Don't forget fragrance lovers...submit your consumer's choice submissions by January 25th, 2013, for a chance to be chosen as one of the five women's or five men's fragrance finalists, in the Consumer Choice category.  This award will be widely promoted to consumers through print, online, and media outlets.  

The criteria, process and validation form can be downloaded here. Have fun!   

Perfume Serge Lutens is widely revered in the fickle perfume industry, first for his work with Shiseido in the 1980s and 90s, and more recently for the magnificent signature line he has developed since 2000. His work is commonly viewed as avant-garde and many have achieved "cult" status in the niche perfume world. His ideas and approach are often quirky and unconventional. 
Serge Noire, launched in 2008 is an artful perfume rendering of smoke, ash and wood… but one which is resolutely unorthodox - it has an almost Gothic feel. If compelling, mysterious scents are your bag, the Serge Noire delivers. It is a contrast of textures; damp and dry, gloomy and light. 

Its opening is somewhat surprising and polarising… flashes of wood and spice which take on an almost saccharine feel, but then swiftly taper away into a more sinister amalgam that brings to mind decomposition and decay. Some time later, the scent evolves once more and a lovely dry woody incense emerges which inspire mental images of gloomy churches burning resinous stones in concealed censers. There is a thread of warm amber, patchouli and cosy cinnamon that press up from below. Serge Noire feels both threatening and ethereal in equal measures… a "Brothers Grimm" approach to perfume, perhaps. 
Many have come to love the creative brilliance and perfume narratives that spill from the perfumed pen of Monsieur Lutens. Serge Noire represents some of his most challenging and pioneering work yet.

30 years later and fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa introduces his first perfume.  He has signed a 13 year fragrance and cosmetics license with Beauté Prestige International and says, “I am delighted to work with them in launching this new project. I have total confidence in Beauté Prestige International to accompany me in creating a perfume that interprets my work and my world.”

Alaïa's first fragrances will hit the market in 2015, so we have quite some time to get excited for it!

Photo: WWD; Stéphane Feugère

All hail one of the Grande Dames of perfume! Rochas Femme was first created by perfume miestro Edmond Roudnitska in Paris during the second world war, and is still much loved and admired to this day.

But, she's no shrinking violet! Only a perfume that is robust, bold and commanding can withstand the passage of time, and so few do so with as much spunk and sassiness as Femme.

This perfume is based around central accords of dark plum and dewy peach - each stimulate our "feel good" food-loving senses, but before things turn too tutti-fruiti, Femme slaps you across the face with a sexy leather glove - a stinging bitterness and warmth that grows and spreads laterally across this perfume. It has a spicy, resinous heart of clove, cinnamon and benzoin which lends complexity and depth. As with most chypres, this perfume has a glorious mossy base, and rich, sexy musks make it every bit a scent for a modern-day  femme fatale.

Truly a perfume to be experienced. The vampish Rochas Femme commands your attention and respect.

Can you handle her?

Surprise! Heidi Klum's latest fragrance, named Surprise, is due to launch next month.  The fragrance, a balmy, floral, citrusy scent, contains notes of mandarin, pink pepper, magnolia, rose, benzoin, and sandalwood.  Heidi Klum says her fourth fragrance will stimulate all of your senses.

"Surprise will stimulate all your senses. The fragrance is cheerful, playful and sexy,'' announces Heidi Klum.

Will you try this modern and sensual fragrance with floral-fruity notes that blend with warmed resins and wood? 

My guilty pleasure! A far cry from the original dark pink Joop! Homme, Joop! Jump is a punchy, spirited scent for men with oodles of appeal. Did I mention it has a vodka accord? Now I have your attention!
Joop! Jump is an uncomplicated fragrance that embodies some of the things we enjoy most in life: sunshine and shots! It's grapefruit / rosemary opening is aromatic, summery and vibrant, and a rich green vein of vetiver; earthy and lush. The heart is transparent with a lip-smacking vodka accord, and clean white musk. There is an underlying base of tonka and heliotrope which add a slightly creamy, saccharine texture which helps anchor this eau de toilette to your skin. If you enjoy the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, or Paco Rabanne 1 Million, then Joop! Jump is likely to impress. It has all the markers of a fine scent that can be worn casually or for nights out on the town.
Joop! Jump is sophisticated in its simplicity, and it transcends many of the "Sport" style fragrances on the market. In short, a crowd-pleasing party perfume.

