Last night I undertook a little reconnaissance mission to my local mall. I wanted to try the new Midnight Poison by Christian Dior (more about which next week), and I figured I might see one or two new perfumes I didn't know about. No such luck, although Hermès Kelly Calèche is now on counter at Neiman Marcus, in case anyone was waiting for it, and they also had a tester of the upcoming White Jasmine & Mint from Jo Malone.
I've written before about how unforgivably dull I find perfume shopping, but what has struck me most forcibly on my last few trips has been how remarkably little staff turnover there is behind the fragrance counters. It makes scouting expeditions rather uncomfortable. I am sure I am not the only perfumista (e.g., sample whore) who has only one decent mall within easy driving distance, and finds that eventually, they can no longer pass as a "normal" customer. I am not exaggerating when I say that the same woman has been standing behind the register in the perfume area at my local Nordstrom's for the past four years, day and night, Monday through Sunday. I have begun to suspect that she sleeps on a little couch in the employee lounge and never leaves the place at all, and I am sure she dreads the very sight of me even more than I dread the very sight of her. She is unfailingly polite — this is Nordstrom's, after all — but we both know I'm not going to buy anything, and that she is not going to get rid of me until she makes me at least one sample, maybe two.
At Neiman Marcus, I stopped to spray on a little Prada Infusion d'Iris. It was my third try, and I could no longer withstand its charms — I bought a bottle. At full department store prices, something I do only very, very rarely. I'll possibly regret it later when it hits the discount stores, but it seemed a shame not to have it before the summer is over (it is perfect for this time of year). I meant to review it today, but woke up with a nasty summer cold and can't smell a thing. So that will come next week as well.
Infusion d'Iris has set me to thinking about Prada in general. I don't follow designer fashion at all, so what little I know about the aesthetic values espoused by the various brands comes filtered through their fragrance output. Now that Prada has released their third mainstream scent (not counting the flankers and the Prada-boutique exclusives) and I've had the chance to try it, I've come to visualize the house as representing understated elegance. Nothing flashy, nothing loud, nothing overtly trendy. A quick perusal of some of their fashion ads this morning indicates that the house is perhaps not quite so conservative as their fragrances might indicate, but somehow that is even better — a line that makes trendy clothing but leaves the litchi and cotton candy to others has my deepest respect.
A quick poll ~ are there fashion houses that you think have done a particularly good job of translating their fashion aesthetic into fragrance?
Note: Prada fashion ads borrowed from The Manolo.
My vote is for Donna Karan (with the exception of the whole Delicious thing). Gucci used to be like that, take L'Arte di Gucci or even Accenti. Those are Gucci. Envy me and Envy me II are most decidedly not. Maybe the new Gucci will restore the former glory (feeling optimistic today :-)). I think Prada has so far stayed true to its aesthetic, perfumes-wise. Infusion d'Iris is certainly wonderful! Dior has gone to pieces. There is Galiano couture and there are thingies like Miss Dior Cherie…I mean, seriously, talk about not translating the aestetic into scents. Chanel has slipped up with Chance, but is not hopeless, I think. Sorry for rambling!
PLEASE give a sneak peak on your thoughts on Midnight Poison. For some reason I feel I am going to love it. Wishful thinking, I am sure, as I felt the same about the horror that was Midnight Charm.
Well, some of my favorite designers absolutely put their design trademarks into their fragrances. Most notably Jean Paul Gaultier, he has always played with gender roles and has done so in an edgy way > Le Male is the embodiment of that, as well as Fleur du Male. Also my all time favorite design house DIOR is always a good call, their (men's) fragrances are just like their clothes: Not too flashy and good for all occasions …. especially special occasions.
On the other hand though, some houses don't do such a good job of converting their style to perfume. I have had the chance to sample very few Balenciaga fragrances, I love their designs, not their fragrances (men's that is). Also I find Yves Saint Laurent usually puts out great frags, L'Homme kind of missed the mark for me, too light and airy for YSL.
