CaFleureBon Best (& Worst) of 2011 Fragrances: Justin Bieber,Tom Ford, Prada + Best of Indie Perfume Draw

  

 Was 2011 as  good year for perfume as 2010? Only time will tell. According to Women's Wear Daily over 2,000 fragrances were launched in what they stated is a 20 billion dollar industry this year and we question that statistic; we think that there were more, as global natural and artisanal perfumers took center stage with perfumistas and blossomed like the proverbial flowers they are (and probably were not counted).

 

 

Time magazine named the 2011 Person of the Year "The Protestor", and in a way that fits with many of the awardees; we  believe that out of the over 500 fragrances Tama Blough  and I have sniffed, tested and worn in 2011, many of the best are by independent perfumers or perfumeries whose work rose above the mediocrity of most fragrances this year. Did we miss a few? Yes; after all we have only four nostrils –Michelyn Camen, Editor In Chief and Tama Blough, Editor

 

 

Perfumer of the Year

 

Tama:  Brent Leonesio, Smell Bent

 

Brent has delivered fun, wearable, affordable fragrances for his two years in business, but this year saw the introduction of several surprising, risky, fascinating scents that are still fun, wearable and affordable. He also created the daringly animalic Untitled #8 for Luckyscent, which was the love it/hate it creation of the year (Debonair au Dandy and *Mountain High are Fifi Nominees for Best Indie perfume of 2012).

Michelyn:  Bertrand Duchaufour, The Pirate of Perfumery

Sixteen fragrances in one year… ranging from good to amazing. All niche and all on his own terms.The Perfumes: Seven Mon Numeros for *L'Artisan Parfumer,Penhaligon's Esprit de Roi, *Jardin de Poete for Eau d'Italie, MCDI Belle Helene, t*hree for Neela Vermiere,  Frapin 1697 and  Petit Mort for Marc Atlan (FiFi nominees for best indie perfume 2012 ) and for the Different Company Oud Shamash. (Bertrand has won my best perfumer award for three years, including 2009 for FashionTribes).

 

 

 

 

 Fragrance of the Year

 

Tama: Myrrhiad, Huitieme Arts Parfums- Myrrhiad is practically the poster child for rich, honeyed, spicy, incense fragrances. Nice work from Pierre Guillaume and the best winter scent I have tried in a while.

 

Michelyn:  *Oud, Les Nombres di Orio Mona di Orio- There was no rival. Only real Laotion Oud oil was used, and as every batch is different, it cannot be replicated. The osmanthus note is genius as was its creator Mona Di Orio. The oeuvre of a beautiful life.

 

 

Best Fragrance- Specialty Store 

 

Tama and Michelyn:  *Floral Curiosities by Ineke Perfume  – All of the Floral Curiosities fragrances, available at Anthropologie, have their own distinct personalities. Well-done, and affordable.Brava Ineke. Rumor has it smaller sized flacons will be coming to an Anthropologie near you. Buy them all.

Best Department Store

 

 

*Tama: Cartier Baiser Vole I have described this as “it’s like they took the whole lily plant, roots and all, stuck it in a blender, and bottled it.” This was a wonderful mainstream offering , by perfumer Mathilde Laurent, in a year of good department store scents.

 

Michelyn: Prada Candy- I am a Candy girl. Perfumer Daniela Andrier is one of the few perfumers that can take a scent and capture the brand DNA in a bottle. Sillage, ingredients, price point. Laotian benzoIn evokes the coveted No 9 Benjoin.

  

Best Fragrance you can find at Sephora

Tama and Michelyn: Illamasqua Freak – A seductive (datura) and  fun(hemlock)  fragrance, with ingredients that sound more like a witches brew, but trust us, Freak  makes us feel like anything but; our sex appeal is as hot as the the bottle (which can be a very good thing). So get your Freak on.

 

 

 

 

Best Designer Fragrance

Tama: Prada Candy-I was nervous about testing this because I thought it would be super-sweet, and like 99.9% of sniffers, I pulled the top off and screwed up the tester, but the fun candied violet was not too sweet nor too dry – just right.

 *Michelyn: Douglas Hannant by Robert PiguetI was seduced by Aurelien Guichard's 2011 feminine fragrance.  The Pear Note. The Orange Blossom. The Tuberose. This was the first new scent (not reformulated) for Piguet and I hope it won't be the last. A fashionista's perfume.

 

 

 

Best Natural Perfumer 

Tama: Mandy Aftel, Aftelier Perfumes- Smitten hard last year by her collaborative effort with Andy Tauer, Honey Blossom, I was smitten again this year with the sensuous Secret Garden (a nominee for the 2012 Indie FiFi  award and one of the commitee members ). Sumptuous flowers with a horde of animalic base notes including castoreum and civet create a languorous, heady bouquet.

