The Beauty of Bergamot. An ode to perfumery’s most popular note, including some new scents and some familiar faces. On Escentual. Clicky here to read.
So someone (me) accidentally pressed the wrong button and uploaded Episode 11 of Fume Chat one week early. Whoops! Oh well, the good news is that you get to enjoy the latest episode a little bit earlier than expected. I suppose there is no need to moan there then is there? Enjoy!
It’s time for another round-up episode! This week Nick & Thomas are sniffing more new and noteworthy scents from some of the industry’s biggest brands. They range from nifty colognes with coffee twists to sexy ambers and beautifully girly chypres. All-in-all it’s a super scented episode!
Scents Sniffed: MUGLER Hot Cologne, Evody Onde 7, Jo Malone London Myrrh & Tonka, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Outrageous, Neela Vermeire Rahele & Narciso Rodriguez Fleur Musc for Her.
Much like fashion, the trends of perfumery are cicular and what is in favour now, is likely to be garbage tomorrow. This is the nature of trends – we overdose on the good stuff for a period of time until we get sick of it and something else comes along, and perfume is no different. Just look at the 1980s, when syrupy atom bomb florals existed to; a) be so distinct that one knew what they were smelling a mile away; and b) to terrify the masses. Of course, those scents are as on trend today as leg warmers and zoot suits are, which is to say that they’re not. Heck, one can even look at the ’90s, with its sterile repentance of calone and white musk and see how those things too, are no longer ‘in’. It all comes in to fashion, goes out and then comes back in again in a never ending cycle.
Of course, some trends stick about and the lucky ones take their place in the hall of fame as an entirely brand new genre that constantly develops without falling out of favour. Oud is one such trend – a style that has stuck around for so long now, and in so many guises, that it’s arguably the newest olfactory family. A perfumery trend that has not stood the test of time however, is green. Green was massive in the ’70s and ’80s but fell quickly out of favour. Why? Well, these perfumes have a tendency to be harsh and bossy, rubbing people up the wrong way with sharp edges. Also, as lovely as plants and grasses are, who really wants to smell like them? Exactly. But, as we’ve established, all trends make a comeback and right now we’re seeing a verdant renaissance of green scents both in mainstream and niche perfumery: the new green.
Personally, green has always been the toughest of fragrance families to get on with. There’s just something so standoffish about green scents – something so impersonal and too redolent of nature that puts me off. I admire abstraction in my scents and too often, green fragrances are either too rooted in nature or are simply too harsh. But I’m an evolved perfume sniffer, I can appreciate beauty even in those places where I feel as if I’m likely not to find it. So I’ve put together a list of six green fragrances that actually tickle my fancy. These scents also represent the modern revival of green, which all kicked off with Maison Martin Margiela’s Untitled in 2010. So, Dear Reader, you won’t find your CHANEL Nº19 here nor your Vent Vert, but you will discover six modern green fragrances that will completely destroy that old idiom that says it’s not that easy being green. In fact, for these six scents, to be such a thing is really rather marvellous.
Hermès’ topsy-turvy Eau des Merveilles is one of my favourite fragrances from the brand. Heck, Eau des Merveilles is one of my favourite fragrances full stop and it was the scent that got me into all things Hermès – it was my Hermès gateway drug, if you will. So you will understand that I’m a little bit protective when it comes to my Merveilles, but so is Hermès and whilst they have produced a number of flankers for this fragrance, each one has brought something new to the franchise and as with all things ‘Hermès’, each Merveilles flanker has been expertly crafted.
Eau des Merveilles exists on the horizon, where constellations meet the deep blue sea. It’s a scent of adventure and navigation, both nautical and extra-terrestrial, which as you can imagine makes for an incredibly exciting olfactory experience. For Eau des Merveilles Bleue the latest take on the Merveilles signature, Hermès’ in-house perfumer Christine Nagel has removed the scent’s head out of the stars and plunged it firmly into the shallows of the sea at dawn. Eau des Merveilles Bleue encapsulates in scent, the freshness and crispness of a new day, through the translucence of the colour blue. I’m relaxed just thinking about it.
“The wonder of Hermès is rooted in childhood, when our eyes are open to the world, and marvel at everything.
