More fragrance news from Serge Lutens

Posted by Robin on 22 January 2006 13 Comments

Many thanks to Cédric for the news that the next fragrance release to join the export line from Serge Lutens (after Gris Clair, that is, which will launch in March) will be Chypre Rouge. It will be a Haute Concentration Eau de Parfum, like Cédre and Daim Blond. Look for it in August or September. Update: see a review of Chypre Rouge.

And Fumerie Turque will be the next exclusive fragrance to join the export line for a limited edition run. It should hit the States in late 2006.

If you're not familiar with the intricacies of the export vs. exclusive ranges, see Serge Lutens - Nearly All The Facts.

Fragrance review: Sikkim from La Collection Lancome

Posted by Marlen on 21 January 2006 14 Comments

Named for a legendary Himalayan kingdom and originally released by Lancôme in 1971, Sikkim was reissued last year along with Climat, Magie, and Sagamore as part of La Collection, a special edition series of fragrances celebrating “70 years of perfume excellence”. Sikkim’s original composition had notes of aldehydes, ylang ylang, bergamot, galbanum, gardenia, thujone, carnation, jasmine, narcissus, orris, rose, amber, castoreum, leather, moss, patchouli and vetiver.

Sikkim is a surprising chypre of monumental proportions, and I found it stunning right from the start…

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Annick Goutal Songes, Aquolina Chocolovers and Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Pineapple ~ new fragrances

Posted by Robin on 21 January 2006 22 Comments

Annick Goutal Songes moon bottle New from Annick Goutal: Songes, created by nose Isabelle Doyen and inspired by “an exotic garden on the island of Mauritius at night fall”. The fragrance notes include frangipani, ylang ylang, jasmine and vanilla. The (gorgeous!) 100 ml Eau de Parfum bottle is shown at right; it will be also be available in Eau de Toilette. Per Annick Goutal, the fragrance will be launched in March; some stores in the United States already have testers. Update: see a review of Annick Goutal Songes.

Aquolina has launched Chocolovers…

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A blast from the past: Tea Rose by The Perfumer’s Workshop

Posted by Robin on 20 January 2006 20 Comments

Tea Rose by The Perfumer's Workshop

Tea Rose was launched by The Perfumer’s Workshop around 1975, and in my mind it is forever associated with that era. It was part of my regular fragrance rotation for many years, along with Diorissimo and the original Halston.

It was a very popular perfume at one time. Nicole Kidman made a bit of a stir by wearing it to the Oscars in 2004 when she had just been named the new face of Chanel no. 5, but otherwise you don’t hear about it much these days. I can’t remember when I stopped wearing it, but I do remember buying Yves Saint Laurent Paris shortly after it was released in the early 1980s, and at that time, it would certainly never have occurred to me to own two bottles of perfume featuring the same floral note…

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