February 26, 2012
What Is Your Favorite CaFleureBon Interview + February’s Spilled (A Dozen) Perfume Draw
Brooklyn Artist Bella Foster
So many draws. So many comments. Why so much spilled perfume?
On the right hand side of the home page are my interviews with well known perfumers. Choose your favorite interview and enter a comment with one of your favorite quotes from the interview and three readers will be eligible to win:(if you do not follow this exactly you are not eligible)
1. From En Voyage: You have a choice of any of Shelley's twelve perfumes (including two naturals L'Emblem Rouge .25 oz edp and Go Ask Alice in the .50 edp) in a .5 oz eau de parfum. Please specify
2. From Neil Morris Fragrances:any of his over fifty EDPs from the Vault Collection.Please specify your choice
3. From Keiko Mecheri Attar de Roses EDP www.keikomecheri.com
4.ONE 10ml of Mohur by Bertrand Duchaufor for Neela Vermeire- http://www.neelavermeire.com/
5. Liz Cook One Seed: Freedom 5ml. http://www.oneseedcompany.com/
6. 15ml Jane Cate A Wing and a Prayer: Filoli Rose, named after the legendary gardens in Northern California.(rose absolue, rose geranium) http://www.etsy.com/shop/wingandprayerperfume
7. A sample set of all five zodiac fragrances from www.siperfumes.com
8. A sample set of Kerosene Trewthe R'Oud Elements, Creature, Copper Skies www.minnewyork.com
9. A 1ml sample of Armani Prive Cuir Noir
10. 3.4 oz A*Men (usa only)
11. 100ml of Chinatown http://www.bondno9.com/shop/eau-de-parfum/downtown/view/chinatown
12. 100 ml of Calypso St. Barth Bellini by Kari Arienti of Symrise
Draw closes February 29, 2012. The Draw is random, BUT YOU MUST INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE NEIL MORRIS AND EN VOYAGE PERFUME OF YOUR CHOICE.
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.
I found lots of interesting interviews here. The first one that comes to mind is Mona di Orio. Knowing more about her background it helped to understand her perfumes better.
My choices would be Le parfum d’Odette and Carmel Boheme. It was really difficult to decide!
I loved reading about Martine Micallef. When she said, “I co-founded the company PARFUMS M MICALLEF with my husband in 1997, and since the very first day, it has been a “ joint venture” of love and passion in all we do and how we live.” That just sounds like the best love story to me! I met her very briefly at the Elements show and she is just as beautiful in person.
I would love to win that gorgeous Chinatown bottle, but if that’s taken I would be very happy with Mohur by Neela Vermeire.
Caron`s Romain Ales telling about Ernest Daltroff`s coming to America, and 60 years later Lady Caron appears from this great memory!! Would like to win Mecheri`s Attar de Roses or Filoli Rose from Jane Cate! Thank you!!
I love the Atelier Cologne range, and so I loved hearing from Sophie Ganter. I liked hearing how they came up with “Cologne Absolue:” “So we chose a term that conveyed the notion of freshness (cologne) and concentration (absolue).”
My choices would be: Nectars des Îles for the En Voyage collection, and Intimate Gardenia from Neil Morris.
i love to hear Mandy Aftel express her art. the very fact she CALLS it art. for that’s exactly what it is. i also had deep admiration for her saying:
“I joined Facebook and Twitter, which has been such a positive experience for me – to meet so many other perfumers, bloggers, and people who love perfume. I really love the interaction in this online community, being able to speak directly to the people who are interested in my work.”
because then art comes full circle- created, taken in, and then discussed. the art becomes a conversation….
my choice would be Strange Invisible Perfumes Zodiac Collection sample set. thank you!
I loved Ms. Di Orio’s description of her most vivid memory of nature. “Suddenly the smell of crackling dry earth, the intense and suave perfume of the geranium wet leaves.”
My choice would be Fetish from Mr. Neil Morris.
