News: 582 posts

Cosmetic World has recently featured an article that offers a glimpse into the creation of Tom Ford’s Private Collection, which is describe as a concept behind the line that is about to enter stores in May of this year. The article offers more information on the notes of Ford’s 12 new fragrances:

Amber Absolute (oriental) with notes of amber, African incense, labdanum, rich woods, vanilla bean.
Noir de Noir (oriental-chypre) with notes of saffron, black rose, black truffle, vanilla, patchouli, oud wood, tree moss.
Velvet Gardenia (floral) with notes of black gardenia, orange, jasmine, rose muguet, tuberose, dark plum,, honey, beeswax, incense, labdanum.
Black Violet (floral) with notes of citrus, pulpy fruit accord, black violet, woody notes, oakmoss.
Tobacco Vanille (tobacco) with notes of tobacco leaf, spice notes, tonka bean, tobacco flower, vanilal, cocoa, dry fruit, sweetwood sap.

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The disappearance of No 22, Gardénia, Cuir de Russie, Bois des Iles testers from Chanel boutiques over the past few months has caused some consternation among the lovers of Chanel classics. The good news is that they are back, repackaged in the 200ml bottles for the Eau de Toilette and 15ml crystal flacons for the parfum. I had a chance to test them against the older EDTs and parfums I own, and if any reformulation took place, it was very respectful of the tradition. With minor exceptions, they are fairly close to the older releases, and they are still stunning. Above all, at the moment there are no plan to discontinue the Les Exclusifs parfums. In fact, I was tempted enough to add a new full bottle of Cuir de Russie EDT to my Chanel collection. The drier and more assertive EDT complements the iris heft of the parfum.

Adding: the main difference seems to concern No 22, which now has a stronger incense facet in the Eau de Toilette (I have not had a chance to try the new version of the parfum.) In fact, I much prefer it to the bottle of EDT I got less than 3 years ago.

Photo of Ernest Beaux, the genius perfumer behind Chanel No 5, No 22, Gardénia, Cuir de Russie, Bois des Iles, Bourjois Soir de Paris.

Basenotes has finally announced the winners of the 7th Annual Basenotes Awards. Bois de Jasmin has garnered a Silver Award in Best Perfume Blog category. Congratulations to Robin of Now Smell This for the Gold Award and Marina of Perfume-Smellin’ Things for the Bronze Award. They make the perfume blogging community an excellent place! I am also thrilled that my beloved house of Guerlain has won the Best House award.

The other Gold winners of the Basenotes Awards are:

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Allure Magazine will feature Frédéric Malle’s first fragrance column, which will run from February to May in the magazine’s Insider’s Guide. For Valentine’s Day, Malle will advise on the seductive fragrances that best represent specific personalities. Malle is the founder of Editions de Parfums, an artisanal fragrance line. Via Cosmetic World.

This month’s Allure offers Malle’s choices for romantic, sexy, secure and flirty fragrances. Romantic fragrances include Christian Dior Diorissimo, Chanel No 19, Annick Goutal Eau de Ciel, and Antonia’s Flowers. Sexy category features Guerlain Shalimar, Thierry Mugler Angel, Estée Lauder Youth Dew, and Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan. Secure includes Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien, Clinique Aromatic Elixir, Bulgari Green Tea, and Guerlain Mouchoir de Monsieur. Flirty is anything with tuberose, including Robert Piguet Fracas, Michael Kors, and Chloe.

The free newsletter published by Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine is featuring highlights from their March issue as well as a few interesting articles. Envy, Insolence and Beyond includes a great interview with the Symrise perfumer Maurice Roucel. By way of example, the interview mentions how Gucci Envy was created. “In fact, this master perfumer’s ideas often take years to form from a single spark of inspiration, such as a flower. In the case of Envy, the flower in question was hyacinth. Spotting this flower in May of 1984 (Roucel can still clearly recall the exact moment), the perfumer was moved. However, the notion that would become this fresh floral scent required 13 years of incubation. “Because of perfection,” Roucel explained. “For Envy, the perfume arrived in 1997, but I’d worked on the idea since 1984.” Roucel is the author of an impressive array of fragrances. His newest creations include Lancôme Hypnôse Homme (includes notes of mint, bergamot, Calabrian mandarin, Chinese cardamom seed, essence of Provençal lavender, amber, musk, and essence of Indonesian patchouli) and Guerlain L’Instant Fleur de Mandarine (magnolia, mandarin, bergamot, bitter orange, blackcurrant and mandarin blossom, musk, amber, vanilla.)

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