April 2009

Photos: Mona di Orio Nuit Noire

April 30, 2009

The Non-Blonde recently answered the question that’s been on everyone’s mind (okay, it was only on mine, but my determined plunge into overweening narcissism requires that it be all about me) with her April 28th post, The Mysterious Case of Mona di Orio: “There were some speculations that the house is going out of business, [...]

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Photos: Untitled #3 by Sarah Horowitz

April 29, 2009

Two weeks ago, I wrote about my encounter with Untitled #3, one of a series of specialized fragrances that the owners of Los Angeles scent retailer Scent Bar/Lucky Scent commissioned from a group of independent perfumers. Bois de Jasmin noted back in March of 2006 that the limited edition series (with each fragrance seeing a [...]

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Safi Eau de Parfum and Six Scents #4

April 28, 2009

SAFI EAU DE PARFUM: In my quest to be seasonally relevant, I stumbled across Safi and thought it sounded like a good way to look forward . . . to summer! Yes, I know, the tiny little flower buds are just barely shrugging off the topsoil for their annual Preening For Shutterbugs competition and here [...]

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Aftelier: Lumiere, Maroc and Blond Tabac

April 27, 2009

There’s been a flurry of attention around Mandy Aftel lately — what with Forbes naming her as one of the seven top bespoke perfumers in the world, and her currently ongoing Living Perfume exhibit at Henri Bendel in New York City. Avery Gilbert, author of What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday [...]

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One Self-Congratulatory Post Comin’ Right Up!

April 25, 2009

The Fragrance Foundation held their 2009 FiFi Award Finalists’ Breakfast on Friday at the Mandarin Oriental hotel on Columbus Circle in New York City, where they announced the finalists for the final awards ceremony that will be held May 27th in Manhattan. This year, they created an Editorial Excellence in Fragrance Coverage award for blogs. [...]

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Fashion Industry News Roundup: 04/24/09

April 24, 2009

1.) More Designers Fish for Revenue Down the Retail Chain:Rachel Roy launches at Macy’s: “Jones Apparel Group, which has a 50% stake in designer Rachel Roy, said it’s launching a contemporary line called Rachel Rachel Roy to be sold exclusively at Macy’s . . . Jones also plans to lower the designer’s luxury label price [...]

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Montgomery Taylor Ambra di Venezia

April 23, 2009

Confession: I really only purchased Ambra di Venezia for the hand-blown flacon. I thought it would be great to take photos of a hand-blown glass piece, and it could add some interest to what might otherwise be just another review of what I figured was just another citrus-floral, but here’s where the twist kicks in [...]

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Photos: Tom Ford Private Blend Italian Cypress

April 22, 2009

I reviewed Tom Ford’s Italian Cypress back in November (2008), and at the time, it was still only available for purchase from the Ford boutique in Milan, Italy. Here’s a snippet from what I wrote about it: “I often get an over-the-top sense from Ford’s fragrances — they’re generally uber-potent, high-flying, “Look ma, no hands!” [...]

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Parfums MDCI Sample Set

April 21, 2009

My Parfums MDCI sampler box arrived: Sticker shock for a full bottle of MDCI is not an uncommon occurrence — just over $600.00 for a two ounce crystal bottle with a bisque (unglazed ceramic) cap fashioned to look like a neo-classical bust (as in Bust of Napoleon) is high even for the world of niche [...]

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Nasomatto Hindu Grass and Dorissima Goldmund

April 20, 2009

NASOMATTO HINDU GRASS: Remember how I said that Jalaine was a fragrance brand that was easy to love? Well, Nasomatto is the opposite of that — adamantly independent and cultishly niche, each fragrance is a triumph of head perfumer Allesandro Gualtieri’s personal vision over the demands of the mainstream market, which isn’t necessarily a bad [...]

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