Get Me Some Collectibles!

By Marla The sweltering dog days of summer can be good times for staying indoors and polishing up our perfume collections. It’s also a good time to go shopping for those delightful special editions of our favorite fumes. I’ve been particularly lucky this summer to find some gems that I wanted to share. What’s particularly exciting to me this summer? Travel-friendly collectibles. Airplane travel is tough for us perfumistas (how many bottles can I fit in that one-quart bag?), and train travel necessitates small luggage footprints. In addition, spraying yourself liberally with Samsara or Jolie Madame when packed tightly with your fellow humanity is not very acceptable. In fact I think it’s a felony in several countries. So what to do when you need a fragrant lift on a long journey? Lolita Lempicka, Estee Lauder, and Kenzo have all heard these pleas, and have answered them with some fantastic special editions. My favorite is Lolita Lempicka’s solid compact. It’s heavy, it’s beautiful purple-enameled silver, and the solid crème perfume of LL’s signature scent is true to the original, but with much less sillage. It’s a more private version of one of my favorite scents. Kenzo has been making Ryoko Stones, or Nomad Sprays, for several years now, 3 for women, 2 for men. They are wonderfully shiny and bean-shaped, as much fun to hold as a Pet Rock, and contain 20ml of perfume, just enough for a few vacations. I am waiting for a Ryoko Stone of KenzoPower (because with a name like that, I think it may turn me into a superhero), but I found an older stone of KenzoAir and snatched it up. Tokyo was a bit bland for me, but it comes in a shiny black stone, the most irresistible of the bunch, so I may have to buy one anyway. For a more posh solid, Estee Lauder makes a beautiful collection of compacts around the winter holidays each year. They are solid perfumes encased in enameled jeweled compacts, and I can’t imagine anything prettier to give as a holiday gift. I don’t personally wear any ELs, they don’t suit me somehow, but for those who have a favorite in her line, these solid compacts are beyond gorgeous. So what are some of your favorite limited editions and travel-friendly perfumes?

L'Eau Par Kenzo Eau Indigo Pour Homme

Inspired by indigo, "the color of travel", "by the seductive dance of color and scent as dusk sets on water", and by the atmospheric mi chieh mi loup hour of twilight, L'Eau Par Kenzo Eau Indigo Pour Homme is a "night-time" sequel to L'Eau Par Kenzo Pour Homme. Created by Sophie Labbé, the fragrance is a blend of ginger, coriander, elemi, vetiver, cedar, labdanum and tonka bean. As the list of notes indicates, the scent is built on the contrast of spicy-cool-fresh and resinous-warm-earthy. The airier top notes balance the more substantial base, achieving that very Kenzo effect of pared-down transparency under which is concealed fairly weighty complexity. An Indigo perfume by another line would have been significantly darker and more intense. Kenzo's interpretation is the transluscent darkness of water right before the sun sinks into it on the horizon... while the rays still make it possible to get a glimpse of the solemn depth under the tranquil surface. I love the interplay of the sweeter ginger and sharper, more fiery coriander in the beginning, and the way spices enliven the dry resinousness of cedar and elemi. Vetiver prevents amber and tonka bean from making the scent too robust and sweet, while they, in turn, make sure that the green rootiness of vetiver, although apparent, does not dominate the composition. Softly sensual, harmonious, easy to wear, this is indeed a perfect perfume for a quiet summer night. L'Eau Par Kenzo Eau Indigo Pour Homme is soft enough to be easily worn by a woman, and I found it much more interesting on my skin than the Femme verison, which I thought to be somewhat powdery-sugary. Available at kenzousa.com, $55.00 for 1.7oz.

Kenzo Eau de Fleur Magnolia: Perfume Review

Eau de Fleur Magnolia is a part of Kenzo's new collection of floral scents, to which every year a new flower will be added. The collection right now also includes Eau de Soie and Eau de Thé. Created by Francis Kurkdjian, Magnolia is my favorite of the trio. I haven't expected to be so charmed by a scent this subtle and fresh, but it seemed to have put its quiet, tranquil spell on me. Despite the name, this is by no means a magnolia soliflore. The slightly fruity, apricotty flower is present like a shadow on water, a beautiful ghost of its usually sweet, luscious self. Which is exactly what I am in a mood for right now, it seems: pastels, transparency, non-heady floralcy, non-agressive freshness. There is quite a lot of citrus in the blend, dry, non-sweet citrus with a woody undertone, which plays into the delightful paleness of the composition. In the base, I sense something a little smoky, like a hint of black tea, perhaps...the overall effect is of weightless simplicity, of grace, ease and calm. As is the case with any creation that appears simple, it is in fact undeniably complex. Kurkdjian's sumptuous touch shows through the apparent purity of the fragrance, which makes its transparency warm and its colorlessness interesting. Available at Sephora, Nordstrom and Kenzousa, $55.00 for 1.7oz. Image source, lizham.com

