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

Some fragrances need to be well-tested over time to become classics. Guerlain Nahéma was an utter failure when first launched in 1979, but today its ripe, voluptuous accord of ylang-ylang, rose and sandalwood is considered archetypal. Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan, on the other hand, has achieved the status of an amber gold standard in a mere decade. Created as an interpretation of a classical sweet amber theme, today it is among the most imitated and recognizable amber fragrances. The genius of Serge Lutens and perfumer Christopher Sheldrake lied in layering a sweet, unctuous amber accord with the camphorous brightness of herbs. The result is a fascinating sweet-savory interplay that evokes as much caramel ganache as tomates à la provençale (tomatoes grilled with parsley and oregano.)

Continue reading →

The classical amber in perfumery is a sweet, rich accord of labdanum and vanilla. In contrast to the marine and animalic ambergris, it is a pure fantasy accord like fougère or chypre, and despite the fact that its name evokes the fabled material, ambergris, it does not attempt to reproduce this animalic marine scent. Perfumery amber is so called, because the golden color of the blend resembles the semi-precious amber jewel. Sweet and voluptuous, perfumery amber is quite versatile, and whenever one encounters a fragrance named Amber or Ambre, it is likely to be a warm, vanilla and labdanum based blend.

Continue reading →

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2o12 France

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Popular Fragrances Spring 2012

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2011 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 France

To round out the list of blockbusters last year, the next two posts in this series will focus on masculine fragrances. Looking at the top sellers in men’s market, I was surprised to discover that a newcomer pastiche like Bleu de Chanel managed to outsell the traditional masculine blockbuster Giorgio Armani Acqua di Giò Pour Homme by quite a sizable margin. This discovery followed another one—there are more classical, older fragrance among masculine top sellers than is the case with the feminine ones.

Continue reading →

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

In the past, it was more common for functional products to imitate luxurious fine fragrances. That is why there were hair sprays scented with something like Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps, car fresheners redolent of Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir, and bathroom cleaners strongly reminiscent of Lancôme Trésor. Today, I am much more likely to find resemblance to functional products in fine fragrances, thanks to the fashion for clean, simple scents and the cheapening of luxury perfume overall. My latest encounter of such a hybrid is Jo Malone Wild Bluebell. It is a bright, lily of the valley dominated floral that I can envision far easier as a shampoo or fabric softener rather than a fine fragrance.

Continue reading →

What fragrance terms do you find confusing? About which perfume concepts would you have liked to learn more?

Amber, musk, petally, floralcy, butyric, crisp…. Fragrance professionals struggle with the language, with which to describe perfume, and it does not help matters that the information available to the consumers is often extremely confusing. Among the perfume adjectives that I have always found confusing (and still do) is soapy, which can mean lots of different things to different people.