A Celebration of Scent

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The New York Sun

Unlike fashion fads, which can come and go within a single season, fragrance trends can take years to evolve and, generally, have longer half-lives.

Thirteen years after Thierry Mugler introduced his chocolaty perfume Angel, new dessert-inspired scents are increasingly being captured and bottled. This fall, fancy fragrances will feature delectables such as chocolate, caramel, pink frosting, pomegranate, and mango, alongside back-from-the-brink scents such as musk and patchouli, professional perfumers say.

Next week is New York’s Fragrance Week, when the average anointer can get a whiff of the latest scents to hit the market, and take part in a series of events celebrating all things aromatic. This is the third consecutive year that the Fragrance Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization catering to the international fragrance industry, is hosting its celebration of scents in its home city.

Fragrance Week offerings include a presentation on the science behind scents, an exhibit of 6-foot-tall perfume bottle sculptures, and a free consultation with a perfumer, known informally as a “nose.”

One nose, Stephen Nilsen, will join Aquavit chef Marcus Samuelsson in hosting a $350 a plate invitation-only dinner party billed as a meal where “the senses of taste and smell align.” Each course will comprise an olfactory experience —a fragrant apple broth will accompany the smoked trout, and an ice cube frozen with violet, rose, and angelica will chill the vodka. “We want to show how scents can enhance the dining experience,” Mr. Nilsen, who works for a fragrance developer, Quest International, said.

The dinner’s theme dovetails with the industry’s continued infatuation with appetite-whetting fragrances. Mr. Nilsen, a chemical engineer and a trained “flavorist,” defines that as “anything you smell that makes you say,‘Yum.'” Some relative newcomers in this vain are Escada’s Pacific Paradise with coconut sorbet and banana flower notes; VeraWang’s Princess, accented with dark chocolate and pink frosting scents, and DKNY’s apple-inspired Be Delicious.

Full-bodied fragrances are making a comeback, judging from the new-to-the-market scents — though newer scents are still much lighter than 1980s favorites like Opium by Yves Saint Laurent and Poison by Christian Dior. “For a while, fragrances were very sheer, very transparent,” Mr. Nilsen said.”Now you’re seeing dark florals, rich florals, and you’re seeing fragrances that are making more of a statement.” Examples are John Varvatos Vintage, a men’s fragrance with notes of silver absinthe, patchouli, and tobacco leaves; Donna Karan’s Gold, a floral scent with patchouli accents, and Hilary Duff’s spicy With Love, which is imbued with musk and incense.

Riding a wave of popularity are niche fragrance house offerings, bespoke perfumes, and celebrity scents, according to the aptly named president of the Fragrance Foundation’s Sense of Smell Institute, Rochelle Bloom. “In the end, it’s not Britney Spears” — the pop star has launched two perfumes — “it’s the quality of the fragrances.”

It takes years to know which successful fragrances will become classics, Ms. Bloom said. A classic scent remains in the top 20 best-selling fragrances for at least 15 years, she said.

“Shalimar, Chanel No. 5, and Angel are all wonderful fragrances that have captured the spirit of the consumer,” Ms. Bloom said. “There are some fragrances that launched this year that won’t see again next year, and there are some fragrances you just can’t kill.”

For a schedule of New York’s Fragrance Week events and exhibits, visit www.fragrance.org.


The New York Sun

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