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I know there are a few of us on BT that are fragrance addicts, so I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated place where we can share our thoughts.
This is not to take away from the lovely What Are You Wearing Today, Fragrance Edition thread, but more a place to post longer reviews, chat about new brands or releases, and just shoot the breeze on anything good and smelly 🙂
For me, I recently acquired 2 new decants that I've been anxiously awaiting. Ever since Lachaton mentioned that MMM was releasing a new scent called By The Fireplace I've been itching to get my hands on it. My decant arrived yesterday, so I'm looking forward to marinating in it this weekend. Secondly, I recently picked up a tiny sample of Shiseido Nombre Noir. Supposedly it is one of the most expensive failures in perfume history - made by Serge Lutens for Shiseido back in the 80s. Of course, with a backstory like that, I was dying to get a sniff 😄
What's new on your scent radar? Do tell!
Spoiler
If Jason Wu’s first fragrance looks familiar, it’s probably because the bottle bears a striking resemblance to the “Fragrance Box Clutch” that walked the runway of his fall 2017 show.
This is just one example of how the eau de parfum, which hits counters in August, ties in to Wu’s decade-old ready-to-wear line in nearly every way, from the juice to the packaging, the designer said in an interview Monday morning. A co-creation with architect Andre Mellone, Wu’s namesake scent comes in a bottle with a thick glass base that’s topped with the same perfectly circular gold cap that composes the handle of his new handbags.
“Every aspect of this fragrance represents the brand,” Wu said, noting that the “nudey pink” hue of the juice, inspired by the color of pressed powder compacts from the Fifties, is oft referenced in his clothes. The slipdress he custom designed for Lily Aldridge to wear to the CFDA Awards on June 5 was the same color as the bottle. Also, he added, doing a fragrance in the floral family was a no-brainer because every one of his collections contains a floral print of some kind. In the fragrance’s case, the main ingredient here is jasminum sambac, with peonies and lily of the valley playing “supporting roles.”
Wu has dabbled in beauty in a collaborative capacity several times before — there was an eye shadow with Shiseido in Asia in 2011; a candle with Nest founder Laura Slatkin in 2012; collections with Lancôme since 2013-15, and a limited-edition Caudalie Beauty Elixir that hit Caudalie last summer. But the Jason Wu eau de parfum marks the designer’s first solo venture in the space, via a partnership with fragrance distributor Parlux Fragrances Inc. and perfumer Frank Voelkl of Firmenich.
“The first thing he [Voelkl] did was show me something like 200 raw ingredients that I had to smell. I smelled everything and this one scent that took me back was jasmine sambac,” Wu said of the rare breed of jasmine that’s only found in India. “It was the one thing that took me back; it transported me. I remember when I was little, I lived in Taiwan and our neighbor had a whole wall of jasmine and I used to go pick it. I didn’t even remember this, it was so subconscious…[but] it transported me to the point where it was a powerful memory.”
Wu admitted that fragrance is the beauty category he’s wanted to tackle since the inception of his rtw, but it wasn’t until he established himself as a serious fashion player — and joined forces with Parlux — that he was able bring a scent to market.
“I found the right partner…and the 10-year mark is a good time for it. Any earlier it might have been premature. For the vast part of the last 10 years, I was trying to get to know myself first. It takes that long…the 30s are good,” the 34-year-old Wu said, adding that while the focus for now is on fragrance, he plans to expand into other beauty categories in a few years.
In the U.S., the fragrance will be sold exclusively in all Saks Fifth Avenue doors for three months starting Aug. 17, and for the same period in 20 Hudson Bay stores throughout Canada starting Aug. 23. A 3 oz. eau de parfum will retail for $145, a body cream for $80 and a foaming shower oil for $65.
“For a niche brand, it’s [approachably priced at] $145. It’s a little untraditional for the launch of a designer fragrance….Generally, on the market, [designer fragrances] are under $100,” Wu said.
For Parlux, this is what makes the collaboration with Wu so attractive. It’s a foot into the niche fragrance fold, a sector the 30-year-old company is itching to enter, according to Don Loftus, president of Parlux Fragrances Inc.
