Lisa Hoffman, wife of actor Dustin Hoffman and founder (last year) of Lisa Hoffman Night & Day 24 Hour Skincare, is entering the fragrance market this November with Variations. The collection comprises three fragrances, French Clary Sage, Tunisian Neroli and Tuscan Fig, each packaged in a set of four versions designed to be worn at different times of the day and night (morning, daytime, evening and bedtime)…
Christian Dior has launched Midnight Poison, the fifth fragrance in the Poison range (see Poison, Tendre Poison, Hypnotic Poison and Pure Poison):
The ambry-woodsy-rosy fragrance was designed by Jacques Cavallier and Olivier Cresp / Firmenich, in collaboration with François Demachy…
“We don't have the skills to become a big brand company that sells perfume all over — but that is not our spirit,” said Ms. Costa-Webster. “I hate the idea that you can find everything everywhere in the world. I think people like the fact that we are still special.”
— Agnès Costa-Webster of Fragonard talks to the New York Times about the historic perfumery founded by her grandfather, Eugène Fuchs.
John Galliano’s show for Dior, held in the Orangery at the Palace of Versailles, showed the problem at its most extreme. A tribute to 60 years of the fashion house, it was a magnificent spectacle, but there was nothing on the catwalk that any woman could actually wear [...] The enormous cost will be absorbed by the millions of consumers who purchase the make-up, fragrance, tights and so on that bear the Dior name.
— Columnist Colin McDowell talks about the "problem" of couture in the UK Times Online.
Fahrenheit 32 is the creation of Hedi Slimane (Christian Dior’s former artistic director), perfumer Louise Turner, and François Demachy, current director of perfume development at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. Fahrenheit 32 is described as a “fresh oriental” and its main ingredients are orange blossom, vetiver and vanilla — with added “fresh notes,” a “solar note” and aldehydes.
The only similarity between “original” Fahrenheit and Fahrenheit 32 is the shape of their bottles, so judge Fahrenheit 32 on its own merits.
If Fahrenheit was about ‘heat’, Fahrenheit 32, with its name (the temperature at which water freezes), packaging (frosty white and metallic) and advertisements (featuring high altitudes) seems to proclaim its “coolness” — while using rather “warm” ingredients…
As far as perfume shopping is concerned, you will not often find me wandering in The Realms of the Well-Known (department stores). Call me a ‘niche-picker’ since you will find me scouring little boutiques (both brick-and-mortar and online) for unusual and little-known fragrances. Niche scents are usually expensive (rarely available at a discount price) and are often hard to find (and sample), so it’s always a pleasant surprise to find a ‘mainstream’ scent with a distinctive character.
In the early nineties, I bought my one and only bottle of Fahrenheit by Christian Dior. I enjoyed it but when the bottle was empty I didn’t restock the fragrance; the world was full of scents I wanted to own and there was no time for repeats. In preparing to review Fahrenheit 32 (posting tomorrow), I decided to revisit Fahrenheit. It was a happy reunion…