New at beautyhabit: Juliet by Juliet Stewart.
New at harrods (UK): Givenchy Play for Her.
Deal at thefragranceshop.co.uk (UK): spend £10 or more, get a free ‘golden ticket’ scratch-off card (prizes include vacations and a chance to meet Ryan Reynolds).
New at theperfumeshoppe: Serge Lutens Bas de Soie, L’Artisan Coeur de Vetiver Sacre.
New at ulta: Mariah Carey Lollipop Bling, Pure Nautica.
…I’d rather say that it is a perfume at the center of doubt; that the beam balance never settles between iris and hyacinth in the main accord, which is what makes the composition interesting. — Serge Lutens
It is rare that Serge Lutens says anything about his own fragrances that I find helpful, but in this case — he was doing an interview with Grain de Musc — he has so neatly summed up the experience of wearing his new Bas de Soie (silk stockings) that only a few more details need to be added.
First, the iris is that cosmetics-powder sort of iris, far from the turnips and dirt-caked roots of Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist. The whole fragrance is cold and spiky early on, and very peppery, and the hyacinth is green and slightly bitter; later, Bas de Soie is warmer, softer and sweeter, and as advertised, the two notes seem to weave in and out (or struggle for control, depending on your outlook) for hours without ceasing until it rather suddenly fades away…
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Online fragrance shopping
New at macys: Ralph Lauren Big Pony.
New at senteursdailleurs (Brussels): Mona di Orio Les Nombres d’Or, Honore des Pres We Love NY, Serge Lutens Bois de Violette & Un Bois Sepia, Tauer Perfumes line.
Serge Lutens Bas de Soie: fragrance review
With his newest fragrant offering to the Gods, Serge Lutens invades the territory of Chanel. In lewd terms “Lutens does Chanel”! Simply put, his Bas de Soie (pronounced BA-de-SWAH) will help establish a new audience who have been hankering after new territories of upscale refinement, but will also challenge his older acolytes to engage in combat with new elements which they considered “stuffy”
Forbidden ingredients
The forbidden ingredients this time round are so extensive that I am asking myself, to give you an analogy, how could a baker make bread without flour? Substituting some materials with others is an option but it is possible that some fragrances will never see the light of day. This has already happened to me three times.
— Serge Lutens, talking about IFRA regulations, in There’s a bad whiff about this fuss over fragrance at the London Evening Standard. Thanks to Anya for the link!
Online fragrance shopping
Deal at artisanparfumeur.us: free shipping, no coupon code needed, good through 7/18.
New at b-glowing: I Heart Perfume solid perfumes.
New at harrods (UK): Pucci Miss Pucci.
Deal at parfumsdecoeur: all Prince Matchabelli fragrances 30% off through 7/16.
New at senteursdailleurs (Brussels): Serge Lutens Bas de Soie.
New at ulta: Elizabeth Taylor Violet Eyes, Jean Paul Gaultier Classique X, Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua.
The Monday Mail ~ help Jason find a new fragrance
Jason is looking for a new fragrance. It should be long lasting, mysterious, and change throughout the day. He’s willing to consider vintage and/or discontinued fragrances. Here is what we know about Jason:
He’s in his late 20s, lives in London, and works in an office job in the theater.
He says he is subtle, focused but very playful and sensual.
Jason likes…
The Serge Lutens line for its clarity and mystery. He owns Fille en Aiguilles and is thinking of buying Chene. Muscs Koublai Khan is “very nice”.
The Amouage Attars are great, especially Afrah, but he is apparently anosmic to something in Amouage Gold. He also likes Amouage Lyric…
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Online fragrance shopping
New at dillards: Mariah Carey Lollipop Bling.
Deal at lessenteurs (UK): July sale; markdowns on selected items from Annick Goutal, Byredo, Parfumerie Generale, Mona di Orio, Serge Lutens, Parfums de Rosine & more. Not all items are shown online, call the shop for details.
Online fragrance shopping
New at colette.fr (France): Byredo Palermo.
New at dillards: David Yurman Eau de Parfum.
Deal at dshperfumes: take 20% off with coupon code July10, good through 7/21.
Deal at esteelauder: get free shipping and a Sensuous travel spray with coupon code SENSUOUS4TH, good through 7/5.
New at harrods (UK): Serge Lutens Bas de Soie.
New at nordstrom: D&G 11 La Force.
Deal at thefragranceshop.co.uk (UK): “7 days 7 deals” kicks off today with markdowns on Gucci by Gucci 30 ml and Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme 50 ml.
Reminiscence Patchouli Pour Homme is not a strange, cocoa-sprinkled, cramp-inducing patchouli fragrance like Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 (whenever I smell Borneo 1834 my stomach begins to ache). Patchouli Pour Homme is certainly not a loud, “crude” type of patchouli perfume favored by provincial nouveaux riches. (See Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, where the prissy, aristocratic Leonid Andreyevitch Gaev enters a room, sniffs the air, and complains: “It smells of patchouli in here.” Someone’s wearing cheap perfume…and it’s none other than peasant-turned-entrepreneur Ermolai Alexeyevitch Lopakhin!) Patchouli Pour Homme is also not the variety of oily, overbearing patchouli used by old-time hippies to scent their greasy hair and beards or their sweaty leather boots. Patchouli Pour Homme is a staid patchouli fragrance.
Reminiscence Patchouli Pour Homme contains mandarin, lime, geranium, cedar, patchouli, labdanum, tonka bean, tolu balm, white musk, and benzoin. Patchouli Pour Homme opens with warm lime and geranium leaf; quickly other notes pop: ‘fossilized’ cedar (almost too “dry” to detect), sheer labdanum, well-behaved and CLEAN patchouli…
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