fragrances
Friday Chronicle # 32: Eight Fragrances Considered As True “UFOs” In Terms Of Creativity Worth Knowing.
The history of perfumery saw millions of fragrances launches. In the past 15 years, there has been between 400 and 1000 fragrances launched every year. Out of all these launches probably only one or two would still be around after 5 years. Some fragrances are commercial hits not made to last, others became market leaders and a few were literally creative UFOs. These outstanding fragrances came out from unique creative universes and met their audiences across the years and for some, even decades. They are truly inspiring and became olfactory references to the market. Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent – 1981 When Mr Yves Saint Laurent went to Greece, he was fascinated by the majestic beauty of the landscape and impressed by the elegant masculinity of greek men statues. “I had been fascinated by the blue of the sea, the sky, the intense freshness which emanated from this universe dedicated…
BYREDO ELEVENTH HOUR, WHEN EVERYTHING COMES TO AN EDGE – FRAGRANCE REVIEW.
If there is one fragrance that you need to know this month, it is ELEVENTH HOUR by BYREDO. The Swedish born brand launched another wonder, that you will crave for in case your nose come across it. More than a fragrance, it is an original creation with a contemporary olfactory structure. No chance this Eau de Parfum will leave you with a heart of stone. BYREDO, more than just a brand When Ben Gorham founded BYREDO in 2006, his dream was stronger than any difficulty encountered when you build a new beauty brand. His creative mind was filled with ideas and scents brought back from his travels. When he went to India, his mother hometown, the shock of smells was a strong trigger for his imagination and BYREDO was born. Many people ask me what does it means BYREDO. Generally we say the name stands for “By Redolence”, which means…
Christian Dior Launches JOY BY DIOR. Rewriting Perfumery History Is Not A Good Thing
The Perfumery market with more than 1’000 launches every year became a very competitive and tough market to work on. Some brands outstand more than others, especially those who take risks and truly innovate. J’Adore was for sure, back in 1999, the last daring blockbuster creation of the fragrance and luxury house. Now, almost 20 years after the launch of J’Adore, Dior announced the launch end of August of a new big feminine fragrance, described as a new chapter in the company’s history. The fragrance is called JOY and at LuxuryActivist we feel it was not a good thing to acquire this name from Jean Patou. By trying to rewrite history, Dior forgets about the tremendous richness of the brand and not sure this will bring them luck. There are certain things that should not be done. The French brand already revisited history a couple of times, here is a…
Pure distance WHITE, a beautiful fragrance that will put a smile on your face.
Discover Puredistance WHITE, a new fragrance that will wrap you in a warm aura and place a smile on your face. Beautiful.
Parfums Divine launches Spirituelle. In the name of the Rose.
There are olfactory themes in Perfumery that only the best master-perfumers would dare to revisit as the difficulty of reaching an amazing result is very high. Parfums Divine dared to revisit the Rose theme, one of the most royal olfactory themes in perfumery. It is called Spirituelle and it will reconnect you with this amazing floral theme. Spirituelle is a story of harmony and modernity. In the first seconds you try the fragrance you will be hooked into the olfactory story thanks to a burst of spices: Sichuan and Pink peppercorns. It will give you a splash of original freshness that is away from the traditional citrus notes. It is sharp, modern and yet clean and bright. The fragrance story follows with an amazing rich and juicy floral heart. A duo of 2 amazing Rose qualities play together one of the greatest symphonies. May Rose and Turkish Rose will tell…
Top 5 Fragrance naughty ads ever #NSFW
The luxury fragrance industry has always represented the fine image of Fashion Designers, Jewelers, Cosmetics or even Automobile brands. They tend to be the access door to a dream world. That is why Advertising is so important. It is the aspirational factor that will make you buy that fragrance rather than that other one. Of course the scent is important as it needs to match your taste and a certain image of you. Women and Men featured in those ads are always impeccable: nice outfit, haircut, perfect makeup and pleasant environment. Unfortunately there is a lack of audacity nowadays, so ads tend to look the same and often propose a very neutral concept: the happy wife or mother, the girlfriend, the successful husband, the “safe” adventurer, etc… But did you know that it is not always the case? Here is our top 5 “badass / NSFW fragrances ads ever. They…
Friday Chronicle #9: the Fragrance Christmas battle, The “Vampire Ball”
Every Christmas, while Santa Claus is getting ready, the Fragrance industry prepares the end of the year sales program. Christmas represents berween 30 to 60% of annual sales for most of Fragrance brands. So you do not want to mess up with it. This year, there are loads of new fragrances and the all brands will dine at the Christmas table. Some of them will get a bigger piece of the cake than others. Remember the Polanski movie: The Fearless Vampire Killers? Well welcome to the ball. The fragrance industry, breaking to the Castle With more than 400 new product launched every year, the Fragrance industry is probably one of the most segmented markets in the world. This means that with less than 2% of market share you are a leader. The most challenging part of such a segmented market is to last. Indeed, from those 400 products launched, only…
Bentley For Men Azure, the scent of luxury and elegance.
