My job is to create something beautiful. I have to build something like a musician or a painter, create something in accordance with the quality of the haute couture of Patou.
— Perfumer Jean Kerléo, quoted in 1986. Read more in Jean Kerléo, Former Jean Patou Perfumer and Osmothèque Cofounder, Dies at 93 at Women's Wear Daily via MSN.
Pardon the name-drop, but a little more than three years ago, through a lucky set of circumstances, I met Thomas Fontaine, the Jean Patou house perfumer.1 For me, it was an amazing afternoon of seeing what a real perfumer’s lab looks like, tasting jasmine and rose Pierre Hermé macarons, and talking fragrance with someone who lives and breathes a world I’ve mostly only read about.
One thing in particular sticks in my memory. Talking about Joy, Fontaine mentioned walking past women — mostly older women — in the street and inhaling their lush, complex sillage, “like a fur.” He described this style of fragrance as “old fashioned.” I bet Fontaine would say the same thing about Moment Suprême…
That’s a presumptuous title, isn’t it? Why should I know what perfume will lift your mood? I don’t, so here’s a list of five perfumes that make me happy. My criteria is that they be friendly, uplifting, and maybe a little wacky. No brooding orientals or pretentious oeuvres here. Maybe you’ll find something to perk you up, too.
Jean Patou Colony: On the top of the “happy because it’s wacky” list is Colony, a pineapple syrup-infused chypre. To me, Colony is like an elegantly dressed woman who knows how to burp on command or who does a spot-on imitation of Foghorn Leghorn — all without mussing a hair of her chignon. How can that not bring you joy? For a bohemian take on the same concept…
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US. Today’s post includes collector editions from Guerlain, Jean Patou and Clinique, plus a new hair perfume in Viktor & Rolf’s Bonbon.
From Guerlain, 1 liter bee bottles decorated by street artist JonOne. The blue bottle holds Shalimar in Extrait; the pink bottle holds La Petite Robe Noire in Extrait; the orange bottle holds Rose Barbare in Eau de Parfum. €9000 each, due to launch in January…
More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US. Today’s post includes collector editions from Nina Ricci, Serge Lutens and Jean Patou, plus a new version of Baccarat Rouge 540 at Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
Nina Ricci’s Nina in the Nina Pop 10th Birthday Collector’s Edition, in a “psychedelic polka dot pattern” by French artist Coco. Due to launch in February, in 50 ml Eau de Toilette…