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aperfumeblog by Blacknall Allen by Blacknall Allen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Why So Few New Classics?
Why are so many new perfumes failing to become staples in the public’s wardrobe? It’s a good question. We still wear perfumes that are quite old by the estimation of the Industry. D&G’s Light Blue came out in 2001, Dior’s … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
Tagged Angel, Bottega Veneta, Dior, Dolce &Gabana, Estée Lauder, Flowerbomb, For Her Sarah Jessica Parker, Guerlain, Idylle, J’Adore, Light Blue, Lolita Lempicka, Lovely, L’Eau d’Issey, Narciso Rodriquez, Parfumerie Generale Chanel 19 Poudre, Parfums d’Empire Azemour les Orangers, Pierre Guillaume, Prada Candy, Sensuous, Thierry Mugler, Tom Ford, Victor and Rolf, Violet Blonde
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Missing Emeralds
“Aunt Alicia slid the great square emerald onto her slender finger and was silent for a moment. “Do you see…that nearly blue fire which burns at the heart of the green light…only the most beautiful emeralds contain that miracle of … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
Tagged Alix, Ayala Moriel, Ayalitta, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Gres, Maison Margiela, Papyrus de Ciane, Parfumerie Generale, Untitled, Vert Pour Madame
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Forgotten Fougeres
In the beginning was Fougere Royale. That’s fougere pre-history to you and me. We live in CW era, to be specific, the post Cool Water era. Cool Water was such a tsunami in the world of fougeres (the fragrance based … Continue reading
Posted in Perfume
Tagged 20 Carats, Brut, Canoe, Chypre, Cool Water, Dana, Faberge, Flor de Blason, Fougere Royale, Maia, Mitsouko, Myrugia, Vermont Country Store
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Strange Brew
If it is true, as Mike Myers suggests, that most Scottish cuisine is based on a dare, what are we to make of the foundations of perfumery? We are, after all, talking some pretty rank stuff – extrusions from the … Continue reading
The Elusive Gardenia
The striking thing about the gardenia most people would probably say, is its idiosyncratic perfume. It can be a polarizing scent. Luca Turin called it “…the flower smell that I rate as the most irresistible and impossibly pretty on earth.” … Continue reading
Posted in Plants
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Befriending the Bandit
Sometimes I think that the first perfumer anyone who is interested in perfume learns about is Germaine Cellier (1909-1976?). This figures, because she was such a glamorous entity. There she is, in black and white photos, wearing her well-fitted tailleurs … Continue reading
Posted in People, Perfume
Tagged Aramis, Azuree Estee, Balmain, Bandit, Cabochard, Caron, Chanel, Coeur Joie, Cuir de Russie, Eau d’Issy, Fracas, Germaine Cellier, Jean Cocteau, Jolie Madame, Koto, La Nuit, Lancome, Lanvin, Lauder Derby Guerlain, Miss Balmain, Monsieur Balmain, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne, Parure, Robert Piguet, Scandal, Shiseido, Sikkim, Tabac Blond, Vent Vert
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Some Like it Hot
Then there is the perfume in which the whole spicy carnation floweriness I have been writing about sinks in a morass of heavier, hotter materials like a bouquet in a lava flow. The one time floral composition becomes an oriental … Continue reading
Posted in People, Perfume
Tagged Alpona, Caron, Coup de Fouet, En Avion, Ernest Daltroff, Farnesiana, Felicie Vanpouille, Feminite du Bois, Guerlain, Michel Morsetti, Narcisse Noir, Nuit de Noel, Or et Noir, Parfum Sacre, Poivre, Shiseido, Tabac Blond
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The Carnivorous Carnation
You may not think of carnation as being an aggressive kind of a flower. I don’t certainly, but the fact is that Caron, the Parisian perfume house founded in 1904, seems to have meditated on the many ways to make … Continue reading
The Carnation Factotum
Sometimes floral notes are out of step with the times. It’s not that they have two left feet and can’t dance to contemporary tempos. It’s our fault, because we keep changing the beat. Right now we like to drink all … Continue reading
Flowers You Never Smelled in the Spring
There is such a thing as the completely synthetic floral. Some companies admit this, most do not. Many perfume houses put the money, i.e. the naturals, up front and from there on out it is a matter of synthetics used … Continue reading
