This week on the Escentual blog I take a look at the newly arrived Mark Buxton collection. Those of you who are familiar with Buxton’s work will now that he is a perfumer of great standing, having created fragrances for brands such as Comme des Garçons, Van Cleef & Arpels and Salvador Dali.
The five perfumes in his collection are intriguing to say the least, with some being quite un-Buxton-esque in their style. So, please click on the image above to head over to Escentual and read my take on Sexual Healing, Sleeping With Ghosts, Wood & Absinth, Devil in Disguise and Black Angel – oh and don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments box whilst you are there!
Guerlain has released a beautiful movie for its flagship fragrance Shalimar. Running at a length of just under 6 minutes and featuring Russian model Natalia Vodianova, the glorious epic tells the story of a love like no other and the inspiration for Guerlain’s iconic fragrance – the legend of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.
With its breathtaking visuals and sweeping soundtrack La Légende de Shalimar (directed by Bruno Aveillan) truly is a feast for the senses that is perfectly befitting for a fragrance that speaks of a romance that transcends time and space. What do you think?
There are so many new designer perfumes launching at the moment it’s almost impossible to keep up! This week on Escentual I’ve taken a look at the latest from fashion brand Issey Miyake – ‘Pleats Please’ – a fruity floral that shows a refreshing amount of restraint compared to its sickly-sweet mates that flood the genre.
So, if you feel inclined (and I know that you do), please click on the image above to head on over to the Escentual blog to read my review of Pleats Please. As usual I like to hear your thoughts, so do also feel free to leave a comment either here or over there – the choice is yours!
Dries van Noten is a belgian fashion designer described aptly by the New York Times as “one of fashion’s most cerebral designers”. Frédéric Malle is a fragrant curator who collects perfumers, allows them to take centre stage and gives them the creative freedom they need to shine.
Although both men come from different worlds they share a thirst for innovation and appreciation of beauty in all forms so it is no surprise that these two creative forces would collide. Their collaborative efforts have seen the birth of a truly new fragrance, one that positively shows that when done right there is nothing better than when perfume meets fashion.
The fragrance they have created with perfume Bruno Jovanovic is the first in Malle’s new line of fragrances; ‘by Frédéric Malle’. Intended as an “olfactory portrait of the world of Dries van Noten”, the fragrance captures the essence of erudite fashion in a high-art manner whilst feeling distinctly ready-to-wear.
“The Scent a Celebrity Series is my vain attempt at picking perfumes for those who don’t know any better, yes I mean celebrities. Let’s face it, most celebrities are incapable of choosing decent clothing, boyfriends, girlfriends, movies, (insert-celebrity-mistake-here) let alone having the ability to make decisions about something as important as their scent – that’s where I come in. Never fear my dear schlebs, I will ensure that you are appropriately scented, all you need to do is listen.”
No celebrity needs more perfume assistance than Lady Gaga, especially after the massive disappointment that was her debut fragrance ‘Fame‘ and it’s safe to say that because of this her taste level perhaps isn’t where it should be. Fame’s crime wasn’t that it was a dreadful fragrance (general consensus was that it’s decidedly ‘meh’) but the fact that it was frightfully generic and captured only the pretentious element of Lady Gaga’s personality without any of the talent.
Love her or hate her it’s hard to deny that Lady Gaga is indeed talented. Yes, a lot of her ideas are derivative and she does have a tendency to bang on about how what she does is ‘art’ (her upcoming album is annoyingly entitled ‘ARTPOP’) but all-in-all she’s an exciting and provocative voice with a brand of pop that is satisfyingly addictive.
With this edition of the Scent a Celebrity Series, I have picked four perfumes that accurately capture the weird and wonderful persona of Lady Gaga – a woman who has sported fashions made from Muppets, beef and bubbles, to name just a few. Amongst them, these scents embody a spirit that seeks out the weirder odours and isn’t afraid of perfume that is challenging, confrontational and darkly beautiful.
There is a song on Jay-Z’s latest album entitled ‘Tom Ford’, and in said song Mr Z raps the line; “I don’t pop molly, I rock Tom Ford.” Well much like our good friend Jay-Z, I too am not one for recreational drug use and also have somewhat of a penchant for the offerings of American fashion designer Tom Ford – who knew we’d have so much in common?
Unfortunately that is where the common ground ends and unlike Jay-Z I do not have the adequate finances to rock any Tom Ford clothing (oh but how I wish I did), however my budget can certainly stretch to the designer’s olfactory offerings and like many others I have found there to be a number of sniff-worthy perfumes residing within the Tom Ford corner of the department store.
Mr Ford is relatively active on the olfactory front with two lines of perfume to choose from – the widely available and reasonably priced ‘Signature Collection’, which contains the likes of Black Orchid, Violet Blonde, Sahara Noir, Grey Vetiver and Noir; and the more exclusive and definitely pricier ‘Private Blends.’ Personally, I have found more love for the perfumes in the Signature Collection (much to the relief of my partner and bank balance), however the Private Blend certainly has more than its fair share of gems, which leads me nicely onto Tom Ford’s latest collection – ‘Atelier d’Orient.’
The Atelier d’Orient Collection is inspired by; “the sublime beauty, enigmatic sensuality and exquisite luxury of Asia” and each of the four fragrances within the collection are reported to contain; “ingredients that have treasured prestige in the Orient.” Speaking of the collection, Tom Ford states that each fragrance captures a distinct mood – “captivating romance, colonial elegance, luxurious exoticism and rich mysterious sensuality” – with each serving as a perfect representation of the bold Tom Ford aesthetic.
This week on Escentual I have revisited two fragrances that I reviewed a month or so ago – Fate Man and Fate Woman by Amouage. The latest duo from the famed Omani house have just launched over at Escentual and as usual are intriguing compositions full of surprise and mystery.
As usual, just click on the above image to head over to the Escentual Blog and read the review – it’ll be worth your time, I mention wizards and everything. You may also feel free to leave a comment either here or there, and I look forward to reading your thoughts.
Following on from yesterday’s Desert Island Sniffs episode with the rather wonderful Neela Vermeire of Neela Vermeire Creations I am very pleased to be able to offer a rather spectacular giveaway in celebration of Neela’s welcome return from her desert island – you didn’t think I’d leave her there, did you?!
Marooned no more, Neela is generously offering one lucky winner a full 50ml flacon of the transcendently beautiful Mohur Eau de Parfum (Neela’s top Desert Island Sniff) with a sample of Ashoka, Neela’s brand new perfume launching later this year. Details of how to enter this incredibly generous giveaway can be found below the jump.
One of my favourite past times is listening to Radio 4’s longstanding series ‘Desert Island Discs’. If you’re not familiar with the concept, the premise is simple: a famous face or person of interest is shipwrecked on a desert island with eight records of their choice. The idea being that the person tells the story of their life through the songs that have made a significant impact on who they are today.
It has long been my belief that scent, much like music, allows us to travel back in time and experience moments past – moments that have influenced, changed and shaped us in to the human beings we have become. This series (nattily entitled ‘Desert Island Sniffs’) looks to explore the way perfume has influenced the lives of prominent members of the perfume industry.
For Desert Island Sniffs my castaways will be asked to present five perfumes that have had a significant impact on their life – scents that are so important they would be the ones they’d pack if they were unfortunately marooned on a remote desert island. Along with their five perfume choices my castaways are entitled to one luxury item and a ‘perfume bible’ of their choice.
The Candy Perfume Boy 