3.29.2012

Armani Privé Ambre Orient Giorgio Armani for women and men.


Armani launches new perfumes of the Privé collection in November 2010. The collection is named "La Collection des Mille et une Nuits," inspired by the medieval Arabic tales from 1001 nights. These three new heute couture perfumes depict the exotic mystery of the Orient with its warm, spicy and woody notes on the subject of rose, oud and amber.
Armani Privé La Collection des Mille et une Nuits icludes three perfumes: Oud Royal, Ambre Orient and Rose d'Arabie. The fragrances are exclusively designed for the Middle East market and are made as imitations of their traditional perfumery and local ingredients.
Ambre Orient is a smoky scent of vanilla and dark wood aromas of sandalwood and patchouli with thyme, labdanum and amber, spicy cinnamon and pink pepper.
It is packed in a black glass bottle decorated with a golden stopper.

3.28.2012

Featured Review: Tom Ford Private Blend Moss Breches.


examiner.com
Sali Oguri
NY Fragrance Examiner

It's been rumored Tom Ford Private Blend Moss Breches (2007) is being discontinued, a terrible shame if it's true considering Moss Breches, along with Tobacco Vanille, is among my very favorites in the designer's ultraniche line.  Among these, Moss Breches is far, far away from the mainstream scents of today.  It takes perfuminess to its highest level, played up by both Chypre and Oriental notes in a single composition, decadently retro in richly subdued earth tones.  It's not a fragrance I immediately liked, but it's grown on me in the same way Penhaligon's Bluebell has.  Both are what I'd refer to as "animalic", with the musky notes of labdanum and oakmoss being fairly pronounced in this dark, green Chypre blend, making it challenging to wear.  However, it also has a warm and sweet, spicy gourmand charm to it.  Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental comes to mind, except Moss Breches is a Chypre, along the lines of Sisley Eau du Soir and Paloma Picasso, just greener, with more damp earth-and-wet leaves - the deep foresty scent attributed to oakmoss.  Shiseido Koto (1985), for those of you familiar with this hard-to-find fragrance, is probably closest to it in overall scent.  Another comparison might be the discontinued Deneuve (1986), with Moss Breches being drier, dirtier, heavier and sharper.  This is a strange, complex scent for those unfamiliar with the scent of Chypre, a classical perfume accord brimming with tradition and an antiquated past.

Moss Breches, of course, would not be without mossiness.  Oakmoss and tree moss are controlled ingredients in the perfume industry since it was declared by IFRA that these age-old ingredients turn into formaldehyde upon skin contact.  Today, most of what we call moss is synthesized, but many vintage perfumes and even certain upscale perfumes do in fact contain moss.  The scent, to my nose, is like that of damp autumn leaves, a bit dirty in an outdoorsy way.  Many perfumes from the 1960s and '1970s featured oakmoss, such as Chanel N°19, Estée Lauder Aliage and Ô de Lancome.  Actually, the use of oakmoss has been around since the birth of the Chypre fragrance family, long before the legendary Coty Chypre and Guerlain Mitsouko were born  Chypre is named as such because the accord was born in Cyprus during Greco-Roman rule (Read more about Cyprus here: Cyprus the Divided Country).

Another featured note in Moss Breches is labdanum.  Labdanum is a resin traditionally used in Chypre compositions.  It's a black resin taken from goat hair after the goats had grazed on the rock rose shrub and resins collected on their fleece.  Although I'm skeptical that most Chypre fragrances today contain real labdanum taken from goat hair, the scent has remained a staple in perfumery.  It has a heavy, resinous and almost woody, as well as animalic, scent, and acts as a fixative for perfume compositions (base note), making perfumes last longer.

Although Moss Breches smells like a traditional Chypre, I'm guessing the reason I like it so much is because it has a soft, almost vanillic aspect to it as well.  The sillage is absolutely gorgeous, a dazzling mossy green.  When I wear Moss Breches, I'm reminded of Japanese tea ceremony and its dark, refined green tea (which is a bitter taste/scent (and yet I love it)).  According to Chypre Perfumes blog: "The Japanese use labdanum in their Neriko mixtures, which are used during tea ceremony".  I guess I'm not far off at all in my perception of the scent!  On the same blog, the author writes that "Egyptians used it in their Kyphi mixtures and the Hebrews burned it in their temples".  Perhaps Moss Breches is the kind of scent that can bring all kinds of deeply spiritual associations to people the world over.

