Monday 30 January 2017

STEPHAN'S SIX - MICHAEL ANGOVE


Michael Angove first collaborated with Jo Malone London back in 2014 but this month sees five of his designs used to re-promote their iconic soap line. Originally from Barry in South Wales, but now living in Devizes, he studied at the Winchester School of Art and then the Royal College of Art before working as a print designer for Jean Paul Gaultier, Hugo Boss and Liberty Department Store. With his work now exhibited all over the world I thought it was time to catch up with this fellow Welshman and ask him “Stephan’s Six”.

Thursday 26 January 2017

The Jo Malone Philosophy

With many companies now opting for more than one "range" within their catalogue it can become confusing just what the differences are. Along with the ever-present "exclusive" collection that each seem to include, fans are bombarded with flanker after flanker; a sport version, an intense version, even that troublesome Eau Fraiche. One company that has taken a different direction in the way that they offer their products to the public is Jo Malone London. Now under the control of Estée Lauder, just what makes their approach so different and why have millions fallen under their spell?

Monday 23 January 2017

STEPHAN'S SIX - RIA JONES


Ria Jones really is one of the First Ladies of British Musical Theatre. The daughter of an Opera Singer and the sister of Ceri Dupri, one of the UK's leading female impersonators, she was born in Swansea and at the age of nineteen started her career in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. More recently she was Glenn Close's understudy in Sunset Boulevard at the London Coliseum where she took audiences by storm when she played the role of Norma Desmond. Just back from 42nd Street in Paris, she took time out to answer "Stephan's Six" ahead of her return to the role of Norma Desmond in a UK Tour.

Thursday 19 January 2017

INVISIBLE PALLADIA by 4160 Tuesdays

Every so often I get sent a fragrance just for fun. By that I mean that it's not something that is commercially available. Sometimes it's a modification, sometimes a trial, and sometimes an unused test. This was what happened last year when 4160 Tuesdays, more specifically Brooke Belldon, found an unreleased fragrance in the workshop and sent me a sample. A combination of luck, Brooke's squirrelling and my love of gin meant that I was unexpectedly given the ultimate feel-good fragrance. Throw in my not being able to read Brooke's handwriting and this years INVISIBLE PALLADIA was born.

Monday 16 January 2017

STEPHAN'S SIX - ROBERTO GRECO


The days of “point a camera at a bottle of perfume” have well and truly gone because a sense of creativity is now demanded by every company. One person who certainly has this gift is Roberto Greco, an incredible photographer who splits his time between Paris and Geneva. From Le Galion to Liquides Imaginaires, his work has been featured in the Harrods magazine as well as by The Perfume Society. So, I thought it was time to find out a little bit more about Roberto in the first of a new series of “Stephan’s Six”.

Thursday 12 January 2017

PIVOINE - Fragonard's Flower of the Year

Fragonard
started a tradition back in 2010 by releasing their first "Flower of the Year" and it is still something that is looked forward to even in its eighth season. Now these fragrances are essentially soliflores, which essentially means an interpretation of a single flower, but you also find that they have been crafted into an Eau de Toilette that develops on the skin. It's a very old tradition to create something which is true to nature rather than abstract and Fragonard continue to do it brilliantly. This year's chosen flower is the Peony, or Pivoine in French, and it's everything that you could have wished for.

Monday 9 January 2017

NEROLIA BIANCA by GUERLAIN

The stock room floor is usually littered with boxes at this time of the year with "recall" written on them. In order for a company to make room for its latest fragrance another may have to go. This is always the way with Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria scents. Sometimes decisions are based on sales, sometimes on trends, and sometimes we struggle to work out what the reason is. This was how many people felt when Guerlain's Nerolia Bianca left the range in 2015. It was ultimately replaced by the short-lived Teazzurra and the question remains, did Guerlain lose one of Thierry Wasser's finest creations?