I haven’t been following the blog for all that long (and haven’t yet had the time to go through and read all the interviews posted before I started following), but I enjoy and learn things from all of the interviews. One quote in particular jumps out of my memory “[My mother] didn’t wear any fragrances because she hated them ” (Marc-Antoine Cortichiatto). It seemed odd because I always envision perfumers as people who cultivated a love of fragrance from an early age and having a mother who hated perfume would be a hindrance.
My choices: En voyage Debut de Carmel and Neil Morris Izmir
Forgot to select the fragrances…sorry!
Neil Morris: City rain
En voyage: Poete de Carmel
Thank you!
One of my favorite interviews was the one to Geza Schoen and Marc Buxton, but I talked about it in other draw, so today I’ll quote something that Bertrand Duchafour said in his interview: “The art of perfumery must be at the same time, innovative, harmonius, and ‘sent bon’”.
I totally agree.
My picks would be:
En Voyage: Vents Ardents.
Neil Morris: Earthtones number 3: North Woods
Thank you!
Ever since she said it, I’ve been considering this thought on independence from Jessica September Buchanan, “Perfumery is a solo art, similar to writing, which I believe, requires more soul-searching than the modern machine allows for.”
From Neil Morris I most desire Midnight Flower
From En Voyage I most desire Début de Carmel
Jessica Buchanan said: “I did not have a specific mentor in school-I would say that I was simply a sponge to soak in every possible bit of knowledge from every single teacher or mentor that I came in contact with while in Grasse.”
That meant a lot to me since I’m going through the same in Grasse.
From Neil Morris: Burnt Amber
From En Voyage: Go Ask Alice
I have to go with Bertrand Douchaufour, a great philosophy “The art of perfumery must be at the same time, innovative, harmonius, and “sent bon.”
Neil Morris: Le Parfum d’Odette
En Voyage: Vents Ardents
From Neil Morris, I would choose Gandhara.
From En Voyage, I would choose Makeda.
I enjoy all of the perfume interviews, so it would be hard to pick a favorite.
Neil Morris—-Midnight Tryst
EN VOYAGE PERFUME L’Emblem Rouge
Mandy Aftel:” Natural perfumery is the art of creating beautiful luxury fragrances, using only natural essences”.
I am learning so simple goes a long way right now!!
thanks for the draw.
I love flowers, hence the favorite quote from the interview with Calice Becker:
MC: The Calice Becker signature…
Calice Becker: Of course, it is flowers. Always flowers have inspired me and have become a signature for me. I am endlessly fascinated by flowers. They are the original “perfumers” (!) as for millions of years Mother Nature has put together molecules to achieve the most perfect formula. Compared to flowers, perfumers are super beginners in creativity ! The most perfect natural smell of flowers is my personal quest, and one that never ceases to excite me.
For Neil Morris I’d love Burnt Amber
Doe En Voyage — Debut de Carmel.
My favorite interviews are Mona di Orio and Bertrand Douchafour. All are really good inetrviews but I pick those two.
Thanks!
Because I admire her work, the Calice Becker interview was one of my favorites. I liked this rather long quote:
” It was my mother though who encouraged me to become a perfumer. This was not easy -especially being a woman in a male dominated profession. At that time, a woman was not especially welcome. I was rejected by several companies I approached. One CEOs got me so upset that I told him, “With or without you I will become a perfumer!” And, I left his office. The story goes that he ordered someone to go after me stating, “We need a perfumer with guts.” I was hired that day.”
Of course I admire her passion. But the favorite part of the quote to me was that she credits her Mother with encouraging her to pursue her passion. I have three kids in college who I try to encourage, and I hope they end up doing something they love.
EnVoyage Perfume: GO ASK ALICE. Love the name!
Neil Morris Perfume: Dark Season
The interview with Mark Buxton was the best one I’ve read.
oh, i love your mona di orio interview.
the fact of it.
and the substance of it.
if you had not interviewd her in such depth, we would not know her as we do because of it.
so thank you for this
my fave quote is her answer to whether she’s an introvert or an extrovert: “Well, both of them, it depends of the situation, I love to share my passion, to meet people and I could talk about fragrances for hours and hours. but when I create, I become very inaccessible, I like to be alone and focus on my creation so I can be on my own for days without talking, just smelling and thinking….”
i can just see her creating away… wish she had had more time.
re: fragrances, i would choose poete de carmel from en voyage, and summer of love from neil morris.