Jason Wu is a clear departure from Parlux’s current portfolio, which is largely comprised of celebrity blockbusters from Rihanna and Paris Hilton — who has little presence in the U.S. but maintains a sizable business in Asian and South Americas markets — to better priced sportswear brands like Vince Camuto and Kenneth Cole. Wu’s fragrance is comparable in price to the Norell brand that Parlux revived, but Loftus maintained that the two have a completely different customer.
“We’re an unusual company because we really service the upper moderate department store group with lines like Vince Camuto and Kenneth Cole. They are very important to the big department store groups like Macy’s, Dillard’s and Belk. We meet a really important need there across America for that upper moderate to better [scent] — but not specialty store. We know there’s a huge opportunity in specialty; there’s a lot of action,” Loftus said, noting that as a result, fragrance from the above is typically priced at about $85 as opposed to Wu’s $145.
There’s also international potential for Wu, which makes building the designer’s fragrance portfolio even more attractive to the manufacturer, Loftus added. He’s found that even if a designer is “huge in America,” if their collection is only sold domestically or they’re American, it makes “it hard to sell in France or most of Western Europe.”
“They [Europeans] like European brands. That’s something we’ll always be looking for. Jason [Wu] has that built in — because of his nationality and because his ready-to-wear is sold in many of these countries,” Loftus said. An international rollout will include select doors in Australia in October, the Middle East in the fall and Mexico, Southeast Asia and the U.K. next spring.
This is just one example of how the eau de parfum, which hits counters in August, ties in to Wu’s decade-old ready-to-wear line in nearly every way, from the juice to the packaging, the designer said in an interview Monday morning. A co-creation with architect Andre Mellone, Wu’s namesake scent comes in a bottle with a thick glass base that’s topped with the same perfectly circular gold cap that composes the handle of his new handbags.
“Every aspect of this fragrance represents the brand,” Wu said, noting that the “nudey pink” hue of the juice, inspired by the color of pressed powder compacts from the Fifties, is oft referenced in his clothes. The slipdress he custom designed for Lily Aldridge to wear to the CFDA Awards on June 5 was the same color as the bottle. Also, he added, doing a fragrance in the floral family was a no-brainer because every one of his collections contains a floral print of some kind. In the fragrance’s case, the main ingredient here is jasminum sambac, with peonies and lily of the valley playing “supporting roles.”
Wu has dabbled in beauty in a collaborative capacity several times before — there was an eye shadow with Shiseido in Asia in 2011; a candle with Nest founder Laura Slatkin in 2012; collections with Lancôme since 2013-15, and a limited-edition Caudalie Beauty Elixir that hit Caudalie last summer. But the Jason Wu eau de parfum marks the designer’s first solo venture in the space, via a partnership with fragrance distributor Parlux Fragrances Inc. and perfumer Frank Voelkl of Firmenich.
“The first thing he [Voelkl] did was show me something like 200 raw ingredients that I had to smell. I smelled everything and this one scent that took me back was jasmine sambac,” Wu said of the rare breed of jasmine that’s only found in India. “It was the one thing that took me back; it transported me. I remember when I was little, I lived in Taiwan and our neighbor had a whole wall of jasmine and I used to go pick it. I didn’t even remember this, it was so subconscious…[but] it transported me to the point where it was a powerful memory.”
Wu admitted that fragrance is the beauty category he’s wanted to tackle since the inception of his rtw, but it wasn’t until he established himself as a serious fashion player — and joined forces with Parlux — that he was able bring a scent to market.
“I found the right partner…and the 10-year mark is a good time for it. Any earlier it might have been premature. For the vast part of the last 10 years, I was trying to get to know myself first. It takes that long…the 30s are good,” the 34-year-old Wu said, adding that while the focus for now is on fragrance, he plans to expand into other beauty categories in a few years.
In the U.S., the fragrance will be sold exclusively in all Saks Fifth Avenue doors for three months starting Aug. 17, and for the same period in 20 Hudson Bay stores throughout Canada starting Aug. 23. A 3 oz. eau de parfum will retail for $145, a body cream for $80 and a foaming shower oil for $65.
“For a niche brand, it’s [approachably priced at] $145. It’s a little untraditional for the launch of a designer fragrance….Generally, on the market, [designer fragrances] are under $100,” Wu said.
