Posted by Robin
on
26 January 2012
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.

From Chloé, the Love, Chloé purse spray in a rose gold finish with a chain attached to the cap. 72€, comes with two 10 ml refills…
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Posted by Robin
on
21 December 2011
Finding out when men start Christmas shopping is simple - sales of Chanel No.5 perfume go through the roof.
It’s the most popular fragrance bought by men every year, and signals the beginning of their annual Christmas splurge, says high street store Debenhams.
— Read more at How to tell when men start their Christmas shopping... sales of Chanel No.5 go through the roof at the UK's Mail Online.
Posted by Robin
on
13 December 2011
Our series of holiday gift posts is nearly done; today, the focus is luxury, by which we mostly mean spendy, and we’ve listed them in order from cheapest to no-you-can’t-afford-it. Our final post, which is coming up soon, is budget items, and not surprisingly it was the hardest of them all to complete.
If you missed them, here are links to part 1 (scented body products), part 2 (travel sizes & coffrets), part 3 (more travel sizes & coffrets), part 4 (home fragrance), part 5 (men’s fragrance) and part 6 (solid perfumes).

From Thierry Mugler, the Angel by Thierry Mugler Extrait de Parfum Signature Brooch: “The art of refined perfume meets the delights of feminine indulgences when the Angel Extrait de Parfum comes to life, adorned with a signature couture brooch designed by Thierry Mugler to adorn your décolleté! Made of zamak, the brooch is punctuated by a dramatic spike and embossed with the Thierry Mugler signature. The heavenly and delicious notes of Angel are concentrated into a rare and exclusive formula: the extrait de parfum, dedicated to fulfill extreme desires. Produced in a small quantity by Brosse in France, each Angel Extrait de Parfum bottle is engraved with a unique number, showcased in a luxurious box and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.” A bargain at $198 for 10 ml at Nordstrom…
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Posted by Robin
on
11 October 2011

I was not excited when I heard Chanel’s latest addition to the Les Exclusifs collection, Jersey, featured lavender. It is not a favorite note of mine, although I love Guerlain Jicky, and oddly enough, also the first fragrance I thought of when I smelled Jersey, Brin de Réglisse. Like Jersey, Brin de Réglisse is a niche-from-a-mainstream-house sort of thing, in this case from Hermès, and the reason I thought of Brin de Réglisse right away is not because they smell alike, although I suppose perhaps they are the distant-est of distant cousins. No, I thought of it because of the lavender note in Brin de Réglisse, which as you may remember, was a molecular fraction (is that the term? I don’t know the term, and admit I am not very concerned about it either way). I’ll repeat a quote I used then:
[Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena] asked them to slice natural lavender into 50 distinct groups of molecules, sniffed them all, discarded five and reassembled it. “My lavender had a much purer, cleaner smell,” he says, comparing it with the natural scent. “Then I had to find something to dress it up that would be a little unusual. I chose a touch of licorice.” (via Los Angeles Times, 10/28/2007)
As near as I can tell, they do something similar (presumably using cheaper methods) with many fragrances notes, which is why notes you used to hate — patchouli! — don’t bother you anymore, and why smelling materials in their natural state is no longer necessarily helpful to the budding perfumista…
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Posted by Robin
on
7 October 2011

Chanel has launched Jersey, a new introduction to the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection…
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