+ Q Perfume Blog

Wrapping up - 2011

2011-12-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

In the memory of Mona di Orio
Dear readers, as New Years Eve is approaching I hope you all succeeded to finish with your shopping lists of 2011. At this point we all know that what came around will stick around till the next season. So it is time to wrap up and bring what was good and bad in perfumery this year.

JERSEY BY CHANEL

Chanel continues to go downhill. In 2010 they had 02 pale launches - Chanel Eau Tendre and Bleu. This year they tried to reformulate a beloved fragrance, the Chanel Nº19, launching a new modern version called Nº19 Poudrée - Jersey . 40 years ago Henry Robert succeeded Jacques Polge as the new in house perfumer of the brand. It was also the last time she would have any saying on the creative process of a Chanel fragrance. She wanted a powerful statement. With a very masculine green opening, the fragrance than lead us to a path of flowers (the Chanel signatured ones) with an impeccable finishing. Chanel Nº19 Poudrée Jersey also shouts out loud an statement: That Chanel needs a turn around, to fire most of their staff and start from zero!

Another Excusif was added to the collection Les Exclusifs. Jersey was received as a nice fragrance by the public, but I would probably stick with Coromandel, as lavender is concerned. This one does not last long enough and it has absolutely nothing exclusive about it. So here it is my readers, as far as my beloved Chanel brand is concerned...I am really concerned with the future of this brand. I don't know where they will find their inspirations, their creativity and their Mojo to reinvent themselves.

Guerlain on the other hand is working full time to satisfy their clientele. The Idylle family got Duet and Eau Sublime - which seemed to be more of a marketing/financial strategy than new fragrances - but people enjoyed anyway. The fans of Habit Rouge from 1965 got a new modern version, going back to its classics. Another trend these days. Thierry Wasser also presented the 6th flanker of Shalimar - Shalimar Parfum Initial. Youth oriented - targeting and looking for new clientele...

Well, since we are mentioning Mr. Wasser - another break through: the man finally recognized, as a perfumer, that we bloggers do have our share of respect in our opinions as the general public is concerned. He also made some implied statements, that IMO was directly messages to ONE blogger only...but I will not stretch here the subject...

Jasminora was added to the Aqua Allegoria range and it is simply beautiful.
Speaking of revivals, Oscar de La Renta makes a great come back with a very nice fragrance Eprit D'Oscar, and a less greater one, Live in Love EDP.
By the way, love was a very explored theme in perfumery this year, click HERE to see some of the perfumes; and nature continued to inspire us, less ethereal, less dewy, greener, with more depth, click HERE.

LOEWE - LA COLECCÍON

Annick Goutal has nailed this year with one single fragrance - Mon Parfum Cherrie EDP, while Thierry Mugler launched 05, including a new beautiful flacon for Angel and Le Goût de Parfum collection - limited editions where the gourmandise is unleashed. As far as collections are concerned, this is also an on going trend these days that started last year - instead of launching flankers, brands are launching "collections". Last year Ralph Laurence launched the Big Poney Collection; Mona di Orio launched her Nombres D'Or (which was expanded this year with Tubereuse, Vétyver, Oud and Vanile); Loewe launched a beautiful limited edition only sold at Harrold's, with 04 fragrances - La Coleccíon; YSL brought some of his vintage hard-to-find fragrances in a collection of 8 perfumes called La Collection (coincidence or copy?); Blood Concept with their A, B, O and AB fragrances; Ineke with her Floral Curiosities; Costume Nacional with their POP Collection of 04 different fragrances; Molton Brown investing more on the fragrance department, launching fine fragrances, with a collection called Navigation Through Scent; Andy Tauer with his less successful Pentachords that began to be launched last year, and will continue its downfall next year; Victoria Secret with the worst of perfumery - The VS Temptation Collection, etc etc...

Fashion brands that were not yet in the fragrance market have also appeared this year, such as Botega Venetta with Botega Venetta EDP; Ben Sherman with a fragrance that takes his name; and Diane fon Furstenberg with Diane EDP.

In the area of celebrity perfumes we are finally seeing a slowdown, with some surprises such as Madonna rushing to compete with Lady Gaga to launch a fragrance of her own. Both announced this year, and probably both will be very disappointing as 99,9% of the celeb's fragrances.

LUCA TURIN & TANIA SANCHEZ

In the perfume publishing department we have fantastic new books on the shelves this year: La Cuisine de Nez by Sabine Chabert (click HERE), The Perfume Lover by Denise Beaulieu, The Little Book of Perfumes by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez, Sleeping with the Enemy - Coco Chanel's Secret War by Haul Vaughan, Fragrances of the World - 2011 - 27th edition by Michael Edwards, Perfume - The Alchemy of a Scent by Jean Claude Ellena, and Les Parfums - Histoire, Antologie, Dictionnaire by Elisabeth de Feydeau.
So, if you haven't read any of those - it is still time to pick some of them to read this Holidays!

Mona di Orio

We had a sad moment for the perfume community this year as we have lost our beloved Mona di Orio, perfumer and friend of many of us. Although the brand has announced that will continue to spread her beauties, I am concerned with the future of this brand. Some of her fragrances are being sold in the internet as rare findings already at the highest cost.
We lost a great perfumer, but we have gained a very promising one - John Arthur, aka Kerosene (click here to read the article), who has created one of the most beautiful OUD perfumes of 2011.

So I think this is it darlings. My last post of 2011. I need my friday to finish to pack and than leave to enjoy family and my needed holidays.

I wish you all a happy New year and I hope we will rejoin here in 2012!

Love,

Simone XXXX

Packing to leave!

2011-12-25T07:04:00.000-08:00

If you ask me what I love the most about Christmukkah holidays, it is definitely the fact that I am packing to leave! In 06 days I will be landing in one of the most beautiful places on earth - The Holy Land.

Packing is tricky. Although we can take 02 suitcases (32k each) + handbags, and that would be exactly 06 traveling suitcases and a total of 192k, I would not dare to try to drag half of my home with us. So we just take one suitcase each. The thing is, we are experiencing a very hot summer time and we are traveling to winter, so the backpack is the heavy one. We leave in shorts and sandals and arrive in heavy coats, gloves, scarf and all that paraphernalia we need, in order not to freeze once we put our noses outside the airport.

Fragrances. Another issue. Should I take them? Should I buy new ones to attach them to a great memory of my desperately expected holidays?

Usually I do both. I bring small vial with some of my fragrances and incorporate news ones during the holidays. By doing this I feel that I have capture in a bottle, the fun of being away, the joy of my holidays.

Last year I bought Van Cleef's Lys Carmin EDP (from the Extraordinaire collection) and La Chasse aux Papillons Extrême by L'Artisan. Lys Carmin was on my way back in a shop in the airport, so it does not really remind me of anything but my 3 hours connection in Spain. But LCAP Extrême has this fantastic travel machine effect on me! One tiny whiff and I am back to Israel having fun I the middle of a freezing to death winter day skiing in the Golan Mountains. One tiny whiff and I am back to the many trips we made around the country exploring Shuks, caverns, restaurants, forests...

Israel is one of the most fragrant places on earth. If you ask me if I agree that it is the land of milk and honey...I would prefer to say it is the land of rosemary and many many other spices.

Photo credit: + Q Perfume Blog

This year I will try to continue my quest for the love of incense notes. As you know, Israel has many Biblical sites, and incense is very common in this region. Let's see where I will find it. I remember once taking a Catholic friend in a tour to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (or Resurrection). We went to see all the archeological-historical sites and we also attended the Christian mass. I felt pretty much dragged into the monastery of Eco's book "The name of the Rose". The praying in Latin, the Franciscan monks, the huge incense burner making clouds of frankincense and myrrh... needless to say we both left the place pretty intoxicated!

HOLY SEPULCHER

This year I will not travel far to look for Alepo soaps as I did last year. I will see where the scented paths will lead my nose. I collected many pictures for future articles last year. Needless to say I haven't written a single one. I guess I have a problem to share my fantastic Israeli scented experiences, they are too complexed, to intense to put in words. I shared some of the photos in my facebook thou...

Let's see if I manage to change that aspect of personality in 2012...

So I leave you guys for now...to check if I packed enough socks for my child..tata!

Christmas has arrived

2011-12-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve in Brazil (Sao Paulo) is always very different from what I have seen in other countries. Snow flakes, snowmen, and all the cute things related to winter & Christmas are just for decoration. Here we are enjoying summer time. It feels a bit strange to think of hot coco or apple sider, warm cookies, eggnogs and fire places when it is 30ºC outside. To complete the weirdness of the holidays, this year it is simple raining cats & dogs.

If you ask any Brazilian how was his Christmas, probably 60% will say they had fun at the beach and a great dinner at midnight around the pool. But here in São Paulo the atmosphere is completely different. It was steaming hot all day. The city is empty. No traffic jam, which is a miracle in this crazy town. But I managed to find the crowd in the supermarket. Seems that everyone forgot something, and went to the same place to make the last minute purchase of Christmas dishes ingredients. Fine. I survived...

Usually young paulistas go to Christmas parties in night clubs after their dinners. They are very cool dancing parties. Everybody hugging and kissing each other...a perfect time for single people to mingle. Me? I have already found my love many Christmases ago.

My plans for this evening are pretty much the same as every year. Spend quality time with my child (husbbie will not be joining us today - sadly, he has to work so others can go home to their families, which is a mitzva that he does, since we are Jewish).

We have some family rules for Christmas which are:

A Christmas films marathon - the same movies every year!

Bikini during the day, PJs after 16:00.

Make a fancy dinner.

So, here I am, smelling the wet dry grass of my yard, the tropical summer rain shower, the fantastic Elo fragrance "Like This - Tilda Swinton", that came today in a package - broken into tiny pieces, placed beside my Mac....wondering what to cook for dinner and who to curse in the postal service office...

I will not post about perfumes this year and I am really sorry. I didn't have enough time due to my work, and the last minute list of things that have to be done before leaving. These last couple of days were a bit overwhelming to me. I know you are used to my fragrant posts this time of the year.

I will end this post by wishing you all a magical evening, full of joy, love and peace.

Merry Christmas!

The stinky dark side of Perfumery

2011-12-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

"Put the trash where it belongs. In the trash can!!!"

After six months of trial, former Dior designer, a man called john galliano was found guilty of racism and being anti-Semitic, based on public insults towards persons, on the basis of their religion and origin, despite trying to present himself as a person suffering from triple addiction of valium, alcohol and sleeping pills. Although galliano's laywers tried to prove that his racist and anti-Semitic rampant were not to be considered public, the video that Sun posted of the same man not only saying that he loves hitler, but people like the one's he was fighting with would be dead, in what was considered a very public racist rant.

Yes my dear readers, the man who is considered a genius wished people to be gassed. He only forgot one detail: by being a homosexual that he is, he would stand in the same line with all the Jews (that he hate so much) to be gassed just like them. As we all know (and apparently the genius had very bad scholar education), nazis send Jews, homosexuals, gipsies, communists, or anyone that they considered a threat to nazi Germany to concentration camps, and later to the showers. So Dior ran fast to fire the designer in order not to be involved in his racist war against Jews. Dior knows who their real clients are. The thing is, this fashion house belongs to the portfolio of International group LVMH, that coincidentally is also involved with nazis. Seems that louis vuitton has collaborated with them during the German occupation of France.

Stephanie Bonvici has researched many historical documents about the brand and the family, and in her book she exposed the link of louis vuitton with the Vichy regime led by phillipe petain, who ruled France during the period of WWII, and openly collaborated with the nazi occupation of the country. LVMH never contested the contents of Bonvici's book.

If we go back in time my dear readers, we will have to narrow our fragrance or fashion options if we do not wish to purchase products coming from racists bastards such as galliano.

It is a fact that the beloved hugo boss was a member of the nazi party in 1931 sponsoring nothing less than the SS. By being a nazi he went from bankrupted to a very successful man, and his sales increased from 38,260 RM in 1932 to 3,300.000RM in 1941. He became an official licensed supplier of nazi uniforms. How he ran his factory - by using Jews as slaves.

After a long lawsuit filed against the group, on the behalf of the survivals of the families who worked as slaves in Hugo Boss factories during the war, an agreement was settled between both German and American governments, the Jewish groups and the brand.

According to German historian Henning Kober, not only the designer worshiped the leader of the nazis, but also had a huge photo were he was posing with him, in the center of his living room.

If that made you want to vomit, let's go back in time to present the most famous World War French whore - Miss gabrielle (born) charnel - aka coco chanel.

This woman slept her way to the International jet set, and between fashion shows, she took millions from dumb rich men who were willing to pay a fortune to sleep with her. Till now we can't judge her, she does with her body what she wishes to, right? So what about sleeping with the enemies of your country???

Well, the lady who was venerated in France, turned her back to her own country, and collaborated with nazis during the occupation of France. With the excuse that she wanted to bring a relative back home from the battle, she did nothing less than to associate with a nazi spy called at the time spatz, and the nazi elite. As my dad says " whores do not choose their clients" Bulshit! Even whores know the difference between right and wrong. Most of them are in this profession because they have no other option. In chanel's case - she was addicted to prostitution, she was rich, she did it because she had no moral filter at all.

Her excuses were very weak, mostly proven because after the relative was returned safely home, and years later in exile in Switzerland, the prostitute financed the medical treatment of one walter schellenberg - former right arm of himmler. After being declared a war criminal and sent to exile, walter schellenberg had all his expenses paid by the same prostitute till the day he died.

chanel tried to send her Jewish business associates - the Wertheimer family to concentration camps - but they had already escaped to the USA. She also tried to steal the property of the same Jewish family (the shares of their participation in the company) in a process called Aryanization. In fact, she was a Jew hater and also had a severe problem with homosexuals. In many confirmed occasions she said terrible things about them, denying her own homosexuality. It is also a proven fact that this lady was bisexual, having many lesbian affairs with women. Confused? Me too! She proclaimed to be an independent woman, but had to have men financing her, all her life. She proclaimed that she hated homosexuals, but she was one too. She proclaimed that she had disgust for people who did not behave properly, but she lead a very strange life geared by many shots of morphine and other drugs. A prostitute, a drug addicted (heard that somewhere else? maybe galliano worshiped her?), a anti-Semitic disgusting woman who not only DID NOT CREATE THE CHANEL Nº5, but was ASSOCIATED TO JEWS AND HOMOSEXUALS when convenient. In fact, she never had friends, she used and manipulated people. She financed them according to her own interests. If you have any doubt about what I am saying here, there are two recently historical books about it - all facts confirmed with documents. I recommend the book "Sleeping with the enemy - coco chanel's secret war by Hal Vaughan. The truth about her is no longer avoided.

So far all that does not concern you? You are not homosexual, you are not Jewish?

French Perfume House Guerlain also faced legal suits due to racism. This time the victims are "black people" or "niggers" as jean paul guerlain calls people who are not white.

The 73 yrs old perfumer, already retired, had to come to the public to explain what he meant, and again the group LVMH had to come forward to give statements against racism. He comes from an era were white folks were better than others, and the rest were to be considered slaves.

So here you have it. The perfumery industry develops many fragrant dreams that we run to buy as soon as they are launched. Perfumers like jean paul guerlain have brilliant skills to create beauty. But the main problem of this industry is: THEY DON'T CREATE FRAGRANCES FOR PEOPLE. Because they don't understand the concept of humanity. They create fragrances for what nazis considered humans.

All that said, I leave you to think if it is ok to buy their products. If it is ok to live in denial.

We live in a world today app.80 years after nazis were proclaiming their ideology out loud. But did we get rid of them? Did we get rid of people like miss chanel, who criticized and judged people by their sexual preferences? Did we get rid of Extremists? Fundamentalists?

I think these people stink. I think that brands like hugo boss should be banned and vanish from this planet. But that's me and my notion of morality.

That does not concern you? The anti-Semites, the racists of the past and present, will be the Muslim haters of tomorrow. They will be the ones to claim that their religion is better than yours. Their color is to be considered normal, not yours ...just wait and watch! Extremists change their target, not their behavior.

