CaFleureBon Editors time travel to the last New Year's Eve at Studio 54

We’ve spent the last week looking back on 2012 and now it is time to close the books on what was a pretty good year for olfactory art and fragrance. The editors of CaFleureBon now have our vision on the New Year of 2013 and we thought we would share with you our Top Ten hopes and wishes for the New Year. This is also a chance to congratulate Valerie Vitale as she becomes our newest editor.

Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

1. No More Vial-ence

I wish that more Perfumers, Retailers and Fragrance Companies would  invest in sprayers instead of vials. I receive on average of 30 sampIe vials a week and when I open them, the perfume spills everywhere creating a cacophonous mess.  I don't want to  test fragrance in a bio secure environment and the veneer of my desk is wearing a bit thin now. While I have your attention, please label fragrance samples even if they are carded because  at this very moment I have over a dozen UFOs (unidentified fragrance objects) and not a clue as to what they are. One smells amazing and I would like to give it perfume props. Unlabeled samples may work for Chandler Burr's Untitled series on Open Sky but not for me.

2. It's a Small World After All

 When my readers in China or Russia act as scent mules because some perfumers and their publicists believe there are borders in cyberspace it's time to rethink brand marketing strategy.  By the time some publicists send me the press release and sample, chances are one of our writers have reviewed the perfume months ago.

 P.S. What am I supposed to do with press releases on new fragrances without notes and photos? Pantomime?

Andy Warhol, New Year's Eve 1987 New York City

Mark Behnke, Managing Editor

3. A Crossover Indie Scent

There are times I feel like there are only a few of us who really know, or care, about all of the creativity happening on the artisanal/indie side of olfactory art. I wish for at least one of these talented artists to catch popular fire in a way that shines a light on the community as a whole. It feels like we are close to an indie “big bang” and I’m hoping 2013 is the year for it.

4. Greater Niche Availability

Now that Sephora has begun to carry some niche brands again. I am hoping this is an idea which has started to spread among other department stores. I hope 2013 sees an expansion of true niche brands into more accessible places. Those of us who live in the big metropolitan areas shouldn’t get to have all the fun.

Tama Blough, Senior Editor

5. Less Snobbery, Please

I would love to see an end to perfume snobbery. I know many who will not even try a perfume that is not considered niche. I have found some gems not only on the department store counters, but at the drugstore. Cost does not equal quality. Trust me, I smelled some terrible niche perfumes this year, and some lovely mainstreamers. Equal time for all, please.

6. More Self-Editing, Pretty Please

This might seem harsh, but I want perfumers to learn to edit themselves. When a perfumer releases a collection of more than three or four perfumes in a season, they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. I would rather smell and write about two or three interesting, unique scents, than wade through an overwhelming number of similar scents that add nothing new to the conversation. Give your audience time to digest and appreciate the work before you overload their plates.

7. Better Mainstream Releases, Pretty Please With A Cherry on Top

I also wish for an expansion of the tiny trend toward more interesting designer and mainstream releases, especially at the men’s counter. Viktor & Rolf set the bar pretty high with Spicebomb, but it can be done.  There were a few rather passable celebrity scents this year, and I would like to see some actually live up to their hype.

John Reasinger, Editor

 

 

8.  A Return to Glamour

Remember the days when a scent was unique, instantly recognizable and there was no mistaking it? We’ve had some this past year. Perfumers used to take years to get a particular formula just right, as opposed to a new release coming out every month. I would rather wait a year or more (quivering with antici…..pation) for the next iconic perfume then have to sniff more mediocre scents.

9. The Flanker Name Game

Although some solid flankers were released last year, most were unimpressive. Many wonderful scents, released as flankers, could have stood on their own as separate scents. And please, no more renaming newer (actual flanking scents themselves) perfumes with the name of their original predecessor

 

Valerie Vitale, Contributing Editor

   Slow Down and Smell the Roses (extraits, EDPs, colognes, etc.)   

My wish for the New Year is to see less people frantically running around searching for a scent, and hopefully more people slowing down to listen to what truly resonates for them. Fragrance can embolden and humble us. Perhaps many more might stumble upon the many perfume blogs that can be a lighthouse to tired travelers in search of a better direction. My glass ball prediction for 2013 is the resurrection and deep reflection on rose fragrances.

Happy New Year to all of our readers it has been another record year for CaFleureBon thanks to you. Be sure to leave a comment on your perfumed wishes/resolutions for 2013 and you will be eligible for a goody bag with carded vials of Italian, French,  and Luckycent niche as well a few natural perfumes that are making Michelyn cranky (she thinks there are some mystery L'Artisan Parfumeur Mon Numeros in the lot as well). The winner will be announced on January 5, 2013 and there is no spilled perfume unless a vial explodes.

–The Editorial Staff of CaFleurebon