Perfume 101: 517 posts

I confess to a perfume quirk:  I love to coordinate fragrance and clothes. I’ve been doing it since I was thirteen, when such a task was made much simpler by the smaller number of perfumes in my wardrobe. By the time I was in high school, the coordination was fairly routine and easy to follow.  Brown clothing (specifically, Levis brown cords) never matched up with a light blue tunic or with any fragrance that I deemed blue.  Whether a fragrance was blue (or green or red or any color at all) depended on a variety of factors, like the color of the bottle, the color of the juice, or the “feel.”

“Feel” was and still is impossible for me to describe, but many perfumistas will know exactly what I mean.  Sometimes determining the color might be simple:  Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche was blue because of the bottle and the sky-high aldehydes, the fizzy, champagne-like notes that smell effervescent and blue to me.  Revlon Charlie was yellow because the juice is gold and fizzy (I daringly wore it with a yellow ribbed sweater and orange jeans.) Houbigant Chantilly was light brown and I wore it with beige and never with teal.

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With the onslaught of new launches, you might wonder ends up a success and what vanishes into the perfume twilight zone populated by the 77th flanker on Very Irrésistible and minor celebrity fragrances. Every year the industry decries the fast pace of launches, and every year it goes on to produce even more. One favorite explanation is that we, the consumers, are demanding more and new things, but to me, to put it mildly, this is sheer nonsense. Blaming the consumer when the realities of making a profit in the fragrance market today have changed doesn’t make sense.

In the past, fragrance houses devoted years to developing new fragrances, because having a potential classic guaranteed consumer loyalty and established a brand’s reputation. The launches were gradual, usually starting in France or the US and slowly moving across the world. There was no expectation that a fragrance needs to be an immediate blockbuster, knocking it out of the park within the first quarter.

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Some years ago, during a period of intense dating activity, I haphazardly selected a first-date perfume that, to use common idiom, drove men wild, turned men on, made men mad with desire.  I was never one to deliberate over a perfume choice, other than to question whether the strength of something was appropriate for close quarters, so my choice of a date perfume was a random, last-minute one.

What was this magic brew?

I will have to string you along a bit longer, while I take an excursus into the topic of what perfume do men like (and what perfume do women like) and what is the sexiest fragrance.  I’m going to knock that last one flat and say that the sexiest fragrance is the one that makes you feel attractive and confident, fun and engaging.  It should work to enhance your personality, rather than to drag it down.

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I’ve never seen such well-dressed, beautifully groomed women as in Tokyo. At Harajuku or Ginza, two high-glamour areas with distinctly different vibes, you will see one impeccably coiffed beauty after another tottering in her impossibly high heels, looking as if she’s ready for a magazine cover.  Beauty is big business in Japan, where the sales of cosmetics make this country the world’s second largest market after the US. You can find entire magazines devoted to nothing but color cosmetics, with the kind of attention to detail that is downright astounding. I flip open the makeup magazine, Biteki, to find technical illustrations, sophisticated instructions and comparison charts on topics as straightforward as the application of lipstick or as complex as anti-aging skincare.

By comparison, perfume is not represented nearly as well . Walking through the glittering halls of the Mitsukoshi or Takashimaya department stores, you won’t find the endless expanse of fragrance bars that you would see at Neiman Marcus or even Macy’s. This is not to say that there isn’t an interesting selection of both prestige and niche lines in Japan. They are available, along with detailed technical explanations on how your fragrance was made and how you are supposed to enjoy it. Have you ever received a brochure describing how to apply fragrance from your local perfume store? At Mitsukoshi, that’s exactly what would wind up in your bag, along with an exquisitely wrapped bottle.

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Yesterday, when reviewing Valentino Valentina Acqua Floreale, Kenzo Amour I Love You, and Juicy Couture La La, I promised three more sheer spring roses.  The fragrances chosen today, Cartier Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose, Balenciaga L’Eau Rose, and Van Cleef et Arpels Féerie Spring Blossom set rose into a frame of woods and amber. In contrast to yesterday’s selection, this group is crisp and sharp, rather than soft and romantic.

Cartier Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose

Quality is never an issue at Cartier, and with Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose you’re getting a well-made woody rose. The floral accord that feels rich despite being crystalline and luminous is superimposed on the dry amber base. The original Eau de Cartier is a peppery cedarwood with a wistful leafy note, and Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose retraces some of its austere form. A touch of sweetness from rose is an interesting touch. Even vanilla feels crisp and crunchy in this perfume.  Of course, you can find many great amber roses at a lower price point, such as the fabulous Yves Rocher Rose Absolu, but Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose is a worthwhile option. Continue reading →