Gone, But Not Forgotten Series Part 9: Queen of Violets – MyQueen by Alexander McQueen

MyQueen by Alexander McQueen

MyQueen by Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen’s perfume line was both infamous and short lived. Perhaps better known for the erotically charged skank-bomb Kingdom than its other offerings, McQueen’s perfumes were nowhere near as successful as they were artistic or ultimately as they deserved to be.

Following in the same vein as his fashion output McQueen’s first perfume Kingdom was a renegade scent created to shock, however the second and final perfume from the brand – MyQueen – was something entirely different, opting to reference the subtle intricacies of the designer’s sculptural tailoring rather than courting the realms of controversy.

Created in 2005 by perfumers Anne Flipo (Ananas Fizz, La Chasse aux Papillons & Donna Karan Woman) and Dominique Ropion (Carnal Flower, Alien & Portrait of a Lady) MyQueen was created to represent the McQueen woman – “a vision of the woman of his (McQueen’s) dreams” – with the kaleidoscopic bottle representing not only the many facets of this woman but also McQueen’s love for antique glass.

Continue reading

About these ads

Scented Lives Part 1: Jane Bryant (My Mother)

Scented LivesScented Lives is a new series of perfume profiles that explores the perfumes and scents that have been a part of people’s lives. I believe that the perfumes we wear are individual threads that help form the tapestry of our lives, they speak huge volumes about our character and help us form memories of times, people and places.

The series will start with the profiles of my family, friends and those that are special to me and will then branch out to others with interesting scented lives. If you are interested in taking part in the series please contact me on thecandyperfumeboy@gmail.com.

How It Works

Each subject is asked to pick five perfumes (ones that they have worn) that have played a significant part in their lives. They will then be asked to give reasons for their choices and explain what their associations with those scents may be. The series aims to use perfume as markers for significant points of the subject’s life, whether happy or sad, and to help them unleash their olfactory memories.

Continue reading

Man! I Smell Like a Woman – Gender Bending in Fragrance

Marc Jacobs

I don’t know about you, but when I wear fragrance I wear it for myself and myself alone. Sure, I love to share my passion with others, that is a huge part of my hobby, but when I wear perfume, I wear it because I enjoy it.

And I wear what I like!

Ever since I bought my first proper perfume (Kingdom by Alexander McQueen) I have loved ‘feminine’ fragrances. Looking through my collection it’s obvious that the ratio of feminine and masculine is weighted considerably towards the feminine. To this day I find myself drawn to the feminine releases much more than masculines. Don’t get me wrong I do enjoy wearing masculine fragrances but they just don’t wow me the way a lot of the feminines do.

I guess that I’m the King/Queen of fragrant gender bending.

Continue reading

Gone, But Not Forgotten Series Part 1: Pierce My Heart Again – Alexander McQueen Kingdom Perfume Review

This week my good friend Cara and I will be teaming up to create a special fragrant event as part of her Instability-in-Stability project. During the event we will both be discussing our scented memories as teenagers. Thinking about the subject matter I thought it would be apt to review the first fragrance that I fell in love with, the one that started the obsession; Kingdom by Alexander McQueen.

At the tender age of 16 (it feels so long ago now), I wasn’t really fussed about fragrance, I would wear generic ‘boy’ fragrances such as Hugo Boss and Paul Smith and the fragrances I wore were normally gifted to me by relatives. That was, until Kingdom came along…

Continue reading