The (Not Entirely) Unbearable Lightness Of Lightness – Perfumes For Summer 2013
Persolaise 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’.…
Christian Dior
Persolaise Review: Oxygen, Carbon & Hydrogen from nu_be (Antoine Lie, Françoise Caron; 2012)
Pick a concept for a new perfume brand. What hasn’t been done yet? Scents inspired by famous authors? That idea’s taken. Fragrances linked to blood groups? That one’s gone too.…
Today’s Miss Dior Is Not Quite The Same As Yesterday’s
I rarely paste excerpts from press releases on this blog; there are other sites that do a far better job than I ever could of keeping up with the stream…
Persolaise Review: Lys Du Desert from Decennial + Coeur En Mai from MDCI + J’Adore L’Absolu from Christian Dior (2012)
It’s not often that a perfume brand celebrates the arrival of a reformulation, but that’s exactly what’s happened with MDCI. 2009’s Coeur En Mai recently fell foul of IFRA guidelines,…
Persolaise Review: Ambre Doré from Maître Parfumeur Et Gantier (2012) + La Petite Robe Noire extrait from Guerlain (2012) + Miss Dior Le Parfum from Dior (2012) + Cloon Keen Atelier (2011)
In the same way that theatre producers use Macbeth to get bums on seats, perfume houses tend to use vanilla-based scents as their cash cows. And more often than not,…
Persolaise Review: Coco Noir from Chanel and Grand Bal from Christian Dior (2012)
Whilst watching Joe Wright’s over-egged version of Anna Karenina, I wondered if the impeccably groomed counts and countesses waltzing across the screen could possibly have worn François Demachy‘s new Grand…
Persolaise Review: Eau Sauvage parfum + Addict Eau Sensuelle from Christian Dior (2012) + Premiere from Gucci (2012) + Eau Dynamisante from Clarins (1987/2012)
Most of Dior’s recent alterations to their main fragrance range (fiddling around with the names of the various Miss Diors, tinkering with the Addicts etc) have been baffling, to say…
Persolaise Review: Mito eau de parfum from Vero Profumo (2012) + Escale À Parati from Christian Dior (2012)
Serendipity is surprising at the best of times, but perfume serendipity tends to be especially astonishing. A few weeks ago, I drew a parallel between the creations of Angela Flanders…
FiFi UK 2012 – Hall Of Fame
Yesterday I showcased the finalists in this year’s FiFi UK Best Fragrance Commercial categories, so today I thought I’d publish the shortlist for the Hall Of Fame. The twenty fragrances…
FiFi UK 2012 – Best Fragrance Advertisements
The FiFi UK awards ceremony will take place on Thursday (expect live tweets and Facebook updates!) which means this is an excellent time to have a closer look at the…
Persolaise Review: Sport Scents from Chanel, Dior, Issey Miyake, Dolce & Gabbana and Thierry Mugler (2012)
Are you feeling athletic today? Do you enjoy wearing fragrances with names longer than those of characters in Tolstoy novels? If so, please click here to be redirected to Glass…
Persolaise Review: Diorling from Christian Dior (2011)
The re-release of Diorling provides 2012’s first opportunity to raise the thorny subject of reformulation. To his credit, François Demachy – the man behind this re-working of Paul Vacher’s original…
Persolaise Review: Patchouli Impérial from Christian Dior and Sharif from Profumo Italia (2011)
Andy Tauer recently wrote on his blog about a distillation of patchouli oil which is particularly rich in patchoulol. The substance is,
Persolaise Christmas 2011 Recommendations + Ormonde Jayne Give-Away
My love of list-making isn’t often reflected on my blog – mainly because I rarely seem to have the time to indulge in this most boyish of activities – but…
Much Too Wild For Goutal
I’m pleased to add another name to my growing roster of Wonderful Sales Assistants In London Perfumeries. Today it’s Eric, the Parisian employee at London’s sole, standalone branch of Annick…
New Cure For Insomnia: Counting Perfume Releases
It’s the final week of August, the holiday’s nearly over and life will soon have to return to normal at Maison Persolaise. It’s going to take a little while for…
Reviews: Shalimar Parfum Initial from Guerlain and Miss Dior Chérie Blooming Bouquet from Christian Dior (2011)
Okay, here we go. Time to bite the bullet and articulate my thoughts on what is unquestionably one of the most important perfume releases of the year, regardless of the…
Guest Post: Fragrance Companies – Beware Of Men And Older Women by Elena Vosnaki
It’s a known fact that the fragrance industry generates the majority of its profits from purchases made by women. But men are buyers too, with the need to have their…
Review: Aqua Allegoria Jasminora from Guerlain (2011) and Aqua Fahrenheit from Christian Dior (2011)
I’m often asked if price is a good indicator of the quality of a perfume. When I’m told that I must restrict my answer to one word, I always say,…