-So there's my rant, thanks for listening
R, I think this is the fourth time that you've been in the mall on the same evening as me. I was totally there last night as well and we missed each other – though I wouldn't know you to see you, I have a feeling you and I would probably assume the other one was a perfume Nut and make small talk. And while I was there – guess what I bought? Infusion d'Iris. And I think I bought it after you b/c I noticed there was one missing as I had to reach a bit further back on the shelf to grab my bottle.
Are you talking about the red-haired Nordstrom lady?
Can't wait for your Iris review. Im wearing mine today.
-MD
I would say that the situation at Dior is more typical: the fragrances are financing the fashion. Prada seems to be taking a different tack — not going so “niche” that they don't sell, but not bowing to commercial pressures either.
So sorry but can't say much about MP. The top notes smelled mostly of clean patch, but only sprayed briefly on a card next to Hypnotic Poison, and didn't keep the cards. I liked HP much better, but that is based on a 15 second test so is meaningless. Am so entirely congested that there is no point in trying my sample now.
So agree on JPG, he has done a great job. And fun, to boot. Dior's men's I rate much higher than the women's (in modern times, anyway). YSL is going for the modern youth market with L'Homme (which is apparently selling like gangbusters) & Elle. Too bad!
That is too funny! I am quite sure I didn't see you, as there weren't any males hanging about the counters in either NM or Nordstrom, in fact, both stores were nearly empty. We must have just missed each other. And yes — that's the one!! I honestly don't think I've ever managed to go to Nordstrom when she wasn't there. She is perfectly nice but for heaven's sakes, she is ALWAYS there when I am. I feel like I need to adopt a disguise.
Dior's men's scents are great, just great!
Although not particularily a crazed fan, I respect Marc Jacobs for his devotion to understated–but unique–fragrances. I usually cannot wear white flowers under any circumstances, but he does something so subtle with jasmine, gardenia and tuberose that I'm able to pull-off a fragrance like “blush”, which would normally be a recipe for olefactory death on me.
It's also impressive that he sticks to his aesthetic (like any well-established artist) and doesn't “jump around” much; he has a passion for gardenia and jasmine and attempts to reinvent their reputation as something other than a heady nod to the exotic. It gives the impression that he's more concerned with perfecting a vision than fooling around in the lab; which, in turn, gives perfume addicts hope for some trancsendent holy-grail-fragrance in his future.
You know, I really liked Blush (keep meaning to review it), and MJ for women & MJ for men are also well done.
But, wasn't impressed by (an admittedly very quick try of) Daisy, nor have I cared for any of the MJ Splash scents. Don't know a single darned thing about his fashion or what he “stands for” otherwise, though.
R — very funny to read about your exploits, and I'm so out of the loop I hadn't even heard of Infusion, which I will be remedying ASAP.
Have you considered sleeping with the enemy? 😉 The Nordstrom SA here, Gail, knows me by name. She allows me to collect samples shamelessly. In exchange, on the few occasions a year I am buying fragrance as gifts (for my daughter, etc.) I buy them from her if possible. I could get all of them for less (sometimes much less) elsewhere, but I want to support Nordstrom's sample program, and that's the price I pay. Then Gail doesn't grit her teeth every time she sees me approaching. After all, if I buy 2 – 3 bottles a year from her that's probably more than most people…
The women at Saks in CC loathe me, on the other hand. I try to appease them by buying makeup, but it doesn't work. NM is exponentially worse. I think they'd throw me out of the store if they could! But they'd rather kill me than let me make up a sample… it's easier to buy a decant.
PS Okay, back from reading your notes on Infusion. Obviously you liked it if you bought it. It sounds like heaven. Can you tell me more? Do you think I'd like it? Is it anything like any other Pradas, or completely different? I wonder if they have it at Mazza Gallerie…
LOL! That is too funny, R! And, I swear you are right. The same SAs nest at my two local Nordies, also. And, like you, I rarely buy from them, but once or twice a year I purchase something from my favorite SA at the Glendale Nordstrom.
So you caved on the Prada? It was inevitable, because I know you can't resist a great iris fragrance. :):) And this one must be amazing if you bought it.
