Fragrances Boutique

Acqua di Parma has “re-styled” original Colonia* (introduced in 1916) to produce the brand new Colonia Essenza. I’ve recently seen Colonia Essenza in two big department stores: Holt Renfrew in Vancouver, B.C., and Nordstrom in downtown Seattle. Holt Renfrew sells the fragrance only in the men’s department; but so far, Nordstrom displays Colonia Essenza with women’s fragrances — even though there’s an Acqua di Parma section in the men’s perfume boutique. Colonia Essenza is, in stores and online, sometimes referred to as a men’s fragrance and other times as a women’s perfume, but I think Colonia Essenza is a classic cologne-for-all…even children can wear it.

Colonia Essenza includes notes of bergamot, tangerine, lemon, orange, grapefruit, petitgrain, neroli, clove, rosemary, lily of the valley, rose, jasmine, patchouli, vetiver, white musk and amber. Colonia Essenza starts off smelling like a crisp orange blossom Eau de Cologne. As orange blossom fades, warm, but still pert, citrus peel aromas appear and lead directly to Colonia Essenza’s floral heart notes…

Sensuous Noir is one of two flankers from Estée Lauder this summer, the other being the Pleasures Bloom that Angie reviewed yesterday. I have always had a soft spot for Pleasures: whenever I smell it I am brought up short again by how great it smells, and it’s so much better done than the many other squeaky-clean florals of its ilk. Still, I have absolutely no desire to own or wear it. Sensuous is another matter. I would not argue with anybody who said Pleasures was the better fragrance of the two, but Sensuous was the one I bought. The pale honeyed amber works perfectly as a casual, not-quite-oriental (and not particularly sensuous) fragrance and wears well in almost any weather; it is one of my (many!) “what to wear when you don’t want to think about what to wear” scents.

Sensuous Noir, I take it, is supposed to be the sexy, evening-wear version of Sensuous. Estée Lauder is calling it a woody chypre…

At its truest, a flanker is a riff off an original scent, a lighthearted and maybe even forgettable spin on the themes of its forebear. After all, most flankers are around for a year or so then fall out of production. They’re not meant to be masterpieces. Sticking to this definition, Estée Lauder Pleasures Bloom is a textbook example of a flanker.*

I’ve felt so underwater on fragrance launches lately, that as much as I respect the brand, these days I wouldn’t turn my head at an Estée Lauder flanker. But I was wandering through the mall with my niece in Billings, Montana, listening to the ways of dating among teens (Niece: “And so I texted him for, like, two months before I met him.” Me: “You texted him all that time and he didn’t even know who you were?” Niece: “Aunt Angie, that’s how we do it these days. Anyway, I texted him and found out we were both at the mall at the same time…”) and stumbled across the Estée Lauder counter at Dillard’s. A tester of Sensuous Noir was on the counter. As I sniffed a tester strip, the sales associate handed me Pleasures Bloom. “Do you like florals?” she asked. “Try this.”

In that moment, Pleasures Bloom struck all the right notes…

Esprit will launch Celebration Happy Vibes, a new duo of flankers to 2008’s Celebration.

Celebration Happy Vibes For Her ~ a fruity floral…

Queen Latifah has launched Queen of Hearts, a new flanker to last year’s Queen by Queen Latifah:

The heart has a song all its own…

Issey Miyake has launched L’Eau d’Issey Noir Absolu and L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme Noir Absolu, new limited edition flankers to 1993’s L’Eau d’Issey and 1994’s L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme fragrances…

Avon has launched U by Ungaro Fever for Him, a new flanker to 2008’s U by Ungaro. A ‘for Her‘ version of U by Ungaro Fever launched earlier this year…

Estee Lauder has launched Sensuous Noir, a new flanker to 2008’s Sensuous perfume for women:

Sensuous after dark…

Beyoncé will follow her debut fragrance for women, Beyoncé Heat, with a limited edition flanker, Beyoncé Heat Ultimate Elixir.

Heat Ultimate Elixir is a more concentrated variation..

I don’t think the new Eau Claire des Merveilles from Hermès has officially launched yet, but it’s on counter at Hermès boutiques and at Nordstrom. Depending on how you count, it’s the 3rd or 4th flanker to 2004’s Eau des Merveilles, which has already been joined by Parfum des Merveilles and Elixir des Merveilles.