I marvelled at the pebbles, wet from the ocean; they had such a particular colour and luminosity, and I discovered on them a salty, mineral taste …”– Christine Nagel
It’s hard not to pay attention to Penhaligon’s new Portraits Collection. I mean, just look at them, the bottles are topped with the most glorious and ridiculous (in the best possible way, of course) brass animal heads, including a magnificent stag, a handsome beagle, a fox and many more. Initially, I’ll admit that I was a little bit puzzled by the Portraits Collection. I get that each scent represents a member of an aristocratic family who, by all accounts, look respectable but have sordid and dramatic personal lives which, for the most part seems to involve a penchant for fine booze. This is all well and good, but where do the animals fit into the story? What’s more there is a little part of me that doesn’t quite see the attraction in fragrances inspired by affairs, attempted murders, closeted homosexuality and substance abuse…
All of the above aside, the execution of everything in the collection is top notch and one could never accuse Penhaligon’s of not doing something unique, which is the whole idea of niche now, isn’t it? So I’ll admit that the collection, which most definitely portrays Penhaligon’s cheeky side and penchant for British eccentricity is quite fun and it’s most definitely not supposed to be taken literally. The Portraits Collection is a bit of a lark and if you like a touch of quirk well, you need to get your noses on these. Also, have I mentioned how awesome those animal heads are?!
Today is the day! Guerlain’s hotly anticipated new feminine fragrance launches and it’s a a big one! Mon Guerlain is the brand’s first feminine pillar since La Petite Robe Noire in 2012 and Guerlain are pulling out all of the stops, placing their new scent in a sprayable version of their famous quadrille bottle for the very first time. Oh and they’ve recruited none other than Hollywood actress, director and UN special-envoy Angelina Jolie (who is donating her fee to charity, I should add) as the face of their brand new fragrance: Mon Guerlain.
Jeez, I can’t believe we’re on episode 10 of Fume Chat already! But here we are and episode 10 is an exciting discussion about one aspect of perfume that doesn’t always get spoken about.
Inspired by a rather lovely lacquered perfume box, Thomas and Nick discuss perfume packaging in this week’s episode. Is it all about the juice or does the packaging matter too? The short answer is yes so our hosts discuss some of their favourite packaging from the sublime to the monstrous, whilst Nick talks through the development of the presentation for Penhaligon’s limited edition fragrance ‘Tralala’.
Being a Francis Kurkdjian fan-boy I am always excited when Captain Kurk launches a new fragrance, whether it be for a designer brand of his eponymous line, but especially when it is one for his own brand, Maison Francis Kurkdjian. So I need little encouragement to get excited about anything that bears the name of this incredibly talented perfumer, especially when the word ‘aqua’ is involved.
The latest launch from MFK is Aqua Celestia, which comes after Aqua Universalis and Aqua Vitae as the third in Kurkdjian’s ‘Aqua’ collection. This collection celebrates fragrance that is bright, buoyant and musky in a brilliant, breezy and bubbly way. Aqua Celestia takes the collection in a new direction, moving away from summer refreshment to something icier and more ethereal.
“Aqua Celestia forms a seamless bond between the blue of the sky and the blue of the sea, forging a path toward absolute serenity. A heavenly freshness, an emotional journey lulled by the harmony of the senses and the mind.”
– Maison Francis Kurkdjian
The Texture of Scent. A column on how fragrances have texture, including some of my favourite scents with the soft and hard touch. On Escentual. Clicky here to read.
Dear Bleu,
May I call you ‘Bleu’?
We don’t know each other that well, you and I, but I wish to make amends. Hopefully by the end of this letter we will become better acquainted.
I know this may come out of the blue to you, dear Bleu, but I am an insufferable snob. It’s hard to believe, I know, but when it comes to perfume I demand the very best – something unusual just for me. I guess I just don’t want to smell like all the other guys, because I’m not like all of the other guys, you see, which has left you in the position of being unfairly overlooked.
You tell men that they should ‘be extraordinary’ (it’s right there in your tagline), but on the surface I felt that there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary about you, in fact ‘ordinary’ would have summed up my feelings about you quite succinctly. I don’t mean to be harsh or cutting, you understand, but my apology would not be meaningful if I didn’t explain, in full, how we got here.
The Candy Perfume Boy 