For Parlux, this is what makes the collaboration with Wu so attractive. It’s a foot into the niche fragrance fold, a sector the 30-year-old company is itching to enter, according to Don Loftus, president of Parlux Fragrances Inc.
Jason Wu is a clear departure from Parlux’s current portfolio, which is largely comprised of celebrity blockbusters from Rihanna and Paris Hilton — who has little presence in the U.S. but maintains a sizable business in Asian and South Americas markets — to better priced sportswear brands like Vince Camuto and Kenneth Cole. Wu’s fragrance is comparable in price to the Norell brand that Parlux revived, but Loftus maintained that the two have a completely different customer.
“We’re an unusual company because we really service the upper moderate department store group with lines like Vince Camuto and Kenneth Cole. They are very important to the big department store groups like Macy’s, Dillard’s and Belk. We meet a really important need there across America for that upper moderate to better [scent] — but not specialty store. We know there’s a huge opportunity in specialty; there’s a lot of action,” Loftus said, noting that as a result, fragrance from the above is typically priced at about $85 as opposed to Wu’s $145.
There’s also international potential for Wu, which makes building the designer’s fragrance portfolio even more attractive to the manufacturer, Loftus added. He’s found that even if a designer is “huge in America,” if their collection is only sold domestically or they’re American, it makes “it hard to sell in France or most of Western Europe.”
“They [Europeans] like European brands. That’s something we’ll always be looking for. Jason [Wu] has that built in — because of his nationality and because his ready-to-wear is sold in many of these countries,” Loftus said. An international rollout will include select doors in Australia in October, the Middle East in the fall and Mexico, Southeast Asia and the U.K. next spring.
A new fragrance from Mugler. This looks so pretty! Description of the scent doesn't sound very promising to me personally, but boy is that bottle gorgeous!
"The concept behind AURA is “botanical meets animal”. It celebrates the intuitive instinct that MUGLER describes as being innately feminine in nature. The composition consists of three hearts which showcase overdoses of rhubarb leaf and a new Firmenich material called ‘Tiger Liana’. With AURA, MUGLER has sought to innovate, working closely with Firmenich to exclusively use Tiger Liana along with another material called Wolfwood – all of which comes together to create a magic aura and the next chapter in MUGLER’S extra-terrestrial odyssey."
Spoiler
"AURA opens sweet and green. On the green spectrum it sits firmly on the tropical, jungle-esque category with a sappy, leaf-like quality that brings to mind giant palm leaves filled with rainwater. There’s a strangeness to this botanical feel – a radiance that makes one think of bioluminescent flora. It’s a bit ‘MUGLER meets Avatar’ and it paints the image of an alien rainforest with monalithic trees and exotic plants that may, or may not be deadly.
There’s a zesty, refreshing quality to AURA that is best described as juicy. This is the clash of the rhubarb leaf and orange blossom and it plays contrast to the Tiger Liana which is used in overdose within AURA’s core. MUGLER are shrouding the nifty Tiger Liana material in an air of mystery (they’ve bestowed it with the name ‘Tiger Liana’ to keep it secret), but they say it is derived from a root and took ten years to develop for exclusive use in AURA. The Tiger Liana has a fascinating odour profile. It has a buttery smokiness to it, but it boasts a sweetness too with a fascinating sugared almond facet that adds shimmer as well as a nutty warmth.
In the base AURA pairs wood with vanilla. The vanilla bourbon brings a whole hosts of facets, creating a bed that is powdery, leathery, spicy and balsamic, whilst the Wolfwood enhances the smoky aspects of the Tiger Liana, creating a warmth that is resinous and fur-like. As it dries down, AURA carries with it a hint of leafy, sappy greenery and folds it neatly into the softly smoky base of vanilla and woods. It’s a beautiful transition that twists the green genre into something more oriental and modern."
Notes:
Oriental Heart: Tiger Liana
Botanical Heart: Rhubarb Leaf and Orange Blossom
Carnal Heart: Bourbon Vanilla and Wolfwood
I am very curious about the scent, even though it doesn't seem like my cup of tea. But, it's Mugler. They always manage to surprise me. I wonder will this be available in US any time soon... or ever ( only available in UK and France for now )? Anyone had a chance to try this one? Are samples available anywhere at all?
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