Perfume Expo America New Dates and Invitation

Perfume Expo America will now be held on June 30th –July 2nd at the Hilton Hotel located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York. The day open for perfume aficionados and blogs is July 2nd from 9 AM to 3 PM. The entrance while free is by invitation only. I have more tickets to give away, so please send me an email at editor at boisdejasmin dot com.   

This year, Perfumery Event Perfume Expo America is taking place in New York City on June 9-12th at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Blog readers can register for a free entry on their website at Perfume Expo America. The event is open to perfume aficionados, blogs and press only on June 11. The exposition is designed to showcase both classic and emerging niche perfume brands, in addition to select skin care and cosmetics lines. The exhibitors include Caron, Carthusia, Clive Christian, Kenzo, Lubin, Miller Harris, Molinard, among many others.

Violette in Love and Week-End a Deauville : New Fragrances

Parfums de Nicolaï is celebrating the spring with the launch of two new fragrances, Violette in Love and Week-End a Deauville. Violette in Love, fresh, light and modern, is a violet set over a base of light musk, with pink pepper and a touch of raspberry. C’est une violette travaillée sur une base légèrement musquée avec des baies roses, et une touche de framboise. The notes include Italian citron, blackcurrant bud absolute, raspberry; Turkish rose, violet-iris accord, coriander, pink pepper, black pepper, musk.

Week-End a Deauville is an elegant, romantic blend of rose and mimosa over the tapestry of moss and spices. It includes notes of Italian bergamot, petitgrain, galbanum resinoid; white floeals, lily of the valley, rose, mimosa, pepper, pink pepper, clove, oakmoss, styrax.

From press release.

Basenotes 9th Annual Fragrance Awards : Voting Opens

Basenotes have announced the opening of their annual consumer led awards. The Annual Basenotes Fragrance Awards offer the site's 300,000 monthly visitors a chance to vote for a range of products across twelve categories including both feminine and masculine fragrances. The Annual Basenotes Fragrance Awards traditionally offers a prize to a randomly selected voter and this year that prize is a $250 gift certificate to spend on a selection of the thousands of products available at FragranceNet.com's online store. Voting for the awards is open now until 21st January 2009. Votes can be registered at Basenotes. This year the categories are as follows:

Cinquieme Sens Olfactory Training : For Professionals and Perfume Fans

Founded in Paris in 1976, Cinquième Sens (which means Fifth Sense in French) is offering an opportunity to learn about fragrance through series of workshops and training programs designed for the professional and the fragrance fan alike. The sessions range from 1 day to a year and can be tailored to reflect your specific needs. The best part is that unlike most programs of this nature, Cinquième Sens training sessions will be available in New York, from the Cinquième Sens Madison office. The topics that the sessions cover range from Olfactory Perfection (study of the main raw materials in each family,) A Century of Women's/Men's Fragrances, Study of the Top 20 launches, Formulation Workshop, among many others.

Please contact Laetitia Longuefosse, Director USA of Cinquième Sens at laetitia dot longuefosse at novalys dot com, + 1 646 251 5221 for more information, prices and availability.

Donna Karan Chaos : Return of Discontinued Favorites

I have always mourned the departure of Donna Karan Chaos. Even though many other fragrances since its original launch in 1996 attempted to capture the delicious darkness of incense, woods and spices, nothing could quite rival Chaos, where every woody, incense and spicy facet was magnified and arranged in a perfect harmony. However, it seems that the reps at the fragrance house have seen the light, and Chaos is soon to return to the stores, along with Donna Karan Signature, Fuel for Men, Black Cashmere and the Essence Collection. Meanwhile, you can visit the Bergdorf Goodman counter to preview these fragrances between August 13th and August 16th. (via press release)

Serge Noire by Serge Lutens: New Fragrance Release

In addition to El Attarine, Serge Lutens will issue Serge Noire in July 2008, a fragrance for the export collection. Serge Noire. Serge is a type of twill fabric (in fact, French word serge is derived from Latin serica, itself from Greek σηρικος (serikos), meaning "silken",) the finest variety of which was used for delicate linings, while the rougher weave was used for military uniforms.

