The part of reviewing fragrances that I really enjoy is when you end up with connections that, until you stumble across them, hadn’t been mentioned before. This can be because journalists are nervous about veering too far from the company’s press release, for fear of upsetting the person that’s written it, or they’re financially tied in some way to the promotion of the scent. So, when the worlds of Netflix, perfume, and American fashioned collided spectacularly this week, I finally realised that I was sitting on a modern day classic. It’s time to revisit, or discover for the first time, the Ultrasuede styling of Nightscape by Ulrich Lang.
One of the current fashions in the world of fragrance is giving the customer the ability to literally customise their perfume. This has an obvious major advantage over creating one from scratch, namely that it is significantly cheaper, but how the process is managed varies dramatically from company to company. It can often feel a little lacklustre, with few options, and so it makes you wonder just how “customisable” it really is. One of the companies to venture into this area is Olfactory NYC, and their method is a discovery experience in itself. So, let’s travel stateside as I introduce you to the sun and surf inspired Ashton.
Reinvention is something that we all must secretly wish that we could do at some time or another but it’s a concept that can be very dangerous for a perfume company. Many brands survive because of the loyal following of its fans and, if you start to alter things, they can easily start to look elsewhere for their fragranced fix. One company that has successfully managed to reinvent itself, and still kept hold of its followers, is 4711. The idea of modernising their classic scent may have seemed like sacrilege to many but, once again, this year’s Remix Cologne has been handled with a lot of tender loving care.
The perfumes that launch with the name of a fashion house or a celebrity on them are often looked down on by certain sections of the fragrance industry and also some customers. It is wrongly assumed that they will be low quality, unbalanced affairs that have been hastily put together and will disappear as quickly as they arrive. However, this isn’t the case and just as much effort often goes into them as you would expect from a Dior, a Chanel, or even a Guerlain. The latest fashion release is Guess 1981 Los Angeles and, if you’ve shied away from fashion houses in the past, you may be surprised by this beautiful summer fragrance.
When it comes to new perfume releases we often get bombarded with very serious stories about its inspiration, or details of a company’s “Corporate Social Responsibility,” before we’ve even smelled the fragrance. To the majority of people, wearing perfume is just a fun frivolity that makes them feel happy and confident. It’s this latter idea of playfulness mixed with individuality that Candice Rosa chose when she decided to launch Ma Blonde. Based in Canada, everything about this brand screams “fun” and, with a fragrance to back up the concept, it could well be my guilty pleasure for this summer.
The decision that faces every perfume house at some point in their lives is which fragrances will be discontinued and which will remain. The outcome can often be met with anger from die-hard fans that think the company have made a mistake but the choice, more often than not, is made due to declining sales. Yves Rocher have majorly reduced their classic range of fragrances in recent years, both male and female, in favour of new releases but one fragrance has just been given a new lease of life. Hoggar by Marie-Aude Couture-Bluche has been spruced up to perfectly complement their masculine range.
Somerset House in London has to be one of the most beautiful venues for any exhibition, but it's even better on a hot summer evening. This is how it was on Tuesday when I visited the new installation simply entitled PERFUME. With a tag line describing it as “a sensory journey through contemporary scent” I really had no idea what to expect. Except for a few slips from Lizzie Ostrom, aka Odette Toilette, during a day out with baby Ostrom it was a total surprise. So, was my original impression that it covered everything from "semen to cookies" correct? Come with me into a "world of pure imagination".
"Transparency" is a word that you often hear mentioned when it comes to the perfume industry. For many years perfume houses would release fragrances under their own name, or assign them to an in-house "nose", when they had actually been created by an outside company. This wasn't done maliciously; it was just the way the industry worked. Customers were not particularly interested in who had made the juice in the bottle, just that it came with their favourite company's logo on the glass. Of course there had always been fans that wanted to know every detail but it’s only recently that "transparency" has become the industry's key word.
It happens every year but it never gets any easier. I’m talking about the annual discontinuation of one of Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria range. Since the series first appeared in 1999 the collection has seen many fragrances come and go, but it is still a surprise when the final cut is made. Sometimes the choice is made based on sales figures, sometimes due to trend, but occasionally the decision leaves everyone surprised. In 2014 Guerlain introduced Limon Verde to the Aqua Allegoria range but it leaves the collection this year to make way for Bergamote Calabria. So, what is the history of this caipirinha explosion?
When a fragrance company launches a new perfume it is always met with interest from the press and the public, but when it's the first new release for eleven years then the expectations are even higher. To coincide with the smash hit film Beauty and the Beast, Parfums Worth have released BELLE, a fresh floral which they describe as "effortlessly feminine, romantic, playful and chic". Could this be the company's chance to re-establish itself in the minds of a new generation of customers and add a new fragrance to the stable of Dans La Nuit and Je Reviens? Let's see if this fairytale has a happy ending.
The first fragrance can be a make or break moment for any perfume company, but it can also be the same for a new perfumer. When Guerlain launched Idylle in 2009 it was the first release that was created by Thierry Wasser in his new position as in-house perfumer for the company. His previous three fragrances, Iris Ganache, Quand Vient la Pluie and Guerlain Homme, had been created whilst he was working for Firmenich, but Idylle was released under his own name. It would eventually be joined by three variations, Duet Rose-Patchouli, Eau Sublime and Duet Jasmin-Lilas, but it is the second one that I’m going to revisit.
When Estée Lauder launched Private Collection in 1973 it was intended as a "thank you" to the loyal followers of her company. Created by Vincent Marcello, it was originally reserved for Lauder's personal use before the decision was taken to release it commercially. A Floral Chypre, it proved popular and is still in production forty three years later. Jump forward to 2006 and it was announced that Estée Lauder would be creating a whole Private Collection, with the original as its figure head. At a time when brands were feeling the pull between luxury and commercial would the first release, Tuberose Gardenia, bridge the gap and spearhead a new collection?
