How to find decent fragrances in a network cosmetics store
I do not like the mass market. But if you have to put up with clothes, shoes, electronics and other things, then the mass market in perfumery is absolutely unacceptable for me. However, before such a professional deformation occurred, I, like many, cultivated a love for art on the basis of a mass segment. Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme and Armani Acqua di Gio is not an empty sound for me, I remember their sound from memory and thank them. After all, these and similar flavors served as a starting point in the search for beauty. Since then, the old motifs and olfactory rhythms of the early 2000s began to be gradually forgotten, and I stopped following the situation and dynamics of this market.
However, for many the actual question is, which compositions should you pay attention to when visiting any of the well-known chain stores of perfumes and cosmetics, and whether you can find something worthwhile there. At first I honestly answered "I do not know", but curiosity prompted me to move into the New Old World. Moreover, among the lovers of perfumery there are rumors about the popularization of selective ideas with modern mass brands. Whether selective perfumery is moving towards a wide consumer is a question for study in a separate article, and we will return to it later.
First, mass perfumery is not a work of art, it is directly connected with the marketing departments of huge corporations that produce goods for the consumer market. For us, there are hundreds of marketers, evaluators, advertising geniuses, stars of the first magnitude, and so on. These people are doing everything to please the preferences of a wide audience and get a profit from it. A lot of profit. Perfumers are connected with marketing briefs, accounting estimates, their work is limited, and the result is “convenient”. Secondly, mass perfumery, in spite of press releases and advertising, does not seek to emphasize our bright personality, independence, audacity, sexuality, or what the buyer is responding to. It is up to the offensive faceless and created to ensure that the consumer, driven by the desire to have a brand thing, chose what is elementary to be understood. Few can afford a Hermès bag, but much more than those who can buy the same name water. The lack of information, lack of confidence in their preferences and distrust of consultants are quite capable of drawing the buyer’s attention to a poster from which Nicole Kidman looks seductively (Chanel No. 5). Also try to disassemble the musical composition of the aroma, when billions of aromatic molecules of various waters are suspended in the air. No, a jar of coffee beans standing on the shelf will not save anyone.
Thirdly, in modern mass perfumery there is nothing that among real artists is called a plan, a story. Of course, the age-old classics, which have come down to our days, have undergone revisions and reformulations, carry the spark of the creator, concluded already in the legend, like Guerlain Mitsouko, but this is only an exception to the general rule. And fourth, the bulk of perfumes in the majority - uninteresting, dull to sleep, a monotonous jumble with a tendency to further simplify. And this is entirely and entirely the fault of the modern consumer, who has no idea what an important role in life is smell and how it can diversify the sensual and emotional spectrum.
However, you can find decent flavors. I note once again that the waters that I propose for dating are a subjective choice of compositions that seemed pleasant to a spoiled nose. The first item on this list is Armand Basi In Red Eau de Toilette, which in 2003 literally blew up perfume charts. This is a sparkling cocktail of fresh, tart bergamot, spiced cardamom, ginger and white flowers. A fresh, juicy start lasts a long time, finally turning into a white-flowered heart. Identifying flowers is quite difficult, as is the musky-woody base into which they expire, but the initial freshness of the fragrance, the novelty and bursts of green sparks are so good that it confidently won universal love. Even two years after it was released it could be heard from everywhere.
As is the case with popular flavors, In Red got its continuation in a richer and deeper version of eau de parfum, without changing, however, its character - savory, iridescent with cool tones of citrus and spices, but slightly flirting with a jasmine heart. Following them, additional flankers of varying degrees of uninteresting appeared, but the original In Red EDT (eau de toilette. - Ed.) And In Red EDP (perfumed water. - Ed.) Are good to this day. This is ideal for offices and active occupations.
Another similar example is Lanvin Éclat d'Arpège. It was naive to believe that it was removed from sale and no longer produced. This fragrance is a generation. I have not met girls who did not know and would not love him. The composition is simple and without any frills, however, how much tenderness, femininity, youth and charming innocence is contained in this pale lilac water, in a simple round bottle with the image of mother and daughter - a touching symbol of Jeanne Lanvin's house.
The flower formula opens with chords of a blossoming lilac, it is echoed by peony and wisteria. The aroma is resistant to bitter coolness of green tea leaves, thin peach contrast and a light woody musky final chord. Infinitely smooth, soothing, dear. Lanvin Éclat d'Arpège is suitable for those who are just attached to the world of fragrances, and for those who are looking for someone worthy to wear in the office, in nature, or even on holiday in the city. Today, there are a dozen flankers, but the original has not yet been surpassed.
Japanese fashion houses rarely depart from the traditions of perfumery of the Land of the Rising Sun. Japanese taste is when you are ready to give half of the kingdom and the password from a credit card for a bottle of cherry blossoms. Indeed, their flavors are light, piercing, sometimes elusive, as close as possible to natural sound and purity. Issey Miyake has always been my personal favorite. L'eau d'Issey is released, it seems, in thousands of variations, but it is this one with a cool and wet lily of the valley, thirst quenching chords of water lilies, lotus and ripe melon sinks into the heart once and for all. More than twenty years have passed since the release of the masterpiece of Japanese perfumery art, despite the fact that it was created by the Frenchman Jacques Cavalier. The endless flankers and limited editions have passed their positions and sunk into oblivion, and the natural purity and crystal clarity of Issey Miyake L'eau d'Issey is still relevant.
On the topic of cleanliness, but already European: at the Italian house Prada in 2007 came Prada Infusion d'Iris. If you know how pure talc or powder smells, you can imagine this aroma. The clear, almost sheet-like sounding of an iris in a composition is weighed down by an unobtrusive incense mist in the frame of orange flowers in the upper part and wood accents with resins in the base. To be honest, the flavor is rather strict, pale, a bit arrogant and very aristocratic, it makes you keep at a reasonable distance.
