L’Air du Temps’ Limited Edition Bottle

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L’Air du Temps has come out with a new limited edition bottle designed by the much acclaimed, Philippe Starck. It looks like this:

Lair du Temps Limited Edition FN

It is supposed to be the literal visual of two doves kissing in mid-air. I have to disagree, as two doves kissing in mid-air is the last thing that comes to my mind and other people have agreed. There have been statements that note the design resembling some sort of jaunty dinosaur, a piece of bone from an animal, a pile of vomit, and a bat.

I see a batarang:

Batarang

What does L’Air du Temps’ Limited Edition bottle look like to you?

Thanks to Perfume Shrine and Gizmodo.

Perfume Bestsellers

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There’s a few sad things to note in the world. The first is that more and more people are flocking to fruity floral fragrances. The second is that in fifty years, these fruity florals might be classics. I have no issue with fruit florals, I just think there’s too many of them. Certainly with more and more celebrities, hocking their names to fragrances, there isn’t a sign that the flood of celebuscents will end soon. Yes, some celebrity scents are done well. But by and large, they are a large splatter of the same fragrance groups. We have the candy-like sweet, the fresh floral, or the fruity floral.

So it comes as a surprise to me when Forbes magazine released the list of the top five selling perfumes for 2009 and it looks a little something like this:

  1. Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle (fruity floral)
  2. Giorgio Armani’s Acqu Di Gio Pour Homme (aquatic)
  3. Estee Lauder’s Beautiful perfume (floral)
  4. Dolce and Gabbana’s Light Blue (fresh)
  5. Chanel’s Chanel No. 5 (aldehyde floral)

True, there’s no smoky vanillas in there, or musky roses, or incense and lavender. But it isn’t a grim projection at all. And it’s nice to see Chanel No. 5 is still turning heads. I’m no big fan of Coco Mademoiselle, but at least it’s not Britney Spears Fantasy. Nothing harsh on you, Fantasy, but if I see another teeny-bopper insisting that Fantasy is the bestselling and best smelling perfume of all time, I’ll probably cry.

Thanks to Forbes.

Boadicea the Victorious Pure

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Boadicea the Victorious is one of the luxury niche brands. I know, I know, just what does luxury mean in an industry defined as luxury? The price points for this house tends to be higher than the others, thus defining it as the luxury of the luxuries? Who cares, bottom line, it’s expensive. Pure

In Bottle: Fresh, crisp citrus and pink and white flowers. Pure smells like laundry,  just barley, but with a citrus topper and an even cleaner lead.

Applied: Beautiful citrus opens up the fragrance. Green and fresh, a lot of lime and a bit of lemon then the white florals come in and add a slight powdery sweetness to this while the citrus notes hang on into the mid-stage where that clean laundry scent gives way to a beautiful, airy beach-like floral and green tea. The dry down comes too soon as I was appreciating that lovely white sides, blue ocean, green palms feel of Pure. Upon dry down I finally get word of the sandalwood in this as Pure becomes a dusty, pretty citrus. This fragrance triggers a vague memory from my childhood. Green fields, dusty country road and laundry hanging from the lines.

Extra: Boadicea the Victorious is a relatively new British niche house headed by Michael Boadi. The house features some exclusive scents, and a ready to wear line referred to as The Victorious, which Pure is a part of.

Design: Presented in a rectangular glass bottle with lovely metal trimmings. You will receive the bottle nested in its own box and you shouldn’t settle for less, especially given how much this goes for on Luckyscent at $265.00 per 100ml. Yikes.

Fragrance Family: Fresh

Notes: : Bergamot, Sicilian lemon, green tangerine, Mediterranean cypress, basil leaves, Egyptian cumin, juniper berry, ylang ylang, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, vanilla.

Given how much this is, I wouldn’t settle for less than a fragrance that completely knocks my socks off. Pure is a lovely scent, for sure, a few degrees above a mainstream house’s general fair when it comes to clarity of the fragrance. I do love that juicy, pure citrus opening.

Reviewed in This Post: Pure, 2009, Eau de Parfum.