Terre d'Hermés is a fragrance triumph. Voted 'Best Fragrance of the Year' by FiFi in 2007 in the 'Men's Luxe' category, there is much to love in this weighty square-shouldered flacon.   
Its opening accords of fresh green/orange citruses are sharp and refreshing, however, it quickly shifts into an unusual chocolatey/jaffa note, before some rich earthy and elemental accords come to the fore. It is the scent of a long-forgotten orange orchard that is overgrown and untameable... one that can only be reached by cutting through thick, tangled undergrowth that has flourished over several centuries through abandon and neglect. There is almost a sense of an "electrical storm" hanging overhead... a threatening heaviness, accompanied by the sharp spike of ozone in the air that declares when clouds, swollen with precipitation, are set to burst. One can detect the aroma of dusty, turned earth as it is speckled with fat raindrops... soil that is littered with over-ripe, mouldering oranges that have fallen from the green canopy above. 

Terre d'Hermes comes in two concentrations - an excellent EDT spray, and a pure parfum spray (somewhat rare amongst men's releases these days) which will last pretty much all day long.

Jimmy Choo has announced it's new fragrance launch, due this spring, for new evening fragrance, Flash.  

“Jimmy Choo is a brand which was born in shoes and grew up on the red carpet,” said Simon Holloway, who is a creative director for the company along with Sandra Choi. “This fragrance plays naturally to that concept.” 

Jimmy Choo's first fragrance, launched in January of 2011 was said to be "very much sensual and intimate" and in contrast, Flash is all about "having a sparkle, being multifaceted and confident and outgoing."   

The white floral scent has top notes of pink pepper and strawberry, a heart of tuberose, jasmine, and white lily, and a drydown of heliotrope and white woods.  

Photo Courtesy: Jimmy Choo; Robert Mitra

Moving past the ball gowns, swim suits, equality and world peace, the Miss Universe Organization has signed a fragrance license with Neil J. Katz and his Omni Scents.  Just in time for back to school shopping, there will be 3 new fragrances on the market, a trio of scents for women that are inspired by Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA contests.  
According to WWD, "focusing on “modern perceptions of beauty,” the global release will be the first license to launch from Omni Scents, Katz said. “Miss Universe fragrance collection will, we believe, resonate with women all over the globe who look to each contestant as a representative of what every girl dreams of becoming — beautiful, talented, a winner in every sense,” said the Omni Scents founder and president. “Truly, this is a fragrance concept that captures aspirational glamour, as it appeals to every girl who wants to feel confidently beautiful.” 

Spanish designer Jesus Del Pozo has a vast history in fashion and fragrance and is revered for his creations that reflect personality and style. In 2010, the good folk at Del Pozo decided it was time to launch their take on vegetal amber - a theme that has been visited many times in perfume since recorded history began.
 

Vegetal amber is the fossilised sap from prehistoric trees… stone-like nuggets of a honey coloured hue that are admired for their primordial beauty. This perfume is presented in a stunning flacon which gives the impression of a tumbled piece of this semi-precious gem. The perfume itself is a wonderfully diaphanous blend of crisp tangerine and bergamot, which dances over a blushing floral heart of peony and iris. A huff of cardamom and tea furnish the perfume with a light piquancy, and this spreads over a pale cedar/amber base.

Ambar is not a traditional amber perfume, which often tend to be thick, honey-like and sweet; rather, it is an upbeat, modern interpretation on the amber theme, and one that is perfect for the warmer weather.