Old niche favorites in new packaging: Isabey Gardenia (shown above left, $165 at Beautyhabit, Your Cosmetics or Luckyscent in the US, Les Senteurs in the UK, First in Fragrance in Germany) and Amouage Ubar (shown above right, $250 at Aedes, Four Seasons, Luckyscent or Parfums Raffy in the US, Harrods or Les Senteurs in the UK)…
When spring arrives, the black and white world of winter seems to turn technicolor in splotches. The ground is mostly barren, but a patch of lurid daffodils lights up a parking strip, and a tulip tree looks like it has burst into white flames against the grey sky. Even the singing birds sound ridiculously cheerful, like a Looney Tunes short come to life.
Of course, I love it. And mostly I like choosing perfumes for spring that make the same garish splash in the cool, damp air. But sometimes moodier fragrances that reflect the dirt’s slow awakening seem more appropriate. Here are my current favorites for spring, not in any particular order.
Amouage Ubar. Nothing says spring like lily of the valley — light, ethereal, and tinged with green. Unfortunately, when I wear Christian Dior Diorissimo, I feel like I’m wearing someone else’s clothing. It feels cold on me. Ubar, on the other hand, is loaded with lily of the valley and sunny jasmine, but has a warm grounding of sandalwood and civet. I’m hoarding the few drops I have left in my sample sprayer…
This month, Amouage will reintroduce Ubar for Woman, a 1995 fragrance that has been unavailable for the last few years. Ubar has been reformulated and is now in new packaging (see above).
Niche luxury fragrance house Amouage has reintroduced ‘Ubar’ for Woman, a sophisticated and mystical perfume inspired by the rediscovery of the long lost ancient Arabian frankincense trading city of Ubar…
Sometimes it's tempting to compare perfume to music. For instance, Chanel No. 22 smells like singing aldehydes and white flowers with a whispering contralto of sandalwood, vetiver, and incense. Guerlain L'Heure Bleue smells melodic and moody like a Fauré tone poem. Balenciaga named a whole series of its perfumes after forms of music and rhythm: Prélude, Quadrille, and Rumba. And let's not even get started on Valentino Rock 'n Rose. Amouage counted on the natural sympathy between scent and music when it named its latest fragrance “Lyric”.
Amouage describes Lyric Woman (there's also a Lyric Man) as a fragrance in a “lyric-spinto” voice. A lyric-spinto soprano sings with the lightness of a lyric soprano, but with a slightly darker timbre…
Representatives from niche line Amouage will be at Aedes de Venustas in New York City next month to introduce their latest scent, Lyric:
We invite you to meet David Crickmore, CEO of Amouage, and Christopher Chong, Amouage Creative Director during their forthcoming appearance at Aedes de Venustas on Thursday, October 2nd from 4:30 pm till 7:00pm, where they will be available to answer any questions you would have on Amouage and autograph your Amouage flacon…