P.S.: all the names cited here do not start with uppercase letters because these are not to be considered people. They are to be considered trash. Stinky trash.

R'OUD ELEMENTS EDP by KEROSENE - Interview with perfumer & fragrance review

2011-12-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

THE BEST WAS SAVED FOR LAST!
A seductive incensy - woody fragrance.
My choice for a X-mas gift to guys that are cool!

This was a weak year for fragrant interviews in this blog. Truth is, I really didn't find any interest in questioning perfumers about their last launches nor their inspirations, until I have recently seen one of the latest KEROSENE youtube videos last month. The guy who has been spreading his charms and fragrance reviews in the internet has been also working secretly to develop his own fragrances. John Arthur, aka Kerosene, is a 35 yrs old small town guy with big dreams for his future in the fragrance industry. If you are a fragrance reviewer, evaluator or blogger, and you have always questioned yourself if reviewing a fragrance is as hard as developing one of our own, but never dared to try, I can tell you that this shy young man had the guts and skill to do it. He moved away from the safe place where he gets to evaluate other people's work via youtube, to subject his own creation for others like him to evaluate his work.

I exchanged a few e-mails with him that resulted in an interview which I am happy to share with all of you today. John is a very nice person and although he presents himself publicly, I found out that he is a bit shy when talking about himself.

+ QPB: Since when have you been interested in fragrances?

Kerosene: I have been interested in scents for as long as I can remember. It was probably around the middle school era when I really started to discover fragrances.

+ QPB:Do you have a fragrance type preference?

Kerosene: I tend to gravitate toward woody flavors.

+ QPB: How people near you reacted about this passion for perfumes? (since you work in a very masculine rough environment!)

Kerosene: People around me don't understand my sniffing obsession. And in the automotive environment, it's not really understood much anyway. Once in a while, I'll catch a waft of someone wearing a scent, and even if it's Axe, good job for wearing at least something!

+ QPB: When or why did you start to review fragrances on youtube?

Kerosene: I began reviewing scents about a year and a half ago. Im not what you call an eloquent speaker, or very charasmatic, but my goal has always been to describe a scent for people that have never smelled it. Helping others is my number 1 priority! And if I can have fun here and there, I will.

KEROSENE

Photo credit: Kerosene for + Q Perfume Blog

+ Q PB: You are migrating from a fragrance reviewer to a perfumer. How would you feel if someone would give you a bad review? (Which I doubt, because the fragrance is really great).

Kerosene: Yeah, I've prepared myself for the inevitable bad reviews. But really, it doesn't matter. If a person doesn't like a scent, that's fine, they dont have to wear it. For the people that love it, then the scent is for them! I will never take it personally that a scent isn't liked. Fragrance is such a personal choice kind of thing, it's like arguing over what is the best color. Blue or Red. Doesn't matter. People like what they like and it's something that cant be judged.

+ QPB: I would like to know how this project started. Are you going to open your own brand in the near future? Is this one scent only, or is it going to be in a collection of others to come?

Kerosene: What first started the project was my obsession with individual notes. Some are very simple, while others are very complex. I wanted to familiarize myself with notes for my online fragrance reviews. To really smell what sticks out the most, and not just by reading a note pyramid. Once I had collected quite a bit of essential oils, I began to dilute them to build simple formulas. At the same time, learning the scent strength of various base and top notes. Some notes can last for days, others a few minutes. So that’s where the true obsession began. I truly loved the creative process of endless possibilities in scent. My goal will to always create something that doesn’t smell familiar.

R’Oud Elements isn’t the first fragrance I’ve created, it just happened to be the first one I felt was ready to be released. And yes, I want to release a new scent whenever I feel a new formula is ready. I’m constantly experimenting. I want to create a unique, yet wearable fragrance house, which is called Kerosene.

+ QPB: I think it would be super cool if you were to open a fragrance house that makes niche perfumery just for men! Not a single perfume for us women. It is my opinion that men have been neglected for years by brands, receiving only EDT versions of perfume, and the raw materials used in the masculine fragrances are far cheaper than the ones used in fragrances for women. It would be nice to see for a change a brand that gives the quality and respect that men deserve! Your thoughts?

Kerosene: My fragrances will always be edp concentrations and will vary greatly from feminine tones, to masculine.

+ QPB: That is excellent news! Guys deserve that!!

Have you got any perfumery training? Or you just trusted your sensibility and knowledge as a consumer?

Kerosene: Like with music, writing, motorcycle building, everything I do in life seems to be self-taught. Some might applaud that approach to life, some might scowl. I love to research just enough to make me dangerous. I also don’t like to research too much, and lose the creativity in the process. If I was to learn how another perfumer goes about to create a scent, I might have the habit to instinctively work in the same frame. But I never allow myself to do that. I trust my nose to tell me if something smells right. Win my lack of formal training, I might waste more raw materials in my processes, but I have confidence the end result will eventually be promising.

+QP: I think in a way you are right, as per not being influenced by others, especially because you did master it. But today with so many regulations such as IFRA’s, a perfumery training could be handy, no?

Kerosene: Yeah, there are regulations, but every essential oil and aroma molecule will have a Material Safety Data Sheet that lets the perfumer know the safe consumer limits of concentration. I will always follow those regulations.

+ QPB: What was the inspiration of this fragrance? How long did you take to conclude this creation from inspiration to launching the perfume?

KEROSENE

Photo credit: Kerosene for + Q Perfume Blog

Kerosene: We have some cold weather here in Michigan, and I really enjoy warm scents. So I wanted to create something that was comforting, warm and relaxing. This scent probably took close to a year to complete. I usually work on a scent, walk away and work on something else. I feel when I come back to something after a while, a new idea will pull me along when smelling it again. And from there, more tweaks.

+ QPB: Tell me a bit about you. How you define yourself personally/professionally? Tell me your age!

Kerosene: I’m 35 and grew up in a small town not far from where I live now. If I decide to do something, I put my whole heart into it. I would love to see the house of Kerosene taken to the professional level, and I can’t say that will happen until I'm able to quit my regular day job at an automotive plant. I dream of working in a lab, mixing, diluting, smelling something different as my regular job, versus staying up late and being tired most of the day after.

+ QPB: What you do when you are not reviewing fragrances?

Kerosene: When I’m not testing scents, hovering over perfume counters and reading reviews, I love wrenching on old motorcycles. I love tea, especially Earl Grey and Darjeeling. As with enjoying different perfume notes, I love all kinds of music, The Cure, Demon Hunter, Soilwork, The Beatles, Muse, and anything with a cello in it. I could really go on forever. I also love to write whenever I can find the spare time. Short Stories with a twist are always fun to concoct.

+QP: Your fragrance reminded me of Black Cashmere by Donna Karan. Do you know this fragrance? Have anybody else thought this way? Do you agree with me?

Kerosene: Haha, maybe I’d agree with you if I’ve ever smelled Black Cashmere. I heard of R’Oud Elements being compared to Creed’s Royal Oud which I have still not smelled, so can’t really compare either.

+ QPB: R'Oud Elements- what does it mean... I know OUD is the raw material - but does the "R" mean anything?

Kerosene: The name of R’Oud Elements, other than being a cute play-on-words, comes mostly from the opening. To my nose, the opening is smoky, raspy, and in your face, and is very much rude-like. But that opening is only an element of the fragrance as a whole; as is the oud note. So many other notes play a bigger role than the oud and I feel it separates the scent from other OUD fragrances. It’s less bright, pungent and piercing than most of the oud fragrances I’ve smelled.

+QP: I loved the explanation! The name is brilliant!

Tell me a bit about the bottle. I heard from your video that you have crafted it yourself right? Automotive painting… give me more details. I think it looks very sleek.

Kerosene: I wanted to put my motorcycle painting talents into the bottle's design. I love metallic paint, so it was a no-brainer to paint the bottles in that style. For the label, I've always like Serge Lutens simplicity, so I drew the vine pattern, scanned it on my computer and added the fragrance name. There's a metal stud in the middle of the label, which I think adds an elegant touch. Each fragrance will be a different color and one little aspect will differentiate it from other scents. R'Oud Elements has a bow, the next scent will have a.... (he left me curious LOL!)

+ QPB: About the OUD note - synthetic or natural - if natural - where is it from? This is crucial for OUD aficionados.

Kerosene: I used a blend of synthetic oud and authentic Indian Black Agarwood. In order to keep the costs reasonable, I was able to create a pleasant scent with my blend.

KEROSENE

Photo credit: Kerosene for + Q Perfume Blog

R'OUD ELEMENTS EDP - FRAGRANCE REVIEW BY + Q PERFUME BLOG

R'OUD ELEMENTS BY KEROSENE

Photo credit: KEROSENE BRAND

Origin: USA – Port Huron, MI
Launch: 2011
Perfumer: John Arthur (aka, Kerosene)
Olfactive Notes: oud, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, lavender, iris and orange bitters. (I think there is frankincense too)

Description by Perfumer: "A smoldering R’oud opening that slowly develops into a velvety, woody scent with amber and vanilla".

Description by + Q Perfume Blog: SMOKY, SEXY, CHIC, MODERN

Olfactive family: Woody Oriental
Gender: Opening is masculine, but the drydown could be worn by anyone (perfumer)/I think it is masculine, but can be enjoyed by the ladies too. When to use: Mostly fall and winter - any occasion

Silage: Excellent in the first 10 minutes, gets closer to the skin afterwards with a few peaks now and then...

Fixation: Great

Range: 50ml and 100ml - EDP

Could pair to: Black Cashmere by Donna Karan

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Where:

☆☆☆☆☆ - I am on fire!

☆☆☆☆ - You will find your true element in this fragrance!

☆☆☆ - Nice warming.

☆☆ - Automotive painting smells better than that!

☆ - Kerosene would smell better than that!

WHERE TO BUY: Contact Perfumer or at ETSY website.

Just like John's smile, the fragrance has a very uplifting - warm opening, with woody notes combined with delicate minty-soapy freshness, that could be coriander, but I can't confirm thou... John does not share any more notes than the ones he has published. So I will call it the sauna bench note (like the one found in Cepes & Tuberoses by Mandy A.), but here much more delicate, tuned down at least 45ºC.LOL.

It also contains a rather strange and very close smell to a Brazilian minty flavored sweet called Bala Garoto de Hortelã, that gives you the refreshing breath of mentha arvensis with a flowery touch. If you are in Brazil - smell the candy, but do not put on the mouth, otherwise it gets intense, and in this case, won't remind the scent of John's fragrance anymore!

One more strange detail - When I first tried this fragrance in a colder day than it is today, and I could assure the perfume had a very smoky incense opening. Something like frankincense and myrrh. Today, a week later, in a very hot day (at least 12ºC more) it smells fresher, more orange-y and more uplifting. Quite curious...
The OUD used is a combination of both natural and synthetic agarwood (read in the interview above), which is nice to my taste. I am not a purist. never was, never will be.

Roland & Rattfink

It smells as if Black Cashmere by Donna Karan lost a bit of broom flowers and its Bois de Miel notes, to receive a heavier woody facet instead. Therefore I recommend to pair both of them. Remember the cartoon ROLAND & RATTFINK? That is John's fragrance and Black Cashmere by Donna Karan, when both are compared. Roland was the blond, good looking make love not war kind of guy; and Rattfink the evil, darker character. (By the way, I remember that Roland always got to my nerves with all that daisies smelling).

Please do not translate Roland as good and Rattfink as bad. This is not what I mean when I compare both, as to the fragrances in case. Translate Roland (or Black Cashmere - as the softer, flowery, mellower one) and Rattfink, or R'Oud Elements EDP as the naughtier, darker one). R'Oud Elements has the same velvety touch of cashmere wools of Donna K's fragrance, but somehow the wool is his is a bit more raw, less soft, less creamy, less "polite like Roland", and more piercing, more spicy, more rude = R'Oud - at least it sounds very close when you say both words!

R'Oud Elements EDP has a unisex appeal - when sprayed on my husband it becomes very spicy resinous - smoky masculine, and the ambery-vanilla elements are less accentuated (oriental base). When sprayed on my wrist, the powdery furry candy like elements are much more detectable. Needless to say we both loved the fragrance.

I think Kerosene succeeded to deliver what he thought it would be his signature fragrance - a very warm, velvety, hip fragrance. I can even say it has the same vibe as Comme de Garçons WONDERWOOD (click here for the review). Yes, here the lumberjack scent got a bit of the automotive-industrial touch. Yes, dear readers...a lot of common elements with Black Cashmere. A lot of elements of Wonderwood...but with R'Oud Elements of its own.

It came from the heart, from his natural skills to smell scents and smells around him, and most of all, from the dream of making his own signature perfume. I really like it!

I want to congratulate John for his new venture, and certainly I will look forward his next creations!

The sample was sent to me by John, upon my request.

Felanilla EDP by Parfumerie Générale - fragrance review

2011-12-17T02:56:00.000-08:00

To Magnifiscent, who needs to find a gourmet fragrance that he enjoys...

FELANILLA EDP by PG

Felanilla EDP - Fragrance Review
Origin: France
Perfumer: Pierre Guillaume
Launch: 2008
Olfactive family: Spicy oriental soft
Olfactive Notes: vanilla absolute, saffron, Florence iris, banana wood, hay absolute and amber. (I smell a tobacco note too)
Description by the brand: "Ferociously luxurious/A feline vanilla".
Description by + Q Perfume Blog: IRIS DELIGHT, The non fruity fruity perfume, LUXURIOUS DELICIOUS
Fragrance Bottle: PG's standard Sleek rectangular, transparent glass with black and white label, numbered 21.
Gender: M, but can be whiff on the ladies too.
Silage: Great
Fixation: Great - lasts more than 12 hours.
Could pair to: NOTHING AT ALL!!
When to wear: Any time, any place.
Range: 3,38, 1,69 or 1,01 fl oz.
Where to find: Parfumerie Générale
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Where:
☆☆☆☆☆ - I went bananas!
☆☆☆☆ - As good as Woody Allen Bananas' quotes!
☆☆☆ - I trade a Banana Chocolate fudge for it.
☆☆ - I would stick to the Banana Chocolate Fudge!
☆ - Rotten banana peel.

Felanilla is a game of 2 words - feline and vanilla. It is indeed a very distinguished vanilla perfume. The overall idea is a gentle oriental fragrance, with a spicy coating of saffron, a woody note combined with a very powerful iris, resulting in a pencil styled scent (the Faber Castell note that I mention sometimes), with hints of banana peal. It also comes with the masculine touch of tobacco, and a base that unveils slowly a very soft amber-y vanilla.

One wonders if banana could smell as sexy as its shape. The answer was no... till Pierre Guillaume came along with his straightforward creations.

The funniest thing about scents is that they change according to perspectives. I read in Luca Turin's Perfume Guide that this fragrance had an iris with a potato-rooty aspect. "An astringent aspect to slightly unripe bananas". So I sprayed on my arm expecting to find a different iris that would stand out for creativity, from the 1000s I have already tried. NOTHING happened. I could not sense this fragrance by Luca's perspectives. To me it was just a tobacco - iris fragrance...

Very frustrated I went to the kitchen and took a half green-half ripe banana, peeled it and put my nose very close to the flesh. Hummm, delicious I thought. Nose back to my wrist and BINGO! There it was, a hidden unripe banana note, covered by layers of woody pencils. That said, the ultra sweet, fruity, sticky, tropical scent of banana is not there. It is not dancing on the head of Carmen Miranda. It is hidden under woodsy notes, to result into a tropical, happy, sunny vibe of Brazilian summers. It brings a sensuality that needs to be discovered. You need to peel that banana to get to the core of the sensuality proposed by oriental fragrances. It is a fruity - non fruity fragrance - which I love!

The dry down is also very sensual. The amber notes melt on vanilla, and the beige yellowish woody pastel becomes a deep dark caramel brown scent.

It is indeed a luxurious delicious perfume with the aura of Copacabana palace in its golden years.

