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Poor chap didn’t get any socks for Christmas

Happy New Year to one and all! I hope those of you who had a festive break were able to rest, relax and enjoy the feasting. Here at Maison Persolaise, the decorations have been put away, the chocolate-covered almonds have been devoured and the carols have been deleted from the iPod. In other words, things are just about back to normal, which means I can resume regular blogging services.

What does 2013 have in store for us? Well, one thing’s pretty certain: there will be lots and lots of perfume releases. From the vantage point of the first week of January, it’s almost impossible to predict what the highlights of the next twelve months are going to be, but there’s no doubt that some forthcoming creations have piqued people’s interest more than others.

The mainstream is getting increasingly excited about the debut fragrance from Marni, put together by Daniela Andrier. Although a reliable authority has informed me that the final juice is more accessible and “commercial” than its initial drafts, I’m looking forward to seeing what it does with incense and rose. Louis Vuitton are expected to unveil their first scent by their in-house perfumer, Jacques Cavallier. Francis Kurkdjian has provided Jean-Paul Gaultier with Le Beau Male, another flanker to the consistently popular Le Male. I’m sure Dior, Guerlain, Chanel et al will try to woo us with a string of new scents. And it’s also worth mentioning Christine Nagel’s Flash, the second fragrance from Jimmy Choo, which was recently launched at a suitably strobe-lit party atop London’s Gherkin.

Doubtless, niche brands will be busy too. Serge Lutens is just about to unveil La Fille De Berlin (reportedly a metallic rose). Amouage will launch Beloved Man and Opus VII (the latter composed by Alberto Morillas and Pierre Negrin). And Andy Tauer will finally add a new scent to his main collection: according to his blog, his current plan is to call it Noontide Petals.

But of course, all of the above pale into insignificance at the prospect of the first fragrance from those paragons of elegance and refinement, One Direction. Legions of teenage girls have already started saving their pocket money…

Have a great 2013, everybody!

Persolaise.

PS A couple of mentions of my book on the Net: please click here for a write-up on Osmoz and click here for a piece on The Arbuturian.


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10 thought on “Perfumes For 2013: Girls From Berlin, Screaming Directioners… And More Naked Men”
  1. Mister Persolaise, glad I dropped by today by your blog!
    Amouage Beloved Man and Opus VII, can you tell something more? I didn't even try Beloved woman yet but I'm very interested in trying them.

    Today I tried Mistral Patchouli, the new fragrance from Atelier Cologne which will be officially launched later this month.

    1. Lucas, thanks very much for stopping by. Sorry, I can't really reveal anything about the Amouages at the moment… but I can tell you that Beloved Woman is a must-try.

    2. Yippie – by happy coincidence my sample of Beloved Woman is due to arrive today.
      Previously I had commented enthused by your review of Interlude Man and you had asked me to say what I felt about it. Unfortunately, that one turned out not to be for me. It had very little evolution on my skin and the accord it stayed with was a bit too dense and savoury for my taste. I blame the oregano!
      However that does not diminish my respect for Amouage, a house that dares to give us rich, complex perfumes (relatively uninfluenced by fashion in the main) with a strike rate that would be the envy of many others.

    3. Gimmegreen, thanks for your thoughts on Interlude Man; it's always great to hear back from someone. It's a shame you didn't enjoy the scent, but each to their own, as I always say on this blog. I'm curious about the oregano note you say you detected in it.

      How did you get on with Beloved?

    4. Well, Beloved seems to love me back.
      It shares a kinship to Aromatics Elixir in the hypnotic resinous richness of its opening, but it soon unfurled into total floral gorgeousness, sandal smoke with a hint of almond marzipan (probably how my nose perceives some of the 'animal' notes mingled with patchouli). Mmmmm. Incredible depth without being overpowering. Definitely in the league of Gold Woman and Ubar.
      But egad, look at that price. I think I may be buying myself a stash of testers of this one!

  2. Oh boy.
    I'm not excited for any One Direction fragrance. And yet something tells me my disgust is already overestimating it!

    1. Gabe, I know what you mean. But I'm going to do my best to keep an open mind… and I'll also test it out on my nieces, who fall firmly within OD's target audience.

I love hearing from my readers, so please feel free to write a comment or ask a question.