News: 582 posts

The Fragrance Foundation has announced the top five finalists in each of 20 award categories on Friday, April 27th. “The winners will be presented at the 35th Annual FiFi Awards & Celebration event on Thursday May 31st in the Winter Garden at The World Financial Center in New York City.” The top five finalists have been selected out of the top ten semi-finalists.

Fragrance of the Year – Women’s Nouveau Niche
•Armani Privé Cuir Amethyst (unisex) – Giorgio Armani Parfums
•Delices de Cartier – Cartier North America
•Kenzo Amour – Kenzo Parfums
•The Scent of Peace – Bond No. 9 New York – Laurice & Co.
•Tom Ford Black Orchid – Tom Ford Beauty

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The May issue of Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine is filled with very interesting articles. A preview of the events taking place at the World Perfumery Congress, which takes place on June 5-9, 2007 is offered on page 14. Nobi Shioya, the founder of niche house S-Perfume and Made by Blog is interviewed in the article Sculpting Scent on page 18. On working with perfumers he says, “I’m so used to those types of people [musicians, artists and designers]… but when I first met perfumers like Alberto Morillas or Thierry Wasser–from the outside they were … very classical [European] types; but once I started to speak with them, their personalities were more striking than any other artists that I knew.”

In the piece Exposing the Perfumer (page 38), Michelle Krell Kydd is exploring what it means to be a perfumer in the 21st century, especially given the advent of the internet technology. She interviews senior perfumer Carlos Benaim of International Flavors & Fragrances, Jean-Pierre Subrenat of the World Perfumery Congress, Jean Guichard of Givaudan’s perfumer school, and Frédéric Malle of Editions de Parfums, among others. For a perfume lover who enjoys delving deep into the topic, the article includes two updated charts of the famous Jean Carles method, which is used to study the aroma-materials.

“Perfume experts have helped prove that relics thought to have been those of Joan of Arc are forgeries made from an Egyptian mummy – by sniffing them. … when Sylvaine Delacourte from Guerlain and Jean-Michel Duriez from perfume maker Jean Patou sniffed the charred relics, they smelt hints of vanilla and burnt plaster, according to Nature, which published the study today. The plaster smell was expected, because the 19 year-old was burnt as a witch on a plaster stake to prolong the spectacle for the audience, but vanilla smells are not created by cremation. Philippe Charlier, a forensic scientist who led the study, said: ‘Vanillin is produced during decomposition of a body. You would find it in a mummy but not in someone who was burnt.’ ” Read the rest of this fascinating article in LifeStyleExtra UK News. Thanks to Karen for the link.

The Fragrance Foundation has announced the top ten finalists for Fragrance of the Year FiFi® Award on March 19th. According to the Foundation, “The top five in each of the Fragrance of the Year categories will be honored with the miniature crystal FiFi® Award at the FiFi Finalists Breakfast and placed on the second ballot. The second ballot will determine the winners.” Niche in the context of FiFi nominations simply means the number of doors that carry the fragrance.

Nouveau Niche Womens:
• Ange ou Démon Givenchy
• Anna Sui Dolly Girl on the Beach
• Armani Privé Cuir Amethyste (unisex)
• Delices de Cartier
• Fleur de Narcisse 2006 L’Artisan Parfumeur
• KenzoAmour Kenzo
• Missoni Eau de Parfum
• The Scent of Peace Bond No. 9
• Tom Ford Black Orchid
• Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Extreme Amethyst Edition

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Cosmetic World issue No 10 has an article about the plans for the launch of John Galliano line of fragrances. The renowned fashion designers John Galliano will put his name on a perfume collection, which is to be released in 2008. Given my admiration for Galliano’s vision and daring tailoring, I only hope that these talents will translate into an innovative and cutting edge fragrance line.

Photo of John Galliano from women.sohu.com.