And now, a bit of Chiquita Banana for you.
This video that contains a bit of the aura of this fragrance!

P.s.: Felanilla in my opinion means Felatio + vanilla. I have seen PG's photos around, and he seems to be much naughtier than a naive Feline + vanilla... IMO!

Delicious Perfumed Gourmandises!

2011-12-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

THE BEST WAS SAVED FOR LAST!
AN AMAZING LIST OF GOURMET FRAGRANCES.
THE SWEET GIFTS TO THE ONES YOU LOVE!
Gourmandise, or Gluttony (it sounds more charming in French...everything sounds better in French!) can be defined as over-indulgence for food to the point of extravagancy. It is a term also associated to the pleasure of savoring food, savoring its taste and quality, seeking olfactive and palate enjoyment. According to Saint Thomas Aquina in his Summa Theologica, one of the ways of committing gluttony is to seek for very expensive, luxurious and exotic foods. I am not suggesting we all become sinners. Instead, I am offering this "almost sinful" list of exquisite gourmet fragrances. So, let's leave the sins aside, and think of Gourmandise as a wish to fulfill a desire through food, and how it stimulates and induce us to seek for Gourmet fragrances. Today I want to propose a quest for the most delicious treats. Fragrances listed are so good that you will be impelled to lick your skin!

HALVA (Haleweh or Halwa)

Photo credit: + Q Perfume Blog

Mastering the art of edibles, I bring Pierre Guillaume and his niche fragrance house Parfumerie Générale, with the latest launches of the Limited Editions Praliné de Santal and Tonkamande.

Praliné de Santal EDP has a delicious mouth watering, rich combination of notes of Sandalwood, heliotrope, Virginian cedar and cashmeran.
Imagine the delicious sweet aroma of crushed peanut butter cookies, crispy from the outside and smooth and creamy inside. Imagine crunchy caramelized hazelnuts and a sticky, dense Halva. Now put all the ingredients together, and make a layered dessert. Add a woodsy creamy topping, and there you have it - a smooth luxurious perfume-dessert that it is simply irresistible to the senses. Praliné de Santal is as glorious, beautiful and sinful as a BANOFFEE. It does remind me a bit of Jeux de Peau by Serge Lutens, but it is much more refined, 1000 times better crafted, and much less buttery, but still very very creamy.
The Halva note is simply outstanding, and for those of you who are not introduced to this Middle Eastern sesame delicacy, I suggest you run now to buy a piece. If there was a book such as "1000 food treats you must eat before you die", Halva definitely deserves one entire chapter! The sesame butter is rich, intense, sticky, warm and very tasty, and you will find it in this perfume combined with baked goodies, and roasted nuts.
PDS = Jeux de Peau - butter + Halva + hazelnuts + perfumer skills.

TONKAMANDE EDP BY P.G.

Tonkamande EDP - composing this beauty you have notes of almond milk, aldehydes, tonka beans, wheat, sandalwood, vanilla and amber. It brings many things to my mind, such as drinking hot foamy milk beverages in a cold day, chic ladies powdering their noses and drinking Champagne in a fancy wedding, or even young couples in love embracing each other. It is delicate, slightly gourmet and very chic. Once you spray this fragrance on your skin, two magical things will happen to you: One - you will find out that happiness can be bottled and sold in liquid form; Two - Pierre G. not only masters the art of making surprisingly beautiful gourmet fragrances, but he also mastered to create olfactive cuddling. This is the closest idea of spooning with someone you will get from a fragrance. Feeling lonely? Tonkamande! Wanting to feel extremely happy, naive, or christmas -y? Tonkamande! Having cravings for sweet treats and pastries, without being too boulangerie? Tonkamande. Wanting to feel pretty and bubbling? Tonkamande.

Another chic gourmand perfume is offered by luxurious Italian niche brand Xerjoff. Mefisto EDP is one of the fragrances belonging to the Casamorati 1888 collection, and it also reminds me of Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau, but with much less cholesterol, much more flowers and again, 1000 times better crafted.

LEMON & LAVENDER BUTTER COOKIES

Mefisto EDP - Bergamot, grapefruit and Amalfi lemons are combined to bring a fresh citrusy and refreshing summer-y opening. Lavender, iris and rose bring a strong whiff of spring, and the base with musk, sandalwood, amber and Virginia cedar brings the warmth of an autumn day. That said, the fragrance can be enjoyed a year round, and somehow it contains a slightly gourmand facet, which it takes time to peak, being much more implied than obvious. It is elegant, Mediterranean classic, pleasant and very powerful.

If you make the following formula you have Mefisto:

Mefisto = Jeux de Peau + butter/2 - croissant + (flowers )2 + aromatic herbs + Mediterranean breeze. OR make a lemon & lavender butter cookie fragrance sprinkled with iris powder!
Although Mefisto seems to be sold as a masculine fragrance, I think both genders will enjoy this fancy fragrance.

BUTTERSCOTCH COOKIES

If you cannot afford niche treats, Tommy Girl by Hilfiger has a gourmet flanker called Tommy Girl 10. It is not new, probably launched in 2006, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the brand.

Tommy Girl 10 EDP - This version comes with notes of apple trees, camellias mint, cranberries, pear, tangerine, grapefruit, magnolia, rose, honeysuckle, water lilies, butterscotch, sandalwood and birch. It is a crazy fragrance, with a mix of forest during winter and Martha Stewart making cookies. The fragrance has a strong smell of spicy cookies and flowers, with a transparent ocean breeze. Good to combine with a glass of milk.
To make this fragrance the formulas are:
Tommy 10 Girl = Praliné de Santal + (cookies)2 + flowers - (HALVA + hazelnuts) + Ocean Breeze OR Tommy 10 Girl = Mefisto + (cookies)2 - cedar.

I hope you will enjoy the quartet. If you ask me which one is a must have, I would say Tonkande for sure...but I am lucky, I have them all ;-)

Now, I could not leave without bringing the master cookie chef,
The Muppet Show COOKIE MONSTER!!!

If you wish to use my Halva picture, ask me first for authorization! I might not want to share it.

Mona di Orio Parfums - RIP

2011-12-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

There are moments in a life of a perfume blogger when words cannot be found, or are not enough to describe a thought, a feeling.

My beloved perfumer Mona di Orio has passed away.

I have small vials of her fragrances, and this is what I will keep from her. Drop by drop, every scent contains her beautiful soul, her passion for fragrances and her ability to create art. I will keep them close to my heart.

Rest in Peace my dearest fragrant lady.

We are all going to miss you.

I know I will.

If you wish to leave here a message of peace to her or to her beloved ones, I will send them all to her business partner Jos, so he will forward them to her family.

Fragrance trend for a world in transition

2011-12-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

"Love looks forward, hate looks back, anxiety has eyes all over its head".

(Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960)

Understanding the world nowadays seems almost impossible. Every morning we wake up thinking today is going to be a better day. We have our matutinal bath to freshen up and feel energized. By the time we sit to have breakfast reality strikes us, folded at the door, conspiring against our appetite and inner peace. The daily newspaper, loaded with pages and pages of environmental, religious, social, financial and political chaotic news. To say that we face unprecedented or unimaginable crisis, means denial of pages and pages of registered world history. Let's face it, as the past has shown to us, turmoil leads to changes. For better or for worst, we are facing today the result of decades of our own desire to change.

This instability, this inner conflict that we are living day by day, this desperate desire to adjustment, to reconciliation, to peace, this constant quest for answers and for changes is leading us to stress. Chaos is making us vulnerable, frustrated and very unhappy. We are today, in a constant state of worry.
Try to remember when was the last time that things were simpler, happier...when you didn't have to pay for your mortgage, tuition, credit cards, Medicare or any health care plan, etc etc etc... Most of us will go back to our childhood, when our concerns were a math test, how many more days we had till summer holidays, or even if it was ok to kiss with braces :-)

Scientists have been studying for quite a while now the intimate connection between olfaction and its power to evoke memories (olfactory flashbacks). In fact, sweet fragrances do evoke recollections of our childhood, but simply because they were pleasant. If you did not have a happy childhood, how could you still make this link? Because although not all childhoods were pleasant, the sweet treats we all had as children were. Chocolate birthday cakes and sunday treats, ice creams during summer holidays or after a movie with an uncle or friends. Grandparents visits along with boxes of chocolates...all brought to us a sense of caring, warmth, comfort and pleasure.

Vanilla is one of the most popular among many sweet scents, due to the fact that it is unconsciously related to simplicity and purity. It is recognized in many researches as universally pleasant, helping to reduce anxiety and stress.
The thing is, vanilla calms you down!
So, if you were wondering why we have so many gourmet fragrances being launched recently, you have the answer. Gourmet fragrances has acquired popularity because our society today is in desperate need to feel less stressed. We want comfort & warmth. We want our lives to be simpler again! We want vanilla based scents!

We want to be indulged by the sweet crunchiness of a brioche French toast with honey on top. We want to bring a whiff of sticky woody caramelized maple syrup with soothing notes of butter to the fastidious commute to work, in order to extend the breakfast time joy. Commuting hours and major traffic jams add just one more twist to the stressful routine. And than you ask yourself...why all this effort to get to a job that does not even pay my bills? A whiff of a spiced oriental perfume would give this journey a more positive vibe. Feeling more confident, more desirable, who knows...meeting a charmer in the train, subway, bus.

Finally you got to work. By lunch time you are already overwhelmed by surreal performance goals your boss demanded from you, by the lack of perspective of a raise in your salary in the near future, or again, by the new wave of violence and terrorism announced by online news papers. You are concerned and it shows on all those new expression lines you have in your forehead. You have no money for one more shot of Botox, you have no money to have your hair done, or a quick pump on the sisters to move the attention to another area. Sadly, you are definitely looking older!! But you are not alone. 1000s of men just like your boss are also looking at the mirror. Stress made their hair line go up 02 inches more. And they came with more bad news: grey hair on the chest and shoulders. The belly got bigger, but the savings, got thinner and thinner...
How to feel desired when you look like shit? The answer is gourmet fragrances. They can produce the olfactive sensation of being younger. And if we can combine edible with sensual... wow! We have created a real magical potion! An elixir for youth! Tempted already? Fragrances are promising you success, power, sexual appeal! Apply a sexy perfume and what you have seen in the mirror vanishes in a whiff! You are the man of the hour! You are the lady who looks always young and desired. You are the princess, the diva, the lover. But what if today, all men need is a friendly smile? Someone who will make him feel secure & loved, and most of all, relaxed? What if he misses mom??

A whiff of savory pralines, macaroons and recently baked cookies will make him run to your arms. Once in your arms, the perfume will reveal sensual flowers and animalic notes. "Come to momma and I will show you how different I am from your mom" kind of fragrance! Gourmet fragrances are always coming with implied sensual seduction. Edible, yes, but also seductive.
Today gourmet perfumes have a refinement touch. They are not so obviously tutti-fruitti or chocolate melting temptations. They come with rich sandalwood notes, with expensive ambergris or exclusive orris.

This is the first article about gourmet fragrances. Find in my next article, gourmet fragrances that are more daring, more complexed.

You will be tempted to lick, to give a bit...you will be addicted...

Puredistance M - fragrance review

2011-12-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

Jan & Puredistance M

Photo credit: Puredistance

When Jan E. Wos created his brand Puredistance he wanted to bring the best of haute parfumerie to his clients, so he teamed up with renowned master perfumer Roja Dove, (now working as an independent consultant in London), to create his first unisex perfume - Puredistance M, a luxurious chypre fragrance crafted with classic tradition with a modern twist.

Photo credit: Puredistance

Olfactive notes: bergamot, lemon, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, patchouli, moss, cistus, vetiver, vanilla, leather and musk.

Description by the Brand: "Sumptuous, sensuous and complex, but at the same time noble and sophisticated."

Inspiration:" by the stylish comfort of the interior of a grey Austin Martin". The Bond automobile.

Description by + Q Perfume Blog: LEATHERY, POWDERY, ELEGANT, SENSUAL

Concentration: 25% of perfume extrait

Fixation: Outstanding

Silage: descreet

Range: 17.5ml and sample of 1ml - check their website for the presentation, accessories and perfume bottles.

Rating:✩✩✩✩✩♥

Where:

✩✩✩✩✩ - Between the Austin and M, I will have a hard time to choose which one is better crafted. Can I have both?

✩✩✩✩ - As sensual as Bond driving the Aston.

✩✩✩ - Nice, but not really Bond material.

✩✩ - Take me as fast as you can out of here, in your Aston!

✩ - It is a licensed product to kill my olfactive sense.

Photo credit: Puredistance

I have given a lot of attention to leather fragrances over the years because I really love them. Puredistance M stood out from the many leather perfumes I have sampled because it is first of all, beautifully crafted and luxuriously packed, and secondly it is for a fact an unisex fragrance. Usually leathers are framed into the masculine gender and when described as shared, it does not really fit to women, but only to the ones with a Tomboy persona. M is magnificently sexy on my husband, who is a fan of leather fragrances. For the first time I can have him wearing a sensual smoky leather perfume that it is not screaming out loud "I'm too sexy for my cat, too sexy for my cat, poor pussy poor pussy cat..." :-) LOL!

Puredistance M does not shout, it whispers velvety notes in your ears. It is for men with a reserved elegance. Men who does not need to show to others how much money he has in his bank account, or how many women he has in his blackberry contacts. It is for men who already know they posses a natural charm and the fragrance is just a way of expressing it.

I have been publishing pictures of men who in my opinion express the aura of the fragrances I review. Here in this case I don't have to look further, because I think there is no one more charming that Jan himself to illustrate what I mean!

The fragrance on my skin reveals a different development. It is smoothy rich and very rubbery. The floral heart is more accentuated, while the spiciness is fully revealed in my husband's skin. For both of us the leather notes combined to patchouli peak fast, and last till the final drops. The dirty mossy notes are blended beautifully with vetiver, and this is the last statement of chypre perfection you will get from this creation.

I must say that chypre fragrances were always my preference, and Puredistance M not only will be listed as one of my preferred, but it also brought a new hint of excitement to my life with this rich oriental spicy-woody-vanilla elegance.

ASTON MARTIN

In 1964, the James Bond played by Sean Connery drove a silver birch Aston Martin DB5, which made a tremendous success due to its timeless beauty, and tempting gadgets. Today, the featuring model in Bond movies is called simply DBS. Puredistance M and the Bond Aston Martin have the same qualities: outstanding performance, unquestionable style, and most of all, both will achieve maximum acceleration speed of 190MP, while the Aston M with its performance on the road; Puredistance M will do it to your heartbeat, when close to someone wearing it :-)

Sexual degradation, Stereotypes and perfume advertising

2011-12-02T04:51:00.000-08:00

This blogger has been writing about marketing strategies to sell perfume over the years, and one of the subjects on the spotlight was the use of sex to sell perfumes. Click HERE, HERE and HERE for the previous articles. Fragrance marketers play with consumer's fantasy. Desirability, attraction and passion are most of the central themes in fragrance positioning since 1970. What changes throughout the years is the is the content and the way to express desire. Now, I could go back some decades and fill this bog with articles about this particular sexual - social behavior, which is very interesting, but I want to focus more in the present times, because they are really disturbing. Somewhere in the long run, sexism and treating people, specially women, like meat became the newest way to shock and promote a fragrance.

Women are usually framed in a position that sends the message of submission or that the only instrument she has is to use her sexuality in order to get what she wants.

In the world of rapers-hip hopers, women are objects with huge butts, to shake and be spanked by very cool dudes with huge chains on the neck. Most rap videos show women in a submissive degrading stereotyped situation, so no wonder Mr. Sean John's fragrance campaigns will have the same controversial sexual attitude. Here you will see the advertising for his fragrance Unforgivable Woman. Unforgivable is the advertising showing Mr. Sean forcing himself onto the female model. If you look at the model's face you will see pain, not joy. So either he wants to say that women should be submissive to all men's desires, or he is kinda in his way to rape her... Yes my friends, forced sexual intercourse is called rape.