3.27.2012

Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue Dreaming in Portofino and Light Blue Living Stromboli


Dolce & Gabbana launched the famous Light Blue fragrance in 2001, followed by the men's version Light Blue pour Homme six years later. In 2012, this house presented two new editions inspired by the fantastic Mediterranean locations—coastal village Portofino and the volcanic island of Stromboli. The new versions are named Light Blue Dreaming in Portofino (for women) and Light Blue Living Stromboli (for men).
Light Blue Dreaming in Portofino 

Top notes: lychee, ambrette seed
Heart: iris, osmanthus
Base: patchouli, amber, musk



Light Blue Living Stromboli 

Top notes: citrus, pink pepper
Heart: aquatic notes, geranium
Base: vetiver, patchouli, amber

The feminine fragrance is available as 50 ml EDT, while the male one comes in 75 ml EDT bottles.

3.21.2012

Iceberg Burning Ice


Iceberg launches a new fragrance with the contradictory name Burning Ice in spring 2012. The fragrance is built around the concept of opposites and the game between ice and fire, shapes and shadows, of innocence and sensuality. The composition is built around an aquatic accord of sea cliff, surrounded by a refreshing top and warm and sensual bottom. It belongs to the family of fougere-am...
Read full article: Iceberg Burning Ice from Fragrantica Perfumes and Colognes Magazine.



Top notes: bergamot sorbet, frozen apple, cardamom
Heart: sea cliff accord, clary sage, patchouli
Base: amber, musk, vanilla

3.18.2012

BOVET’s Llimited Edition Fragrance.

Swiss watchmaker Bovet presents a fragrance to celebrate its 190th anniversary. The perfume is produced as a 190-piece limited edition (60 ml). "For the past 190 years, the House of Bovet has been measuring the emotions of the moment, and is now choosing to diffuse these sweet memories... Just like its timepieces, BOVET’s perfume reveals a woman’s personality." "BOVET w...
Read full article: BOVET’s Llimited Edition Fragrance from Fragrantica Perfumes and Colognes Magazine.



BOVET's LIMITED EDITION


top notes:
blackcurrant buds, spirit of magnolia,
soul of cassie, veil of Parma violets


heart notes:
Moroccan Rose petals, Turkish rose pearls, c
ream of Iris from Florence,  aura of ylang ylang,
smiles of Sambac jasmine, rosewood bark


background notes:
Amber stones, Madagascan vanilla pods.


Swiss watchmaker Bovet presents a fragrance to celebrate its 190th anniversary. The perfume is produced as a 190-piece limited edition (60 ml). "For the past 190 years, the House of Bovet has been measuring the emotions of the moment, and is now choosing to diffuse these sweet memories... Just like its timepieces, BOVET’s perfume reveals a woman’s personality." "BOVET w...
Read full article: BOVET’s Llimited Edition Fragrance from Fragrantica Perfumes and Colognes Magazine.

3.14.2012

Acqua for Life 2012 - Giorgio Armani


The house of Giorgio Armani continues their program Acqua for Life in 2012, which assists UNICEF in procuring water for the areas lacking in drinkable water. Last year was marked by the same program launched by the company and fragrances Acqua di Gio for her and for him as limited editions. Part of the profit was reserved for charities. Read more in our article covering these editions—Acqua for Life 2011.

This year brings two new limited editions accompanying the campaign, which also ensure funds for donating drinkable water to areas without water resources. It is planned to collect 40 million liters of water by June 2012, which would assist the Smart Water for Green Schools project in Ghana, as well as the Green Cross Bolivia project.

Acqua di Gio
Limited edition 2012
Perfumer: Alberto Morillas


 Top notes: orange, lemon, bergamot, lime, kumquat, jasmine
Heart: cyclamen, nutmeg, reseda, coriander, violet, sea water, apricot, hyacinth, rose
Base: amber, patchouli, cedar, musk, moss



Acqua di Gioia
Limited edition 2012
Perfumers: Loc Dong, Anne Flipo and Dominique Ropion



Top notes: lemon, mint
Heart: pink pepper, jasmine, peony
Base: yellow sugar, labdanum, cedar


The above editions arrive in characteristic flacons with bluish waves. Sales of each bottle will ensure 100 liters of drinkable water for the needs of children in Ghana and Bolivia. The special limited editions are Acqua di Gio for men and Acqua di Gioia for women, which are both a part of the rich collection of fragrances by Giorgio Armani.

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