Wrapped-up as we so often are in the aphorisms about what we should or shouldn’t be wearing ~ according to fashion trends, occasion, the weather or merely how sleepy we have rolled out of bed (you get my point)~ we often forget that perfume primarily has to do with sheer enjoyment! Yes, fitting the surroundings is all fine & dandy and probably earns us brownie points, but what about surprising

Go to Source

Guitar collectors, enthusiasts, or those who just love art in every form will go crazy over Privé Boutique’s latest additions to their collection – a handful  of original guitars adorned with 6,000 Austrian Swarovski crystals by world-renowned artist, Amanda Dunbar.

Dubbed as “Precious Rebel,” this guitar collection may look delicate and classy, but boy can it rock the house down – that even the hardened rock-and-roller will surely bow down to its presence.

Unfortunately, only Privé members can have the opportunity not only to buy these babies complete with a ‘Privé’ guitar case.

Go to Source

Of the four most expensive bikes in the world, three were created in honor of Lance Armstrong, whose victory over cancer is as legendary as his ongoing career. The Lance Armstrong Foundation, founded in 1997 after Armstrong was diagnosed with the disease, raises funds and awareness to support cancer research and help cancer sufferers.

7-Diamond – $75,000

This expensive bike was sold to an anonymous buyer at the Lance Armstrong Foundation Gala in 2005. Studded with seven 1-carat Gemesis man-made diamonds and 300 white diamonds, the gold-plated bike commemorated Armstrong’s victory over seven Tour de France events. The expensive bike was a joint effort between Trek Bikes, Nike, jeweler Alan Friedman and artist Lenny Futura.

Aurumania’s Gold Bike Crystal edition – $114,000

Aurumania’s Gold Bike Crystal edition is almost entirely plated with 24 karat gold—even the spokes. The seat is a Brooks saddle made of the finest leather, while the handlebars have grips made with hand-sewn, chocolate brown leather. Even the numbered badge is made of leather. Of course, the bike isn’t called “Crystal edition” for nothing. It’s decorated with over 600 Swarovski crystals—including the Aurmania name written in Braille along the crossbar. Only ten of these spectacular bicycles were produced.

Trek Yoshitomo Nara Speed Concept – $200,000

Yoshitomo Nara created this work of art, a Trek Speed Concept bike embellished with his signature angry, childlike figures and his own take on the Livestrong logo, as a custom time trial bike to commemorate Armstrong’s renewed cycling career in 2009. The bike was displayed at the Stages event organized by The Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike to raise cancer awareness. It was sold at the Bikes of Stages auction at Sotheby’s, which raised $1,125,000 for The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Trek “Butterfly” Madone – $500,000

Like the Speed Concept above, this Trek Madone was decorated in honor of Armstrong’s return to cycling. When Damien Hirst got his hands on the bike, he coated it with hundreds of wings taken from butterflies. While PETA were predictably angry at Hirst’s chosen medium, the “Butterfly” Madone became the most expensive bicycle in the world at the Bikes of Stages auction.

Go to Source

The usual open thread: talk about anything you like — the perfume you’re wearing today, the perfume you’re hoping to try soon, the last perfume you changed your mind about, whatever.

Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…

Note: image is untitled by Minette Layne at flickr; some rights reserved.

Go to Source

Dubai can afford more luxury than any other city these days and that’s why we’re not at all surprised that the luxurious Mall of the Emirates will be welcoming new luxury brands to their Fashion Dome.

Come September the Mall of the Emirates Fashion Dome will add more high-profile luxury stores to their already existing 472 retailers.

The new additions will include Mulberry, Missoni, Diane von Furstenberg, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Galliano, Versace, See by Chloe, Sephora and the largest D&G boutique in the region.

Better start planning the trip now, it’s time to get your luxury shopping done all in one place!

Go to Source

In Part II of her interview, Enfleurage owner Trygve Harris discusses the ethics of sourcing agarwood, the challenges of pleasures of living in Oman, and her modern enfleurage project in Columbia. You can find Part I here.

In your FAQ and articles on the Enfleurage website, you make it clear that the aromatics trade is politically and ethically complex. It’s sometimes difficult to tell where exactly something is coming from, and you often deal with regions that are rife with conflict. Can you talk about a difficulty you’ve faced?

Yeah, I’ve gotten pretty cynical over the years, whether it’s finding what “organic” might mean in Nepal, or just being in New York. You might find that everyone is screaming “endangered species” just because everyone else is, or that we all accept a line of BS just because we want to. Sometimes you have to keep looking and follow your hunch.

I am probably best known for agarwood. It was (and still is) on all the lists, as endangered and overharvested etc. Believe me it was weird to be on the other side of the environmental argument. It was not comfortable at all. I don’t know that we all resolved it to mutual satisfaction as I still hear all about this “sustainable harvest” oil, but it’s very complex.

