Persolaise Rodrigo Flores-Roux On Re-Making Fougère Royale For Houbigant
When I met Rodrigo Flores-Roux at the London launch of the John Varvatos range of scents, I asked him about his work on the reformulated, 2010 version of Fougère Royale,…
Looking For The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
It’s time for me to lock the study door, pull down the blinds and calm my nerves with a sniff of my beloved Habit Rouge. The Invasion Of The Day…
Persolaise Review: Eau De Nuit from Armani (Marie Salamagne; 2013)
Knock me down with a blotter and throw me in a barrel of Pink Friday: for once we have a mainstream scent that actually delivers on its promises! Armani‘s Eau…
L’Artisan Parfumeur Closes London Boutique; Penhaligon’s To Take Its Place
An extra post today to convey some news which many of you will no doubt be sorry to read. L’Artisan Parfumeur have announced that they are to close their sole…
Persolaise Review: Sahara Noir from Tom Ford (Rodrigo Flores-Roux; 2013)
Is Tom Ford on a gender-bending mission? Last year he energised the masculine market with the female-friendly Noir (recent winner of the Perfume Extraordinaire award at the UK’s FiFis). Now…
Twenty Blotters For… Rodrigo Flores-Roux
Pick a blotter… read the question… give a short, snappy answer! I mean this as a compliment: Rodrigo Flores-Roux loves to talk. The Givaudan perfumer is a bundle of anecdotes,…
Persolaise Review: Gris Montaigne from Christian Dior (François Demachy; 2013)
In the press release for the latest addition to the Collection Privée, Dior‘s in-house perfumer, François Demachy, is quoted as saying that the “chypre is the grey of the perfume…
Buttons, Dots And A Whole Load Of Gatsby Dresses – London’s FiFi Awards Ceremony
My FiFi evening began with a wardrobe malfunction. Just as Madame Persolaise and I were about to step onto the red carpet at the entrance to London’s Brewery, I felt…
The (Not Entirely) Unbearable Lightness Of Lightness – Perfumes For Summer 2013
There was once a pot which called a kettle black. I try to remind myself of this each time I feel the urge to become snooty about so-called ‘summer scents’.…
Off To FiFi 2013
Later today, I’ll be attending the FiFi UK awards ceremony at The Brewery in London. I’ll be particularly interested to find out who picks up the prizes for Best Independent…
Persolaise Review: Autoportrait from Olfactive Studio (Nathalie Lorson; 2011)
Most of the scents in the photography-inspired Olfactive Studio range possess an ingenuous, translucent signature which failed to seize my interest, but Nathalie Lorson‘s Autoportrait is an exception. Even though…
Design With Scents Course At Kingston University
Perfume-related courses are few and far between, so it’s often worth raising the profile of any which do materialise. The latest one to be brought to my attention is entitled…
Persolaise Review: No 5 Culture Chanel exhibition at Palais De Tokyo, Paris
shadow of Main Gauche, bronze sculpture by Diego Giacometti, circa 1964 Whilst flitting backwards and forwards between the artefacts displayed at Paris’ No 5 exhibition, I ask myself which perfumes…
FiFi 2013 Perfume Extraordinaire Shortlist
As the date for the FiFi awards ceremony draws closer, the people at Fragrance Foundation UK are busily releasing the final category shortlists. One of the latest to emerge is…
FiFi UK 2013 People’s Choice Awards – Liz Earle Shortlisted Again
Wow, yet another victory for Liz Earle! Fragrance Foundation UK have released the shortlists for the People’s Choice FiFi Awards (as voted for by visitors to Boots.com) and last year’s…
Persolaise Review: Oud Mood from Maison Francis Kurkdjian (Francis Kurkdjian; 2013)
I guess it’s not surprising that Francis Kurkdjian decided (or was persuaded?) to release more agar wood perfumes. His Oud was easily one of the best scents of 2012 and…
Perfume Bottles On Cosmopolitan UK
Since my video interview appeared on Cosmopolitan UK’s website last week, I’ve received several emails asking me to identify the bottles on the table. From left to right, they are:…
FiFi UK 2013 Best Independent Perfume Award Shortlist
Image: Fragrance Foundation UK The people at Fragrance Foundation UK have just released the shortlist for this year’s Best Independent Perfume FiFi Award, a category for which I had the…
Catching A Passing Bouquet – Nice’s Bataille De Fleurs Parade
A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to experience the explosion of colours, sounds and smells that is Nice’s annual Bataille De Fleurs parade. To read my Basenotes piece…
To Comment Or Not To Comment: Some Thoughts On Interacting With Perfume Blogs
I keep berating myself for not doing things I genuinely and sincerely want to do, but which I never seem to be able to do. As far as this post…