News: 582 posts

This month Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire has received a richer floral flanker, La Petite Robe Noire Modèle 2, created by Thierry Wasser under the creative direction of Sylvaine Delacourte. It includes notes of bergamot, lemon, galbanum, iris, orange blossom, marshmallow, white leather and musk. It has launched in Paris already and is going to be available from Bergdorf Goodman this month.

Oud, jasmine, oriental notes appearing even in the most unexpected places (like celebrity fragrances,), the revival of classical perfumery forms… While the fragrance market continues to confound and confuse with the flood of new launches, I find it interesting to observe trends forming and ideas trickling down from luxury perfumery into the mainstream. While it is difficult to predict the shape of the year based only on January, I have decided to include in my trend overview a few common themes I have noticed since the last quarter of 2010. I started jotting these notes down for myself about two years ago, and they help me to make sense of new launches as well as keep track of interesting developments. I generally try to include notes on fragrances already released, but whenever relevant, I also include mentions of new launches that fit the themes.

Crème Brûlée : Dark Side of Gourmand

There has been a general emphasis on the darker, oriental notes in the new launches over the past few months, and the edible accords have also received some scorching. The most provocative of the recent launches with a gourmand theme, Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau takes the idea of buttered toast and develops a herbal-woody composition around it.

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Jo Malone is launching a limited edition collection inspired by the British tradition of four o’clock tea. The collection created by perfumer Christine Nagel consists of five fragrances: Assam and Grapefruit, Earl Grey and Cucumber, Fresh Mint Leaf, Sweet Lemon, and Sweet Milk. The fragrances are designed to be layered, so if you can have a choice of whether to have your tea with lemon or with milk. The Tea Fragrance Blends will be available from March 2011, starting with the UK (they are also available through the select duty-free stores.)

Assam and Grapefruit includes notes of grapefruit, violet, rhubarb, rose, cardamom, patchouli, musk, almond.

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Sergey Borisov’s interview with François Demachy in the Russian edition of GQ is worth reading. The questions are blunt, and Demachy addresses each one of them. A translated excerpt is below.  The rest can be found at GQ.ru (use Google translator, if you do not read Russian). I only wish Sergey asked Mr. Demachy about Christian Dior J’Adore…

Sergey dips a blotter in the 1970s Miss Dior parfum for Demachy to smell. “Do you agree that this is completely different from what is sold in the stores today. Or Dioressence, which became completely different, having changed from an ambery composition to a green chypre.”

I completely understand you. However, we are following the IFRA recommendations, which regulate the fragrance organizations. For instance, in the new version of Miss Dior, the bergamot note is different. The furocoumarins have been removed from the essence, which are the natural stabilizers for the bergamot oil. They lend richness and fruity undertones. Without them, the note of bergamot became as if diluted. Moreover, oakmoss also had to be replaced. In general, the whole fragrance was changed. All of the animalic notes: castoreum, civet, musks—very important to the vintage fragrances—are gone. This is vandalism, but we cannot do anything about it. It started 15 years ago; I was then working at Chanel. With Chanel No 5 we faced the same problem. As for modern Dioressence, I do not like it either, and I am working on it right now.

“When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

My thoughts on the gifts of Magi through the prism of perfumery in the Financial Times Magazine How to Spend It (in December 21 issue.)

Also, this week I have very much enjoyed We Three Kings blogger project, which had nine different bloggers review fragrances that remind them of gold, frankincense and myrrh.