Posted by Robin
on
21 February 2013
a breath of perfume, an intriguing personality…draped in the natural elegance of her well-known sister, the see by chloé girl twirls. instinctively playful, smiling, immersed in the moment… urban, self-confident, she arouses the unexpected and cultivates contrasts. assertive, seductive, cheerful, hers is a natural smile.
See By Chloé embodies femininity while blending masculine codes in an urban-chic way. This fragrance captures the audaciousness and strong personality of the Chloé woman.1
See by Chloé is the Chloé brand’s youth-oriented diffusion line, which probably tells you much of what you need to know about its new eponymous fragrance: “the target user is 18 to 30 years old with an mischievous, rock ’n’ roll edge.”2 From the video advertising, I would have guessed something closer to 15 to 18, but then, my rock ‘n roll edge has probably long since worn away — if you’re anywhere near the target age, do tell me if you liked the commercials (I found them a turnoff), and do the clothes in the videos appeal to you (ditto)?
The modern Chloé fragrance brand has been a mixed bag so far. The 2005 comeback fragrance, Chloé, was a huge seller, but I’m not the only perfumista still scratching my head over its popularity. I did like last year’s L’Eau de Chloé flanker, and I’m a fan of the 2010 pillar, Love, Chloé. See by Chloé, in my ranking, ends up somewhere in the middle: I don’t much care about it either way…
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Posted by Robin
on
29 January 2013
Because it’s a perfume that’s quite individual, that doesn’t evoke anything in particular. It’s for a woman who dresses for herself, who doesn’t follow trends but is sophisticated and also maybe a little eccentric.1
That’s Consuelo Castiglioni, founder and designer of the Italian fashion house Marni, talking about the brand’s recently-launched debut fragrance.2 Marni has been around since 1994, but I had never heard of them — not unusual given how little attention I pay to fashion, and if the fragrance takes off, it won’t be the first time that a luxury designer is best known for an affordable perfume — Viktor & Rolf, anyone?3 The thing that caught my eye right away was the packaging, which is sophisticated and also maybe a little eccentric, and which is also excellent good fun; plus, it doesn’t remind me of any other bottle I can think of — how often does that happen now that we’re getting 1000+ new fragrances a year? Also a plus: Estee Lauder holds the license and the perfumer is Daniela Andrier. Double bonus points: Consuelo Castiglioni apparently doesn’t like fruit, flowers or sweet. I don’t dislike any of those, mind you, but we get plenty enough of them on the fragrance counters already.
Despite Ms. Castiglioni’s preferences, Marni starts with a little whoosh of fruit, tinged green and mingling with bright citrus, but it’s not sweet, and neither the fruit nor the flowers take over the proceedings…
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Posted by Robin
on
8 August 2012
Halle Berry will launch Closer by Halle Berry in September. Closer will be Berry’s fifth fragrance release, and the woody floral reportedly combines fresh notes with a classic masculine fougère accord…
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Posted by Robin
on
7 August 2012
Just like a woman, the fragrance is a dichotomy of softness and strength. Utilizing ingredients that are traditionally found in masculine fragrances and wrapping them with nurturing white florals, Donna Karan and [perfumer] Anne Flipo’s groundbreaking creation results in a feminine and sensual scent: the confident signature core of sandalwood and Haitian vetiver is sublimated with the creamy feminine notes of orange flower resonating in an instinctual feminine sensuality.
— Donna Karan Woman press materials
If I had a nickel for every time a new women’s perfume has promised some “fusion of masculine and feminine”,1 I’d have a grande latte, or maybe even a frappucino. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the fragrance itself turns out to be business as usual — most women’s fragrances have notes that could be considered “traditionally” masculine, after all, just as most men’s fragrances have notes that could be considered “traditionally” feminine.
Why this should be a selling point — for women! men’s fragrances advertised as having a feminine side are as rare as dodo birds2 — is beyond me, but apparently it is, and I’ll say this for the new Donna Karan Woman, it delivers, at least on this particular point. Donna Karan Woman is closer to feminine than masculine, but not by much. If you put it in a different bottle and tweaked the top notes a bit, you’d have a Donna Karan Man.
The start is a fairly conventional blend of citrus and fruity notes…
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Posted by Robin
on
27 September 2011
Well, it’s supposed to be stronger but it’s not actually that strong—it just has a different language. It’s all the same elements but we are saying something different than we were with Balenciaga Paris, which was so much about the violets. This one has a metallic side, it’s about the violet leaves so it’s slightly more masculine and androgynous, too.1
That’s Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière talking about the new Balenciaga Paris L’Essence, the follow-up fragrance to last year’s Balenciaga Paris. And he’s telling the truth — so much so that I hardly need to write a review, and will prattle on only for the sake of anyone who really needed a little break this afternoon. So, those of you hoping for a more intense version of Balenciaga Paris’ muted violet elegance — perhaps with some sillage? — will be disappointed by L’Essence, although if what you’re after is a real wallop instead of a whisper, you can always turn to Tom Ford’s Violet Blonde.
L’Essence maintains the original’s sheer, close-to-the-skin feel, but intensifies the green notes in the early stages and the dry woody base notes later on. The floral aspect is nearly gone, and the powdery finish is even lighter than it already was. It does not really read as metallic to my nose (actually, it seems less metallic to me than the original), but there is an almost leathery feel (again, as advertised) to the dry down. On paper, it struck me as lighter than Balenciaga Paris, on skin, as ever so slightly more intense, considerably more chypre-ish and considerably more masculine…
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