News: 582 posts

This October, the makeup artist Terry de Gunzburg will launch her first fragrance collection. Collection de Haute Parfumerie de Terry de Gunzburg will include Parti Pris (tuberose, jasmine, ylang-ylang), Rêve Opulent (hyacinth, rose, floral notes), Lumière d’Épices (spicy woods), Ombre Mercure (iris, violet, patchouli, woods), and Flagrant Délice (fig, green notes, gourmand accord). You might know de Gunzburg’s work through Touche Éclat, an innovative concealer and brightener she created while heading up make-up design for Yves Saint Laurent.

The fragrances were created by perfumers Karine Vinchon-Spehner, Jacques Fleury, Arthur Le Tourneur d’Ison, and Sidonie Lancesseur, and according to the press release, the fragrances include iris butter, tuberose absolute, rose essence, ylang ylang, and other precious materials. As de Gunzburg said, “I had to ignore the ‘dos and don’ts’ imposed by trends or by a commercial brief. Free from any restrictions, I have followed my instinct to create pure, original and extravagantly high-quality fragrances.”

Besides her own fragrances, she likes to wear a smoky orange blossom perfume created for her by Francis Kurkdjian. Sometimes she wears different perfumes on different parts of her body: Aromatics Elixir on the wrists, Opium parfum in the hollow of the neck, rose absolute on her clothes.

Each fragrance will be available as a 100ml EDP spray/£105 and a 50ml EDP spray/£68.

Via press release, nouvelobs.com and fashionmonitor.com.

An Austrian niche line Puredistance will release its new fragrance Opardu in November of 2012. Created by perfumer Annie Buzantian, it reportedly contains 32% of perfume oil and features violet, heliotrope, lilac, musk, and woods. “Opardu is inspired by the romance and opulence of the 1920s and by the expressive paintings of Kees van Dongen. The word and concept of Opardu is an invention of  the owner of Puredistance, Jan Ewoud Vos.” As the press release further describes it, “The word Opardu expresses the deep longing for the bygone days of Opulence and true Romance. Opardu has an instant hypnotizing effect that brings back long forgotten memories of love and romance. Be prepared for a perfume that will bring you back to the vibrant nightlife of Paris in the 1920’s. ”

Available as 17.5 ml (165 euros), 60 ml (275 euros), and 100ml (490 euros, with a special leather case).  Via press release

Gucci has launched a new fragrance called Gucci Première. It was inspired by the couture gowns from the Gucci collection shown at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Created by perfumer Nathalie Lorson, Gucci Première is a soft floral perfume, and it includes notes of bergamot, orange blossom, blackberries, leather, myrrh, fur accord, patchouli, sandalwood, and musk.

According to Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, “For such a successful woman, something equally remarkable was required. Gucci Première is womanly, intriguing and as seductive as the perfect couture gown.” The ad campaign is fronted by Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively.

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Tom Ford introduces Jardin Noir, a collection of Private Blend fragrances that reinterprets 4 classical flowers: narcissus, hyacinth, rose and lily. “When you showcase their darker and less innocent aspects,” he says in an interview with New York Times, “flowers can become so thrilling and beautiful, they could almost ruin you. That was the sensation I was after.” There will be four fragrances: Jonquille de Nuit, Ombre de Hyacinth, Café Rose and Lys Fume.

Jonquille de Nuit–“Unusual top notes of wild Alpine cyclamen, acacia and angelica seeds, balanced with Egyptian violet leaf and bitter orange leaf absolute, provide a contrasting structure which allows the heady narcissus heart to spill into the senses. This powerful floral vibration is pushed, heightened, and teased to the brink—until a sensual, hypnotic base of orris and warm amber arrest this frenetic blossoming.”

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If you’ve ever plotted to mail order a coveted Serge Lutens bell jar from Paris, you’ll be happy to know that starting this month, you can simply order the perfumes from Barneys in New York. The Serge Lutens Palais Royal collection will be exclusive to the Madison Avenue flagship boutique.

Getting your hands on one of Lutens’ glowing cloche bottles used to entail cross-Atlantic travel to his store in the Jardin du Palais Royal in Paris. But as of today, Barneys brings them a bit closer—to the Madison Avenue flagship—with the exclusive Palais Royal collection. No passport required!

Update: the price of bell jars at Barneys is $290-300 (in Paris they cost 125 euros in Paris/~$155-160). Barneys will ship to any US destination.