 Michelyn: Charna Ethier Providence Perfume Co.- There is no doubt in my mind that Charna represents the future of young American natural perfumers AND the future is now. This is a tricky category; there are many talented natural perfumers. My test is: all things being equal,  a natural perfume is fine fragrance. Charna's background in synthetic perfumes allows her to  translate her scents, naturally. Eva Luna is a mimosa fragrance which on my skin is similar to the beautiful  Caron Montaigne. Rose Boheme with its 25 % patchouli  took months and months to  perfect. And she did. (Both Rose Boheme and Eva Luna are  nominated for Indie FiFi 2012).

 

Best Natural Perfume

 

Tama:  I smelled some lovely naturals this year, but Aftelier Secret Garden wins.

 

Michelyn: I tested over 60 natural perfumes this year and *Providence Perfume Co. Rose Boheme ties with Alexandra Balahoutis of Strange Invisible Perfumes' sheer gourmand Dimanche (both FiFi 2012 nominees)

 

 

 

Rising Star – Natural

Tama: Jane Cate – A Wing & A Prayer. Jane has created some ethereal and lovely natural perfumes this year, including Wild Rose, Epione and Haight Ashbury. Keep your eye on this one.

Michelyn:  As Ida Meister once quipped, "who knew there were so many talented natural perfumers from all over the world?" I chose  both Tanja Bochnig of April Aromatics AND * Dominque Durbrana aka Abdes Salaam Attar's whose Sharif was outstanding. Tanja's Nectar of Love is aptly named (a 2012 FiFi Nominee) and Amber Chocolate  (last year's winner as best natural fragrance) has me addicted. Follow the Oud Carvaan

 

 

Best Niche/ Independent Perfumer

Tama: Kedra Hart, Opus Oils -This year, her vibrant Les Bohemes line, plus the amazing patchouli fragrance Wild Child, showed that Kedra is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

 Michelyn: Mona Di Orio for Les Nombres di Orio- What might have been If she had not been taken from us so early, we won't know, but Tuberouse,  Vanille, Vetiver and Oud were her best work. Love you Mona

Best Indie Fragrance

 

Tama: Tiger Meat Star Fucker (Tiger Powers for  Opus Oils) – Just the name was totally polarizing, causing internet arguments and facebook unfriendings. Lost in the shuffle was the brilliance of this bright refreshing scent with a bit of a sexy, dirty underpinning. This is a tie  with  Pandora by DSH Perfumes   which forced me to appreciate a good chypre.  After trying to decipher a list of notes as long as my arm, I just gave in to the artistry of the blend, a magnificent green chypre (Pandora is a FiFi nominee for Indie Perfume 2012).

 

Michelyn: Mirabella by DSHPerfumes stole my heart and nose as did the caramelized burnt sugar note in this creme de brulee fragrance – *Soivohle Leather Krem (FiFi nominee for Indie Perfume 2012).

 

  

 

   Rising Star – Indie

    

Tama: Shelley Waddington, EnVoyage Perfumes- Shelley has caused quite a stir with her scent line, including a couple of my faves, Peche Noir and Go Ask Alice, and I look forward to smelling what’s next.

Michelyn: Jessica September Buchanan,1000Flowers- JSB has all the right stuff to become a world renowned perfumer. Regalisse Noir, her debut perfume was awarded a CafleureBon Best of 2010 award by one of the sharpest noses in the industry…our own Mark Behnke. Jessica followed up with Fleure. No 1 and then with her first all natural fragrance Narcotic Flowers. Did I mention she packed up her bags, sold her house  in Canada to move to Grasse and with your support she was able to eat three meals a day.  She has been on our radar ever since  she accidently met Mark at the Jo Malone counter at a Sniffapalooza event.  2012 will be her year, I just feel it.

 

 Best Vanilla

Tama:   Vanille, Les Nombres di Orio- A shimmering, spicy, slightly dry vanilla that is like liquid gold by a marvelous perfumer taken from us too soon.

Michelyn: Vanilla Insensee, Atelier Cologne  Vanilla in a cologne with sillage by Ralf Schweiger (a 2012 FiFi indie award nominee).

 

 

     Best Oud    

Tama: By Kilian, Incense Oud –The By Kilian Arabian Nights line is nicely done in general, but the Incense Oud made me swoon. Rich and spicy, and the oud is not sweaty at all.

Michelyn: Les Nombres di Orio Oud-  Brilliant and magical which is why it won my pick as best perfume of the year.

 

 

 

Best Fragrance You Never Heard of

 

Tama: Tommi, Sooni Eau de Tommi II – This whole line from Australia is worth a look, but the ylang ylang, greenery and honey of Eau de Tommi II knocked me out.

