So October is finally upon us and it’s beginning to be that time of year where we shelve our sparkling summer scents and reach for the emergency hammer to break out those warmer fragrances. Themes for the seasons are auburn spices, deep resins and glimmers of gourmand deliciousness, and if you ask me autumn is most definitely the best season fragrance-wise.
This week’s Escentual post takes a look at my ‘Autumn Wardrobe Essentials’ – those fragrances that I consider to be my staples for the season. So, please don your chunky knitwear and head over to the Escentual blog by clicking the image above. Don’t forget to tell me what your autumn staples are!
Guerlain sure know how to make a pretty bottle don’t they? They are, after all the people who brought us iconic housings for fragrances such as Shalimar, Insolence and La Petite Robe Noire. This one, created to celebrate the grand re-opening of their newly renovated boutique at no. 68 on the Champs-Élysées is most certainly befitting of one of the city’s most famous and wonderfully fragrant addresses.
Housing ‘Le Parfum du 68‘, a tweaked version of the brand’s respectable Cologne du 68 from 2006, the classic Baccarat ‘turtle’ bottle is adorned with a gilded Parisian scene created by Ateliers Gohard. Unfortunately only 30 bottles will be produced and one dreads to even think how much it would cost, still it’s rather lovely to dream, isn’t it?
Desert Island Sniffs may only be a fledgling series on The Candy Perfume Boy but it is already becoming this blogger’s absolute favourite. Exploring a life through scent is a fascinating way to understand what makes an individual tick and those that are working within the perfume industry live perhaps the most fragrant and intriguing lives of them all.
If you’re not familiar with the series (you can find other episodes here), the concept is simple; each month one prominent member of the perfume industry is asked to select 5 perfumes that they would take with them should they unfortunately be marooned on a desert island – their ‘Desert Island Sniffs’.
The perfumes they choose should be those that have had a significant impact on their scented lives and map specific points in their journey of olfactory discovery. In addition to their 5 Desert Island Sniffs one is kind enough to allow them to take a luxury item (only one, mind) and a ‘perfume bible’ to keep them company. By the end of this series there is going to be some rather fabulously smelling desert islands out there!
This week over at Escentual I’m taking another look at the debut fragrance from spirited Italian fashion house Marni. This is not my first encounter with Marni Eau de Parfum (I reviewed it here a few weeks back) but seeing as it is one of this year’s more impressive designer launches I felt it was prudent to focus the spotlight on it once again for the Escentual audience.
So please head on over to Escentual to read this week’s article by clicking the image or link above. Don’t forget to leave a comment whilst you’re there, I want to hear your thoughts on Marni – have you tried it? Do you like it? Have you picked up any fabulous bargains in the 20% Fragrance Sale? – Let me know your thoughts!
When Carven released their first perfume – the aptly named ‘Ma Griffe‘ (‘My Signature’) – in 1946 the brand dropped hundreds of parachutes over the skies of Paris, each of which carried a special piece of cargo – a sample of Madame Carven’s signature perfume. In a genius stroke of early PR, this stunt ensured that the scent of Ma Griffe was simply unavoidable:
“The lingering scent of Ma Griffe floated everywhere: at the Opera, at charity balls, at the most fashionable sports events from Deauville to Monte Carlo…”
Flash forward to 2013, following the resurrection of the fashion arm of Carven and the launch of the brand’s modern signature fragrance ‘Le Parfum‘, it is time for the relaunch of Ma Griffe. This time Carven has opted for a much more muted launch, almost silently slipping the classic fragrance back on the market in the hope that it will once again float weightlessly around city streets.
Following the earlier review of Le Parfum one was intrigued to discover the world of Ma Griffe, purely as an exercise to see how the house has changed from 1946 to 2013. The truth is that the differences between the Carven perfume of days gone by and the Carven perfume of today serve as a microcosm for how the world of perfumery has evolved over the last 70 years.