My favorite interview was with Sergio Momo from Xerjoff you asked him his phobia and he stated “My phobia is definitely a fear of losing creativity. I come from an artistic background and to me and this is what defines me. I look around me everyday to be inspired by what nature has to offer and I try to translate this into my work.” It is refreshing that such a creative force worries about it all running out, something I ponder myself. For Neil Morris Hologram sounds so refreshing and from En Voyage L’ Emblem Rouge.
…obviously i cannot read. i get overly excited sometimes:
Neil Morris Rumi
En Voyage: L’Emblem Rouge
(and thank you Shelley for donating to Broadway Cares!! <3 )
Michelyn, I love your interviews they are all unique and allow us in to the perfumers mind. My favorite interview was with Geza Schoen he was very open and minced no words I loved his opinion on celebrity perfumes ” I am sure I haven’t smelled all VIP fragrances but you can predict that the people who are really into fragrances would dwell neither in the juice nor in the idea of a celebrity perfume” So very true! My fav’s from Neil Morris is Taj and En Voyage Vents Ardents they both are exquisite and must try’s. Please enter me in the draw.
I really enjoyed the interview with Jessica September Buchanan. British Columbia is one of my favorite places on the planet.
I love the image that she creates for her future—”a fully stocked, bright and sunny studio, telling stories through the creation of perfumes.”
I’d love a bright and sunny studio for myself, too.
I’d love to experience Neil Morris Drifting.
And, En Voyage Vents Ardents is a lovely fragrance.
Thanks!
I liked very much the interview with Sergio Momo. Unfortunately, I have not tested any Xerjoff yet, but his description and the passion that he puts in each of his perfumes put my curiosity on fire.
If I were to win, I would like to win Midnight Flower or Nectar des Iles.
Thanks
I enjoyed the interview with Geza Schoen ” We do lifetime scents and therefore offer high quality perfumes one should fall in love with”
If I win I would really like the Keiko Mecheri Attar De Roses
I liked this statement from the Pierre Guillaume interview: “I keep my technical subterfuges to myself, and the spectator experiences only the emotion aroused by them.”
That chimes with my approach to perfume (and books and films and theatrical performances and music): only I can experience what I experience when I experience it but the person who arranges or orchestrates the work employs all their artistry to achieve those effects!
Investigating the “technical subterfuges” afterwards, by reading reviews or commentaries and thus comparing my experience with those of others, is often surprising and interesting but I try not to prejudge, colour or cloud that initial experience, letting what happens happen instead.
Neil Morris’s “Midnight Tryst” (although there are so many very tempting scents in The Vault …)
En Voyage’s “Makeda”.
Fingers crossed!
Ooooh you have so many interviews that it is hard to choose I really enjoyed Calice Becker “Collaboration with my fellow perfumers is so valuable and is an integral part of the fragrance development process. We rely on our colleagues to give us their insights and this allows us to focus on the creation and the consumer, so we can get to the final design much faster” that quote about team-work resonated with me because we can all achieve more with a little help from our friends. I love En Voyages’ L Emblem Rouge and Neil Morris’ Le parfum D’ Odette.
En Voyage Vents Ardents and Neil Morris Cathedral are on my most wanted list…
MS.ROCHELLE BLOOM President of the Worldwide Fragrance Foundation, a lady to be admired for being down to earth and having accomplished all that she has.A really enjoyable interview.(Pre-Red Carpet at the FiFis 2011)
QUOTE: “A lovely fragrance should beckon you to come closer, not push you away”
This was in response to the question regarding a ban on perfume in public buildings.
