Chanel 5, Chanel and Joy, Patou

Two perfumes: Chanel 5 and Joy. Two women: the lover and the wife.

Myths surround perfumes. The recent comments of a friend prompted me to think about it. For long and before learning a bit more about perfumes I knew that Marilyn Monroe was wearing in bed these few drops of Chanel 5. And that Jackie Kennedy wore Joy, said to be the most expensive perfume in the world at that time. How much it's true it doesn't really matter, the myths have their beauty.
Taking that I didn't know too much about perfumes, years ago I was a bit puzzled about the story. For me Chanel 5 was the classic type, conservative, going with white pearls necklace and formal attires. I could see the thousand and millions of old men reaching for Chanel 5 in the airports dutyfree shops to bring them exactly to their wives. Joy, on the other hand, sounded more sophisticated and the fact that it contained the tones of jasmine and roses sounded like the one going for total seduction. Once again, I didn't know too much about perfumes. And on my mind it should have been the other way around, Marilyn wearing Joy and Mrs Kennedy wearing Chanel 5. So I took it as a strange part of the story, which made it even more interesting.
Let's make it clear. Marilyn didn't wear only Chanel 5 and Jackie Kennedy not only Joy. It seems both of them wore both. See here . But with saying so Marilyn Monroe made for Chanel 5 more than any advertisement ever and generations of men will be dreaming that image. And Mrs Kennedy did for Joy enormous, somebody on makeupalley.com said half of the women on Wall Street smell of Joy.
Once I was able to understand a perfume, I tried both of them again. And as I already mentioned, in fact Chanel 5 makes me always blush. That's the smell of a mistress, of an available woman, it's not only about love, it's about carnal love, it says 'I want you and you want me'. It's more then seductiveness. By the way, that's a very expensive woman. It will take you all your money and your heart, too. The genius of Coco Chanel was to chose exactly this perfume, she got it. The women will want to smell like it and the men will get crazy about it. Recently I saw a poll about the most effective perfume for a first date, that's Chanel 5.
Joy, on the other hand, though an explosion of lush flowers, has a background coldness. It has something restrained in it, like a lady who will always wear gloves to shake your hand. If you want more, you will have to marry her and make her a lady. It will also take all your money but she doesn't care about you heart or she is too well educated to show it. Joy has warmth, but the warmth of a beautiful statue in sun.
In a way I am disappointed that the myth stands the reality. Marilyn is to wear Chanel 5 and Mrs Kennedy to wear Joy. Which woman are you, the Chanel 5 or Joy?

Personally I am neither. I just love both of them. They are timeless perfumes, they are as classic as actual. Anybody any age could wear them and they will make you smell like they are suppose to, attractive and expensive.

Perfume Shopping in Paris

• A wonderful friend, a best one, sent me to Paris for a romantic weekend, four days in fact, the most special birthday gift I have ever received.
• It'l all about anticipation: I dreamt of all wonderful perfume places I'm going to visit.
• graindemusc has the best on-line guide for checking perfume shops in Paris
• I found myself staying in a wonderful hotel and shockingly few steps from Palais Royal. Serge Lutens was all mine. On Rue de Richelieu where I stayed I had also few other wonderful things, like Patricia de Nicolai few meters away. And it was walking distance to all best places on Right Bank. And I checked all of them. As well the Left Bank.
• It was like the project of my life, searching all over, running from a place to other. Being over excited in the Guerlain shop.
• It is so, perfume should mean glamour to me. No field trips, nature, passion whatsoever. And on my mind it was the right place to look for it. Reality is cruel, in the end it is all about marketing, cost cutting, efficieny and LVHM. Most glamorous part are the bodyguards, their smile, attitude and earphones, at the entrance of the shops.
• Gallerie Lafayette: I would never ever wear a Dior, Prada, D&G & co when bought fighting other thousands people looking for a bargain, in a bazar atmosphere, not being sure in which counter I ended up. It made me sick.  Everything looked cheap and vulgar.
• What I found in Paris: Sous le Vent. what a wonder. And nothing else from Guerlain, nothing. (but Ode, which I smelled in one of the warm boxes.)
• What else I found: Mitzah Dior, Mitzah is soooooooooo good. It was too overpowering in the first few minutes but after a while it was heaven. I don't care it is original or not, it is just so wonderful. I still have it on the sleeve of my jacket, I hate myself I didn't buy it.
• What else still: Boxeusse. Feels in line with old Serge Lutens, but so attractive and sexy.  
• Dissapointed over a purchase, very expensive one. I will never wear it. Actually I never found anything which I would wear from that niche company. Too sad.
• I find it great to look for perfumes in Paris, the staff is very nice.
• In the end, I would have liked to find some flea markets to check for some old perfumes. But probably they are only for connaisseurs.
• My man wondered discretly about the romantic part of our Paris trip.

