Our Contributor Michael Devine attended a sneak preview of Mistral Patchouli atThe Atelier Cologne Boutique and was swept away by the soon to debut new fragrance signed by Jerome Epinette.
Sylvie Ganter said to me “We are making a special edition Atelier Cologne for the one hundredth anniversary of the Paris department store Galleries Lafayette called Sous le Toit de Paris.” She said the perfumer was Ralf Schwieger and then she swung the hammer, “It is a violet cologne absolue.”
Many lovers of vintage perfumes, like me, cringe at the word “reformulation”. It usually means cashing in on a legend and results in something pale and ghostly, compared to the original. In the case of Balmain Ivoire, it is not so much a ghost as it is a stunning and crisp homage that does justice to the original.
While Yann Vasnier has made himself a household name I am betting quite a few of you have never heard of Divine. With the release of their tenth fragrance, L’Homme Infini, you can see that they truly care about the olfactory art they put out over the merely commercial.
I have been intrigued with Odin as a perfume line for some time. The stark, dark bottles always seem so masculine, that I’m not sure I’m allowed to wear the perfume inside. In the last month, they released the seventh and eighth scents in the line, 08 Seylon, and 09 Posala. Fortunately, I have found that the perfumes are wearable by any gender.
Ben Gorham of Byredo, working with perfumer Jerome Epinette, has introduced a perfume, Black Saffron; that honors this spice that is holy to Hindus and symbolizes India, the country he was raised in.