I love Prada's clothes. Love her designs and her handbags, too. But of the current design houses, I think Hermes does a great job of translating its vision from its products to its fragrances, and actually Chanel doesn't do a half bad job, either.
Hugs and love!
M, Nordstrom lady is not so personable, or else just not interested in being personable with me. I do buy lots of stuff at Nordstrom in general, but have never once bought a fragrance. I've bought a few at NM, where I buy virtually nothing else. It just works out that way.
And didn't we talk to some fabulous SA in your NM? Who made us a bunch of JM samples? Saks SAs hate everybody 🙂
IdI is completely different from the rest of the line. Very light & ethereal iris, summery and fresh but not “fresh” if you know what I mean, only slightly earthy. Not going to win any awards for innovation, I don't think, but terribly well done.
R, they must do really well at Nordstrom because they never leave! Macys has a bit more turnover, but even they have a few stalwarts who have been there for years.
I hesitate to call IdI “amazing” (Iris Silver Mist is amazing), but it is a truly charming scent. Has a very niche feel, and can be had for mainstream prices, moreover. Will be even more of a bargain when it hits the discounters.
She was great — but she left!!! She was reading the blog for awhile … unfortunately now it's back to nothing but hatred. Although even THEY are less wretched than the SAs at Tysons II NM. Louise and I have decided that they undergo some sort of special training (not just in the perfume dept.) to make them especially rude, unhelpful and condescending. I was there with someone on a special (50th) bday who was ready to make a significant jewelry purchase and the SA basically told her to go away, she was busy.
Oh — and adding, you are so right about Hermes!
Oh, what a shame, she was a delight. What always cracks me up is that if you go to Saks or Bergdorfs in NYC, everyone is so nice and friendly. Even the JAR guys at Bergdorfs are cheerful and kind! Then you go to the same stores in the 'burbs, and everyone is so entirely wretched. What's with that?
I second the nomination for Hermes. I think they're bang-on with all of their scents. And lately I feel the brand as a whole is trying to offer something for everyone, while still maintaining the uber-luxury feel – I think their scents are right there with that mentality.
Excellent post, Robin!
If we could have been talking about the past, no one did it better than Chanel. Not true for the current releases coming out of this house though…
Regardless of wheatehr or not I like the fragrance, I actually think that Betsey Johnson's fragrance very much reflects her fashion. Yes, it is a crowd pleaser. But her fashion is a quirky crowd-pleasing kitch in many ways anyways, so it works just fine.
And I have to agree with David Mark about Hermes. Somehow their scents do remind me quite a lot of the fancy materials they are using (cured leather, silk scarf, high quality wool, etc.). Though I can't say I'm particularly impressed by Kelly Caleche, it does have that chic leathery undertone under all the rose and fruit and greens, which is very appropriate to what the rest of the house is all about.
I'm green with envy from the other side of the Pacific. Every time I go into a deaprtment store here in Sydney there's a new team of 20-year-olds handing you a scent card and they know jack about what they are selling. I think it would be great to have experienced staff who know about fragrances across the brands instead young hotties trying to sell you the latest Davidoff without the faintest clue about Dior. It drives me batty.
Re the houses I agree with all the comments about JPG… always edgy, always turning convention on it's head very much like the fashion range. Do you know what I think is one of the main differences between it and other houses? They are not trying to please everyone. They are not making one size fits all perfumes that end up after a couple of Mothers' days and Christmases not fitting anybody. A friend in the indistry was telling me that this year 850 new fragrances will be on the shelves. 850!!! That kind of mass production really does make a mockery of the art of perfumery. What I want to know is how can so many different fragrances smell so the same? If I get another press release at the office saying “a light fresh floral with juicy fruit notes and a sensual patchouli base” I'm going to die of boredom.
Some one wake me up when it's over.
