A scented garden is the world's best and most complex set of fragrances. Perfumers try to imitate the scents of the natural world, but always fall slightly short. My mom's spring and summer gardens are good examples of the complexity of authentic natural scents. Her lush gardens are comprised of hundreds of florals with the notes of cherry, plum, peach and nectarine trees. The video below will show you how to make your garden a fragrance masterpiece.
Source: Voxant
Halston has updated its original fragrances for men and women. According to WWD, Carlos Benaim, the master perfumer of Halston's reformulation, "updated the fragrances by adding modern versions of the original ingredients and tweaking the structures of each scent." Halston Woman is a "floriental woody." It begins with Sicilian bergamot, marigold and black currant; it's heart is precious roses, orris, jasmine petals, rose absolute and rose essence; and it ends with patchouli, sandalwood and deep amber. Halston Man, which is an updated version of Halston Z-14, begins with citrus, artemisia and juicy passion fruit; the heart is lavender, pennyroyal mint and cardamom; and it dries down to patchouli, labdanum and musk. The bottles are platinum-hued versions of the original flacons.
Halston Woman will be available in three sizes as an eau de toilette -- 1 oz for $50, 1.7 oz for $70 and 3.4 oz for $100. Halston Man will be sold in two sizes: a 2.5 oz bottle for $50 and a 4.2 oz for $75. It will first launch at Neiman Marcus, including Bergdorf Goodman, in the U.S. and Harrods in the United Kingdom.
Source: WWD
"Rose hip oil is made by taking dried rose hips off of a rose bush, packing them in a jar and filling it with vegetable oil. Learn about keeping essential oils out of sunlight to maintain their integrity with help from the creator of a line of aromatherapy products in this free video on making fragrance oils." -- ehow.comHow to Make Rose Hip Oil -- powered by eHow.comSource: eHow.com
Bvlgari has extended its Blv fragrance line with the introduction of its newest perfume for women, Blv Eau de Parfum II. According to the Moodie Report, this perfume is inspired "by a modern vision of the colour blue." It represents women who are full of "femininity, magnetism, harmony and grace." Blv Eau de Parfum II begins with violet, star anise, licorice and mandarin. Its heart is iris absolute, patchouli and Haitian vetiver. Its base is amber notes, benzoin, ambergris, cistus flower and musk. It will be available in three sizes -- 30 ml, 50 ml and 75 ml bottles. Source: The Moodie Report
According to this week's news, three major celebrities will launch new fragrances in the near future. Gucci has created a new web site for its fragrances. Two established perfumers will launch new scents in the American and Asian markets. Finally, the Fragrance Man writes about his trip to New York. For more details, read "The Report" below.
- A special group of postings on Fragranceman.com and Twitter discuss New York City's complex fragrance make up. Click here for more info.
- 50 Cent will launch his new fragrance, Power, in the fall. "The juice, which Jackson, [50 Ccent], concocted with Firmenich’s Harry Fremont, has top notes of lemon leaves, black pepper and artemisia; a heart of dark woods (which Spilka said was inspired by the wood panels used in Bentleys), coriander and nutmeg, and a drydown of patchouli, musk and oakmoss," states WWD. Power will be sold as two sizes as an eau de toilette -- a 1.7 oz for $50.50 and a 3.4 oz for $68.50.
- Gucci with Procter & Gamble Fine Fragrances will launch a new website for Gucci's fragrances this week. The site's url is guccifragrances.com. Customers will be able to purchase fragrances directly from the site.
- I Loewe You Tonight, the newest perfume from Loewe, will hit the Asian market in September. The fragrance begins with bergamot, tangerine, blackberry and pear; its heart is jasmine, clove, magnolia, cyclamen and peony; and it dries down to patchouli, mouguet, sandalwood, musk, and amber.
- Niche and luxury perfumer Frédéric Malle launched Géranium Pour Monsieur last month. This men's fragrance base is Geranium with notes of mint, cinnamon, clove and white musks added.
- Paris Hilton will launch Siren next month. According to WWD, Siren begins with juicy mandarin, apricot nectar and frangipani, which leads to a heart of of honeysuckle, coconut orchid and water lily notes. It ends with vanilla beans, sandalwood and creamy musk. It is available in two sizes as an eau de parfum: a 1.7 oz for $45 and a 3.4 oz for $55. It is expected to be sold in 2,000 stores.
- Patrick Dempsey and Avon will launch Patrick Dempsey 2 in November. According to WWD, the cologne's top notes are saffron, mandarin and nutmeg; its middle notes are spiced wood accord, green fig and cistus; and it dries down to olibanum, patchouli, guaiac wood and skin musk accord. It will be available as a 2.5 oz bottle for $35.
