A man at the outdoor market where I shop each Friday cuts melons to entice customers. He lays out a colorful platter that looks like a Byzanthine mosaic of golden cantaloupe slivers, opalescent musk melon cubes, with an occasional splash of watermelon red. The colors makes me wish that I had a big pile of summer dresses in these shades, but it’s the scent that makes me bring home more fruit than the two of us can possibly eat. The perfume of ripe melon has an almost tangible quality, and its musky sweetness is so seductive, I feel lightheaded.

Yet, as much as I love melons, when I hear that a perfume contains this note, I approach it with caution. Too many melon fragrances have crossed my path that smelled either too sweet, too artificial or both. For this reason, it took me a very long time to try Parfums DelRae Emotionnelle.

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More Noir perfumes for fall. Agent Provocateur will release a new fragrance called Pétale Noir in October 2012. The concept behind the fragrance is a hidden dark secret.  Pétale Noir is a floral oriental perfume, which includes notes of water lily, violet leaves, hyacinth, magnolia, rose absolute, ylang ylang, neroli, heliotrope, osmanthus, ginger, tobacco leaf, amber, and leather.

A body elixir will be launched alongside the perfume, “promising aphrodisiac properties and a tingly feeling on the skin.” Via theupcoming

Over the past few weeks, I’ve reviewed a few summery fruity-floral fragrances, from Parfums de Nicolaï L’Eau à la Folie to Parfums DelRae Emotionnelle. As I was wearing these fun and bubbly perfumes, I realized that I’m enjoying them far more than I thought I would.

I love iris, woods and jasmine notes. Those scents are immediately appealing and don’t require me to try too hard. But I always think of fruity notes as difficult. Yet, when I examine some of my favorites closely, I realize that I have quite a few fruity scents that I love and wouldn’t give up for anything: Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune (my most recent rediscovery thanks to Suzanna’s review), Hermès Un Jardin Après La Mousson, Vero Profumo Rubj, Donna Karan Be Delicious, to name a few.

What about you? What are your favorite fruity or fruity floral perfumes? And feel free to say that you dislike all fruity fragrances!

By the way, you might have noticed that there is a clear summer theme on Bois de Jasmin this week. This is because even my rainy Northern city has finally received its share of sunshine!

Gooseberries photo by Bois de Jasmin

Note: I’ve been meaning to let you know that the Long Lost Favorite Perfume series has been forced on a vacation due to my move. Most of my vintage samples are still waiting their shipment to my new home, so once they arrive, I will resume the series.

Since I posted about Hermès L’Ambre des Merveilles yesterday, I realized that it’s going to join a lineup of several other new amber perfumes for fall. Below are a few fragrances that captured my attention.

Maître Parfumeur et Gantier will launch Ambre Doré in August 2012. Created by perfumer Frederic Stalin, it’s described as “classical and mysterious.” The notes will include geranium, clary sage, styrax, oud, ambergris, coriander, saffron, myrrh, sandalwood, and vetiver. “The choice of amber was not by accident, as in this olfactive mix the oud needs to perform as is hoped for; control its strength and respect its role to bring harmony to the formula.” Eau de Parfum will retail for $120. Continue reading →

“Why does all I do become byzantine?” — Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel

Chanel is launching a new fragrance Coco Noir in September 2012. The fragrance was inspired by the time Coco Chanel spent in Venice, and the idea of Venetian velvet is a recurring motif. A variation on Coco, an opulent floral oriental, Coco Noir was created by Jacques Polge. The notes include Calabrian bergamot, grapefruit, rose, jasmine, narcissus, geranium, tonka bean, Indonesian patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, incense, and  white musk.

It will be available at selected stores starting August 15th and worldwide in September. Please see more about the launch and available sizes at Nowsmellthis. Via theharlow.net