In another unforgivable perfume ad by the same hip hoper, you will see that Mr. Sean John is sitting naked on the bed holding an Asian woman on his lap. Take a close look at her face -she is looking to nowhere. Im my opinion it expresses disconnection to the real world, the look of dead meat. Again, you will see that he is selling a product that his demographic loves the most: male dominance and female objectification. This time with a minority - Asian girls. Probably suggesting massage houses of Thailand, strip clubs in Vietnam, Japanese geishas etc, etc, etc...stereotypes...

It is obvious to this blogger that Mr. Sean thinks that fame and success is the door to wealth and superiority, and the message is very clear "use my fragrances and you will get some of my power over women". Ok, you might argue with me that the first advertising presented is in fact a fragrance for women. I noticed that - but hey! Women over the years were educated to have a protective male around, someone who takes care of you and if he shows who is the boss, it is "natural", just accept it.

Take you time to watch the advertising video of One Million by Pacco Rabane.

Here you will find many stereotyped situations, where the guy who wears the fragrance is successful, famous and rich. He has an expensive sports car, he has paparazzi following him every where he goes, and most of all - in a snap of his finger women undress for him. Yes dears, we women are reduced to prostitutes and gold diggers. The minute we see his greens we undress.

What is the common element in these campaigns? Female submission. The man is always holding women from behind, with their arms around the body or neck. It does suggest that these women are receiving pleasure, no doubt about it, but the man is controlling the game. These advertisings somehow recreates some sexual scenes of pornographic movies, that we all know, are made only for men.

Now let's move to fragrances for women, where female models are advertising the perfumes:
As noted by Tom Reichert, author of The Erotic History of Advertising  Aromatic Aphrodisiacs: Fragrance, “Sexual content in fragrance advertising is manifest in the usual ways: as models showing skin-chests and breasts, open shirts, tight-fitting clothing-and as dalliances involving touching, kissing, embracing, and voyeurism. These outward forms of sexual content are often woven into the explicit and implicit sexual … promises to make the wearer more sexually attractive, more likely to engage in sexual behavior, or simply ‘feel’ more sexy for one's own enjoyment.”

The message advertisers are really passing by is not only the promise of a steamy sex life, but also that women are confined into certain roles and a unreal image of perfectionism and youth. The ideal body, the perfect hair and of course the young age is imposed to females. No wonder why we have seen so many women fighting depression, putting herself into starvation, surgical interventions, Botox, silicone, fake hair...who can compete with the perfect body that adverting sells? If you are not like that, you don't exist!
Rose The one by Dolce & Gabbana went back to the 50's to update the icon of Marilyn Moroe. Scarlett rolls on the bed eating strawberries...showing the curves, clivage...pretending to be Marilyn. We all know that she was and still is the ultimate sex symbol of all times, not to mention the one responsible for the stereotype of dumb blondes. Marilyn always played the hole of a woman looking for a rich man to marry, the naive woman with such a sexual appeal that made men go nuts for her. According to her biography, the actress always wanted to be taken seriously and would prefer to do theater than musical comedies, but Hollywood wanted her sex appeal, not her skills, nor her brains. Sixty years later Dolce & Gabbana still thinks that blondes are like that or if they are not, at least this is the image they like to project.

Another blonde, another sex symbol...Gisele is the celeb endorsing The One by D&G. The perfect body, the perfect hair, mouth half opened in a lusty moment. The tiny silvery dress sliding of her shoulder...the clothe, the body, the looks and the position that every men desires...this advertising is selling her body, her sexuality, not fragrance.

Now, this brand has gone to far this time...

This advertising is simply outrageous! It is IMO suggesting gang rape! The male model is holding the female model down by the arm, coming onto her while others are around just waiting to take their turn on her.

Who to blame? Consumers - because marketing managers rely on research to make their campaign? The female models signing the contract to be a part of this type of adverting? The brand for continually perpetrating this kind of thing? Hard to choose...

I would like to present here also some fragrance campaigns that do not rely on sex to sell. Just to bring a light, refreshing feeling to this friday...and to show you, that not only sex sells. Flower by Kenzo is one of the brand's best seller. Also L'Eau D'Issey is his best selling fragrance, while Moschino brought to advertising the fun and the beauty of pastel colors.

The newest fragrance by Oscar de La Renta has been launched recently and it is already a success. the advertising shows a woman "smelling" the flower/perfume bottle..."inhaling the spirit"...
I will finish this article by saying that if you are a woman - you don't need to be beautiful nor skinny or young. Just be yourself. And if you are a man, the woman you are objectifying today, will be the mother of your children tomorrow. And if you will have a daughter...is this the future you wish for her, to be objectified?

My message to brands like Gabanna, Tom Ford, Dior, YSL, Gucci etc etc etc...when a fragrance is really good, you don't need all that crap!!

Mona di Orio Parfums - PART II

2011-11-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

The Best was saved for last!

Continuing to explore Les Nombres D'Or.
Mona's classy fragrances.

Photo credit: Mona di Orio

Les Nombres D'Or Vanille - You will find 100s of Vanilla perfumes in the market, with all sorts of combination. From heavy orientals such as Shalimar, to pastries, tart-y gourmet vanillas. Combined with chocolate, with coffee, with milk, caramels, leather, tonka, benzoin, patchoulis, ambers, etc etc etc... If there are so many, why Mona's? Because it is not a sweet vanilla. Enhanced with rum, vetiver Bourbon and guaiac wood, it starts with a dry mineral/earthy/boozy dark vanilla, to blossom into a beautiful ylang ylang. The fragrance will last for hours and you will enjoy every phase. I loved this vanilla because it does not feel like spending an afternoon baking with Martha Stewart.
Notes provided in the internet are: Brazilian Orange, Indonesian cloves, petit grain, run extract, vetiver Bourbon, ylang ylang, Indian Sandalwood, guaiac wood, vanilla Absolute from Madagascar, amber and tonka.

Les Nombres D'Or Musc - Musk was never my thing till I tried this one - I think the combination of neroli, angelica and rose is a very delicate and very tranquilizing. It has a rather acid citrusy opening. A beautiful neroli indeed. Once this acidity soothes, the angelica and rose bring a springy bloom to this perfume. From all the perfumes of this collection (so far), Musc is the most gentle and softer one. It contains sprinkles of powdery prettiness, a touch of furriness. The perfume caresses the skin, like a fury cat passing through our legs.
It also brings the same warm sensation you get from a cashmere glove in a snowy freezing day...

In my opinion, for the last two years Mona di Orio has been creating beautiful fragrances, and it is fair to say that she must be also blooming as a woman. I have seen many pictures of her in many occasions...and one thing catches my attention (besides the fact that she looks like a Modigliani painting), she has this special glow on her face... While many are lacking of creativity and are repeating themselves, or even disappointing us badly, Mona is improving bottle by bottle.

Mona di Orio Parfums - PART I

2011-11-27T14:15:00.000-08:00

The best was saved for last!

Mona di Orio - Les Nombres D'Or collection

The perfect choice for classy gifts!

Photo credit: Mona di Orio

In 2010, Mona di Orio and Jeroen Oude Sogtoen revamped their brand "Mona di Orio Parfums" with an exquisite collection called Les Nombres D'Or, inspired by the GOLDEN RATIO, a divine proportion used in architecture and maths by masters such as Michelangelo and Da Vinci, known very well by Mona, as having herself, a background in Architecture.

As she explains "Golden Ratio ... might be the key to understand beauty. Intrigued and attracted by this aesthetic theory, it let me imagine how to revisit some influential classics of the perfumery. Searching for the perfect proportions to reach a melodious harmony. Using the best raw materials, beautiful ingredients, precious gifts blessed with divine proportions. Close your eyes, open your nose and follow their mysterious and sensual sillages."

Photo credit: Mona di Orio

In her collection today you will find 07 beautiful fragrances - Ambre, Cuir, Musc, Vanille, Tubéreuse, Oud and Vetyvér, all EDP concentrations (except for Musc which is EDT, and OUD which is Parfum Intense), presented in a beautiful classic bottle and a very luxurious package.

Mona succeed to achieve what seemed to be impossible - to make my dad accept the idea of wearing a new perfume. You see, my dad wears Eau Sauvage by Dior since the 60's, and whatever perfume I brought for him to try, he just made a face and said "I want to see the day you will bring me something that can be compared to the beauty of Eau Sauvage" and then he pushed the bottle/samples away. The day Mona's Vetyver arrived I ran to check what my dad would say . Expecting the same reaction as always, to my surprise he opened the bottle, and with a smile he declared "This is absolutely marvelous! - Who made this perfume?" OMG, he wanted to know who created the fragrance (FYI this is the attitude of a classic perfume consumer) - So I showed him Mona's website (now under construction - being revamped too) and when he found out that she had been trained by his beloved Roudnistska, he shouts "I knew it!", like he is some kind of Luca Turin...LOL. When I told Mona about my father, she just answered me with the most humble polite attitude I have ever seen in a perfumer: "I am honored". Isn't she amazing?

But back to Les Nombres D'Or. I have already reviewed her Cuir and her Ambre fragrances. I have also posted a beautiful review on Vetyvér, but unfortunately blogger made some changes in the website and I lost this review. But she is totally worth my effort to rewrite the article.

Les Nombres D'Or OUD - against all odds, Mona crafted the best Oud perfume recently launched in the niche market. Why against all odds? Because she didn't want to develop one. Only after many requests she finally gave in, and after studing many types of raw materials she found the beauty in oil form Laos. The notes of the fragrance are: elemi from Philippines, Calabrian green mandarine, petitgrain Paraguay, Indonesian patchouli, Chinese osmanthus absolue, opoponax, jasmine, Indian nargamotha, Atlas cedarwood, essential oil of Oudh Laos, musc, ambergris and oak moss.

In most Oud fragrances you will find compositions inspired in Middle Eastern scents, with cardamom, saffron, roses etc...in others you will find a heavier combination of oud with vetiver, sandalwood, leather. They are all nice fragrances, but IMO Mona's stand out for her creative way of combining oud with osmanthus, opoponax and a rubbery note of cedarwood. I have mentioned many times that I love the flowery powdery rubbery woodsy effect of Black Bulgari, and now I have a different perfume, with different raw materials, from a different perfumer, and an amazing flowery powdery rubbery woodsy combo. I even dare to said that I love Oud more than Black Bulgari (OMG! I thought that day would never come!). Mona said she wanted to create a very spiritual fragrance and many consider it so. But not me. To me this is a very modern perfume classically crafted. It is very urban, very hip, and most of all very very chic. I don't feel like meditating or relaxing, although it is a very smooth delicate yet powerful scent. I want to buy a ticket to Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Shanghai...walk among the crowds...to feel the city beat!

Les Nombres D'Or TUBÉREUSE - tuberoses are tricky. Somedays I love them, somedays I just can't bare there carnal lascivious sweetness connotation of this scent. Sometimes they feel like you have bathed in laundry products - clean to bones; sometimes it feels just dirty, sexual filth. This clean-dirty duality is somehow either interesting or really confusing to my senses. Mona's composition brings notes of pink pepper, Calabrian bergamot, green leaves, Indian Tuberose absolute, Siamese benzoin, heliotrope, amber, coconut milk and musk. The trio pepper-tuberose-coconut milk is rather opulent and beautifully contrasted with the citrusy-green sparkling notes. It is fresher and greener, complexed, less buttery, less carnal and much less opulent than the tuberose fragrances I have seen, but absolutely not less beautiful. If I can compare to all the rest, Mona's Tubéreuse whispers love words in your ears at night. It does not shout, it does not demand. It simply conquers you with her joyful tranquility of those who does not have to make effort to please others.

To be continued...

Royal Rose Aoud EDP by M. Micallef - a pretty pink fragrance review

2011-11-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Photo credit: M.Micallef

As I am facing challenges in the end of my blogging year, Oud had to be approached. I have been giving my back to it for quite a while now, pretending Oud fragrances were not there. I guess it is the rebel in me or my quest for uniqueness, making me turn away and walk to the other side. So many launches with Oud...so many reviews...

But than I found a huge challenge - A Rose & Oud perfume...rose, a note that I love in chypre combinations. A note that I long to have in many bouquets...but if you ask me if I love a rose perfume...you won't be getting a nod. Yeap, although I have written about them, I find it very hard to love a real ROSE-THEMED perfume.

Photo credit: M.Micallef

So, here I have a ROSE and OUD oriental perfume in my hands.

Royal Rose Aoud EDp by M. Micallef has a very sweet start. A rose crystalized in a sugar crust that melted slowly with the heat of my skin.

If you look at the pretty pyramid designed by the brand, one might think this is a heavy fragrance with Gaïc, patchoulis, sandalwood, vanillas, musks and most of all, a superlative flower bouquet of rose and jasmines. Sounds pretty hypnotic, huh? Well...not at all. It is in fact a very pretty pink perfume, with a sheering luxurious aura, and a white chocolate note that makes you almost wish it was edible. Makes you think of pink macaroons... and trips to Paris. Nothing Middle Eastern or woody. Just a cloud of pink gourmandise.

Photo credit: 6Bittersweets

In times of restlessness, of global financial crises and political instability, isn't it nice to be able to fly away in a cloud of pinkish Oud? To a place where you can lie on a blanket of rose petals and jasmine flowers... Where rosy macaroons are served in a silver plate with flutes of champagne... bewitched or beclouded...

Photo credit: Bella Pilar

Notes from the Editor: + Q Perfume Blog has been posting articles about Pretty in Pink perfumes since 2009.
To read the previous articles, click on their names: Love by Kilian, Miss Charming, John Varvatos, Moulin Rouge 1889, Nuda by Nasomatto, Chance Eau Tendre, PooPoo Pidoo, La Chasse Aux Papillons.

As per uniqueness...well...hard to find these days...some people just like to copy others!

Bewitched or BECLOUDED by OUD fragrances

2011-11-26T14:43:00.000-08:00

Photo credit: www.oriscent.com

Agarwood, Agar, Aloeswood, Aoud, Oudh or just OUD oil are all words to define the same thing - a precious oil that although used by cultures of the Middle and far East for centuries, that seems to be the newest fever among perfumers.

In nature, sometimes an irritation process caused in animals and plants can result into beautiful things for us humans. As shelled mollusks create beautiful iridescent beads (called pearls) in order to defend their systems agains a grain of sand, the Aquilaria trees infected with fungus create a resinous fragrant substance to protect its wood. As the infection process progresses, the tree produces more and more resin and becomes darker and more fragrant. This resin later extracted, can be used in perfumery.

ASSAM BLACK WOOD from Tripura/2008

Photo credit: www.oriscent.com

There are many species of Aquilaria trees but the most beautiful Oud oils come from Assam, Borneo, Cambodia and Papua. The Indian Oud (Assam) has an earthy, musky, animal characteristics and it is extracted from the Aquilaria Tree. Borneo Oud has more fruity and honeyed notes, with flowery accents, and it is known for its light and airy appeal. Borneo Kinam is said to be the best Oud there is in the market today. Cambodiam Oud is very potent, very sharp with fecal and caramel characteristics, and Papua Oud is very exotic and rare, with leafy green notes, more floral and more tropical than the others.

Many perfumers are incorporating oud notes (natural or synthetic) in their niche fragrance developments, and many brands are even launching Oud themed perfumes.

But how to detect if it is a natural Oud note? Synthetic or diluted Oud has a leathery scent. It is simple, uncomplicated and rather boring. Genuine Ouds can present a combination of notes, such the ones mentioned above. One of the tests to check for quality is the sinking method. Due to the fact that oud oil is really expensive, it is fair to say that you will only find natural oud oils in niche perfumes.

Fact is that Oud is a bewitching scent, and many of us love to be beclouded in a huge dark cloud of oud fragrance, so I made here a list of the latest launches available:

1.Royal Oud EDP by Creed.