And here is my beautiful friend.

Moulin Rouge, Histoires de Parfums: my best perfume 2010

I am not a person of details, I do not care about details. I tend to think rather in big pictures. Also in perfumery I think often in philosophical, social, cultural or human terms. That's my blog all about. I don't write reviews because practically I am unable to do it. Or I have too many doubts about my own opinions and preferences. But in the end nothing is more refreshing than to write a review. To concentrate on the beauty of a single creation.

I already disclosed my passion for Histoires de Parfums scents. There is no one to not like or to be indifferent, I am excited about all of them. They smell just good on me. Still, it took me a while to try the last ones, the Tuberose Trilogy and Moulin Rouge. I am not the first to notice that they received bit if not at all attention (that's strange altogether).
If I could put in words what I like so much about Histoires des Parfums is that they have a great base. That's something which makes for me one of the big differences in perfumes. The base, the last word, the thing which stays with you hours after the first encounter. That's the art of big perfumers, to give you something which you can love to the end. That's for me the difference between Jacques Guerlain and Jean Paul Guerlain and why I don't believe in a universal Guerlinade base. There is nothing like that after Jacques Guerlain creations no matter the efforts.

Somehow Histoires de Parfums took pride in that. The base. I'm writing this 6 hours after I applied Moulin Rouge on my wrist and the typing movements bring around clouds of a wonderful smell, something you want to smell like whenever, early in the morning, after many hours of a party, while working at your office. A wonderful smell. Probably it is the talent of a chef Gérald Ghislain that he did that and he knew how to do it. I am not a gourmand. But I rather prefer eat seldom and when I do it eat something really good, which leaves a great taste long after was eaten.

Moulin Rouge opens sexy but not loud. There are the fruits (plumes and peaches in a lost lush way, reminds me of Femme Rochas) and some bubble gum accent. After a while it smells like a one million dollar bucks baby, that rose which I wanted to be L'Arte di Gucci for me. It was not because it's too much 80', too straight in your face. But Moulin Rouge is. A dark and powdery rose. It still keeps some from fruits and brings additionally a bit of almonds and iris. And it ends up forever with a musky vanilic base, not even one artificial tone, which still keeps some rose and fruits in it.

For me, Moulin Rouge is the perfume of 2010. There is nothing more attractive than it, I make no efforts to like it completely. I don't need to explain it to myself too much. It just comes compelling and I feel wonderful with it.

My only story about Moulin Rouge: I was young, my first year as a student, in a pub with my then boyfriend we met a middle aged man, an university professor. He was slightly drunk and he told us the story of him and Anca, the girl he was in love with years before, at Moulin Rouge. They went to Paris and to Moulin Rouge and there were all these beautiful shining women, not only on the stage but all over. There were so many beautiful women in one place. But he was in love with Anca and in fact he didn't really watch all these beauties. He didn't have too many memories of them. Because he was in love with Anca. Paris and Moulin Rouge were all about Anca.

Recently I ordered in same pack samples of Moulin Rouge, Traversee du Bosphor, Rubj and Bois Blonde. All of them stunning but I'm in love with Moulin Rouge. No discussion, a matter of taste.

I still didn't try the Tuberose Trilogy. Tuberoses is not my stuff (as rose never was) so I can wait. But who knows what Histoires de Parfums has to offer me there.

