2013 launches: 55 posts

L’Artisan Parfumeur will unveil a new perfume collection in September 2013. Explosions d’Emotions will include three new fragrances created by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour: Amour Nocturne, Déliria, and Skin on Skin.

Amour Nocturne captures the idea of tenderness. It features notes of milk, caramel, gunpowder, cedarwood and orchid.

Déliria is about intoxication. It blends metallic notes, rhum with the gourmand sweetness of toffee apple and cotton candy.

Skin on Skin is described as seductive. It includes iris, rose, lavender, saffron, whiskey in addition to suede and musks. and suede velvet leather with saffron, whisky, lavender and rose.

Perfumes will be available in L’Artisan Parfumeur boutiques, counters and online.  125ml/£135. Via fashionmonitor and press release.

The first thing I noticed about Charenton Macerations Christopher Street was that it was a proper, old-school chypre (a perfume based on an intricate combination of citrusy, floral and mossy notes).  At  long last, I should add. It was composed by Ralf Schwieger, author of Lipstick Rose for Frédéric Malle and lately several fragrances for Atelier Cologne and Etat Libre d’Orange.

Charenton Macerations is a new indie brand created by fragrance consultant Douglas Bender, and Christopher Street is the debut perfume from this indie outfit. The notes of Christopher Street are supposed to give an olfactory picture of this New York neighborhood, and to that end one might want to read the brief as given on the Charenton Macerations Web site. Early on, Bender wished to “…combine classical floral elements with more subversive tones of metals, smoke, watered down alcohol, wet woods, clove, burnt coffee, and dark tea” that would represent, well, a lot of things having to do with the history of Christopher Street and its casts of characters.

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Le Labo is introducing two new fragrances as part of their Classic Collection, Lys 41 and Ylang 49, and a new San Francisco city exclusive, Limette 37. Lys 41 was created by Daphné Bugey, the same perfumer who worked on Neroli 36, Bergamote 22, and Rose 31 for Le Labo.  Lys 41 features notes of lily, jasmine, tuberose absolute, woods, vanilla, tiare, “sunny notes”, and musk.

Ylang 49 is classified as a floral chypre. Its author is Frank Voekl, who worked previously on Baie Rose 26, Santal 33, Iris 39, and Musc 25. It lists notes of ylang-ylang, gardenia, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, benzoin, and sandalwood.

Both fragrances will be available at Le Labo stores, counters and directly at their website starting of June 2013. 50ml/$145; 100ml/$220, other sizes and body products are also offered.

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French fashion house Carven is launching a new fragrance, Carven Le Parfum. Francis Kurkdjian designed the perfume, while Thierry de Baschmakoff (you might recognize his name via his association with The Different Company) created the bottle and the box. Carven Le Parfum will now have to live up to the rich Carven perfume heritage, which includes Ma Griffe launched in 1946 and Vétiver in 1957.

“Carven Le Parfum, for Francis Kurkdjian, is the concept of a sillage that combines several paradoxes, a fresh and ethereal fragrance that is, at the same time, ultra feminine. It opens with the spontaneity of Mandarin Blossom, combined with the delicacy of White Hyacinth. The heart is a somewhat impertinent floral bouquet composed with devilish cunning, built around Sweet Pea, Jasmine and Ylang Ylang. The sensuous bottom notes are precious and woody: White Sandalwood, Osmanthus and Indonesian Patchouli (quote via press release).”

The Eau de Parfum includes notes of mandarin blossom, white hyacinth, sweet pea, jasmine, ylang ylang, sandalwood, osmanthus, and patchouli.  Besides the Eau de Parfum (30ml/£38, 50ml/£55, 100ml/£72), there is also a collection of bath and body products.

Carven Le Parfum is launching on May 5th, 2013 at Harrods and Harrods.com and will be distributed widely starting June 5th, 2013.

If you’re a fan of citrus colognes, you soon discover nuances in this effervescent perfume genre. Citruses can be classically austere (Hermès Eau d’Orange Vert), sexy (Thierry Mugler Cologne), exotic (Guerlain Eau de Cologne Impériale), or impeccably elegant (Thirdman Eau Moderne). But if you enjoy colognes only when the mercury levels rise and anything else seems too heavy, they all may smell, well, lemony. That’s why the new Annick Goutal cologne trio–Eau d’Hadrien, Néroli and Vétiver–is great for those who are not sure what they like, but are curious to learn more. It has three distinctly different scents which are easy to wear all year round.

Cologne collections are nothing new, of course. Hermès has one, Atelier Cologne made its name by blending all sorts of things with citrus, and half of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s fragrances can be worn as fresh colognes. The simplicity, on the other hand, is what I enjoy about Annick Goutal’s play on the lemon, orange blossom and vetiver themes. The lemony Eau d’Hadrien smells zesty. Néroli is a mass of white petals. Vetiver smells of driftwood and sea breeze. All would fit equally well for both men and women. All three are well-crafted, but of course, I have my favorites.

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