Perfume in the news: Marie Antoinette, unconventional fragrances & more

Elisabeth de Feydeau’s biography of Marie Antoinette’s perfumer, A Scented Palace, inspired Hannah Betts of the UK Times Online to pay a visit to Versailles:

…And, most evocatively, a powder-blue cabinet room, festooned with peacocks (an emblem of motherhood), with chair handles carved in the image of her favourite dog. This was the queen’s refuge, her powder room, in effect, and one still holds one’s breath in anticipation of its rouged, fragrant occupant. It was here that Marie Antoinette sought solace from stifling palace etiquette. As with today’s celebrities, chief among her confidants were her fellow image-makers: her couturière, Rose Bertin, her hairdresser, Léonard, and her perfumer, Jean-Louis Fargeon.

Read the rest of the article here, and many thanks to Ruth for the link.

The UK’s Daily Record has an interesting article on some of the more unusual fragrance releases this year:

But an emerging trend is seeing perfumers break with tradition, as they look to diversify in an over-flooded market. Cheese, cars and the smell of sweat are just some of the latest scents to be captured and bottled for a market eager to try unique and individual new perfumes.

Read the rest here.

The world’s first Christian perfume? Virtuous Woman comes “packaged with a passage from Proverbs” (link to original article no longer working, sorry!)

And if you’re not getting enough fragrance already, Tide is introducing Simple Pleasures detergent this month:

Tide(R) Simple Pleasures(TM) fills clothing with peaceful and invigorating scents. The detergent will be available in three distinct varieties: relaxing Vanilla and Lavender, refreshing Water Lily and Jasmine, and romantic Rose and Violet. (via prnewswire)