'We Like Lists Because We Don't Want to Die'

Says Umberto Eco in an interview by Susanne Beyer and Lothar Gorris for Spiegel, 11/11/2009.
Just to meditate a bit about the passion of lists. Including the perfume lists.

Ormonde Jayne perfumes.Object of desire

'It's all about anticipation', a friend has told me. I was too young to fully understand what he meant. Or to taste the pleasure of desire.

I just read more about dopamine and I was surprised to find out that 'It has been argued that dopamine is more associated with anticipatory desire and motivation (commonly referred to as "wanting") as opposed to actual consummatory pleasure (commonly referred to as "liking"). The thrill. Might happen that the pleasure of the act is bigger or smaller. But the wanting, the waiting, the emotions involved are the source of big pleasure.
Like all people with passions that is a big part of the life of a perfumista (I'm still confused with the word). It is about smelling but it is a lot about anticipation. The usual visit to perfume counters even puts me in such a thrilling mood. I always feel like that will be the day, I shall discover something special. And how many times, anticipating a big meeting with a new ravishing perfume it happened to be disappointed. Even by big niche names or rare exclusive fragrances. Waiting with excitement for the new pack with samples, dying to smell that or that. And the end might not be such a big deal. But what a wonderful time I had anticipating the moment. So many times the pleasure was much bigger than the actual smelling.
Of course, harder to get the object of desire bigger the pleasure of anticipating it. Take Ormonde Jayne perfumes. I waited for the opportunity to visit London and smell Ormonde Jayne perfumes in that wonderful shop. Didn't work. Finally Santa brought me the sample pack.
I would have put all my money on Ormonde Woman. It turned out to be fantastic. Still, for me the absolutely winner is Tolu of Ormonde Jayne line. When did I smell last time such an intoxicating perfume? I can't remember. There must be a room in hell for people who love intoxication perfumes and smelling Tolu will get you a place there. It's the smell of secret pleasures and sins.
There is the very attractive but dark orange blossom at the beginning. Very soon what I get mostly is a fresh fish smell. Do you know how the fresh fish smells when you clean the skin of the fish, a metallic bit dirty odour? Or how the fish fat smells? Is that the civet? (Linda Pilkington , the author of Ormonde Jayne perfumes, says she used real civet tincture in Tolu) I have no idea, but this strange 'aroma' stays in between the orange blossoms and amber like an undiscovered dangerous territory, It gives an unbelievable attractive quality. When I say metallic I don't say cold, because Tolu has huge warmth. I was shocked a bit, I didn't read anywhere about it and it was totally surprising. You smell it clear when you put your nose in to it while the silage which comes out is breathtaking beauty. I am still under the fascination of this distorting note which gives such an original twist. It is strange, because Tolu has a classic feeling in it's beauty but nevertheless surprising.

Perfume reviews at

http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2008/07/tolu-by-ormonde-jayne-fragrance-review.html http://www.nstperfume.com/2005/09/27/she-sayshe-says-ormonde-jayne-tolu/ 

http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/2009/09/ormonde-jayne-tolu.html

P.S. On my skin, very sad, Tolu does not stays for longer than 1 hour and half. I tried Eau de Parfum, may be I should try the Parfum concentration. 

Shalimar Guerlain. No perfume review

Disturbing things about Shalimar:

