Hernando’s Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 Badge and ÇaFleureBon Logo

Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023, held April 29th is the first since the pandemic and is now a one-day event with the Saturday uptown day being eliminated and the Sunday downtown day now moved to Saturday. Over the years, the weather has favored our scent treks on “scent alley” but not so today. A raw and rainy day may have greeted us but that did not put a damper to the sniffing and buying. The day begins at 10 am with an open house-style drop into the boutiques and a lunch that starts at 1:30.

Team Karen (Karen Adams and Karen Dubin) at Malin + Goetz at Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023

The sting of the rainy Spring morning was mitigated by the hospitality at Malin + Goetz who hosted a light breakfast to get us in the spirit. A friendly, knowledgeable staff walked us through the extensive variety of skin, hair, and body products, and let’s not forget those astounding single-note fine fragrances.

Le Labo’sflagship store is undergoing a renovation so for the short term the operation has been downsized to their next-door Annex which normally is dedicated exclusively to the Body-Hair-Face and Men’s Grooming Collections. A must-stop for the iconic brand’s fabulous scent creations, stunning candles, and laundry wash.

Store manager, Vijay Uttam of Scent Bar NYC

At Scent Bar NYC fragrance specialist and store manager, Vijay Uttam welcomed us warmly. Their assortment of fragrances and candles is most impressive. The rain withstanding, we could spend all day here. Perfumes that caught our attention at  Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 include Amouage Purpose, Nishane EGE / ΑΙΓΑΙΟ, Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum by BDK Parfums, Bois Impérial Essential Parfums, Parfums de Marly Delina Exclusif Extrait de Parfum. Last summer Vijay and I were discussing the changing landscape of Elizabeth Street due to the pandemic and he was happy to inform me that two new boutiques opened on the block; Korres and their sister boutique, Naxos Apothecary. After visiting both I informed Karen Dubin of these wonderful new boutiques and voila, they were now added to the rotation. Thank you, Vijay.

Korres on Elizabeth Street Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023

Korres – Natural Greek beauty brand Korres’ has been producing skincare since 1996. Their Recycle Lab repurposes used product containers for a new life. The seed-to-skin brand puts clean and natural ingredients at the forefront and is sourced exclusively from Greece, supporting Greek farmers.

Naxos Apothecary- The new luxury natural fragrance and personal care brand evokes the history, culture, heritage, and endemic flora of the Aegean Island of Naxos. Combined with scientific expertise in phytotherapy, this sophisticated apothecary offers personalized herbal cosmetic remedies as well as soulful storytelling through fragrances and candles.

Olfactory NYC Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023

Over on Mott Street, the scene is at Olfactory NYC. With fragrances created by several of fragrance’s top perfumers but at a fraction of the cost compared to others this has been a hot destination. So much so they have opened a second boutique on Bleeker Street. The guided customization and personalization program allows each scent to be styled to one’s specifications and bottled on-site, which ensures a freshly made creation every time.

 Mizensir Soho Boutique

A recent addition to the neighborhood on Prince Street is Mizensir, a new boutique that features the splendid creations of Master Perfumer Alberto Morillas. General Manager, Jennifer DiCesare was available to present the extensive and impressive collections of fragrances and candles.

Diptyque on Prince Street is the iconic brand’s NYC flagship boutique. The group was most interested in the premier of the latest launch – L’Eau Papier (White Musks, Mimosa, Blonde Woods Accord) penned by Fabrice Pellegrin. The new eco-friendly La Droguerie collection of cleaning products has been most favorably received during the Sniffaplooza Spring Fling 2023 event.

D.S. & Durga Mulberry Street: Brooklyn perfume pioneers Kavi and David Seth Moltz of D.S. & Durga combine their passion for music, art, travel, and design in their brand (read David Seth Moltz’s Profile in American Perfumery here). Their scents, candles, and the design of their uber-hip store reflect their ethos. Recent releases Steamed Rainbow, The Carlyle, and Pistachio show them firing on all cylinders. Look for a Los Angeles outpost opening this summer.

Lunch at Little Italy’s La Mela follows. With the five-course lunch to the line-up of 12 speakers at The Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 event. Much to report.

Lunch Presentations at the Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 Event:

Karen Dubin introduced two lines, LilaNur Fragrances, and Bridge and Blend. LilaNur Parfums, India’s first luxury fragrance house, celebrates the country’s abundant flora and olfactory riches, expressed through the lens of French master perfumery. Born in Madurai and crafted in Grasse, LilaNur Parfums’ collection of Eau de Parfums and a trio of Attar Absolus were created by Anita Lal, and fragrance and brand expert Paul Austin  (learn more  about this brand by reading Esxence 2023 reports by Karl and Danu).

Fragrant friend Hiro Nakayama’s Japanese incense brand produces “Six in Sense” in sustainable conscious packaging with 100% natural and 1000-year-old blends.

David Ecker presenting Initio Parfums Prives at Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023

Fragrance Specialist David Ecker presented Paragon from Initio Parfums Prives’ the Hedonist Trio Collection launched in 2022 and won two Best of Scent Top Ten perfumes of 2022 CaFleureBon awards from Karl and Steven. Notes of Bergamot, White Sage, Lavender, Plum, Palo Santo, Black Pepper, Sandalwood, and Agarwood were a perfect scent for the cold and rainy day.

 Alicia Champion Perfumer/Founder of Utopia Perfume House at Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023

Alicia Champion, Perfumer/Founder of Oklahoma-based Utopia Perfume House wanted everyone to be able have their own signature scent. Their perfumes are individually hand-crafted with quality sourced ingredients from around the globe. All of their fragrances are designed at an Eau De Parfum strength for longevity. Her motto is “be unique, be bold, and be memorable”.