Eau Claire des Merveilles, which was developed by Hermès house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, is pretty much exactly as it was described in the press materials: delicate, soft and sparkling, with powder notes and vanilla. The start is wonderfully fizzy citrus soda; that softens into a creamy-sweet (but airy) cosmetic powder, lightly vanillic, with just a hint of the salty woody amber from the original Eau des Merveilles underneath…

Acqua di Parma has launched Colonia Essenza, a new flanker to 1916’s Colonia:

A vibrant and distinctive fragrance that reinterprets and enhances the emblematic notes…

Victoria’s Secret has introduced Sexy Little Things Noir Tease (Noir Tease for short), a flanker to 2008’s Sexy Little Things Noir, which in turn was a flanker to 2007’s Sexy Little Things…

Lolita Lempicka will launch Minuit Noir in October. The new fragrance for women is a limited edition flanker to the original Lolita Lempicka scent, now known as Lolita Lempicka Le Premier Parfum…

David & Victoria Beckham have followed Intimately Beckham and Intimately Beckham Night with Intimately Beckham Yours, a new duo of fragrances “designed to capture the essence of David and Victoria Beckham’s passion and the power of their relationship”…

Christian Dior will launch Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle in September. The new fragrance for women is a floral variation on 1998’s Hypnotic Poison, and is fronted by actress Monica Bellucci…

Estee Lauder has launched Pleasures Bloom, a new flanker to 1995’s Pleasures fragrance for women:

Estée Lauder invites you to celebrate the timeless joy of life’s simple moments…

Kate Moss will launch Vintage Muse this month. The new perfume for women is a flanker to last year’s Vintage by Kate Moss…

Jean Paul Gaultier will launch Le Mâle Terrible in October. The new fragrance for men is a flanker to 1995’s Le Mâle…

French niche line Lubin has launched four new fragrances — the Métalliques collection — inspired by the “olfactory themes” of their Vétiver and L’Eau Neuve fragrances. Itasca and Bluff are versions of Vétiver, Figaro and Inédite of L’Eau Neuve…

Kenzo will launch Kenzo Homme Eau de Toilette Boisée / Woody in September. The new fragrance for men is a flanker to 1991’s Kenzo Pour Homme (now known as Kenzo Homme or KenzoHomme)…

Yves Saint Laurent will launch Belle d’Opium, the “next-generation” version of the brand’s iconic Opium fragrance, in August. Belle d’Opium is fronted by actress Mélanie Thierry…

Hermès will launch Eau Claire des Merveilles, a new flanker to 2004’s Eau des Merveilles, in September…

Donna Karan will launch Cashmere Mist Liquid Nude, a new flanker to 1994’s Cashmere Mist fragrance for women, in July:

Donna Karan’s Cashmere Mist Liquid Nude eau de parfum spray: a fragrance to seduce the senses…

When I reviewed the Pink Sugar fragrance back in 2007, I noted that it had been a top-seller at Sephora since shortly after its launch in 2003. It’s still a top seller, and in the interim, it shot past Thierry Mugler Angel and J Lo Glow to become the most-reviewed fragrance at MakeupAlley. You’d think there would have been a long string of flankers by now, but Aquolina has been relatively conservative, mostly sticking to new formats — everything from solid perfume to hair perfume to shimmering perfume roll-on. Enter Pink Sugar Sensual, which launched last year but took a good long while to reach the US. As you might have guessed from the advertising, it’s meant to be the sexy, grown-up version of Pink Sugar.

Pink Sugar, for those of you who have never smelled it, is pretty much what it sounds like: a blend of red fruit + cotton candy. On my skin, it smells most unfortunately like red fruit + cotton candy that’s been scorched onto melting plastic, but no matter, plenty of other people (including quite a few perfumistas) love it. I can see the charm of the original Pink Sugar, even if I don’t love it — after the strawberry wears down and before the sugar notes melt and char, it’s a perfect gourmand comfort scent for someone with a sweet tooth: a bit of musk, a bit of caramel sugar, nothing fancy or complicated…

Salvador Dali launches Laguna Maravilla this month. The new fragrance for women is a flanker to 1991’s Laguna.

LAGUNA MARAVILLA expresses the spirit and originality that made Laguna such a success…