• I shall start with: there was already so much said about Shalimar that is little left. I won't. Because it was not said so much about Shalimar. Google it and you will see. Of course, many comments on makeupalley.com, (where you find over 340 reviews and it is given 3.8 points. Vera Wang Princess has also 3.8 points but over 530 reviews). What you find is thousands of referrals like 'it reminds me of Shalimar'. It is not so much we know about Shalimar: the story of Garden of Shalimar (Temple of Love) in Lahore. The story of Vanillin that Jacques Guerlain dropped in Jicky. Most interesting the fact that it was launched at the Decorative Arts Exhibition as an antidote against The Great Depression. Here we could start a talk about the history and what Shalimar meant in its times and how it continued. But you don't find anything about it.
• I learnt little about how people received Shalimar, what was the impact on the moment and in the following years. Shalimar is a shock now. There must have been an outrage then. Or not? Roja Dove says something about not lady like Shalimar. But as much as I know about ladies at those times there were many who wanted exactly to break with the limits.
• It was always a little bell in my head saying 'You don't review Shalimar, darling'. As you don't give your phone number to the charming guy after the first meeting. You just don't, it's not chic and not proper. So almost nobody does it. Even Luca Turin does it in so general terms that you won't get any picture from it.
• I keep thinking for long that I should wear some fantastic new scent, some sophisticated intriguing one, that my children will say one day that their mother was wearing that x perfume that almost nobody did at that time because was so daring. I want so much to find that perfume. How will it sound my kids say their mother wore Shalimar? That is what the grandmother and the grand-grandmother used. Of course, it's ok to admire Shalimar but wear it. Luca Turin says should be worn between comas and with humour. Lost are days when Shalimar was for femme fatale. Hey, may be 20 years ago. Today, Shalimar is such a weirdo, much weird then all experimental niche perfumes. It smells so out of place, smells like nothings else. You go and try it. Try first some of new perfumes and then go to Shalimar. What the hell is that?

makeupalley.com comments: (1 point)
´It smells ridiculous, old, obnoxious, offensive, foul... 
(4 points go to Jessica Simpson Fancy)
'for the first couple hours I smelt like I had rubbed petrol on myself. Its a pungent smelling scent, like men's cologne but even worse, like leather and petrol mixed. '
(5 points go to Hugo Boss Baldesarini Ambre)
'I too have tried to like it but it really is unsophisticated and cigar like. I was stupid to give into the sexy commercials and hype. Oh well you'd think I'd have learned by now. There's so many other scents to try that are new and beautiful.'
(5 points for both Curious and Midnight Fantasies of Britney Spears)
' the most OVERPOWERING, ATROCIOUS, and OBNOXIOUS scent that you can ever imagine.'
(5 points go to J.Lo. Miami Glow)

• Shalimar = Vanilla (they say Jacques Guerlain thought vanilla is a powerful aphrodisiac) What vanilla? I don't know any vanilla like that. And because it's vanilla that means sweet. May be their vanilla, the vanilla that you find in thousands perfumes, that juicy syrupy stuff. (actually somebody on a forum asks: where is vanilla?) Vanilla in Shalimar is not sweet, it's dark and smoky. They say Jacques Guerlain used an impure vanillin. In the end, very late you have some powdery feeling, but it is not necessary the vanilla, may be some musk and some tonka with vanilla. I don't buy the story with vanilla and sweet. You go and smell it.
• Nobody smells Shalimar anymore. Nobody smells it for the first time and wonder what it is about. Like nobody really watches Eiffel Tower. You look at Eiffel Tower and you see the image that you saw in so many pictures and there is no chance you really see it. You smell Shalimar and you smell the info in your head, vanilla, oriental, brunettes etc. And taking that, did they really hope that Natalia Vodianova face will appeal to young people and they will start buying it instead of last Paris Hilton? What is the relationship between her face and Shalimar?
• Everybody talks rather about Shalimar Light\Eau de Shalimar. Officialy it is called a modernized and weaker version of Shalimar. Shalimar Light should be called Shalimar Heavy. Lovely, great, but it is full of all prejudices of contemporary about Shalimar, lots of juicy lemon, lots of sweet vanilla. Put them side by side, Shalimar will be salty and heavy compared to Shalimar Light (let's say for now Eau de Shalimar is undecided but still something else). They are just different stories. Shalimar is not heavy, never was, it is dark and thick but odd enough has astringent sides which keep the darkness fresh.
• Who buys Shalimar? It is a big seller, for sure. I can see men going to buy them for their wives or secret lovers (yes, for some reasons most of the men love it), young men buying it for their big love because their mother smelled like that, old ladies buying their 50th bottle of Shalimar (though daily they secretly use Angel), or young strange girls (who wear also Bvlgary Black) and go back to the library. Who else?