 MichelynSiam Proun,  Olympic Orchids – all of the above and Siam Proun is a glorious, luminous oriental that evokes a scent of place-  The Paris Hotel.

 

 

 

Best  Flanker

 

Tama: Angel Eau de Toilette – created for Thierry Mugler by Amandine Marie,Angel EDT is a more wearable, brighter and fruitier version of the original. The flacon is also gorgeous (as is Eva Mendes) – it’s a winner all around.

 

Michelyn: Shalimar Initial Guerlain -Perfumer Thierry Wasser  has earned his place at Guerlain.He hit  this one out of the ball park.

 

 

 

 

Perfumer of the Decade

 

Tama: Andy Tauer, Tauer Perfumes – Andy started my path down the rabbit hole of niche, and has been my idol ever since. Not only has he made some of my favorite perfumes and keeps pushing the envelope, he is one of the nicest men on the planet.

 

Michelyn: Pierre Guillaume-   Why? Let me count the Myrrihad of  reasons.  Pierre start Parfumerie Generale in 2002 (with Coze), he has consistently created fragrances that are the definition of chemistry meets alchemy and are ultimately wearable and intelligent. Huitieme Arts is pure genius with its idea of phyto perfumery captured through a limited number of accords. Pierre's collaborations for* Phaedon and Laboratorio Olfacttivo this year proves he plays well with others' and Tonkamande, *Indochine, Praline de Santal and Myrrihad were four of his finest fragrances.

 

 MichelMv

Lifetime Achievement

 

Tama: Jean-Paul Guerlain, Guerlain – He caused a bit of controversy last year, but the work must speak for itself. He has been creating classic fragrances for Guerlain since the late 50’s, but I will be surprised (and pleased) if we see any more work from him.

 

Michelyn: Edmond Roudnitska, Perfumer – The father of Michel, mentor of Jean Claude Ellena and Mona Di Orio, he is a legend whose legacy is a "more streamlined and contemporary" approach to perfumery.  M. Roudnitska's  accomplishments are too numerous to list but May Day is forever known as Diorissimo Day.

 

 

 

Best Collaboration

 

Tama: Shelley Waddington and Juan Perez – for the two fragrances Vents Ardents and Nectar de Iles for En Voyage. Representing the bride and groom scents that then merge to become one, the sensational tropical scents were created to be worn singly or layered.

 

 Michelyn: *Celine Verleure Olfactive Studio – Our former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said it takes a village. Facebook, photographers, and perfumers produced three bottle worthy scents.

 

  

 Best Reformulation

 

Tama and Michelyn : Houbigant Fougere Royale – We never smelled the original formulation of this, but we don’t care. It completely stands on its own as a very well-made classic. Bravo, Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Roja Dove.

 

Best Collection

Michelyn:  Miriam Vareldzis of 40Notes (an Indie FiFi nominee for 2012) dazzled with her debut collection; *Neela Vermeire with Bertrand Duchaufour were equally brilliant.

 

Best Internet Marketing

 

 

Tama: Kilian Hennessy sent real folk  who joined his club on Facebook a gorgeously presented sample pack of the entire L’Oeuvre Noire collection. Initially offering it to only the first few hundred, they expanded it to include anyone. The buzz about the By Kilian fragrances grew on facebook and elsewhere exponentially.

 

 Michelyn:  Natural Perfumers Guild, Brave New Scents –  The brave professional perfumers of the NPG Anya McCoy, Elise Pearlstine, Charna Ethier, Jane Cate, Ambrosia Jones, Joanne Bassett, Adam Gottschalk, Christi Meshell, Liz Cook and Rohanna Goodwin Smith each earn the CaFleureBon  best of scent award.

 

  

Best Flacon

 Tama: Illamasqua Freak  – I bought this just for the bottle (and thankfully liked the perfume). The whole presentation is fabulous, but the slanted bottle that looks partially buried, with its little silver snail climbing up the side, is fabulous.

 Michelyn: De Profundis by Serge Lutens  – Just look at it.

Best Celebrity Fragrance

 Tama and Michelyn:   * Bond No. 9  Andy Warhol  will enjoy more than 15 minutes of fame.  Well done Laurice Rahme.

 

Worst Celebrity Fragrance

 TamaJustin Bieber Someday- The bottle top is a cross between Marc Jacobs Lola and a Judy Chicago dinner plate, much too vulvular for a teenage boy. The fragrance is more of the same fruity floral dreck we have been getting beaten over the head with for too long.