I second the Betsey Johnson thing, quirky and feminine just like her. I think Vivienne Westwood has managed to design similar fashion and perfume. Beautiful, very lady-like, sexy always staying very feminine. Carolina Herrera too, has been very good about drawing a line from her fashion to her fragrance. One house that failed miserable in my eyes was Missoni… what was that? The bottle is fantastic but the juice inside? YUCK! I would've made that the most delectactable gourand fragrance ever. The colors and the stripes have always mesmerized me in that line.They could have really ran with that, instead your left with a mess, a fragrance with an identity crisis! Steela too, her clothes are way sexier and edgeier than that grandma-ish perfume of hers!
Hermes immediately poped up in my mind as the fashion house which translates bests its aesthetic into their fragrances.
Hermes designs are rather subtle (almost minimalist), classic, somewhat intellectual and… yes, very bourgeois. As fashion houses go, Hermes is not particulary about a fashion momentum. They don't do things like “bag-of-the-season” , like for example: Vuitton and the Marakumi flower bags. No fashionista would be caught dead with a Dior bag of more than 2 seasons ago, yet a Kelly or Birkin will only look better with time. In the latest Vanity Fair issue there is a great quote from Jean Louis Dumas, the now retired head of Hermes: “We don't have a policy of image, we have a policy of product.” This says it all.
Same goes with the Hermes fragrances. The minimalist aesthetic can be found in the juices of eaux fraiches like: Eau d'Hermes (Roudnitska = major minimalist nose) and Eau d'Orange Verte. But also in 1999's Hiris by Olivia Giacobetti, the single floral was really in perfect harmony with (then women's wear designer) Martin Margiella's very pure collections. Classicisme is synonymous with Caleche and 24 Faubourg. The arrival of Jean Claude Ellena as the in-house nose brought intellect. the same VF article as above discribes Ellena a sophesticated, cerebral poet that creates fragrances with an almost organic architecture.
Other fashion houses merely bring their aesthetic image into the packaging but few into the scents. An explanation could be that there is almost no fashion houses left that doesn't liscence its fragrance rights. Look at how things went down hill with Comme des Garçons once Puig got involved. Right now I can only think of Chanel and Hermes that do things in-house. Ok, there are the LVMH brands, but I see for example: Dior Couture and Dior Parfums more as 2 separated companies within the group.
A last thought… Jewellers brands are often better at the aesthetic translation game, I'm thinking of Tiffany's, Cartier, Boucheron and mostly of Bvlgari.
Ayala, thank you, and completely agree about Chanel. IMHO, Chanel & Christian Dior set the bar for everyone else. No longer!
Betsey Johnson is a good fit too.
Suzarella, Ah, but they're not all knowledgeable at all, even those that have been around for years. But I think that will just get worse & worse, since as you say, we're getting an avalanche of new product this year. It must be very hard (as an SA) to keep track.
We've gone way outside my knowledge now: I couldn't tell you a darned thing about the fashion of VW, CH, Missoni (I know it is colorful knits though) or Stella. So I'll take your word for it 🙂
Bvlgari is an interesting example — I don't know their jewelry at all, but they've built up a really lovely line of perfumes and have maintained a kind of thematic consistency.
Excellent point about the licensing, although for some reason I blame John Galliano for Miss Dior Cherie, and thought that the men's line seemed in keeping with Hedi Slimane's style, at least while he was still there.
I sampled Midnight Poison yesterday. The opening burst held some promise – citrus and bergamot mingling with subtle florals and patchouli and only slightly sweet. Midnotes revealed the dusky rose (a la Jacques Cavallier's other creation, Stella). Other white flowers then joined the party until this ended up almost purely floral on my skin. Patch was evident throughout, but as Robin mentioned, it is a clean patch. The amber and vanilla were surprisingly restrained, and the drydown was much drier and floral than I expected (not being a fan of 'straight' florals, this was a definite negative for me). Vaguely reminds me of Magical Moon by Hanae Mori, but I like Moon more. Midnight is arguably one of the better Poisons, but not something I feel the need to have in my collection, and definitely not as darkly mysterious as the name/ads suggest. The original and Hypnotic remain my favorites of the line, though I don't love them, either. I still think this will likely sell very well, especially amongst the over 35 crowd (of which I am a member at 41!). I'm really looking forward to Robin's and others reviews of Midnight. Cheers!