There is mountain of snow outside and it's very very cold. Not a drop left of Shalimar (I keep my vintages for trying sake). Busy days, fighting with slow traffic, advent days, and all I can take as a perfume is Shalimar. Panic, I need Shalimar. In the shop the cute girl tries to get me in everything else, including Idylle, she loves it. She wants to spritz my wrist, I step back in the last second. Buy Shalimar. She offers me some samples, I want Bas de Soie, she moves her nose with disgust. Pour Shalimar over my wrists and scarf. Outside big Christmas Fair. At –10 Celsius degree Shalimar smells of smoky leather. I know Shalimar in and out but still strikes me as the strangest perfume ever. And I know it, nobody smells like me.

Very subjective consideration on the modern perfumes & geography

When trying perfumes, I can't stop but putting them on a map. I started thinking more of perfumes and geography mainly as effect of too circumstances:

• The lady who runs an exclusive perfumery shop in the town where I live told me that she is not going to sell Caron fragrances anymore because they are too French for the German ladies. So I was the one to buy their last Caron and my first Parfum Sacre. 
• Tania Sanchez obsession with Estee Lauder and for her general excitement for clean and roses perfumes. She says somewhere (is it talking about MKK of Serge Lutens?) that it has probably to do with her east asian origins. I suspect the American heritage.

My small project here wouldn't have been possible without the help of wonderful databases of fragrantica.com and NowSmellThis. I am grateful that they exist and took such a big effort to offer information on fragrances. And, of course, the enormous cultural references offered by The Guide of Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez.

So what's going on with perfumes in geographical terms? I don't talk about fragrances, smells, oils, they developed all over the world and there is already a lot of anthropological and historical work on it. I talk about the simple geography of today's perfume brands and how I see their existence.
Most of the brands and what we think of perfume in our modern world is about French perfumery. And you will read and hear a lot of ohlalala about what a French perfume means and how wonderful is. Some people say 'this is a French perfume' and that's all to be said. It could mean chic, glamorous, naughty, daring, elegant whatever all we put in relation with Paris via Grasse production and creativity. On the other hand some people would reject a smell only based exactly on the fact that is too French, see the adepts of pure bio oils or the old lady feeling.

The things became more complicated since the French perfumery had to address a biggest market than his own Paris and France. In fact for long the big money came from USA (have a look at what vintages from forties to seventies are sold on ebay from USA). Since few years ago big money come also from Asia and Middle East and it is hoped to come enormous from China.
So, French is not so much for French people since long and than what French means? That a lady from USA or China wants to smell like a French woman but at the same time appeal to the nose of the American or Chinese men?

But the geography shows that not only French perfumes are playing the big cards. What do we have?
USA
Estee Lauder means the Queen of American perfumery. As much as I could find out, the first Estee Lauder perfumes where actually really produced by American noses. Josephine Catapano for Youth Dew, first EL perfume. Then was Sophia Grojsman (Belarus but living in USA). EL is not very open about the noses behind their first big perfumes and I think in a way it is ok. EL perfumes took the genius of Estee Lauder herself not a perfumer but a visionary. Estee Lauder could think as an American and offer to Americans the perfumes which suit them best, sexy but clean. They are so wonderful perfumes but so American. If Jacques Guerlain was an American he would have been Estee Lauder. Estee Lauder made America to smell proper American and that was the big hit in the industry of perfumes. Recently, though, the American spirit it's subdued. We have Calice Becker (France) for Beyond Paradise for example. Is this still a proper American?
I love the firsts Donna Karan: Donna Karan New York which I find most of sophisticated, Black Cashmere and Chaos. But that's history. Now we have perfumes to be sold any minute: Be Delicious series and Love from NY and Summer and Pure DKNY. Pity. To me it is similar to Viviene Westood, both great fashion creators but in the end they don't care about nose. On the other hand I understand DK lost a lot of money with the first perfumes.

Then we have Avon. And we have Elisabeth Taylor. Big in USA. These are also American smells, clean and invigorating. And not sophisticated.
On the other hand we have a handful of local creator, who go for bio smells and come directly from Woodstock spirit. Yoga and Buddhism and free love and pure essences. More successful Aftelier of Mandy Aftel. In Canada Ayala Moriel Perfumes.

