The Royal Wedding and Some Fine English Perfume Houses

With the Royal Wedding just days away, and finding myself in full  wedding fever mode as well as an already being an  extreme Anglophile ,  I thought I'd highlight some great UK  brands.  Not simply brands Kate might use, because I realize not everyone  has the wedding fever.  These names  cover more than  that, ones that yes, often are used by royals, but are also just incredibly good in case your craving a touch of Brit .  You don't  even have to cross the pond to get them.

In the realm of fragrance, France is often first thought of as the place to go. Britain however, has many top  perfume companies , some dating back centuries.

Penhaligons has a nice but manageble list of perfumes along with matching bath and body for men and women. They  hold 2 royal warrants from the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles. Princess Diana is rumored to have been a fan of Bluebell,  a scent I was once told is quintessentially English.  A personal favorite here is Malabah, a  rich, spicy  and warm oriental as well as their Violetta.

Creed has serviced royalty for generations.  Originating in the UK in  1760 then moving to France at the behest of Empress  Josephine, they are said to have created their Royal Water for Princess Diana,  Fleurissimo for Princess Grace and  the  gorgeous  rose based Fleurs de Bulgarie for Queen Victoria who also gave them a royal warrant. Prince Charles is known to love  Green Irish Tweed  from the company, which is one of my favorite men's scents.  Personal favorite - Love in Black, a  deep violet inspired by Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Ormonde Jayne is newer than  the above two, but no less a great perfume house. They have a cult following and ship to the US, often offering free shipping several times a year including this Mother's Day.  One of their  newest , Tiare ,combines that tropical note with lime and mandarin for a citrus touch and then cedar and moss  dominate at the drydown  to balance the sweetness. It's crisp , green and lightly floral .

Crabtree and Evelyn- Probably the British brand I've used the longest. I  used to love browsing and occasionally treating myself there as a teen. They were one of the few places to carry talcum powder in tins and their rosewater scent was perfect.  Recently  they've  brought out a new floral fragrance line including an Iris and Lily.  They are also home to India Hicks Island Living, a line of home fragrance created by Ms. Hicks, Prince Charles god-daughter as well as bridemaid at his wedding to Lady Diana.

Floris-   Harder to find in stores here but has a nice US website  http://www.florislondonusa.com/Default.asp .  They used to be carried at Bergdorfs I belive, but no longer.    Floris is another  longtime  British company still at it in the same space at  89  Jermyn St. in London.   I've smelled only Seringa, but many sound wonderful.  Seringa  is a beautiful spicy  floral and they recently created Wedding Bouquet in honor of the big day. This one looks to be only on the UK site at  present.  Most intriguing sounding scent- Madonna of  the Almonds, with almond blosson,  bitter almond as well as bergamot, lemon and vanilla.

Yardley- A very old brand you can buy right at the drugstore, but you will find a far larger selection online or at specialty stores. I noticed a pomegranate rose soap on their website for $ 2.00 .  http://www.smallflower.com/ has a selection of Yardley's  UK line  as well as Taylors of London and Woods of Windsor. All great lines  at nice prices.

Molton Brown-  More bath and body than perfume,  they have a wide range of  uncommon but beautiful scents. Coming soon  and inspired by  England's  hideen walled gardens is Pettigree Dew, a herbaceous floral that is LE and will be a hand and body lotion set.

 

Clive Christian - According to the company,  in 1999, British luxury designer Clive Christian ( initially interior design) revived one of the oldest perfumeries in Britain (the Crown Perfumery) which was honored by Queen Victoria in 1872 when she granted the company the image of her crown as an enduring symbol of British excellence.

Clive Christian has since become known as the world's most expensive perfume and is sold at places like Harrods, Saks and  Bergdorf Goodman.   Roja Dove , master of perfumery at Harrods  and Clive Christian have teamed up to send William and Catherine a his and hers custom set of  No.1  just for them. 

Any favorites of yours here and do you have Royal Wedding fever?

Erwin Creed of Creed Personal Apperances

Erwin Creed, 7th generation of the wonderful perfume house of Creed will be making a series of personal appearances nationwide ( yes not just in New York). He will be visiting from Paris to celebrate Creed's 250th anniversary, meet clients and fans  and sign bottles.  He will be signing bottles of the new Spice and Wood scent as well as Creed Windsor, of which there are only a limited number of bottles available.

Whether you are buying or  testing, this is  a chance to  meet and perhaps chat with someone who rarely does these events. I might mention he's young ( 29) and French .

