lartisan

My favorite gourmands

Posted on by elemonated

I don’t wear a lot of gourmands. I’m an ethereal or incense floral kind of girl. I’m also a fan of the weird stuff, like the fish market Etat Libre D’Orange Secretions Magnifiques and the fermented Byredo Pulp. That being said, tis’ the season! It’s cold and dark and dreary (or it would be if not for global warming), so wanting a bit of warm creamy sweetness is to be expected.

This is a list for people who probably aren’t really into gourmands. No big vanilla bombs to be found, I apologize. Read More

Twisted Lily Haul: My Favorites

Posted on by elemonated

Before I begin, I will say that these are probably my current favorite fragrances, and thank you Twisted Lily for introducing me to Apoketer Tepe (though I wish I could stroll into Harlem and talk to the source, but perhaps that’s an ambition for another day) Apoketer Tepe’s After the Flood is a new darling, but I have no idea what took me so long to write about L’Artisan’s Tea for Two. They remind me of the best quiet emotions of spring and autumn. Having one on each wrist brings me some odd solace that only makes sense if you’re as obsessed as I am about the physical portrayals of transitions as a literary motif.

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Happy Birthday Olivia Giacobetti!

Posted on by elemonated

Ms. Giacobetti is 49 years old today. She is my newest woman crush that I should have high-lighted a long, long time ago.

Olivia Giacobetti is an amazing French perfumer who has created fragrances such as Frederic Malle’s En Passant (my favorite Frederic Malle), Diptyque’s Philosykos and Ofresia, a whole host of L’Artisan fragrances including the infamously difficult to get Tea for Two (my favorite L’Artisan!), and fragrances for Hermès, Guerlain, and Penhaligon’s. I love her for her delicate simplicity and the subtle way she crafts her fragrances. I have loved everything she has touched that I have smelled so far, and can’t wait to smell more.

The L’Artisan website claim that she was inspired by the depictions of perfumery in the film le Sauvage which means I need to seek this film out with English subtitles in a hurry (or learn French. I feel I have more of an incentive to learn it than even mandarin.) She trained from the age of 17 at Robertet, a huge French distillery known for developing new ways of obtaining natural raw material from its distillation sources before opening her own firm Iskia, which I unfortunately couldn’t find any information about. And she does all this while staying oh so effervescently lovely.

She is currently working as creative director at one of the oldest perfume houses, Parfum Lubin.

Puig buys Pengalion’s and L’Artisan

Posted on by elemonated

http://www.basenotes.net/perfumenews/3014-puig-buy-penhaligons-and-lartisan

I wonder what this will do to the brands’ quality. I know on the consumer side that there have been complaints about the delayed shipping of L’Artisan’s Tea for Two recently, likely due to the shifting organizational and department changes actions like this cause. On the other hand, Paco Rabanne and the Gaultier fragrances have been rather popular, and I don’t think Prada, Valentino, or Comme des Garçons have suffered.

From the Puig website (that keeps thinking I’m on a tablet when I’m not):

“Puig is committed to continue expanding its presence in the prestige perfumery category. This acquisition firmly positions Puig in the growing exclusive, high-end fragrance category.”

This explains the strategic moves behind the acquisition, but it doesn’t say what Puig is planning on doing with the two brands. I haven’t gotten to try Penhaligon’s yet, but I love L’Artisan and I hope the quality will stay consistent throughout this whole process.