Like many people who grew up in my part of the world, I come from Scottish stock (although my maternal grandmother was Native/Aboriginal Canadian, just to keep things interesting.) Besides a love of single malts, turnips and dishes based on organ meats, I have inherited that particular brand of stubborn crustiness made famous by the Scots. This is the time of year when I indulge in one of my family's favorite movies: Scrooge, the 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol”, starring the incomparable (and Scottish) Alastair Sim. There are bitter days when I prefer Ebenezer before his conversion. As someone currently in Robin's fifth stage of perfume involvement, I find myself reading fragrance news and reviews — and even, I'm ashamed to admit, the enthusiastic recommendations of experienced sniffers — and thinking HUMBUG! When I'm in one of these black moods, it takes a special (and especially cheap) fragrance to thaw my Glaswegian heart. Here are five that brought the heat…
Thierry Mugler Angel a drug?, part 3
The background: The National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation (NTEF) has been campaigning (in the courts and in the media) against Clarins' Thierry Mugler Angel perfume. NTEF says Angel contains coumarin, and that coumarin is a "dangerous ingredient". See Thierry Mugler Angel a drug? and Thierry Mugler Angel a drug?, part 2.
Many of us wondered why they were picking on Angel, which is not the only perfume with coumarin. The answer, from a Clarins spokesman:
He said NTEF president Angel De Fazio had filed a lawsuit against Clarins in October 2004 claiming that one spray of the company's Angel Parfum had left her permanently disabled.
That lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year. Read more at Clarins defends itself against interest group attacks in Cosmetics Design.
Perfumer Pierre Bourdon to retire
According to Cosmetic News, perfumer Pierre Bourdon of Fragrance Resources is planning to retire shortly. From the brief biography of Bourdon at Frederic Malle:
Pierre Bourdon earned a degree in political science before changing directions and enrolling in the Roure Bertrand Dupont school in Grasse. The only protégé of celebrated perfumer Edmond Roudnitska, he went to work for Roure in Paris…
Online fragrance shopping
Deal at rich-hippie: buy one get one free. No coupon code needed, just enter the perfume of equal or lesser value in the comments field. Offer good through 12/16.
Deal at thymes: get free shipping on orders over $50, no coupon code needed, offer good through 12/21.
Lafco New York ~ shopping for perfume in New York
When you pass through the wrought-iron gates that mark the entrance to Lafco New York, you may forget you’re just a stone’s throw from one of Manhattan’s busiest, and ever-changing, retail districts. The loft-like space of this softly lit shop, with its wood floors and cast-iron columns, is a throwback to traditional SoHo architecture; the products displayed there are often wonderfully Old World in nature.
Lafco (“Luxury Articles & Fragrance Company”) offers an enviable selection of home fragrance and body products, including Claus Porto soaps, beloved just as much for their Art Deco-inspired labels as for their scents; Linari’s luxurious oil diffusers; and Lafco’s own fragranced candles. A highlight of the perfume offerings is Lorenzo Villoresi’s line of meticulously crafted fragrances…