Amouage – Beach Hut Man. Something I admire about Amouage is the creative freedom it allows Christopher Chong, the brand’s creative director.
Saturday Question: Which Cheapy Perfume Do You Wear Often? Portia Hello Fellow Fumies, Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels.
Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths. The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Why Sense of Smell Will Lead You to a Better Cocktail. Some innovations are discovered by accident, others by years of trial and error.
Arnd Heissen, bar director of Fragrances in Berlin, came upon his through a third time-honored tradition: complaints. About 10 years back, Heissen worked in a Japanese bar where most of the spirits he had on hand—shōchū, sake, Japanese whisky—were unfamiliar to guests, as were many of the exotic ingredients he mixed with them. After experimenting with a series of non-traditional recipes to make his customers happy, he had the first in a series of epiphanies. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Tacit by Céline Barel for Aesop 2015 + GIVEAWAY. Portia Hey Crew,
Monthly Musings: Discordant – Why Pessimism is Okay and History Matters, September 2017. Discordant: Why Pessimism is Okay and History Matters.
This post is a reply to In Defence of Gabrielle, which is an objection to my earlier post: The Chanel Problem (In Reference to Gabrielle by Chanel). I am holding this as an academic exercise; a dialectic process, and therefore it goes without saying that there are no hard feelings. Call to Arms: The Chanel Problem (In Reference to Gabrielle by Chanel) Some food for thought.
I call this the Chanel problem. They’ve done this to themselves. The initial reaction to Gabrielle hasn’t been overly enthusiastic, to say the least. In fact, it has called for a retreat into perspective. What perspective? Marc-Antoine Barrois – B683. French couture and perfumery have always been interconnected.
Paul Poiret was the first couturier to blend fashion and fragrance with Rosine, a fragrance house that opened in the early 1910s on Paris’ rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin soon followed. On Patchouli: Velvet Haze by Byredo and Brutus by Orto Parisi. It has been too long since I’ve smelled an interesting patchouli fragrance – something that goes beyond the typical archetypes that consist of oud, rose, amber, chocolate, and any mixed variation of that set.
Byredo has left me pleasantly surprised, producing a patchouli of pronounced clarity and definition. Velvet Haze does not dispense of the archetypes, for they work and they are admired. Rather, patchouli is given a stylistic turn, minimised without condensing its fullness and given the luxury of space. The result is a resounding success (for the most part). A well-sketched fragrance that reads as contemporary and inspired, insofar that on my nose it is able to transcend the cliches of mass-market and fast-niche perfumery. Why You Shouldn’t Bring an Axe to School. Yesterday, the United States celebrated Labor Day, marking the unofficial end of summer — and, to young learners around the country, the start of the new school year.
While some are excited to get back to their books and teachers (and perhaps more importantly, their friends), others are looking for any excuse to avoid the classroom. And sometimes, they achieve that goal accidentally. The culprit? This stuff. Monthly Musings: In Response, July 2017. Before I even dare utter the word justified in this musings, let me just address something I egregiously forgot to do in June’s post!
It’s been one year since the musings format first launched, and as you’d expect from anything me, it’s a glorious mishmash – sometimes fiercely intellectual, sometimes fiercely casual, and often loaded in language – but, always, undoubtedly an extension of my thoughts on the topic of fragrance. Sometimes the thoughts work. Sometimes they do not. Alas, even if I am thoroughly falsified I am still happy to have engaged with an audience and have my work published openly. Things on the blog are a bit slower in this half of the year – my excuse is simple – philosophy took up a considerable chunk of my time last semester at university, and philosophy readings are often digestible in a single sitting (they are not, however, easily digestible!). Philosophy hasn’t gone into hibernation, no way! Why share these? The Temptation of Adam, Jacopo Tintoretto, 1551-2. Extravagance Russe by Diana Vreeland. Up until I explored this range of fragrances, I had never heard of Diana Vreeland.
