Virgins, Confessions & Blond Ambitions - Madonna & Perfume Come Together

Image: ahem... Persolaise

I'm not quite sure where the last few weeks have gone, but it seems that it's time for another joint list with my partners in perfumed compilation. In this instance, the task of choosing our theme fell to me and, true to form, I decided to veer away from conventional ideas and go for something idiosyncratic. So I'm afraid I indulged the geeky fan boy in me and asked the other members of my team to prepare lists inspired by the Queen Of Pop herself: Madonna.

Coffee, Tea Or Kurkdjian? - Amyris Femme & Amyris Homme Launched In London

You never know quite where a conversation with Francis Kurkdjian is going to take you. He's at Selfridges, talking to a group of writers about the latest additions to his own perfume house: Amyris Femme and Amyris Homme. He explains he was inspired to make the scents by an exercise at ISIPCA - where he's been teaching for the last two-and-a-half years - during which a student presented him with amyris oil (aka West Indian sandalwood). He goes on to say that he wondered if he could somehow link the material with the fact that, in French, its name sounds like "soul of iris". He states that he wanted the resultant perfumes to be for those times when you need to rush out of the house and you have only ten minutes to get yourself ready, times when "you have to be sharp". So far, so safe. But things become somewhat more amusing when he's asked what sort of woman he had in mind when composing Amyris Femme.

Persolaise Review: Lys Du Desert from Decennial + Coeur En Mai from MDCI + J'Adore L'Absolu from Christian Dior (2012)

It's not often that a perfume brand celebrates the arrival of a reformulation, but that's exactly what's happened with MDCI. 2009's Coeur En Mai recently fell foul of IFRA guidelines, so director Claude Marchal asked its original composer, Patricia De Nicolaï, to try to create a replacement that would successfully jump through the anti-allergen hoops. According to him, the result is even better than CEM Mark 1.

London Book Signing + An Interview With Fabrice Pellegrin, The Man Who Made Womanity

Just in case you missed the announcement a few weeks ago, here's a brief reminder that on the evening of Thursday 29th November, I'll be answering questions and signing copies of my book at the new Angela Flanders Boutique in East London. If you're in the area, please join us for drinks, nibbles and plenty of scented conversation. It would be wonderful to see you. Click here for more info.

Perfume Exhibit Opens At New York's Museum Of Arts & Design... And It Comes With A Smelly Book

Exciting times for those of us interested in the 'perfumery as art' debate. Later today, New York's Museum Of Arts And Design will unveil its first exhibit at its Department Of Olfactory Art, as curated by Chandler Burr. Details of the catalogue have just been revealed, and guess what, it's actually going to contain bottles of perfume (specifically: eleven of the twelve fragrances currently 'on show' at the museum). How novel. How exciting. And how very, very apt. Kudos to Mr Burr for somehow managing to make it possible.

Persolaise Review: Ambre Doré from Maître Parfumeur Et Gantier (2012) + La Petite Robe Noire extrait from Guerlain (2012) + Miss Dior Le Parfum from Dior (2012) + Cloon Keen Atelier (2011)

In the same way that theatre producers use Macbeth to get bums on seats, perfume houses tend to use vanilla-based scents as their cash cows. And more often than not, they link the ingredient with labdanum and benzoin to produce that most crowd-pleasing of fragrances: amber. Of course, the popularity of the genre makes it extremely difficult for perfumers to find anything new to say when working within it. The textbook classic of the type, Shalimar, has been around for almost one hundred years, yet it still takes some beating. Ambre Sultan pretty much dominates the corner held by herbal, smoky ambers. And Musc Ravageur - itself a reinterpretation of Shalimar - is probably the consummate 21st century amber. Almost all the bases have been covered.

Penhaligon's Juniper Sling Winner

Many thanks to all of you who entered the joint Candy Perfume Boy and Persolaise Twitter give-away. I'm pleased to announce that the winner of a full bottle of Juniper Sling is

Portia @OzPerfumeJunkie

Congratulations, Portia! If you'd like to send your postal address to me (persolaise at gmail dot com) or Mr Candy (thecandyperfumeboy at gmail dot com) then we'll forward it to Penhaligon's straight away.

Commiserations to everyone else. Fear not: I'm sure it won't be too long before I hold another draw. Once again, I'd like to thank Penhaligon's for providing the prize and Candy Perfume Boy for being such a superb (and patient!) Twitter buddy.

Persolaise.

The Many Uses Of Allergen Labelling

A conundrum for you. There's a new perfume on the market. Its price per ml places it in the upper stratosphere of 'luxury' scents. It's sold as an eau de parfum, but according to a statement made by its creator, its concentration is much stronger than that of most EDPs. It reportedly contains a "high proportion" of natural ingredients, including "rose", "jasmine", "orange absolute" and "cardamom", amongst others. However, the allergen info on its packaging lists the presence of only limonene, linalool, citral, coumarin, benzyl salicylate and benzyl benzoate. Why is this odd? Read on...

Persolaise Review: Poudre De Riz from Huitième Art + Djhenné from Parfumerie Générale + Orangers En Fleurs from Houbigant + Vanitas edt from Versace (2012)

In a field where most products fall under the 'pleasant but forgettable' category, anything that's even remotely challenging or perplexing deserves to be welcomed with open arms. Enter: Pierre Guillaume's latest addition to his Huitième Art range, Poudre De Riz.

Win A Bottle Of Juniper Sling + Chandler Burr On Perfume As Art

Proof

New York's Museum Of Arts And Design is just about to unveil its first perfume exhibition, which is why Newsweek have published this highly readable interview with curator Chandler Burr. Its main focus is a subject about which I seem to be thinking a great deal at the moment - the legitimacy of perfumery as an art form - and whilst I believe the piece speaks for itself and doesn't require any commentary from me, I will just throw the following idea into the debate.

You'll Always Have The Truth - An Interview With Mathilde Laurent

Image: Cartier

I realise I'm probably being a bit mean, but there's something about Mathilde Laurent that suggests she's up for a fun challenge. She's at London's Savoy Hotel, launching Cartier's latest masculine, Déclaration D'Un Soir, and although many of the guests look as though their wardrobe has come straight from the vaults of Future Fashions Inc, she's holding her own with no trouble. Her black trousers sparkle with a print of yellow electricity. Her jacket is the sort of layered, nocturnal creation for which Batman would probably trade a few items in his utility belt. And the white streak running through her hair is so striking, it makes me wonder why all of us don't walk around with high contrast coiffures. In short, she's cool. Very cool indeed.

So I decide to stick my wrist under her nose and ask her if she can guess what I'm wearing.

Persolaise Review: Hommage À L'Homme from Lalique (2011) + Volutes from Diptyque (2012)... And Some More Thoughts On A*Men Pure Leather

Please click here to be taken to my Glass Magazine reviews of Diptyque's Volutes, Lalique's 2011 masculine, Hommage À L'Homme and Mugler's new A*Men Pure Leather. If you've got a moment to spare, you might also enjoy a read of Grazia's mention of my book. And for some very worrying news, check out this Reuters article on the Chicago Tribune website. Yes, we've heard it all before, but it does seem to be getting worse.

Have a great weekend,

Persolaise.