If I handed you an unlabeled vial of Estée Lauder Azurée to sniff, you might be puzzled. It certainly smells niche, with its strange opening and complex sillage. Could it be from Serge Lutens? Not likely, given its aldehydic sparkle. Maybe something new from Parfumerie Générale? No, no that, either. Estée Lauder probably wouldn’t be your first guess…
Carolina Herrera has launched a duo of limited edition summer fragrances, 212 Splash. The scents are lighter variations on the original 212 fragrances and were “inspired by the fast pace of the city of New York”. The outer packaging is designed to evoke soda cans.
212 Splash for women (shown) features notes of bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, peony, rose, lychee, cedar, sandalwood and musk. It is available in 60 ml Eau de Toilette.
212 Men Splash includes bergamot, mint, fresh notes…
For anyone who is interested, I've added more information to the announcements of Hermès Kelly Calèche (do go check out the new ad, it's perfect!), Mustang for Men, Sean John Unforgivable Multi Platinum and Rosine's Diabolo Rose.
I suspect that my unsniffed purchase for 2007 will be Kelly Calèche.
A friend very kindly sent me some Malmaison by Floris so that I could wrap up last week’s posts on carnation (see Lorenzo Villoresi Garofano, Etro Dianthus, Caron Bellodgia). I had not smelled it in several years, and was surprised to find how closely it matched my memory — it is lovely stuff.
Malmaison was originally released by Floris in the first half of the 19th century; it was reformulated and relaunched in 2000. I do not know the notes, but it is reportedly based on the “rare Malmaison carnation“, and it is closer to the modern conception of a soliflore than any of the other carnation scents I’ve discussed so far. The top notes are, quite literally, a burst of fall spices…