2. OUD EDP by Mona di Orio.

3. Dark Oud and Moon Oud, both EDP by Montale.

4. Bond Nº9 - New York Oud.

5. Precious Oud EDP by Van Cleef & Arpels.

5. Oud Immortel and Oud Mysterious, both EDP by Byredo.

6. Royal Oud by Armani EDP.

7. Secret Oud EDp by Caron.

8. Scarlet Oud and Rose Oud , both EDp by Illuminum.

9. By Kilian: Pure Oud, Rose Oud and Incense Oud, all EDP.

I found an amazing website from a fellow facebook friend - Ensar Oud. There you will find many Oud oils (organic, vintage or samples) for sale and many interesting info on this precious perfumery raw material.

Seven Veils EDP by BYREDO - Fragrance Review

2011-11-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

The newest feminine fragrance by Swedish niche brand Byredo brings the scent of the biblical femme fatale - Shlomit (or Salomé). Liquid seduction comes with notes of vanilla, unveiling the sensuality on an orchid, and the danger poison of an oleander.

SEVEN VEILS EDP

According to the brand: It is based on the biblical tale of Salome’s dance of the Seven Veils, a story of many layers. Tainted and bejeweled, Salome turns to the art of shameless seduction. Barefooted, sanguine and black eyed, she demands a man’s head on a plate in exchange for one single dance…“On that first morning the moon sinks late and you feel the pull, as if it were night, magnetic in a way the sun could never be. Three memories pervade the air. The way you hold it; the way through fingers you let it slip; and the way the woven silk floats across winds. So now floats a perfect fifth, in a minor chord, from an ancient bow, resonating in our ears louder and louder. And louder still until it grows stronger than even our beating hearts. You rise up, upon your feet, and even higher. With seven veils you dance, swirling, swirling, swirling.” (Ben Gorham)

Salome Dancing for Herod

by Gustave Moreau 1876

Seven Veils EDP was surprisingly good news for me because I always had the feeling that Byredo fragrance developments are more successfully designed for their masculine lines. That, in my opinion, does not mean they don't understand the feminine mind, on the contrary, they know how to seduce us and help our men become irresistible TO US.

The idea of an oriental based on large doses of vanilla and sandalwood is not new, but they did a pretty interesting job.

The opening has a distinguished element: carrots. Here it is spiced with pimento berries resulting in a fantastic combination. Ravishingly feminine, it brought a smile to my face for quite a while. Veil by veil, the fragrance reveals a creamier vanilla, drifting apart from the dark luxurious interesting note of the bean, pitching into creamier tart y treats, becoming unfortunately... predictable. BUT, I don't find this necessarily a bad thing. If you enjoy creamy vanillas with a touch of spices and flowers, why not? So Byredo will not win the Creativity Prize with Seven Veils, but it is still a nice perfume.
Let's just say that one cannot expect a year round of groundbreaking fragrances. Even niche brands have to play safe to guarantee their financial year. I rather see a nice familiar combination than something said to be creative such as Secretions Magnifiques by ELO, or Womanity by Thierry Mugler. And what about flankers? How many J'Adore fragrances were launched? How many Poisons versions were launched?
SO, as I always say "being the first does not necessary make you the best", and if I have to choose among many creamy sandalwoods with lilies - probably this one would not let me down.

The olfactive notes are: carrot, pimento berries, Tahitian vanilla flower, laurier rose, glycine, tiger orchid, sandalwood and vanilla.

Rita Hayworth - The Hollywoodian fatal woman

1953

PUREDISTANCE - The best niche perfumery brand according to + Q Perfume Blog

2011-11-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

As I have already started my annually count down to the grand finale of one more blogging year, I think that it is about time that to publish the articles that bring the best of this year for you. I would like to give a special attention to a niche brand that I fell in love with recently. In my opinion it is not only what we can call a real NICHE PERFUMERY BRAND, but THE BEST NICHE BRAND there is in the market today.

A WHIFF OF HISTORY

Puredistance is a high end perfume brand founded by Jan Ewoud Wos, who had the concept idea in his mind since 2002. Finally, in 2008 he launched his first fragrance Puredistance I. At that time Mr. Jan E. Wos took a serious risk by opening an exclusive luxury business, when Europe was hit with a serious financial crisis. In 2010 he added 02 more fragrances to his master collection, Antonia and M. Since the beginning he has been successfully acquiring many clients and fans worldwide due to one simple reason: he offers genuine niche perfumes, with timeless and impeccable elegance, and distinguished quality.

A TINY DROP ABOUT THE SCENTS
Their perfumes were created by two master perfumers - Annie Buzantian* (in NYC) and Roja Dove** (in London) and they are available in the concentrations of Perfume Extract, with 25 - 32% of perfume oil. The collection today offers 03 different fragrances - two feminines and one masculine, but in my opinion Puredistance M is a unissex fragrance, and it smells lovely on me!. All 03 vials contain 17,5ml of the fragrance and they cost USD198, not including the accessories.
They all have something in common: they are very discreet and perfectly crafted. By unfurling petals; peeling citrusy fruits; unveiling magnificent ambers, musks and patchoulis; and by bringing earthy roots and mossy notes to the sunlight, you will find beauty in a way never presented before.
I will publish the fragrance reviews in articles soon to come, therefore you found only a tiny drop of them here :-).

THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE BRAND
It is not a secret that when it comes to the notion of what is chic and hip, this blogger has exhaustedly repeated that "less is more". Although I love Art Nouveau and many other aesthetic styles, I tend to feel more connect to the minimalistic ones. The sharp clean lines of Puredistance flacons reveal what is the most important concept of the scents kept inside of them: understated elegance and beauty.
Once interviewing Della Chuang, a designer who has created one of the perfume bottles that I love the most (White Patchouli EDP by Tom Ford) said something that I will never forget: “Simplicity seems natural, almost obvious in its final form, but getting there takes experience, talent, and patience. Design for simplicity cannot be successful unless it is supported by perfect execution. Simplicity isn’t simple.”
I couldn't agree more to her, and that is exactly what I have found in Mr. Jan E. Wos' brand. It took him years to transform an idea into reality, and patience led him to perfection.

THE PERFUME SPRAYS
Puredistance presents their fragrances in 03 different perfume sprays.

Puredistance I is presented in a classic white box and a white satin bed. The juice comes in a transparent flacon and it has a beautiful caramelized brown color, that looks simply glorious in the white background. Puredistance Antonia comes in a classic white box and a green satin bed. The juice is also presented in a transparent flacon and it has a soft brighter color. Finally, Puredistance M comes with a gray box and black satin bed. The flacon is made of polished metal. All 03 caps are metallic, changing from gold coating to a silvery one depending on the fragrance.
The idea of a perfume spray that can be placed into different fragrance columns is absolutely fantastic. Puredistance perfumes can be purchased to be sheltered and presented by many accessories.

THE CRYSTAL COLUMN
Columns? Yes, they are beautifully crafted acessories to keep the fragrance sprays inside. The perfume spray fits perfectly into the crystalline accessory, highly polished and exclusively produced by Swarosvski. Two objects that once brought together, result into a gorgeous piece of art complexly exectuted. The perfume vessel just stands there. A capsule of liquid beauty surrounded by transparency.
Since this crystal column is handmade in limited editions, it is also numbered and engraved.

THE BLACK COLUMN
Inspired by Japanese minimalistic design, it comes with two versions - A black crystal, highly polished and also exclusively crafted by Swarosvski, with warm golden detail or modern steel. This is also a limited accessory, therefore it is also numbered and engraved. No need to mention that it has captured my heart - you all know I am crazy about Japanese design!

LEATHER CASE
For those who like to carry the perfume spray with them or even to take the perfume during a trip, Puredistance offers 03 different stylish cases in cognac, olive green and black leathers.

They also have 2 types of holders - a single holder for just one fragrance, and one for the entire collection, which is also very nicely crafted, with a black solid base and golden coated metal holder. Fragrances acquire the looks of vials of a chemistry lab. Practical, interesting, modern.

BRAND'S HEAD QUARTERS, LOUNGES, WEBSITE AND PR
Once you begin this fantastic journey into the world of Puredistance, you will find out that everything was perfectly executed, from product to services provided.
The headquarters is in the Netherlands (a building mixing modern Dutch design with an Art Deco influence), but the brand also holds a showroom in Austria. It is called Puredistance Perfume Lounge in Vienna. Needless to say that it is designed with the finest taste for furniture.
Their website provides a PDF with all the information one needs to learn about the brand and the perfumes. There is also a blog with 1000s of pictures and where you can also follow the brand's path through these years. It is very interesting to read.
I have been being in touch with many brands over these years. They are all nice and very professional, but Puredistance took the relationship with customers and fragrance writers to an entire new level. Polished as their crystal columns are. Elegant, with simplicity.

SAMPLING THE FRAGRANCES
The brand offers a miniature collection of the fragrances in a black gift set, containing 03 mini boxes and 1ml of each perfume.

So my dear readers, I think I have presented you many reasons why I chose Puredistance as the best niche brand there is in the market today.
I have been saying over these years that in my opinion, perfume is not only a product. It is art in liquid form, executed by more than one hand, with 03 elements: the fragrance, the bottle and the package. Puredistance has brought to me perfumes that not only smell divine, but are presented in objects of art, beautifully designed and well packed. The owner of the brand, the brains behind this project is a man with a refined impeccable taste and sensibility. (Did I mention that he is good looking too? No? Of course he is! When I mean perfect in every detail, I really meant it!).

About the perfumers:
*Quick BIO - Puredistance I and Puredistance Antonia - Although Romanian, Annie has been living in the USA since the 70's. In 2003 she was granted from The American Society of Perfumers a Life Achievement Award for the body of her work. Her mentor was Mr. Elie Roger (who has passed away in Nov, 2010). Her portfolio is long, including names such as Estee Lauder, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani and many others.
** Quick Bio - Puredistance M - Born in England, has worked for 20 yrs with Maison Guerlain and then moved to found his own company called Rojan Parfums. Specialized in luxury brands, Roja has also worked with Clive Christian and Houbigant. Rojan is also engaged in many off - the - bottle projects.

Photo credits: all images belong to Puredistance brand and were authorized to be uploaded in this blog.

Incense and the Chinese Lunar New Year

2011-11-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

The incense Journey - previous articles, click HERE, HERE

Burning Incense of New Years' Eve

Photo credits: REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic

The Chinese new year, also called the Chinese Lunar new year or Spring festival, is one of the longest and most important festivities of their lunisolar calendar. 2011 is the year of the rabbit, and it started on february 3rd (which it will be repeated only in January 23 of 2023).

According to tales and Chinese legends, the Chinese New year started with the fight against a mythical beast called Nian. This voracious beast would come to the Chinese villages to eat livestock, crops and even villagers, including children. In order to protect themselves from this horrible fate, people placed food outside their doors believing that Nian would be satisfied and go away. They also believed that by dressing their children in red would scare the beast away. They believed that Nian was actually afraid of the red color, therefore they hanged red lanterns and spring scrolls on their doors and windows. Firecrackers were also used to scare it as they made a lot of noise. After so much effort to scare it, the villagers successfully put Nian away. It was later capture by a monk, transforming itself in the Hongjun Laozu's mount

Spooking Nian

Photo credits: REUTERS/Aly Song

The period of the Chinese new year's festivities is also know for the largest human migration, due to the fact that Chinese living in urban areas travel to visit their families. also Chinese abroad return to China to spend the holidays with family.

Preceding the New years' Eve Chinese people devote themselves to cleaning their houses in order to "wash away" all the bad luck. Some people give a new coat of red paint to the house just to assure the bad luck will not come in. Having a new haircut and buying new clothes brings is also very common and it brings the notion of a fresh start.

The first day of the New year

Many Chinese don't eat meat in this day, and the family dinner is the most important event. Also visiting the oldest members of the family is a common tradition. In most villages you will see firecrackers on the sky and a lot of dancing on the streets. After dinner, families usually go to the temple to pray. It is a common practice to run to the temple to try to be the first one to place the joss stick for good luck and prosperity. Mobs run on the streets in the hope to place their incenses before midnight. Sometimes police is required to put some order in this crazy run to the temples.

Photo credits: Reuters/Nick Lou

The last day of the Chinese Lunar New year is the 15th day, when the first full moon can be seen, and it is celebrated with the Lantern Festival. In this day people usually carry lighted lanterns on the streets.

Photo credits: ahachinese.com

Photo credit: bringyouhome.com

Incense in Chinese means "fragrance" and it is traditionally used in a variety of situations, from religious and medical purposes and even in their daily lives.

Incense use by Chinese people comes from the Neolithic times and it became extremely popular during the Song Dynasty - a period when incense appreciation became a cultural past time, to the extent that special rooms were built for this purpose.

Censing in China was also common among intellectuals who believed that censing their clothes was a way to show courtesy.

Photo credit: 123rf.com

Chinese incense burners are usually made to resemble a metal or stone plate, standing on small legs.

TO BE CONTINUED

KTORETH - The incense of the Hebrews

2011-11-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

After our journey to Japanese Incense, we will explore the origin of the Holy Incense - a recipe that you will find in the Bible.

The Hebrew word for incense is KTORETH - K (or kuf in Hebrew) alludes to Kdusha, or Holiness; T (or tet) is Tehara, or purity; R (or reich) alludes to rachamim, or mercy; and TH (or chet) alludes to Tkvah or hope. The incense to the Jewish people is a way to remind them to unite body and soul, in the service of God, to imbue their lives with holiness, purity, compassion and hope.

Exodus, verses 30:34-38

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Take to thee fragrant spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, things fragrant, and pure frankincense, so much in so much shall it be. And thou shalt make it incense, an ointment the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, holy. And thou shalt bruise of it small, and shalt put it before the Testimony in the Tent of meeting, whither I will come to meet thee; a holy of holies shall it be to you. And the incense which thou makest in its quality, ye shall not make for yourselves: holy to Jehovah shall it be to thee. The man who shall make like unto it, to make an odor with it, shall be cut off from his peoples".

There are a lot of controversy in the matter of incense and religious practices by the ancient Israelites. There is no proof that incense was burned as a practice of banning demons, as the Egyptians believed. It is know that the Israelites have been acquainted to fragrant gums since the early ages. That spices were carried by caravans from Syria to Egypt through Israel, and that spices from southern Arabia were brought to Jerusalem by King Solomon. Nevertheless there is no trace in the Hebrew literature that incense was used during the period of the early kingdom. Some say that incense or Ktoreh were meant as any burning sacrifice or sacrifice odor. Others believe that the altar of sacrifice was made of wood, covered with copper or gold, where the candlestick was placed (Menorah), together with a plate for incense burning. On the altar drink and meat offerings were placed, usually wine and the meat of animals preserved in salt.

Composition of the Holy Incense according to the book of Exodus

Nataf or storax gum; Shehelet or onycha, a fragrant operculum of a shell found in the Red Sea; Helbenah or galbanum; and Lebonah or frankincense.

Later several spices were added to the mixture such as Mor or myrrh; Kezi'ah or cassia; Shibollet nerd or nard; Kurkum or saffron; Kosht or kkostus; Kinammon or cinnamon; Kinasha or cinnamon bark; Kippat haYarden or Jordan amber; Melach Sedomite or salt of Sodom.

Exodus 37.29
The LORD said to Moses:
"When you ordain Aaron and his sons as my priests, sprinkle them with some of this oil, and say to the people of Israel: " This oil must always be used in the ordination service of a priest. It is holy because it is dedicated to the LORD. So treat it as holy! Don't ever use it for everyday purposes or mix any for yourselves. If you do, you will no longer belong to the LORD's people.Mix a gallon of olive oil with the following costly spices: twelve pounds of myrrh, six pounds of cinnamon, six pounds of cane, and twelve pounds of cassia. Measure these according to the official standards. Then use this sacred mixture for dedicating the tent and chest, the table with its equipment, the lampstand with its equipment, the incense altar with all its utensils, the altar for sacrifices, and the large bowl with its stand. By dedicating them in this way, you will make them so holy that anyone who even touches them will become holy".

