Coromandel from the Chanel Exclusives range is arguably the greatest Chanel fragrance since No 5 was launched in the 1921. This is the yard stick by which all patchouli-overdose fragrances should be measured. A masterpiece. This formula re-creates Coromandel with links to alternative cheaper ingredients and an amber base formula included.
The first fragrance of the house of Dana was Tabu, created by Jean Carles in 1932. Jean Carles was well known for his wonderful creations made of unusual materials. Before creating Tabu, he was instructed to make a fragrance for a whore (‘un parfum de puta’). Thus, Tabu was created, sensual and shocking.
Francis Kurkdjian sought to create a fragrance of almost entirely synthetic materials, graced by the merest touches of natural floral and citrus oils. The result is Baccarat Rouge 540, one of the most popular and iconic of the perfumes from this luxury fragrance brand.
Coco by Chanel is an Oriental Spicy fragrance for women (but these days perfectly good for men also). Coco Eau de Parfum was launched in 1984 and was the first Eau de Parfum strength fragrance ever created specifically to be perfect at twenty percent dilution. The nose behind this fragrance is Jacques Polge. This formula …
I recently had a fleeting affair with a dangerously sociopathic young man. It left me rather unsettled but as with many trying events in life, it led to a bit of a creative burst. From that burst has come this fragrance which I am calling Bedlam after the famed mental asylum (and now a generic term for an insane asylum or a state of confusion, which sociopaths leave us in).
Bertrand Duchafour is my favourite living perfumer and in particular I love his Or Du Serail for Naomi Goodsir. One weekend I was bored and decided to play around with a bunch of formulas and see if I could make something as sweet and beautiful as the opening of this brilliant scent. I was somewhat successful and while I have not spent any time editing this formula, I thought it might be fun to publish something that is a work-in-progress.
This is the first fragrance I ever created! Well, it’s the nth iteration of said fragrance. The very first instance was just three ingredients: patchouli acetate, Dorinia SAE, and hydroxycitronellal in the form of Firmenich’s Cyclosia base. I had mixed the three together in the proportions found in this fragrance and dipped a smelling stick into it. Hours later I walked into the room I had left it in and was met with the most magical and profoundly beautiful scent.
First and foremost, this is not a modern tuberose fragrance. This is much more akin to Chanel No. 5, or other strong aldehyde bombs of the past. Because of cost reasons on my end, this fragrance does not actually contain any real tuberose absolute but I feel like it does a great job regardless. To incorporate the style and format of vintage fragrances, this formula contains three Louis Appel bases which are fantastic at what they do. Because of this, there is quite a lot of extra work involved in this fragrance if you do not already have these bases mixed up! Anyways, I believe it to be worth it as this is a lovely and very powerful formula.
Chypre by Coty is one of the most important works of fragrance art in history. It inspired thousands of new fragrances and continues to do so today, and it was a nod, in its own time, to the long-lost scent of powdered wigs and the drawing rooms of the European Gentry of the 17th and 18th centuries.
This fragrance has been one of the oldest and most edited fragrances I have made so far. I would go as far to say that it is my favorite creation to date and that there really isn’t anything on the market today that compares. It’s something that performs well in hot and cold weather and though it is strong it is not cloying or aggressive in nature.