Visits:

New York at Bergdorf Goodman (212.872.2729) November 3 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Bal Harbour, Florida at Neiman Marcus (1.888.884.6136) November 4 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Miami, Florida at Saks Fifth Avenue Dadeland (305.662.8655) on North Kendall Drive November 5 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Newport Beach, CA at Neiman Marcus Fashion Island (1.800.395.1036) November 10 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Canoga Park, California at Neiman Marcus Topanga (818.316.7000) November 11 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Houston, TX at Neiman Marcus (1.800.397.5293) November 12 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Dallas-NorthPark, TX at Neiman Marcus in NorthPark Center (1.800.756.5784) November 13 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Creed Aventus

Luxe perfume house Creed's newest men's scent is Aventus. Aventus is a tribute to Napoleon . Aventus means success and this fragrance will debut here in the US ( September) before Europe. Usually it is the other way round.

Aventus is citrus ( the bergamot) and lavender to my nose in the beginning. Mind you lavender is not one of the official notes . As it moves midway, the apple and patchouli come out but neither is strong, not is it fruity. I also smell oakmoss and the vanilla which are both listed as drydown notes.

This is a very English type scent I think and one that would easily appeal to women as well as men. When my friend Kathy aka the Minx smelled it , she immediately said " I would wear this".

Full note list :

Top - Blackcurrant, Bergamot, Calville Blanc Apples, Pineapple

Middle- Napoleon roses, Louisina Birch, Jasmine, Patchouli

Bottom- Oakmoss, Ambergris, Vanilla

Part of the proceeds from Aventus will will benefit American Rivers, a charity that tries to protect US waterways from harm. Nice cause and well needed.

Aventus is available now at http://www.creedboutique.com/ and will debut in October at Bergdorfs, Saks, and Neimans( now on pre-order)

30ml is $140 or 75ml is $240.

Creed Perfumes Helps Haiti

Creed fragrances have begun a proceeds donation beginning today for the people of Haiti. Creed is not inexpensive, so that means that 5% can amount to a decent donation. If you were thinking of making an online purchase, perhaps now is the time.

Here is the official info:

"CREED announces it will donate five percent of proceeds from sales at http://www.creedboutique.com/, the official, exclusive online boutique of CREED, to Haitian earthquake relief efforts, starting today.

CREED has selected ADRA (http://www.adra.org/) as the vehicle for its financial support to Haiti. ADRA is highly recommended by experts working in the quake zone in Haiti. Among ADRA's initiatives in Haiti are medical services and water purification, making undrinkable water drinkable.

In good times, CREED is a trading partner of Haiti, purchasing Haitian vetiver grass, the essence of which is extracted in CREED's workshop in France for our beloved Original Vetiver fragrance. CREED is proud to stand by Haiti now."

Creed Perfumes New US Boutique

Creed fragrances has had a busy year, being prosperous in these times, and good for them.

Recently they opened their first US boutique on Madison Ave. in NYC, in a corner location no less. I haven't been in yet, but sometime next month I hope to give it a look. I love to peruse their counters, but everything in one place will be even nicer.

I have a short video of the boutique, which upon opening garnered praise from not just the mayor, but the governor of NY. Everyone loves to see economic progress.

Creed is also now available everywhere thanks to the opening of an online store. Here you can find the home collection, soaps , lotions and bath gels as well as the full line of fragrances.

http://www.creedperfumesus.com/

Boutique address: 794 Madison at 67th St, NYC

Creed Acqua Fiorentina

Acqua Fiorentina is the new perfume coming soon from the house of Creed.

It's hard to go wrong with a Creed scent, I love many and Acqua Fiorentina is no exception.

Inspired by 15th century Florence , the perfume is light, summery ,vibrant and fruity. It's not overly strong , but it has good sillage and lasting power. It is a sweet scent. Not all love sweeteness in perfume, but I gravitate towards them.

The sweetness comes from the greengage plum note . Often in scent, plum is a darker note, here the type of plum is fresh picked and sweet. It mixes in with the the floral and citrus notes, to make a sparkling fragrance. I can detect the rose, bergamot orange and lemon. The drydown brings just bit of the base woods notes of cedar and sandalwood. Enough to ground the scent, but not to make it in any way woodsy.

Pretty in pink ( the juice) and silver ( the bottle trims), the pink also represents the donation from Creed that will be made with a portion of the US October sales of Acqua Fiorentina to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund.

Acqua Fiorentina is now available for pre-order at Neiman Marcus & Bergdorf Goodman. It will ship in August.