The Sweet-Smelling Incense

"Mix equal amounts of the costly spices stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, then add salt to make the mixture pure and holy. Pound some of it into powder and sprinkle it in front of the sacred chest, where I meet with you. Be sure to treat this incense as something very holy. It is truly holy because it is dedicated to me, so don't ever make any for yourselves. If you ever make any of it to use as perfume, you will no longer belong to my people".

Some ingredients had to be prepared in advance such as onycha, that was soak in Cyprus wine to loose its tartness.

The incense was pounded in the mortar twice a year. On damp days it was pilled up, and on hot dry days it was spread out for drying.

SAMARIAN INCENSE ALTAR - Westbank

The significance of the Incense

According to some scholar Rabbis, the incense was made from ingredients coming form the sea, the desert, and the fertile lands meant to signify all things that He gave to us, and that we should dignify. Others mention that the four original ingredients represent water, earth, air and fire, which all combined, represent the universe. There is a third school believing that the incense brings transcendence and meaning to the banalities of everyday life, reminding us to lighten your souls.

To read more about Incense Altar, click HERE

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Holiday Season is around the corner!

2011-11-13T06:22:00.000-08:00

Despite all the macroeconomic pressure of the global economy recession, not only Christmas shopping started earlier this year, but according to a survey from Citigroup, shoppers in the USA will actually spend 2 to 4% more than they did last year.

Although combat shopping (LOL) hasn't started yet, at least not here in Brazil, the malls are already full. The bells are already jiggling, the X-mas carols are already everywhere, and people are already counting days to leave for the summer holidays. Where are you going this year? Do you have plans for new years Eve? We are still in the first half of November, but Brazilians are already packing their bags.

What is the big rush? Shops are pushing consumers to start to buy early to guarantee that they will succeed to sell all their stock, exactly because we are in a recession. The earlier you start, the longest the opportunity to sell what you have.

I also decided to start posting my Holidays specials earlier this year. I think there will be some need to strategizing x-mas shopping in order not to avoid this crazy X-mas frenzy and compulsiveness for shopping that seems to spreads like some epidemic disease as the holidays are approaching.

So here it is my dear readers, let the fun begin when the Jingle bell starts to rock!

KODO - The art of Japanese incense

2011-11-11T13:17:00.000-08:00

KODO
Photo credit: Ikeda Koson

Since I have already discussed by most beloved fragrance notes (iris, patchouli, amber and leather), I am now inclined to overcome my limitations and to expand my horizons, by unfolding the secrets of notes that I have been neglecting for years due to one particular reason - I am not fond of them. Incense fragrances were never my choice of purchase, but I confess that some perfumes that I love do have incense in their accords, and sometimes they are the small touch that makes all the difference; but buying a perfume where incense is the main inspiration, added in large doses is just something I could never bare.

I think the best way to overcome my dislikes is to learn more about them. I feel that once I plunge into something that is not familiar, with an opened mind, things might take another direction. I also believe that life is less stressful, more vibrant and far more positive when we give things a second chance. When we try to learn the origin of things and we look at the world with less critical lens.

With this philosophy in mind, I will start a journey into KODO - the ancient Japanese incense ceremony.
The history of KODO goes back to the Muromachi period (1336 - 1573) even prior to the Tea Ceremony. Before it became a ceremony, KODO was a social activity, a game by which players learn to "listen" to the fragrances. They are also contests to try to identify varieties of aromas of aloeswood, or RIKKOKU.
KODO is also one of the 03 major classical arts along with sado ( Tea Ceremony) and kado (Ikebana - flower arrangement).

AWASEKO

Soradaki is the Japanese word for "burning for pleasure" when incense was burned over charcoal buried in ash. Kneaded incense, called Awaseko, or resinous woods such as sandalwood or aloeswood were heated instead. KODO is a variation of Soradaki, where a plate with mica is placed on top of the ash above a buried charcoal, releasing no smoke because the woods are heat at a low temperature, but giving off their fragrance in a very subtle way.
I found a list of the varieties of Rikkoku (agarwood) for KODO games. They consist in passing the incense around. Players need to "listen" to the fragrance, to appreciate its beauty and than try to guess the materials of the incense, describing the fragrances and classifying their qualities.

It may seem to be all about the sense of smell, but the secret of kodo is in "listening." The participants don't "smell" (the Japanese verb 'kagu') the incense or fragrant wood, but rather "listen" (kiku) to it, opening up not so much their nasal passages as their heart and spirit.

Rikkoku means "The six countries of agarwood" and since it is pretty much in fashion these days, I think it is interesting to list them:

Kyara - a gentle smell with a touch of bitterness. The fragrance is described as an aristocrat with elegance and gracefulness.
Rakoku - sharp and pungent smell like sandalwood, reminding an warrior.
Manaka - light, enticing and it changes like the mood of a woman.
Manaban - sweet and peasant.
Sumotara - it is sour but it can be mistaken by Kyara - it is a servant dressed like an aristocrat.
Sasora - cold and sour, can also be mistaken by Kyara and it reminds of a monk.

The qualities to classify the agarwood are:
Sweet (resembles the smell of honey or concentrated sugar), sour (resembles the smell of plums or acid fruits), hot (resembles the smell of hot pepper when heated), salty (lingering smell of the water from the ocean or seaweed being dried on the fire), and bitter (resembles the smell of bitter herbal medicines when heated).

Incense trail with gunpowder

photo credit: incensemaking.com

Today in Japan there are only two school (Oiye ryu and Shino -ryu) teaching the art of KODO, which used to be mastered in 30 years - yes darlings, being a Japanese master of anything takes always ages! Japanese are obsessed with perfectionism!

I found a 12 minutes documentary by Janus Avivison where you will be able to watch an entire ceremony of KODO. It also provides interesting historical backgrounds.

So let's watch it to continue this journey:

TO BE CONTINUED...

Pacific Perfumes - Natural Solid Perfumes - Brand & fragrances review

2011-11-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday (OCT.30) at Perfume Talks (my fragrance discussion group in facebook) we were discussing about fragrances that somehow bring the notion of holidays, of relaxation and even the notion of exotic lands. We spoke about fragrances having the magic power to transport you in a second to the dolce far niente of vacancies, or delicious idleness in English. At one point of this discussion, I realized that the notion of EXOTIC is different to each of us, depending where we are located in the world. For us Brazilians, who live in a very tropic land, exotic could be the icy lands of Finland, the ancient Chinese temples, the spicy foods and incensed temples of India, the crowded and loud shouks of Morocco and Istanbul. Exotic yes, but not the typical dolce far niente kind of vacancies. So where to go?

I kept this thought in my mind. What could be possibly exotic for us Brazilians, but still bring the notion of relaxation, of sunny weathers, of vacations? Thailand? Tahiti? Mauritius? Too obvious isn't it? Then I got a very nice package this week and all became very clear to me: New Zealand. Why not? Amazing Nature, indigenous people, weird sign language, close to Australia...that sounds pretty exotic no?

Brazilians know very little about New Zealand. We know it is an island (or two?) so far that we need to cross the globe to get there. We also know that they have exquisite natural resources such as glaciers, volcanos, lakes, parks and sandy beaches. We know that this country is the synonym of adventure with canoeing and bungy jumping, and that holidays in new Zealand involve a lot of wine tasting and walking barefoot in the middle of an urban city.

But the distance between Brazil and New Zealand is approximately 120,000km. Yes my friends, Aoteaora (how natives call their land, which means land with long white clouds) is really really far.

Well, for those of us who could not make it this weekend, I propose we open my package to discover fragrances inspired by the beauty of Aotearoa and the South Pacific. A magical fragrant imaginary trip to New Zealand, starting when I open a beautifully crafted wood pot with the solid perfumes designed by Pacific Perfumes, mixing their local botanic essences of flowers, fruits, resins and woods.

I propose a fragrant journey to New Zealand's starting...now!

Photo credit: Pacific Perfumes

Pacific Perfumes is a brand created by Francesca Brice and Kate JasonSmith, translating the uniqueness and vibrant vibe of New Zealand, into exquisite 100% natural botanic solid perfumes and soaps. The brand offers 02 collections of solids: The Artisan and The original Ranges.

FOREST OF FERNS - New Zealand has at least 200 types of ferns. Found in their forests forming the undergrowth beneath a dense canopy of evergreen trees. They are also found growing on tree trunks and branches along stream banks. The leaves of ferns are called fronds, and when they are young they are tightly coiled into a spiral. This shape is called Koru in Maori language and it is very popular motif in New Zealand's design.

Unfurling the majestic green freshness, this perfume comes with notes of lime, bergamot, basil, with an earthy touch of vetiver and a subtle flowery bouquet. It is herbal, tropical, zesty, slightly salty and very delicate perfume. It reminds me a bit of the scent of Tijuca Forest in Rio - with a jurassic touch to it, and it reminds me also a bit of Erik Kormann's July or 07.
It travels through the forests of New Zealand and it settles down in a warm sand beach, relaxing barefooted and looking at the Pacific. It is exactly what I call " a fragrance of summer holidays".

Forest of Ferns is a delicious refreshing fragrance, that can be experienced all day long and a year round. It can also be shared by both genders at all ages.

I confess I was not so much into solids till I tried their perfumes. The base is creamy, and it feels very good to pass the finger and than spread it on the skin beneath the ear. It is a sensual ritual of perfuming I must say and I started to enjoy.

HULA LEI - A garland of jasmines and pandanus flowers so sublime, so erotic and so feminine that you can only think of making love in New Zealand's breathtaking landscapes. Petals of Rose Geranium bring a romantic touch to the fragrance, while vetiver again brings an earthy, slightly salty touch of tropical beaches.

Pandanus are used for handcrafted mats or jewelry boxes. The leafs are also used to bring flavor to rice, ice creams and curry dishes.

This is the most intense floral fragrance of the line, loosing only to LOVE THE MANGO - a very tropical fruity perfume.
Hula Lei is the fragrance that will bring flavor to our journey, it will bring exotic sensuality that does not have the notion of bronzed women from Bahia.
You will think of tattooed New Zealanders...you will think of bottles and bottles of wine shared...love making in New Zealand kept in a wooden pot...

You can purchase Pacific Perfume at ESTELLANA, a very nice and reliable website :-)

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Visual, the Sound & the Scent - A VSS© fragrance review of M/MINK EDP by Byredo

2011-11-02T03:53:00.000-07:00

URBAN ABSTRACT (2009) is a journey across the urban space. Architectural, abstract, and in some extent minimalist and also human, Urban Abstract shows how Nature also plays its hole in the understanding of the urban concept. Created and directed by multidisciplinary design Finnish - Japanese agency Musuta LTD, the digital art piece was commissioned by TV Nelonen - Channel 4 Finland, and won a Golden Lion in Cannes.

I came across with this video last year browsing VIMEO website. The black & white images somehow stayed in my mind for a long long time.

Last week I went for the 10th time to the book store to flirt with a book that I am weighting if to buy or not (it is rather expensive). It is a book about japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka, one of my favorite urban designers of all times. His installation, projects and products are mostly mixing industrial materials interacting with Natural sources, such as water.

Today, smelling Byredo's M/Mink EDP for the first time Urban Abstract & Tokujin came back to my mind as fast as the tiny drops of the fragrance fell from the air, down sloping on my skin. I though of cold materials such as glass, metal, concrete... seas of black ink on white snowy paths... breezy tiny molecules of Adoxal getting lost in gray fumes of incense, in Urban Abstract frames. Aldehydic surreal rains freezing, and turning into the snow flakes of Tokujin's installation for KARTELL.

Photo credit: Tokujin Yoshioka

Urban Abstract is my definition of M/MINK EDP by BYREDO.

A fragrance with a minimalistic design, with notes of Adoxal, incense, patchouli leafs, cloves, honey and amber. An interaction of Nature inspired elements and urban movement.

The surprisingly interesting smell of ink - for us lawyers with ink pens fetiches, is like dying and being sent to heaven! It is a conceptual fragrance, but a perfectly wearable one. Which is hard to find these days.

One can ask why I din't include in my last article of fabrics - FUR since it is M/Mink. I think it is because it fits more to the urban concept than to the furry one.

The fragrance has a delicacy, a sensual touch of amber -y notes combined with honey.

Cloves are perceived only close to dry down and it is really gentle - so you won't have the scary eugenol dentist trauma experience.

Incense is explored in a very different way that we are used to. It is not mystical nor mysterious, but rather foggy and giving the idea of cold winter day to the fragrance.

M/Mink is not a perfume - it is a story told in liquid form. It is an urban experience. It travels to distant cold snowy lands, it travels to cold midnights in cosmopolitan cities such as Tokyo, NYC, Berlin and São Paulo. It travels to lawyers offices and courthouses and the libraries of Harvard.

Photo credit: Tokujin Yoshioka

I think of myself, sitting on one of TY chairs...gazing the window...watching the rain falling on the pavement.

It is a perfume worth trying!

You will find BYREDO by clicking on the name at my dearest shop Essenza Nobile.

OBS:
All Visual credits are Musuta's LTD.
All photos and links and copyrights, trademarks and patents of Tokujin Yoshiota's works belong to the artist, and although I didn't have a previous authorization to publish - this is a declaration of love for his work.

Mister Marvelous EDP by Byredo - fragrance review

2011-11-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: Christian Houtenbos

Swedish House Byredo has recently launched another masculine fragrance - Mister Marvelous. Artistic Director and owner Ben Gorman chose Dutch hairdresser Christian Houtenbos to be the face of his newest project. according to the NYT, Ben wanted to tell the story of a person that he has been admiring for a long time, and whose talent could be seen on the head of many famous people from the fashion world, such as Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Versace and Calvin Klein, to the music industry like Madonna and Grace Jones and Debbie Harry.

The funny thing about the hole deal is that the fragrance has the style of a classic cologne with a modern twist, but it was inspired by a coiffing star who created the punk half shaved - long top hairstyle or Grace Jones' flat top.

Well ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Houtenbos is today a man in his 60's and no longer the rebel he was during the 70's/80's! One more thing about him - he certainly has adopted the classic lifestyle: he is married to the same woman since he was 19!!!

So it seems contradictable, it seems unexplainable, but in fact it does make sense. At least to me it does.

MISTER MARVELOUS EDP BY BYREDO

Photo credit: Byredo

So, what is Mister Marvelous?

No doubt that it has a classic cologne style with notes of mandarine, neroli, green lavender, bamboo, black amber and white cedarwood, but the concentration is EDP, which is a hard thing to find in masculine fragrances, but not in this Swedish house.

No doubt that it follows a green gardens, slightly flowery fragrance trend of the moment with refreshing notes of bamboo combined with neroli bloomings, but it also has a delicate tarty facet from the combination of neroli, amber and cedarwood.
But how to define it? How to describe it in a way that, someone who is not smelling the fragrance, could get the picture?
Well ...picture another Ben. Ben Barnes playing Dorian Gray.

Ben Barnes

Dorian Gray

This English actor is the very modern definition of Mister Marvelous! Nominated one of the best dressed British men by GQ Magazine, the actor is also a rock n' roller. He has been even compared to fashionista/music icon Brien Ferry when it comes to styling.

So here it is my readers: Mister Marvelous EDP is "a kind of a Dorian Gray" - a man so beautiful and so impeccably dressed, that you will excuse all his flaws. His perfectly shaved face and the perfect tie with a diamond or ruby pin will hide his mundane thoughts.

He is Ben Barnes. With a white t-shirt, a black scarf, and a body to die for! He is masculine, but somehow he has delicate lines that is also a bit feminine. He is head spinning. A fresh look that brings tarty desires to the mind!! He my Mister Marvelous!

You can find Byredo Mister Marvelous EDP in 02 sizes - 100ml ($220) and 50ml (145). You can also find this fragrance at Essenza Nobile's website.

