Favorite Things 2006 aka Golden Colombinas

There is a wonderful tradition in a perfume/beauty-blogging universe of doing a collective post at the end of the year about the things we loved the most. This year, our project is entitled Favorite Things 2006. As far as Perfume-Smellin’ Things is concerned, from this year on, this “best of” post will also be known as Golden Colombina Awards. Our first Category is The Favorite New Perfume Line. The nominees are: Le Labo LesNez Mona di Orio Parfum d’Empire Parfumerie Generale Tauer Perfumes And the Golden Colombina goes to… Parfumerie Generale. Out of twenty or so of their scents, I love many (Aomassai, Bois de Copaiba, Cuir Venenum, Iris Taizo, Musc Maori, Tubereuse Couture…) and like practically all. I am looking forward to more Parfumerie Generale fragrances next year…and to all of them being sold in the US. The Favorite New Perfume Release. The nominees are: Black Orchid by Tom Ford Blue Agava & Cacao by Jo Malone Bois d’Armenie by Guerlain Cuir Ottoman by Perfume d’Empire Fleur de Narcisse by L’Artisan L’Air de Rien by Miller Harris Le Parfum Coffret (as a whole) by Thierry Mugler Mandarine Mandarin by Serge Lutens Paestum Rose by Eau d’Italie Patchouli 24 by Le Labo Songes by Annick Goutal West Side by Bond No 9 And the winner is…I could not choose just one. Black Orchid, Bois d’Armenie and Fleur de Narcisse will each receive a Golden Colombina. These three scents never fail to impress and excite me; they are beautiful, deep, evocative and extremely wearable. The Favorite Perfumer. The nominees: Anne Flipo (for Fleur de Narcisse and many other L’Artisan scents) Annick Menardo (for Bois d’Armenie, Patchouli 24 and Black) Chris Sheldrake (for numerous Serge Lutens fragrances) Christophe Laudamiel (for Le Parfum Coffret) Francis Kurkdjian (for Indult Isvaraya and MDCI K/3) Marc-Antoine Corticchiato (for Cuir Ottoman and Ambre Russe) Maurice Roucel (for basically everything he does and just because) Pierre Guillaume (for the whole Parfumerie Generale line) And the winner is…Annick Menardo. She does the things with leather and vanilla that no one else can do, making leather forceful and comforting at the same time. Here is wishing for more Menardo creations next year! The Scents I Wore and Enjoyed the Most in 2006. The nominees are: 1000 by Jean Patou Black by Bvlgari Black Orchid by Tom Ford Bois d’Armenie by Guerlain Cashmere by Cristiano Fissore Colognes (Bois d’Argent, Cologne Blanche and Eau Noire) by Christian Dior Colony by Jean Patou Cuir de Russie by Chanel Cuir Ottoman by Parfum d’Empire Cuir Venenum by Parfumerie Generale Daim Blond by Serge Lutens Diorling by Christian Dior Dzing! by L’Artisan Flowerbomb Extreme by Viktor & Rolf Guet-Apens by Guerlain Kolnisch Juchten by Farina Gegenuber and Parfums Regence Jasmin Full by Montale L’Arte di Gucci L’Eau du Navigateur by L’Artisan Le Parfum de Therese by Frederic Malle Messe de Minuit by Etro Miss Dior by Christian Dior Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle Muscs Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens Vanille Tonka by Parfums de Nicolai Vie de Chateau by Parfums Nicolai Yatagan by Caron And the Golden Colombina goes to…Dzing! by L’Artisan – for being everything I like in perfume. It has leather, it has some sweetness, it has animalic undertone, it is complex, it takes me back to good times in my life…it is a perfection. The Honorary Awards. These awards shall be given to honor perfume lines, perfumers and perfume notes for extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to perfumery, and for outstanding service in delighting, captivating and entertaining Colombina. The Honorary Award - Perfume Line or House goes to…Christian Dior. Practically every scent done by this House up to the year 1999 (remembered with dread as the year of J’Adore) has been wonderful. All of the classic Diors (Miss Dior, Diorella, Dioressence, Diorissimo, Diorling, Dior-Dior, Diorama and the modern classic, Poison) “fit” me to the extent that I feel they were somehow