It smells like Luxury spirit. This year the ultra-luxury Car company Bentley is launching a new fragrance for men called Bentley for Men Azure. After the success of Bentley for Men and and the exquisite interest for Bentley for Men Intense, now you can discover a fresher facet from the Bentley Man. This powerfully expressive fragrance with a fresh twist is a modern creation that appeals to sporty, smart and style-conscious men. Bentley is by far the most modern yet timeless elegant Car brand in the world. The name itself is enough to assure you a delightful experience. The fragrance character of Bentley For Men Azure is heightened by the blue curve of the bottle. The bright Mediterranean blue gives the feel of freedom and freshness. The bottle has the same form as Bentley For Men, with the elegant curves of the Bentley limousine transferred to the rounded silhouette of…
Fragrance review: 2014 Top 5 new launches
Every new year comes with many new things. And of course the Fragrance industry also provides its contribution. Here is our Fragrance review on the most interesting New launches you definitely do not want to miss! Hermes Bel Ami Vetiver This new fragrance belongs to the “Classics” collection and it is a reinterpretation of the original Bel Ami fragrance launched in … The originality of this new creation is not really on the smoky-woody part, for us is definitely in the top notes. A perfect alliance between the sparkling of Citrus notes and the sharpness of spices. Jean-Claude Ellena presents a very elegant signature for this fragrance. Aligned with the extraordinary quality of Vetiver in the heart of the fragrance, there is a strong yet subtle leather note that wraps the olfactive structure in a glove of timeless refinement. The Bel Ami flacon gets a new label, this time in…
Marilyn Monroe – Chanel 1 x Dior 0
When History and Marketing collides, there is only one who wins. And it is not Marketing. For this christmas Dior and Chanel are battling with one common weapon: Marilyn Monroe. The problem is that Dior features Marilyn Monroe perfuming herself with J’Adore during a Dior couture’s fashion show. This is what we call an anachronism which is fine as it is an advertising. The problem is that Chanel just stroke back with a true Marilyn Monroe talking about Chanel N.5. And here, it is history! Sorry Dior but you loose. Chanel and Marilyn Monroe – the myth of ultimate femininity. We are in April 1952, Marilyn Monroe is 26 years old and Life Magazine has her for the first time in the cover of the magazine. She is the new star in Hollywood. She just signed with the 20th Century Fox and already played in different movies. That year will…
Fragrances in Brazil – Future trends.