Asia – far Asia
I think we all like the idea of Japanese smells. It is about small tidy colourful gardens, tea ceremony, elegant kimonos, ikebana and haikus and many others. Minimalist but profound, spicy but clean and flowers and tea and woods. So no wonder that newly comers like Kenzo and Issey Miyake made their way very easy. But how Japanese are these smells? First Kenzo for her in 1988 is of Francoise Caron. First Issey Miyake in 1992, is of the very French Jacques Cavallier (L'eau d'Issey).
Anyway, both are based in France. But we relate the smells both of Kenzo and Issey Miyake with a certain Japanese spirit.
Comme de Garcons, on the other hand, with all its French name, is based in Tokyo but the owner is Japanese, Rei Kawakubo. For his first smell he chose an English perfumer, Mark Buxton, who later took over few of their perfumes to create some of the most intriguing smells in modern perfumery. And some say that's reallyJapanese smell, a combination between tradition (ink? flowers?) and the high-tech of today's Japan.

Middle East
Amouage 'His Highness Sayyid Hamad bin Hamoud al bu Said had a dream to restore the great Arabian art of perfumery to the region. Amouage is a luxury perfume house established in Oman in 1983 by the Sultan of Oman. Amouage uses traditional for the Middle East perfume ingredients such as agarwood, incense, musk, rose and spices, but the developers of the scents are perfumeurs from the major fragrances&flavor companies.
The first Amouage fragrance (Amouage was its previous name, now it is known as Amouage Gold) was created by French perfumeur Guy Robert in 1983. Guy Robert has created his masterpieces for Hermes, Dior, Rochas...'
In my university times there were many students coming from Middle East. All of them smelled strong of perfume and smelled gorgeous. I remember that the way they smelled didn't feel exotic to me. There were only great smells and I suppose there were oriental French perfumes. In same way, Amouage has too little for my nose to do with middle east culture. Serge Lutens is stronger on that to me. All Amouage smell classy French, expensive and luxurious, yes. If I close my eyes I can see rich Arabian women and men living in their luxurious Paris apartments and living a Parisian life. And wearing Amouage.
More middle east are the pure Attars that you can find quite easy, hard to say what is the quality. Those pure smells coming from Arabian nights which seduced Serge Lutens. There was and still is an attraction to these smells and they are mixed with the ones coming from more east Asia, like India mostly. They smell too much to me of psychedelic experiences from seventies, of these Indian shops where perfumed sticks are permanently burned, something at the border of authentic. Plus, the big challenge is to sort out the really good quality oils from cheap ones. It makes a big difference how these oils are distillate, produced, from what kind of products and harvests are made.

Europe
France
I would be curious to know how much space would cover the bottles of French perfumes produced in one year. May be few times France? How much the ones which exist at this moment all over the world?

Italy
I just feel that Italy makes a special case. You have on one hand the big names, clothing Gucci, Prada, Dolce Gabana, or jewellery Bvlgari with perfumes which go for classic scents in a French manner.
On the other hand there is a handful of brands which keep an Italian aura and they have a Italian public, kind of exclusivist and local style. Aqua di Parma is probably best known but they are on the edge. The old ones, Santa Maria Novella, or Acqua di Biella, Acqua di Genova, Corsari 1870 which smell like as exotic as Mediterranean, severe as monasteries and apothecary, a strange combination. I close my eyes and I can see these several hundreds old Pharmacies in Italy, they look for me like places of great alchemy. Anyway, all of them are obssesed with past, history. As much the new ones which sound old Carthusia, or Profumi del Forte, Bois 1920, Il profumo or Odori .
While new Corso Como, Eau d'Italie or Lorenzo Villoresi smell like modern niche perfumery but still giving an Italian chic taste.