Michelyn:   Here is the Situation.The reality is that New Jersey's slogan "The Garden State"  encountered its most  Dangerous threat as the three perma -tanned bimbos from the Jersey Shore –Snooki, Sammi  Sweetheart and J- wowwow all bombarded us with their fragrances this year. Bow wow (yes, I smelled each of them and  I am still recovering).

 

Worst Advertising

 

Tama: Justin Bieber Someday – There  is  something a bit unsettling about this appeal to young girls'  dads. Just the thought of a father overhearing  their daughter screaming out the name of any boy conjures imagery I don’t  even want to think about.

 

 

 

 

Michelyn: Tom Ford – Unsettling? The Biebs is in the minor league of sleaze. I really hope that Tom Ford isn't the misogysnist that is portrayed in this ad (which was published in Russian GQ September of 2011; the cover not shown was equally revolting) . The King of Shock just became the King of Schlock.  There are some lines even Tom Ford shouldn't cross. He would never get away with this in the US. Sickens me. And from the look on his face he isn't happy with the scent of a woman; so why does he make them for us. Mr. Ford, if you were  looking for publicity you got it and in the worst way.

 

 

Best Advertising

 

Michelyn and Tama:  Dior J’Adore –  Charlize Theron, filmy dress, gold upon gold upon gold. What’s not to like?  Calice Becker of Givaudan we adore.

 

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Best Bang for the Buck 

 

 Tama: Pacifica French Lilac- It’s not easy to find good lilac soliflores – to find a good one for under $30 is a bonus.

 Michelyn: 1000 Kisses Deep, The Gorilla Perfumes – For a cheap thrill nothing beats Lush's Gorilla Perfumers for quality, packaging and great scents. Who wouldn't want 1000  deep kisses for 16 bucks.

 

 

Best Buzz

 

Serge Lutens

 

Tama and Michelyn: The House that Serge built not only released new and controversial fragrances that made  some perfumistas' believe he has one foot in the grave (De Profundis and Vitriol d’Oiellet). M. Lutens  finally gave non Parisians have the magnificent Tubereuse Criminelle. And then there was Jeux de Peau. We hope that the maestro returns in 2012, as we continue sending scent mules to the Palais Royale to satisfy our urge for Serge.

 

 

 

Michelyn's Editor's Prizes

 

 

 

Best Blogger: Octavian Coifan of 1000 Flowers  – Octavian founded his blog in 2005 and has become a leading fragrance critic, author and voice in the industry. He posts every day and is incorruptible. I may not always agree with what writes, but  his critiques and articles are written thoughtfully and with passion. He coined the term we  take for granted  "The 8th Art".

 

 

Best "Rock Star": Perfumer Olivier Durbano, Bijoux de Pierres Poemes –  Over the past five years he has created both perfume and jewelry based on seven gemstones.Citrine was his final fragrance as an EDP and as of 2012, Olivier will be reformulating his seven scents into extraits. (He also creates magnificent jewelry that corresponds to each stone poem).

 

 

 

Secret Scent Crush

 

Tama: Tiger Powers – Do I need to explain? He makes me laugh.

 

Michelyn: Aurelien Guichard – Do I need to explain?  He created "My Best of Designer Fragrances Douglas Hannant", my wedding day scent Visa as well as Piguet Calypso AND he looks like this. Did I mention he is French?

 

 

Tama Blough, Editor and Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

 

 * For Managing Editor Mark Behnke's list of the top 25 new perfumes of 2011 click here

 

 

For our draw we are offering three winners the following:

 

10ml of Pandora by DSH Perfumes

10ml of Soivohle Leather Krem- One of Mark Behnke's Best 25 fragrances of the year

One ounce of Star Fucker by Tiger Powers

 

 Please leave a comment congratulating the winners to be eligible

 

 

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.   Draw will close on December 31, 2011

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99 comments

  • Congratulations to all the fabulous winners of the 2011 Cafleurebon Best of Scent. I can definitely agree with some of the choices. I feel honored being able to wear some of these fab creations from some fab perfumers.

  • Thank you, thank you, Michelyn and Tama. What more can I say. Congrats to all; I am very honored to be in the company of so many talented perfumers.

  • Sandra Iannaco says:

    Congrats to all!! I look forward to seeking out some of these scents to savor!! Thank you for your informative blog!

  • Wow!!! A very interesting read and congratulations to all the winners, especially to our very own indie perfumers!!!! 🙂

  • Excellent reading! Congratulations to the winners! The feature left me with an expanded wish list…and pleased that I’m a caretaker for some of these amazing fragrances.