Consider it a fashionable faux pas – I am guilty! I will treat this ignorance as a fortunate opportunity to attempt to test my internalist/externalist discussions in fragrance. Does smelling either Extravagance Russe alone or the complete range of works sufficient in providing a good characterisation of Vreeland’s biography? Simply, no (less simply – I do not think so). The bottle design do Vreeland more justice than the scents themselves. What Men Should Smell Like. Amouage fragrances often contain a labyrinth of meaning and Amouage’s latest offering, Figment Man is no different. If anything they are becoming more cryptic with each consecutive launch. While the Main Collection’s “First Cycle” was marvellous, the fragrances shared a close relationship or common thread and Amouage developed a reputation for a particular style. I imagine this became limiting for the brand’s Creative Director, Christopher Chong. In this “Second Cycle,” Chong seems intent on contradicting any assumptions of what an Amouage fragrance should be as he moves away from the first cycle’s key themes of frankincense, exotic woods, spices and opulent flowers.
Of course, the quality of the natural raw materials is all still there but the fragrances in this current cycle smell less ostentatious. In sticking with the tradition of the Main Collection, there is a men and women’s Figment fragrance. Comme des Garçons – Gosha Rubchinskiy. Fashion, Fragrance, and Edward Sexton: Noir Anthracite by Tom Ford. If one had only ever been exposed to Tom Ford the fashion brand, then one would expect auxiliary fragrances that nod towards the past. Tom Ford demonstrates that most creative exercises are essentially the result of clever copying, or, in this instance, some sort of synergy, where an old style is projected into the present and dazzled with a contemporary twist.
As a men’s suiting brand, Tom Ford re-orchestrates the suit; mood and technique clash. It is hybridised, and what is created is a suit with an English cut and a lightness of fabric characteristic of Italian tailoring. There is a mood contained in the suit. This principle then translates into the mood of his fragrances. Coolmaterial. Summer isn’t the time for cologne that smells like a warm cabin and a roaring fire. Summer is about the water, about fresh air and some ocean mist. You’re going to want to smell fresh and light. Luckily, we’ve dug up some great colognes that fit those precise demands. A Treatise on (Soft) Orientals: Chinoiserie – From Opium to Coco. A blog reader put me to task for not connecting Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium and the idea of spice in my most recent treatise on spices.
How could I be so foolish? Until recently, Soft(er) Orientals have always seemed like a half-baked idea to me. Yet an inclination for extremity and wholeness in fragrance is dangerous. The Soft Oriental is not a semi-realised Oriental, or an underdone composition of spice – but a study in negative space. They’re full without being full, and unhurried in a way the Oriental umbrella of scents are. I have always smelled Soft Oriental compositions and rendered them tantamount to Orientals. Monthly Musings: Tu Quoque, June 2017. June seems so far away. I have been slack, and it’s almost time to publish a July musings too. I am too tired to expound on meta-topics here today, despite having a lot of ideas. Tobacco Nuit by Jerome Epinette for Atelier Cologne 2016. Portia Hiya Fragrant Friends, My mates at Libertine Parfumerie sent me a bunch of samples recently.
On Rose: Six Roses to Know. Taste is not static! Penhaligon’s – Savoy Steam (eau de parfum) Despite its age, Penhaligon’s is one of Britain’s most active fragrance houses with already a dozen fragrances launched over the past twelve months. The inspirations behind these new scents continue to be broad and the brand utilises some of the industry’s most revered perfumers as well as emerging talent. Perfume Shrine: YSL La Nuit de l'Homme: fragrance review. Map of the Heart introduces Pink Heart v.6. Last week, founders of Australian niche fragrance house Map of the Heart invited guests to their Sydney boutique in Darlinghurst to celebrate the launch of Pink Heart v.6.
This is Map of the Heart’s sixth fragrance and its most feminine release to date. When I interviewed Givaudan perfumer Jacques Huclier earlier this year, he spoke about his work with colleague Giovanna Aicardi and Map of the Heart’s co-founder Sarah Blair. Swiss Meringue: L’Eau by Tauer. Sceptical: Superstitious for Frederic Malle. Let’s look beyond the narrative Malle and Elbaz set out – I am incredulous, forever sceptical, and am not willing to accept it at first glance. My suspicion may be wrong (of course), but launching Superstitious seemed to be the next logical move for the Frederic Malle brand, injecting a jasmine-centric scent in the line up in order to fill in the gaps.
