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Narciso Rodriguez For Him Bleu Noir ~ fragrance review

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Narciso Rodriguez For Him Bleu Noir, brand image

“I love blue so dark that it appears black. I like black which takes depths of dusk.” — Narciso Rodriguez.

Judging from the Narciso Rodriguez perfume line, I think Rodriguez may be more inspired by color (fabrics, packaging) than odor, for when it comes to the men’s perfumes at least, I say: ‘Love the bottles…don’t need the colognes.’ The Rodriguez men’s offerings have been nice enough, but never possess a ‘certain something’ that makes me crave them.

For Him Bleu Noir is a flanker to 2007’s Narciso Rodriguez For Him and is categorized as an aromatic fougère fragrance…

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Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Albino (A Study in White) ~ perfume review

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Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Albino

For the past few days, I’ve been feeling the need to purge after all my holiday indulgences — too much wine, too many desserts, more than a few late nights. I need to eat lighter, drink lots of water, get a little winter sunshine on my face. Even when I’m reaching for a fragrance in the morning, I want something crisp that pierces my mental fog. That means a short break from my usual soft florals and sweet orientals, in favor of something different. For the past few days, I’ve been trying Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Albino (A Study in White).

Hurwitz writes, “What is it to be without pigment? There seems to be a kind of quality; a luminosity and sense of lightness. So then what? ‘White’ materials…and a questioning: what does white feel like? Albino takes an abstract look at white from a synesthetic and textural stance…”

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Maison Francis Kurkdjian Pluriel Masculin ~ fragrance review

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Most fougère fragrances are overtly manly and smell old fashioned to contemporary “noses.” When I smell a classic fougère, I think of a well-off/well-fed, outdoorsy, conservatively dressed and groomed man of a certain age, who, when not traipsing through wet woods hunting or hiking, holds court in a plaid-rich den (in a log cabin if resources allow) with one hand clutching a whiskey and the other resting on the forehead of a happy Labrador retriever. Let’s call this guy Traditional. The only fougère perfume I truly loved is extinct: Houbigant Fougère Royale (I don’t much care for the reissue) — it conjured the outdoors, but was dry and buoyant, not soggy.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian just released a new fougère fragrance, Pluriel Masculin: a man can be “one and many things at the same time” sayeth Kurkdjian…

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Jay Z Gold ~ fragrance review

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Jay Z Gold

Jay Z Gold, the debut fragrance of rapper Shawn Carter aka Jay Z,1 launched late last year with relatively little fanfare — granted, we may never again see the sort of hoopla that surrounded the launch of Lady Gaga Fame,2 but still, I was surprised at how quiet it seemed. Then again, maybe I just missed it all, living under a rock as I do — there were reportedly tons of digital ads and outdoor billboards, and all sorts of promotional activities in New York City, including samples distributed on the street in front of Broadway theaters over Thanksgiving weekend. The president of Parlux, the holder of Jay Z’s fragrance license, promised that…

We are going to make a big noise. For the 30 days before Christmas, it will be impossible not to know he has a fragrance.3

So maybe it was a bigger deal than I thought, just not in the usual venues — do tell, have you seen anything promotional for Jay Z Gold…

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Houbigant Fougere Royale ~ fragrance review

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Houbigant Fougere Royale

Whenever I hear or read the word “fougère” I don’t think of ferns, I think of Houbigant Fougère Royale (1882) — which shows how perfume obsessed I am. Years ago, I got my hands on several old bottles of Fougère Royale (1950s version) and enjoyed every drop of that crisp, sprightly fragrance; I’ve never found a replacement for it, so I was thrilled when I heard Houbigant was reissuing Fougère Royale this year.

Fougère Royale was the first fougère perfume, and was composed using natural bergamot, lavender, clary sage, geranium, heliotrope, rose, orchid, carnation, oakmoss, musk, vanilla, and synthetic coumarin (synthesized in the laboratory from salicylic acid). Fougère Royale’s use of a synthetic note gave it the distinction of being the first “modern” fragrance. Fougère Royale translated the “idea” of ferns into scent; it did not try to duplicate an existing smell — it created a new smell. Fougère Royale’s creator, perfumer Paul Parquet, said: If God gave ferns a scent, they would smell like Fougère Royale.1

Before I go further, let me state the obvious: there’s no one alive today who smelled original, 1882 Fougère Royale…

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