Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.
Estée Lauder Tom Ford Azurée is now available as Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess.
The vintage glamour seems to pervade the newest Tom Ford Collection for Estée Lauder, from the turquoise blue shades of the packaging to the smoky eye and pale lip color palette. Azurée was Estée Lauder’s fragrance created as a feminine answer to the virile leather chypre of Aramis. However, instead of treating leather in an assertive manner, Azurée was modulated by woods and rich floral notes. Its lilting name arose from combination of Estée Lauder’s name and Côte d’Azur. Pronounce Azurée slowly, and you can almost envision the blue sky falling into the glittering waters of the Mediterranean Sea. …
Tom Ford’s inspiration for the new collection was derived from much the same source. “In the beginning, I went through the Estée Lauder archives and found vintage packaging from the ’60s and ’70s in really luxe shades of blue. These blues were the main inspiration for the Azurée Collection, as were the decades they came from. I’ve always been inspired by that era of experimentalism and freedom of expression,” mentions Ford in an interview to Elle Canada. The scent associated with the collection is a take on the classical Azurée, and yet it is a completely modern vision, lacking sentimental overtones.
The most concentrated form of new Azurée can be found in the body spray. It revolves around the wood accord of the original Azurée, accenting it with the soft kiss of gardenia and the modern amber notes rendered with radiant clarity. The creaminess of sandalwood marries perfectly with the oil based fragrance, which softly veils the skin, drying within seconds and retaining the delicate ambery-woody melody. A touch of white florals weaves gently into the orchestration, like a delicate vine embracing the whitewashed stone walls. The pronounced woodiness would make the body oil suitable for men as well, and despite its tropical notes, the effect is anything but the predictable coconut-tiare fare. Marked by the sophistication and elegance, Azurée body spray allows one to fall deep into the reverie of summer, with its languorous warmth being able to conjure the balmy days even in the dead of winter.
Tom Ford’s vision of Azurée includes notes of tiare, Tahitian gardenia, orange blossom, coconut, sandalwood, myrrh, and vetiver. Estée Lauder Azurée Collection is available at Neiman Marcus, Bergdoft Goodman, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. The only thing I find disappointing is that the Estée Lauder counters never have any testers of their classics, other than Youth Dew. Given the beauty of fragrances likes Aliage, Private Collection and the original Azurée, this seems like such a loss.
18 Comments
Laura: Well, now, THIS one should be easy to find and try! V, when all is said and done, though, is it still just a nice department store perfume? May 26, 2006 at 5:24am
Marina: Oh, this sounds wonderful! And I love the colors and the whole retro-chic thing that it has going on. May 26, 2006 at 8:38am
violetnoir: Not to linger anymore on the topic, but the Estee Lauder counters I visit have plenty of testers. In fact, the Macys in Pasadena was selling the original Azuree about five years ago. They may still have it.
Anyway, I smelled the original on a woman at the grocery store around the time referenced above, and she told me that was her “signature” fragrance. It smelled divine on her! When I tested it on myself, it did not smell nearly as divine on me, leading me to conclude that she may have mixed her “signature” with something else. Who knows???
I was wondering if the new Azuree collection included a fragrance, because the advertising I have seen focuses on the other products. If you think it is good, I will be sure to test this one the next time I am in the mall.
Hugs! May 26, 2006 at 2:03pm
Ayala: Never smelled the original Azuree, but this sounds like it could be interesting.
The Estee Lauder counters here in Canada do have testers of their classics besides Youth Dew – anyways, the ones that are still sold, of course: Cinnabar, Private Collection, Estee, Knowing and Beautiful. These all have a vintage feel to them, with bold aldeyhidc notes and the unmistakable Estee Lauder sillage… May 26, 2006 at 10:09am
Jennifer: Ironically if you go to an Ulta store they have testers of the classic estee lauder scents. May 26, 2006 at 11:40am
BoisdeJasmin: L, it is very nice, and to be honest, if it came under a niche label, I would not have found it surprising. However, I love nearly everything done under Tom Ford’s creative direction. May 26, 2006 at 4:23pm
BoisdeJasmin: M, I agree–the whole colour scheme is very 70s chic. May 26, 2006 at 4:23pm
BoisdeJasmin: Ayala, my favourite Estee Lauder fragrance is White Linen, although Aliage is another one I very much enjoy. The rest are very interesting, but it is a shame that at least, on the East Coast, I have not been able to find a counter with testers. The sales associates will usually produce a bottle from the secret drawer if asked, but it will not be found otherwise. Well, Beautiful, Knowing and White Linen are usually present. May 26, 2006 at 4:26pm
BoisdeJasmin: Jennifer, yes, that is where I got to try them. May 26, 2006 at 4:26pm
BoisdeJasmin: R, when I asked a sales associate at Neimans why they do not have testers of the classical fragrances, she pursed her lips and said, “Well, they are old, and Estee Lauder is dead after all. Who would want them?” I wish I were joking.
The collection does not really include a fragrance per se, but the body oil spray. It is a part of its summer line, and it fits well. The scent is quite lovely, and the light oil texture is great, even though ordinarily I do not care for oils. May 26, 2006 at 4:30pm
Karin: I don’t know that my store here had the fragrance. They do have the stick blushes and the lotion that is tinted. That seemed intriguing. I’ll have to go back when it is daylight and try it to see if it is too dark for me. May 26, 2006 at 9:45pm
Ayala: Is the image from the Azuree ad? By the way, is it my imagination, or is the model just about to die from starvation? May 28, 2006 at 2:07pm
BoisdeJasmin: Karin, tinted body glow has the same fragrance as the body oil spray, however the tint does not show up that well on me. I much prefer the body spray. May 28, 2006 at 6:53pm
BoisdeJasmin: Ayala, yes, that is the Azuree summer 2006 collection ad. To me, the model, Carolyn Murphy, looks thin, but healthy and toned. May 28, 2006 at 7:17pm
moon_fish: Today I found vintage bottle of Azuree Estee Lauder and bought it immediately!!! 🙂 Needless to say it was the last bottle! 😉
So – if you ask me about the scent – it smells alike Cabochard de Gres. Flowery leather chypre, very good quality and men could wear it any day. May 31, 2006 at 5:18am
BoisdeJasmin: Sergej, yes, I think that it is definitely in the same category as Cabochard, which itself is a relative of Aramis. Azuree was supposed to be a feminine version of Aramis. I cannot agree more with your description. Congratulations on this great purchase! May 31, 2006 at 11:21am
Ayala: Victoria, maybe if there were ever images of perfectly healthy yet slightly rounder women on ads I wouldn’t be so alarmed. And also if there were a few less young women that I know that do not have an eating disroder, partly thanks to the dominance of unrealistic feminine body images in the media, ads, films, etc. It would have helped if there were more images out there of beautiful women that have other body types besides the unusually tall and slender type. Incidentally, only very few women belong to this body shape category, and most of these end up being models and are rarely met by real women in real life, perhaps because of theri busy schedule 😉 June 6, 2006 at 9:21am
Melanie Gee: I haven’t spotted the “new” Azuree here in the “boonies” Sounds completley removed from the original. I’ve been mourning the gradual removal of Azuree from perfume counters. Sure hope there’s enough original left for us die-hards. June 16, 2006 at 4:31pm