R, I couldn't stop laughing about the perfume lady at Nordstrom's…there's a woman at the Men's counter at my Macy's that has been there since I was in middle school–I joke you not! Jaded is an understatement with her, I'm almost upset when I test a scent and you catch them taking little steps back from you either from personal revulsion from the scent or to prevent the chance of sneezing. Argh!
I sniffed the bottle of Infusion d'Iris at Neiman's lately, and I wish I was more enthused. I love iris, but Id'I smelled all powder puff to me. I think I caught some rose in there too, but it could've been the incense note linking with the iris. Next mission is to test on skin I guess.
Thanks for the detailed description! Dusky rose sounds appealing, but didn't like HM MM much, so doesn't sound like this will be a “must buy” for me at all.
LOL — I get the feeling that Nordstrom lady predates my serious perfume shopping days — so perhaps she has been working that long too!
Interesting that you find IdI all “powder puff”. That would be my description of the FM Iris Poudre, but this one, not so much — way less girly-frilly. Do at least try it on skin, although of course you might not love it anyway.
I so agree on HERMES. The most striking thing about them for me is the “naturalness” of everything they do. The fragrances smell as if created in a dark room full of natural things in glasses, not in a modern laboratory. They smell like living things, they don't try to pretend a head note could last forever. After a while it's just gone and a memory of it remains. That's great. H also is one of the most elitist houses with own manufacturing workshops, hardly any other can afford. Pre-modern in a way but it creates this unrivalled aura of their poducts.
• PRADA would be my second choice beside Hermes. Their fashion is just this perfect balance between character, slightly disturbing weirdness and classicism. The “good”, inventive side of post modernism. The fragrances are the absolute equivalent of the clothes design. I wonder how they'd do MIUMIU fragrances.
• CoSTUME NATIONAL. They released this incredibly bold, very well marketed (beautiful bottle, artistic advertisement campaign) fragrance “Scent” which I have a feeling had a huge influence (jasmine + mother of pearl of hibiscus + amber…). If I'm not wrong it was quite trendy to do those strong, heavy amber perfumes at that time, but CN did it in a very sober, dry way, very in tune with Ennio Capasa's intellectual, “dark” approach.
There are just so many fashion houses now who do perfume. Conceptually, MOSCHINO and ALESSANDRO DELL'ACQUA do a good job. I also agree on JPGAULTIER and CHANEL. And let's not forget HELMUT LANG!!!
And, to add a more controversial: DOLCE&GABBANA. The first fragrances were characterful interpretations of a mediterranean, italian way of life – just like their clothes. I think they had an immense drop in (design) quality over the years, but they partly admit it and: they are still independent. So in a negative way they translate their aesthetics “very well” into fragrances…
I'm not sure about the jewellers. Just if I think about the question, it's easier to tell with fashion houses… I'd add the crystal firm LALIQUE, though I only tried the men's. They smell very “expensive” to me, in a good way.
I bought the new Prada and the new Kelly Caleche. I think I prefer the Prada. My husband likes it, too.
There is also a new one that NM has by Emilio Pucci. I tried it but I didn't buy it.
Congrats on your new purchases — both great scents!
And was that the Pucci Vivara? Thanks for letting me know, I'll have to check back in a week or so and see if my store has it yet.
I have heard so many wonderful things about the CN line (and that is another brand I know virtually nothing about fashion-wise) of scents, and really need to give them a more serious try. I tried one of them very quickly on a card at Barneys years ago, and that is it. Helmut Lang is another line I haven't paid much attention to. D&G, can absolutely agree on the “negative way they translate their aesthetics”!
I'm a big fan of Iris Poudre, the florals are a bit more lush and I'm sure the aldehydes give it that 'puff' quality, but when it settles I get a lot of sandalwood which makes it wearable for me. But somehow the iris seems left of center on this one, if you know what I mean.
I think Infustion d'Iris would've grabbed me more if it had a more cleaner impression like that of Hiris, or the addition of patchouli to give it a more darker tone.