EN VOYAGE~ Go Ask Alice
NEIL MORRIS~ Gandhara
I resonated with what Mona di Orio said about how she like perfumes that change and develop during a wear and how she do not like flat perfumes : “I need to feel a movement, to follow a development.”
If I win I’d love to try Neil Morris Burnt Amber and En Voyage’s Peche Noir.
THnaks for this draw!
Very interesting interview for me was the one with C. Chong.
My creative process is very personal. It begins with a feeling and then this feeling is elaborated into a story. I am inspired by everything around me. Finally, I articulate this feeling and story with examples of music or films in order to evoke the moods. With all my creations, it is a tale of travel. This could be a geographical travel or an emotional one.
Thanks for the draw.
I would love to try Go ask Alice or zodiac fragrances.
Many thanks!
I loved these profiles! I remembered Mssr Guillaume as being particularly interesting regarding botanicals, synthetics, techniques and artistry. Going through these a second time was quite fascinating!
One of his quotes:
“It’s more complicated than that. The idea is to reconcile nature and technique and to show that the two types of ingredients – synthetic and natural – complement each other. We use synthetic resources but combine them with natural extracts to restore the innate nature, radiance and life of the materials used: I call this « olfactory photography ».”
I don’t know enough about perfumery as a science but from an artistic perspective that sounds quite interesting. Also regarding an artistic perspective, from Mona di Orio:
“… studied architecture and painting and I was intrigued by the “Golden Ratio” considered as a divine proportion, a key to reach the beauty and the perfect balance.
So I have been thinking that it could be fascinating to refer to this theory considering the perfume creation. I work around a beautiful natural ingredient as I’m going to enhance one of its facets in particular, to accentuate its personnality, trying to sublimate it and looking for the perfect balance….”
It’s hard to choose a favorite interview, but I think I would choose Ms. do Orio’s– her artistry and passion are matched by her enthusiasm!
En Voyage: Go Ask Alice
Neil Morris: Dark Season
Well my favorite favorite was the Behind the Bottle with Adam Gottschalk, but that one isn’t showing up in the interviews column, probably because it was a Behind the Bottle.
Another one I really enjoyed was the Interview with Mona di Orio, and it was really special given that it was one of the last interviews with her, so very sad. My favorite quote from the interview was when she was talking about learning to love smells in the markets with her mother and grandmothers. “Indeed the market is the first place I visit when I travel, it informs me about the habits and customs of the country.”
That is such a great way to immerse yourself in another culture, especially for those who are addicted to scents!
If I am lucky enough to win, the En Voyage scent I would love to try is Go As Alice and the Neil Morris scent I would love to try is Earthtones #1 Dark Earth.
So much missed perfume! Thanks for being kind enough to reoffer them!
Michael
I enjoyed reading Marc-Antoine Corticchiato’s interview and liked the following quote.
“My perfumes are an invitation to explore the most complex and mysterious of empires: the realm of the senses.”
I would select Shelley’s En Voyage perfume Havâne pour Homme (yum!) and Neil Morris’ Cafe (also yum!).
Thank you for the draw.
Kind regards,
Daniel.
“For me, perfume is about articulating the different colors of emotions and personal history. It is all about the present reconciling with the past. Perfumes are more than beautiful scents. It is a philosophy defining who we are and how we want to represent ourselves. I sang the notes in the past. Now, I tell stories with fragrances.”
This is a beautiful quote from Christopher Chong describing why he chose the career path in fragrance and how it relates to his other artistic passions. I agree with his statement wholeheartedly and I feel a strong relation between music and fragrance as well. Music is composed of different layers of percussion and melody, each unique and individual on their own, but combined together form a powerful and very emotional connection. Such is the world of fragrances as well, some scents are there not just to be pleasant, but to remind you of a different time or place in your life as well. How often has a simple scent triggered strong memories that were all but forgotton? Music and Fragrance are just different sensory perspectives of a similar nature.
Neil Morris Fragrance- Burnt Amber
En Voyage- Go Ask Alice
And I’ve been very curious about the Kerosene fragrances, but they are impossible to find!
