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Perfumista All Stars: Sali's Halloween Top 10 Ball
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Welcome to "Perfumista All Stars: Sali's Halloween Top 10 Ball"! You've been invited to four different Halloween parties in four U.S. cities, all brought to you by your Fragrance Examiners: Donna in Portland, Beth in Cleveland, Liza in Washington D.C. and yours truly, Sali in New York. My Halloween Ball is a gathering of distinguished and well-scented guests, all asked to arrive in masquerade so we can have fun guessing who our guests really are. Everyone looks stunning in their glorious masks tonight. Most of the ornate masks seen here are purely for show, not very useful in hiding one's identity. Michael Kors Very Hollywood, I knew in a heartbeat was Versace Blonde. There's no hiding a tuberose; it's a distinctive star perfume note, even among white floral queens. Marc Jacobs Lola, with all those "complementary" colors competing for equal attention, could be the spiky and peppery saffron rose, Les Parfums de Rosine Rose Kashmirie. Yves Saint-Laurent Parisienne is Escada Sentiment; one of those new sporty, color-coded (the golden one) and numbered (18) D&Gs is Christian Dior J'Adore but it could easily pass for Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle or Gianfranco Ferre. I bumped into L'Eau par Kenzo Eau Indigo again tonight and thought, "hey, this isn't as sweet as I'd initially thought, but rather powdery-musky, like Naomagic, with soft, floral fabric softener notes". In the end, it's Love's Baby Soft.
Natori...oh, my goodness, this Floral Oriental Chypre crossover with a good dose of plum is none other than Cassini by Oleg Cassini! Talk about a knockout. Poison and Giorgio are mere kittens next to the real '80s powerhouse, Cassini (who channels Rochas Femme): boozy, bodacious, so animalic it's feral. It's as suggestive as Vivienne Westwood Boudoir, but unlike the quirky Green Oriental, Cassini is a more traditional, red hot Fruity Chypre like Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon. Natori is softer and more floral-ambery-woody a la Creed Tubereuse Indiana, Annick Goutal Passion, Pilar & Lucy Tiptoeing Through Chambers of the Moon, Verfaillie Grain de Sable or Coty Sand & Sable, but crossed with a serious '80s Floral Chypre along the lines of Paloma Picasso, Ungaro Diva and Van Cleef & Arpels Gem. The ornate black bottle says "Elizabeth Taylor Passion" all over it, which is a good association for the lingerie company to have.
My guest of honor, Grès Cabaret (2002, Basenotes says 2003), is the star in the featured ad, with visuals slick enough for a feature Hollywood film. Despite the marketing, I find the musky rose-patchouli nouveau Chypre scent quite elegant, even if slightly bold and commanding in an androgynous way. Cabaret is reminiscent of the synthetic-leathery, dangerously stoic Agent Provocateur (2001) and the great modern, millenial musk, Narciso Rodriguez for Her (2003) born right around the same time as Cabaret. It seems Narciso Rodriguez for Her and "clones" Guerlain Idylle, Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely, Stella by Stella McCartney, Lady Vengeance and Lanvin Rumeur, have all resembled Cabaret in a roundabout way. Had Grès (who gave us Cabochard, Cabotine, Grain de Folie and more) inspired Narciso Rodriguez for Her and the growing modern Chypre trend of the 21st century? The spicy red-wine-and-roses aroma was created by the perfumer whose name is behind Burberry, Chopard Casmir and Gucci Rush (1999), a FiFi Award-winning Chypre-Oriental in a bottle shaped like a red VHS tape packaged in a shiny sleeve. Even with avant garde packaging, crossover scents seem to have wide appeal.
A decade later, Idylle, marketed as a Floral Chypre, is redolent of lilacs, honey and soft, sweet dessert pears, smelling like an abstract gourmand, the new standard for a Floral Chypre crossover, to smell like a Fruity Floral, those patchouli roses morphing into pears like 3D art, or those pictures that "change" depending on your perspective. Idylle is an ideal perfume: both Sinner and Saint in one. This beauty can thank Guerlain for her stardom, and her parents Rumeur and Antonia's Flowers Floret for her unconventional good looks. As with new synth keyboard sounds, the technology (for producing scents and sounds) keeps improving, and Chypre, once endangered, is modified, modernized and here to stay. And now, the time has come to unveil my Halloween Top 10 List! I encourage all of you to share your personal fragrance wardrobe, and let's continue partying at the Perfumista All Stars Halloween Top 10 Ball hosted by my dear fellow perfume lovers and fragrance writers: Donna Hathaway Portland Fragrance Examiner, Liza Wade DC Fragrance Examiner and Beth Schreibman Gehring Cleveland Fragrance Examiner!
My Top 10 for Halloween 2009!
1. Jean Paul Gaultier Ma Dame and Guerlain Idylle
3. Lanvin Rumeur
4. Burberry Brit
5. Givenchy Very Irrésistible
6. Nina Ricci Nina
7. Ego Facto Poopoo Pidoo
8. Penhaligon's Bluebell
9. Aquolina Pink Sugar
10. Guerlain Les Secrets de Sophie
Related Articles:
Featured Review: Jean Paul Gaultier Ma Dame (2008)
Guerlain Idylle (2009) - A Teardrop from Venus
Lanvin Rumeur - Nouveau Chypre ode to classic leather
Givenchy Very Irresistible - Roses that Rock
Winter 2009 - Nina Ricci Nina Precious Swarovski
Featured Review: Ego Facto Poopoo Pidoo (2009)
Featured Review: Penhaligon's Bluebell
Featured Review: Guerlain Les Secrets de Sophie (2009)
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