In Search of Comfort: Kenzo Amour Le Parfum, Estee Lauder Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang, Sinfonia di Note Coeur de Noisette

It is COLD, people! Yesterday morning there were snow flurries! A cup of hot tea (Takashimaya Rose!), a warm blankie, fluffy socks, a good book (it's time to revisit Agatha Christie, methinks) and a comfort scent are right now the items of absolute necessity. Here are some comfort perfumes I discovered among new releases. Kenzo Amour Le Parfum. Kenzo can do no wrong this season, from the beautifully androgynous Power to the innocent/sexy Winter Flowers to this spicy-incensey cashmere shawl of a perfume. The regular Amour was a little too bland for my taste, Amour Indian Holi a little more distinct but still too subtle. With the addition of more incense and amber, Le Parfum aquired just enough oomph and depth to get my attention. Frankly, I would have wanted MORE incense, because the big blast of it which I witnessed in the first stage of Amour Le Parfum's development was the best part of the fragrance. As it is, the scent is fluffy more so than it is resinous. I would love-love to find a fragrance that combines incense and fluffyness in equal proportions. Now THAT would be extraordinarily comforting. (Note to self, layer Le Parfum with Messe de Minuit or Avignon). Having said that, I find Amour Le Parfum extremely enjoyable and wearable. It is soft, cuddly, surprisingly long-lasting and sillage-full. Truly an olfactory equivalent of a cashmere shawl, perfect for this weather. This is the perfume for the fans of the late and lamented Barbara Bui fragarnce, only richer, spicier and with more incense. Estee Lauder Amber Ylang Ylang. More Amber than Ylang Ylang on me in the beginning, which is fine, this time of the year. The ripe, creamy floral note is certainly there, it softens the sweet amber and lends it a wonderully boozy quality. Holidays are coming , so bring on the booze! I find the scent to be very simple, quite literally just the two title notes with maybe a hint of spice in the background, but that is OK with me: the best comfort scents are usually simple. As the scent progresses, ylang ylang becomes more apparent and, as it turns slightly more floral, the perfume transforms from sensual-comforting into ladylike-elegant (still retaining all the ambery warmth). If Amour Le Parfum was a cashmere shawl, Amber Ylang Ylang is a chocolate-colored velvet dress, the kind that catches your eye not because of the abundance of details but, on the contrary, because of its simple form and the richness of the fabric. The second success in the Private Collection series. Speaking of simple and comforting, Coeur de Noisette by Sinfornia di Note is just that. This creamy little concoction of coconut, hazelnut and amber reminded me of Parfumerie Generale's Une Crime Exotique (an extraordinary comfort scent, by the way), only, well, simpler and with coconut instead of gingerbread. The two have the same kind of buttery feel, you can cut these scents with a knife, and I love that quality in winter. Coconut fragrances usually have a tropical feel, but Coeur de Noisette for some reason carries me in what is the opposite direction from the tropics, namely, to my Russian home; it smells of my mom's baking, altough goodness knows my mum has never used coconut in her cakes and pies. The sweet simplicity of Coeur de Noisette might become a little grating if one over-wears or over-doses it, but once in a while, a couple of drops are superbly comforting. Amour Le Parfum is aiavalable on kenzousa.com, $65.00-$85.00, Amber Ylang Ylang can be found on esteelauder.com, $65.00-$300.00 (the latter price is for perfume, shown here), and Coeur de Noisette is sold at luckyscent.com, $150.00.

