Posted on 4-Nov-2012

My Favorite Perfume Houses

Caron Paris

I LUV perfume. No secret here. lol But there are some perfume houses that lead the top of the list of my favorites. And Caron is in the top 5.

While Le Narcisse Noir is one of the most unique and specatacular perfumes ever created, Nuit de Noel is also a classic everyone should experience. I have made it a point to grab as much of this perfume as I can, since the parfum is no longer readily available. I have special limited editions as well as modern renditions. This is just a small fraction of the Carons I own.

I know many people would rate Tabac Blonde as Caron's best perfume, but I think it is a tie for third place of all time best Caron perfumes. There are many tobacco leather perfumes that are great, but there has never been a perfume similiar to Nuit de Noel. It is an original formula and no on comes close to matching or improving on the scent. I wouldn't even know where to begin to describe it, except to say it's powdery and soft, yet woodsy with that gorgeous "Saxon Moss" note. It is as delicious as butter on warm toast.

Posted on 28-Nov-2012

Say goodbye to Shalimar

EU threatening to ban one of Shalimar's key ingredients...

It may seem bizarre that the top-selling perfumes in the world — Chanel No 5 and Shalimar - are sold every 30 seconds — could potentially be so damaging when tens of thousands of women across the globe wear them every day.

But it’s just the latest in a long line of restrictions imposed on the scent industry in the past few years. Under rules implemented by the European Commission in 2006, 26 common ingredients including the now-infamous tree moss and eugenol (found in rose oil), must be declared on the packaging of perfume because they are potentially allergenic.

Now it has emerged that the Commission’s Scientific Committee of Consumer Safety, charged with protecting citizens from harmful substances, has extended the list to cover 100 ‘unsafe’ materials.

While they recommend that some must be declared on packaging or the amount used in a perfume be restricted, they want some — including the tree moss used in Chanel No  5 and Shalimar to help give them their distinctive smell — banned entirely. And while these are only guidelines and not law, it is likely that perfume manufacturers will feel pressure to comply. The industry watchdog, the International Fragrance Association, is taking it so seriously it has decided to conduct further research into the potential skin allergens on the back of the recommendations.

Besides Chanel No 5 and Shalimar being in danger, Miss Dior and Angel by Thierry Mugler are also on the chopping block.

Better start collecting even the modern editions, as they are about to change formulas again.

Posted on 28-Nov-2012