Up next, Gabe Oppenheim a NYC-based author of a couple of books and numerous articles for The Washington Post, Vice, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He covered prizefighting at the highest level before turning his attention to perfumery. Ghost Perfumer is about a genius, his student and a fraud. Read it to find out.

 Keta Burke-Williams Founder of Ourside Fragrances at Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023

Keta Burke-Williams, Founder of Ourside Fragrances first worked in sales and analytics at Kraft Heinz and then marketing and business development for Carnival Cruise Line before she enrolled at Harvard Business School which laid the foundation for her fragrance company, Ourside. Launching with three scents on January 12, 2023 — Dusk, Moon Dust, and Nostalgia — the collection is inspired by the idea of daydreams. Composed by Darryl Do of the Delbia Do Fragrance Lab.

Perfumer Stephen Dirkes of Euphorium Brooklyn as the official perfumer for the island of Grenada, partnered with The Tower Estate (historical Manor House in St. George’s) to create a perfumery program within a perfumer’s garden of floral, spice, herb, and citrus examples tailored to the perfume lover. The weekend-long series of fragrance-related garden tours include an intro to distillery and enfleurage, rum, chocolate, and culinary pairings, a masked dinner, horticultural presentations, and grand tea service. Let’s go!

 Author Roger Feuerman of Coach Me Casanova

Roger Feuerman Author of Coach Me Casanova has written over 300 TV commercials, one of which won a Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. Coach Me Casanova is about a college freshman visiting Venice who goes from being a dating zero to a romantic hero. Falling off a gondola and sinking he was pulled to the surface by a man in a carnival mask…Casanova! The book has a wonderful fragrance component.

(on sale here)

ÇaFleureBon celebrated our 13th Year Anniversary on March 22nd. Jovoy Paris offers a CaFleureBon Editor’s Choices box to commemorate the occasion. Each Editor and Contributor was asked  by our EIC Michelyn Camen to choose a favorite fragrance from the brands they offer. I chose Tiziana Terenzi Casanova EDP. Learning that there was a presentation on a book about Casanova, as a presenter thought it would be a great way to tie in the scent for today’s event. Paolo Terenzi loved the idea and voila 65 samples were provided for the Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 attendees.

My description of the scent: “How fabulous is Paolo Terenzi’s Tiziana Terenzi’s Casanova? Mesmerizingly so. This romantic beauty transports you back to Venice to the Masked Ball. The dry spicy opening and powdery note lead to a light leather that slides right up on you. The sensuality of the warm spices, musk, and cedarwood is stunning. No beast here, the silage is smooth as a skilled lover. Produced in a small handcrafted batch every year with each flacon marked with the year of production, like vintage wine. Such a compliment-getter“.

 

 Reggie Canal Founder of Vetiver Les Cayes

After a 15 year banking career at HSBC and then running the Sports & Entertainment Division at Fortis Lux, Haitian-American, Reginald Canal founded Vetiver Les Crayes, a global lifestyle brand that promotes artisanal and small-batch products that showcase Haiti’s natural resources. His mission is to stimulate economic opportunities for farmers and artisans. The products are grown and harvested in Haiti and only use essential oils.

Hamed Arefian, of Maxaroma, which is a New York City-based online beauty and fragrance retail and online store was founded in 2010 with his wife. Dedicated to supplying only the highest quality cosmetics, skincare, candles, and fragrances, MaxAroma.com has an impressive list of brands they carry along with an international reputation for providing exceptional customer service.

Simona Abaton Hays of Abaton Exceptional Luxury Brands and John Hays

Simona Abaton, Director of Abaton Exceptional Luxury Brands is the co-founder of the family business, with broad experience in cosmetics, fragrances, jewelry, bijoux, and luxury goods. Their brands feature the Chinotto Collection, Premiere Note, Acqua di Sardegna, Sandalia, Franck Boclet, and Absolument Parfumeur (Deputy Editor Tama Blough RIP reviewed La 13ème Note)Femme and La 13ème Note Homme)

Hernando Courtright presented Thameen London at Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023: I met up with Christopher Chong, former Creative Director of Amouage, at Saks Fifth Avenue for his presentation of Thameen London where he has been leading the creative and olfactive direction for the brand as of 2022. Thameen means “precious”, and each fragrance is inspired by the world’s most precious jewels and the enchanting stories behind them. He explained that his passion project is the creation and development of the Britalognia collection. “Fanfare” was the first of this series. This range is a nod to “British Cologne” and unveils a clear frosted glass bottle and silver stopper.

In closing, we were all overjoyed to be together again. Meeting new friends, discovering new stores, and fabulous fragrances in person, just the way it is supposed to be!

Thank you, Team Karen (Karen Dubin and Karen Adams) for a scentually wonderful Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 to remember. Looking forward to seeing you at the Fall Ball 2023!

~Hernando Courtright, Senior Events Contributor and Brand Ambassador

All Photos by Hernando of ÇaFleureBon unless otherwise stated©.

Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 Gift Bag 

We have a fragrance-filled Sniffapalooza swag bag filled with dozens of samples from the Spring Fling brands and presenters, Scent Bar NYC, Malin & Goetz, Diptyque, D.S.& Durga, Euphorium Brooklyn, Initio Parfums, Tiziana Terenzi, Thameen Fragrances, LilaNur Parfums, Ourside Fragrances, Abaton Exceptional Luxury Brands, Vetiver Les Cayes, Utopia Perfume House, Korres, Mizensir, and Bridge and Blend.

To be eligible you must be a registered reader in the CON USA (you have to do this folks) and leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Hernando’s very detailed Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2023 report, if you have attended a Sniffapalooza event before and which brand or perfume you are really excited to get your nose on. The draw closes on May 10, 2023

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