Who Do You Work For? – Thoughts On Blogs And Perfume Criticism
Persolaise In his editorial in the current issue of Sight & Sound, Nick James considers recent developments in the world of film criticism. He explains that many newspapers have closed down…
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Persolaise Review: The Odd Fellow’s Bouquet from Atkinsons (Fabrice Pellegrin; 2013)
Fabrice Pellegrin is particularly skilled at finding a balance between accessibility and distinctiveness. In The Odd Fellow’s Bouquet (one of two works he’s created for the revived house of Atkinson’s,…
Make Perfume Not War – Histoires De Parfums’ Gérald Ghislain Turns To Charity
A few days ago, I bemoaned perfume brands’ growing reliance on unconvincing stories to sell their wares. Well, round about the same time, as if on cue, an email popped…
The Rise And Rise Of The In-House Perfumer – Persolaise In The Financial Times
What will Jacques make for these Louis Ladies? Jasmine Award-winner Emma Hill has just had a brief piece published in the Financial Times on the subject of in-house perfumers. I’m…
Persolaise Review: 1996 from Byredo (Jérôme Epinette; 2013)
I don’t envy perfume brands the task of coming up with a ‘story’ for a new release. It’s a thankless job, fraught with paradoxes. If the perfume is sub-standard, its…
I Love You, Man – Male Relationships In Pictures
My recent review of Aramis’ Perfume Calligraphy Rose and my suggestion that Etro’s current male clothing collection would go well with Tauer’s Une Rose Chypree prompted several interesting emails from…
Persolaise Review: Cuir 28 from Le Labo (Nathalie Lorson; 2013)
Those who take an interest in such matters will be aware that Le Labo mentioned the arrival of its Dubai exclusive quite some time ago; at one point it seemed…
Not A Middle Eastern Brand – An Interview With Thameen Founder, Basel Binjabr
There’s a new perfume brand at Selfridges and – surprise surprise – it hails from the Arab world… or does it? Click here to read my Basenotes interview with its…
Scent On The Catwalk – Perfume For Fashion
It’s joint-list-making time again here in our corner of the blogosphere and the task of choosing our theme has fallen to the Candy Perfume Boy. As he gave us a…
Persolaise Review: Modern Muse from Estée Lauder (Harry Fremont; 2013)
The people at Lauder are calling Modern Muse their biggest feminine fragrance launch since Beyond Paradise (Calice Becker‘s otherworldly garden of green jasmine from 2003). The advertising campaign would certainly…
Persolaise Review: Ashoka from Neela Vermeire Créations (Bertrand Duchaufour; 2013)
Neela Vermeire‘s eponymous brand has reached the perfumery equivalent of the difficult second album. Her three debut scents (all composed by Bertrand Duchaufour… ever heard of him?) made such a…
What We Really Wore This Summer – 2013
I know, it’s a hard life. As a perfume critic, I don’t often get to wear scents from my personal collection; I’m usually covering myself in stuff which I’m evaluating…
Speaking Your Mind – An Interview With Atelier Cologne’s Sylvie Ganter
Despite its relative youth, Atelier Cologne has made a considerable impact on the niche (and not-so-niche) perfume circuit. One of the brand’s co-founders, Sylvie Ganter, popped into London’s Les Senteurs…
Persolaise Review: Skin On Skin, Amour Nocturne and Déliria from L’Artisan Parfumeur (Bertrand Duchaufour; 2013)
I’m not sure why L’Artisan Parfumeur have given us the Explosions D’Émotions mini-range, but there we are: the logic of fragrance releases isn’t always easy to work out. As a…
Chandler Burr’s Secret Perfumer Answers Readers’ Questions
Image: OpenSky Those of you who follow Chandler Burr‘s thought-provoking Untitled Series on OpenSky (link no longer active) will no doubt be aware that ‘Season 1′ has reached its tenth…
Is That A Bell I Hear?
Some summer reading… One of those curious little ironies of life: I get tons of ideas for blog posts when I’m in ‘no writing allowed’ holiday mode. Whilst Madame Persolaise…
Persolaise Review: Made To Measure from Gucci (perfumer unknown; 2013)
I often wonder if some perfume manufacturers enjoy having a laugh at our expense. It’s the kind of straw-grasping idea that pops into my head when I try to understand…
Persolaise Review: Eau De Monsieur from Annick Goutal (Annick Goutal / Camille Goutal & Isabelle Doyen; 1980/2013)
Wow! Cover me with slices of lemon and sprinkle me with a pinch of salt. Eau De Monsieur is back. Sadly, I never had a chance to smell the original…
Persolaise Review: Vaara (Bertrand Duchaufour) and Iris Prima (Alberto Morillas) from Penhaligon’s (2013)
I worry about reviewing another Bertrand Duchaufour creation almost as much as I worry about reviewing another oud scent. They are both extremely ubiquitous; some would say excessively so. I’m…
Persolaise Review: Thirty Three from Ex Idolo (perfumer unknown; 2013)
This was one I approached with dread. “It’s an oud,” I was told. ‘Just kill me now,’ I thought to myself. “It’s exceptionally good,” they said. ‘Please, make it quick,’…