Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Best (and Worst) of Scent in 2010 -- a group blog

I wasn't sure if I should participate in this, as I'm still a relative neophyte in such stellar company. And the choices here are from things I actually have smelled, seen or noticed, as opposed to the entire universe of what's out there -- don't know much about those celeb scents, for example (mainly because I don't have to) but here goes:

Perfumer of the year: Bertrand Duchafour

In memoriam  (discontinued): What does that really mean now? If I had to pick one it would be “Safari.” Not on the Lauren website now, but easily found elsewhere on the Web. Same with YSL’s “Nu,” another favorite. 
The (new) fragrance I loved: by Kilian Love & Tears (Surrender). The best jasmine I’ve tried yet.

Perfume of the year: L’Artisan "Nuit de Tubéreuse", for skillful groundwork and acceptance of the online perfume community as a viable facet of product development. Smells good too.
Trend we can do without: Ambrox/Ambroxan overdose -- like a little too much salt in the soup.

Best vetiver: Le Labo’s “Vetiver 46” 

Most ridiculous celebrity for a scent:  Any, but Matthew McConaughey, who  is rumored to eschew deodorant and most bathing, comes to mind.  
Best celebrity scent: If I have to pick one, “Like This” Tilda Swinton, Etat Libre d’Orange
Best Buzz: L’Artisan’s "Nuit de Tubéreuse" -- they did buzz right

I would have liked to see more of: visually oriented creative marketing like the Atelier Cologne postcards -- conceptual, blessedly free of silly softcore, writhing models and smarmy, heavy-breathing voice-overs

Best new fragrance concept: Calling an aromachemical an aromachemical (as in Escentric Molecules “Molecule 03”) 

Worst ad: Any print ad featuring a greasy naked man -- as in Marc Jacobs

Best ad: The Quay brothers short film for CDG's “Wonderwood” (as an art piece — I doubt that it would move much product)

Favorite Flacon: “Bang” -- it actually looks like a pocket flask that took a bullet, and I hear it wobbles a lot, too

Best natural scent: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz “Eau Natural” (limited edition for the “Mystery of Musk” event) 

Best name of a fragrance company: Escentric Molecules

Best Flanker: Estee Lauder "Sensuous Noir"

Rising star of 2010: Liz Zorn
Best  masculine department store fragrance:  “Midnight in Paris” Van Cleef & Arpels
Best shared niche (unisex): “Eau d’Épices” Tauer Perfumes
Best  feminine department store fragrance: “Kalimantan” Chantecaille

 Best fragrance under $50:  Estee Lauder “Sensuous Noir” 30 ml. size. 
(But really, any. There are so many more alternatives to buying perfume now: online, online discounters, auction sites and flea markets for vintage, decanters, travel sizes, bottle splits: the days when prices were “set” by a manufacturer are long gone.) Meanwhile, here's to Lauder for keeping their prices sane.
Other participating blogs are:
Thanks to Michelyn Camen for coordinating this event!



Pitcher plants image from Google Images. Image may be subject to copyright.

16 comments:

Carrie Meredith said...

Gosh, I am SO down with many of your choices here. Therefore, your taste is superb. :)

ScentScelf said...

Oh, that Wonderwood ad! It was a fine piece of short-form cinema, I thought...spent a while trying to wrap my head around it as a scent message, but ended up just enjoying that somebody had made it.

Second mention of Safari that has caught my eye in 24 hours. Apparently, it is not a "brown" (read: amber) scent. Hunh. Who knew? (Not me, obviously.) Now I'll keep an eye out at discounters... Nu, I've had the love. Like Carrie said, we agree--therefore, your taste is superb. ;)

Joining in the cheer for Lauder's price point, and LOL at both McConaughey's sig scent (that ubiquitous B&W photo of a starched nurse swabbing a man's armpit comes to mind) and calling a spade--rather, an ambroxan--a spade.

You wouldn't have to twist my arm too hard on Like This. I rather like Like This. Like, happy to get it as a gift like. Like that.

Marina said...

So agree on the trend we can do without re: ambroxan. Oud can go away too for awhile. As much as I love oud, it is so over-exposed now, it is becoming trite.

Torrent Download said...

You wouldn't have to twist my arm too hard on Like This. I rather like Like This. Like, happy to get it as a gift like. Like that.

Flora said...

Love your list! Gotta agree about the greasy guy ads - they have to go, along with the "writhing models."

I had no idea Safari was gone, I thought it was one of their steady performers. It's not one I would wear, but it's far better than most of the rest of the line. (Best Ralph Lauren scent of all time was the original Lauren in the square red bottle, and now they have messed with it!)

Olfacta said...

Hi Carrie -- and your taste is as well! :)

Olfacta said...

Hi Shelly -- I discovered "Safari" in a $2 bottle I bought at an estate sale (with about 10 mls left). I'm going to write about it this week so won't give away too much here except to say that I llurveit.

Yes, we're usually on the same page. Thanks!

Olfacta said...

Hi Marina -- On oud, yeah. I can still remember my first whiff of Montale's "Black Oud" when I was just starting the blog. I thought, WTF?! Why would anyone want to smell like a box of Band-Aids?!

Since then I've smelled some real oud, which is quite different. And some of the niche ouds really aren't bad. But I've put it one the back burner, along with the ambroxan -- too much, too much.

The next one will be vetiver, I suspect.

Olfacta said...

Hi TD -- Thanks! Very nice play on words, that.

Olfacta said...

Hi Flora -- I heard that "Safari" had been discontinued, even though it's all over the web, so went to the Lauren website and it isn't there. My guess is the regulations, or expense in making it...the usual. I will delve. In the meantime, if you like it, this might be a good time to look for it.

Ann said...

Great list! As I read it, I kept nodding, "yep, yep, yep" to nearly every entry. I fell for the NdT and the Love & Tears as well. And I was beyond delighted to see your mentions of Safari and the original Lauren; both great scents that seem to have gotten overlooked over the years. I'm also definitely on-board with the overload of ambroxan, ouds, etc. Enough, already! Anyway, thanks for making me smile this morning.

Karin said...

Love, love, love Love and Tears!!! Good choice! :-)

Elisa said...

Ah, I thought I was the only one who liked Sensuous Noir!

Carrie Meredith said...

I seriously need a bottle of Sensuous Noir. I have the original and wear it very frequently. It's so pleasurable to wear.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you participated! :)

Love and Tears is fantastic and has a similar vibe (floral decadence) to Hermes 24 Faubourg.

Happy 2011!

~Dawn

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