Hit the ground running after DJing until 3am, catching a flight at 6am, and a few hours sleep on the plane. I met up with Omer and his lovely wife Busra, who I am sharing a room with. First stop, after Nespresso for macaroon and a double espresso was Barney’s. Ran into the delightful Eduardo (who used to be the Creed rep at Neiman Marcus Bal Harbor). The RxR Profuma line has new bottles! I’ve never tested the line but the names are interesting, and Morphine stood out. The new Barney Neuwirth collaboration is a big candied Tuberose à la Honore des Pres Vamp à NY.
I walked up Madison and hit Etro. The spring/summer line is starting to come in with bold colors and bright patterns – which always makes me happy. Sniffed Heliotrope – another big candied scent (maybe a theme for the day) – reminds me of a Loukoum fragrance.
Over at Creed, they were freshly restocked with Millessime 1849 (but it’s limited) along with some massive 1000 ml bottles. Coming from them this year is a new Aqua line with six scents, Aventus pour Elle, and a baby perfume.
After some wandering around, I found Krigler – a new line to me. It is inside the Park hotel that I met the lovely Haruna who introduced me to the high-end niche line (available only at this location and their store in Monte Carlo). The scents are magnificent and four of them caught my attenion – Lovely Patchouli, Established Cognac, Liever Gustav, and Oud Azur. What impressed me also was their organization – not only the numbering but the way they have you a sample card with a body picture that they would mark with what scent went where. The card has a male and female form – so it’s perfect for heteronormative couples
Next up was Prada, where I smelled the exclusives collection. The bottles are simple- with just a pasted label and it’s one of those times where the simplicity and lack of marketing allows a quality fragrance line to show through. The scents are numbered based on release and tend to be single note. Oiellet and Cuir Ambre both stood out to me. Actually, I would have bought Cuir Ambre on first sniff except that it is an analog to Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque. Wearing it on my skin confirmed that. I absolutely love the scent, though, and if I didn’t already own CM I would run back and buy it. For ladies, Rosetto is amazingly sexy and worth sampling.
Henri Bendel is always full of interesting scents. I found out that Electimuss is coming in a few months – watch out for the real house of sillage. They have the Maria Candia Gentile line, and I love Noir Tropical which reminds me of Guerlain Spiriteuse Double Vanille (a high compliment from me). I checked out the Illuminum Lounge and made my first purchase of the day – two strong candles – Trumpet Flower and Moroccan Tuberose. Another interesting tidbit is that they are bringing in the CB I Hate Perfume line, which is beyond irony.
Over at Saks, I stopped by a few counters. Over at By Killian, I sniffed a hidden sample of Gold Oud and I can see why it is so insanely expensive. There are two new additions coming to their Asian Tales line – Sacred Wood (based on Indian Sandalwood) and Imperial Tea (the “first true green tea” scent).
I got a call from my dee-lovely blogmother Victoria Jent (of eaumg.net) who said she was on her way, so I made one last stop at Desigual. My favorite Spanish clothing line with the wild patterns and fabrics just released their debut scents. The line of three have simple and accurate names – Fun, Sex, and Love. Fun is sweet and fruity. Sex is a voluptuous indolic floral. Love is a nice citrus floral. At $45 and $70, these are well-priced designer scents that should lure more people into the fragrance world.