Is There a Little Black Dress in Your Fragrance Wardrobe? Iconic Fashion and Fragrances That Are Never Out of Style

October 25, 2010February 14, 2011

“Scheherezade is easy; a little black dress is difficult.” ~Coco Chanel. The special qualities of the beloved LBD: classic cut, flattering to the figure of the woman who wears it, versatility (ability to dress it up / dress it down), and delivers confidence to the wearer. The LBD of fragrance would be measured on much the same way: classic scent, flattering to the skin of the woman who wears it, versatility, and delivers confidence to the wearer.

Creed Spice and Wood:Olivier Creed’s Marriage Of Equals

October 24, 2010

Spice and Wood was created by Olivier Creed and as his inspiration he took the romance of Antony and Cleopatra. M. Creed chose to pair notes from Italy and Egypt in each phase of Spice and Wood to create an olfactory marriage of the historical lovers’ countries of origin. I’m not sure how much it really represents the masculine and feminine ideal in the end but the one thing it does do is live up to its name, Spice and Wood.

The Winner of the Neil Morris Midnight Shadows Draw is….

October 23, 2010

Just in time for the full moon… a bewitching fragrance. The winner is …

Parfums DelRae Panache: Yann Vasnier’s “Third Plume” + Draw

October 23, 2010October 24, 2010

As I enter the latter days of 2010 I begin to consider which perfumers have produced a body of work which will have me consider them for my perfumer of the year. With Coup de Foudre, Bang and now Panache I can tell you Yann Vasnier will be on my short list as I consider who will receive that accolade. M. Vasnier has fashioned his own panache quite brilliantly.

Madini Mokhalate Malaki: Before There Was Fancy….

October 22, 2010

The House of Madini , based in Tangiers, has been in existence for 14 generations
[or 400 years, according to the Talisman website]; Suleiman Madini is the current head of operations.
I’ve collected many of their fragrant concoctions over the years. A prime example of bang for buck is Mokhalate Malaki- loosely translated as ‘blend for the well-born’.

Tauer Perfume No. 12 Eau D’Epices- Orange Spice?

October 21, 2010

The most recent release No. 12 Eau D’Epices has been a “work in progress” which has been finally released as a finished fragrance. I didn’t have the opportunity to try Eau D’Epices in its different embryonic stages and as such have only become acquainted with it in its mature form. That mature form seems to have taken some themes from an earlier Tauer Perfumes release of 2010, Orange Star, and added some more depth to them making Eau D’Epices a more complete fragrance than Orange Star was for me.