Created by a leading French perfumier, the scent is meant to be the olfactory embodiment of Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the ruthless dictator of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov.
— The fragrance, Mystérieusе, was created by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. Read more at Can the daughter of a dictator come up smelling of roses? at the Independent, and then check out the discussion at Bois de Jasmin. (hat tip to Donna!) Update: and here's another discussion at The Non-Blonde.
You can’t have been a thrift store junkie as long as I have without honing your eye for beauty and solid craftsmanship. The problem with a lust for 1930s crystal cocktail glasses with their fine, imperfectly etched bowls, for example, or the ability to suss out vintage alpaca or 1940s rayon by touch alone, is that I end up toting home too many gorgeous things I’ll never use. That butter-soft tweed Brooks Brothers overcoat? It went to a friend’s husband whose girth supported it. The chocolate brown Manolos two sizes too small? Seven dollars later, an intern in my office was wearing them. Let’s not even get started on geometric mid-century lamps, Murano glass ashtrays, and mouton jackets. I crave these items for their quality and style, but they don’t always fit into my life.
That’s how I feel about Parfums MDCI Chypre Palatin. I love everything about it and long for a bottle, but it was made for someone else. However, if Chypre Palatin suits you, you are in for a real treat…
Paris jeweler Ann Gérard has launched three fragrances: Cuir de Nacre, Ciel d’Opale and Perle de Mousse…
Séville à l’Aube is the latest from French niche line L’Artisan Parfumeur. Over the years, I’ve reviewed a fair number of their fragrances — yes, I’m a fan. This, however, is not a proper review. I’ve never met blogger Denyse Beaulieu of Grain de Musc, who worked with perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour to develop Séville à l’Aube (and who wrote a book about the process: The Perfume Lover). But I’ve corresponded with her, and I utterly fail the test for any sort of objective review: would I be completely honest if I thought it was dreck? No, I really wouldn’t. I’m quite sure I would just keep my mouth shut and review something else. As it happens, I love Séville à l’Aube, enough so that I want to say something about it. So, consider this a review with a major disclaimer.
The scent’s inspiration and development was detailed in Denyse’s book, and has been repeated elsewhere, so I’ll just quote her own quick summary from Grain de Musc:
[Séville à l’aube] was inspired by one of the most beautiful nights in my life, in Seville during the Holy Week under an orange tree in full blossom, wrapped in incense smoke and the arms of a Spanish boy…
French niche line L’Artisan Parfumeur will launch Séville à l’Aube, the fragrance designed by Denyse Beaulieu of Grain de Musc and developed by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. The scent’s inspiration and development was detailed in Beaulieu’s book The Perfume Lover…