Brazil became the biggest market in the world for Cosmetics, Fragrances, beauty and hygiene. With 42 Billion US$ in 2012 of sales (15 billion US$ ex-factory), the Economic giant also smells very good. This is a 15,62% of growth vs 2011 and a double digit growth in the past 17 years. Sources: Abihpec and Euromonitor. Top Beauty segments in Brazil in 2012 by sales Hair care products: 4 billion US$ Alcoholic Fragrances: 2.7 Billion US$ Men’s Shaving products: 2 Billion US$ Deodorants: 1.7 billion US$ Bath products: 1.7 billion US$ Children beauty products: 0.6 Billion US$ Alcoholic Fragrances and deodorants have been growing by 15% every year on the past 5 years. To maintain this growth, companies have been investing in R&D in Brazil for more than 7 bilionUS$. This reflects the dynamism and the trust on the market from national and international companies TOP 10 Most important Brands in…
2013 Eau Du Soir Limited Edition by Sisley – unique.
Every year, many brands in the perfumery industry try to bring a new limited edition of their best-selling fragrances in order to boost Christmas sales. Some of them are above average by the luxury, the caring and the loyalty of this important moment with the fans. And Sisley is by far the champion. For the past 13 years, Sisley has been loyal to this rendez-vous with the fans. Every year Eau du Soir dresses a new theme to seduce and astonish the fans of this amazing fragrance. And this year the inspiration comes from Eastern Europe in a amazing green and gold limited edition. The fragrance and the flacon remain untouched but the decoration theme dresses Eau du Soir on a new angle. Inspired by the craftsmanship of Polish art, the new limited edition is a nod to Eastern European fabrics and embroidery. It is definitely baroque! The minth green…
Fragrances: do not wear them… eat them!
Did you know that some fragrances can be eaten? Well, this is not so new as already in the Ancient Egypt, some fragranced preparations could be used externally (on skin and hair) but also drunk (like a plant and spicy infusion). In Europe, in the 18th century and even before, the Vinaigre de Toilette, was also used in both ways. In a more contenporary context the Fragrance industry has been using Diéthylphtalate in order to denaturate the alcohol so that people would not drink it. But since the 90’s 2 keywords were used and that generated new Fragrance trends: Well-being and Food-supplements. Both together created a new generation of food but also a new generation of fragrances… From the moisturizing anti-radicals yoghourt towards the Fragrance and the Deodorant you eat, a full range of new products started being launched. We call it alicaments, or alismetics, they are basic food, like water,…
When the Fragrance industry forgot to say no…
The Fragrance industry has a hard life for the past 10 years. Economic crisis? No, not at all. Here we are talking about all the forbidden ingredients black-listed every year and that start making things impossible. In one side we have official institutions and NGOs fighting against Fragrance ingredients supposed to be allergens and in another side, the Fragrance industry…. silent as tomb. Probably the tomb they are digging for themselves. Wake up Fragrance industry or it will be too late. What if Chanel 5 could not be produced because of legislation? What if Shalimar was forbidden? What if Mitsouko was out-law? Well the Fragrance industry would be burring 4’000 years of history. In deed, the more the Fragrance industry is attacked, the silent it remains. Of course, in case of a ingredient becomes borderline, all precautions should be take in order to preserve human health. But we…
Victorinox opens the door of Innovative Face care for men.
Victorinox, the iconic Swiss brand for Pocket knives, is bursting its way successfully in the beauty market. With millions of Fragrances sold all around the world, now, they opened a new chapter: Face care for men. In deed, they are launching under the Swiss Unlimited line, a new generation of skincare product. At luxuryactivist, we had the chance to try it. Victorinox Fragrances complete the universe of Victorinox and of the original Swiss Army Knife. This universe includes Pocket and Kitchen knives, but also Travel Gear, Timepieces, Fashion or Fragrances. Victorinox fragrances convey an experience of the breathtaking beauty, freedom, and the freshness of Switzerland. With their fragrance families Swiss Unlimited and Swiss Army, Victorinox’s fragrance designers have successfully combined this characteristic alpine freshness with the values of modern, urban Switzerland to create a one-of-a-kind “Swiss Feeling.” The Swiss Unlimited fragrance lines convey the feeling of leaving behind an urban…