Thanks for this website, It is delightful!
My favorite interview is with Calice Becker; I enjoyed learning that Kilian Hennessey picked her first iteration of Beyond Love (my favorite tuberose) and called it “the one.”
My choices would be Vents Ardents from En Voyage and October from Neil Morris.
I adore M. Roucel so I will pick that interview as my favorite. On perfume shopping, Maurice Roucel recommends, “Try four –five on a strip and spray two-three maximum on skin. Walk away. Wait. Then decide.” Such good advice.
Re: my choices, for the En Voyage: Debut de Carmel; for the Neil Morris: October.
And you know I have my eye on that Chinatown!
I love this quote from Michelyn’s “LIVE, From New York” interview with Bertrand Duchaufour, as it introduced me to the perfumer, his works, and one of my favorite perfumes ever, Traversee du Bosphore. The quote captures M. Duchaufour’s aesthetic as he truly pushes the boundaries on beauty and is, in my mind at least, a true artist.
QUOTE:
In order to be considered Art, must a fragrance smell good?
BD: Yes, I think so. Yes. Yes. Yes. It can be so easy just to make something experimental or to shock. The art of perfumery must be at the same time, innovative, harmonius, and “sent bon”.
I would love to win the bottle of Bond Chinatown, if selected. Thank you very much for all the interviews and the draw!
I love all your interviews,but especially the one with Maurice Roucel and C.Chong,since I am inlove with 3Amouages right now,I will go with Christopher Chong and his quote “Perfume is about articulating the different colors of emotions and personal history.It is all about reconciling the present with the past”
En Voyage L’emblem Rouge
Neill Morris Summer of Love
Thanks for the draw!
What a great draw, and a good excuse to look at some of the interviews I missed. I love Calice Becker’s creations, and I was inspired by her connection to Russia:
“Russia is a culture of aesthetes, where tastefulness is so valued… even it has no commercial value…or maybe, especially if it has no commercial value! The details are everything…. My mother has always inspired me in this way… I can remember her serving tea outside in the garden, and she would cover a simple wooden table with an ornately embroidered cloth and place a shiny samovar of tea to serve from.” — Calice Becker
My choices would be Debut de Carmel from Envoyage, and October from Neil Morris, and Mohur of course!
My favorite interview was with Calice Becker, and the quote is the following:
“What century to live and why?
Calice Becker: NOW! I love the amount of knowledge we have access to today and the exciting discoveries in science which is incredible. The knowledge we have of the human brain is endlessly fascinating. So maybe next century to discover more…”
If I were the lucky one, I would like to win En Voyage “Go and ask Alice” and Neil Morris “Dark Season” vault fragrance.
Thank you for the draw.
Whoops-
My choice of Neil Morris would be Cathedral. En Voyage would most definitely be Makeda! Thanks again.
Oh Mona. I adore this quote so much:
“My grandmothers and my mother are all excellent cooks and I spent a lot of time observing them when they were in their kitchen or going with them to the market, I was always trying to touch and smell the fruits and vegetables. Indeed the market is the first place I visit when I travel, it informs me about the habits and customs of the country.
Our meals were always full of flavor, color and happiness.”
Neil Morris choice is: Earthtones #1 Dark Earth
En Voyage choice is: Makeda
from neil morris i would be honored to try cathedral. from en voyage, the l’emblem rouge is calling my name with the rose musks. i truly can’t believe these were all unclaimed!
From Mandy Aftelier
As a self-taught perfumer, with many years of experience, how gratifying is it when your students can fly on their own wings? Can you give an example?
MA: Well, I don’t buy into that model that some teachers do, of pushing little hatchlings out of my nest – that’s too much like thinking of them as kindergartners who have mastered their ABC’s and are going on to grammar school.
–
NEIL MORRIS choice: Le Parfum d’ Odette, Prowl, Rose of Kali, Fetish, or Midnight Star (these all sound so amazing- I would be very happy trying any of them)
En Voyage Choice: Go Ask Alice or Peche Noir