Furry, Leathery, Cozy, Warm Fragrances for rainy days - part 02

2011-10-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

After reading the comments of my dearest readers & friends, I understood that my article was incomplete. So I decided to add one more additional part to it. Enjoy!! It is raining to day, so it is the perfect time to get inspired :-). Wool, fur, flannel and plastic (of raincoats) are our choices today. (To read part one, click HERE)

FUR

Photo credit: Louis Vuitton

Fur is non human hair, usually from mammals (although some men are so hairy that I do think they have fur, not human hair... too much testosterone I guess...). It is also one of the most primitive discoveries of man kind to protect themselves agains cold. The Neanderthal hominoids already used them as a source of clothing.

The most used animals for furs are mink, seals, chinchillas, rabbits, bears, foxes and beavers. I am totally against it, besides the rabbits' fur, if it is a sub product of the meat commercialization (they are cute, but I am not a vegan). Fur should not be a polemic issue here, as we all assume that I will be talking only about faux furs and faux musks. The touch of fur is soft, cozy, sometimes it tickles, sometimes it arouses sexual fantasies, it fondles, caresses... it is kinda kinky, kinda primitive...fur is fursational! It gives always a purrr...meaow...kitkat kind of mood, so of course we need to think of a perfume that translate this feline, primitive, sensual touch.

My liquid fur is definitely Sienna Musk by Sonoma Scent Studio.

Photo credit: Sonoma

What can I say about this fragrance? That I simply have a fur in my closet that smells exactly like it?! The fur I have is not faux (I don't wear it, because I think it is not proper for modern women - but It was my grams', so it has a sentimental value to me, therefore I keep it). It has a skin, carnal - animal appeal of furs and musks, but not that strong so you will think of a huge faux-chemical perfume. It smell a bit "human", fleshy.

The spiciness of the fragrance is also delicate, which reminds me the implied subliminal idea of the kinkiness of furs. If you are a bit naughtier you will think of sensual fantasies; if not, it is just warming the skin, fondling you.

I am not very drawn to musky fragrances, but Laurie's Sienna Musk made me rethink my taste for perfumes. It is slightly gourmet, but not the sweet touch kind of fragrances we are used to call gourmet. (it is a mix of mandarines and spices, and that is what she translates as gourmet)

Notes are mandarin, clove, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, sandalwood, musks, cedar and cypress.

It is not creamy nor powdery - it contains a bit of these aspects but the overall idea is really FUR!

FLANNEL

Photo credit : Fantastic Man

Flannel is traced back to the 16th century in Wales and it is a woven soft fabric made of carded wool or worsted yarn. Some relate to lumberjacks or rednecks (right Ane Walsh?), some relate to the grunge garage rock and roll look of Nirvana ...rock n' rollers, and some to very elegant classy men (me). Of course I will be very obvious in my choice here by bringing Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene.

Photo credit: fragrantica.com

An oriental fragrance for men developed by Andre Fromentin in 1975, that is loved by many till today. Grey flannel is just like the fabric, reliable, comfy.

Notes of galbanum, neroli, petit grain, bergamot, lemon, mimosa, orris, violet, sage, rose, geranium, narcissus, tonka, almond, oak moss, vetiver and cedar. Since I have already wrote about this fragrance, in another context thou(click HERE to read), I will not extend myself more than I should, after all the fragrance is in the market for 36 years!

WOOL

Photo credit: Moncler - Popeye mag

Wool is a textile fabric obtained from ship and other animals like goats, mohair, rabbits, camels etc...

It is funny to look for a liquid form of wool, when wool is also a fabric that you smell to reboot your nose (like smelling coffee). But even so, let's face the challenge. Wool has large quantities of lanolin oil that is washed out in a process called scouring. Lanolin is found in many body creams, and I know that smell pretty well. So wool, basically has the scent of the skin of the animal, its fur, the traces of lanolin and detergent. But let's leave the greasy wet dog ideas, and I bring you this proposal to you: NIRMAL EDP by Laboratorio Olfattivo.

Photo credit: Laboratorio Olfattivo

I have already reviewed this fragrance in a full detailed article, so click HERE to read about this winter treat. I think what brings me the idea of wool is the "dirt" implied by carrots and iris roots. Wool has some dirty smell in it. Also the cuddling touch of the Nirval experience.

PLASTIC

Photo credit: ladycenter.com

I know I know... you all expected gabardine, Burberry luxurious trench and rain coats... but + Q Perfume Blog is about the unexpected, not just the obvious! So here I bring the most synthetic experience of wearing a plastic raincoat. Feeling a bit Blade Runner for a change instead of Maxwell Smart, Inspector Clouseau or Belle de Jour. Yeah...the vintage futuristic idea of the future...

So plastic closes this chapter and there is nothing more plastic like some violets and some jasmine notes.

Photo credit: Nasomatto

I can bring you Amethyst EDP by Lalique that has a great plastic violet note going on, OR Nuda EDP by Nasomatto - the most plastic doll hair smell I have ever encounter in my life!!! Both would do the trick here. Or even the Melissa Perfume - that it is plastic, fruity and very very kinky-cheap-fruit-pinup perfume - but this last one does not worth a try.

Lalique's has notes of blackcurrant, blueberry, peony, pepper, ylang ylang, violets, musk and bourbon vanilla.

Nuda has an entire evaluation from me already - click HERE.

But if you are not happy with the plastic cheap product, we could choose Black Bulgari EDP by Bulgari, since I have already chosen it to be the most "spy choice" for a scent. Click HERE to read again. There...now you can also think of trench/rain coats, hats and sunglasses.

As per no clothes at all and a trench coat to be a Belle de Jour - I have only one fragrance for you : Chanel Nº5!

Prada Candy EDP by Prada - fragrance review

2011-10-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: richienickel.com

Prada Candy is the newest lick-my-skin launch by the Italian brand. Also, the latest Givaudan's lab experience with nivanolide® and Orpur® Benzoin from Laos*.

Nirvanolide is a musky chemical compound that offers a clean, powdery, rather sweet and animalic musk note. Similar to ketones, it contains a persistent muscenone effect, but much more powerful, that makes us think of Prada Candy as a furry caramelized perfume.

This double bonded compound has a very erogenous kick, and it is the quintessence of high performance modern musks.

According to the brand, Prada Candy is an excessive and balanced combination of white musks, benzoin and caramel. The silky powdery texture of the musks is what it brings the elegance to the perfume. The caramel is a joyful feminine nostalgic and addictive unexpected twist. Benzoin from Laos adds a warm, sensual, wet, balsamic notes evoking delicately vanilla scented honey.

What is really interesting about this fragrance is the combination of a natural raw material - the Benzoin, and here found for the first time at a concentration of 12%, and 02 synthetic chemical compound - a extremely synthetic caramel & a special synthetic molecule from Givaudan's palette - the nirvanolide.

OK, chemistry class put aside, what can I say about this oriental gourmandise?
After all the ambers, all the infusions... Prada comes with an excessively pink sticky delight. Is this the Italian version of the French preppy pink Chance Eau Tendre - as both seems to be "a middle aged woman in a crisis" kind of fragrance and a desperate strategy to launch a commercial scent? Did gossip girls travel first class to Italy one summer and Daniela Andrier decided to spoil them?

In an interview provided by Prada, perfumer Daniela Andrier explains how the fragrance reflects the brand. “Prada fashion can have very strong colors, incredible shoes, everything exaggerated and, still, by an amazing miracle, not be too much,” she says. “When you smell Prada Candy, it’s not overpowering. It’s a way of making things look just right, but not in a compromised way. Our world is dictated by compromise, but Prada Candy is about exaggeration. It has a revolutionary spirit.” (excerpt from The candy buffet company).

In a nutshell:

Prada Candy EDP gives less cavities than Angel - that is a plus; but still it is a love it or hate it kind of fragrance, just like Angel is.

Maybe I am in a crisis myself, because I think I like it :-)

*Benzoin from Laos is the third out of 50 natural ingredients of Givaudan collection ORPUR®

Benzoin grows wild and is extracted as a gum, or 'tears' from Styrax tonkinensis trees by villagers in the Phongsaly and Houaphanh provinces of Laos. Approximately 40,000 people live in about 150 villages in this region. The villagers are mostly farmers. Benzoin collection provides additional income to their staple crops of rice and vegetables.

Education is highly valued by the people of Northern Laos. Though primary education facilities in this area are generally adequate, the number of secondary schools is insufficient. Many parents are forced to move their families or to send their children away. The rural exodus threatens the fabric of social cohesion here and the future of a workforce for benzoin collection.

Addressing this, Givaudan entered into a unique partnership with Agroforex, a Laos-based company which arranges the gum collection from local communities, and Biolandes, which imports and processes the gum into a resinoid that is used by Givaudan.

The Laos project aims to help develop the communities at the centre of benzoin gum extraction and thus ensure a sustainable supply of the raw material. As part of the programme, Givaudan financed the building of a secondary school and the training of teachers for the school over three years. (from Givaudan's website)

Chandler Burr reviews 07 Brazilian fragrances

2011-10-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: Mr. Chandler Burr

Chandler Burr, the former perfume critic for the New York Times, spends his time today curating the Center of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.
While he is not writing books, giving lectures or curating, he is promoting olfactive dinners and sharing his fragrant opinions worldwide (small contributions of pleasures to his fans).
Invited by Atualidade Cosmética, a Brazilian magazine about ideas, trends, launches and business of the beauty industry, Chandler reviewed 07 Brazilian perfumes (issue #120).
I will not publish the article here, but I will share with you some of his comments that as usual, brings a little humor to the fragrant world of perfume reviews:

HUMOR Deo Colônia by Natura - the name is self-explanatory:
Inspired by or to inspire HUMOR.
Natura brings a deo (stands for deodorant) Colônia (translated to English as cologne) that IMO, did exactly what they promised to deliver - a huge laugh to all of us who are used to wear decent perfume, and one more commercial masstige fragrance for the less privileged ones by the price of R$79,90 (app. USD47).

Chandler Burr's:
"The body of this scent looks Ferrari, but Natura didn’t pay for a Ferrari engine as well".

My comment on the comment:

"Natura Humor brings a fun vision of everyday relationships. The organic forms, hot colors and cartoon box translate the concept with a bold, sophisticated and simple design at the same time. The cartoon box was worked to surprise the consumer: the way it invites to be opened, what is left becomes a cartoon stripe, signed by the most popular cartoonists from Brazil. As every Natura product, Natura Humor also comes with the Braille system".
Source: Worldstar 2006 winner
Designe Prize winner: ABRE Design e Embalagem, Brazil

With this info in my hands I can assume that all the budget went to the package & bottle design projects (since there are no Hollywood stars endorsing this fragrance) as the most common marketing strategy used by the mentioned company.

So, Chandler said in a very HUMOROUS way what I am saying now with all the words - The outside might look good, but the juice is cheap. The shell (bottle, concept) might be compared to a Ferrari (I would not go as far as Chandler did - a BMW would do the trick, but the juice is...just another Natura fruity deodorant cr#$!

Another Natura fragrance reviewed by Chandler is Perfume do Brasil PriPrioca.

The perfume belongs to Natura Ekos line of products with 16 different local raw materials.

As explained in their website "Natura Ekos draws on the wealth of Brazil’s biodiversity and on the traditional knowledge of the millions of Brazilian people who live from the land and understand it better than anyone else. They use the plants as food, remedies, cosmetics and perfumes.   Natura researched the most interesting Brazilian plants and their traditional uses and brought to the Ekos range the exuberant colors, textures, smells and active ingredients from nature, with clinically proven results".

"Originally, Priprioca was planted by the Indians of Amazonia on their land and was grated or scraped with dried pirarucu fish for use as medication and an ingredient in baths. Its medicinal use has dwindled, but Prioprioca continues to be renowned for its striking and unusual scent".

Also from the website: "The Priprioca is cultivated today using an agricultural technique of indigenous origin. It is grown on the island of Cotijuba in Boa Vista and is washed by hand in local streams. The essential oil extracted from its roots is quite rare and of much value to perfumers. It has an earthy richness of the forest and mixes well with the opulent floral of muguet and the velvet touch of peach".

Now, Chandler's pearls:

"Again, the problem is that Natura seems to have calculated that the riqueza (*Portuguese word for richness, opulence) of its consumers was less than the riqueza of the matas (*Portuguese word for Forests), and so “Priprioca” is merely nicely done. One smells a certain lack of money for the most refined materials, but this may not matter..."

My comments on his comments:
The fragrance is sold in the Brazilian market for R$192.50 (app. USD113.23) - not that cheap IMO.
Here, once again all the budget went to Olivier Pescheux fees (the perfumer designing the fragrance); to the development of the project of sustainable raw materials and their extractions; to the fees of the Brazilian designer Filomena Padron who created the perfume bottle; to the fees of Brazilian jeweler Renata Camargo; and to the packing itself.
So maybe priprioca goes well with muguet and vetiver, but in order to get a real quality accord Natura would have to spend more money buying these raw materials, n'est pas?

Unfortunately the other 05 fragrances from O Boticário - Lily Essence & Floratta in Rose Belle; Água de Cheiro Attractive; Mahogany's Angico Branco; and L'aqua di Fiori Evolution, will not be commented here in this blog because they are not worth my time and effort.

Chandler spent his, so here it goes:

O Boticário:
Lily Essence & Floratta in Rose Belle - "By contrast, “Lilly Essence” and “Floratta in Rose belle” (2006 and 2011, O Boticário) are immediately identifiable contemporary masstige florals, a style that give you the idea of a flower while removing any trace of the complexity, depth, or roughness of real flowers. The masstige floral is, at best, pretty in the way that a girl with good, clean skin, a bright smile, and not too many thoughts cluttering up her head is pretty: You’d enjoy meeting her for cocktails, but you wouldn’t necessarily want to sit next to her for an entire dinner. On the other hand, sometimes a quiet feminine murmur can be just the right thing, and “Lilly Essence” murmurs very nicely".

Água de Cheiro:
Attractive - “Attractive” is an interesting minimalist neo-powder, post-modern in its rejection of everything that traditionally reads “perfume” – no flowers, no berries, nothing you can identify—and its embrace of an interesting synthetic gauze, like milk spun into rayon fibers".

Mahogany:
Angico Branco - "Unfortunately “Angico Branco” (2010, Mahogany) is an extremely persistent perfume without being a lovely one".

L'aqua di Fiori:
Evolution - "Both these perfumes speak to their customers. “Evolution” is a citrus version of “Lilly Essence,” and it does its job competently, fresh with enough weight to anchor it to skin. L’Acqua di Fiori is, very clearly, aiming at giving its women clients the perfume men will want to hang out with after both the cocktails and the dinner are over".

Obs.:

* included by me

These are only parts of Chandler Burr's reviews - if you wish to read the article in Portuguese, please contact the Publisher's at 00 55 11 33922584 or www.cosmeticanews.com.br

My comments about Mr. Chandler's reviews are my very own opinion and my very own understanding of what he meant to say. It is not necessarily what he in fact meant. If you wish to have your own "interpretation" of his words, enter to his website and check how to contact him.

Furry, Leathery, Cozy, Warm Fragrances for rainy days

2011-10-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

As we entered the Spring in Brazil, global warming has already pulled a few tricks and turned the season of flower blooming and bird singing into a gray Autumn. I have seen people saying that global warming does not exist, so how do they explain that in the beginning of October it feels like winter-autumn seasons?? Instead of walking hand in hand in the park, having picnics, or even wearing flowery dresses and Hawaiannas, we are confined at home, under the covers, with hot tea cups in one hand, popcorn in the bowl watching old cult black and white movies, and wondering when this rain is going to stop.

I have already posted articles about fragrances for rainy days or for moody ones (click HERE, HERE, HERE), so this year I decided to make something completely different. In fact, I am doing something never done before here or by anybody!

Inspired by fabrics that we wear during the winter and autumn, I decided to bring some of the fragrances that are bringing the same sense of comfort, of touch these fabrics bring to our skin. Fabrics that feels warm, cozy or even sexy to wear in days like these ones. Liquid "fabrics" per say.

CASHMERE

aaahhh, the softness of a cashmere wool...warming the skin, fitting like glove...so elegant and yet so simple. Cashmere cardigans, cashmere socks. Have you ever went to sleep wearing cashmere socks? Heavenly!

