Posted by Angela
on
2 January 2012
It’s rare to smell a fragrance that seems completely new, like nothing else on the market. It’s even more rare to find something that smells not only new, but at the same time ancient, as if unearthed from an Egyptian sarcophagus. Astonishingly, Vero Profumo Onda manages this last trick. There’s nothing of the focus group about it. If someone told me Onda was Mata Hari’s secret weapon, I’d believe it. If she told me Onda was Comme des Garçons’ latest fragrance, “Bilge Water Supreme,” I’d believe that, too. It’s a marvel.
Vero Kern, the nose behind Vero Profumo, released three fragrances in extrait — Onda, Rubj, and Kiki — in 2008. In 2010, she released Eau de Parfum versions of each fragrance. These three perfumes are Vero Profumo’s only offerings. Vero Profumo is one of the few perfume houses that doesn’t hustle one or two new perfumes out the door each year. While it’s a relief not to have to field a regular raft of new perfumes, Onda, Rubj, and Kiki are so interesting that I’m eager for her next release.
I first smelled Onda extrait when a Now Smell This reader passing through town slid a spray sample across the table of a Thai restaurant…
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Posted by Angela
on
26 December 2011
At last. Twelve days off in a row, with no work (o.k., a little work), no family to deal with, and no obligations more taxing than making dinner and taking the dog for a walk. My whole daily routine will change. I’ll wake later, dress more comfortably, maybe nap, and spend more time reading.
Of course, my perfume routine will change, too. Instead of an office-friendly spritz in the morning, I can wear whatever I want, whenever I want. What will it be? Undoubtedly a smattering of fragrances from these categories:
The Big Personalities: With no officemates to offend, I can go wild with the powerhouse perfumes, the sort of perfumes you smell on your sweater for days. Guerlain Shalimar, Jean Desprez Bal à Versailles, Guerlain Samsara, Rochas Femme, Comme des Garçons + Daphne Guinness Daphne, and Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady are a few delicious perfumes with assertive character that aren’t exactly crowd pleasers…
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Posted by Angela
on
19 December 2011
When I first dabbed on Tableau de Parfums Miriam Eau de Parfum, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that it reminded me of something. Something vintage. What? I smelled my wrist and concentrated. Calm, snuffy aldehydes. Lots of violet. Creamy sandalwood. Then it hit me: Miriam smells an awful lot like Balenciaga Le Dix. Once I wore them side by side, I could see that Miriam and Le Dix differ distinctly. But besides major notes, they share a feeling of gentle femininity that isn’t fashionable these days.
Miriam is the first fragrance in Tableau de Parfums, a planned series of fragrances by Andy Tauer of Tauer Perfumes created to accompany film shorts from the Woman’s Picture film series by Brian Pera. During this ten-year project, Andy Tauer and Brian Pera will work together on three films — Miriam, Loretta, and Ingrid — and their accompanying fragrances. Miriam’s notes are bergamot, sweet orange, geranium, violet blossom, rose, jasmine, ylang, violet leaf, lavender, vanilla, orris root, and sandalwood.
In describing Miriam, Andy Tauer says he puzzled over creating a perfume that recalls another era yet is still modern…
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Posted by Angela
on
12 December 2011
In one of my favorite reviews in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, Luca Turin tells of seeing a busty woman on the London Underground wearing a tee shirt that read “All this and brains too.” He compares that “vulgar-but-wily combination” to Lancôme Trésor.
Trésor’s apricot-tinged rose is the pulchritude, and the vetiver is the intellect. I get it. But to me the rose is more Dinah Shore than Jayne Mansfield, and the vetiver doesn’t quite rate Mensa. That’s o.k. Trésor is entering its third decade not because it’s a sensual shock, but because it’s a crowd pleaser…
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Posted by Angela
on
5 December 2011
Years after Now Smell This publishes a post, people still drop by to comment on it. Recently, Julia left a comment on a four-year-old post about Chanel No. 5 wondering what modern fragrances might achieve the classic status of No. 5. It’s a good question.
Victoria at Bois de Jasmin compiled a comprehensive list of modern classics. Most of the fragrances, such as Thierry Mugler Angel and Lancôme Trésor, broke new ground or influenced fragrances to come. It’s a formidable list of stand-out perfumes.
But what about fragrances that aren’t particularly influential, but are beloved anyway? They might well endure changing tastes like No. 5 did and earn their place. When it launched, Jean Patou Joy was expensive and lush but not particularly innovative, yet few would dispute that it’s a classic now. A modern perfume that is beloved but nothing original is Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds. I can imagine White Diamonds turning up on drugstore shelves for decades…
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