This has been a truly dismal year in the world of fragrances. Martin Margiela graced us with something Untitled and equally Unmemorable; Hermes changed the top note of Kelly Caleche and gave us Un Jardin Sur Le Toit; Chanel added Jersey, yet another dud to the typically-wonderful Exclusifs collection, for those who crave the smell of laundry for $240/pop; and Serge Lutens added a drop of butterscotch-ripple to Santal Blanc and released the unexciting Jeux de Peau.
I can't be bothered dragging the lake for a full list of 10, so here you have it...the best men's and women's release this year. Naturally, both can be worn by either sex, I'm merely listing the marketed gender. One more thing to note...both are flankers! What has the world come to?
Best Men's
This continues to surprise me...basically a cheap & cheerful rendition of the spiced-wood genre that include favorites like Cartier's Declaration and Amouage's Dia Man. Well done.
Best Women's
This one did something very interesting - not only is it a terrific stand-alone fragrance, it actually rekindled my love for the original Shalimar. Elegant and worthy of the Guerlain name.
A few others that weren't mind-blowing, but not awful either - De Profundis (Serge Lutens), Aromatics Elixir Perfumer's Reserve (Clinique), Jasminora (Guerlain), Candy (Prada), Angel Eau de Toilette (Thierry Mugler) and Le Premiere Parfum Eau de Toilette (Lolita Lempicka).
Best wishes to you in 2012 and once again, many thanks for reading and commenting.
Dane
I can agree with your choice of Shalimar. It is the best Shalimar so far...it has 'something'. It became unisex. CK One Shock...hm hm, what to say. Little bit synthetic...
ReplyDeleteJuraj
http://bleauog.blogspot.com/
(Lovely pic of La Liz there.)
ReplyDeleteJust bought a small bottle of CkOne Shock for Him for my younger son, age 11. He had exclaimed over my sample of Egoiste, but I'm not buying THAT for a kid not out of elementary school yet. HOwever, he suddenly decided he's not old enough for fragrance and he may lose his Shock to his older brother, age 13... I think it's already been swiped.
Parfum Initial did not move me. For the record, neither does Shalimar, though I adore Eau Legere. And I did think Jeux de Peau tremendous fun, though I cannot imagine paying Serge prices for it.
Thanks for your take on the year!
Great post! I love your second runner-ups. Jasminora which somehow never got the credit it deserved! Candy! Aromatics Elixir Perfumer's Reserve (also sort of flew under the radar) and Angel's Eau de Toilette. Coming to think of it... it wasn't that bad a year afterall.
ReplyDeleteAnd Parfum Initial was to Shalimar what Eau Première was to Chanel No. 5. It could have been bad but instead Guerlain did very well.
I think you beautifully picked out the winners.
Are you excited about the release of Tubereuse Criminalle in the export bottle?
ReplyDeleteSeconding the choice of Shalimar Parfum Initial. Thierry Wasser's work for Guerlain is turning out to be surprisingly subtle and he did that one very well. Have you smelled the most recent version of Jicky?
ReplyDeleteSomehow missed the Aromatics Elixir perfumer's reserve but will lumber over to Saks and try it now.
Thanks for the intelligent list,