Arriving stateside just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, is opening its doors as we write.  Although fragrance-industry insider Frédéric Malle has claim to dozens of stores around the globe, from Riyadh, to Hong Kong, to Melbourne, to Moscow, this is his first freestanding boutique in America. It's a charming, cozy jewel-box of nearly 1,000 square feet at the corner of Madison and 72nd Street in one of Gotham's signature buildings, from architects Rosario Candela and Mott Schmidt.

Dolce & Gabbana: The ads on the lit billboards at the city's bus stops feature a bevy of in-the-buff models, all of whom usually have the word "super" preceeding to the word "model" when describing them.The shots are tempting, with a tangle of flesh -- men and women -- all stunning, shimmery, and sleek.The idea that the ad is trying to convey (duh) is that the fragrances from the D & G Fragrance Anthology are unisex, ideal for anyone who wants to just ooze sex appeal.   But then isn't that what you would expect form Dolce & Gabbana, masters of in-your-face subtlety and sophistication? And the fragrances do not disappoint.There are five of them, numbered and named, and packaged in clean, crisp black and white boxes, with simple lettering and numbers.Each describes a personality type, someone to aspire to -- someone (in your dreams) you think you are, or you want your friends to think you are:The Player, the Star, the Seducer, the Charmer, the Dreamer.  (point of Information:  The names derive from cards in the Tarot deck.)  It's the colors of the fragrances that grab the eye, not to mention, the aroma of the scents that captivates the nose.The pale violet, pale pink, delicate green, azure, and lemon liquids are beautifully spun from magical mixes of pink pepper, juniper berry, rhubarb, grapefruit wood, cardamom, and birch leaf, among the many wondrous ingredients.Each is $65 (100 ml.), available at Sephora. 

Scientists calculate that we are capable of differentiating an astonishing 10,000 disparate aromas.  Sure, we could list a bunch of them, appealing and noxious--vanilla, gasoline, clove, tobacco, tar, freshly baked bread, skunk--but 10,000?

Modern fragrance--the kind you put on your body, the kind that makes pheromones whirl--came into being in the late 19th century and has evolved to a point where, according to the Fragrance Foundation,  a not-for-profit, educational organization, approximately 300 to 350 new scents come to market yearly.

The French, regardless of the government du jour, have always done their part to promote perfumes:  The court of Louis the XV was dubbed the "perfumed court" because it commanded that fragrances be changed daily. Napoleon is said to have ordered two quarts of violet cologne per week! 

One French nose that was always fascinated with scent belongs to Gérard Ghislain, a restaurateur, who has a bit of Proust and those madeleines in his soul, when he admits that he loves the smells emanating from his ovens--and to satisfy his interest, he finally enrolled in "fragrance" classes at the institute run by the Versailles Val-d'Oise/Yvelines Chamber of Commerce, and thereafter decided to enter the competitive world of perfume, but with a clever and intoxicating twist:  His fragrances are based on history, on particular years and personages who lived in that era, and scents that were popular at those times--hence was born Histoires de Parfums . There are homages to George Sand, Mata Hari, Colette, Jules Verne, the Marquis de Sade, and Casanova, to name but a few of Ghislain's inspirations which find their embodiment in a group of heady swirls of bergamot, mandarin, tiaré, vetiver, vanilla, grapefruit, and on and on...a limitless palate of scent.  

Ghislain's dozen fragrances are for men and women, with a few unisex blends.  His perfumes have a high 15% concentration, so they are long-lived, which is good, as a 120 ml. bottle is $185.
But, for those who cannot live without his blends--and who want smaller (and less pricey) bottles for travel--the company has just come out with a travel set, which will be stocked at Takashimaya in the next few weeks.  Three fragrances, each 14 ml. (you pick the scents you want) will be $95, packed in a little pouch to go.
 


 

If you like fresh and romantic floral fragrances, then Summersent is for you. We know that it’s certainly for us. The heady, intoxicating fragrance is a blend of Italian jasmine, Moroccan orange blossom, cassis flower, and something called genet, not to mention some other mysterious blossoms. We’re not sure what the entire mixture is, but whatever it is, it’s so dee-vine that we are going to splurge and get some. And, we also love that it comes in bottles that are daintily embellished with Swarovski crystals, all hand-applied. (Don’t think Liberace, think Harry Winston.) The parfum is available in a diminutive flaçon, in a very elegant shape, and is $150 for .3 fluid ounces; the eau de parfum is presented in a taller, more slender vial, and is $90 for 2 fluid ounces. There is also a brand-new body crème, selling for $80 for 4 ounces, and that, too, is capped with Swarovski crystals. It’s available at Takashimaya, 693 Fifth Ave. btw. 54th & 55th Sts., 212-350-0100 and 800-753-2038.

Posted on Wednesday, June 06, 2007 @ 03:13 PM | 43 replies View/Post Feedback

Browse: Gifts | Beauty: Fragrance

O.K., before the rains come again and we have to start talking about umbrellas (and I did promise you two more fabulous umbrellas), and while it’s really spring-like -- or should we say summer-like? -- let’s continue accessorizing for the warm weather. So here’s the latest from Tommy Bahama, a perennial favorite of golfers and bons vivants everywhere.  It’s a fragrance called Set Sail, St. Barts. What could conjure up warm weather more than that? Available for both men and women, it’s packaged in nautical blue and white. The men’s is very citrus-y with notes of tequila (hmmm….) and tropical musk. The women’s is quite floral with a hint of fresh lime. They’ll both make you think you’re sailing somewhere into the azure blue, instead of on black asphalt. Both the men’s cologne spray and the women’s eau de parfum spray are $52.50.  They should just be pulling into port at Macy’s any minute now.

One of our favorite scents is Lolita Lempicka’s eponymous original fragrance and its “lighter” cousin. Now along comes “L”, the designer’s second scent, which is just as yummy…evocative, ethereal, dreamy. That is my verbiage, but the company’s description promises it will be “dangerously feminine” and it just may be. With hints of vanilla, cinnamon, orange, and patchouli, it’s a rich, heady mixture, but as light as a breeze wafting across the ocean when it’s sprayed on the wrist. For the designer herself, it brings back “memories of my skin gently kissed by the sun and lightly brushed against by the waves.” Think mermaid here. (Yeah, “dangerously feminine” could work.) Even the bottle speaks to a mysterious shipwreck with treasures left bobbing in the sea -- an azure-blue, glass bottle with gilded netting at its throat and a swirly, pearl-encrusted capital-letter “L” charm dangling from it, along with a few beachy artifacts. Available starting this week at Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. .5 parfum extract $126; 2.65 eau de parfum, $84; 1.7 oz eau de parfum, $65.