Was 2010 a good year for fragrance? In the words of Charles Dickens, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. While some companies played it safe, a few took risks, creating new and note-worthy fragrances
Geza Schoen calls it “an ode to summer and its memories”; he chose the youngest Grand Master of Memory, Christiane Stenger to collaborated on a celebuscent with an IQ.
Houbigant Fougere Royale is a spectacular example of how to succeed at re-formulating a classic fragrance. Don’t worry too much about slavishly trying to re-create the original. Instead hire two master perfumers to honor the heritage while simultaneously having the skill to modernize the fragrance.
All of which means that people have woken up on Christmas Day all over the world to inappropriate perfume purchases…Lacoste Touch of Pink for the maiden aunt who is a life-long Dioressence loyalist and most unlikely to get through her stash of back up bottles in this lifetime.
It is in the scrutiny of this newer facet that I felt stimulated to revisit his body of work, the Tom Ford Private Blends-
Amber Absolute, in particular
Four different Yuletide fragrances from three talented perfumers make for a Happy Christmas.