The press release describes the idea behind Serge Noire in these poetic terms: "The ether of ashes... A phoenix, the mythical bird of legend burns at the height of its splendour before emerging triumphant, reborn from the ashes in a choreography of flame, conjuring the shapes of yesterday in a dance of ashes. The swirls of oriental grey enrich the twilight with depth and intensity while windswept memories hint at the beauty of transformation. An ode to everlasting beauty under cover of night's rich plumage."

From Serge Lutens press release.

Serge Lutens El Attarine : New Perfume Release

The fans of Serge Lutens will be excited to hear the news that two new fragrances are about to join the collection: El Attarine and Serge Noire. The exclusive range will see the debut of El Attarine Eau de Parfum, which is described in the following manner in the press release:

"In Arab countries, 'attarin' means sweet-smelling, and refers to everything within the realm of the 'atar': fragrance, heart, flavour and essence.

There is no distinction between the olfactory and the gustatory, until the moment when you decide whether to taste or smell. ...

Lancome Magnifique : New Fragrance Launch

Last night, at the Grand Palais in Paris , Lancôme presented Magnifique, its newest fragrance which olfactively interprets the color red. Anne Hathaway is Lancôme's newest ambassador, who will be featured in the advertising campaign. The fragrance, a spicy woody floral, was created by Firmenich perfumers Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier. As WWD reported this morning, "'The challenge was to work on wood [notes]," said Cresp, explaining the women's fragrance market has few woody juices. While he and Cavalllier were in India they came upon nagarmota, a plant giving iff a woody odor. They liked it so much, they opted to use nagarmota essential oil in Magnifique." Other notes include saffron essence, cumin, Bulgarian rose essence, Mai de Grasse rose absolute, jasmine, Australian sandalwood essence and a vetiver note.

Magnifique will launch in August in the US (where it will be exclusive to Bloomingdale's at first) and in September elsewhere.  India, roses, red... I am adding this launch to the list of new fragrances to anticipate!

FiFi 2008 Winners Announced

The winners of 2008 have been announced. As The Fragrance Foundation commented, "On Tuesday evening, the 36th Annual FiFi® Awards were hosted by The Fragrance Foundation at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. The stars were out as notable presenters Zac Posen, Salt-N-Pepa, Danity Kane, Alyson Hannigan, Cynthia Rowley, and Bernadette Peters took the stage to honor the industry’s luminaries with the coveted FiFi ® Awards trophy."

Hall of Fame Award Winner: Vera Wang

FRAGRANCE HALL OF FAME
Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien – Gary Farn, Ltd.

FRAGRANCE OF THE YEAR – WOMEN’S LUXE
Daisy Marc Jacobs – Coty Prestige

FRAGRANCE OF THE YEAR – MEN’S LUXE
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme – P&G Prestige Products, Inc.

FRAGRANCE OF THE YEAR – WOMEN’S NOUVEAU NICHE
Prada Infusion d’Iris – Puig Beauty & Fashion Group

FRAGRANCE OF THE YEAR – MEN’S NOUVEAU NICHE
Armani Privé Vetiver Babylone – Giorgio Armani Beauty

Audrey Tautou New Face of Chanel No 5 : Perfume News

It is now official—Audrey Tautou is going to be the new face for Chanel No 5. Jean-Pierre Jeunet will direct the next No.5 advertising film, which will be the third collaboration between Tautou and Jeunet (she has starred in his "Amelie" and "The Long Engagement.”) The film will be released in 2009.

I adore Audrey Tautou, and I look forward to seeing the new marketing campaign, but I still wonder how Amelie will manage to evoke the spirit of Coco. What are your thoughts?

Photo credit: © Emanuele Scorcelletti for CHANEL