Land of contrasts this winter for perfumes, which celebrate both immaculate petals, as… the darkest nectars. One constant, however, is floral omnipotence. Zoom on new perfumed cosmetics by Ariane Le Febvre.
Tribute to the white flowers like the lily, treated in its spicy tonality and hemmed with aldehydes by Serge Lutens ( The Iron Virgin eau de parfum, 75 ml, 140 €), or vanilla rounding for Cartier (L'essence de parfum Stolen Kiss 80 ml, 114 €). The jasmine of Grasse is at the heart of I Love essence de parfum de Dior (40 ml, 123,90 €), which, for the holidays, is adorned with voluptuous oriental notes. Lancôme, with Treasury 23 years after its creation, the inimitable"skin scent" is revisited, with a more ambry, vanilla and balmy trail ( Perfume Absolute Treasure 50 ml, € 87.50).
Bright flowers…
More unusual, the lantana flower blooms in the Mediterranean regions, exhaling fruity, spicy and acidulous scents. Its red color gives its name to AcquaRossa by Fendi, a fruity floral, very Italian (eau de parfum, 50 ml, 81,50 €, at Sephora). Another flower of light, the mimosa is a ray of sunshine on its own! It develops its fluffy and slightly honeyed notes in Golden flower & Acacia Collection de Grasse L'Occitane (eau de toilette, 75 ml, 55 €). Accompanied by a delicious (and too rare!) cassie flower with animal and"leathery" notes, a little"vintage" and 1930s, but modernized by the Provençal brand.
… or imaginary
But perfumers also cultivate imaginary flowers, whose fragrance exists only in their dreams, like the poppy or the coconut flower. The first one flies away in Flower In The Air of Kenzo (eau de parfum, 50 ml, 77,50 €). This new opus reinvents the poppy flower in a more airy tone and surrounds it with magnolia, gardenia, may rose, juicy raspberry… As for the coconut flower, it displays its solar and creamy accents in the latest Lolita Lempicka ( She loves Him 40 ml, 65 €), a bouquet of white flowers with exquisite femininity, which celebrates the radiance of the state in love.
Dark essences…
In this register we find mainly chypres and orientals. Purple rose, black dahlia, liquorice and especially patchouli… give their intense and mysterious tones to winter creations. Like If by Giorgio Armani (eau de parfum, 50 ml, 76,50 €), a modern chypre with blackcurrant and blond tobacco facets. With inspirations as diverse as the weft of fabrics, bakelite or obsidian, its author, Christine Nagel, wanted to reinvent this mythical olfactory family, by stripping it of its baroque afferries. Blackcurrant nectar is"sensualized" by a vanilla absolute, and"lifted" by flowers (freesia, May rose, osmanthus, Egyptian jasmine…). Other floral and gourmand chypre : Like an Evidence Yves Rocher's intense eau de parfum (50 ml, 46 €).
The Little Black Dress by Guerlain (Collector Noël 2013, eau de parfum, 50 ml, 82 €), concentrates the most beautiful"black" notes of perfumery: black cherry, black rose, liquorice, patchouli, black tea. Brightened with tasty facets of almond, red fruits and delicately candied Turkish rose. With an oriental vanilla accord, Manifesto The Elixir by Yves Saint Laurent (eau de parfum intense, 50 ml, 89 €) does not resist the temptation of gourmand notes either.
In the kingdom of darkness, let us quote again Dahlia Black Ball Christmas edition of Givenchy (eau de parfum, 75 ml, 113,50 €), which comes in a new bottle inspired by the aristocratic floor motifs of a ballroom; Hugo Boss, eau de parfum Night for women (50 ml, 66 €) or Nero Assoluto by Roberto Cavalli (eau de parfum, 50 ml, 67 €, limited edition, at Sephora).
Ariane Le Febvre