  • Whoa! Many congrats to these winners!
    I have to say I can agree with most of the choices. The only ones I cant agree on are those that I have not sniffed.
    Douglas Hannant is a new favorite of mine. It is the fashionista’s scent that is so true!
    The house of Cartier has made it to the list and I am always beyond happy to see them get credit for a job well done. I love alot of their scents and I feel they are frequently overlooked. Happy happy to see them mentioned and winners here!
    Prada Candy, what can be said its smells fantastic and it was a dark horse at launch. the bottle is deceptive, I thought the market was teenagers when I at first I saw
    it. But after I smelled it I was a fan.
    I recently got to smell Epione and it is wonderful, calming and composed very well with an equal match in its gorgeous presentation. Lovely all around scent perfect for any occasion.
    I just smelled Pandora for the first time two days ago. I liked it right away and I understood about the accolades it had recived. Im sure the list of ingredients was a long one, that is a multi layer scent with twists and turns it lives up to its name IMHO.
    Killian, blew me away with his little black velvet pouch. It was a great day when I got mine in the air mail package from France. I made a purchase from him this year after I got my pouch so I know that was brilliant marketing.
    Brave new scents, NPG came up with excellent scents.
    Beiber and Jersey Shore scents, I am sorry for you both to have to have smelled them. Yuck.
    Tom Ford, this is not his first time at the rodeo for exploiting women anyone remember the bottle that was placed over the lady parts of the model in GQ abroad as well…gross. Its too bad that he sells his stuff that way. And whats more, I do not see that he needs too. He makes excellent scents. I think Violet Blonde is breathtaking and sells itself.
    JSB, I completley agree (ryhme?) I got a generous bottle of 1000 flowers sent to me by a dear friend:) It is such a remarkable fragrance I really enjoy it. The coposition is well orchestrated and the blend is exquisite.
    Thanks for this draw and also for the indepth review of the winners.
    I rellay think you guys nailed it. Totally on point with your choices:) Happy New Year to everyone at Cafleurebon and thanks also to the donors of the scents in the draw. Congratulations Winners:)

  • Wow! What a great review of this ending 2011, Mr Dochaufour the pirate! It made laugh hard, he released a lot of fragrances this year alone, and the other noses mentioned are equally talented as well, looking forward for what 2012 is going to bring us.
    Thanks Cafleurebon for this excellent year full of amazing articles, reviews and giveaways, keep the good work for 2012.
    Happy New Year to everybody!!!

  • I so enjoyed reading this!! Enjoyable and imformative. More scents to try, more money to spend 🙂
    Thanks for the chance to win!!

  • Loved this! I really want to try Star Fucker. I love the brand, and yes, Tiger Powers is cute! I am intrigued by Freak, I just adore the bottle, a snail, c’mon people!

  • Congrats to the winners! It makes me proud to see that 4 san francisco bay area perfumers made this list! Ineke Ruhland, Mandy Aftel, Jane Cate, and Shelley Waddington!

  • You’ve blown me away Tama – what an incredible honor for me to be your top natural perfumer! And I’m totally over the moon that Secret Garden is your favorite natural perfume! This means so much to me, I’m amazed, and looking forward to seeing you soon!
    xo Mandy

  • Congrats to the winners! Lot of those perfumes and indie brands go to my ‘try’ list, a LOT! Thanks for composing a comprehensive list 🙂

  • Congratulations to all of the winners! I have made a list of the scents I haven’t sniffed so I can quickly buy some samples. I was offended by the Tom Ford ad, pretty horrible. Great article overall. Thank you!

  • Hi Mandy! With your award for Honey Blossom last year and Secret Garden this year, you are two for two with CaFleureBon!

  • congratulations to the winners
    very comprehensive and enjoyable read, liked especially the “best buzz”…

  • Thank you for a wonderful article! I have to say that I’m not only honored, but totally blown away to be on this list with so many amazing and talented perfumers. It is especially meaningful to me because I made Siam Proun for my mother shortly before she died in September. I feel like this recognition is partly in memory of this remarkable woman who loved perfume.

    Congratulations to all!

  • Thank you both Michelyn and Tama!! Here I am west coast time just catching up… and what a surprise this evening. I’m honored to be among this magnificent list! You are shining such a lovely light on all of us… and our creations. xoxo and more, Miriam.

  • Congrats to all the winners! Your work has brought me so much pleasure and joy over the last year. I am so grateful for the opportunity in 2011 to sniff and try Mandy Aftel’s and Shelley W’s fragrance offerings. I also want to say thank you to Brent at Smellbent who created so many great options over the last 18 months that I have somehow amassed at least 7 full bottles without breaking the bank.

  • Of course I congratulate all the winners, but I just loved loved loved this whole post! So well done!

    I agreed with so many of the choices, and nodded along vigorously as I read, but even if I hadn’t agreed, the read would have been so worthwhile.

    I still won’t buy Tom Ford anything. Most of it is crap anyway.

    A special hooray for Charna Ethier!

