Posted by Robin
on
19 May 2011
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…
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Posted by Robin
on
19 May 2011
French niche house The Different Company has launched Oud Shamash:
A spiritual journey to the heart of the Far East…
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Posted by Erin
on
29 April 2011
Blech. Despite being born a May baby, I have never been a fan of spring. I’m sure it’s different in the other parts of the world, but every year, people above the 39th parallel in Europe and North America stand on street corners at this time of year, leaning at a 75 degree angle into gusting drizzle, and insist: “It wasn’t like this last year!” Trust me, it was. The mud, the wind, the Easter snow or hailstorm, the false hope of that one giddy day near April Fool’s when the sun shone and the warm breezes blew, like in a laundry detergent commercial, before the rain and gray chill returned — it all happened last year. I am not a pessimist. It is merely that I believe in the motto of mothers everywhere: let’s not get worked up here. Crazed displays of Birkenstock sandals and patio furniture will only end in tears. I support measured celebrations of spring’s small pleasures. For one, it is ramp season. Perhaps you have received your tax return. The road salt has melted away and you can go to 2D movies without being subjected to aliens, robots or robotic aliens. And it is time for some of your freshest, prettiest, newest fragrances to grace the air.
Composing a Top 10 for this most uncertain of seasons, I have tried not to dwell on lost favorites or the flood of recent scents I’ve missed. Jean Patou Vacances, Gobin-Daudé Sève Exquise, and L’Artisan Jacinthe des Bois are all gone and it somehow felt irresponsible to include them in the list. I have vintage samples of the many spring classics that have been damaged or ruined by reformulation — Balmain Vent Vert, Caron Violette Précieuse, the silver fluidity of Diorissimo, the mysterious smoky-green of Worth Je Reviens, the original Dior Fahrenheit’s honeysuckle-and-wet-blacktop — and I use them sparingly and despairingly. I have not tried MDCI Un Coeur en Mai, Byredo La Tulipe, ElizabethW Magnolia or CB I Hate Perfume Wild Pansy and am trying to convince myself that I don’t need to do so. With no further excuses, my Top 10 of Spring…
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Posted by Robin
on
1 March 2011
The Different Company has launched Pure Virgin, a new musky floral unisex fragrance:
Pure Virgin is born from a simple idea: create a simple…
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Posted by Robin
on
4 February 2011
Fall? Bah, humbug. I’m a summer person. The best thing I can say about fall is that at least it isn’t winter yet.
That’s me a couple of years ago, opening the Top 10 of Fall by complaining that it wasn’t summer. Imagine how I feel now. There is nothing good I can say about winter except that at least it’s already part of the way over. So, let’s move on to the perfume, shall we?
Citrus. Angie recommends avoiding citrus in winter; instead, she says you should find a good tropical fragrance to psych yourself out of the winter doldrums. She’s right that citrus doesn’t really have the same effect when you’re wearing several layers of warm clothing, but it cheers me up all the same — some winters, I wear an awful lot of citrus. I’m including two in this category. Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Pamplemousse is cheerful, reasonably long-lasting, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. As an added bonus, it layers nicely with just about anything. Aftelier’s Candide costs more (and is perhaps more accurately termed a citrusy floral), but it’s so happy, it makes me smile just to think about it…
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