2013 launches: 55 posts

Balenciaga is launching its next fragrance, Balenciaga L’Eau Rose, in March, following Balenciaga Paris, L’Essence and Florabotanica.  Created by perfumers Olivier Polge and Domitille Bertier, it’s a variation on the original Balenciaga Paris. The violet motif of the original is accented with pepper, violet leaf, blackberry, rose, patchouli, cedarwood and vetiver.

L’Eau Rose Eau de Toilette will be available exclusively in Balenciaga stores from February 1, while the global launch will take place in March. 50 ml spray/$90; 75ml/$115. Via press release

When I bought my first bottle of L’Heure Bleue parfum as a teenager, I remember a sales associate, a tall woman with an impeccably coiffed chignon, mentioning that in her opinion Guerlain women fall into two main categories–those who wear Shalimar with panache and those on whose skin L’Heure Bleue smells like hot kisses and orange blossom marshmallows. I have worn my way through the whole Guerlain collection, including Vétiver and Habit Rouge, but L’Heure Bleue and Après l’Ondée are two fragrances that make my heart skip a beat. They are polished and elegant, but at the same time, they feel like a second skin.

This year L’Heure Bleue celebrated its 100th anniversary, and Guerlain and its perfumer Thierry Wasser decided to create a a new interpretation of the classical fragrance in three different concentrations. The velvety Eau de Parfum called Le Zénith eventually ended up as L’Heure de Nuit, and this fragrance is now a part of Guerlain’s Les Parisiennes collection. Why is there a need for another take on L’Heure Bleue, you might wonder, as I did. Don’t we already have Insolence? But for perfume wearers not used to the plush, heavy retro style, even Insolence is too rich.

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Serge Lutens is releasing a new perfume in the export collection called La Fille de Berlin. It’s based on an accord of roses and pepper.

Those who love Serge Lutens’s photography will be excited to know that the fragrance launch is accompanied by Lutens’s new book, Berlin à Paris. This book is described as “a 176-page journey through an imaginary world inhabited by striking personalities with bold expressions, in a sui generis of its own. The focal point of each image is the model – the sole subject and true aim of each shot – for whom Serge Lutens designs objects, accoutrements, jewellery, staging, hairstyles and makeup with a view to portraying a desired expression. Taken between 1967 and 2008, the photos in the book transport us to a visit where dreams grapple with fantasy.”

If you’re in Paris between now and December 21st, don’t miss the exhibit of his work at the Galerie Marcilhac. The exhibit includes 30 photographs that appear in Berlin à Paris. Galerie Marcilhac, 8 rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris, www.marcilhacgalerie.com

La Fille de Berlin Eau de Parfum, 50 ml/€78. It will be available in March 2013, with limited availability at Serge Lutens boutiques in February. The book is €100, and it can  be found at Electaweb.

Via Vogue.

Perfumer and Flavorist Magazine published an interesting overview of the autumn-winter  fragrance trends. Analyzed by  Seven Scent Ltd, a trend agency based in Manchester, United Kingdom), this biannual fine fragrance forecast looks at what might influence the launches a year ahead–the 2013/14 autumn-winter collections.

• “Tea accords: a move away from the classic or traditional green tea accords, towards a more unusual, sophisticated and rich fragrance
• Wood accords: the rich spice of oud is softened in a partnership with rose; a classic marriage of materials from middle eastern perfumery
• Leathers and suede: evoking a timeless elegance and quality in masculine scents
• Spices: such as cardamom, cumin and saffron inspired by the Middle East
• Amber: versatile and popular, it adds warmth and blends with oriental spices as well as soft musky notes
• Red berries: rich and dark notes will deliver an autumnal feel”

Nevertheless, it’s easy enough to find new perfumes that fit many of these categories: Tom Ford Jardin Noir series, Diptyque Volutes, Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire, Chanel Coco Noir, to name a few.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Madonna has just launched her first fragrance Madonna Truth or Dare, but she is already planning ahead for more perfume releases. A second fragrance, a follow up to Truth or Dare, is already under development; as WWD reports, “it is due out ‘sometime next year.’ ” Also, the pop star would like to create a men’s fragrance, since her daughter Lourdes likes to wear cologne.

“She likes to wear cologne — don’t ask me why,” the star explained at the New York launch of her first perfume. “I love musk and amber and woody kind of fragrances on men. I love the smell of whiskey — we should make a men’s cologne that smells like whiskey. I can’t drink it, it’s too strong, but it smells amazing — a really good old whiskey.”

Via WWD and Jezebel