    And now to start saving up for a bottle of Myrrhiad..,

  • Reading this I did hold my breath, scrolling down wanting to know them all haha Congrats to the winners! Wonderful choice of words, wonderful pictures and great choices! I found a few to go on my *to try* list! Thank you! 😀

  • John Reasinger says:

    Michelyn and Tama: I applaud YOUR “Best of 2011” review with a STANDING OVATION!! It is wonderful to see you mention rising stars, lifetime achievement and so on. No stone was left unturned…

    Each winner mentioned deserves what they got, for reasons mentioned, and though FiFi’s measure COMMERCIAL success; THIS list is THE PARFUMISTA’s CHOICE AWARDS to me…and they ring much truer than any thing sheer sales could dictate!

    BRAVO LADIES, BRAVO!!!! Not just for the article, but for all the sniffing and scribbling you both do all year long! This article was superb, and each any every winner listed above DESERVES to be congratulated!

    Congratulations to all the winners. AND if CaFleureBon does not win BLOG OF THE YEAR…the “fix” is truly in! *winks and giggles*

  • Congratulations to all the winners!
    Brent at smellbent in particular (thanks for the draws! Lots of holiday cheer spread around), and also Andy Tauer and Pierre Guillaume–already a big fan of both.

    Thanks largely to this blog I’ve been learning about natural perfume and of course Mandy Aftel keeps coming up, along with other American indie perfumers, new and established, committed to high-quality natural perfumery. Hope to experience many of these creators’ fragrances in the comng year!
    And thanks to the writers for all the reviews, profiles, draws, and posts.
    I love learning about new releases and hidden gems, and how others experience wearing perfume.

    And wow, that Tom Ford is so, so gross.

  • Thank you Tama and Michelyn for this most interesting read! And congratulations to all winners! I’ll have to add quite a few things to my “To try” list. I’m definitely hoping to sample more indie and natural perfumes in 2012.

  • Congratulations to all the winners!
    It must be great to be between the best of 2011 because this year has seen the birth of very good perfumes 🙂

  • Thank you so much, CaFleureBon, for the Best Internet Marketing and also the Best Scents award for the Natural Perfumers Guild Brave New Scents project. The very talented and loyal professional perfumers in the Guild are sure to be over the moon when they learn of the award, along with all of the Guild members. Charna and Jane deserve to be singled out for their efforts, and in the coming year, I can only hope more of the public experiences natural perfume because of these awards bringing it to their attention. Thanks again!

  • congratulations all. so many winners, so many categories. many of my favorite perfumers are listed; dawn hurwitz, pierre guilliame, andy tauer. along with props to by kilian for his genius facebook marketing. amazing that a mainstream scent named candy didn’t suck. amzing that tom ford could take his misogynist sleaze to even higher levels.
    and thanks for introducing me to tiger powers.

  • Congratulations to all! Quite thrilled to see some of my favorite perfumers (Ineke and Jessica September) and pleasantly surprised to see mention of the all natural brand of Pacifica (besides their French Lilac they do a great job with Tibetan Mountain Temple, Avalon Juniper and Egyptian Bergamot Rose). I am also a fan of Mandy as I read her “Essence and Alchemy” five times thus far. A bit disappointed, however, to not see Sonoma Scent Studio as Laurie is such a talented perfumer who, in my opinion, is just as deserving of accolades.

    Happy New Year everyone!

  • So many deserving winners- especially Mona di Orio’s Oud…I love everything I’ve tried of hers, but I’m DYING to try this one- even though I’m not a huge Oud fan…

  • Congratulations to all the winners!
    Many of them are my winners as well! 😉

    Best wishes for the New Year everybody !

  • Congratulations to all the winners of the CaFleureBon Best (& Worst) of 2011 Fragrances, or at least congratulations to the winners of the best category.
    I have to try Pandora, it keeps coming up in perfume blogs as a worthy chypre and I plan on trying Olympia Orchids next.

  • Hearty and heart-filled congratulations to all of the perfumers and their great work in 2011! Thank you so much, Tama, for choosing Pandora for your fave Indie Fragrance this year and Michelyn for choosing Mirabella as her top Indie fragrance pick! I’m very honored and grateful to be among your best of the best in 2011. Fragrant blessings for the New Year to everyone! oxox

  • Congrats to all the winners and especially the ones I know! All well deserving and look forward to 2012 with more of the same beautiful captivating creations!

  • congratulations to all the winners !!
    (yes, that includes justin b. 🙂

    what a fabulous line-up!

    i defy any (and by any i mean ANY) other fragrance blog to come up with such an embarrassment of riches when they line up *their* favorites for 2011.

  • Congratulations to all the wonderful perfumers and continuing gratitude to Michelyn and Tama for their olfactory dissertations. May each and all waft well in 2012.

