Sidonie Lancesseur: 3 posts

What happens when a talented photographer and a perfumer cross paths? To figure this out, I take a close look at the striking sunshine filled image by the Italian master Massimo Vitali and apply a drop of Lumière Blanche to my wrist. The idea behind this perfume by the French niche house Olfactive Studio was to capture the intense white light saturating Vitali’s photograph of a Sicilian beach.

It’s easy enough to fall under the spell of suggestion with something as intangible as a scent and as vivid as this image, and I could tell you that I smell “white” and “radiance.” What I feel above all is just pleasure. As I press my nose into my wrist, I notice a comforting warmth from the perfume’s blend of spices, almonds and sandalwood. There is a beautiful synergy between picture and a scent, but even on their own, they are striking.

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This October, the makeup artist Terry de Gunzburg will launch her first fragrance collection. Collection de Haute Parfumerie de Terry de Gunzburg will include Parti Pris (tuberose, jasmine, ylang-ylang), Rêve Opulent (hyacinth, rose, floral notes), Lumière d’Épices (spicy woods), Ombre Mercure (iris, violet, patchouli, woods), and Flagrant Délice (fig, green notes, gourmand accord). You might know de Gunzburg’s work through Touche Éclat, an innovative concealer and brightener she created while heading up make-up design for Yves Saint Laurent.

The fragrances were created by perfumers Karine Vinchon-Spehner, Jacques Fleury, Arthur Le Tourneur d’Ison, and Sidonie Lancesseur, and according to the press release, the fragrances include iris butter, tuberose absolute, rose essence, ylang ylang, and other precious materials. As de Gunzburg said, “I had to ignore the ‘dos and don’ts’ imposed by trends or by a commercial brief. Free from any restrictions, I have followed my instinct to create pure, original and extravagantly high-quality fragrances.”

Besides her own fragrances, she likes to wear a smoky orange blossom perfume created for her by Francis Kurkdjian. Sometimes she wears different perfumes on different parts of her body: Aromatics Elixir on the wrists, Opium parfum in the hollow of the neck, rose absolute on her clothes.

Each fragrance will be available as a 100ml EDP spray/£105 and a 50ml EDP spray/£68.

Via press release, nouvelobs.com and fashionmonitor.com.

I’ve been reading a lot of Marie Claire lately. You see, if I read it in English, I feel self-indulgent, but if I read it in French, I can justify the time spent as a language practice. Plus, since the French Marie Claire comes with a Belgian insert, I learn a lot about new lines and local products. My latest discovery is Bien-être L’Eau Parfumée des Familles. Besides Caudalie Divine Oil (Huile Divine), the French beauty press has fallen hard for this simple cologne. Described variously as “a little scented trinket” or a “light and bright scent for a midsummer night’s dream,” it caught my attention too, as did its great price  of 6 € ($7.50) for a 250ml bottle.

It’s a light citrusy cologne that dries down to a powdery floral musk. Intended for the whole family, including children, it has the typical scent of French baby products–orange blossom. L’Eau Parfumée des Familles also weaves some crisp violet and grape notes, in addition to cedarwood, and its scent is at once lighthearted and sophisticated.

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