perfume bottle auctions which are held annually in Geneva. Her “The Art of Perfume” and “Masterpieces of the Perfume Industry” books are the information rich sources that have long been praised by perfume lovers and particularly bottle collectors. Therefore, I was anticipating having another perfume book to read.

I browsed “Paul Poiret and his Rosine Perfumes” during a recent visit to the museum and bought it on the spot. It is packed not only with the fantastic photographs of Poiret, his fashions and fragrance bottles, but also very interesting and illuminating information about the creator himself and his philosophy. Ms. Mayer Lefkowith also loaned 40 Rosine items from her personal collection, which must be incredible! Mayer Lefkowith’s website provides a glimpse inside the book.

The Fragrance Foundation has honored the winners at the 35th Annual FiFi Awards & Celebration event yesterday. Here is my report to you from in the Winter Garden at The World Financial Center in New York City. The winners have been selected out of the top five finalists.  Please note that niche in the context of FiFi means that the fragrance is carried in less than 250 retail and speciality stores.

P. Diddy Sean Combs, Paula Abdul, Daisy Fuentes, Zac Posen and Jane Seymour were among the presenters for the event, of which P. Diddy (as one might expect) was the most entertaining. Moreover, the Hall of Fame Award went to Donna Karan this year. She gave a rather touching speech, in which she credited her late husband Stephen Weiss as her inspiration for starting the fragrance line in the first place.

Fragrance Hall of Fame
• Thierry Mugler Angel – Clarins Group

Fragrance of the Year – Women’s Nouveau Niche
• Kenzo Amour – Kenzo Parfums

Fragrance of the Year – Men’s Nouveau Niche
•Viktor & Rolf Antidote – L’Oréal USA

Fragrance of the Year – Women’s Luxe
•Juicy Couture – Liz Claiborne Cosmetics

Fragrance of the Year – Men’s Luxe (tie)
•Terre d’Hermès – Hermès
•Unforgivable by Sean John – Sean John Fragrances/Estée Lauder

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