Despite the hundreds of new fragrances released each year, I seem to spend a lot of time exploring scents first created years ago. I feel like I have so much catching up to do with perfume that I barely have time to see what's happening at my local department store. Here is a belated review of a relatively new department store perfume, probably old news to many of you: Lanvin Rumeur.

Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian developed Rumeur, and it was released by Lanvin in 2006. Rumeur steals its name but not its olfactory inspiration from the original Lanvin Rumeur first released in 1934. The new Rumeur's notes include magnolia, white roses, jasmine sambac, seringa, orange blossom, lily of the valley, patchouli, musks, and ambroxan. A Women's Wear Daily article quotes a Lanvin representative saying, “It's not a young scent; it's for women from 30 years old to 80” (8/25/2006)…

Read the rest of this article »