Happy 90th Birthday Mitsouko!...

In 1919, Jacques Guerlain created Mitsouko. This classic chypre perfume was inspired by the novel La Bataille, authored by his friend Claude Farrere. In the story, Mitsouko was married to  Japanese Admiral Togo and also, secretly in love with a British officer. War broke out in 1905 between Japan and Russia. Mitsouko was left to wait. She bid her time and awaited for the outcome of the war. Mitsouko is the symbol of impossible love.

Mitsouko literally means “mystery” in Japanese. And this fragrance truly embodies the enigmatic characteristic of the classic Guerlain fragrances. It has a certain air of complexity and depth that is not so common today. Mitsouko takes you to a journey of nuanced sweetness that features peach, rose, jasmine and the spicy notes of oakmoss and vetiver.

To celebrate Mitsouko’s 90th birthday, Guerlain launches a limited edition Mitsouko in baccarat crystal embellished with jade and pearls. It’s a lovely work of art marked by the prestigious opulence of the jewels that decorate this classic. Only 14 of these limited edition fragrances will be sold and the price challenges this country’s bleak economy – $7,000 a piece.

The Economics of Perfumes...

If you think the economic downturn has made a lot of consumers scale back on unnecessary expenses, think again. The perfume business, specifically the luxury-niche-designer brands, are raking in profits despite the bleak economy. And we’re not talking about the cheap kind sold in department stores, these are fragrances priced $100 and above. Now, who says we’re in a recession?

High-end brands are even expanding their stores across America and projected sales until the end of the year is up. In addition, there are more fragrances produced each year than the last decade – a whopping 500 fragrances. There is so much fragrances available and the fragrance houses seem to be unaffected by the economy.

Recession or not, it’s always a challenge to predict consumer behavior. But at the rate things are going, it looks like consumers couldn’t just give up some of life’s indulgences, no matter how insanely expensive they are.

The Classics: Holiday Fragrance Must Haves...

What better way to spend the holiday season than to indulge yourself in classic fragrances. Fragrances that stood the test of time. Fragrances that never lost its beauty despite the reformulation of notes. Fragrances that we’ve learned to love from one generation after the other.

Guerlain, one of the oldest fragrance houses, has created some of the highly-acclaimed classic perfumes today. It all started with Pierre Francois Pascal Guerlain’s (1798-1864) entrepreneurial determination to create a business in the field of perfumery and beauty. He began his career in the perfumery by selling imported products then later on concocted his own fragrances which he sold to beautiful, single women. He was famous for being able to create an “original fragrance that would shine just for an evening.” Word spread around and he was commissioned to create fragrances for the royal family. In fact, he was the preferred perfumer of all courts in Europe during his time. Five generations later, the Guerlain name still stands and has become one of the well-respected names in the perfume business. Some of the notable fragrances produced by Guerlain are: Jicky, L’Heure Bleue, Shalimar, Mitsouko, Vol de Nuit, Vetiver, Samasara and Nahema.

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel revolutionized the fashion industry by incorporating elegance in the basic clothing. The fragrance house, however, was a product of a business partnership with Pierre Wertheimer who produced and sold the perfume line and beauty products under the Chanel brand. The relationship has gone sour at the height of Chanel couture and Parfums Chanel’s success. Apparently, Wertheimer retained 70% of the profits and Chanel, a measely 10%. Chanel’s perfume line is topped by the classic Chanel no 5. Other mainstream fragrances include Coco Mademoiselle, Coco and Chance.

Estee Lauder started the cosmetic business in 1946 in New York City. Their products at that time focused on body creams and lotion. It was only in 1964 when the company began producing fragrances, Aramis in 1964 followed by Clinique in 1968 and the rest is history. The Estee Lauder brand includes a whole range of other brands under its management, among them are Aramis, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Donna Karan, Jo Malone, MAC Cosmetics, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Origins and Tom Ford. Some of the popular Estee Lauder fragrances are Pleasures, White Linen, Beautiful, Intuition and Sensuous.

The above classics are well-regarded in the perfume industry. There are other signature brands that have made waves and continue to make waves but in my opinion, these three belong to the top 10% of the best classic fragrances ever created.

Naomi Campbell vs Moodform Mission for breach of c...

Naomi Campbell is at it again but not for another round of cellphone hurling drama with the media; rather for breach of contract with Moodform Mission, the company that developed her namesake cosmetic line. According to the Miami-based company, Campbell stop making payments in 2008. Moodform Mission’s lawyer Daniel Bright said, “She’s still making money from these products and so is the company that’s selling the stuff. It’s my client who got cut out.”

Campbell’s representative categorically denies Moodform’s allegations and would rather not comment further about the case.

Fragrances Naomi Campbell, Cat Deluxe and Seductive Elixir are some of the products made in partnership with Moodform Mission.

Fergie To Join Avon’s Celebrity Fragrance Po...

Fergie joins the roster of celebrities of Avon’s fragrances. The fragrance which is yet to be named will be available next year through Avon’s direct sales representatives. International launching is set on the third quarter of next year followed by the U.S. next fall.  The theme of Fergie’s fragrance is still unknown but according to Fergie, Avon has allowed her personality to come through. With that said, can we expect something a bit more over the edge yet pleasant, something biting yet still overtly feminine, modern, chic and young?

Avon’s celebrity alliances started in 2005 as part of their brand-reinvention strategy. Since then they have formed partnerships with various Hollywood celebs with Reese Witherspoon topping the list.The cosmetic giant has great confidence that Fergie will expand their consumer base in the young market segment.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrea Jung told WWD, “We are really excited about Fergie….She’s very inspirational and serves as a great partner on that front. She’s strong, she’s vocal and in my own personal opinion she is an empowered woman who stays true to herself and is not afraid to state her opinion.”

Jimmy Choo To Launch Own Fragrance Line...

Jimmy Choo is set to release its fragrance collection beginning 2010. Paris Inter Parfums, Inc. will create Jimmy Choo perfumes under a 12 year license agreement. The French company holds the fragrance licenses of popular designer labels such as Paul Smith, Lanvin and Burberry. Tamara Mellon, the president of the Jimmy Choo company, says that fragrance is the next logical thing to do to expand the Jimmy Choo label. The luxury footwear brand has also ventured into handbags and accessories.

The Jimmy Choo brand is ultra-feminine, sexy and modern. It would be interesting how the scents turn out next year.

Fragrance Wheel...

If you’re a novice in the perfumery, you may find yourself at a loss in classifying fragrances. Not all perfumes are a hundred percent floral, fruity or woodsy. The fact of the matter is all fragrances combine a whole gamut of notes from different plants, roots, flowers, oils and other synthetic substances and each perfume would have a combination of  five or more accords to come up with the final formula.

In 1983, fragrance guru, Michael Edwards developed his own system of classifying fragrances. Inspired by the seminar held by Firmenich, he designed a Fragrance Wheel to make fragrance classification a lot simpler.

There are four standard classification in the perfumery: Floral, Oriental, Woody and Fresh. The fifth class is called Fougere, this is positioned at the center of the wheel and is tagged as an exception to the rule. The four standard types are divided into three sub-groups. In the chart, you will notice that the sub-groups give a more detailed description of the fragrance. Thus, a floral perfume could be further analyzed and described as something soft floral or floral oriental.

The fragrance wheel is used as a reference by retailers, perfumistas and regular users like you and I.  It is updated every year and lists old and new fragrances in the industry.