Van Cleef & Arpels has launched Precious Oud, a new addition to 2009's Collection Extraordinaire. Precious Oud is a tribute to the "legendary ingredient, oud wood", and was developed by perfumer Amandine Marie...

Earlier this year, Jaguar launched Jaguar Vision, a new fragrance for men inspired by the 2010 Jaguar XJ model...

Péché Cardinal is an enticing froth of sinful and sweet, blending luscious fruits and mesmerizingly heady white flowers into a siren song. Warm, rounded and alluring, this Bellini-esque scent opens with a juicy, light-hearted sweetness...

Coming this spring from Grès, Hommage à Greta Garbo, the second in the line's series of fragrances honoring famous clients of designer Alix Grès (see: Hommage à Marlene Dietrich):

Greta Garbo was the absolute superstar in the Thirties of the Twentieth Century. The Swedish actress became famous through her roles as strong, determined women such as Anna Karenina, Queen Christina or the Polish Countess Maria Walewska. She succeeded in playing these characters in a subtle, demure way, manifesting deep emotions in close-ups simply through the expression of her eyes. The artistry of her acting was unique. As of 1928, she became known simply as „the Garbo“ and was a box office magnet...

I know many people who love perfumes but who do not have the “vocabulary” to describe them; as they struggle to identify “notes” or “accords” they falter and become frustrated. But sometimes those same people can make a perfume come alive for me when they forget about the ‘notes’ and describe a scene or feeling the perfume inspired. Like all perfume lovers, I often experience vivid images and emotions as I smell a perfume for the first time:

LUI

It is a hot summer day. I am alone in a small, stuffy, dim and cluttered room that is decorated in the Victorian style. The room’s windows are closed and covered by heavy, moss-green curtains. The room’s walls are papered with dusty pink (and flocked) wallpaper in a Fleur-de-Lys pattern...

The amber floral by Michel Almairac and Amandine Marie at Robertet...

Jovoy Paris, a perfume house originally founded in 1923, has been resurrected by new owners and debuted in France last year with Les 7 Parfums Capitaux, seven new fragrances representing the main fragrance family classifications: Hespéridé, Fougère, Chypre, Marine, Poudré, Oriental and Boisé...

Myrte (shown) takes its cues from the myrtle plant of Corsica, and includes notes of mandarin leaf, bilberry, sea spray, myrtle, rockrose and patchouli...

For an introduction to this set of 8 oriental fragrances by trend-spotting firm NellyRodi, see yesterday. Today I am trying the second half of the set...

Parfum 5 is Gingembre by Richard Ibanez of Robertet, and has notes of grapefruit, saffron, baie rose, nutmeg, ginger, incense, patchouli, vanilla, and amber. I love the effervescent top notes: tons of ginger and pink peppercorn, and a bright, sparkling grapefruit softened by the saffron. Although they have nothing in common other than the citrus and peppercorn, it is reminiscent of Hermès Rose Ikebana, but softer and spicier. It calms quickly to a lightly spicy fragrance with a hint of resins. The grapefruit lasts well into the dry down, but the sparkle is gradually obscured by sweet notes. This one was a close call, if it were a bit drier I would have loved it...