What distinguishes a Count from a waiter? What makes a princess? The nature of nobility is one of the questions raised in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.1 Perfume lovers might torque the question to “How does a classic French perfume differ from a department store floral?” and “Is it worth it?”
Parfums MDCI Promesse de l’Aube would certainly be listed in Debrett’s Peerage, if the book extended to fragrance…
The scent and taste of watermelon screams !SUMMER! to me. As a child, cracking open a chilled watermelon was a celebratory event during steamy Virginia summers. At my urging (and purchasing, I bought the seeds), my father grew all types of watermelon varieties: classics, miniatures, ball-shaped; melons with pink, red, gold, yellow and white flesh. Watermelons originated in Africa but now are grown around the world. In Japan, the Densuke watermelon is grown in limited quantities only on Hokkaido; these rare, round watermelons with almost-black rinds sell for hundreds of dollars…or many thousands of dollars at auction (for single melons). I was surprised (given the perfume industry’s propensity for “fibs” and pretension) that today’s two watermelon-flavored perfumes didn’t list Densuke watermelon in the ingredients lists. Stay tuned!
Hoping to find a watermelon fragrance that will refresh my summer, I tried two: Shay & Blue Watermelons and Parfums MDCI Bleu Satin…
French niche line Parfums MDCI has launched the Masterpiece Collection, a new series of art-inspired fragrances. The first three — L’Homme Aux Gants, Bleu Satin and Cuir Cavalier — are for men…
To give you a thoughtful top ten for fall, I went to the experts: Tracy and André at Fumerie. Both of them used to work at Portland’s Perfume House and amassed years of experience with the classics. Then, seven months ago, Tracy opened Fumerie to focus on niche fragrances, and André joined her.
To give you an idea of their tastes in fragrance, Tracy has a tattoo on her forearm of her favorite perfume notes: patchouli, hay, tobacco, cocoa, and leather. When she thinks of fall, she thinks of comforting scents that remind her of riding her horse as a teenager through the leaves, and the smells of Oregon’s crisp autumn air, sweet alfalfa, saddle leather, grain and the horse itself.
André loves vintage fragrances and has a nose for classically constructed perfumes…
French niche line Parfums MDCI has launched Le Barbier de Tangier, a new fougère fragrance…