Now that I can't stop talking about iris now, was Shalimar reformulated a few years ago? They repackaged the bottle and box, which is usually an indication of reformulation, haven't smelled the alleged 'new' version yet. I suspect there's more vanilla this time around, the older version still seemed restrained with the vanilla and it was definitely all about iris.
Anyone know?
Would love to second the Helmut Lang nomination. Wonderful stuff and like his designs – a bit edgy and cool. Shame its hard to find in the UK now, grrr. However a nomination for Alexander McQueen and his first Kingdom. Love love love that fume – the cumin is just right. Feminine but edgy.
I don't know when Shalimar was last reformulated, but since most everything else has been reformulated within the past few years, it seems unlikely that Shalimar survived unscathed.
Sorry to say I know nothing about AM's fashion line either! Kingdom is not my cuppa, but nicely done, and would 2nd “feminine but edgy”. What did you think of AM MyQueen?
Actually, “sober” was wrong in reference to CN. I meant sth like elegant.
Yes. Such a loss (HL). The house doesn't exist at the moment: one of those swallowed by Prada… But I read somewhere he's preparing a come back. Dont know though if with a fashion line. His name he sold anyway I think, just like Jil Sander.
Must admit I've only sniffed it once and it failed to move me but will try again. It seemed “nice” which wasn't what I was expecting from AM who I see as a distinctly Brit designer – a bit street but with a talent for impeccable tailoring. Actually quite like another beloved designer of mine Vivienne Westwood. This was an interesting post Thank you! Do love Hermes too….
From the International Herald Tribune, 11/7/06:
“But the awaited Helmut Lang clothes will have precious little to do with the man who changed fashion in the 1990s, who spends his days in pseudo-retirement at a Long Island estate minding a brood of pet chickens.After Lang left his label in January 2005, Prada dismantled the money-bleeding brand and its stores, then sold the trademark to Link Theory Holdings, a Tokyo-based company that also owns the Theory clothing brand. The American subsidiary of Link Theory is now reviving the label with a sportswear collection designed by Michael and Nicole Colovos, the founders of Habitual, the denim label in Los Angeles, with no involvement from Lang.”
I didn't like MyQueen either, was just curious if you did since you admire his fashion, which clearly I know nada about 🙂
As far as I know Shalimar hasn't been reformulated. The bottle was changed to keep up with modern times and attract a younger audience. With the use of less costly synthetics that hold fragrance longer, the scent my seem different than when it was launched. When real flowers are used, their scents will vary according to what side of the mountain they were picked on, what time of day and year, and what your skin is doing the day you wear it!
As for the longevity of store clerks, in my long retail experience since 1973, some perfume ladies are around for 25 years! The job is addictive because of the commission, the gifts at launches, the obsession with the product, etc. People who ask for samples and never buy are called “sample pigs”. People who buy and return without returning the gift are all known by those in the general area of town as names of major offenders are exchanged at the semi-annual schools of the suppliers, if not sooner. Commission sheets tell the tale of who returns what so there's no point in waiting behind a pillar till your clerk goes to lunch and then returning an item. She WILL find out! If clerks seem less than charming, the reasons may be because they have to endure the people who come in and shower in a fragrance, steal or break the tester, the pressure of management and indivdual companies to sell, sell, sell when there are over 800 new fragrances a year, and giving customers the whole song and dance about a product only to have them come back and buy it from someone else.
Being a fashionista as well as a perfumista, I must say I agree with the people who wrote in to say that the fragrances' characters really match the clothing.
LOL — I actually prefer “sample whore” to “sample pig”.
You know, I'm finishing my review now — and just might as well have posted your comment, LOL — will try not to steal any of your words 🙂
I think there are a few design houses that match their fragrances up to their fashion relatively well.
Jean Paul Gaultier – of course, it's always breaking the rules. His men's fragrances are sexy florals, which go perfectly with his Men In Skirts, Cone Brassierre sort of style.