My argument was basically that we are losing the forests of SE Asia despite, not because of agarwood, although the wild supply in Laos is pretty well finished. I don’t like the way those poor farmed trees are infected, and the oil that comes from them isn’t oudh in any case, it’s boyah. Yet trees are farmed in Assam, India, and not tormented into infection, but due to the Indian bureaucracy, they don’t exist because they are in people’s homes, not industrial areas. So after being in this world for years, and knowing people from TRAFFIC [the wildlife trade monitoring organization] as well as agarwood mafia [those who control the trade], I am satisfied with my position.

Speaking of countries facing serious difficulties, I’m fascinated by your modern enfleurage project in Columbia. Could you talk a little about what you’re doing there and why?

Well, I was contacted long ago by these interested and curious Colombians and we have been buying their products and going down to help whenever we can. It was a long learning process for all of us. They did their research, as did we, but some things had to be changed, like the pig fat. So it’s done with palm oil. The actual process used in France turned out to be wasteful and impractical, with the blossoms directly on the fat, and so forth, so this was changed as well. I think the results are fantastic. We have the only real Gardenia oil anywhere and it smells perfect. We also have perfect Tuberose and Lily.

The downside is that we picked the worst time for this, economically. These enfleurages are very expensive, and so they have not moved as fast as we had hoped although this is now picking up dramatically. They changed the farm over to full organic, and they are meticulous in the extreme. We don’t have the certification yet though as we are still waiting for one of the big perfume houses to support us. It’s just too big an outlay. They have borrowed up to the hilt to make these gorgeous oils.

Colombia is famous for flowers—the climate is perfect. And there are plenty of people who have suffered so much in the past, who now earn a small but serene living making Gardenia enfleurage. In time, we hope to expand this project all over Colombia.

You’re spending a lot of time in Oman these days, working with frankincense harvesters and distilling frankincense. What kind of challenges and pleasures have you had working as a single white American woman in Oman?

Well, yes, I am here much of the time now and trying to make it more and more time. I really love it, it’s a blessing and there are lots of pleasures. And yes, it’s been challenging, for plenty of reasons, and not necessarily the ones you’d expect. I’m pretty unusual here.

First of all, single. At first people were puzzled. Then accepting. Now I think they are a bit uncomfortable and how long will I keep this up when there are so many nice Omani men around? But westerners have strange habits, everyone knows that!

White. Well, that’s a bonus of course. My friend (male) criticized me the other day for getting a suntan; it spoils the effect. Omani women don’t ever feel the sun. Ever. They wear complete hijab, covering everything. Sometimes the eyes show but not always.

The American thing has been a bit of an issue, even though no one likes to say it. As time marches on though, people share their opinions more freely and the US is not well-liked, as we all know, due to our foreign policies, mostly. But the Omanis are the most polite and hospitable people on the planet. My main challenge has been to fit in with them as best I can.

Living in a small, remote, ultra-conservative Islamic tribal town is interesting. There are no familiar customs and everything I thought I knew was wrong, as usual. There is basically nothing in the way I was raised or the way I live in New York that applies here. Even the language is difficult as we have a local language which is a mélange of three—Salalah town Arabic, the mountain language (Jebali) and the desert language (Meheri.) Plus you need some Urdu and Malyalam too, with all the people from the Subcontinent.

Basically, I have needed patience. You can’t show anger here, but sweetness works spectacularly well. It makes you see gender roles in a new light because they are extraordinarily delineated. I have to ask for help all the time. But Omani men jump to give it. Also, Omanis are all about human relationships. They are highly attuned to the unspoken word, to body language, to insinuation and they have eyes like falcons. No way to get away with lying or pretending here, even to yourself. It’s like being under a microscope.

And finally, I have to ask—Trygve is a common Norwegian name, yes? How did it come to be yours? And how do you prounounce it?

My parents named me after Trygve Lie, secretary general of the UN. I pronounce it Trig-vuh.

Many thanks to Trygve Harris for her participation!

Go to Source

Foxtrot is a unique beachfront home combining the majesty of native stonework and cedar shingles into a modern design, perfectly at ease on the Caribbean shore.
Go to Source

David & Victoria Beckham have followed Intimately Beckham and Intimately Beckham Night with Intimately Beckham Yours, a new duo of fragrances “designed to capture the essence of David and Victoria Beckham’s passion and the power of their relationship”…

Read the rest of this article »

Go to Source

The name Dionysus, coming from the classical god of wine but also wild abandon, of sacred ecstasis/έκστασις (i.e.divine madness), is indicative of the mood set: restlessness, abandon, raw energy. Then again the fragrances by Lord’s Jester ~composed by all-naturals perfumer Adam Gottschalk~ do often bear ancient names (Ares, Zephyr, Demeter, Hera, Phoebe, Selena etc). Does it have to do with a

Go to Source

American Beauty will launch True Delight, a new fragrance for women, in September:

NEW American Beauty True Delight captures the simple pleasures of life in one luscious fragrance…

Read the rest of this article »

Go to Source