Source: Fragranceman.com, The Moodie Report and WWD
The trip to New York City was too short. We, you the reader and me, needed many weeks to fully explore its sights and its scents. The Big Apple is truly a magnificent and beautiful city. So, let us recap our fragrant tour of the City.As soon as we got off the plane, our tour began. On our way to the Hudson, our hotel, we saw the retro-futuristic architecture of the John F. Kennedy International Airport. We also noticed the beautiful tree-lined residential areas of Queens and the steel skyline of Manhattan. The smell of rush hour and visitors from overnight flights were the predominate notes.Since we were unable to checked into our hotel immediately, we explored the south Central Park area. We visited the Shops at Columbus Circle, which is in the Time Warner Center. We paid homage to the beautiful monument in the center of the Circle. We also saw the southern entrance of Central Park. Later, we walked West 60th St., West 58th St. and 9th Ave, and explored the many restaurants in this area. We decided to settle on a cute little eatery called Route 66. We enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast. As I mentioned in the first post, the initial scent of this area was lively, green and very human.Later that afternoon, we explored the Times Square area and Fifth Ave. We almost saw Johnny Depp outside of the David Letterman Show's studio. We explored Saks Fifth A venue many luxurious departments and took an in depth look at its oceanic beauty and fragrance area. In the evening, we saw a humorous play called Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe and toured the Christopher Street area. The predominate notes of Times Square and Fifth Ave were the scent of millions of tourists, exhaust and luxurious perfumes and m
aterials. The play smell of old theater, sweaty entertainers, fragrant oils and expensive perfumes. Notes of mid-priced colognes, testosterone and buffalo wings were noticed for Christopher St.During our last full day, we visited New York Public Library's main library, Lord's & Taylor and Macy's at Herald Square. We spent hours at these mammoth sized landmarks. Colorful cosmetics, delicious fragrances and dusty old books were the predominate notes. Later that evening we partied at Tavern On The Green. Musty old world luxury was the main note for the Tavern's fragrance. These our are highlights of our tour of New York City. Our trip was full and very exciting. Thank you readers for exploring the Big Apple with me. Our next fragrant tour will be San Diego. I can't wait!
I had a blast in NYC yesterday. What was I doing? First, I visited the Shops at Columbus Circle, which is in the Time Warner Center and is directly across from Central Park. It reminded me of many of the high end malls in Las Vegas. Sephora, True Religion, Aveda, Bouchon, Coach and other upscale establishments populated this retail space. Next, I spent some time at the monument in Columbus Circle. It was of Christopher Columbus. He was standing on a very tall granite column. Three bronze reliefs decorated the column, which represented Columbus's three ships -- the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. An angel holding a globe was at the monument's base. Benches and a huge pedestrian circle surrounded it. A beautiful fountain encircled the entire area. After I was done with Columbus Circle, I walked around the south Central Park area until I found a cute restaurant called Route 66. A simple decorated establishment, I enjoyed a delicious and well scented breakfast of thick French toast, plumb and juicy sausages, tasty scrambled eggs and two cups of coffee. The feel, the taste and the smell of the area was intoxicating.
Later that afternoon, I decided to go on an adventurous and purposeful walk on Broadway. I planned to visit the flagship store of Saks Fifth Avenue. On my way to the Fifth Avenue retailer, I passed by the theatre or studio where the David Letterman Show is held. As I walked by the studio, a large crowd of people on its side caught my attention. They were waiting to get a glimpse of Johnny Depp. He did finally arrive and I only saw the back of his brown leather jacket.
After this spectacle, I continued my walk down Broadway until I saw a huge ad for Sean John's I Am King cologne. The ad featured a dapper looking Sean John in a white Tuxedo Coat. The fragrance's name was underneath him to the left and its image was also underneath him to the left. A "Times Square" sign hugged his ad. I took a picture of the ad and continued to my retailing "temple."
After passing Radio City Hall, NBC Studios and many other fine retailers, I finally made it to Sak’s Fifth Avenue Store. When I entered it, I knew I was in heaven. Built in 1924, this behemoth retail space is ten floors of luxury. You'll find every high-end designer that you can imagine in it. It also features many designer boutiques, such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
As the Fragrance Man, I spent most of my time in the fragrance department, which was very huge. It took up almost the entire first floor of Saks. Nearly all the major names in upscale perfumery were there. I sniffed Yatagon by Caron, an Arabic inspired fragrance by Tom Ford as well as Tom Ford for Men Extreme, four scents from Bond No. 9 and several scents from Penhaligon's. At the very end of my adventure at Saks, I decided to purchase Endymion by Penhaligon's and Bleeker Street by Bond No. 9.
Later that night, I went to see an interesting play called Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe in Theater Row Studios. It was hilarious. It was about a charlatan preacher who preyed on women and wealthy men. That's all I'm going to tell you. If you want to know more about it, see it. After the play, I found myself on Christopher Street. I visited two interesting pubs -- The Hanger and Chi Chi’s.
Today will be jus t as adventurous. I’m planning to visit the world’s largest department store, Macy’s on Harold Square, and later this evening, I will be partying in Central Park. Ciao for now.
