Posted by Robin
on
30 June 2008
Cinq Mondes is, strictly speaking, not a perfume house so much as a spa line, and their first fragrance, Eau Egyptienne, was a lovely but rather ethereal hair and body mist by the talented perfumer Olivia Giacobetti (you can read a review at Bois de Jasmin). Their latest effort, Pluie d’Arômes, is a collection of five aromatherapy scents (three by Giacobetti, two by Jean-Pierre Bethouart) inspired by exotic locations. I’ve complained elsewhere about the avalanche of multi-scent niche launches over the past couple years, but I liked this set surprisingly well (I’d wear any of them quite happily) and it seems to hang together thematically better than most.
My favorite of them all is Bethouart’s Rituel de Bengalore, Inde (dark blue), which promises to “ease tension” and features notes of citrus, grains of rice, vanilla and cardamom. The opening is a bright orange-y citrus, already nicely sweetened with vanilla. The “grains of rice” join in after a few seconds, adding a warm undertone of nutty cereal grains; it smells like a lightly spiced Asian pudding of some sort, sweetish but not too sweet, creamy but not too creamy. Not much happens after that except that it gets softer and lighter and then fades away — it isn’t entirely gone after an hour, but there is not much left but a bit of milky vanilla with mildly nutty undertones…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
29 November 2007
French spa line Cinq Mondes has launched a collection of five aromatherapy fragrances “for body and spirit” under the name Pluie d’Arômes. The fragrances were created by perfumers Olivia Giacobetti and Jean-Pierre Bethouart:
Pluie d’Arômes Rituel du Siam is for self-confidence, and features sparkling citrus, coriander, ginger, pepper, cinnamon and gaïac wood…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
1 November 2007
Recently, a Now Smell This reader from Canada asked me what I thought of the Burberry fragrances for men. I had to fess up: “I’ve never tried any of them!” Shocked by my ignorance, my friend from the north braved the post office (and its rigmarole for shipping liquids across international borders) and sent me generous samples of Burberry for Men, Burberry Touch for Men, Burberry Brit for Men and Burberry London for Men.
Burberry For Men is the oldest Burberry scent but has been reformulated several times since its release in 1981; the current version contains lavender, bergamot, thyme, mint, moss, cedar, amber and tonka bean. Burberry for Men opens loud and proud: it’s cool, sharp and herbal. Burberry for Men’s lavender is enlivened, and somewhat disguised, by strong bergamot, mint and thyme. Straight out of the bottle, Burberry for Men smells like a lip-puckering French mouthwash I used to buy at Caswell-Massey…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
17 August 2007
David and Victoria Beckham will launch a new fragrance duo, Intimately Beckham Night, next month in the UK (the original Intimately Beckham scents are just recently launched in the US). Expect “the sexiest offer yet from the celebrity couple” and “an even raunchier advertising campaign” (see ad at right, which actually looks a bit tame to me in comparison to the last)…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
21 May 2007
Italian fashion line Extè has launched J’S Extè Pop, a new fragrance for "young, trendy women". The fruity floral scent, described by Extè as a "rainbow of exuberant and joyful notes", was developed by perfumer Jean-Pierre Bethouart and features mandarin orange, green pear, apple blossoms, raspberry, ginger, lilac, frosted sugar, cedar and musk.
J’S Extè Pop is available in 3 sizes of Eau de Toilette (25-75 ml). (first quote via cosmeticnews, additional information via exte.it)