What Men Like... Review of Kenzo Winter Flowers

"It is better for you to have reduced a single free man to slavery by gentleness than to have freed one thousand slaves." Omar Khayyam A male friend who smelled Winter Flowers with me had just one thing to say about it, "it smells seductive"...Now, a heavy-lidded oriental like Opium or Shalimar is seductive, a sultry floral like Mahora or Fracas is seductive. An animalic musc like Koublai Khan or cumin-heavy fragrance like Theo Fennell is seductive. I have heard, although it is hard for me to relate to such a point of view, that a clean, right-out-of-shower scent like, well, anything by Clean, is seductive. Winter Flowers, a limited edition of Kenzo's blockbuster Flower, is none of those things. It is a whisper of a scent, a feather-light cloud made of powder and petals. My friend, when told my theory about orientals and big florals being seductive, opined that I am thinking simplistically and that their seductiveness is too obvious. Give men some credit, urged my friend, we are not that predictable. Flower, Kenzo's blockbuster, is the perfume I cannot smell. I tried many times and all I get is a faint whiff of powder diluted with water. Winter Flowers, although still quiet, is intensified just enough for me to be able to smell it. It seems to me to be a woodier and a little more floral take on the original. It is a very hard fragrance to describe, because at no point of its development (in itself more or less non-existent) does it smell of any one ingredient in particular more than of others. It is a delicate amalgamation of notes that is impossible to take apart. I asked my friend what it smelled like, and he said that it smells like warm skin. And that is spot on. Winter Flowers is a skin scent slightly amplified. And, I suppose, therein lies it seductiveness. It smells ...familiar, gentle, comforting and a little vulnerable. It smells innocent, and, as Baudrillard said, there is no aphrodisiac like innocence. So to the question, which always has and always will be asked on perfume forums and blogs, the question of What Men Like...They are complex creatures and their minds work in mysterious ways that can't always (if ever) be explained rationally. They are all- and it will come as a surprise- very different. What's an aphrodisiac to one will be a huge turn-off to another: one thinks Shalimar is sex in a bottle, another's mother used to wear it and therefore sex and Shalimar exist in two galaxies far, far away from each other; one is salivating when you wear a gourmand scent, another one stands to attention when you smell like freshly laundered linen... I do think, however, that we all, men included, have TYPES of scents to which we are attracted (on others, anyway). My friend, for example, is drawn to perfumes that are powdery and a little sweet, to soft, warm scents that speak in sotto voce. But, really, all this serious and half-serious analysis of men's preferences is needless. A perfume, even if it is something he doesn't like, will not prevent him from liking you. And if he likes you, he will like whatever perfume you wear. Kenzo Winter Flowers is available at Sephora, $65.00 for 1.7oz.

Perfume Review: Kenzo Power

Kenzo describe Power, their new fragrance for men, as "surprising", and it certainly caught me off guard. Given the name and the fact that the scent is hoped to become as powerful a seller as the feminine Flower, I expected something ...more archetypally masculine and more broadly appealing, I suppose (something that an average male buyer would immediately recognize as manly). Which shows how little imagination I have compared to the creative team at Kenzo, how little thought I gave to the overall esthetics of the brand and how much I underestimated the latter's willingness to risk. With Power, Kenzo taps into the trend in masculine fragrances, which views macho as not mucho, which believes that "charismatic" is not synonymoys with "agressive", and that understated power is as real and attractive as the more obvious kind. Fleur du Male, Fahrenheit 32, Gucci Pour Homme II, the trio of Dior colognes and above all Dior Homme are the examples of such "understated masculines". Like Dior Homme, Kenzo Power was created by Olivier Polge, and like former, it is "a flower for men". In Dior's case, the flower was iris; for Kenzo, Polge conjures up an imaginary blossom. Given the fresh and sweetly-piquant top notes (candied citrus zest spiced by cardamom and coriander) and the softly-balsamic, a tiny bit powdery base, in my imagination I see that flower as a cross between lotus and iris, with the aroma that is simultaneously clean and sensual. In reality, the "abstract floral heart" of Power is supposed to be a blend of rose, jasmine and freesia, and I would say that of the three, jasmine seems to me to be the most apparent. Something in the mix of coriander, cedarwood and labdanum produces a subtly smoky effect...the smell of a cigarette lit somewhere in the far distance...this might be the perfume's only nod to the stereotypically masculine. Overall, the scent is beautifully androgynous. Its softness makes it entirely wearable for a woman; and I hope that the "new sensitive male" that made Dior Homme a hit will make Kenzo Power a bestseller too. A company that thinks outside of the hairy-chested box of masculine perfumery deserves to be rewarded. Kenzo Power retails for $55.00-$75.00. Image source, Kenzo USA.