Monthly Musings: Advice for the Young at Heart, May 2017. Le Parfum de Therese for Frederic Malle. My quest for the objective in no way undermines the subjective experience. I have always admired Le Parfum de Therese, capturing the fiercely strong style of Edmond Roudnitska and demonstrating it with the utmost amplification and clarity. On Vetiver: Vétiver Oriental by Serge Lutens. I have never actually liked vetiver-centric perfumes. This is a subjective fault I am happy to admit, and in fact, it is something that I should admit to. Feral Favourites.
Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial L'Eau. Fragrance review & comparison with Terracotta Voile d'Ete & Terracotta Eau Sous Le Vent. Top Five Scents for Turbulent Times. Hard Leather by Jerome Epinette for LM Parfums 2014. Fragrance review & history. New fragrances. Fragrance review & history.
Patchouli Intense by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolaï 2009. 01/02 Vapeur de Tubéreuse by Julie Massé for Fragrance Republic 2013. Most Complimented Perfumes by the Opposite Sex (Valentine's Day Countdown part 6) Muscs Koublai Khan by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens 1998. Le Temps d’Une Fête by Patricia de Nicolai for Parfums de Nicolaï 2007. Vanilla Faves: Notes in Fragrance. OUD SERIES: How to burn Oud Wood. Fragrance review & free perfume draw.
How Does Scent Marketing Works? ScentAir on BBC1. Kashmir Spice by Serena Ava Franco for Ava Luxe. Boucheron Boucheron Femme eau de parfum & extait de parfum. L`Eau De Monteil by Germaine Monteil 1995 + GIVEAWAY. M’Eau Joe No.3 Hollywood Whiskey by Kedra Hart for Opus Oils 2013. Oud/Aloeswood/Agarwood & Synthetic Substitutes. Patricia de Nicolai Amber Oud.
Most Reached For Fragrances 2013: Portia. A Year in Retrospect. Atelier Cologne Perfumes And Colognes. Parisian Oud Couple by Parfums de Nicolai. DSH Parfums de Beaux Arts -Passport a Paris (from Passport to Paris Collection) Fragrance review & free vintage perfume giveaway. Air de Montquc. The Kiss by the Piano or The History of the Tabu Vintage Perfume Ads. What Makes a Perfume a Classic? Respecting a Perfume vs. Actually Wearing It. Top 13 Worst fragrances? A Match made in Heaven. Chanel Coco by Chanel. Break This Bittersweet Spell on Me ~Douce Amere by Lutens: fragrance review. Best Quirky, Spicy, Anisic or Floral Vanilla Perfumes (Vanilla Series) & a Tauer Perfumes Free Perfume Giveaway. Fragrance review. Genie Blue with Stopper Red, Hooved it Twice and Then it Bled. Best Woody Vanilla Perfumes (Vanilla Series) 10 Weird Things You Didn't Know About Perfume. Best Dark, Smoky & Boozy Vanilla Perfumes (Vanilla Series)
Fragrance review. The Difference between the various Christian Dior "Poison" fragrances. Fragrance review. Vanille Marine, Vanille Orient, Vanille Cuir, Vanille Fleur (new fragrances) The Quest for the Perfect Vanilla Perfume (Vanilla Series) What Smells like Nail Polish/ Metal/ Sweat/ Horses/ Hairspray/ Burnt Toast/ Baby Powder/Dirty Socks etc? Ylang Ylang/Cananga Odorata. Fragrance review & history & free perfume giveaway. Best Green, Leafy Violets & Watery Crystal Violet Fragrances (Violet Series) Fragrance review & history & free perfume giveaway. Best Soft, Powdery Violet Fragrances (via Reader's Mail Request)
Best Woody Violet Fragrances (Violet Series) Flying Under the Radar: Top Under-appreciated Fragrances. Fragrance review. Best Soft, Powdery Violet Fragrances (via Reader's Mail Request) We Can Now All Smell As Awesome As Ashley & Mary-Kate Olsen. A Cascade of Yellow Florals: Translating the Color Signal into Olfactory Constituents. Gallery of the Absurd: Celebrity Fragrances.
Smelling like an Expensive Hooker. Banning "Old Lady" Perfume. The Perfume Wars: Old Lady vs Older Woman. Fragrance review. Le Labo vacations in the Tropics: Ylang 49 and Lys 41. Rooibos. Fragrance review. Fragrance review. Moon Bloom by Hiram Green. Lantana. Top Under-appreciated Fragrances. Summer Fragrances that Last.