Van Cleef & Arpels has launched Rose Velours, the latest addition to 2009′s Collection Extraordinaire…
Van Cleef & Arpels Precious Oud ~ fragrance review
Van Cleef & Arpels launched Precious Oud last year; it’s part of the Collection Extraordinaire and was created to honor the “legendary ingredient, oud wood.” If I had been advising Van Cleef & Arpels on this fragrance, I would have suggested two alternate names for the perfume. Alternate Name No. 1: “Semi-Precious Oud.” Alternate Name No. 2: “Precious Little Oud.” My thought progression as I sniffed Precious Oud was: ‘So this is Precious Oud…Really?…No way!’
Though it bears the name “oud,” I don’t detect any oud in Precious Oud. Has the oud perfume trend degenerated to the point of simply including the word “oud” in a fragrance name and no longer worrying about having oud in the perfume? That’s pretty amusing…
Van Cleef & Arpels Precious Oud ~ new fragrance
Van Cleef & Arpels has launched Precious Oud, a new addition to 2009’s Collection Extraordinaire. Precious Oud is a tribute to the “legendary ingredient, oud wood”, and was developed by perfumer Amandine Marie…
Van Cleef & Arpels Muguet Blanc ~ perfume review
After immediately falling head over heels in love with Bois d’Iris, to the tune of $185, I took my time about the other five fragrances in the Collection Extraordinaire from Van Cleef & Arpels. As it turns out, they’re all nicely done, and I can see why Gardénia Pétale in particular has found admirers. But none of them made me catch my breath other than the Muguet Blanc, and my reaction to that one was not entirely positive.
Here’s what Neiman Marcus has to say about Muguet Blanc:
Muguet Blanc showcases the purity, innocence and much-anticipated beauty of one of springtime’s first flowers. A green, joyous and incredibly delicate arrangement, graceful lily-of-the-valley is enhanced with exotic white peony, radiant neroli and uplifting white cedar.
For the most part, that’s right on the money; the part I’m going to quibble about is mostly the “joyous”. To explain why, I need to back up. A little warning before I proceed: those of you who are sick to death of hearing me wax nostalgic about the lost glory days of perfumery, move on, there’s nothing else to read here today…
Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d’Iris ~ fragrance review
So yes, I’m jaded, but I don’t think I have a closed mind: if these are wonderful, I’ll be thrilled.
That’s me, commenting on the post that announced the then-upcoming Collection Extraordinaire from Van Cleef & Arpels. That article elicited a number of skeptical comments, including my own, about the glut of multi-scent luxury perfume launches — many of which turn out to be less interesting than the prices and the fancy packaging would suggest — and then a discussion about whether some of us were perhaps a bit too jaded.
I might be too jaded, who knows? It doesn’t seem to me to be an important issue: I say what I like in the comments, but I go right on smelling and looking for beauty regardless. And whatever my original suspicions, I did keep an open mind when I smelled the Collection Extraordinaire, and yes, I’m thrilled. This is a lovely collection. All six are worth smelling, and one, Bois d’Iris, captured my heart thoroughly enough that I laid out the $185 (!!) for it on the spot, thereby blowing my third quarter damage tally, which up until then had been a very gratifying zero.
Bois d’Iris is one of two unisex fragrances in the collection, the other being Cologne Noire.1 It’s a must try for iris fiends…