Essential essences

White flowers… for him and her

2007’s star flower was iris. No one flower has taken this year’s crown, but jasmine and white flowers are present in many of the latest scents. Yves Rocher introduced a gentle, slightly fruity jasmine christened Tendre Jasmin and Bulgari presents Jasmin Noir, a sweeter, woodsier floral. New for women from Givenchy, Absolutely Irresistible features, not rose like Very Irresistible, but – you guessed it – jasmine. A jasmine garbed in orange blossom and fruity and woodsy notes. White flowers are also at the heart of Diesel’s new perfume, Fuel for Life UNLIMITED, presented as a ‘bouquet of white flowers (…) wrapped in licorice’ and fruity notes. It boasts three white flowers: Casablanca lily, tuberose and jasmine. Another white flower – albeit a more imaginary one – is unveiled in the packaging and the ad campaign for Kenzo’s new men’s scent, Kenzo Power. After Dior (Fahrenheit 32, Dior Homme) and Gaultier (Fleur du Mâle), Kenzo is also exploring the floral register for men with Kenzo Power. Garbed in spicy and woody notes, the whole is nevertheless quite floral for a men’s scent. Unusual on men, but why shouldn’t women wear it too?

Another trendy flower this season: classic violet. Women will find it in Love in Black (Creed) and Féerie (Van Cleef), and men can get a hint of it in Lalique White.

Gourmet fusions

Feel like a tequila sunrise or a mojito? Good timing, because fragrances in the gourmet register are in. Gaultier’s Ma Dame, a light floral, has a bright, Tequila Sunrise-style splash of grenadine syrup and tart orange. There’s a similar fusion-cocktail concept happening at Guerlain, with Guerlain Homme, a men’s scent blending lime and fresh mint, mojito-style. The overdose of mint in Roadster, Cartier’s new fragrance for men, is softened with sweet, lightly vanilla notes, somewhat reminiscent of an After Eight after-dinner mint. Looking at more men’s scents: Emporio Armani Diamonds’ energizing trail is warmed up with cocoa, and in Givenchy’s Play, the opening wood-citrus-coffee blossom blend evokes an imaginary rhubarb-wood sensation. For more gourmet experiences: an exotic plum note blends with burnt amber and white flowers in Calvin Klein’s latest, Secret Obsession. And for gourmets of the gourmand, Reminiscence is completing their Les Notes Gourmandes collection with 2 new notes, including Si Do. The bottle’s ‘violet-macaroon’ hue reveals a fragrance weaving together ambrette, carrot and woodsy-floral notes.

Women’s Woods

The trend towards woodsy scents for women that started some time ago (and was most noticeable in 2007, with Saint Laurent’s elle) isn’t over yet. Women love flowers, obviously, but woodsy notes had clearly been set aside for too long. So in the U.S., Estée Lauder has left the floral register for a major woodsy scent, Sensuous. Fashion designer Tom Ford has also decided to launch a woodsy perfume, White Patchouli, with bergamot, ambrette seed and white flowers for the white facet. Patchouli is here to stay. Christian Lacroix presents C’est La Fête Patchouli, and Esteban introduces Patchouli eau de toilette. Lancôme is also exploring a woodsy register, with their woodsy-floral, Magnifique. It weaves rose, the brand’s significant flower, with woodsy notes of vetiver and sandalwood, and the slightly smoky notes of nagarmota (a variety of papyrus from India).

One more thing: the return of citrus signatures

First niche brands went into citrus notes in a big way, and now the big names are getting in on the act, too. Dior has introduced Dior Homme Sport, distinctly dominated by citrus, and even Guerlain is temporarily leaving their ‘Guerlinade’ register with a citrus scent. Though spicier and muskier, Lalique White is a citrus scent too.