  • I am humbled and honored at being named as your top rising indie star
    Thank you also for awarding collaboration of the year to Juan & I for our Vents Ardents & Nectars des Iles. It was pure joy in the making.
    What an incredible first year for EnVoyage Perfumes.

    Congratulations to all, it is a joy being included among such talented company.
    A special shout-out to our west-coast fragrance friends and to all our cherished fragrance fans – we are so grateful to you for understanding, enjoying, and supporting our vision.

    Thank you CaFleurBon!t

  • What a great list, the winners can all be happy to be in such precious company and many sincere congrats to ALL of them.
    Personally, there are still a few I need to try, Pandora being on the must try list, but I especially am happy with the fact that Mona di Orio managed to make such an impression this year. Her work has never failed to mean a great deal to me, and that her swan song should be of such beauty and meet such acknowledgement is wonderful. Also, I am very happy to see April Aromatics being on the list, and Providence Perfumes as well and the amazingly generous internet marketing effort of By Killian, what a stark contrast to many niche companies opinion of the blogger community. Not space enough to mention them all, so I am happy that you already did so. Wonderful effort. Congrats to all including Tama and Michelyn for the choices.

  • LOVED the entire article. a must read for the fragrance junkie.. and even more reason for those who aren’t fragrance-istas to read this and learn about scent.
    the work you put into this is phenomenal..
    thank you for such a great read

  • This was such a wonderful write-up that I may need to pull out my credit card now 🙂 I am tempted by so many! Congratulations to all the perfumers and thank you Michelyn and Tama for covering so many areas of interest to us all!

  • Incredible coverage! Couldn’t agree more and looking forward to trying some new fragrances recommended here. We certainly have entered the era of niche scent. Good to see a site give it proper coverage!

  • Anna in Edinburgh says:

    Lovely to see so many 2011 winners representing such good perfumes – but I really could’ve done without that photo of Tom Ford and “crevice” (eek!) and without the Jersey Shore gals too:-)

    Dearie me.

  • Ah, what an enjoyable read and round-up! So many great calls there, plus a whole bunch of things I haven’t got around to trying yet and MUST.
    So glad to see the wonderful, adorable and doubtless blushing Andy Tauer get credit for his remarkable contribution to the perfume world. He will be astonished, I’m sure. Bless his modest Swiss heart.
    And thank you all too, for the pleasure I’ve had reading Cafleurebon over the last year.

  • What a busy year for perfumers and perfumistas alike ! Congrats to all the winners . I learned alot just from reading this post !
    There are many scents out there for me to try and as chypre / green oriental lover !

  • Wow, this one was a fun read. What reads in a flash often requires hours and hours of research! Thanks, Michelyn and Tama, for a great conclusion of the 2011 fragrant year.

    Congratulations, the winners! Wonderful job pays off, and here’s to a creative, original and fragrant 2012 to all of you! I would especially love to congratulate Liz Zorn whose fragrance I’d love to win.

  • That is quite a roundup! Congratulations to all of the perfumers you singled out for praise, all of it well-deserved.

  • I love these type articles…a wrap up of favorites. Congratulations to all these worthy winners, and thank you Cafleurebon for bringing to my attention perfumers I would not know about otherwise. I think it’s been a great year for indie perfumers, and I’m also happy that some of the more mainstream houses came out with more inventive perfumes, ie. Bottega Venetta (sp?), Cartier, Ballenciaga, etc. And thanks to you, Cafleurebon, for being the first blog I read every morning with my cup of coffee!

  • I could say so much about all the winners, but let me just say this about one – Octavian. Bravo for sticking up for him. I know he sometimes gives the industry a terrible case of indigestion, but – very frankly – we need him. I love that you called him incorruptible. Even when he’s being the aqua regia of my most cherished gems and precious metals, or burning the hands of my most admired artists, he remains beautiful in his truth. Bravo!

  • Congratulations to all of the winners. Thank you Tama and Michelyn for the information about the perfumes and perfumers. I am familiar with the most of the named perfumers and have tried a few of the winning fragrances and now am excited to sample more. I would like to echo Neil’s regard for Octavian Coifan and offer my special congratulations to Ellen Covey.

  • Neil and Gail, Octavian is so generous with his knowledge and so thrilled to win this award he posted it on his website as well as this list. He also posted his list of best of 2011

  • Congratulations to all the winners! I enjoy Octavian’s blog, too. I am so glad to see two of my favorites, Brent Leonisio and Bertrand Duchaufour, at the top of the page. Also happy to see Shelley Waddington mentioned. And of course, Mona di Orio, who was taken from this world far too soon. This was a very interesting read, in fact I came back to read it several times. Thanks to Cafleurebon for all your hard work this year, too, as well as your generosity!

