To look out for in April - Versus & Acqua Colonia

This is an exciting month for new fragrances in Singapore with two launches I am looking forward to. The first is Versus by Versace which will be available all over town end of this month.

Versus is a re-introduction of the 90s fragrance of the same name but with a totally different scent. This is now bolder, more playful and more seductive to suit the modern day women. Like the ad visual featuring the very stunning Lara Stone, Versus expresses the playfulness and strong femininity while playing with strong contrasts in characters.

The box is striking with a deep blue labyrinth against metallic silver background. Again, we are seeing cyber-age colours contrasting with a traditional symbol resulting in a packaging that is timeless. The bottle is in a lovely purple shade with gold logos - feminine but not girly.

Versus features notes of kumquat, lemon, star apple, orange flower, stephanotis, rose, musk, patchouli and ambrette. The result is a refreshing floral and fruity chypre that works very well with our tropical heat. It is so realistically fruity it smells like an expensive tropical cocktail made from the freshest ingredients.

The other launch that will happen end of this month features not a contrast, but an evolution or rebirth of a very old and traditional brand. If 4711 sounds familiar to you, you'd be in for a treat. Created in 1792, 4711's Original Eau de Cologne is the grandfather of all colognes and was an indispensible fragrance for perfuming, de-odourising, and headaches. In recent years, the original formulation was updated with mass-market flankers featuring the word 'Ice' to make it more appealing. Now, 4711 is back again with a new direction.

4711 reinvents itself with a new identity 'Acqua Colonia' and pays homage to nature with a range of eau de colognes featuring natural ingredients. There's Melissa & Verbena, Vetyver & Bergamot, Lavender & Thyme and Royal Riesling. The bottles retained their traditional shape but now jazzed up with luxury crystal cuttings. It comes with a removable screw on atomizer so you can use it as a splash or spray.

Lemon & Ginger is ultra refreshing and reminds me of the complimentary hot towels on a plane, thus evoking the holiday spirit. Vetyver & Bergamot is masculine and woody without being too overly earthy and muddy. Royal Riesling is semi-sweet and light with hints of fresh grapes in the summer sun. This perfume as reported by them supposedly has got mood therapeutics effect. My initial fear was for this range to smell like a cheap haphazardly cologne made with rough smelling essential oils and fortunately, I was wrong. They are delicate and are modern adaptions of the colognes of yesterday.

With this new look and image, 4711 puts itself up there along the likes of Guerlain's Aqua Allergoria, Hermessence and Roger&Gallet while retaining its affordable down to earth price.

The Right to Smell

Bianca Solorzano reported on "The Early Show" that city employee Susan McBride complained she was "chemically sensitive" and a co-worker's perfume and room deodorizer made it difficult for her to breathe and do her job -- so much so that she suffered migraines, nausea and coughing.

Ann Curry Thompson, McBride's attorney, told CBS News, "You can't come into a workplace loaded in one of these so-called designer perfumes that broadcasts itself across the room."

McBride won a $100,000 settlement. Detroit city employees in the three buildings where McBride works are now being warned not to wear scented products, including colognes, aftershave, perfumes, and deodorants, or even use candles and air fresheners...

source: CBS News - The Early Show

I find this case truly ridiculous. It is very debatable whether the use of personal fragrances is a personal right but to totally eliminate the use of personal products, whether for vanity or hygiene, for the sake of one person, whose claim in the first place is not very justifiable, in three buildings, is absurd. We are social creatures who will accommodate for our community, but only to a certain extent. Let me highlight a few points:

1. There are other objects in the office that may trigger sensitivities. The photocopier is a big contributor of chemicals and cations to the office air. Not forgetting the 'sick building' syndrome, recycled office air is a contributor too. The chronic exposure to such conditions for someone who is sensitive results in a constant inflammatory state that anything could be a trigger for her symptoms. We cannot remove the photocopier from the office and definitely not the air, so perhaps she should remove herself from the office and work in an environment that is better for her?

2. The excessive and wrong use of fragrances is an irritation and this I agree, but the lack of deodorizing gives me a bigger headache. Many people use fragrances not to smell good, but to not smell bad. I certainly cannot stay focused in an environment where people start to emit excessive personal odour after the afternoon sun. Maybe she should come here and take the MRT at 6pm and then tell us if it gives her a bigger headache.

3. Perhaps the man sitting next to Ms McBride in the office suffers from trimethylaminuria and the only fragrance that is able hide his fishy odour is A*Men and now that he can no longer wear any scent, he suffers from daily embarrassment and faces the possibility of a dismissal.

4. You don't ask for trees and plants to be removed just because you suffer from debilitating hayfever. You wear a mask, stay indoors and take vitamin C.

I'd like to know what you think about this case so please comment.

Tilda Swinton Like This, the new fragrance by Etat Libre D'Orange

Woohoo! Tilda Swinton Like This, the latest offering by Etat Libre d'Orange will be available in a few weeks. The perfumer for Like This is Mathilde Bijaoui and will feature notes of mandarin, ginger, pumpkin, everlasting, neroli, rose, vetiver, heliotrope and musk. Tilda Swinton's inspiration behind the perfume is written to a chant and will be included with the bottle:

Like this.
What does your fragrance smell like? Like this.
What does your fragrance feel like? Like this.
What will I do with this fragrance? Like this.
It’s an idea that makes me very, very warm and happy…
Tilda

Like This will come as a 50 ml eau de parfum.

source: etatlibredorange.com

More can soon smell like royalty

House of Amouage, perfumer of the Omani royal family, starts its global expansion with a store in Dubai to open end of March. Next in line is London in May. Full story here.

Kim Kardashian to launch new fragrance with Reggie Bush?

'Kim Kardashian wants to release a new fragrance with her boyfriend Reggie Bush. Kim — who recently debuted her first perfume at Sephora in Century City Mall in Los Angeles — has hinted that the New Orleans footballer may be joining her in bringing out a range of “unisex” perfume. “Reggie and I have talked about doing a fragrance together — something that is kind of unisex,” she said. However, Kardashian admitted that her boyfriend prefers her natural look. “He just likes my natural sexiness,” she said. “He likes my natural scent.”' (source: Showbizspy)

Okay, what's next? Paris Hilton to launch new fragrance with Tinkerbell? While I'm not a huge fan of celebrities wanting their own juice, I can understand from the business and ego point of view. Per purchase royalty is definitely higher in perfumes than CDs and there is no better publicity than having your name and face plastered all over Sephora. The art of perfumery to me is almost sacred, but alas, I have to accept that consumerism is bigger than art and I have learnt to accept, accommodate and review the latest celeb frag. But I do not understand the idea of launching a fragrance with your celebrity partner. It's just too personal. Unless you have a sex tape.