tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27387358251859305192024-03-18T07:28:02.533+00:00Persolaise - A Perfume BlogIndependent perfume reviews and thoughts on the world of scent from a multi Jasmine Award winning writerBloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17806816026305227292noreply@blogger.comBlogger1112125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-65759202576682731812019-07-02T20:18:00.000+01:002019-07-02T20:18:03.370+01:00Persolaise Has Moved - Change Your Subscription
If you're reading these words, then you'll need to change your subscription to continue to receive all my Persolaise updates in your email inbox.
My blog has now moved to Persolaise.com, so please click on the link and scroll about half-way down the new home page until you find the 'Subscribe To Persolaise' box.
Thanks very much indeed.
Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-66788273175592106112019-06-27T08:00:00.000+01:002019-06-27T08:00:00.556+01:00Live Interview With Amouage's Christopher Chong - Featuring New Scents: Love Mimosa, Rose Incense and Overture
Most of you will be aware that Christopher Chong, Amouage's long-standing and much-respected Creative Director, leaves his post at the end of the month. When the news was announced, I casually asked him if he'd consider marking his departure with a live interview on my YouTube channel, but the initial response he gave was somewhat non-committal, so I didn’t push the issue. However, when I Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-45646657681421186182019-06-21T12:00:00.000+01:002019-06-21T12:00:02.626+01:00Persolaise Review: Lavender Extrême from Tom Ford (2019)
Oh look, Tom Ford is still insisting that it’s 1975. Mind you, having just listened to the news, I can’t say I blame him for wanting to take us into the past. But nostalgia is a dangerous thing, because it can blind you to the fact that, behind the sharp lapels, the oversized hair dos and the illuminated dance floors, the world of a few decades ago wasn’t quite as groovy as some of us would Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-78301625678045632682019-06-14T15:00:00.000+01:002019-06-14T15:00:01.840+01:00Persolaise Mini-Reviews: January to March 2019
A selection of mini-reviews published on social media between January and March 2019. For more, please click here.
Opus XI from Amouage (Pierre Negrin; 2018)*
Now that the frenzied pitch of oud mania has abated, the air is clear for some genuinely interesting, innovative takes on the material. The latest is Opus XI, in which Amouage's Creative Director Christopher Chong takes inspiration Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-32081291159454008482019-06-07T12:00:00.000+01:002019-06-07T12:00:02.043+01:00Persolaise Review: Kouros from Yves Saint Laurent (Pierre Bourdon; 1981)
During the lecture I recently delivered at Brasenose College’s Arts Week, I presented several olfactory expressions of female and male identity over the years. I confess it was with a desire to shake things up a little that I decided one of my masculine scents would be YSL’s Kouros. Composed by Pierre Bourdon and released not long after the brand’s industry-redefining Opium, it took its placePersolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-82467164292091272682019-05-31T12:00:00.000+01:002019-05-31T12:00:00.550+01:00Persolaise Review: Marcelle from Marie Jeanne (2018)
The other day, I put up an Instagram post singing the praises of Odin’s 02 Owari: one of the most photo-real citrus fragrances I’ve ever had the pleasure of bringing into contact with my skin. This led to a discussion about similarly holographic scents (Cologne Bigarade came up more than once). And then I remembered that I haven’t yet written a single word about Marcelle — one of a small Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-6107346604134840262019-05-24T15:30:00.000+01:002019-05-24T15:30:06.018+01:00Persolaise Love At First Scent Episodes 31 & 32 Now On YouTube - featuring Cuir Intense from Guerlain, Musc Shamal from Armani Privé & Naughty Fruity from Mugler, amongst others
Not one, but two new videos on YouTube! Episodes 31 and 32 of Love At First Scent were recently streamed and are now permanently available for viewing. In episode 31 (click here to watch it on YouTube) I covered:
Cuir Intense from Guerlain (at the start of the video)
Naughty Fruity from Mugler (at the 14:30 minute mark)
Costa Azzurra Acqua from Tom Ford (at the 27:30 minute mark)
Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-80975535058911576452019-05-17T12:00:00.000+01:002019-05-17T12:00:07.241+01:00Persolaise Review: Sunday Brunch, Santal Sky, Nitro Noir and 10 a.m. Flirt from Kierin (Mathieu Nardin; 2018)
I continue to subscribe to the view that slotting perfumes into gender categories is mindless. But I am also aware that The Real World doesn’t share this conviction and insists on presenting some scents as appropriate only for women and others only for men. Of course, somewhere in the middle of that great divide we have unisex fragrances - a category which we’re often told is growing, but Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-46325849604867347122019-05-13T07:00:00.000+01:002019-05-13T07:00:06.230+01:00Persolaise In Business Traveller - The Scents Of Provence + The Next Episode Of Love At First Scent
I've just realised that I completely forgot to let you know that the April 2019 issue of Business Traveller featured an article by me on the subject of Provence-inspired perfumes. The piece should still be available to read on the tablet edition, so if you'd like to check it out, please search for 'Business Traveller' on your device.
