Perfume to die for

In 1775 Jean- Francois Houbigant opened a wonderful perfume shop in Paris named A la Corbeille de Fleurs. Among its customers were Madame Du Barry mistress of King Louis XV and Marie-Antoinette. Legend has it that when Marie Antoinette was fleeing from Versailles to Varennes to escape the revolutionaries she was recognized as royalty and ultimately sent back to her death because of the magnificent scent of her Houbigant perfume. Quelques Fleurs L’original, was first created in 1912 it is ‘an intoxicating blend of over 300 floral essences’. I first read about it in an article on Dita Von Teese where she said it was her favorite perfume. Dita seems to know what she’s doing except when it comes to marriage so I popped over to Liberty and picked up a bottle for only £36. It is indeed delicious although not at first – the top note is pure cat piss but don’t rush to wash it off because underneath its amazing. The scent has a heart of rose, tuberose, jasmine and lily of the valley but a pornographic base of sandalwood, musk, amber and civet gives sets the real tone.

A scent like no other

The first time I smelt Fracas was in New York around 10 years ago when a friend of mine made me march all the way up Fifth Avenue to Bergdorf Goodman to purchase a tiny bottle of the pure perfume for around $100. Fracas was originally launched in 1948 by perfume house Robert Piguet. Then it was reformulated and re launched in 1996. This is a heavy white floral scent – predominately Tuberose with notes of Jasmin, Gardenia and Lily of the Valley. It is a strong scent that will herald your arrival and linger long after you have left. Worn by Marlene Dietrich and the late Isabella Blow – this is no scent for the faint hearted. For me this is a cold day or evening perfume – it’s a film noir, archly feminine aroma – too heavy for heat but a perfume classic for grown up woman with a view to a kill.

The fall of the house of Chloe

One must not be too resistant to change I suppose but in the case of the fashion house Chloe I do think ‘out with the new in with the old’. I loved the Karl Lagerfeld seventies Chloe vision – full length floral prints, fantastic models with long hair and huge eyes. Misty golden hued advertisements for the divine house fragrance with its notes of honeysuckle, Jasmin and Tuberose. Phoebe Philo did an amazing job creating the most desirable feminine looks season after season I wanted one of everything she ever designed, the company should never have let her go. The designs of her successor Paulo Melim Anderson do nothing for me and nothing for anyone who wears them either. The company ruined the clothing line the day they employed him and then not satisfied with that they ruined the perfume as well. The new re-launched Chloe perfume has none of the subtlety of the first. Made up of notes magnolia & rose over an amber and cedar wood base, the perfume seems to marketed women who shop in Debenhams and buy fake Chloe handbags from the street vendors outside. The aroma is common and over powering – eau de high street.

Innerscents

Iris, a name I couldn't have chosen better myself , a bloom I would disgard from any bouquet, little more that a fancy daffodil and yet the perfume takes my breath away each time I inhale its dirty earthy intoxicating aroma. In the dark art of perfumery Iris rhizomes are harvested, dried, and aged for up to 5 years, the scent is said to be similar to violets. The aged rhizomes are steamed and distilled which produces a thick oily compound, known in the perfume industry as iris butter. My favourite Iris scents are the intense single note Iris by Prada not to be confused with the generic room spray qualities of the companies Infusion d'Iris. A beautiful woody iris fragrance , I adore the magic potion bottle with glass stopper and the £110 price tag! Iris Nobile by Acqua di Parma , a beautiful blend of iris and orange blossom with just a hint of anise and of course my age and namesake Iris39 created by Frank Voelkl for the amazing Le Labo company that I first came accross in Elizabeth Street New York, Collette in Paris and finally (thank you god) in Libertys in London.

Symbolism

The fleur-de-lis, a stylized iris, descends from the white iris which is native to Florence. This white iris, displayed against a red background, became the symbol of Florence until the Medici family, to signal a change in political power, reversed the colors making the white one red and setting in motion a centuries-long breeding program to hybridize a red iris. Catherine de Medici carried this symbol of Florence to Paris when she married the king of France .