Saturday, June 25, 2011

Visionaire 60 - Religion (and perfume)/Religião (e perfume)

In 2008 I published an article about books which including fragrances in their projects. One of them was issue 42 of Visionaire called Scent (click HERE to read). In that issue IFF teamed up with visual artists to create 21 fragrances. Althought very expensive to be bought just for the fun of it, it was quite an interesting project. 18 issues later, Visionaire teams up with Givenchy's Riccardo Tisch to publish Religion 

Em 2008 eu publiquei um artigo sobre livros que incluiam fragrâncias em seus projetos. Um deles era o número 42 da revista Visionaire chamada Scent. Nesta edição 21 fragrâncias desenvolvidas pela IFF foram apresentadas, e acompanhadas por fotos para acrescentar um estímulo visual. pesar de custar muito caro, o livro não deixa de ser um conceito interessante a ser explorado. 18 edições se passaram e o número 60 apresenta uma parceria com Riccardo Tisch da Givanchy. O assunto é Religião.

I have already published already articles mentioning religion and perfumes (click HERE, HERE ). I see a common ground not only in the history of perfumery itself, as perfume was a way to be closer to the Gods in the Ancient Egypt, but as forms of expressing our own selves. Once you tell someone which religion you belong, or even if you don't belong to any of them and believe only in Science - that says a lot about your background and upbringing. Some are more just more mystical than others.
Religion is a compilation of 228 beautiful photographs wrapped in a leather cover and comes with a Religion Fragrance created by Givaudan's perfumer Yann Vasnier.


Eu já publiquei artigos sobre fragrâncias e religião. Existe, além da própria história da perfumaria, que no início era usada como meio de se conectar com os deuses (no antigo Egito), mas como formas de se expressar.
Religion é uma compilação de 228 fotos maravilhosas, preservadas numa capa de couro, acrescentada de uma fragrância criada pelo perfumista da Givaudan, o Sr. Yann Vasnier.




About the fragrance - I haven't tried yet but it is obvious that they used olibanum, myrrh, incense and all these raw materials that we have already seen in perfumes inspired by religions. I guess history will always demand them.

If you have already tried the fragrance, let us know something about it!

Sobre a fragrância - eu ainda não tive o privilégio de testá-la mas tenho certeza que deve ser composta por olíbano, mirra, incenso, e todos essas matérias primas que já são apresentadas em perfumes inspirados em religiões. Acho que a história sempre falará mais alto que a criatividade...

Se você já provou a fragrância, venha dividir com a gente sua experiência!

Friday, June 24, 2011

White Patchouli EDP by Tom Ford

To M.M. - who claims he temporarily lost the Mojo... and to Plitzko.

 WHITE PATCHOULI EDP BY TOM FORD

Brand: Tom Ford Fragrances
Origin: USA
Launch: 2008
Olfactive family: floral-woody
Olfactive Notes: bergamot, white peonies, coriander, night jasmine, rose absolute, patchouli, blonde woods, incense and ambrette seeds.
Description by the brand: "The exotic depth of patchouli Orpur - with the smell of crushed patchouli leafs - a Grand Cru".
Description by + Q Perfume Blog: SENSUAL, PROVOCATIVE, CHIC, VERSATILE
Silage: Great/Fixation: Great
Rate: ★★★★
Find Tom Ford fragrances at Essenza Nobile.
(By clicking on the name TOM FORD).


Tom Ford is not a new face in the fragrance business and White Patchouli is not a recent launch. The thing is...I had this sample for a long time, and due to the fact that I have readers all over the world, sometimes I need to make articles about summer fragrances, for the ones above the Equator, and list winter fragrances for the ones below it. This year I decided to make my life simpler, so I was trying to find a fragrance that could be suitable for both seasons at the same time. BINGO! White Patchouli is so versatile that it will shine at any season.
I have been also thinking about this fragrance a lot because every time I look to my back yard, I see the leafs of my Ginkgo tree, and I think of Della Chuang. I realized that I never asked her if the White Patchouli bottle - her flacon design -  had the same pattern of her beloved Ginkgo leafs and their parallel veins...


