One of the long-running best-sellers in the Annick Goutal line is Petite Chérie (1998), a girlish fruity-floral that Annick Goutal dedicated to her daughter Camille. Camille has now reciprocated by devoting a fragrance to her mother's memory: it is a spicy floral chypre titled Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille and its composition includes Indonesian patchouli, iris, violet, plum, and heliotropin.

Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille is partially inspired by a vintage solid perfume from Annick Goutal's fragrance collection (originally a gift from the author Colette!); working with the perfumer Isabelle Doyen, Camille Goutal was also "drawn back to her childhood memories of Hollywood's wartime movies. Tempting satin. Delicate lace. Actresses and their gloved hands and ruby lips. And a memory of her mother dressing for an evening out..." For me, Mon Parfum Chéri par Camille succeeds in this evocation. It's old-fashioned, in a full-bodied, self-possessed way, and it really is most appropriate for evening wear (although I normally avoid that kind of fragrance-wearing instruction).

When I sniff Mon Parfum Chéri from the sample vial, I notice plenty of patchouli...

As I've mentioned here numerous times, I know little enough about fashion, and that includes shoes. Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, I take it, are the big names, information which probably filtered into my general consciousness via Sex and the City even though I only saw the show a handful of times. A quick check on Google reveals that neither of them have the famous red soles, though — that's apparently Christian Louboutin. There, now we've exhausted nearly everything I know about shoes.

So Jimmy Choo, as I understand it, does not own any portion of the company that bears his name, although he still designs some of the footwear. It's owned by a private equity company, and Tamara Mellon (who "starred" in the ad campaign for the perfume) runs it; she is presumably responsible for the run-of-the-mill modern fruity chypre (i.e., floriental) that now bears the Jimmy Choo name...

Balenciaga Paris is the latest fragrance from Balenciaga. It's the brand's first major launch since Cristobal in 1998, the first effort under new licensing arrangements with Coty, and the first under creative director Nicolas Ghesquière. It's fronted by Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is frequently described as Ghesquière's muse (see the very low-key Gainsbourg ad here). Perfumer Olivier Polge characterized the floral chypre as "present" — "It's here. When you wear it. You smell it."¹

That might sound a little oblique, but it turns out to be a fitting description: when I first tried Balenciaga Paris on paper, my reaction was muted, and it wasn't until I'd worn it on skin several times that I began to see what he meant. Balenciaga Paris wears like a minimalist veil — think Prada's Infusion d'Iris or L'Eau Ambrée, although it smells like neither. It starts soft and fresh and watery...

Jasmine White Moss is the latest addition to Estée Lauder's Private Collection range. It's reportedly based on an unfinished fragrance that Estée Lauder herself had been working on in the 1980s:

Estée conceived Formula #546AQ, as it was known, as a new way to convey sparkling freshness balanced with sophisticated elegance and a distinctive signature. However, it was left unfinished in her lifetime and was gradually forgotten for many years.

Often inspired by her grandmother’s work, Aerin Lauder, Estée Lauder Senior Vice President and Creative Director, was looking back through the archives and rediscovered this lost fragrance. She fell in love with its unexpectedly lively, modern spirit and decided to complete the fragrance, using today’s advanced technology and the finest natural ingredients direct from France.¹

Private Collection Jasmine White Moss is classified as a green floral chypre. Like the other Private Collection scents (see Tuberose Gardenia and Amber Ylang Ylang), it goes on big...

Nicole Miller will launch Frenzy, her debut fragrance for women under new licensing arrangements with Parlux (three prior fragrances under arrangements with Riviera were discontinued, but are now slated to be reintroduced). Miller has noted that...

I don’t like most perfumes. I find them too florally or too old...

Guerlain will launch Idylle, a new fragrance for women, this coming September. The scent was developed by Guerlain's house perfumer, Thierry Wasser:

A mist of flowers.

A bouquet of lilies of the valley, peonies, fressias [sic], lilacs and roses...

When my friend Maryann opened the door to greet me, she said, "You smell nice! At least it must be you, since nothing out front is in bloom yet." It was late April and not even lilacs or lilies of the valley bloomed, let alone roses. But standing in the doorway I knew Maryann recognized the faint fragrance of an early summer garden in the morning, because I wore Parfum d'Empire Eau Suave Eau de Parfum.

In 2003, Marc Antoine Corticciato, the perfumer behind Parfum d'Empire, created Eau Suave in homage to Josephine's Chateau de Malmaison, famed for its gardens including 250 varieties of rose. In an article on Malmaison, Princess Michael of Kent wrote that roses were a natural for Josephine:

Josephine was christened Marie-Joséphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie and she would be known as "Rose" from her birth until the day when the young General Bonaparte (who made a habit of changing women's names) began a letter with: "Sweet and incomparable Josephine. I awake full of you and of the memory of our intoxicating night..." From that moment she would enter history as Josephine.

Pretty cheeky of Napoleon to change her name, but I guess you don't get to rule most of Europe without being at least a little domineering...

But the new Vivara is a more modern chypre, said Demachy...

Coco Chanel lived at the Ritz for most of her life, but she kept an apartment above her boutique at 31 Rue Cambon "as a place to house her own clothes and host dinner parties" (via travelandleisure):

The décor is ornate and baroque with the artefacts ranging from lacquered Coromandel screens with Chinese paintings to elaborate life size models of deer ranged in front of the fire place. The mirrors have elaborate oversize frames while the chandeliers replicate the double "C" symbol used as a brand logo in most products including bags and belts. Everything in the rooms reflects the concept of duality in her products with nearly each antique or display piece having a twin beside it. (via thehindu)

31 Rue Cambon, the apartment's namesake fragrance from the recent Les Exclusifs collection, is likewise ornate...

As you would expect, the Eau de Parfum is a denser, richer fragrance than the Eau de Toilette. The sparkling, summery feel of the original top notes has been replaced with something darker and flatter, and the anise and the orange blossom have both been toned down a notch...