The Donna Karan Essence series works in much the same way as the Karl Lagerfeld Kapsule series and the recently discontinued Matthew Williamson Collection -- the individual fragrances are deliberately crafted as simple, somewhat light scents that can be worn individually or together.
Designers figure this type of fragrance collection will whack two moles with one hammer: 1.) it will be an extension of the common-sense notion of wardrobe layering to which consumers are already accustomed, and 2.) it will help sell more bottles at one time.
I mean, really -- when a sales rep tells you that the fragrances are part of a collection and designed to be worn together, are you going to spring for just one? There's a good chance you'll at least walk away with two, if not the whole caboodle. "Oh hell, why not," you'll think. "It's a collection, and once I start layering them together, it'll be like having entirely new perfumes on the shelf without having paid anything extra for them!"
I think I approach entire packages of chocolate chip cookies with much the same reasoned exposition of principles . . . or something like that.
The Donna Karan Essence collection consists of Labdanum, Wenge, Jasmine and Lavender. I went for the Labdanum and Wenge, natch -- I can't deny my woods and resins favoritism. They're both a bit spicy and sweet, with Labdanum performing rather true to ladbanum as a raw material (a kind of leathery and slightly musky beeswax-ish scent) while Wenge is sweeter, even mildly vanillic before it hits its woodsy, smoky drydown. I have no idea if this sweet, vanillic scent is at all reminiscent of actual Wenge tree resin.
Both fragrances smell fine on their own, but when layered together make for a rich and more complex piece -- a sweet and smoky incense.
No one seems to have the slightest idea what's in these fragrances, and the Donna Karan website isn't offering up any info besides stating that they're "elemental scents in their purest form," so I guess we're forced to take them at face value. The Wenge tree is presently listed on Wikipedia as an endangered tree species, so if this is true, it's likely that the essences are mostly (if not purely) synthetic.
Marina at Perfume Smellin' Things has a post from February of 2006 which mentions that the DK Esscence fragrances are priced at $165.00 for 100ML (3.4 ounces). Today, they're selling for half that -- a dramatic price reduction being another potential indicator of a mostly synthesized formulation, since natural materials that require hand-harvesting don't go down in price during highly inflationary economic periods.
A short video clip below of how genuine labdanum is collected from the resinous shrubs. The resin is combed off the rakes once it's been collected:
Note: The DK Essence Wenge lasts quite a bit stronger and longer on the skin than the DK Essence Labdanum. After a few hours of wear, Labdanum starts to come and go while Wenge is still chugging steadily along.
OFF TOPIC:
Oh, hey! Look who got a photo credit and a blog name-drop in Robert Wilonsky's Dallas Observer blog, "Unfair Park": From Highland Park Village, Window Shopping a Fashionable Depression
IN RELATED NEWS:
Even Fashion Giants Chanel and LVMH Forced to Economise
"A week ago Chanel, privately owned and secretive about its affairs, called off a glitzy art show as it was about to arrive in London from New York. Over the weekend trade unions reported that the fashion house was to lay off all of its 200 Paris staff who are on fixed-term or temporary contracts."
It was only months ago that both LVMH and Chanel were issuing soothing sounds to nervous markets, implying that growth was still on schedule, and Asian and Russian customers would carry them through. This is no longer the case. Asia and Russia are pummeled by the downturn as much as any Western economy, and we're watching logo-driven luxury tossed under the bus by cash strapped consumers.
I expect a tsunami of so-called luxury goods to hit the second-hand markets in 2009 as former glitz addicts view their once prized handbag, jewelry and shoe collections as potential sources of income.
IN MORE RELATED NEWS:
I'm a day late to the party, but I was reading Dave Barry's hilarious 'The Year in Review published Sunday in the Washington Post, and while nearly the entire thing is brilliant political satire, this quote stood out as the sharpest tack of the bunch:
"The worsening economy takes center stage in FEBRUARY when, amid much fanfare, Congress passes, and President Bush signs, an "economic stimulus package" under which the federal government will give taxpayers back several hundred dollars apiece of their own money, the idea being that they will use this money to revive the U.S. economy by buying television sets that were made in China. This will seem much more comical in the fall."
Aint it the truth.
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