It seems like just yesterday that perfumistas were adjusting to the idea of L'Eau Serge Lutens — a resolutely clean, "fresh from the laundry" fragrance from the master of the heady floral and the spicy oriental. Sure, everybody else is making them, but people didn't expect it from Serge Lutens. Pure Virgin, the latest from The Different Company, has similar inspirations — "a simple and comfortable perfume" is how they put it — but it's perhaps not such a leap from some of the brand's relatively light fragrances?

The outcome, however, is quite different from L'Eau Serge Lutens. I didn't love L'Eau Serge, but I didn't hate it either. It was a well-done if not especially exciting clean scent, and that, perhaps, is a big piece of the problem: is there such a thing as an exciting but resolutely clean, just-out-of-the-shower fragrance? I will lay my prejudices on the table by answering my own question: no. They all smell like very tiny variations on a theme that can be explored just as easily in the laundry aisle of your local supermarket as at the perfume counter, and that's true whether you're using "the best quality of Musk", as The Different Company proclaims of perfumer Celine Ellena's creation, or whether you're using the cheapest of cheap aroma chemicals...

The Different Company has launched Pure Virgin, a new musky floral unisex fragrance:

Pure Virgin is born from a simple idea: create a simple...

De Bachmakov is the latest from the The Different Company. It celebrates artistic director Thierry de Baschmakoff’s Russian origins and the Année France-Russie; if you go to the dedicated website, you can read (or download) a sort of travelogue that explains some of the inspirations for the unisex fragrance.

De Bachmakov was developed by perfumer Celine Ellena, and the notes include bergamot, shiso leaves, coriander leaves, freesia, jasmine, nutmeg, cedar and craie douce.¹ It is supposed to evoke the winds of Asia and the sun hitting the forests of Siberia and buds pushing through the snow in the spring.

De Bachmakov starts bright and zingy and cold...

The Different Company has launched De Bachmakov, a new perfume inspired by artistic director Thierry de Baschmakoff's Russian origins and celebrating the Année France-Russie...

Salvador Dali will launch Little Kiss Me, a musky fruity floral flanker to 2008's Little Kiss fragrance (and see also: last year's Little Kiss Cherry).

Little Kiss Me was developed by perfumer Céline Ellena...

Oriental Lounge. What an evocative name for The Different Company's latest fragrance, an Eau de Parfum by perfumer Celine Ellena. When I think of an "oriental lounge", I picture a Tretchikoff painting come to life: black enameled wood, cocktail glasses, candles in red glass casting flickering light, sultry women parting beaded doorways.

My first impression on trying Oriental Lounge was that it was Guerlain Shalimar without the best parts. I smelled Oriental Lounge's citrusy top folded into a tonka-tinged amber, and it felt flat and linear. After trying it a few more times, I figured out Oriental Lounge shouldn't be experienced by the drop, but that a good half tube of a sample vial — or ideally a spray — is needed to get a full impression of the fragrance. It turns out I was wrong. Oriental Lounge may not be a slenderized Shalimar, but it isn't exactly the dreamy, complex 1940s Chinese restaurant cocktail lounge of a scent I had hoped, either...

Oriental Lounge will be the next fragrance from perfumer Celine Ellena at The Different Company. Oriental Lounge is reportedly mysterious and luminous, and is described as a modern interpretation of a classical fragrance family, the oriental, and a modern olfactory take on the classic tale of the Orient, One Thousand and One Nights...

L'Artisan Parfumeur

Côte d’Amour is a salty aquatic fragrance developed by perfumer Celine Ellena...

Sublime Balkiss is the lastest from perfumer Celine Ellena at The Different Company. The modern (i.e., oakmoss-free, i.e., not chypre-ish) chypre fragrance was named for the Queen of Sheba, and features two kinds of patchouli: the traditional essence, and a "modified modern patchouli" which emphasizes the cocoa powder notes.

Sublime Balkiss opens on a veritable berry-fest: it's juicy and rich, like a dark berry liqueur with a touch of sparkle (the notes, in addition to the patchouli: bergamot, violet, blueberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, lily of the valley, rose, lilac). The base is dry, earthy-woody and smooth, with hints of spice but only very subtle cocoa...

Sublime Balkiss was developed by perfumer Celine Ellena, and features two kinds of patchouli: the traditional essence, and a modified modern patchouli which emphasizes the cocoa powder notes...