Not having spent time with Ma Griffe before its 2013 re-release has allowed one to approach it from an entirely objective point of view, reviewing it not as a long gone piece of the past but as an old school signature presented amongst the modern trends of perfumery as they are today. To say the process was an eyeopener would be an understatement…
L’Artisan Parfumeur has an excellent track record for creating interesting and wearable fragrances of exceptionally high quality at a (relatively) affordable price. They are arguably one of the first ‘niche’ houses and whilst they may have had more than the occasional creative lull over the years they now very much seem to be on track, partly thanks to venerable perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour.
Duchaufour has created a number of the brand’s most recent and intriguing scents, including; Al Oudh, Nuit de Tubéreuse, Traversée du Bosphore, Séville à L’Aube and Vanille Absolument (quite an impressive list, huh?). It stands to reason then that L’Artisan would wheel Duchaufour out for their latest trio of fragrances – an imprint line they are dubbing ‘Explosions d’Èmotions’.
‘Explosions d’Èmotions’ has been created to translate “the extraordinary emotional power of fragrance” and as a series it contains three perfumes that cover a range of emotions from the intimate and sexual to the giddying and frankly downright maniacal. This olfactory funhouse is an odd mix with all three fragrances – Déliria, Amour Nocturne and Skin on Skin – taking one on a journey of wild experiences from pleasure to fear and sex to err, bread making…
It came down to yours truly to pick the theme for this edition of the group blog post between myself, Olfactoria’s Travels, Persolaise, Fragrant Moments and Eyeliner on a Cat. For me this task was simple, I knew straight away that I wanted to talk about the relationship between fragrance and fashion, and more importantly I wanted to see just what my fragrant brothers and sisters would make of the correlation.
For years the worlds of perfume and couture have collided to create a wealth of classics and a whole heap of dreck. Houses like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford and Dior are as famous for their perfumes as they are for their fashions, with the former serving as an accessible way for one to own just a small piece of one’s favourite luxury brand.
One’s favourite fashion trend is most definitely animal print. There is just something so wonderfully wild about such bold, beastly prints and furs (all faux of course) in fashion and when one wishes to make a statement there is no greater choice than a measured dose of shocking animal print.
This post takes a look at one’s pick of the best ‘Animal Print Perfumes’ – those fragrances that perfectly capture the spirit of the boldest of prints. Whether it be the spots of the royal leopard, the stripes of the elegant zebra or the scales of the deadly black mamba, this post celebrates the collision of fashion and fragrance in the most utterly outrageous of styles.
You may have heard that Escentual is having a bit of a sale on fragrance – specifically a rather respectable 20% off all fragrance (excluding Amouage, Discovery Sets and Postage). This is, of course, rather exciting and dangerous news for us perfume addicts and leaves one pondering the question; ‘what shall I buy?’
Well fear ye not dear readers, I have taken a quick look at three of my favourite new launches to steer you in the right direction for a wonderful bargain. The three perfumes I have chosen are; Elie Saab Le Parfum Intense (full review to come shortly), Comme des Garçons Blue Encens and Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier.
So please do click the image above to head on over to Escentual and read my take on these lovely newbies. Also, don’t forget to leave me a comment letting me know what you have picked up in the sale!
When it comes to wearing perfume one would consider oneself as a traditionalist, preferring the tried and tested method of spraying (usually copiously) over dabbing or rolling. Concentrations too are a very non-experimental area for this perfume blogger who most definitely prefers Eau de Parfum to anything else.
Perfume oils are not something one would usually even try let alone wear, mainly due to the fact that they are designed to wear close to skin and for a lover of nuclear sillage that simply is not cricket. But one must try everything at least once and thanks to Escentual.com there may just be a musk oil that cuts the mustard – Musc for Her by Narciso Rodriguez. (Slightly NSFW pic below the jump)
“Dress your skin in a new form of Narciso Rodriguez elegance. The Narciso Rodriguez For Her Musc Oil is a precious way to wear the iconic For Her fragrance.
Back and even more luxurious than before, the Musc oil is inspired by the mysterious depths of Egyptian Musk, a scent that Narciso himself wears like a lucky charm. Truly sensuous, the fragrance holds itself close to the skin and invites others to come closer.
The Narciso Rodriguez For Her Musc Oil is to be worn alone for personal pleasure, or with the eau de parfum to elevate its musky notes to another level of seduction.”
The Candy Perfume Boy 