Escada – Some of the more recent Escada Summer fragrances have been rather drab, but a number of their women's fragrances are really vivacious and unique. Their clothing lines are often very colorful and bombastic! However, their men's fragrances are completely different. They are mysterious and daring…. and they don't even make men's clothes!
Givenchy – Okay… not their women's fragrances AT ALL. But some of their Men's fragrances, namely Very Irresistible and VI-Summer have the very avant-garde sort of personality to them, like a big black dress floating down the runway.
I didn't know Escada didn't make men's clothes. The Dreamer is brilliant. Never even smelled Givenchy VI for men, will have to do that!
Hi, your description of Hermes is spot-on.
But for PRADA, I would think that their fragrances better reflect their menswear collection. Prada scents to me are all extremely “clean” scents, like their menswear line. Living in Hong Kong, we're bombarded seasonally with their fickle “bags of the season” and their increasingly bizarre take on modern womenswear. Their menswear on the other hand, has remained true to Miuccia Prada's classical, simple roots. So in that sense, their fragrances fit the bill.
As for CoSTUME NATIONAL, I don't understand how it is still almost a hidden treasure that no one has discovered! My joy. Scent Intense and my favourite recent purchase, Intense Parfum, never fails to comfort me regardless of time of the day or season. Despite being my comfort scent, its uniqueness never fails to impress and draw comments. But the usual comment I get when people ask me what the I'm wearing is, “Costume what?” Both these CN scents are what “amber” fragrances means to me – the softest blanket wrapped around my skin, giving me pure warmth that radiates from within, without being sickly sweet or suffocating. There's something in there that grounds it, evoking the feeling of moss on stone as opposed to a bright hibiscus flower. So, yes, very much like their clothing line – quietly impressive. Both are worn very much for constant personal pleasure.
Thank you Ben!
I guess you are right about Prada. Thank god they try to make easy money with bags and put some energy into the developement of proper perfumes, instead of the other way around like so many others.
I have a similar relationship to CNC's Scent Intense; it's one of my personal “comfort” scents, although I'm aware of it's power and it's not at all a comfort scent in the sense of an easy to wear, inconspicuous nice little perfume. Wearing it feels like a very “personal” act. I recently had the idea that it is comparable to Guerlain's Intense pour Homme, being similarly radiating (without being woody, though). Only that that one is too foody to be really elegant (being a Guerlain fan myself writing this feels like blasphemy…!). Scent Intense in comparison is edgy, the jasmine is strong but rather bitter than sweet. Like you said, me too, I like amber scents if they are not “sticky” but wrap you like something dry and velvety.
My little CNC Scent Intense story:
Two years ago I was walking down the street in the centre of Lausanne with my ex and we met a friend of his, a hyperelegant girl dressed all in black (CNC are known for their black collections), wearing completely dark black sunglasses and a black leather bag. She was stunningly beautiful and my boyfriend later told me she was something like a sexual-psychologist… AND I noticed she wore CNC's Scent Intense, so I just stood by, watched the two and took a deeeeep breath in.
About half a year later I met her the second time (she was not wearing that perfume this time) at a party in Lausanne and I told her I remember her wearing Scent Intense six months ago and she was completely stunned and just stuttered with wide eyes and a French accent: “Oh I'm so flattered, I'm so flattered”. I think she nearly cried. Well, maybe we were all on drugs… I don't remember. But I somehow love to recall this incident, I was so proud to impress such a classy woman. She was a real CoSTUME NATIONAL girl.
CNC is indeed a special label: an Italian house with a French name, that's already really something 😉 They have a big boutique in Rue Cambon, but still kept this underground image. It's probably part of the plan.
Love that story! Thanks for sharing!
I've been switching between CDG's Kyoto and the Costes fragrance for the last couple of weeks and your post made me realize how much I miss my Scent Intense…. it's back to my lovely black and red bottles for now! 🙂
Oh, and got to try Guerlain's Intense pour Homme now. I must admit though that unlike you (and many many people from this website), Guerlain's fragrances don't work particularly well on my skin. But I'm curious enough to go its Intense pour Homme again. Will let you know how it goes. 🙂