la petite robe noire by Guerlain

This is the story of the meeting between two legends, perfume and fashion, between Guerlain and the iconic little black dress. It's the story of a new fragrance and a tribute to an element of clothing that has held a special place in women's wardrobes for decades. A pure exercise in style, La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain is both timeless and audaciously innovative, revealing an enchantingly fresh composition. This fruity-floral fragrance subtly melds the tart energy of Sicilian lemon with tender almond notes, elegantly segueing into roses and powerful licorice. The juice adds character with a few pinches of smoky tea and patchouli leaves, lingering on with a caress of musk and vanilla.Interesting news. When upon learning initially about the launch of La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain (The Little Black Dress; see our review), I immediately made a connection with Didier Ludot's boutique franchise as well as his own eponymous perfume dedicated to the universe of the LBD, but which did not bear its name...

The new Shalimar by Guerlain commercial with Natalia Vodianova

The new Shalimar by Guerlain commercial with Natalia Vodianova

A few days ago we introduced the new face of Shalimar by parfums Guerlain, Natalia Vodianova, shot by Italian photographer Paolo Roversi. The ad prints that will appear in major fashion and beauty magazines only give a hint of the upcoming advertising campaign, apparently.
Perfume Shrine is proud to be the first to feature the newest commercial of Shalimar, with Natalia Vodianova, today, kindly supplied by one of our readers who wishes to remain anonymous.
Our newest info suggests that Natalia Vodianova will also be fronting Guerlain's makeup and skincare starting January 2009.
The TV and cinema commercial of Shalimar is full of sensual images of a naked Vodianova, wriggling on an unmade bed, the voiceover recalling the famous Marilyn quip about wearing a few drops of Chanel No.5 in bed, but also visually echoing the controversial campaign of Calvin Klein'snewest feminine scent Secret Obsession in which an object(the fragrance) becomes a psychological relation to emotional response. It is almost as if the emotion is transfered onto the object befitting Freudian analysis.

The concept seems to be focused on a conversion between lovers following a passionate tryst, with the man asking the mystery ingredient that accounts for what sounds like an unforgetable memory.
"Qu'est-ce que tu portais sur ta peau?" (what were you wearing on your skin?)
"Quelques gouttes de Shalimar!" (A few drops of Shalimar)

Then again, the immortal dialogue* from Godart's Le Mépris with Brigitte Bardot, reprised in Chanel's latest lipstick commercial* for Rouge Allure, is rather unsurpasable...

Nez a Nez - Parfums

QUALITY ORIGINALITY

These words define precisely the positioning of the brand. 
There can't be intellectualism nor mannerism in the apprehension of a fragrance. The olfactive sense is based on primitive feelings. 
A game of odours of which the master word is Touching : Getting to the essential as the paintings of the impressionists. 
The representation of the researched emotion gets through this great voluntary “touches” of colours and “impressions”. 
The fragrances are naturally smart, their originality, never eccentric, comes from this notion. 
No possible reference with the perfumes of the traditional market. 
A great majority of natural components are carefully chosen so as to guarantee the numerous interpretations that can be done for these 
so richly elaborated fragrances. The natural components allow to plunge completely into the heart of the perfumes which propose so 
subtle and multiple evolutions.

PHILOSOPHY

Perfumes are characterized by debates of colors, research pushed into the field of various feelings which are proposed in the olfactory 
world by Stephane Humbert Lucas. The perfumes were imagined pictorially. 
Christa Patout and Stéphane Humbert Lucas lean on drawing plans and figurative legends, such as a scenario writer who is based on 
theses "beginnings" in order to apprehend a story in its most beautiful proportions. 
The types and the symbolism are thus proposed without never forcing the interpretations which stay personal for everyone. 
The perfumes are, to some extent, real actors. The are defined by colors, characterologies, languages too. 
They talk, they express themselves humanly without imposing a body. 
- The peps of the green, the richness of the yellow, the tragedy of the red, the ambiguity of the purple -
Drawing, drafts, and photographs take colors; the various works on the fragrances and the colours are bound and progress as a relay. 
The "eaux de parfum" in construction, always offering new aspects to the pictures, are measured according to the visual they bring.Last time I reviewed 5 of La Nez's scents, this time I will review the other 5 in the pack:

Fôret de Bécharré:

Starts off smelling rather, well, elderly. It's very soft, still sweet, but has some amber in there. I get some very vague citrus note, but it seems that there is a lot in there than kind of cancels each other out like an acid and a base. It's nice, but I wouldn't go out my way to get it.

Rosier Ardent:

I wanted to write "well now we're takling!", since there is a great initial blast of cumin, cardamom and cedar in this one. Sadly, that fades and it goes all cinnamon sweetness, like something that you'd hang from your car's rearview mirror for the holidays. Damn.

Atelier D’Artiste:

Starts off with a really nice vetiver/tobacco thing, then goes suddenly, horrifyingly sweet, with something that smells to me like menthol. Like the scene in "The Shining" when Jack finds the woman in room 227. Run!!!

Actually, this one dries down to the best of the bunch, just not good enough to go through getting it from France.

Marron Chic:

Another one that lists about 24 different notes in it, none of which I can discern. What I get is the smell of Tempera paints. It however is heavenly compared to:

Bouche Baie:

Starts off with a blast of sweetness that goes beyond cotton-candy into, I don't know what- an industrial sweetness that men in lab coats would add using an eye-dropper (and dressed in hazmat suits) to large vats that eventually be made into children's cereal. After a few minutes, it drops down to merely diabetic coma.