Persolaise Review: Fahrenheit Le Parfum from Christian Dior (François Demachy; 2014)
Persolaise They say men mellow with age. Whether the statement is true is up for debate – last time I checked, grumpy old codgers weren’t exactly thin on the ground –…
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I’m Not Business-Driven – An Interview With Céline Verleure Of Olfactive Studio
Olfactive Studio could have been created only in the era of the Internet. In 2011, inspired by cyberspace’s populist bias, founder Céline Verleure set up a Facebook page entitled The…
What We Really Wore This Winter – 2014
Last September, I published a brief post about the scents with which my skin developed an extremely close relationship during the summer, as opposed to those with which it struck…
Staying Alive – A Trip To The Osmothèque
For a moment, I wonder if the thing is going to leap out and attack me. Curled into the base of a steel box, it’s a tangle of what looks…
Persolaise Review: Ingrid from Tableau De Parfums (Andy Tauer; 2013)
You probably won’t believe this, but I assure you it’s true. When I first sniffed Ingrid, before I knew anything about the movie character on which it’s based, it seemed…
Luxury Is About Privacy – An Audience With Frederic Malle (part 2)
For part 1 of this record of Frederic Malle’s Q&A session with an audience at Liberty, please click here. Could you tell us a bit about your collaboration with Dries…
Taking The Highway – An Audience With Frederic Malle (part 1)
At the end of my interview with him at Liberty, Frederic Malle – the niche world’s foremost ‘scent editor’ – faced an audience of admirers who wanted to ask him…
Persolaise Review: Magnolia Grandiflora Michel (Michel Roudnitska; 2013) & Magnolia Grandiflora Sandrine (Sandrine Videault; 2013) from Grandiflora
It’s hard not to make a connection between Michel Roudnitska’s Magnolia Grandiflora and his late father Edmond‘s unsurpassed Diorissimo. Before it became a victim of repeated reformulations, the latter was…
Bertrand Duchaufour On Keeping Things Fresh
At the London launch of four new candles from Aedes De Venustas, two of which have been created by Bertrand Duchaufour, I took the opportunity to ask the perfumer about…
Persolaise Review: Azure (Mathilde Bijaoui; 2014) and Bentley For Men Absolute (Michel Almairac; 2014) from Bentley
Azure is ghastly. Think of all the most mind-numbing masculine scents from the mainstream, and you’ll know exactly what this waste of resources smells like. Generically ‘citrusy’ top. Aromatic mid-section.…
Persolaise Review: Opus VIII from Amouage (Pierre Negrin & Richard Herpin; 2014)
Years ago, I used to argue with a food-loving, atheist friend of mine that there simply must be a God. He’d ask me for evidence. And my response would be…
Candy Perfume Boy And ODOU Magazine Win Jasmine Awards
The results of the Jasmine Awards are in and I am absolutely thrilled to announce that the winner of the Digital prize is Thomas Dunckley – aka the one and…
Off To The Jasmine Awards 2014!
On the fourth anniversary of my blog, I once again find myself in the privileged position of being able to say: I’m off to BAFTA HQ tomorrow for the Jasmines!…
Twenty Blotters For… Céline Verleure
Pick a blotter… read the question… give a short, snappy answer! Céline Verleure‘s perfumery experience is far too vast to be reduced to a brief, introductory paragraph. But here’s a…
Persolaise Review: Rosabotanica from Balenciaga (Olivier Polge & Jean-Christophe Herault; 2014)
I seem to have forgotten how impressed I was with Florabotanica. For some reason, my brain decided to file it under ‘pleasant yet unremarkable floral’, ie the type which evokes…
A Letter To The EU’s Public Consultation On Proposed Amendments To The Cosmetics Regulation
I’m sure most of you are aware that the ever-contentious issue of allergens in perfumery has raised its head again. As has been reported on various sites, the EU is…
Persolaise Review: Jeke, Sova, Ore and Norne from Slumberhouse
Some landscapes are easy to enjoy, but almost impossible to describe. They offer many pleasures, yet they defy attempts to capture their charms in words. They may not even be…
No Lies, No Compromises – An Interview With Perfumer Quentin Bisch
Quentin Bisch (left) with Etienne De Swardt at the Etat Libre D’Orange shop in Paris Quentin Bisch’s connection with Etat Libre D’Orange goes back to the days before the young…
Persolaise Review: Coven from Andrea Maack (2013)
I dismissed the first three fragrances from Andrea Maack as derivative and uninspiring. The next two, Coal and Silk, were marginally better, but they didn’t possess sufficiently distinct personalities to…
A Product Of The Blogosphere – An Interview With Matthew Zhuk Of Ex Idolo
Matthew Zhuk at Fenwick, the latest retailer to pick up Thirty Three Matthew Zhuk is in an interesting position right now: his brand, Ex Idolo, attracted serious attention in 2013,…