Following the last aborted attempt (apologies again!) I'm Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-31888150188578225212019-05-10T16:30:00.000+01:002019-05-10T16:30:00.993+01:00Persolaise At Oxford University - Brasenose College Arts Week
If you're going to be in the Oxford area on Friday 17th May, please consider coming along to a lecture I'll be giving at Brasenose College as part of their Arts Week. I'll be talking about scent as a form of expressing identity and how the language of perfume can conceal or reveal different aspects of ourselves. For more information, please click here.
Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-14480179204478939362019-05-03T12:00:00.000+01:002019-05-03T12:00:09.095+01:00Persolaise Review: Oud & Menthe from Cartier (Mathilde Laurent; 2019)
As an intellectual exercise, Mathilde Laurent’s new Oud & Menthe for Cartier (an addition to the brand’s well-regarded but shamefully expensive oud range) is fascinating. How does a perfumer link two notes that, in many ways, could be seen as occupying opposite ends of the olfactory spectrum? Mint is cool, leafy, bracing, airy and rather too closely associated with the prosaic realms of Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-49383312486087282882019-04-26T12:00:00.000+01:002019-04-26T12:00:11.035+01:00"Now Everybody Is An Artist" - An Audience With Frederic Malle + Next Episode Of Love At First Scent On Sunday 28 April 2019
A few months ago, Frederic Malle popped into London to be interviewed by The Guardian’s Sally Hughes about his work in the perfume industry. Sadly, at no point in the conversation were any questions asked about the consequences of his decision to sell his company to Estée Lauder, but this may have had less to do with any attempts to brush the matter under the scented carpet than it did withPersolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-54295498590017556582019-04-18T12:00:00.000+01:002019-04-18T12:00:01.022+01:00Easter Wishes 2019 And The Remainder Of Love At First Scent Episode 30 On YouTube - featuring Amouage, Bulgari & Serge Lutens
Wherever you may be in the world, if you're about to celebrate Easter, I wish you peace, laughter and guiltlessly decadent feasting. And even if you don't celebrate Easter, feel free to help yourselves to those wishes too.
A few days ago, I brought my 'mini-season' of Episode 30 of Love At First Scent to a close on YouTube, so I'll paste links to the various scenes below. I hope you enjoy Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-77474776966276032962019-04-12T11:00:00.000+01:002019-04-12T11:00:17.781+01:00Persolaise Love At First Scent Episode 30, Scenes 1 & 2 On YouTube - featuring Perfumer H and Experimentum Crucis from Etat Libre D'Orange
It's all about videos at the moment! To mark the fact that we've reached the 30th episode of Love At First Scent, I'm currently broadcasting a mini-season of brief, daily videos over on YouTube Live (technology permitting) which will continue until at least Sunday. In Scene 1 (click here or see below) I looked at the new Dust and Suede from Lyn Harris' Perfumer H and in Scene 2 (click Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-14989112316117156572019-04-05T12:00:00.000+01:002019-04-05T12:00:01.721+01:00Persolaise Review: Un Jardin Sur La Lagune from Hermès (Christine Nagel; 2019) and 1957 from Chanel (Olivier Polge; 2019)
One of the main drawbacks of my Love At First Scent videos is hinted at in their name: they’re all about first impression. I often try to point out during the broadcasts that all perfumes must be allowed to take us on the entirety of their journey at least once before we make firm judgements about them. But of course, the very nature of modern perfumery means that a scent’s initial Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-87127881214922948682019-03-29T12:00:00.000+00:002019-03-29T12:00:00.412+00:00Persolaise Love At First Scent Episode 29 On YouTube - featuring L'Iris De Fath, BDK and New Colognes from Mugler
The 29th episode of Love At First Scent - streamed live on 17th March on Facebook - is now on YouTube and you can watch it above or by clicking here. In this edition, I covered:
Cologne: Love You All from Mugler (at the start of the video)
French Bouquet from BDK (at the 20:00 minute mark)
L’Iris De Fath from Jacques Fath
(the modern re-creation of the legendary Iris GrisPersolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-29473979080450042502019-03-22T12:00:00.000+00:002019-03-22T12:00:06.844+00:00Persolaise Love At First Scent Episode 28 On YouTube - featuring Holy Peony, Lucky, Purple Oud, Thé Cachemire & Eau Noire from Maison Christian Dior
The 28th edition of Love At First Scent - streamed live last week - is now permanently on YouTube and you can watch it above or by clicking here. The episode focuses specifically on the Maison Christian Dior exclusives (formerly known as the Collection Privee) and covers:
Holy Peony (at the 17:00 minute mark)
Purple Oud (at the 33:00 minute mark)
Thé Cachemire (at the 45:Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-55982860094099303182019-03-15T12:00:00.000+00:002019-03-15T12:00:03.112+00:00Persolaise Review: Perfume - In Search Of Your Signature Scent by Neil Chapman (Hardie Grant; 2019)
Disclosure time. The subject of today’s post is not only a book written by a friend, but a book that includes Persolaise.com in its list of recommended websites and even mentions me - and “the legendary Madame Persolaise”! - in one of its reviews. For the sake of full transparency, I must point this out. That said, I can honestly claim that my admiration of Neil Chapman’s blog - The Black Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-35786462906744418602019-03-11T07:30:00.000+00:002019-03-11T07:30:09.664+00:00Persolaise In Business Traveller + 9th Anniversary Of Blog
I'm pleased to inform you that the March 2019 issue of Business Traveller UK features an article by me on modern oud perfumes. It's available to purchase in both print and tablet formats; for more info, please click here.