England
England it's an interesting story in today's perfume brands. What I love most is that is a very English story. We have on one hand old ones, Penhaligon's, Floris, Crown Perfumery which stay traditional and keep their names with that. On the other hand we have some new ones which go into a totally different direction, like Ormonde Jayne or Miller Harris. So either you have a noble blood and you can afford fine old china and funny old flowery wall papers and ridiculous hats or you don't and go for stylish post-modern furniture. And the noble guy and his simple fellow at the dinner table will find each other darling charming though none of them has an idea what the other wants to say.
Despite Luca Turin permanent disappointment with the old English perfume houses, I would say they indeed make sense. They address to a certain public. OK, what first comes into my mind is old ladies and old gents. But I also know young people which find very attractive the soapy quality of brands like Penhaligon's or Floris. I have also the feeling that all these people who are in love with Eau D'Hadrien of Annick Goutal they also favour these old English perfumes.
On another planet live new brands like Ormonde Jayne and Miller Harris. In a good English tradition they don't have to show anything so they dare everything. And I wouldn't be surprise if one day, by tradition, they will be receive their knighthood and will make it into the noble class.
My only question is how English are these new and really great brands. They feel to my nose rather as perfumes from a post-colonial globalise world. They don't speak only a British English.
One notable exception is Czech&Speake. Quite new, 1979, they managed to go along with an English spirit while being quite modern.
Crabtree & Evelyn. Known as very English, are in fact based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. I found them very well represented in a shopping magazine called The British Shop. Except the place were they are based, they are crazy about English tradition. And very successful with that.

Lithuania
A very good friend of mine is Lithuanian and I am happy to mention that on the Europe map exists also a brand who made it internationally coming from the east of the continent. Juozas Statkevicius released this special but wearable perfume, which in a way reminds of far east Europe, incense and woods.

Germany
4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser 'On October 1792 a Carthusian monk gave the young entrepreneur Wilhelm Muelhens a unique wedding present: the secret formula for an 'acqua mirabilis', a miracle water for internal and external use.'
That's the most known German fragrance ever and still stays as top seller in Germany. It is in a way evocative for Germany. The smell of clean and fresh, not unnecessary chic and restrained. This if you really want to put Germans in a frame. We don't want but the truth is that there are not many other impact market names despite the fact there are a numbers of German perfumers who work internationally and create 'French' perfumes.
New are some kind of revolutionary german perfume houses, with experimental smells and strange names like Biehl – Parfumkunstwerke (who would want to smell like a perfume named like a heavy duty machine factory? That said I admire Biehl smells), Humiecki&Graf (their Geste is one of my favorite perfumes), Uli Schneider and Her von Eden and the more accessible name Linari. What is interesting, except the traditional Kolnischewasser, all the other are almost impossible to find in Germany.

In the end only few thoughts:
§ Why is France so big in perfumery? It requires probably tons of paper and research. May be it has to do with women making themselves beautiful. French women came better in terms in making themselves beautiful (see medieval remark as about Anne – second wife of Henry IV who brought with her French style at the English royal court). It is the same with other parts of world where fragrances as personal use may be related with the freedom of women to make themselves beautiful (India, middle east – between closed doors). While in areas with a severe approach about the vanity of making yourself beautiful the fragrances didn't develop so much or stayed dedicated to cleaning and freshness. From this point of view USA of our days is an interesting case, deeply fragmented between the repulse for fragrances (see the numerous sues against people who use perfume in public spaces like offices), obsession with cleaning and the need for glamorous and beauty a la Hollywood.
§ Globalization of perfume through the big players on the market. It's Gucci, Prada from Iatly, Donna Karan from US, Burberry from UK or Givenchy or even my beloved Guerlain from France they not only address to the international market, they are international players and they lost their roots and style or the roots and style don't make any difference anymore. It will be interesting to watch over the next decade what will happen with China. Who will win there. Will the actual big players take China, or China will take them and we will see China using the big perfumers for the needs of Chinese noses through Chinese brands?
§ At the beginning of my perfumista life, few years ago, it happened to sit in the airplane next to a lady who was working for a perfume company. I was excited. She was not. She was actually just packing perfumes and she hated perfumes. I can understand that. If you pack for years all these cheap, all the same perfumes, you don't want anymore.
§ I like mapping. And I like globalization, too. And as a citizen of the world I hope we shall be more and more able to access perfumes from another side of the world and feel at home with them.