I picked him up in a pair opposite Prada L'eau Ambrée. Warm, amber, vanilla-resinous, polished to an oily shine copper ball. It wraps and warms like a cashmere tippet. The dusty rustle of patchouli gives extra volume and strength. In general, the scents of the Prada house always stand apart in the mass segment. It is five minutes to select. More precisely, the quality of this niche perfumery. I think its existence in the mass market segment is a marketing ploy to maximize profits. In my personal collection of all three massive flavor. One of them - Prada Infusion d'Homme - elder brother of Prada Infusion d'Iris.
About Dior Diorissimo even embarrassing to speak. Are there any among us who have not even heard of him? The modern version of lily of the valley water - a faded reflection of the past, 1956 release. The watercolouring, graceful handwriting of the perfumer Edmond Rudnitsky could not be saved, of course, but the light crystal chime of the white bells of the lilies of the valley, taut, lush green, a bouquet of fragrant lilac and slightly sweetish oriental flowers are still unmistakably caught, although they are lost in naturalness. Diorissimo - the embodiment of sophistication, femininity, unmarketable luxury, the expression of the soul of Christian Dior in perfume and couturier’s love for lilies of the valley, which are the symbol of the surname and emblem of Dior Couture.
Unnoticed by myself, I switched to oriental compositions. I could not find diamonds among the endless new products on the shelves, so I was glad to meet Yves Saint Laurent Opium. He has changed a lot. The formula was redrawn several times. From Opium 1977 (I am familiar with the original) almost nothing is left, but what I have, I suddenly liked. Opium is an eastern-spicy, mysterious, viscous aroma with sandalwood, frankincense, smoked cloves, and sometimes it seems to smell like burnt caramel, but it can be inhaled for hours, intoxicated with it, like real opium. A complex, multicomponent bouquet of Indian incense stands out strongly against the background of all the others and will, alas, not all, be suitable because of its gravity. This is one of those representatives of the immortal classics, which acquires special value against the background of freshness and wateriness of other waters. It is like a portal to another world, still full of bliss, languor and semi-darkness.
An interesting fragrance was found in a cosmetic brand from France Eisenberg. It was discovered by chance, because my attention was attracted by the name Diabolique (it was always interesting how the devil and the otherworld have smells of mass brands). It turned out that Eisenberg fragrances have a claim to the title of selective perfumery. The sound is unbanal, somewhat reminiscent of Prada Infusion d'Iris, but denser, deeper. The iris top is echoed by the animalistic musk chord. It is heated by a woody backdrop of cedar and sandalwood, and vetiver smoke spreads around the winding streams. Mysterious and reserved. For evening exits.
In 2014, Cacharel re-released their legendary water, Anaïs Anaïs, and added L'Original to the name. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the original 1978, so I cannot compare them. Cacharel Anaïs Anaïs L'Original is floral-woody water with a well-balanced balance of flowers and woody chords. The bitterness and succulence of hyacinths, lily breath, gentle cloud of jasmines and lilies of the valley rest on a solid eastern base of sandalwood, musk, vetiver and oak moss, piercing the entire fragrance to the top. Find an analogue in the modern mass market is impossible. On the actual similarity with the original, I can only guess from the style of the late 70s. But only about the similarity. The formula was supposed to change, turn down the volume, reduce the intensity and replace some now forbidden components. Wonderful fragrance. I did not think that they still do.
Well, the trio, which has always occupied a special place in my heart. Before a woman using one of these three waters, I lose my head and become limp. Gucci Flora by Gucci, Guerlain Idylle and Lancôme Poême symbolize embodied beauty, femininity, sophistication and languor in my personal list. They are like three female stages of maturation. Peony-peach ode of naturalness, youth and mischief, enclosed in Flora by Gucci; the brilliance, the quivering beauty and the variability of youth in the musky, white-flowered bouquet with Guerlain Idylle roses; wisdom, intellect, grooming, consistency of a mature woman in the rare union for the mass market mimosa, narcissus, vanilla and tuberose Lancôme Poeme. Excellent quality formulas, soft but crushing female power.
And finally, I saved the flavor-legend and flavor-era - Carven Ma Griffe. 1946 Paris. France takes the first tentative sighs, wiping the ashes of World War II from her lips, trying to smooth out the rags of torn dresses and is preparing to live again in excess and contentment. However, the war left an imprint not only on the life of ordinary people in French cities, but also on the most creative thought of artists, fashion designers and designers. The verse is a deafening art deco salvo, the forgotten silver has faded, the muff and the fur coat have broken the mole. They were replaced by minimalism, modernism, bags for gas masks and bikinis.
It was then, in 1946, that a plane flew over the center of Paris, from the hatch of which hundreds of indiscernible bottles of bottles were released, each with a tiny white-green parachute carefully fitted. Thus, Carmen de Tommaso, known in the future as Madame Carven, proclaimed the triumph of youth and the freshness of a new life over a world destroyed by war. For the first time in five years, a plane in the sky did not carry people to death - the mysterious bottles were filled with the new scent of Ma Griffe, which Jean Carl created for Carven’s house. Ma Griffe was originally a flower-aldehyde chypre of the post-war years. It mixed the bitterness of loss and the tenderness of a loving heart.
In the new formulation, the fragrance lost its chypre-flower density and intensity, but retained femininity and severity. Aldehydes are still piercing, the classic heart of jasmine, roses and ylang-ylang is preceded by a sandalwood moss base with musk and spices, but the sound is paler and drier, although it has not lost vintage luxury. Original, gorgeous, unparalleled musky-floral perfume. It is good that it was preserved for us, though not quite in its original form.