I'm very fortunate to be included in Suzy Nightingale's latest piece for The Perfume Society on the subject of which fragrances people would buy if money were no object or Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-44055109554107480662019-03-08T12:00:00.000+00:002019-03-08T12:00:10.479+00:00Persolaise Mini-Reviews: October to December 2018 [part 2]
A selection of mini-reviews published on social media between October and December 2018. For more, please click here.
Encens Asakusa from L’Orchestre Parfum (Anne-Sophie Behaghel & Amelie Bourgeois; 2017)*
Surprisingly Catholic incense opening - given the Japanese name - with the familiar strains of cedar and flintiness. We’ve had this several times before, perhaps with a less Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-56496865126473734952019-03-01T12:00:00.000+00:002019-03-01T12:00:10.998+00:00Persolaise Review: Mont De Narcisse (Anne Flipo; 2018) and Bana Banana (Celine Ellena; 2019) from L'Artisan Parfumeur
Since being taken over by Puig, L’Artisan Parfumeur have fared rather well, I’d say. Penhaligon’s - which joined the Puig stable at the same time - still seem uncertain of their identity (although I’m reliably informed their Portraits have been a hit at the tills) but the respectful revamp of L’Artisan’s packaging was generally met with approval. And more importantly, many of their new Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-89630026794351522152019-02-22T12:00:00.000+00:002019-02-22T12:00:07.008+00:00Persolaise Love At First Scent Episode 27 Now On YouTube - featuring Un Jardin Sur La Lagune from Hermès, 1957 from Chanel and Perfume by Neil Chapman, The Black Narcissus
The 27th edition of Love At First Scent - streamed live last week - is now on YouTube and you can watch it above or by clicking here. The episode covers:
Un Jardin Sur La Lagune from Hermès (at the start of the video)
1957 from Chanel (at the 17:00 minute mark)
Mon Guerlain Bloom Of Rose from Guerlain (at the 30:00 minute mark)
Siren & Sailors from Jusbox (at the 50:Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-7604920766379336712019-02-15T12:00:00.000+00:002019-02-15T12:00:03.473+00:00Persolaise Mini-Reviews: October to December 2018 [part 1]
A selection of mini-reviews published on social media between October and December 2018. For more, please click here.
Impression Cashmeran Velvet from Ostens (Sophie Labbé; 2018)*
Brings out the spiciest facets of cashmeran, using leather and - most prominently - sandalwood to present a dark, unexpectedly aggressive rendition of velvet. Is the fabric protective or oppressive?Impression Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-40740255469902177232019-02-06T07:30:00.000+00:002019-02-06T07:30:04.164+00:00Non-Perfume Post: Dariush Alavi In Sight & Sound Magazine
In a departure from the usual diet, I’m thrilled to let you know that the latest issue of Sight & Sound magazine contains an article by yours truly on Three Colours: White, a movie that feels extremely topical as the UK hurtles towards the end of March. To buy the digital edition, please click here; the print version will be in shops from 7th February.While I’m on the subject of cinema, Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2738735825185930519.post-46465798081454098352019-02-01T15:30:00.000+00:002019-03-05T20:27:25.006+00:00Persolaise Love At First Scent Episode 26 Now On YouTube - featuring Gentle Fluidity from Francis Kurkdjian and Alien Fusion from Mugler
The year's first episode of Love At First Scent - the 26th in the series! - is now on YouTube and you can watch it above or by clicking here. In this instalment, we covered:
Gentle Fluidity Gold from Maison Francis Kurkdjian
(at the start of the video)
Alien Fusion from Mugler (at the 17:00 minute mark)
Evolution from Kings (at the 32:00 minute mark)
Gentle Fluidity Silver from Persolaisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04192014353722036319noreply@blogger.com0