Full note list:

• Top Notes: Lightly sweet greengage plum, often used in cuisine as a dessert plum.
• Middle Notes: Renaissance roses, pink carnations, bergamot orange and Calabrian lemon .
• Base Notes: Virginia cedar and Indian sandalwood

Retail:

1oz $ 130.00
2.5 oz $ 230.00
8.4 oz Flacon $ 350.00

http://www.creedcollection.com/

Creed perfumes new Love In Black

Creed is bringing us Love in Black come September. Even though the name is dark and delightful, I don't think thats what the vaunted and elegant house was going for. Seriously though, what an awesome fragrance name.

The scent itself is very violet. Not quite a soliflore, but if you don't like violet, then this is not for you. I love violet and love this too. When the vials were lying waiting for me to open them, everything in their vicinity seemed to smell nicely of violets. I expected that when I applied the perfume, but many other notes came out to play. There was a lot of cedar in the opening, which stayed on in different strengths throughout the development.

I also smelled some of the Iris and Rose notes.

It is actually a very soft fragrance, that stayed close to the skin. No loudness here or overdone-ness. It is not overly powdery , nor super sweet. Two good things if you ask me.

Love In Black was inspired by the perfumer Olivier Creed's meeting many years ago with Jackie Kennedy Onassis. He took notes from places that she lived or loved and has woven them into the fragrance.

The full note list is :

Top-Nighblooming Wildflowers, Violet,Virginia Cedar

Middle-Iris, Clove, Tonka Bean

Bottom- Blackcurrant, Bulgarian Rose

It comes in a cool black bottle and will be in stores in September ( Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, and Saks NY flagship.)

1 ounce is $ 130.00
2.5 ounce $ 230.00

http://www.creedperfumes.us/

Creed in September also will be releasing a new Saks exclusive, called Floralie:

"Description: Floral Oriental
Characteristics: Floralie captures the serenity and harmony of an ancient tea ceremony on the flowering private grounds of Japan’s imperial palace.

Top Note: Chrysanthemum, Japan’s imperial flower; leaves of the Asian star magnolia.
Middle Note: Jasmine; Japanese tea; Asian lilac.
Bottom Note: Bulgarian rose; plum blossom.

Pricing: 1.7 ounce atomizer, $300
8.4 ounce flacon, $475

Available: Select Saks Fifth Avenue
Stores in September"

New CREED Fragrance Amalfi Flowers

I had read that a new CREED was coming, and so tracked down the information on it. It is called Amalfi Flowers, and while I have not tried it , the notes sound wonderful. ( More new info from the house coming soon)

CREED INTRODUCES
AMALFI FLOWERS FOR WOMEN
LIMITED EDITION AT SAKS FIFTH AVENUE FOR FALL 2007

Olivier CREED, sixth-generation master perfumer, presents Amalfi Flowers, the new limited-edition fragrance for women that captures the euphoria of sunrise in the garden of Villa Rufolo on Italy’s shimmering Amalfi coast.

A heart-lifting aria of fragrance, Amalfi Flowers lives only once.

Three hundred seventy-five bottles are offered worldwide, each wrapped in Italian leather the hue of Amalfi terra cotta (1.7 ounces, $270, Saks Fifth Avenue exclusively). Sixty flacons signed and numbered by Mr. CREED are offered (8.4 ounces, $450).

As Olivier CREED and his son, Erwin, walked the garden paths of the exquisite Villa Rufolo perched above the Amalfi coast, the first light of dawn and morning breezes stirred a soft harmony of scent. Plump Amalfi lemons, roses of Ravello and bougainvillea blended in the Mediterranean air and light. Mr. CREED paused with his son to draft the first notes of Amalfi Flowers, a masterful composition perfected in further travels throughout Italy and in CREED’s Paris workshop over the next several months.

The top note of Amalfi Flowers is succulent Amalfi lemon, bougainvillea of Maiori, mandarin orange from Sicily, basil, bergamot, black currant and Jamaican ginger.

The middle note is patchouli, roses of Ravello and iris from Florence.

The bottom note is ambergris, Parma violets, sandalwood and notes of Russian leather.

The limited-edition 1.7-ounce Italian leather-wrapped bottle in which Amalfi Flowers is presented is not only elegant, but also shatterproof and ideal for home, gym or packing in checked luggage.

Based in Paris, CREED (http://www.creedcollection.com/) is the world’s only privately held luxury fragrance dynasty. Founded in 1760 and passed from father to son since then, CREED has served more than 10 royal houses and the discerning public for 247 years.

sp. thanks to A. Brecht

All info/Images: CREED