candles and home scents: 9 posts

For its new scent, Mérida, French candle maker Maison Cire Trudon collaborated with the niche perfume house Arquiste Parfumeur. Arquiste’s fragrances capture specific historical periods and personages, and with Mérida, the house was inspired by Charlotte, Princess of Belgium and Empress of Mexico, and the town of Mérida situated in the Yucatan peninsula.

The fragrance exudes a rich guava smell, alongside touches of mahogany and “palo primavera”. A subtle touch of firework powder perfects this creation that brings warmth and color to the haciendas of this colonial city where Charlotte, Princess of Belgium and Empress of Mexico was magnificently welcomed in 1865.

Mérida is going to be available starting this month in the Cire Trudon flagship store situated in the rue de Seine in Paris as well as other Cire Trudon boutiques, Barney’s New York, and Aedes. Via Cire Trudon blog.

I already posted about the scented leather gloves L’Artisan Parfumeur created for La Collection de Grasse (The Grasse Collection), but today I wanted to mention two new candles from the same range. L’Automne (autumn/fall) and L’Hiver (winter) are inspired by the perfumes of Grasse, the heart of perfume industry and artisanal craft. L’Artisan Parfumeur pays homage to the Grasse “arrière-pays,” or back-country. “These two L’Artisan Parfumeur candles transport you to the Grasse back-country, creating a warm and cosy atmosphere for your home, redolent of the seasons.”

L’Automne
“A stroll through the wild landscape surrounding Grasse, where leaves and nuts fall onto the humid earth.
The L’Automne candle recreates this special muffled atmosphere, where leaves on the ground soften the sound of footsteps. The air is getting fresher, and more humid, the light is getting paler, comforting as the wind picks up. At first, we detect a lavender note, which carries us into the countryside, then chestnut, caramel and blackcurrant notes. Finally, a cedar and lichen accord brings to a close this promenade in the Grasse back-country.”

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Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2o12 France

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2011 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 France

Top Selling Masculine Fragrances 2010 USA

Last week I was attending one of our usual marketing presentations that focused on current perfume trends and popular fragrances. I jotted down a few notes on what is selling well this spring in the US.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle  
Chanel Bleu de Chanel 
Gucci Guilty Homme  
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue  
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre

LVMH continues to make most of its money from J’Adore, while Estee Lauder’s top seller is Cashmere Mist.

No major revelations here, but I was curious to see that Gucci Guilty Homme jumped straight to the top of the best seller list (compare it to last year’s Top Selling Masculine Fragrances USA list). Maybe, it isn’t all that surprising, since it’s another fresh, “boardroom acceptable” blend. There is nothing avant-garde about it, but it’s well-made and elegant.

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One is sure to expect the love for all things scented from the one obsessed with fragrance.  If you add a cultural disposition to tea drinking by gallons to this, then the result is a love for all kinds of scented beverages.  Although often a cup of smoky lapsang souchong, refreshing sencha or delicate white tea is perfect by itself, flavored tea can be a nice treat, especially if the flavors are subtle and blended in order to accent the scent of the tea leaf, as opposed to scream “synthetic strawberry.” …

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