created for me, with my tastes and sensibilities in mind. Although I am not a fan of most Dior scents created since 1999, I don’t think this is the end for Dior. I hope that it is not even the beginning of the end. Dior Homme, Bois d’Argent, Cologne Blanche and Eau Noire make me optimistic. If I have one wish for 2007, it is for Dior to re-issue The Classics for wider distribution. This year, The Honorary Award – Perfumer / Lifetime Achievement is directly related to The Honorary Award - Perfume Line or House. I would like us all to remember Edmond Roudnitska and the amazing fragrances created by him for Dior (as well as Hermes, and Rochas!). His wife Therese might have been his muse, but I feel as if he created his perfume for me and me alone. Not a single of his creation I do not love or find difficult to wear. Here is to Roudnitska, with much respect and admiration! The Honorary Award – Perfume Note 2006. This year was all about Leather for me. From the hardcore, sinister, vintage leathers like Lancôme Cuir to the elegant leather chypres like Miss Dior and Diorling, to the barbaric, tarry concoctions like Kolnisch Juchten and Patchouli 24, to the almost-edible, sweet leather of Cuir Venenum and Colony, to the cuddly comfort leather in Bois d’Argent…I love them all. My ambition is to try all leather scents ever created and to eventually own most of them. Yes, I dream big. I am working on a Directory of Leather scent and am hoping to add it to this blog in the beginning of 2007. The special shout-out this year goes to Floral Notes, especially lily of the valley, jasmine and tuberose. The end of the world might be upon us, because this former (white-)floral-hater has been enjoying and craving some pretty heady floral stuff in 2006. And to prove that I am human and not ALL about perfume, here are my two non-perfume favorite things from 2006: Armani Prive Luminous Silk Foundation. Lightweight, amazingly efficient at concealing the imperfections, long-lasting and easy-to-blend, this is the foundation for which I have been looking for the last 10 years. What’s even more important, one of the shades, No 5, is absolutely perfect for me. Comodynes Sunless Tanning Towelettes. The self-tanning solution for which I have been looking for the last 10 years. Non-greasy, fast-absorbing, non-streak and easy to apply, these towelettes are a dream come true. Every self-respecting award ceremony must have at least one tearful thank you speech. So here is mine. I want to thank my wonderful perfume friends for making it possible to try the fragrances I could never have been able to try were it not for the generosity of my fellow perfume-addicts, for sharing their thoughts, impressions, perfume gossip and perfume news and for listening to my ramblings. Big, huge Thank You to the readers of Perfume-Smellin’ Things. (It still amazes me that there ARE readers.) Your comments make me so happy. And Special Thank You to my wonderful contributor Tom and the reluctant budding parfumista Mr. Colombina, the latter both for writing posts for me and for tolerating my obsession. Happy 2007, everybody! Image sources: perfumer.s-perfume.com, okadi.com, art-et-parfum.com, british-wild-flowers.co.uk, topfoto.co.uk Please visit other blogs to read about more things we loved in 2006: Afrobella All About The Pretty Aromascope Beauty Addict Beauty Blogging Junkie Beauty by Nadine Beautiful Makeup Search & Beauty Blog Beauty Hatchery Beauty Jones Blogdorf Goodman Bois de Jasmin BonBons in the Bath Brain Trapped in Girl's Body Capital Hill Barbie C'est Chic Coquette Crazy Jay Blue eBeautyDaily Girl's Handbook Hautemommastuff Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary! Legerdenez Makeup Bag Monkeyposh My Muse No one knows why the wolf laughs Now Smell This Peppermint Patty's Perfume Posse Platinum Blonde Life Product Girl Scentzilla! She'll Be Feverish After So Much Thinking Slap of the Day The Customer Is Always Right The Daily Obsession The Great She Elephant The Life As A Ladybug The Non-Blonde Urbane Girl Victoria's Own