For me, a long layover in an intrinsically unpleasant
airport is always rendered more tolerable if there is a good duty-free shop where
I can go and sniff around. Granted, most of what’s there is just the usual
lineup of the old familiar Chanels and Guerlains, the upscale celebrity fragrances,
and the “classics” that everyone has vaguely heard of and therefore must want.
I have to say that the sprawling duty-free shop in the
Heathrow airport in London is an exceptionally fun playground for a perfumista
or perfumer. They not only have the usual suspects, they have some things that
are new and a little different. Granted, they are mass-market, but the sheer
volume of offerings increases the chances that there will be something
interesting on the shelves.
After dodging the SAs who spray everyone with
whatever generic scent it is that they always spray, I wandered through the
aisles, probably killing a good hour sniffing without spraying. After a short while,
everything smells pretty much alike. And then, bingo – something different. I
came to a counter with an array of bottles from Elie Saab’s “Collection des
Essences”. According to Fragrantica, the collection was created last year in
collaboration with Francis Kurdjian. The first bottle I opened was No. 3 Ambre,
and all of my perfumer alerts went off: “This smells like something I would
make!”
And indeed it did. It was for all the world like a cross
between my Olympic Amber and Madini Ambre, with a big price tag. There were
other “Essences”, too, seven in all, including oud, vetiver, gardenia, and
other flowers. I didn’t try them all, being so enamored with the Ambre that I
sprayed it all over one arm. On the other arm I sprayed the No. 4 Oud, just
because I had to try it. The Oud is OK, a little bit blunt and drab smelling
compared to the real thing, but it does have that artisan vibe to it. It is
definitely not a fruity-floral celebrity scent or an aldehydic floral
chypre. If I had not tried the Ambre, I
would probably have been more favorably disposed toward the Oud.
I would like to try all of the scents from this collection
at leisure, so looked for samples, but don’t see them for sale in the US. The
collection was launched in 2014, so maybe they haven’t yet made it to the usual
online purveyors of upscale samples.
In the meantime, I can experiment with layering my amber and
Madini’s.
Have you seen evidence of mass-market brands trying to “go
artisan”, mimicking and competing with the little guys? What do you think about
this trend?
[Bottle photos from Fragrantica; duty-free shop photo is
mine from a pervious trip; Madini perfume bottles photo is mine.]
Hi Ellen,
ReplyDeleteYes! I think the big guys are tending to copy the little guys (and the little guys are coping the little guys). After awhile the market will, no doubt, become saturated with pseudo-indie scents. At that point the artisans will again find new fragrance ground to break and the cycle will begin again. In the meantime (until the mass market copies hit the clearance bins) the artisan perfumes (most anyway) are the "real" and the better deals.
"Inspiration" works the other way round too! Recently I encountered several artisan perfumes that were obviously "inspired" by famous vintage fragrances from the big old houses like Evyan, Caron and Guerlain. I have great fun smelling these "tributes" as they remind me of something I can't quite put my finger on, like a fragment of a tune worked into a jazz improv. I know I have smelled them before..well sort of. I feel like the perfumer is not only giving an indie twist to an old war horse but twisting my nose as well...in a fun sort of way.
Regarding Madini Ambre: I love the stuff but once I apply it it takes DAYS for it to disappear. It is one of the strongest, most tenacious and overpowering ambers I have ever encountered.
Azar/Gail
Azar, cross-pollination - it's not just for flowers!
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