  • Congratulations to all the winners! What a wonderful and comprehensive resource of new scents to discover. I feel so lucky to have already discovered many of these amazing perfumers this past year. Looking forward to the discovery 2012 will bring!

  • Congrats to all the winners this year!! There were many good releases this year and hope 2012 will be great as well. Please enter me in this draw. Looking forward to another year with CaFleureBon:)

  • Really enjoyed reading this. Congratulations to all. The biggest surprise for me this year was Creed’s oud. I expected sooo much less and was just “wowed” by it. I’ve been a bit disappointed in so many oud offerings… I will have to try : Les Nombres di Orio Oud now for sure.

  • Was intrigued by this article, as I read about a number of perfumers and perfumes that I either hadn’t heard of or heard only a little. Congratulations to all of them!

  • Wow, did not realize there were so many fabulous releases this year. Congratulations to all the winners.
    Thank you for the great article and for entering me in the drawing.

  • What a great article… very informative and fabulously presented. Also, what an honour to be chosen as one of the winners of the Niche Rising Stars of 2011! Thank you for all your encouragement and positivity! Big congratulations to all the winners this year, and may 2012 usher in many wonderful and innovative new fragrances! Thank you Michelyn and Tama! xoxo

  • Congrats to all the winners! I thought Pandora and Miriam totally brought vintage back (and Sonoma Scent Studio is also releasing a very vintage-esque floral soon).

  • I can not locate my long winded response from the other day.
    Anyway, it boiled down to just my expression of happiness for the winners. I felt very connected to most of the scents as well as their creators this year. There were a very small group that I had not yet whafted. Happy New Year all:)

  • I’m incredibly honored to be named a Ca Fleure Bon’s Best Natural Perfumer and to be recognized for Rose Boheme is thrilling. Many thanks, the discovery was such a nice gift to receive upon returning home after holiday travel. It feels wonderful to be included with such a talented group. Congrats to all, sincere gratitude for such an honor Michelyn and Ca Fleure Bon!
    Charna

  • I am delighted to be named Best Indie/Niche Perfumer of 2011!!! Huge thank yous to Tama & Michelyn! What an honor, I am deeply touched. Congratulations to all my fellow Perfumers!
    Kedra

  • Congratulations to all the winners! I am ROFLing over the “Tiger Meat Star Fucker” tempest and hunting down “Myrrhiad” as soon I finish this comment!

  • Congratulations to all the winners! I got to experience Someday in the most unusual way when my four year old “borrowed” it from his cousin and spritzed himself!
    This was an enjoyable read! I am certainly going to remember this article on my next “sniffing” jaunt to the stores.

  • I enjoyed this post and have many favorites from this list including Secret Garden, Pandora and Mona di Orio Oud..

    Congratulations to all the winners!

  • Absolutely thrilled so many natural and indie perfumers are amongst the big name ranks!! Congratulations to all. Lots of perfumes named that I can’t wait to sample.
    HollyJae

  • I enoy reading those best of the year lists. I’m happy to see some of my favorites too. Congratulations to all winners!

  • Congratulations to all the picks. I have multiple browser windows open, filling shopping carts with samples that I cannot wait to try!

  • Congratulations to all the winners! I love reading these end-of-year lists and summations. Special kudos to the incorruptible Octavian Coifan of 1000 Flowers. He always has something very interesting to say.

  • Congratulations to the winners. What a fascinating list. I’m glad to know that the Llamaeque Freak fragrance is at Sephora! Will stop in. The article and winners shows what a wonderful world of fragrance artistry is out there! Thanks. Happy New Year!

  • Thank you ladies for this fabulous list of 2011 most *spectacular*
    I can say that I have been educated by your blog over the last year and because of you I can actually concur with many of your picks!!
    The “never heard of’s” are on my list now and may I join you in your secret scent crush’s?
    Congratulations to all the award winners!!!
    LOVE,
    Ragna

  • Congratulations to all the winners.All named are special but i would like to mention Jessica Buchanan of 1000 Flowers and Neela Vermeire who both have had the courage and tenacity to follow their dreams.

  • Anna we arrive at our choices differently. I test them on at least four different people, on scent strips as well as evaluate them on my own skin. All our editors have their own methods

  • Congratulations to all the winners! It sounds like a fascinating, eclectic variety, and I am already mentally adding to my “must-sample” list.

  • Congratulations to Shelley, Juan, Ambrosia, and Dawn for their mentions and awards above. Way to go. You are all wonderful in the highest and best way, in my books. Love Lyn

  • Congratulations to the very deserving winners. Tama – thumbs up on the promotion! Great wrap up, all!