Photo credit: + Q Perfume Blog

White Patchouli EDT has a a weird start.  Let's say it is not the Flower by Kenzo kind of top notes (that are simply beautiful). It is a whiff of Windex and coriander soapy notes. A fresh-clean shinny touch, that in the world of haute parfumerie, they call "sparkling" or "alluring". 
WINDEX and coriander that's what it is! 
Peonies sank in my skin so deeply that I could not find them at all at this point. It also contains a disturbing waxy smell that I have no idea where it comes from.
Anyways, at this very moment my thoughts are: White Patchouli is like a booty call - casual, sexual without compromising. Kinda like: Dial White Patchouli 800, and get 100% chance of getting laid... or your money back.  
Don't get me wrong here. White Patchouli is not about being cheap. On the contrary. It is  stylish chic, but it is a booty call in a sense of leading 100% to the bed. It is provocative, it is sensual, it is carnal and, it is very very TOM FORD.
The windex notes are soon to be gone and you can start to appreciate the perfume. Slightly flowery, slightly woody, slightly everything...
Probably Tom Ford made this fragrance for himself. It contains a bit of "I wear my shirt opened to show my hairy chest, but I am elegant and cool".


All that said -  a must have for the ones who wishes to get lucky with the ladies :-)
But be smart to spray at least 15-20 minutes before leaving the house.




Tom Ford chose the ebony soul queen Erykah Badu to advertise his White Patchouli fragrance for one particular reason - her velvety voice is as sensual as his fragrance! The black and white advertising campaign was shot by Merc Alas and Marcus Piggott.
The fragrance bottle was designed by lovely Della Chuang.


To listen to Erikah's amazing voice:

Blog celebrations



The Flower Bomb cake for V&R


Next month this blog will be celebrating its third year anniversary, so probably I am going to publish articles about my most beloved interests. As to raw materials, I have already published about AMBER and IRIS - my favorites. Now there is one more raw material that must have all my attention...

I will probably write articles (or fragrance reviews) revealing the fragrances that I love the most (I ever did that before - I kept the secret to myself till today).




Since the very beginning of this blog I have been writing about the close relationship between taste & smell (or aroma and scents). My very 6th article, published in 2008 was about fragrances with olfactive notes of rum, vodka, whisky, sake, martini, champagne, etc...
Most commonly found in cocktails/or food prepared with beverages(click HERE for the article - in Portuguese). In that article they left the glasses to fill perfume bottles. From that article till today, I try to write about the co-relation between perfumery and gastronomy. 
This is for one very simple reason - I love to cook. I always did. People say I cook very well, and once I tell them that it is because I cook with my nose, they tend to give me a funny look. But that is the very truth. What can I say? I smell, than I taste. I am usually 90% of the time in the right track. Since I plunged into perfumery  very deeply, today I look for a combination of ingredients that seems to me to work just perfectly in perfumery, than I apply to my cooking experiences. 
This year I finally took the time to re-organize my TAGs and open one special tag for this subject - under the name Scents and Aromas (Aromas e Sabores  - in Portuguese). This is one of the projects that were for a long time in my list, that I have finally finished... 


So basically...this is what is going on with me...

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Brazil - The South American Way in Perfumery

CARMEM MIRANDA

Brazil was very popular during the 40-50's thanks to Carmem Miranda and Walt Disney.
Carmem arrived in the USA with her band in 1939. By 1946 she was Hollywood's highest paid entertainer. With her turban and tutti-frutti hats she was fun, but projected a rather false image of Brazil and Brazilian culture (that was how Americans wished to see Brazil, not what we were at that time), but still, she owns the credit for putting us in the map.
Walt Disney animated films are (to me) always a result of a trend, therefore they are always successful. Saludo Amigos was launched in 1942 by Disney Studios. A fun musical trip to South America. For this film Disney created a character called José Carioca - a green parrot that had the carioca way (A Brazilian born in Rio de Janeiro) - at that time, José Carioca became more famous than Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse!
This film release was a part of the ongoing "Good Neighborhood Policy", but also a result of a trend - the world was in love with Brazil.
We exported Samba, Bossa and soccer.

PELÉ

Pelé, our most famous soccer player, was so famous that once a research showed that Pelé was more famous than Jesus Christ! So famous that even Andy Warhol reproduced him on cavas.
During the years Brazil became a place where international criminals would find safe shelter, and many films ended with them running away to Brazil. 
Brazil also began to export prostitutes and transvestites, mostly to Europe. We became famous for sex tourism and sexual exploitation of children.
In no time, besides during Carnival, we were completely forgotten by the world.
During the 80's we were so out of the map, that even Reagan thought the capital of Brazil was Buenos Aires. (you might think he did not do his homework before landing, but to us Brazilians, was a very good example of how small and unimportant we were at that time).

