March 2006: 23 posts

Chanel No. 19 needs no words of praise because its beauty renders them superfluous. Even its seemingly difficult facets—the aggressive verdancy of galbanum, the woody duskiness of iris—are arranged in such a harmonious manner that one cannot but admire how the green, vibrant top notes melt into the leathery darkness of the base.

The number 19 refers to Coco Chanel’s birthday, August 19th. The story goes that No.19 was her personal fragrance; however, this is unlikely, since the perfume was composed only in 1970, less than a year before her death. No. 19 was created by the Chanel in-house perfumer Henri Robert, who is also responsible for the chypre austerity of Pour Monsieur (1955) and the shimmery bite of Cristalle EDT (1974). Robert created only a few fragrances for the house; however, his contribution cannot be measured by the number of perfumes linked to his name. Being responsible for maintaining the quality of Chanel No. 5, searching out the best quality materials and adapting the formula for the parfum de toilette and eau de toilette, Robert has to be credited for the continuing success of No. 5. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Red Delicious for Women, the newest limited edition fragrance from Donna Karan, is a counterpart to Be Delicious (2004), a composition that forges an apple out of violet leaves. The perfumer Maurice Roucel’s choice of accords for Be Delicious is very interesting, since despite the availability of aroma materials that offer a remarkably photorealistic representation of an apple, he selected a green floral, with a rich cucumber undertone. The dewy juiciness of green leaves lends itself to the construction of a green apple that leaves the wearer wondering whether it is a fruit, a flower or a leaf. Despite my minimal interest in the fruity-floral genre, I found myself revisiting Be Delicious on a number of occasions after having been intrigued by its clever composition.

Red Delicious preserves the green crispness of Roucel’s original creation; however, the composition evolves as a more conventional fruity-floral, with the sweet berry notes taming the green cucumbery abstraction into a vision of a ripe red apple. …

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Hermès has released a limited edition version of its perfume Eau des Merveilles. Eau des Merveilles Constellation contains the notes of woods, balsam Peru, Siam oak, benzoin, cedarwood, ambergris, Seville orange, pepper, sweet spices. It is already available from major retailers such as Saks5thAvenue as well as discounter such as Imagination Perfumery. Imagination Perfumery currents offers a 10% off coupon 134411F26F (expires on March 24).

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Yvresse attests to the fact that it is possible to capture the sensation of champagne bubbles bursting on the lips, while the warmth of the golden liquid relaxes the limbs and melts away worries. From the effervescent top accord to the crystal bottle designed by Joël Desgrippes to resemble a champagne cork, the elements of Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse (formerly known as Champagne) coalesce into a vision of sparkly, exuberant liquid.

Created by Sophia Grojsman in 1993, Yvresse prompts me to recall Napoleon Bonaparte’s “I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate . . . and I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself”: Yvresse is a fragrance that I wear when I want to feel elegant and glamorous, but also when tenderness and comfort are what I seek. …

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In the New York Times article, Scent of A Man, Chandler Burr picks four of his favorite new releases: Fico di Amalfi by Acqua di Parma (bergamot, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, cedar, fig nectar, pink pepper, jasmine, fig wood, musk and cedar), Everlast fragrance (fresh citrus and leather), Fresh Cannabis Santal (bergamot, Brazilian orange, black plum; patchouli, rose, cannabis accord, chocolate, vetiver and vanilla musk), Hermès Terre d’Hermès (orange, grapefruit, mineral note, pepper, bay rose, geranium, patchouli, benzoin, vetiver and Atlas cedar).