Armani Privé line now features four candles: Ambre Soie (warm sweetness of amber), Eau de Jade (crushed leaves, neroli and Calabrian bergamot peel), Pierre de Lune (cassis and orange blossom), and Bois d’Encens (cedar crowned by pepper laced frankincense). The candles are featured in wooded boxes decorated with stone ornaments, much like the fragrance bottles. The presentation is quite gorgeous, as are the scents emanating from their waxy contents. The candles are priced at $55. The line is available at Giorgio Armani boutiques, Saks 5th Avenue, and Harrods in the UK as well as directly from Giorgio Armani website.

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

Estee Lauder Youth Dew, introduced in 1953, was renowned for featuring 30% oil concentration, almost triple the usual amount. Its pairing of balsamic richness with a cloud of earthy patchouli renders the composition as dark, heavy and intriguingly languorous. At the same time, its dense and sonorous effect can be an olfactory challenge. Thus, for the winter of 2005, Estée Lauder revealed an Amber Nude collection designed by Tom Ford, with the Youth Dew interpretation joining the Lauder classic. Youth Dew Amber Nude promised to respect the character of the original composition, while unveiling its softer side.

The composition indeed is structured around the spicy floral heart and the balsamic base like the original Youth Dew; however, Amber Nude is sweeter and more luminous. Spices are gently folded into the main accord, in contrast to their liberal layering in the original. Where the sweetness of Youth Dew comes from dark rich notes of tolu balsam and benzoin, Amber Nude relies on gourmand vanilla, powdery chocolate and transparent amber. …

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Estée Lauder and her husband Joseph started a business in 1946 to market her uncle’s skincare preparations. Lauder launched her first fragrance Youth Dew in 1953 (created by perfumer Josephine Catapano), cleverly marketing it as bath oil. Although at the time perfume was considered a luxury item reserved for special occasions, bath oil could be applied every night. In 1964, Lauder introduced her first masculine fragrance, Aramis, which like Youth Dew has become an enormous success.

Photo: Estée Lauder, read more on osmoz.com.

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

If perfume allows the imagination to paint vivid pictures, Chanel Cuir de Russie is a fragrance that seems to embody a whole story. From the shimmering dry aldehydic top to the warm leathery base, it unveils one image after another. One can almost envision an elegant woman reaching into a black leather handbag, her hand rummaging through its contents: red lipstick, powder compact exuding an aroma of violets, a silver cigarette case… The owner of the fragrant handbag also seems to be fond of listening to jazz in smoky clubs since Cuir de Russie has an alluring note redolent of soft tobacco pervading its leathery smoothness. It is indeed a scent of the fine handbag and the warm skin of its beautiful owner.

Cuir de Russie, “Russian Leather” was a popular theme at the end of the 19 th century, with similarly named fragrances offered by houses like Guerlain and LT Piver. Created in 1924 by Ernest Beaux, the fragrance was intended to provoke and shock, being dedicated to the woman who is not afraid to smoke in public nor speak her mind. …

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Guild of Glovers was among the most important guilds, and in 1268 it was granted a status of corporation in Paris. Due to the fact that tanning process made use of malodorous nitrogenous wastes, gloves and leather goods had to be scented. Therefore, it would be fair to say that glove-making was an important starting point for the inception of perfumery in France, and particularly in Grasse. “In March of 1673, Colbert’s Ordinance of Commerce put the industry of gantiers-poudriers-parfumeurs on a more stable footing as part of the Six Corps, the six most powerful business societies of the day, with priviledged access to products from overseas” (156).

Leather goods would remain an important part of the luxury industry, however in the 1760s the government introduced high imposts on hides, which crushed the revenues of the gantier-parfumeurs, the glove-making associations. Thus, Grasse retained its prominence in perfumery to this day, since its rival Montpellier had invested much more in glove-making aspect of perfume industry and could not survive the industry collapse.

Reference: Morris, Edwin T. 1984. Fragrance: The Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel. E.T. Morris and Co., New York.