ADRIANA LIMA

But it all changed when Brazil started to export our Super Top Models. Girls like Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, Isabela Fontana and many others seduced the world with their professionalism and sensual beauty. They were everywhere. From Milan, New York to Paris, designers wanted the Brazilian girls. Those girls were walking around wearing typical Brazilian products like Arezzo/Havaianas/Melissa shoes, Rosa Chá bikinis, Miele dresses, etc... In a blink of an eye Brazilian brands became icons of fashion, and we began to export fashion like crazy. Everyone wanted to wear what Gisele was wearing. We also exported the Ronaldos, Kaká and other amazing soccer players to Europe. The Amazon and the beautiful beaches of the north of Brazil became the hip place to relax for international celebrities.
We were back in the map.
That is exactly why you saw RIO, another successful Brazil inspired animated movie.
Brazilians are seen internationally as one of the most happy people of the planet due to the fact that we make the biggest party of the world once a year (Carnival), and the biggest rock n' Roll concerts of the planet (Rock in Rio). 
Most recently we are the world's last resource for water and oil...Well, whatever...


What interested me the most is the fact that one of the hippest trends in perfumery for 2011/2012 is Brazil - the explanation: the incoming World Cup and the Olympic games in Brazil. 
According to Bell Flavors, the Brazilian nut fragrance is the hottest trend. Now isn't that the most stupid thing you have ever heard??? I mean, we have 1.7 billion acres of rain forest with plants, herbs and other sources for perfumery raw materials, and all Bell could think of is sports events? The rain forest is one of the richest biome, if not THE richest biodiversity of the planet, with the largest collection of plants of the world (we have so far 40,000  plants classified)! 
Not to mention Brazil itself - we have 26 states, and each of them with a different culture and different people - it is also a huge human biodiversity. That is one of the reason why it is very hard to determine what Brazilian Perfumery means - what is it? We can't determine.
Today Brazil is a source of creativity - this is how Brazilians should be described - as one of the most creative people of the world. Today we export design, fashion, architectural projects, advertising, art...
Brazil is not about samba and caipirinha anymore or The Brazilian Wax. Brazil is about DIVERSITY. Brazil is about creating the logo for Google! Brazil is about being the next Design Superpower according to IDSA (Industrial Design Society of America). 


So when it comes to perfumery, why it takes one Li Edelkoort to say that the Amazon is cool, or an IDSA to say that we are the future, for people to start to look at us?
I mean, isn't it obvious? We are the number 03 of the world in the beauty business, loosing only for the USA and Japan. Hello!


Anyways... I am just bringing some of the part Brazilian inspired fragrances that have been launched in the past...let's see what we have...


Brazil dream - the Latin lover - needless to say - false concept.


Davidoff's Adventure Amazonia - it all started there with adventure - of course it would be one - if you really could cross the amazon in a motorcycle...


Paprika Brazil by Hermès -  expected by NST - who doesn't have a clue about Brazil, to be something Amazonian - another foreign misconcept of Brazil - we are not just about the jungle Robin... Hermès capture the very essence of some of the Brazilian typical dishes - a very unusual thing, and very clever choice that should receive at least 5 stars for really understanding what Brazil is about. Funny thing is....I have never seen it here...it never came to Brazil...


Pina colada? Of course...and the capital of Brazil is...Madrid, of course!
To pair with the Cuba Copacabana maybe?


Frau Tonis Nº88 Bahia  an spicy earthy fragrance...maybe the vanilla and cinnamon - but this is also not what Bahia is all about. Lavender, red peppers, dendê oil, coconut milk are the real olfactive note that translates Bahia.


Bahiana by MPG brings notes of Brazilian orange, caipirinha and coco... not a Made in Bahia kind of fragrance...but ok, the coco could be it...as Bahia was the source for cocoa for a long time.


So that is it friends, Brazil is not about samba and cheap sex, we are trend setters, get used to it!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Most beautiful Perfume Bottles



Those are some of the most beautiful perfume bottles launched in the last past years...
And the "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?"  perfume bottles launched in the past years.


  
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