Cashmere wool is taken from the neck of Cashmere and other goats. My favorite cashmeres are from Scottish brand Ballentyne. There is no cashmere that lasts more than theirs. If you wonder where you have seen one...James Bond Pierce B. in Die Another Day wears a gray turtle neck Ballentyne pullover.

Photo credit: Rafael Astorga

Argyle cashmere cardigans are my favorite. Classy, dorky but with the right shirt and pants can be sooo sexy. In this photo it is super chic and very urban.

Embodying the cashmere experience, in liquid inspirations, I am bringing the obvious and yet cozy incense-y Black Cashmere by Donna Karan.

Vintage bottle

Updated version
BLACK CASHMERE BY DONNA KARAN

Slightly sensual, dark and rich in texture, Donna Karan wanted to capture the feeling of wearing a black cashmere. "Woven" by Rodrigo Flores Roux in 2003 this incensed fragrance has notes of saffron, Massala spices, cloves, nutmeg, Crimson Red Marechal roses, Ethiopian Guggal incense, Pimento berries, white pepper Co2 extract, Mediterranean broom flower, patchouli Singapour, Bois de Miel and Wenge - a type of wood found in Africa. Very urban, very stylish, with a smoky-spicy touch, it is a fragrance that makes one feel like going for the quest of the perfect Bond, or the perfect sleek pair of slacks...

VELVET

Photo credit: Vogue Magazine

Velvet has a very distinctive touch. It feels like silky tapestry. Silk velvet is shinier and softer to the touch than the other types of velvet. It feels very sexy to wear. The body "slides" in it. I think of velvet gloves - very kinky depending on the outfit and make up, or very very elegant. Corduroy is a rigged form of velvet and it is perfect for colder days. It was very common during the 70's, but I still love corduroy - the large tufted cord one.

TIARE EDP BY ORMONDE JAYNE

Thinking of velvets, specially the most elegant type, the silky one, I have only one vision in my mind - Tiare EDP by Ormonde Jayne. Every time I wear I think of Eva Green wearing some amazing black velvet dress, or Halle Berry in the amazing Vogue editorial where she had that Charleston haircut.

Since I have already made a long detailed review of Tiare, I will link it HERE for you. I think what makes this liquid fabric a velvet is the combination of orris and patchouli, Tiare and musk - some of the notes of this amazing chypre-floral perfume. Tiare EDP is sultry, and it has this sparkling appeal that silky velvets have when they shine.

LEATHER

Photo credit: Style.com

Gucci Fall 2011

Leather is one of the most powerful statements in fashion. It comes mostly from tanning process of cattle skin, but this fall python and exotic leather are the hit. It can be luxurious, fetich, sporty, rock and roller, very practical, very complexed. Easy to wear, it keeps us perfectly warm. I love the ultra used black jacket, but today as you can see leather in the Gucci Collection being explored in many other ways, such as in vibrant colors and exquisite textures. Leather boots... perfect for autumn and winter, but if you are under the equator like me- careful with raining days such as these we are facing. They are the biggest enemies of your fancy leather boots. My latest purchase was an amazing black leather purse by Marc Jacobs - if I could I would even take it to bed! I am in luve!

OUD EDP BY MONA DI ORIO

Leather was immensely explored by me in a serious of articles. Many fragrances were listed and described (click HERE to remember them and to get the links to all the listings). I have reviewed most of my favorites, but Mona di Orio's OUD was not included because it is an oud fragrance, AND it was only launched later this year. Fact is, although it is one of the many recent oud fragrances launched in the niche market, again Mona succeeded to surprise me: it is powdery and leathery and absolutely luxurious!

The notes of the fragrance are: Elemi Philippines, Calabrian green mandarines, Paraguayan petitgrain, Indonesian patchouli, Chinese osmanthus absolute, nargarmotha from India, cedarwood Atlas, Laos oudh, musk and ambergris. I will review it as an OUD fragrance in another oportunity. Right now I wish to include the leathery facet of this perfume. It is animalic, sensual and very delicate. Powerful, but delicate. So it is not the leather from rock and roll or biker's jacket. It is not the leather of boots and acessories. Mona's OUD is constructed with exceptional quality materials that can be translated here in this list, as the fine leather that you will only see in haute couture, such as slink or chamois. You will also feel the rubbery note of the cedarwood and here, it brings you a warm sensation of being inside the house in a cold day. The woody notes and the smoked rubber-ness of this fragrance bring up you instantly indoors, to the fireplace. Musks and ambergris will add the final animal, feline roaring to your coziness.

Les Parfumeries de Gabilla - A Whiff in Time!

2011-10-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Henriette Gabilla is said to be the first female perfumer in the History of Perfumery. Syrian by birth, she arrived in France in the beginning of the 20th century to open a fragrance house. She had started to create perfumes in 1890 but founded her fragrance house only in 1910 at 6, rue Edouard VII in Paris.

Inspired by François Coty, she has launched 86 six different perfumes in 12 years. Her first creation was called "Mon Chérie". She became very famous between wars and she sold her products world-wide.

Her early creations were presented in Baccarat crystal bottles, such as for La Vièrge Folle launched in 1911, Moda launched in 1918, Gardenia launched in 1923, Mon Talisma launched in 1925 and Tango launched in 1927.

Lalique has also created perfume bottles for the brand - Violette and Xantho were launched in 1925; Tout Les Fleurs. Lilas, Chinli and Glycine all launched in 1926.

She launched Folli Follie in 1912, and the World War I commemorative fragrances launched in 1919 were called Minuites Breves, Minuites Chevres and Minuites Revées.

Gaby was launched a year later (and bought by fragrance house Lubin) and Gaby Desiys in 1924. Her perfume Intrigue was launched in 1938 together with a special set presenting 03 fragrances: La Vièrge Folle, Gardenia and Longchamps.

Some Gabilla perfume bottles...

Xantho - 1925

La Vièrge Folle - 1911

What is curious to observe is that although Gabilla had a brand name, she did not have a logo. The name Gabilla was written in many types of fonts, depending on the year and the style that was in fashion.

If you think launching many fragrances, one after the other is a movement of our modern perfumery, you haven't heard of the amazing Gabilla! The difference was that in her times, fragrances had quality and style, and they came in exclusive artistic bottles signed by famous glass and crystal manufactures...

Tom Ford's anal obsessions - advertising strategy or bad taste?

2011-10-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

Thomas Carlyle Ford is a 50 years old fashion designer with a long resume. From Gucci, to Yves Saint Laurent, in 2007 he opened the doors of his own brand and flagship store in New York City - The Tom Ford store with menswear and accessories. He has his name in eye wear, in partnership with Marcolin Group and also made a very bright move to form an alliance with Esteé Lauder to create the Tom Ford Beauty brand.

A natural provocateur, the fashion designer once gave to Details Magazine a list of his 10 rules of style (I think it was in 2008) Topic number 10 was pretty surprising to me as something to consider "style":

"There’s one indulgence every man should try in his lifetime: If you’re straight, sleep with a man at least once, and if you’re gay, don’t go through life without sleeping with a woman. Either way, you might be surprised at how natural it will feel if you can get past the mind-fuck of stereotypes. In the end, it’s just another person that you are relating to in a physical way."

So this is Mr. Ford's idea of style is "Have gay sex because it is natural". I thought this was a sexual preference...

That said, one cannot be shocked if he has decided to bring to his beauty brand the same attitude he has towards life - dress elegantly, choose classy styled clothes, have taste and refined grace while choosing your clothes and shoes, but please leave the elegance to the wardrobe only! Live a mundane life and overload yourself with filthy low level attitude. Show pubic hair, show your dick to whoever is desiring to suck it...show your hairy chest and the golden bracelet and rings. Look like a pimp in a 50,000 dollar jacket kind of attitude. Be disgusting if you dare - that brings a lot of attention too.

In a few words, Tom Ford is not hip nor controvertial. He is simply VULGAR!!

His fragrance advertisings are exactly Mr. Ford's expression of his vulgarity. His obsession for anal sex had gone beyond the limits, when he had the most disgusting idea of shoving a perfume bottle in the hairy ass of some guy that he was probably fucking behind the back of his partner. Fact is, this blogger has nothing against gay sex, gay relationships, heterosexual anal sex (if this is an option that you chose for yourself), but I think that relating asses to fragrances is simply idiotic, and a huge lack of taste.

The last Tom Ford advertising campaign featured in Russian GQ shows Mr. Ford smelling strips taken from the anus of a female model.

I don't know what you think about it. Funny, a joke, another controversy?

I wonder if he will make his next prostate exam available to the public in youtube...Yeah... just imagine Mr. Ford taking a whiff of Tom Ford for Men EXTREME, while the camera gives a huge close up in his anus being analyzed by the fingers of his doctor (or the entire hand - depending on the size and flexibility of TF's asshole)...than he goes "Tom Ford for Men Extreme...because your prostate will thank you in the future!"

We all know that perfumery uses raw materials that are coming from places that seem to be rather weird to the general public, like the perineal glands of the civet for example, or extracted from the secretion of the prepuce glands of male beavers. Fecal notes are used in perfumery indeed, no doubt about it, no one is denying here...but to go from scents, to showing the anus...

I will not review the fragrances of his collection today, nor will I extend myself in this subject. But I do have a message to Mr. Ford:

Why don't you just go stick it up your ass in your own time and privacy sir?

You are a middle age man now, not some hottie from Studio 54 in the 70's..you should have know better no?

Fiore D'Ulivo EDP by Xerjoff - fragrance review

2011-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

FIORI D'ULIVO EDP BY XERJOFF

Origin: Italia
Perfume Launch: 2009
Gender: F
Olfactive family: Fresh Floral
Olfactive Notes: Citrusy notes, apples (in my opinion), acacia (in my opinion) Lotus flower, Olive blooms, jasmine, magnolia, amber, musk
Description by the brand: "Fiore D'Ulivo is a tribute to the ephemeral cycle of nature epitomized by the spring time blossoms of olive flowers. A magical spring time potion".
Description by + Q Perfume: HEAVENLY, DELICATE, MEDITERRANEAN CHIC
Sillage: Close range
Fixation: Great
Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Where:
♥♥♥♥♥ -The perfume of Greek Gods.
♥♥♥♥ - Heavenly delicate.
♥♥♥ - As fresh as the Mediterranean breeze.
♥♥ - As ephemeral as any flower bloom.
♥ - I would rather whiff olive oil on me!

Where to find: Brand's website e-boutique by clicking HERE

Fiori D'Ulivo EDP is one of six the fragrances of the Casamorati 1888 collection, inspired by the ancient art of Italian perfumery of the 18th and 19th centuries.There is a touch of Art Nouveau in the fragrance labels and the packaging is absolutely vintage.

The olive tree is one of the most sacred trees of mankind's history. It is the symbol of peace, abundance, glory, wisdom, fertility, power and pureness. Typical from the Mediterranean region, some trees found in the Middle East are dated from biblical times, such as the ones blooming in the Galilee and in Jerusalem (dated of 3,000 to 4,000 yrs old), but olive trees have been cultivated by mankind for 8,000 years. The tiny, creamy white, fragrant olive flowers usually bloom from mid spring to summer. In Israel it starts sometime around mid April and May, when my child was born. I still recall bringing him back home from the hospital. That tiny little blond baby sleeping in my arms, and the scent captured in the most glorious day of my life, from the fragrant olive blooms coming from the Carmel Mountain all the way back to our house. If you ask what is the scent of an olive tree, I will describe it like that: it smells just like the how the flowers and the leafs look like - creamy, green-y and silvery. It is one of my favorite scents, and once I was talking to another perfume blogger about how I would make my own signature fragrance... and I recall saying it had to have olive oil scent or olive tree flower bloom scent in it, with iris of course... Well here I am, two years later, opening a vial of Xerjoff's Fiori D'Olivo and my heart is simply full of those beautiful memories of the Spring back home. This flowery perfume is simply the smell of Israel, Italy, France and Greece all together, bottled to make one dream on daily basis. It is a liquid trip to the Galilee, to Tuscany, to Grasse and Crete. It is heavenly!!!

The white flowers are simply delicate and well blended. It is hard to unfurl each and every flower alone, you have to experience Fiori as it is presented to you - a beautiful spring-y bouquet. The apple scent brings a freshness that is at the same time, juicy and dry. It is not mentioned by the brand but I did find it, as I also found the amazing touch of acacia nectars.

This perfume will definitely make any woman look fabulously feminine with a Mediterranean allure.

Shingl EDP by Xerjoff - fragrance review

2011-10-09T06:07:00.000-07:00

XERJOFF is a luxurious Italian niche brand owned by Sergio Momo, that has been around since 2004 but only now it has been really drawing bloggers' and perfume passionates' attention. Controvertial comments due to the astronomic prices of the fragrances (Sergio himself is very fond of Astronomy); truth is, the brand offers amazing fragrances in amazing artistic bottles. What caught MY attention to the brand was the fact that I have been reviewing many niche brands over the years, but this is really the first time that I find a brand that has really captured the artistic skills of the craftsmanship of the early ages of perfumery, when perfumers did sell fragrances as art in liquid form in amazing unique bottles. Times when each fragrance launch was an event to last more than a year. XERJOFF's perfume bottles are indeed small luxurious sculptures crafted to last forever, and in my opinion, the concern about the presentation of the fragrances, the use of unique high quality raw materials makes XERJOFF one of the new standards to international niche perfumery. The brand offers many collection but today I will cover the Shooting Stars Perfume Collection. It offers 10 fragrances: Shingl, Modoc, Uden, Dhofar, Oroville, Oesel, Kobe, Nio, Lua and Ibitira, and I picked the aromatic floral SHINGL to start unfolding XERJOFF's celestial mysteries.
Shooting Stars was a collection inspired by the love Sergio Momo has for Astronomy, more specifically, to an even in 1947 when a fireball seared the sky of eastern Siberia and rained 70 tons of iron meteorites onto the landscape.
Shingl is one of the 02 florals of the collection (the other one is a woody-floral called Oesel), with notes of bergamot, basil, anise, vetiver, patchouli, Florentine iris, amber, rum absolute, vanilla and musk. So if a fireball rained meteorites in Siberia - I am sure they have released a fragrant strawberry red cloud of SHINGL!

Described by the brand's catalogue as "evocative of a stylish garden party on a hot day in Tuscany", or "a lively yet sophisticated scent" and a "cocktail of playful sensuality" in the e-boutique page ...Sergio needs to reconsider hiring someone else to describe his fragrances (nothing personal Sergio...but one must say what one thinks, at least here I can). I see no Tuscany here, sparkling cocktails...playful - cocktails YES, sparkling - ??Stylish garden? HUH?

The vision in my mind is lollipop. A giant strawberry lollipop, just like the one I have seen in 1889 Moulin Rouge by HdP when I first sprayed the fragrance on my arm, but this time less powdery, less furry-meaow...more aromatic and a rather alcoholic one to tell the truth! Si signores, the pink ladies of Italy like to start their charming daily routine with a glass of fruity Caribbean treats...

SHINGL is a strawberry cocktail to savor drop by drop. A cocktail of felicitá, of joie de vivre with a kinky naughtiness to it. That said, it is exquisite and creative. The woody- earthy trails of vetiver and orris give the lightheaded effect some grounding - one toe on the ground, or a shoulder of a classy gentleman to hold the drunk pink lady when her Louboutins are zigzagging.
One can get very addicted to this fragrance, and if I had to choose between Moulin Rouge and Shingl, I would prefer Sergio's lollipop. It is more refined, more classy than HdP's. (Do notice that this is a major thing for me to say due to the fact that I am HDP most fervor's fan!)
If price is a matter to you - Moulin Rouge has a more attractive price. But do remember - they are not identical, and each one has its own uniqueness! Don't get me wrong here!!!
All I am saying is that both brought me the same image to my mind - the giant powdery strawberry lollipop.

And here goes a Lollipop by The Chordettes video - click HERE - to get you a joyfull swing today!!!